I know there are countless threads for this already but the easiest way for me to find this thread later on for reference is via the "threads started by me", so this is the reason I started this. Plus even though I'm supposed to consult a pro soon to help me with the configuration, the more opinions the better, obviously. So. I've decided to replace my 6+ year old system with all the beta hype etc. Below is a screenshot of the configuration I chose earlier, which should be read with a SAPPHIRE HD5850 1GB GDDR5 HDMI DP PCIE instead of the GTX because I think I changed my mind thanks to asdf. The below config is just over 1000 USD (750 EUR) and I don't intend to spend much more on this. Now the system would be primarily for SC2, some Photoshop, HD films, and faster overall use (not barring future games, maybe FPS, simulators, etc.). In the light of this my questions are: Is there a bottleneck, and if yes, which component(s)? Is the power supply (good) enough? By the way, the reason for the i7 930 is that I feel iffy about overclocking and it's only 10 euros dearer than the 920 so I thought why not... I would appreciate any and all feedback and opinions as this is quite an investment and I wouldn't like to have a sad face in the end.
Hrm that looks like a solid system. I'm running corsair 620W and I have 2 4870's in my system, an overclocked E8400@ 3,8Ghz and 2 harddrives, and like 6-7 fans. I dunno about Chiftec as your PSU.. The important thing is not to go with no-name brands.. I'm not saying Chiftec is unknown, but just check some reviews out on the PSU and Chiftec overall. I'd swith the PSU to Corsair 620W modular or 700W (not modular, but same price!). God knows how much the 5850 pulls.. perhaps 500W...? http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp As for bottlenecking.. I say the only thing in your system is your graphics card.. but with that you should be able to run stuff on the highest..
Ah yes, I've seen that page before but as I didn't know much about my planned configuration it didn't mean much... nor now because I don't know how many fans/PCI cards, etc. I'd have :x but from what I entered it says minimum is 350W... I probably left a few things out As for the PSU, I chose what I chose because that was the cheapest with a brand I've heard before, has a nice big fan for hopefully no noise whatsoever, and it also has a nice list of features like voltage stability, etc., which I think would come in handy with such a pricey (well, for me) rig. As for the bottleneck, the GPU would've been the last thing I would've suspected meh. Thanks for the input though, I'll check out those power supplies. edit: I found this: http://www.directron.com/cft65014c.html now I know it's still chieftec but this is the only modular PSU the other shop that I'd buy at had, no modular corsair in stock... but this one looks nice too, cheap, has all the protection, 14cm fan, so ya... maybe?
I'm not an expert by far, but got some advice anyways. First person shooters and almost every kind of simulator, require much more from your system then any rts game. If you intend to play those in the future, you might want to look into saving some money to upgrade later on. For example, go with a cheaper videocard if you're only going to play sc2 for a while, and get a really good one a couple months later. Starcraft 2 doesn't really require much from your system. At least not from mine, while I only got an i5 and a similar videocard. Just my 2 cents.
Or why not just add another GPU on later and go crossfire? On a side note.. it's a perfect build! I see no way you'd regret it! The only thing is the PSU.. but come on,. I run 2 cards and an overclocked CPU... it runs fine.. The Corsair TX750 (note not 700 as I said) is something to make it 100% safe. Also check how many 8-pins etc and 6-pin connecters there are for your graphics card.. just a tip. Since my 620W isn't really made for more than 1 card I had to buy converters.
glad to be of help =) looks like a pretty solid build, but like everyone else says, try to spend a bit more on your PSU. chieftec has been around for a while, so they aren't the bottom-of-the-barrel PSU company, but at the same time they're not among the top brands either. your rig will probably be drawing around 300 watts at full load, so a 600watt PSU should give you enough headroom. also, the core i7 is generally overkill unless you're actually going to be doing processor-intensive work on the computer- video conversion, FRAPS, stuff like that. if you're just gaming, then an i5 should be more than enough.
The reason I chose an i7 is that it has hyperthreading which the i5 does not. Now if I won't be upgrading my system for another 5+ years as I've so far done then I'd need all the little extra I can muster. Now I changed the current lineup because I had some concerns about the price tag and because probably if I ever want to upgrade again I'd change the whole thing, like now, instead of swapping parts... so I might as well buy a lower-end motherboard and fill it rather than buy a top motherboard and only use a fraction of its ability. ASUS P7H55-M CORSAIR HX650W CSX 4096Mb DDR3 1800Mhz KIT GABA 2936 INTEL Core i7-860 2.80Ghz 1156 BOX SAPPHIRE HD5850 1GB GDDR5 HDMI DP PCIE ps I will be handing out minerals for meaningful posts... I know they don't mean much but this whole project for me does mean much, and I don't want to regret the expense, plus I'd like to give something back. Again, thanks for your time and help.
Lol. Are you buying a new monitor as well, Kuvasz? If so, get a samsung, they're awesome. I've had this 2233BW (22") for a while now and don't regret it one bit.
No, I've had my current one for over half a year and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. I'm not buying any optical drives or other input devices either, but I plan to get a blu-ray drive later on. ---- Update: I'm certain I'll be going for the config I posted last. In case anyone else is torn between the i7 920 and 860, here are 3 links that can help decide: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/266032-10-tomshardware http://computingkeith.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/choosing-a-new-cpu-intel-i7-920-vs-i7-860-2/ http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/19764-core-i7-870-lynnfield-beats-core-i7-920-a.html edit: I needed to cut down on the cost. I'm currently at GEIL Value 4096Mb DDR3 1600Mhz CL8 KIT GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L GIGABYTE Superb 550W INTEL Core i5-750 2.66Ghz 1156 BOX SAPPHIRE HD5850 1GB GDDR5 HDMI DP PCIE WD 640Gb 7200rpm 64Mb SATA2 WD6400AARS This is the configuration a tech chap suggested for me. After reading up on the i5 750 - i7 860 issue I realised the i5 is worth it and there is practically no drawback concerning performance. I also welcomed going for CL8 instead of CL9 memory as well as the choice of motherboard. However, the PSU is really cheap (a bit more than half of the Corsair 650), but I'm not sure if I should judge by price. 550W is enough (going by what this told me, which I think is the same as what Lobster linked earlier) though. How reliable is Gigabyte, does anyone know?
*bump* I recently saw the below video and got interested in this PhysX thing. I'm not too much into computer things so I'm a bit behind, I know [youtube]JK7BkiNboRU[/youtube] Basically my question is: how do I get it as can be seen above, I plan to buy an ATi card, and this technology is (seems to be?) nVidia-only . Now I've read about having a weaker nVidia card too to calculate physics but that sounds like a pricy solution. Is it worth it (I know only I can determine that financially, but I mean is a very cheap card enough?) or should I switch to one nVidia card (if it works that way and doesn't need a separate card still)?
Honestly I don't think going after this technology is worth at this time. Wait for it to be mainstream before you're trying to run dual cards and getting into areas where compatibility becomes an issue.
Iirc, PhysX only works in homogeneous systems meaning you'd need to use NVIDIA cards for both your primary and PhysX accelerator. There's a bug in the current beta driver that allows you to use any card for your primary and NVIDIA for PhysX but I expect that to be patched soon now that NVIDIA's been made aware of the issue. As for the power supply, I suggest a Corsair 450VX or 400CX if you're trying save some dough. Those are good quality power supplies and you're better off with a slightly lower wattage PSU than one of questionable quality. Besides, since you mentioned you won't be overclocking, I doubt your power consumption would even reach 300W at load.
Ordered a few hours ago. CORSAIR VX550W GEIL Value 4096Mb DDR3 1600Mhz CL8 KIT GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L WD 640GB 7200rpm 64Mb SATA2 WD6400AARS XFX HD5850 1GB DDR5 HDMI DP PCIE Intel Core i7-860 2.80Ghz Box _______________________ EUR 870 including P&P Some of the prices were worth the wait, some were not. I could've shaven off 15-20 euros if I decide to buy from several shops, but I thought it wasn't worth the hassle... the CPU already comes from a separate shop. So, thanks for all the feedback, they helped a lot. And a big thank you to Google as well... it's unbelievable how fast you can find out about even the most technical things if you know how to search. :yes:
Curiosity-driven bump: this page tells me that my processor handles 1066/1333 DDR3 RAM modules. Does that mean that it can't utilise 1600 ones then? Since I already have the parts here and the 1333 modules wouldn't have been considerably cheaper I wouldn't lose much sleep over this mistake, so don't hesitate about the answer pls edit: higher end (900 series) processors are indicated as being able to handle 800/1066 modules uh what is this?
Thought so. My question was more related to whether the processor really did determine (and in this case, bottleneck) the RAM or was that only an FYI for the minimum and optimal ones. I've seen 1800, 2000, and even 2200 ones... I didn't think 1600 would be too high end. Meh.
This on stock. However, I'm pretty sure all the high end motherboards would allow you to run the CPU and RAM unlocked so you could make use of the full speed. Anyway, I highly doubt you'd see more than 10% difference with faster RAM. Heck, even using single-channel vs dual-channel, the speed boost isn't really all that noticeable.
