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Opinions wanted on my PC to-be


lujate

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The parts have started to arrive for my first DIY PC, and it occurred to me that I should probably asked for advice before making the order. I know my fair share about computer hardware in general, but virtually nothing about gaming PC's. It is too late to change the components now, but I would still like to hear your opinions.

 

I read what I could and put together a wish list ignoring price completely. I then uncovered the prices and cut what I had to meet my budget. Here is what I came up with:

  • 850W power supply
  • Intel i7-960 3.2Ghz chip
  • Asus Sabertooth x58 motherboard
  • 12GB RAM
  • 120GB SSD*
  • 250GB HDD*
  • GeForce GTX570 graphics card

*-I know that does not seem like enough storage, but my current PC has two partitions on an 80GB drive and that works fine for me.

 

Thoughts?

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Are your 12gb ram single, double, triple, or quadruple sticks? If I were you I'd go for a 4 sticks of 4gb ram. Are you goin for SLI in the future? If so I suggest you go for a higher power output PSU maybe 1000w that will give you ample juice to power those VGA cards. 120GB ssd if enough but I suggest you set it as your main drive for our system files only. Then 2 x 250 GB drives in raid for your software-saving needs

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There are three 4GB RAM DIMM's. From what I read the rule of thumb is 1-1.5GB RAM per thread of the processor. The 12GB gives me 1.5. Will I really need more?

 

I ran SLI through Google and it says it means tandem graphics cards (similar to Crossfire I guess). I have read about some players having micro flicker issues with that kind of setup and I would rather not find out the hard way if that affects me, so I am not planning on such a configuration.

 

I am planning on the SSD to be the system drive with the swap space/page file residing on the HDD, as well as home dir/users and all software that does not have to be installed on the system drive.

 

For RAID, are suggesting a pair of drives set up in a redundant pair or striping only?

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Thats old cpu tech. Since those we've had the new sandy bridge processors have come out and ivy bridge, the follow up to that, will be in the near future.

 

Otherwise, HDD, would personally have gone larger, but if its all you need then you can save money there, hard drives have been expensive lately. SSD will be nice though.

 

GPU, decent indeed, again its previous tech, but still a good card. As to SLI (chucking in an extra 570 later), provided you had a good quality psu, 850W would definitely be capable of that.

 

RAM, 6GB was probably plenty, but 12GB can't hurt.

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I had actually thought I was splurging on the CPU and graphics card. :( If those are old tech, I doubt my budget would have allowed new tech.

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:sigh: I thought the i5's were the older CPU's and the i7's were the newer ones.

 

I guess this is why they say "hindsight is 20/20". Thanks for the correction. :)

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:sigh: I thought the i5's were the older CPU's and the i7's were the newer ones.

 

I guess this is why they say "hindsight is 20/20". Thanks for the correction. :)

 

-That would be correct.

 

To put things in prospective, here's my current system:

 

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler NH-D14

HIS Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (x2 in Crossfire mode)

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (OEM)

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model (OEM)

ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200mm Red LED Case Fan (for side door of HAF 922 case)

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 SLI/CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC 750w Power Supply

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit (OEM)

 

Ok, the only thing that didn't work very well on this was the spacing of the slots on the ASRock motherboard. The mobo itself is quite reliable and has worked like a charm thus far, but I had to fiddle around with cramming the ASUS audio card in between the two HIS graphics cards. I don't prefer to do that, as it inhibits air flow of the top graphics card a little, so it gets fairly hot under load.

 

The Corsair 750w 80 Plus Silver (the rating is key here, as Bronze, Silver, and Gold always out perform the regular power supplies of the same wattage) certified psu is more than adequete for all my power needs. Sounds like Sacred 2 difficulty levels? Bronze = good/ Silver = better/ Gold = best: for ratings on power supplies.

 

Also, make sure you get a good UPS (uninterruptible power supply); it is crucial to keeping your delicate electronics inside your case safe against brownouts/blackouts, and miscellaneous power spikes.

 

(Here's the one I'm using)

 

It may not be the greatest, but it works good for my needs. It's also recommended that you don't use cheap UPS for high quality computer power supplies (the ones with 'PFC' in the description), as there's a good chance they'll get fried if you do.

 

 

I plan on upgrading to the i7 2600k once it comes down in price. I'll probably wait until it's close to being discontinued before I buy it.

 

I play Sacred 2 on max resolution, max detail, and antialiasing x2 and it works out pretty good. My only complaint is it gets warm in the summer time while under load, so I've gotta watch the temps.

 

My next system will be water-cooled for sure.

 

 

Lujate, your system appears very capable of handling most modern games at high resolution without a hitch. I would have opted for a 500 HD, but yours should be sufficient if you're like Epox and I and keep things organized and tidy on your hard drive. The memory for your processor is triple-channel, so not too many variations on stick size there. Memory stick size is kind of a mixed bag. I prefer to go with as few sticks as possible to limit the potential for a bad stick, although I always order my sets of RAM in dual channels. 8 gb would have been more than sufficient for Windows 7, but with your processor, you really only have the choice between 6 gb and 12 gb, so 12 would be better in this case.

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Is there much point upgrading to the i7 2600k omni? Apart from a minor speed boost pretty much all you get is hyper threading which does next to nothing for games...save the cash for next new pc or graphics card would probably lead to a more noticeable upgrade in games.

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Is there much point upgrading to the i7 2600k omni? Apart from a minor speed boost pretty much all you get is hyper threading which does next to nothing for games...save the cash for next new pc or graphics card would probably lead to a more noticeable upgrade in games.

 

Some folks would say yes, but it depends on your budget. If money is no issue, then the i7 is a decent future-proof option for the next several years. Mine was I decided to take the extra $100 I saved from purchasing the i5 and applying it toward a second graphics card. I realize that the cpu is important, but I've always viewed components in this order: Graphics power first, and cpu power second.

The power gain I would receive from getting the i7 was overshadowed by the power gain I received from purchasing a second graphics card.

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Is there much point upgrading to the i7 2600k omni? Apart from a minor speed boost pretty much all you get is hyper threading which does next to nothing for games...save the cash for next new pc or graphics card would probably lead to a more noticeable upgrade in games.

 

Some folks would say yes, but it depends on your budget. If money is no issue, then the i7 is a decent future-proof option for the next several years. Mine was I decided to take the extra $100 I saved from purchasing the i5 and applying it toward a second graphics card. I realize that the cpu is important, but I've always viewed components in this order: Graphics power first, and cpu power second.

The power gain I would receive from getting the i7 was overshadowed by the power gain I received from purchasing a second graphics card.

 

I understand that, I was asking if there was much point to you doing that in regards to your comment about doing so in the future.

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I got the last of the pieces yesterday, so I started assembly. I got it together late last night. Everything seems to be getting power, but it does not seem to be doing anything. There are lights on the motherboard, but I did not have time to look them up so I just powered it off. Tonight I will have to look up what the lights mean.

 

Also, I guess should have paid attention to the size of the case, since it will more fit under my desk. :rollseyes:

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:sigh: I thought the i5's were the older CPU's and the i7's were the newer ones.

 

I guess this is why they say "hindsight is 20/20". Thanks for the correction. :)

 

Actually... There are three different processor lines here - i3, i5 and i7. They were all released about the same time. It's sort of like the old Celerons vs the regular Intel line up (Core, Core 2, etc..)

 

The i3 is aimed more at mobile applications while the i5 is a more basic desktop/laptop chip and the i7 is their top of the heap Gaming line.

 

That's not to say that Intel hasn't released newer versions of the i3, i5 and i7 chip lines.

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:sigh: I thought the i5's were the older CPU's and the i7's were the newer ones.

 

I guess this is why they say "hindsight is 20/20". Thanks for the correction. :)

 

That's not to say that Intel hasn't released newer versions of the i3, i5 and i7 chip lines.

 

First gen were ix xxx whereas the second gen ones are ix 2xxx so are fairly easy to tell apart...except for the i7 3xxx's but they are new anyway. But then theres gonna be Ivy Bridge soon so how do the name those:) It does get confusing with cpu/gpu name sometimes...

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Is there much point upgrading to the i7 2600k omni? Apart from a minor speed boost pretty much all you get is hyper threading which does next to nothing for games...save the cash for next new pc or graphics card would probably lead to a more noticeable upgrade in games.

 

Some folks would say yes, but it depends on your budget. If money is no issue, then the i7 is a decent future-proof option for the next several years. Mine was I decided to take the extra $100 I saved from purchasing the i5 and applying it toward a second graphics card. I realize that the cpu is important, but I've always viewed components in this order: Graphics power first, and cpu power second.

The power gain I would receive from getting the i7 was overshadowed by the power gain I received from purchasing a second graphics card.

 

I understand that, I was asking if there was much point to you doing that in regards to your comment about doing so in the future.

 

Yes, I think the upgrade will be worth it in terms of performance.

 

At the time I was more interested in trying Crossfire and the benefits it would reap than I was in trying the i7. Depending on how long the i7 is around, I probably won't upgrade until 2 years down the road, as the i5 is adequete for my current gaming needs.

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So basically I needed a CPU hierarchy chart like I found for graphics cards.

 

 

So far, I am a believer in SSD's. I have never seen an OS install go as quickly as this one.

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I got the last of the pieces yesterday, so I started assembly. I got it together late last night. Everything seems to be getting power, but it does not seem to be doing anything. There are lights on the motherboard, but I did not have time to look them up so I just powered it off. Tonight I will have to look up what the lights mean.

 

Also, I guess should have paid attention to the size of the case, since it will more fit under my desk. :rollseyes:

 

 

On a couple of my builds there were actually 2 spots I needed to supply power to the mobo. One near the cpu that was a 4 or 6 pin and another on the side of the board that was around 24 pins (actually 2 plugs that fit together, a 4 pin and 20 pin). Only other thing I can think of is to make sure you have the 2 small power switch leads from front of case correctly hooked to mobo. Usually labeled PWR+ and PWR-

 

If you have a multimeter/DC voltmeter you could check output of power supply, but if you don't does the fan at least come on when you power it up?

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Knuckles, where were you last night? ;)

 

I typed the mobo model and the LED's that were illuminated into Google, and one of the first pages was a troubleshooting page. It said that there is a separate power connection for the CPU itself and missing it was a common newbie mistake. That took care of the problem quick, fast and in a hurry. :)

 

 

After having to reinstall the OS, the SSD drive does not seem as fast as the first time.

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That extra power plug tripped me up the first time too. Luckily the mobo manual was pretty detailed and figured it out in a few minutes. Least you got it all up and running :D

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That extra power plug tripped me up the first time too. Luckily the mobo manual was pretty detailed and figured it out in a few minutes. Least you got it all up and running :D

 

Im pretty sure I made the same mistake too...or at least hadn't plugged it in properly. All this effort to build the PC and nothing lit up on power button press:(

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I think your choices of components are pretty spot on for a game machine. That Mobo chipset is 3 channel so 3 sticks of 4 gb is good. I have 4 sticks of 2 gb in mine and I never see more than 50% used when running multiple instances of Sacred2.

 

On my last build, I started with 2 SLI GTX 260 GPU cards and found that the heat produced was not in proportion to the performance. ;) Plus, Sacred2 got a little screwing in some areas where ground textures flickered really bad. I ended up seeing a bigger boost in performance (Frames per second) by tweaking my processor speed ( i5 750 is 2.66 stock) up to 3.4 . I got more bang for my power and heat than having 2 GPUs. So I installed the second GTX260 in my kids Box.

 

Also I found 3 500Gb Sata2 HD for less than $200. So I set them up in a RAID that ended up boosting my speed, giving my about 700 Gb of HD space, and I am protected from a single HD failure. Most of the ASUS/ASRock Mobo support Intel chipsets with built in RAID controllers. So RAID set-up was a breeze.

 

Good luck with the new rig.

 

loco

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On my last build, I started with 2 SLI GTX 260 GPU cards and found that the heat produced was not in proportion to the performance. ;) Plus, Sacred2 got a little screwing in some areas where ground textures flickered really bad. I ended up seeing a bigger boost in performance (Frames per second) by tweaking my processor speed ( i5 750 is 2.66 stock) up to 3.4 . I got more bang for my power and heat than having 2 GPUs. So I installed the second GTX260 in my kids Box.

 

loco

 

That's some good info, loco. I think once either one of my graphics cards inevitably dies, I'll run a single card solution and just overclock my i5 2500k. I've got a Noctua NH-D14 to cool the cpu, but not much else to cool the vid cards, so I'm thinking that might not be such a bad idea. :thumbsup:

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So what is a good operating temp for the CPU? I have never had a thermometer before.

 

There's a lot of variables that could affect your temps, but in general this is what you should see:

 

CPU Temps (Example):

 

i7 2600k w/stock Intel cooler (no overclocking)

Idle temps: 30-32C

Gaming/Load temps: 45-60C

 

Overclocking would require a better-than-stock cpu cooler to keep the temps down to an acceptabe range.

 

There are also a lot of programs out there that can measure the temps for you at all times. Some come bundled with software and some you can find for free on the web.

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So what is a good operating temp for the CPU? I have never had a thermometer before.

 

I use a free utility called HWMonitor from CPUID.com It will auto detect all your system temps automatically. Depending on the motherboard.

 

As far as heat goes, the case is a huge part of that equation, along with proper ventilation/fans. I have and Antec Nine Hundred Two Case with a total of 5 case fans. 3 low rpm 120 mm intake with filters and 1 120mm exhaust plus 1 240mm exhaust built into the top of the case. A Thermaltake CPU fan and my 700w ps has a 120mm fan as well.

 

Before replacing my case, the old cheap case I had could not let me overclock due to temps and I had CPU temps ranged 45-70 C when loaded and GPU temps above 120 C. This can actually slow down performance with Mobos that have automatic temp throttles. Now with a good quality case and ventilation my overclocked CPU temps range from 30 C to 48 C and my GPU maxes at about 85 C and that is all on air, no liquid cooling. When I had dual GPUs my PC would actually raise the temperature of the room by 5 degrees or more.

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