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[Kyaw]

Is it the stock 5850 or does it have custom coolers on it?

5850 is a tiny bit better than the 6850 at completely stock.

 

[MadraptorMan]

If you're worried about future-proofing, you may want to go with a Z68 board and i7 2600K instead. Since you don't have a SSD in your build, the Z68 will let you use a cheaper small SSD as a cache drive, and the i7 has HT which will give you more threads than the i5. Not much use for that now games-wise, but in a couple years it can give you a performance boost if more games start taking advantage of more threads.

Is using an SSD for cache really that important? I thought about it but I can't quite get my head around how it would be beneficial for gaming, though the idea is tempting. The other feature of the Z68 is on-board graphics implementation, as far as I can tell, and I certainly don't want to pay extra for something I don't need. As far as the i7 with hyperthreading...if I knew that games will take advantage of that in the future I would jump on it, but is anyone sure of it?

EDIT: Would it be better to buy an 80GB SSD and put the OS on that, and have everything else on the bigger drive?

 

[mkenyon]

5850 will outperform a 6850, but you won't see much of an improvement from either when you are upgrading from a 4850.

Is using an SSD for cache really that important? I thought about it but I can't quite get my head around how it would be beneficial for gaming, though the idea is tempting. The other feature of the Z68 is on-board graphics implementation, as far as I can tell, and I certainly don't want to pay extra for something I don't need. As far as the i7 with hyperthreading...if I knew that games will take advantage of that in the future I would jump on it, but is anyone sure of it?

Civ V benefits from as many cores as possible. More games coming out in the future will, and it looks like BF3 will as well if that's important to you. But, 4 cores is still quite a bit, and threads are not the same thing as more cores, despite what intel marketing wants people to think. Stick with the 2500K.

SSD caching is only important if you see yourself only wanting to get a small SSD. If you ever get an SSD that's big enough to hold the OS and most of your non-gaming programs, it's a waste.

 

[zephervack]

Is using an SSD for cache really that important? I thought about it but I can't quite get my head around how it would be beneficial for gaming, though the idea is tempting. The other feature of the Z68 is on-board graphics implementation, as far as I can tell, and I certainly don't want to pay extra for something I don't need. As far as the i7 with hyperthreading...if I knew that games will take advantage of that in the future I would jump on it, but is anyone sure of it?

Check this out for Benchmarks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U83ED4FOWiw

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Is using an SSD for cache really that important? I thought about it but I can't quite get my head around how it would be beneficial for gaming, though the idea is tempting. The other feature of the Z68 is on-board graphics implementation, as far as I can tell, and I certainly don't want to pay extra for something I don't need. As far as the i7 with hyperthreading...if I knew that games will take advantage of that in the future I would jump on it, but is anyone sure of it?

Do you ever do any video editing/encoding? That would also benefit from the Z68 (the on-board GPU helps speed up encode jobs if you're using a video card) and the extra threads.

As for games, as developers get more comfortable developing multi-threaded code, we should see more games start taking advantage of more threads. Especially if the next generation of consoles provides more cores.

Is it a certainty in the next 4 years? Who knows. But that's part of the risk of future-proofing - you may end up getting tech that doesn't get taken advantage of until much later.

Civ V benefits from as many cores as possible. More games coming out in the future will, and it looks like BF3 will as well if that's important to you. But, 4 cores is still quite a bit, and threads are not the same thing as more cores, despite what intel marketing wants people to think. Stick with the 2500K.

Extra threads do make quite a bit of difference even if it's on the same core, but the application needs to take proper advantage of them. I see it all the time here in the workplace, but our work is much more high-end obviously. Games are still behind in this area though.

 

[MadraptorMan]

Man you guys are making me want a SSD. I think instead of the Z68 route I am gonna try for a smaller SD for the OS and the 500GB drive for everything else. That sounds good, right? I suppose it won't have a huge benefit for actual gaming since the games will still be on a platter, though, if I understand things correctly.

 

[zephervack]

Man you guys are making me want a SSD. I think instead of the Z68 route I am gonna try for a smaller SD for the OS and the 500GB drive for everything else. That sounds good, right? I suppose it won't have a huge benefit for actual gaming since the games will still be on a platter, though, if I understand things correctly.

Thats what i do, all applications in the SSD and all games in normal HDD, honestly,how fast Steam loads now makes it worthy. (that and windows and all other applications)

Using my computer at work is unbearable after i upgraded to a SSD in my gaming machine.

 

[Moundir&Tony>you]

Is it the stock 5850 or does it have custom coolers on it?

5850 is a tiny bit better than the 6850 at completely stock.

Stock .

5850 will outperform a 6850, but you won't see much of an improvement from either when you are upgrading from a 4850.

What should I get instead then ?

 

[wandering goat]

Steam Mover/Steam Tool is what you're after. You'll need to be running WinVista/7.

Edit: Beaten like an egg.

Also, to expand on this, if you're really running low on space, I believe that all you have to do is download a little bit of a game through Steam, pause the download and quit, then use Steam Mover to move that to an HDD. When you restart Steam and continue to download, it'll download the rest to the HDD as well. This worked for me the one time I tried it, anyway, after downloading about 400 MB of MW2, but I see it working for anything as long as a folder for the game has been created in the steamapps folder (as this is what Steam Mover creates a junction point for).

 

[mkenyon]

Stock .


What should I get instead then ?

Depends on your budget and what you want out of it. A 6950 or 560Ti would be a good upgrade for you. If you want to spend less than that, you might want to wait until the 7xxx/6xx cards are out.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Stock .


What should I get instead then ?

With newer drivers the 6850 should be on par with a 5850, if not slightly ahead. A 6850 should be atleast a 50% improvement over a 4850 and they can be had for 150-160.

A cheap 460 that you can overclock would be a nice upgrade as well if you're trying to stay on a strict budget.

 

[Moundir&Tony>you]

I can't put more than 150€ in my new card . That's why I wanted help choosing between the 5850 (120€) and a 6850 (130€) .

 

[OrangeYouGlad]

Depends on your budget and what you want out of it. A 6950 or 560Ti would be a good upgrade for you. If you want to spend less than that, you might want to wait until the 7xxx/6xx cards are out.

Is that any time soon? I'm planning out my build and the price of the 560 is a bit off putting. If it's going to drop in the next month or so, then I'll wait it out.

 

[Horsemama1956]

I can't put more than 150€ in my new card . That's why I wanted help choosing between the 5850 (120€) and a 6850 (130€) .

I would just go with the 6850, but check out the 1GB 460s if you can. They overclock very nicely.

If you have a link from the site you're buying from we could check it out and see what they have as well.

 

[Moundir&Tony>you]

I'd post a link to a shop , but it's in french so ... and I'm not sure which one I'm going to order from .
Apparently , I can get a 460 for ~150€ . Dunno . I won't have to change my motherboard , will I ? (stupid question , I know , but until now I've always stuck with the same brand for each of my motherboards)

 

[squicken]

What the hell? I picked up a couple MSI cards for Crossfire, and the interconnect(s) are sold separately? Why cheap out like that? At least make it clear in product listing

 

[Horsemama1956]

I'd post a link to a shop , but it's in french so ... and I'm not sure which one I'm going to order from .
Apparently , I can get a 460 for ~150€ . Dunno . I won't have to change my motherboard , will I ? (stupid question , I know , but until now I've always stuck with the same brand for each of my motherboards)

No, you won't have to change your motherboard.

For the prices listed you can't go wrong with the 6850. Any plans on upgrading the rest of your system in the near future?

 

[ss_lemonade]

What the hell? I picked up a couple MSI cards for Crossfire, and the interconnect(s) are sold separately? Why cheap out like that? At least make it clear in product listing

That's odd. I just bought an msi 6970 earlier and it came with 2 xfire connectors

 

[Moundir&Tony>you]

No, you won't have to change your motherboard.

For the prices listed you can't go wrong with the 6850. Any plans on upgrading the rest of your system in the near future?

I'll probably get a new processor at the end of the year . Don't think I'm gonna need to change anything else .

I should ditch Windows Vista someday ...

 

[Epix]

I like skipping a generation CPU/GPU wise with my builds. Helps to spread the cost out somewhat as well.

I'm targeting a Nobember-ish timeframe but I was hoping at Ivy Bridge and Kepler being available at that point. Doesn't look like that's happening.

 

[mkenyon]

I like skipping a generation CPU/GPU wise with my builds. Helps to spread the cost out somewhat as well.

I'm targeting a Nobember-ish timeframe but I was hoping at Ivy Bridge and Kepler being available at that point. Doesn't look like that's happening.

Bulldozer should be, by accounts I've read, it's gonna be a killer proc. Some guys have been hitting 5.3ghz on air.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

I am getting anxious to build a new gaming machine, nothing to expensive, maybe $800 max for now.

should I wait until around November?? or should I go for it now, is there anything coming out that I would benefit from in the fall?

 

[mkenyon]

I am getting anxious to build a new gaming machine, nothing to expensive, maybe $800 max for now.

should I wait until around November?? or should I go for it now, is there anything coming out that I would benefit from in the fall?

See my post above. You're safe to build now though, not much (if anything) is going to push current CPUs to the limits in gaming.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Bulldozer should be, by accounts I've read, it's gonna be a killer proc. Some guys have been hitting 5.3ghz on air.

Can you link to said readings? This is the first time I've heard any such news about Bulldozer.

 

[Hazaro]

Bulldozer should be, by accounts I've read, it's gonna be a killer proc. Some guys have been hitting 5.3ghz on air.

Yeah but you have to tell people that you read this on the Extreme OC websites where it's just for 5 minutes at a time and they don't mind if their CPU dies as much.

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah but you have to tell people that you read this on the Extreme OC websites where it's just for 5 minutes at a time and they don't mind if their CPU dies as much.

You don't get to CPU killing voltages on air. And it was on Hard OCP.... because that's so very different

 

[Hazaro]

You don't get to CPU killing voltages on air. And it was on Hard OCP.... because that's so very different

You get to CPU killing voltages FASTER on air

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlsJ0B04Ndo

Yeah 1.66V on air is not something I would run.
Not to mention he only enabled 2 cores. Still, pretty impressive.

 

[Dina]

It's done.

Fractal Design R3 White
3 Scythe 800RPM fans
be quiet Dark Rock Advance
Intel 2500k
ATI HD5850 (not new)
Corsair 4gb 1600mhz
750 and 1000 Samsung F3

Thing is absolutely whisper-quiet. Even my fucking HTPC makes more noise than this beast. One thing I didn't like was the space for cable management, that should have been 1cm wider.

 

[RS4-]

I think the eyefinity experiment is over. Going to buy the LG W2442PA this week and some Benq BL2400PU...then save up for a 30" Dell and sell the Benq.

One TN for gaming, the Dell for graphic work.

 

[mike23]

White R3 is the sexiest case around.

You're build is a lot like mine. Just a different heatsink and mobo. Plus I'm rocking 16gb of ram now, heh.

 

[·feist·]

I like skipping a generation CPU/GPU wise with my builds. Helps to spread the cost out somewhat as well.

I'm targeting a Nobember-ish timeframe but I was hoping at Ivy Bridge and Kepler being available at that point. Doesn't look like that's happening.

I feel your pain a bit as one of my next builds has long been penciled in at 22nm+28nm, but by most accounts, Ivy Bridge was never scheduled for that time frame. You may be thinking of Sandy Bridge-E (-E_). Speaking of which...

Compared to the various, and mostly very early, 1.6GHz/1.8GHz/~2.3GHz 6c12t and 8c16t samples we've seen, this has to be one of the highest clocked ES leaks.

Shame it's going to be a long time before a consumer desktop equivalent arrives.

 

[Cptkrush]

Just got my CM Hyper 212+ and some Arctic Silver 5 today. This thing is a monster, went from being in the 40s at idle on my Phenom II 925 at stock 2.8 GHZ clock to being at 30-33 idle and about 36-40 at load overclocked to 3.4 GHZ. Got an extra fan coming in for it tomorrow and one to put on the side of my case as well, hoping to get everything even cooler. Also plan on getting an Antec HCG-750 PSU and two 6870s next week, I am excited as hell.

 

[Dina]

White R3 is the sexiest case around.

You're build is a lot like mine. Just a different heatsink and mobo. Plus I'm rocking 16gb of ram now, heh.

Holy shit, even down to the gpu and the psu. Uncanny.

I might upgrade my ram down the line, 40 euro's is nothing. That and a SSD.

edit: since we're on the topic, I assume you oc'ed the cpu. Got any guides lying around?

 

[Kadey]

Anybody know where I can get one of those Fractal cases? I know Newegg isn't selling them anymore and it appears the only other store that has it is in Canada. For something so popular, you'd figure there would be more of them widespread.

 

[Lemonte]

All you need is a new GPU. Everything else is fine for gaming, as in you won't be bottlenecked. I have an older Phenom and I have yet to be bottlenecked by it. If anything spend that money on a high end GPU and maybe extra memory if your mobo can fit more. Also, definitely upgrade to windows 7. Even on the new vistas SP I felt a huge speed increase with windows 7.

However, if you do upgrade to a high end card you may need to upgrade your PSU. Be sure to check what the minimum wattage is required by the card you choose and I would make sure it doesn't cut too close to the 550W PSU you have.

Ok, I think I'm going to upgrade just graphics card and OS for now because I just noticed that my mobo doesn't support ddr3 ram -.- and when I have more money, maybe later this year, I'll upgrade mobo, cpu and ram... and probably psu too.

So I was thinking of buying this graphics card:
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH6950_DCII2DI4S2GD5/#specifications

but can't find anywhere how much does it require from psu. Other 6950 cards require minimum of 500w but isn't this one over clocked? so does it require more than that. Or is there any better card choice in this price range?

link to my current setup

 

[Ryan_]

Basic Desktop Questions:

Your Current Specs: 2.5 year old PC gaming rig I buuilt myself (Core 2 Duo E8500 + GTX 270)

Budget: about 900 euros

Main Use: Gaming, general usage, maybe some emulation

Monitor Resolution: 1080p, got a Syncmaster BX2431

List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: All the games that come out in the next 2 years or something (including but not limited to Bioshock Infinite, Deus Ex, BF3, Skyrim, ...)

Are reusing any parts?: No.

When will you build?: In 3 weeks.

Will you be overclocking?: Dont know. Never done it but I'm kinda thinking about it, if I find a good guide.

Current build list:

Any ideas are welcome! The SSD is a 60 Gb for Windows 7 and frequently used programs.

 

[·feist·]

Anybody know where I can get one of those Fractal cases? I know Newegg isn't selling them anymore and it appears the only other store that has it is in Canada. For something so popular, you'd figure there would be more of them widespread.

As quickly as they've grown in the last few years, Fractal's still very small. Newegg and NCIX are the only official North American distributors. Newegg has a shipment of FD Arcs coming in any day/week now (not all of their service people are aware of that), and they should be getting more Defines in somewhere around then. I'd keep checking their site for updates to the FD subcategory over the next 1-3 weeks.

Aside from that, you're looking at importing it yourself, buying used, or going with Ebay and the like.

Ok, I think I'm going to upgrade just graphics card and OS for now because I just noticed that my mobo doesn't support ddr3 ram -.- and when I have more money, maybe later this year, I'll upgrade mobo, cpu and ram... and probably psu too.

So I was thinking of buying this graphics card:
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH6950_DCII2DI4S2GD5/#specifications

but can't find anywhere how much does it require from psu. Other 6950 cards require minimum of 500w but isn't this one over clocked? so does it require more than that. Or is there any better card choice in this price range?

link to my current setup

No worries, your PSU is fine for that setup with the new GPU.

 

[Hazaro]

Ok, I think I'm going to upgrade just graphics card and OS for now because I just noticed that my mobo doesn't support ddr3 ram -.- and when I have more money, maybe later this year, I'll upgrade mobo, cpu and ram... and probably psu too.

So I was thinking of buying this graphics card:
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH6950_DCII2DI4S2GD5/#specifications

but can't find anywhere how much does it require from psu. Other 6950 cards require minimum of 500w but isn't this one over clocked? so does it require more than that. Or is there any better card choice in this price range?

link to my current setup

Same voltage, modest OC usually adds like 10-20W. Your VX550 will be quite fine.

That ASUS is a great card, just know it takes up 3 slots.

Basic Desktop Questions:

Your Current Specs: 2.5 year old PC gaming rig I buuilt myself (Core 2 Duo E8500 + GTX 270)

Budget: about 900 euros

Main Use: Gaming, general usage, maybe some emulation

Monitor Resolution: 1080p, got a Syncmaster BX2431

List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: All the games that come out in the next 2 years or something (including but not limited to Bioshock Infinite, Deus Ex, BF3, Skyrim, ...)

Are reusing any parts?: No.

When will you build?: In 3 weeks.

Will you be overclocking?: Dont know. Never done it but I'm kinda thinking about it, if I find a good guide.

Current build list:

Any ideas are welcome! The SSD is a 60 Gb for Windows 7 and frequently used programs.

Sub in a 2500K to overclock. It is fairly simple and you get a nice speed boost out of it.

Looks great to me, read up some some Vertex 2 info, I'm not sure on their current reliability.

 

[Ryan_]

Sub in a 2500K to overclock. It is fairly simple and you get a nice speed boost out of it.

Looks great to me, read up some some Vertex 2 info, I'm not sure on their current reliability.

Cheers for the fast response ;-)

I was considering the 2500k but didn't really know if it was worth it. If I overclock, is a 550 XFX PSU enough to hold it all together?

Any other ideas for a cheap but solid 60 Gb SSD?

 

[hypernima]

Quick question, what would be the AMD "equivalent" to an i7 2600k?

 

[RS4-]

Anybody know where I can get one of those Fractal cases? I know Newegg isn't selling them anymore and it appears the only other store that has it is in Canada. For something so popular, you'd figure there would be more of them widespread.

Kadey, I'll see if I can swing a deal for one from an NCIX buddy for the case and see how much it'll be at discounted price + shipping.

Just came home with the LG W2442PA for only $170+ tax, everyone else that had stock was selling it for 200+ lol.

 

[Gvaz]

Quick question, what would be the AMD "equivalent" to an i7 2600k?

Phenom II X6 1100T?

I have no idea

also that CPU sucks power like a baby sucks milk

 

[Goldrusher]

Any other ideas for a cheap but solid 60 Gb SSD?

Crucial M4.

http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/282240/crucial-m4-ct064m4ssd2-64gb.html

 

[Hazaro]

Cheers for the fast response ;-)

I was considering the 2500k but didn't really know if it was worth it. If I overclock, is a 550 XFX PSU enough to hold it all together?

Any other ideas for a cheap but solid 60 Gb SSD?

You need the K version to overclock. That 550W is more than enough.
My only other suggestion would be the new Micron M4 drives, but I haven't read extensively into them.

Quick question, what would be the AMD "equivalent" to an i7 2600k?

Right now? Nothing.
In 1-2 months Bulldozer should have a comparable chip out.

 

[·feist·]

Quick question, what would be the AMD "equivalent" to an i7 2600k?

The closest thing would be in the range of a highly overclocked Phenom II 955/965/970/1100T or so. You can throw the 980 in there as well, but theses are all very rough "equivalents."

Cheers for the fast response ;-)

I was considering the 2500k but didn't really know if it was worth it. If I overclock, is a 550 XFX PSU enough to hold it all together?

Any other ideas for a cheap but solid 60 Gb SSD?

If you don't mind going with a last gen SATA 2 drive, 64GB C300s can be had for $122 on Amazon. Of the current crop of SSDs, the Crucial M4s have so far seemed to be one of the most reliable, if not exactly the outright fastest.

 

[hypernima]

You need the K version to overclock. That 550W is more than enough.
My only other suggestion would be the new Micron M4 drives, but I haven't read extensively into them.

Right now? Nothing.
In 1-2 months Bulldozer should have a comparable chip out.

Since I'm waiting to build in October do you think it'd be worth? I just want a rig that I would not have to upgrade for a long while, and I'm not particularly strict on who manufacturs the CPU.

 

[Hazaro]

Since I'm waiting to build in October do you think it'd be worth? I just want a rig that I would not have to upgrade for a long while, and I'm not particularly strict on who manufacturs the CPU.

No one knows how fast, cheap, efficient, or upgradeable AM3+ is going to be.
Drop by two weeks or so after BD launches (no official date) and someone will give you a run down.

Since you aren't building now anyways, it doesn't matter.

 

[mandiller]

Homer: That's a fine looking barbecue. Why the hell doesn't mine look like that!?

Mine's so messy. The cables were thick and while I could get them behind the motherboard, it was near impossible to get them to come back through and attach to the right spots inside...

 

[Le-mo]

Guys what are the pros/cons of running dual GPU?

 

[Effect]

Well got my GTX 560 today. After installing it and the new PSU I decided to try it out with some Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Put the settings on high . Wonderful. I took the advice in one of the reviews on NewEgg and installed the program that the card comes with and changed the fan speed. I alt-enter several times during matches and check the temp of the card. Seemed while playing it was around 50C to 60C. When I'm not gaming and just using my computer to surf the net and typing it's running at 38C. Are these temperatures normal?