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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

Hazaro said:
No such thing as future proof, especially when Intel is going to switch sockets soon.

You can however get an extremely nice rig for only $1,500. Any more than that is overkill unless you want 16xAA, 16xAF, max settings, 60fps on everything... which may be what you want. What do you want? What do you use your computer for? Are you interested in 3D? How important is a fast OS/Storage to you, etc.


1)Basic Desktop Questions

Budget: Price Range + Country
Main Use: Gaming, Video editing, or just general usage
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later?
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Self Explanatory
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. What I mean by futureproof is that I want to be able to upgrade my rig easily when need be, but for now and the near future it should be able to play high end visuals games. And yes I am interested in 16xAA, 16xAF, max settings, 60fps on everything:D As for 3d, ya i'm interested but wouldn't want to go over budget for it. A fast OS and storage are very important.

Budget: $3000 in Canada (including taxes, shipping fees, etc)
Main Use: Lots of Gaming, University work, general stuff
Monitor Resolution: Going to use a 1080p 32" tv as a monitor
Specific Games: Most definitely Crysis, since its the peak for visuals in gaming, I want to be able to run that on max settings and use all those mods that make it look and play a ton times better. If it can do that then i assume i'm good for all other games. I want to be able to play Fallout3(with lots of mods), and Oblivion(lots of mods), Stalker Clear Sky, etc. Basically high end visual games. :D
 
·feist· said:
Great case and that's a pretty good price.

The CM Storm Scout is nice as well and cost the same, but its fans aren't as large as the ones in the HAF.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9196&cm_re=storm_scout-_-11-119-196-_-Product


The HAF has better cooling, airflow and cable management than that other case.

If you wanted to save some money and still get a solid case, I'd recommend something like an Antec 300 intead of the V3. Newegg currently has the Illusion Black version for $60 with free shipping and an additional $10 promo code on top:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...129066&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-066-_-Product


It comes with two 120mm intake fans (whereas the standard 300 has no intake fans) along with a 120mm rear exhaust and a 140mm top exhaust. So, after the promo code it's the same price as the standard 300. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the type of cable management or tool-less drives that you'll find in the HAF and newer cases, but at $50, it's hard to beat.
Click to expand...

Awesome post, thanks!

Yeah, after seeing the HAF case in person I think I have to go with it. I want to make sure I never have to deal with airflow and cable management again. It looks like the winner. Those fans are freaking huge and it's very roomy for a mid-tower.
 
PC GAF, I need help.

I have an older motherboard that doesn't have dynamic fan control (or whatever it's called, the thing that programs like speedfan needs to be able to adjust the fan speed to the current temperature) and the current CPU fan speed isn't really cutting it. I want to plug the CPU fan directly into the power supply so it runs 100% all the time. The problem is, the fan power cord looks like this:

2e56ow5.jpg


(if it's hard to see, there's four little female pins)

And, as far as I saw, the power supply didn't have a connector for that. What would I need to buy to connect it to the power supply? Thank you very much.
 
Ok, I'm hooking up my PC to my TV through DVI-Component. I found a 12 foot dvi-component cable on monoprice for $3.50 (!).

What I need now is to connect the PC to my receiver. My receiver accepts both the 3-jack standard PC headphone-like connectors, as well as optical.

I assume I want to connect it through optical, right? By doing so, will I only be able to get 5.1 or 2 speaker sound from my computer? Or will it support 4 channel as well?
 
i just made these 4 builds, im leaning for the first one but i need some advice(thanks to a discount code, i can buy a GTX470 for less than a 5870, dunno if it's good xD)what do you guys think? it's the first time i plan to build a pc by myself so i don't even know if did everything right.
1 - 2 - 3 - 4
 
FlyinJ said:
Ok, I'm hooking up my PC to my TV through DVI-Component. I found a 12 foot dvi-component cable on monoprice for $3.50 (!).

What I need now is to connect the PC to my receiver. My receiver accepts both the 3-jack standard PC headphone-like connectors, as well as optical.

I assume I want to connect it through optical, right? By doing so, will I only be able to get 5.1 or 2 speaker sound from my computer? Or will it support 4 channel as well?
Click to expand...
Depends on your soundcard, a lot only support 2 channel sound over optical.
 
bigboss370 said:
Thanks for the help. What I mean by futureproof is that I want to be able to upgrade my rig easily when need be, but for now and the near future it should be able to play high end visuals games. And yes I am interested in 16xAA, 16xAF, max settings, 60fps on everything:D As for 3d, ya i'm interested but wouldn't want to go over budget for it. A fast OS and storage are very important.

Budget: $3000 in Canada (including taxes, shipping fees, etc)
Main Use: Lots of Gaming, University work, general stuff
Monitor Resolution: Going to use a 1080p 32" tv as a monitor
Specific Games: Most definitely Crysis, since its the peak for visuals in gaming, I want to be able to run that on max settings and use all those mods that make it look and play a ton times better. If it can do that then i assume i'm good for all other games. I want to be able to play Fallout3(with lots of mods), and Oblivion(lots of mods), Stalker Clear Sky, etc. Basically high end visual games. :D
Click to expand...
Well like I said Intel will be changing their sockets so you'd get 1 refresh and that's it. That's how it has been for a while so theres no benefit in waiting.
AMD is not up there in terms of top performance, so while you might have an upgrade path there's no guarantee that it will be on par, or more powerful than what Intel will be offering.

As of now
http://i48.tinypic.com/hx12cj.jpg
206m1p1.jpg


*HDD PROMO "EMCYTNN25"

**Optional Blu-Ray Drive
**KB = G15, Mouse your preference
***Case is up to you for choosing.

Been a while since I seriously sat down and put together something
 
Mind that CP-1000 is a CPX form factor PSU - it's a proprietary Antec form factor and will only fit in a few Antec cases right now.
 
Wallach said:
Mind that CP-1000 is a CPX form factor PSU - it's a proprietary Antec form factor and will only fit in a few Antec cases right now.
Click to expand...
Right, should have included that.
Cases are the Antec 1200, the P183, and the P193.

It's just that there are so many good solid 850w/1000w on the market right now I lose track of Antec's silly antics by making square PSU's :lol

The Corsair 1000w is a good choice and has 10%
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

But then so is the Zalman, Silverstone, gosh so many brands now.

*Ok updated again, this is like the 8th revision.
 
Hazaro said:
Well like I said Intel will be changing their sockets so you'd get 1 refresh and that's it. That's how it has been for a while so theres no benefit in waiting.
AMD is not up there in terms of top performance, so while you might have an upgrade path there's no guarantee that it will be on par, or more powerful than what Intel will be offering.

As of now
http://i48.tinypic.com/hx12cj.jpg

*RAM PROMO "EMCYTNR55"
*HDD PROMO "EMCYTNN25"

**Optional Blu-Ray Drive
**KB = G15, Mouse your preference
***Case is up to you for choosing.

Been a while since I serious sat down and put together something, so you better buy it soon :lol
Click to expand...

I would skip the sound card, and also upgrade to 3 GTX470s instead. Oh and you need triple channel memory instead.
 
adriano999 said:
i just made these 4 builds, im leaning for the first one but i need some advice(thanks to a discount code, i can buy a GTX470 for less than a 5870, dunno if it's good xD)what do you guys think? it's the first time i plan to build a pc by myself so i don't even know if did everything right.
1 - 2 - 3 - 4
Click to expand...
Personal preference but I'd pick #4 because Intel is better at emulation. All are good.
I'd swap in a 640GB HDD instead, maybe find a cheaper PSU if you could.
yanhero said:
I would skip the sound card, and also upgrade to 3 GTX470s instead.
Click to expand...
Triple GPU's is madness. Madness! :lol
And I'm not sure how much onboard has improved since my P5B, but there is a very noticeable difference between even a $20 soundcard and onboard to me. I don't consider myself an audiophile by any means.
 
Hazaro said:
Triple GPU's is madness. Madness! :lol
Click to expand...

But he wants to run Crysis with max settings, 16xAA at 60fps in 3D :lol

Hazaro said:
And I'm not sure how much onboard has improved since my P5B, but there is a very noticeable difference between even a $20 soundcard and onboard to me. I don't consider my self an audiophile by any means.
Click to expand...

The 5000 series ATI cards have HDMI audio out already, and I believe the 400 series Nvidia cards do as well.
 
yanhero said:
But he wants to run Crysis with max settings, 16xAA at 60fps in 3D :lol

The 5000 series ATI cards have HDMI audio out already, and I believe the 400 series Nvidia cards do as well.
Click to expand...
Well that's if he is using a home theater set-up or something. I have no idea. I use headphones.

Also Crysis in 3D runs like Medium since you have to kill a lot of settings so you totally only need 2 GTX 470's... maybe.
 
That 1000W PSU is gross overkill for your needs, the 12 GB of memory is massive overkill and the sound card is most likely not going to make any difference to you. Even if you wanted to go dual GTX 480's down the line a 750W Corsair will do you fine. Either save the money that would be the difference or push the GPU up to something high-high end.

Remember what 3000$ will get you today, 1200$ will probably get you a mere 12 months from now.

Edit: Sorry, just noticed you had dual 5850's on there. A quality 650W unit would push them fine. The only problem with going CF/SLI is that upgrading down the road is usually pretty painful as a 3rd card doesn't benefit you much (Fermi is noticeably better though) and getting rid of the 2 old cards to get newer parts is painful. If you want upgradeability go with a 5870 or 480 and down the road get a 2nd one to throw in.
 
Shambles said:
That 1000W PSU is gross overkill for your needs, the 12 GB of memory is massive overkill and the sound card is most likely not going to make any difference to you. Even if you wanted to go dual GTX 480's down the line a 750W Corsair will do you fine. Either save the money that would be the difference or push the GPU up to something high-high end.

Remember what 3000$ will get you today, 1200$ will probably get you a mere 12 months from now.

Edit: Sorry, just noticed you had dual 5850's on there. A quality 650W unit would push them fine. The only problem with going CF/SLI is that upgrading down the road is usually pretty painful as a 3rd card doesn't benefit you much (Fermi is noticeably better though) and getting rid of the 2 old cards to get newer parts is painful. If you want upgradeability go with a 5870 or 480 and down the road get a 2nd one to throw in.
Click to expand...
I kept the PSU at 1k for upgrading purposes, but certainly a good 850w (especially considering how little difference the 12V amperage is) would handle it. 750w with dual 480's is pushing it imo. Guru3D got up to 700w their their setup. The primary reason I originally went for the 1000w was because the Antec was $150.

12GB is probably overkill. Probably. 6GB of the cheap 1600 G.Skill or Corsair would be good.
Still disagree on the soundcard personally, but a lot of people tell me onboard is fine.
yanhero said:
I would skip the sound card, and also upgrade to 3 GTX470s instead. Oh and you need triple channel memory instead.
Click to expand...
I originally had triple channel, but am I wrong in thinking that 3 kits of 4GB will run the same as 2 kits of 3GB? (I swapped because it was $40 cheaper with PROMO)

**Updated the list.
 
MidgarBlowedUp said:
Sorry if it has already been posted but, if not this is kinda cool.


SuperBizz has a Saphire Vapor-X 5770 for $139.99 with Free Ground Shipping.
This is after the $10.00 mail in rebate. That's $149.99 up front then a $10 mail in rebate.
Also you'll need to use coupon code GAME1420 at checkout. (Only 3 days left.)

Review Here



This is nearly the same price as the NewEgg Open Box Vapor-X 5770 priced at $136.97
Click to expand...
Wow, that looks perfect for me.
------------------------------------
I already have the HDD, DVD drive, and a case.

Budget: $700 ($750 max) -- United States
Main Use: Gaming
Monitor Resolution: Two 1680x1050 monitors
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 2, Far Cry 2, EVE Online

I put together a list of components that I've seen today, but seeing as how I know dick all on computer parts, I figured I'd list them here and hopefully someone knowledgeable would be able to fill in the gaps :D :
Intel Core i7-930 -- $199.99
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card -- $129.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -- $69.99 ($49.99 AR)
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard -- $189.99 ($169.99 AR)
=$589.96 ($549.96 AR)

That's all I have so far. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Hazaro said:
I kept the PSU at 1k for upgrading purposes, but certainly a good 850w (especially considering how little difference the 12V amperage is) would handle it. 750w with dual 480's is pushing it imo. Guru3D got up to 700w their their setup. The primary reason I originally went for the 1000w was because the Antec was $150.

12GB is probably overkill. Probably. 6GB of the cheap 1600 G.Skill or Corsair would be good.
Still disagree on the soundcard personally, but a lot of people tell me onboard is fine.

I originally had triple channel, but am I wrong in thinking that 3 kits of 4GB will run the same as 2 kits of 3GB? (I swapped because it was $40 cheaper with PROMO)

**Updated the list.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Looking around I was seeing 590-600 system usage with dual 480's which is why I mentioned the 750W. Keep in mind that some of these test systems have enourmous overclocks on them, compare that to what you'll be doing with your system and give yourself a bit of headroom. I usually buy PSU's that will be running around 80% of rated wattage at peak. Of course the 480 is it's own beast when it comes to power consumption so unless you're going to go with the 480 with your build, don't buy a PSU for them. If you are getting a 480 now, get a 850W PSU to be able to throw in a 2nd down the road.

And yeah, i'd go with 6GB of memory on a triple channel system.
 
Kenak said:
Wow, that looks perfect for me.
------------------------------------
I already have the HDD, DVD drive, and a case.

Budget: $700 ($750 max) -- United States
Main Use: Gaming
Monitor Resolution: Two 1680x1050 monitors
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 2, Far Cry 2, EVE Online

I put together a list of components that I've seen today, but seeing as how I know dick all on computer parts, I figured I'd list them here and hopefully someone knowledgeable would be able to fill in the gaps :D :
Intel Core i7-930 -- $199.99
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card -- $129.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -- $69.99 ($49.99 AR)
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard -- $189.99 ($169.99 AR)
=$589.96 ($549.96 AR)

That's all I have so far. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Samsung 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

Cases:
Antec 300: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
TT V9: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074
CM HAF 922: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
Antec 900: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
P183: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061
CM 690 :D (Advanced):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

Apparently there's a new version of the 690 out which is cheaper.
Shambles said:
Agreed. Looking around I was seeing 590-600 system usage with dual 480's which is why I mentioned the 750W. Keep in mind that some of these test systems have enourmous overclocks on them, compare that to what you'll be doing with your system and give yourself a bit of headroom. I usually buy PSU's that will be running around 80% of rated wattage at peak. Of course the 480 is it's own beast when it comes to power consumption so unless you're going to go with the 480 with your build, don't buy a PSU for them. If you are getting a 480 now, get a 850W PSU to be able to throw in a 2nd down the road.

And yeah, i'd go with 6GB of memory on a triple channel system.
Click to expand...
I updated the old image but here is a link anyway
http://i50.tinypic.com/206m1p1.jpg

And 3.8Ghz is a totally reasonable overclock! But as you said It's much better to be running at around the 80% capacity mark of what the PSU is rated at.
bigboss370 said:
wouldn't it be better to get dual radeon 5970s?
Click to expand...
Maybe if the rest of the budget is gone. :lol
A better question is why not a single 5970 and to that I say for $110 less you get the FPS. I might be wrong on this but the extra bandwidth might help when you add more AA as well.
Not so sure on 1920x1080 vs 2560x1600.
 
Hazaro said:
Samsung 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

Cases:
Antec 300: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
TT V9: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074
CM HAF 922: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
Antec 900: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
P183: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061
CM 690 :D (Advanced):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

Apparently there's a new version of the 690 out which is cheaper.
Click to expand...
No, I already have the Case, HDD, and drives. What I need are the video card, mobo, processor, ram, and PSU. :D
 
Kenak said:
Wow, that looks perfect for me.
------------------------------------
I already have the HDD, DVD drive, and a case.

Budget: $700 ($750 max) -- United States
Main Use: Gaming
Monitor Resolution: Two 1680x1050 monitors
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 2, Far Cry 2, EVE Online

I put together a list of components that I've seen today, but seeing as how I know dick all on computer parts, I figured I'd list them here and hopefully someone knowledgeable would be able to fill in the gaps :D :
Intel Core i7-930 -- $199.99
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card -- $129.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -- $69.99 ($49.99 AR)
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard -- $189.99 ($169.99 AR)
=$589.96 ($549.96 AR)

That's all I have so far. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...


I would spend the few extra dollars up front and get the SuperBizz 5770V-X since it is brand new with everything in a sealed box. The newegg openbox may not come with everything and may not even work properly. Newegg does have a return policy but, you still loose the shipping which is mandatory $6.98 for that card.

Also, you can get an EarthWatts 500W PSU for $64.99 plus get another 15% off with promo code save15ant. That makes it around $55 plus shipping.
 
MidgarBlowedUp said:
I would spend the few extra dollars up front and get the SuperBizz 5770V-X since it is brand new with everything in a sealed box. The newegg openbox may not come with everything and may not even work properly. Newegg does have a return policy but, you still loose the shipping which is mandatory $6.98 for that card.

Also, you can get an EarthWatts 500W PSU for $64.99 plus get another 15% off with promo code save15ant. That makes it around $55 plus shipping.
Click to expand...
Sounds fair enough for the video card, but is that PSU superior to the one I linked? The one I have is $5 cheaper and 50 more watts. I know absolutely nothing though so I assume it's just a better brand.
 
Kenak said:
No, I already have the Case, HDD, and drives. What I need are the video card, mobo, processor, ram, and PSU. :D
Click to expand...
Doh. Your parts are fine.

I'd get a non-open box 5770 and the Antec. It has a bit less amps on the 12V but the 5770 doesn't use much and you could probably even xfire a pair of 5770's anyway.
 
I ran out of room for hard drives in my p182 so I picked up a Fractal Define R2. Looks pretty much the same, but has 8 3.5" bays which I actually need now. I'll post pics when I get it next week.
 
Kenak said:
Sounds fair enough for the video card, but is that PSU superior to the one I linked? The one I have is $5 cheaper and 50 more watts. I know absolutely nothing though so I assume it's just a better brand.
Click to expand...

Both PSU's are great.
I just listed the Earthwatts because you don't need to do the mail-in rebate. Just as an option. By all means get the OCZ if you don't mind the mail-in rebate.
 
Hazaro said:
Doh. Your parts are fine.

I'd get a non-open box 5770 and the Antec.
Click to expand...
Alright, thanks. Any RAM recommendations?

MidgarBlowedUp said:
Both PSU's are great.
I just listed the Earthwatts because you don't need to do the mail-in rebate. Just as an option. By all means get the OCZ if you don't mind the mail-in rebate.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I forgot that MIR are a little extra work :lol I'll definitely go with the Antec.
 
It will, but there's not much sense in going dual channel, the cost increase isn't that big. Go for 6 GB if you have the ability to utilize triple channel.
 
Wallach said:
It will, but there's not much sense in going dual channel, the cost increase isn't that big. Go for 6 GB if you have the ability to utilize triple channel.
Click to expand...
Just putting another option there since we are close to the budget cap. :D
 
Kenak said:
Is going 6GB really worth the cost increase compared to the performance bump?

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G -- $164.99 ($154.99 AR)

Compared to the $95 for 4GB.
Click to expand...
If you can use the extra 2GB you should get it, if not... I haven't run into any blocks with 4GB. Especially if you just close any programs prior to gaming (not that I have needed to). However the more RAM you have will allow Win 7 to load more programs and load it slightly faster.

As far as performance goes you won't notice unless you run computing threads and benchmarks.

-
I only say this from what I've picked up, if someone else can show me benchmarks to prove a noticeable difference otherwise I am quite open to knowing more :D
 
Kenak said:
Is going 6GB really worth the cost increase compared to the performance bump?

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G -- $164.99 ($154.99 AR)

Compared to the $95 for 4GB.
Click to expand...

I guess that's a call you're going to have to make yourself. I will say that as far as overall system performance, intensive gaming is one of the areas that will see the biggest gains compared to other types of programs. It's not enormous, but neither is the price difference (though it is a little higher than I remember).

Remember, it's always something you could put off until later if you're concerned about budget. Just grab a third 2GB stick later and immediately go from dual to triple channel.
 
Wallach said:
I guess that's a call you're going to have to make yourself. I will say that as far as overall system performance, intensive gaming is one of the areas that will see the biggest gains compared to other types of programs. It's not enormous, but neither is the price difference (though it is a little higher than I remember).

Remember, it's always something you could put off until later if you're concerned about budget. Just grab a third 2GB stick later and immediately go from dual to triple channel.
Click to expand...
Newegg doesn't sell single 2GB sticks of *Corsair DDR3 from a quick check.

And while the gains for gaming are bigger compared to other instances, they are still very negligible.
 
Hazaro said:
If you can use the extra 2GB you should get it, if not... I haven't run into any blocks with 4GB. Especially if you just close any programs prior to gaming (not that I have needed to). However the more RAM you have will allow Win 7 to load more programs and load it slightly faster.

As far as performance goes you won't notice unless you run computing threads and benchmarks.

-
I only say this from what I've picked up, if someone else can show me benchmarks to prove a noticeable difference otherwise I am quite open to knowing more :D
Click to expand...

A quick search on google gave this article http://www.overclock.net/intel-memory/681697-truth-about-i7-1366-memory-both.html which concludes that triple channel doesnt give any advantage over dual. Might as well get 1156 + i7 860 i guess, better turbo.
 
Hazaro said:
Newegg doesn't sell single 2GB sticks of DDR3 from a quick check.

And while the gains for gaming are bigger compared to other instances, they are still very negligible.
Click to expand...

Good point... not sure if you can get single 2GB sticks anywhere.

As far as negligible, like I said, it's your call.

Remember that you're not just building for today, though. You've already got games that have been on the shelf like Crysis, Metro 2033 that will put the gains to solid use.

Edit - No, that was the right article, wtf:

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15967/1

It is not a large gain in a lot of today's games, but it's not a large price difference. You could wait until you upgrade from the kit you're currently building, certainly.
 
I'll just go with the triple channel. I can afford it anyways.
------------
Final build:
CPU - Intel Core i7-930 -- $199.99
MOBO - EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard -- $189.99 ($169.99)
GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD5770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card -- $149.99 ($139.99 AR)
PSU - Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply -- $64.99
RAM - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G -- $164.99 ($154.99 AR)
=$769.95 ($729.95 AR)

Hopefully it'll all work out. Thanks for all the help everyone :D

EDIT: Or not? A lot of discussion popped up while typing this.
 
Wallach said:
Good point... not sure if you can get single 2GB sticks anywhere.

As far as negligible, like I said, it's your call.

Remember that you're not just building for today, though. You've already got games that have been on the shelf like Crysis, Metro 2033 that will put the gains to solid use.

Edit - No, that was the right article, wtf:

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15967/1

It is not a large gain in a lot of today's games, but it's not a large price difference. You could wait until you upgrade from the kit you're currently building, certainly.
Click to expand...
That article has the impact of both memory speed and dual vs triple channel.
Triple offers NO advantage over dual channel according to the above 2 articles.

If you need 4GB get 4GB, if you might need more than that get 6GB.
 
Hazaro said:
That article has the impact of both memory speed and dual vs triple channel.
Triple offers NO advantage over dual channel according to the above 2 articles.

If you need 4GB get 4GB, if you might need more than that get 6GB.
Click to expand...

Well, to say it is no advantage at all is wrong. I mean that is more of a matter of fact than opinion; the memory bandwidth increase is very much there.

That does not mean it produces profound results, mainly because we've moved the MC onto the CPU die and now we are no longer restricted by the FSB. This impacts both dual and triple channel setups pretty similarly.

That means the real-world advantage for things that are simply not filling that bandwidth fully is not large; maybe a few FPS when running memory intensive games like Crysis, for example. It isn't much now, but like I said it's just as much about going forward as it is this very moment. You need to consider how long you plan to use this setup before you think you'll rebuild, and what components you may want to repurpose when you do so.

There is certainly very little harm in running dual channel and I could definitely see someone doing so if the price difference is not going to be justified over the course of using the hardware. I'm just saying you should consider your plans for the actual span of use for this system and not just what you're going to do with it the day you put it together.

Edit - The reason I think this is fairly relevant is the fact that you're building on the X58 platform at all. I realize Microcenter has a borderline bizarre price on the i7-930 right now, but you're going to pay a premium on pairing it with a motherboard that doesn't make sense to pay if you aren't expecting the life of this build to be long enough that these advantages will not wind up being useful to you at all.
 
This is possibly an insanely stupid question, but I think I may have figured out why I'm not getting video from my 5670. Both ends of the DVI cable I ordered have a horizontal strip of metal to the right of the pins, and my monitor has a corresponding horizontal hole for it to fit into. The card, however, has two strips in a t-shape with four squares in each of the T's quadrants.

So I'm thinking maybe the DVI cable needs to have those shapes as well, except that seems really confusing to me, since such a cable wouldn't even fit into my monitor and it seems like people would have a really hard time buying cables when there's multiple types of DVI and they need to make sure they get a cable that has a corresponding side for each device they plug it into.

Anyway, I'm probably just going to order a DVI-to-HDMI cable tomorrow anyway, but if anyone has any more advice on this I'd still appreciate hearing it. Again, the motherboard switches off integrated graphics when I plug the card in and the card's fan works when I power the computer on, so there's likely nothing wrong with the card, right?
 
Kenak said:
I'll just go with the triple channel. I can afford it anyways.


EDIT: Or not? A lot of discussion popped up while typing this.
Click to expand...

I have 6GB of ram in my system and even when I have Maya, Open Office, Firefox, Photoshop, and whatever background crap is running I'm barely using over 3GB running Win7 64bit.

4GB should be plenty for you unless you really plan on multi-multitasking.
 
Wallach said:
Well, to say it is no advantage at all is wrong. I mean that is more of a matter of fact than opinion; the memory bandwidth increase is very much there.

That means the real-world advantage for things that are simply not filling that bandwidth fully is not large; maybe a few FPS when running memory intensive games like Crysis, for example.
Click to expand...
Well. Of course there is an advantage. It was silly to say there is no advantage.

However even in playable resolutions of Crysis we see a gain of 0.1fps. In HL2 we actually see the dual channel have a 2fps gain. In many of the tests, results are traded with the triple channel usually coming out less than 1% ahead.
Like you said the bandwidth is there but nothing is using it. Currently the difference between 12GB/s or 18GB/s has no practical application.
I don't think that will change in the next 6 years. But if I am wrong you can always upgrade whether is be adding an offbrand stick (not recommended) or buying a new kit and selling the old.

And yes, Microcenter has some very silly deals on CPU's.
dr3upmushroom said:
This is possibly an insanely stupid question, but I think I may have figured out why I'm not getting video from my 5670. Both ends of the DVI cable I ordered have a horizontal strip of metal to the right of the pins, and my monitor has a corresponding horizontal hole for it to fit into. The card, however, has two strips in a t-shape with four squares in each of the T's quadrants.
Click to expand...
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor3.htm

That should explain it.
 
So, does anyone in the thread use their PC for pretty much...everything? Movies (Blu Rays and such), music, gaming, so forth? I am still struggling to find a case with a small footprint, but will allow me to keep up with good video cards (like my GTX260) that tend to be longer than they probably should be. Not to mention be quiet when watching movies.

Anyone currently doing this? PC hooked up to TV for their entire entertainment needs? If so, help me out! =(
 
gregor7777 said:
And also, are all Crossfire bridges created equal? Is the length a standard?
Click to expand...

I believe so, it's just a couple of wires, afterall. What cards are you running? Because Sideport is actually disabled on newer cards (at least, this is what I've read) because the extra bandwidth doesn't actually improve performance at all, and the PCI-E 2.0 bus is fast enough.
 
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