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[brain_stew]

Okay GAF, I've got a potential part combination:

• ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz LGA 1366 Quad-Core Processor Model AT80601002727AA - OEM
• Patriot Viper 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PVT36G1600LLK
• XFX Ati 5870 (when I can find one)
• Thermaltake W0116RU 750W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular
• COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
• Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
• XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

I don't plan to overclock the processor but I'd like to boost the MB RAM usage to 1600.

Not really sure what case to go with yet, I just want something cheap and quiet and I didn't see anything from Lian-Li that excited me.

I'm hoping to order from NCIXUS so they can put it together for me, but the availability of the 5870 might put that in to jeopardy.

The i7-960 is horrible, horrible value, just fyi. OCing your RAM is going to have no impact on performance, just get the cheaper 1333mhz stuff if you're not OCing (even if you were it probaly be the way to go anyway).

Pretty sure that Caviar Black is a 2 platter disc, switch it to a Samsung F3 which uses a single 500GB platter, should be much faster.

 

[ntropy]

is it worth getting a pci express 2.0 card for a 1.0 bus?

 

[thunker 9000]

I just bought one. It works fine.

 

[markot]

Arent more platters faster >.>?

 

[NorrenRadd]

Arent more platters faster >.>?

I thought I read that the WD 640gb Black was a FAST HD

I don't particularly want to OC my system, thats why I'm going with the stock fast 960.

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Arent more platters faster >.>?

No, you want less platters with higher density.

 

[Easy_D]

Define "resonable". How much do you planning to spend?

Reasonable is around 150-200 euros. Could have sworn I had wrote a price range in my original post.

A XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 goes for around 150 euros here so that's within my price range.

Edit: But is it a good upgrade from a 8800GT? It should be, considering the 8800GT came out 3 years ago.

 

[brain_stew]

I thought I read that the WD 640gb Black was a FAST HD

I don't particularly want to OC my system, thats why I'm going with the stock fast 960.

It is but you specified the 500GB model. Either way I'd still recommend a Samsung F3 (either the 500GB or 1TB), 500GB platters, and super cheap, and I've never had any problems with the three Samsung drives I own.

 

[brain_stew]

I thought I read that the WD 640gb Black was a FAST HD

I don't particularly want to OC my system, thats why I'm going with the stock fast 960.

But a 960 is just an OCed 920. They come off the same wafer and everything. What are you using this for btw? If its gaming then go with an i7 860, should be faster than the i7 960 in gaming due to turbo mode and you don't sacrifice performance in anything else as it still supports multi threading. Actually go with an i7 860 if you don't plan to OC no matter what you do with the rig, they're basically on par on the whole and you'll save as much as $500.

If you decide you're happy to OC, just get the 920 and be done with it, either way, the 960 makes no sense.

 

[markot]

Dont the old I7's have turbo mode too >.>?

 

[brain_stew]

Dont the old I7's have turbo mode too >.>?

Yeah, but its not aggressive at all, which negates its usefulness.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

posting this again just so i can get some thoughts, my budget is about 1,000 US dollars



CASE:Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
PSU:Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS
HDD:Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
OS:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
MOBO:ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
FAN:CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
CPU:Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
DVD:Sony Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1678A

total with shipping : $991.35.
the case and PSU are a combo deal as well as the HDD and OS and the MOBO and RAm also a combo deal, anything i should swipe out that's cheaper and better? or am i good to go?

 

[NorrenRadd]

It is but you specified the 500GB model. Either way I'd still recommend a Samsung F3 (either the 500GB or 1TB), 500GB platters, and super cheap, and I've never had any problems with the three Samsung drives I own.

Ah yeah, my mistake. Will take your advice.

But a 960 is just an OCed 920. They come off the same wafer and everything. What are you using this for btw? If its gaming then go with an i7 860, should be faster than the i7 960 in gaming due to turbo mode and you don't sacrifice performance in anything else as it still supports multi threading. Actually go with an i7 860 if you don't plan to OC no matter what you do with the rig, they're basically on par on the whole and you'll save as much as $500.

If you decide you're happy to OC, just get the 920 and be done with it, either way, the 960 makes no sense.

Thanks for the info on the 960. I'll be gaming, media, compiling, and I am one of those persons who likes to have 10-15 tabs open at all times. I drive my computers hard and I mainly want it to last a significant amount of time.

I think I'll go with a 920. That way if in a year I want some more juice I can OC it. Thank you for the insight and for saving me a chunk of change

 

[Minsc]

Dont the old I7's have turbo mode too >.>?

Yea, as mentioned the X58 i7 line of CPUs lack an aggressive turbo mode to match the P55 line of i5/i7 CPUs (as well as the laptop mobile i7 CPUs, those have very aggressive turbo modes too). This should be remedied with the upcoming i9 CPUs due out next year, for people with X58 boards though.

For something like Dragon Age, which will use your cores efficiently, turbo mode loses its advantage, and you'll likely see the X58 line of CPUs outperforming the P55 ones.

 

[brain_stew]

Ah yeah, my mistake. Will take your advice.




Thanks for the info on the 960. I'll be gaming, media, compiling, and I am one of those persons who likes to have 10-15 tabs open at all times. I drive my computers hard and I mainly want it to last a significant amount of time.

I think I'll go with a 920. That way if in a year I want some more juice I can OC it. Thank you for the insight and for saving me a chunk of change

Looks to be the best way to go. A stock i7 920 is hardly a slouch anyway! :lol

 

[Rentahamster]

So when is it again that the new LGA 1366 CPUs that have cool turbo modes like the recent 1156 CPU come out?

Are those supposed to be the i9s, or are there gonna be more i7s coming too?

I'd like to rock 8+ threads without having to deal with server hardware, and I'm not sure how long I'm going to have to wait.

 

[birdchili]

i5 750
gaming at 1920x1080
want a new ati card (for multi-monitor, dx11)

is this a 5850 situation, or is a 5770 going to cut it? there's a big gap with price, power consumption, and probably noise there...

 

[brain_stew]

So when is it again that the new LGA 1366 CPUs that have cool turbo modes like the recent 1156 CPU come out?

Are those supposed to be the i9s, or are there gonna be more i7s coming too?

I'd like to rock 8+ threads without having to deal with server hardware, and I'm not sure how long I'm going to have to wait.

Well you must be aware that these CPUs will be classed as workstation hardware. Don't expect any to come in at less than $500, the i7 920 is to be EOLed very soon, which will leave only $500+ CPUs on socket 1366, and this seems to be the general direction for the platform. In fact, it was always the case really, the 920 was just there as a stop gap for consumers that wanted high performance without workstation prices until 1156 hit the market.

The i7 860 on socket 1156 still has hyperthreading for <$300.

 

[brain_stew]

i5 750
gaming at 1920x1080
want a new ati card (for multi-monitor, dx11)

is this a 5850 situation, or is a 5770 going to cut it? there's a big gap with price, power consumption, and probably noise there...

5850, or if low idle power consuption and DX11 isn't a big deal to you the 4890 is a good option. I'm hesitant to recommend a 5770 for 1080p and above due to its limited bandwidth.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

advice please.....

 

[Easy_D]

5850, or if low idle power consuption and DX11 isn't a big deal to you the 4890 is a good option. I'm hesitant to recommend a 5770 for 1080p and above due to its limited bandwidth.

This post has been very informative. I looked around and saw that there's a bunch of stores selling the 5850 for around the same price as the 5770, out of stock everywhere though, but I guess waiting is better.

It's an Asus card, however, does this matter? I don't want to buy a nerfed GPU just because it's cheaper D:.

the card is - ASUS EAH5850/G/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5850

 

[brain_stew]

This post has been very informative. I looked around and saw that there's a bunch of stores selling the 5850 for around the same price as the 5770, out of stock everywhere though, but I guess waiting is better.

Well that's the issue, stock is basically non existant, I'd definitely say its worth the wait though, just got to pounce as soon as you see one in stock.

 

[brain_stew]

posting this again just so i can get some thoughts, my budget is about 1,000 US dollars



CASE:Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
PSU:Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS
HDD:Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
OS:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
MOBO:ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
FAN:CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
CPU:Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
DVD:Sony Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1678A

total with shipping : $991.35.
the case and PSU are a combo deal as well as the HDD and OS and the MOBO and RAm also a combo deal, anything i should swipe out that's cheaper and better? or am i good to go?

All look really good choices. GPU?

 

[Rentahamster]

Well you must be aware that these CPUs will be classed as workstation hardware. Don't expect any to come in at less than $500, the i7 920 is to be EOLed very soon, which will leave only $500+ CPUs on socket 1366, and this seems to be the general direction for the platform. In fact, it was always the case really, the 920 was just there as a stop gap for consumers that wanted high performance without workstation prices until 1156 hit the market.

The i7 860 on socket 1156 still has hyperthreading for <$300.

Oh, price isn't that big of a concern. I just don't want to have to deal with ginormous dual CPU motherboards.

I'm also really keen on the advanced turbo modes since I have applications that run well with multiple threads as well as some that don't.

 

[birdchili]

5850, or if low idle power consuption and DX11 isn't a big deal to you the 4890 is a good option. I'm hesitant to recommend a 5770 for 1080p and above due to its limited bandwidth.

thanks. (i think definitely care about power noise, and don't upgrade often enough that being shut out of dx11 in the interim seems like a good idea.

almost forgot how much fun it is to put together a new system.

 

[brain_stew]

Oh, price isn't that big of a concern. I just don't want to have to deal with ginormous dual CPU motherboards.

I'm also really keen on the advanced turbo modes since I have applications that run well with multiple threads as well as some that don't.

Well, yeah, core i9 looks perfect for you then. 6 cores / 12 threads and aggressive turbo mode, should be available soon.

 

[SapientWolf]

posting this again just so i can get some thoughts, my budget is about 1,000 US dollars



CASE:Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
PSU:Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS
HDD:Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
OS:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
MOBO:ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
FAN:CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
CPU:Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
DVD:Sony Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1678A

total with shipping : $991.35.
the case and PSU are a combo deal as well as the HDD and OS and the MOBO and RAm also a combo deal, anything i should swipe out that's cheaper and better? or am i good to go?

I would look into the Foxconn socket issue because it looks like you plan on doing some overclocking. Everything else looks fine.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

All look really good choices. GPU?

just gonna use my GTX 260s until i can summon (LOL) more money and then i say hello to hopefully a 58XX whatever is the latest by mid next year. is NVIDIA really going purposefully lose this round to ATI? i am interested to see what they will offer but if it's the same price structure as the G200 generation then forget them.

 

[AshMcCool]

Reasonable is around 150-200 euros. Could have sworn I had wrote a price range in my original post.

A XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 goes for around 150 euros here so that's within my price range.

Edit: But is it a good upgrade from a 8800GT? It should be, considering the 8800GT came out 3 years ago.

Yes. But you should also considering a ATI 4890 or a GTX 260 (216), which both showed a better performance in benchmarks than the 4770 but lacking the full DX11-Support. If you decide for the GTX 260, which is priced under 150€ on most shops, you can use your 8800GT as a dedicated PhysX-Card, for the few games that support the feature. I myself bought a Gainward GTX 260 Golden Sample(which is default overclocked), and been pretty satisfied with it so far.

If you want to compare your card with the newer ones, look for benchmarks with the 9800GT - It's basically the same card as the 8800GT.

 

[Easy_D]

Odd, the sites listed the GPU as a 5850 but the specs say it's a 5770 :lol. Guess that explains why they cost as much as a 5770. Unless I'm missing something here.

The card is listed as a 5850 but specs say: Graphics Engine - ATI Radeon HD 5770.
Stupid internet trying to fool poor customers into buying shit they don't want

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I would look into the Foxconn socket issue because it looks like you plan on doing some overclocking. Everything else looks fine.

hmmm, well if you mean the RAM, i'm getting that only because of the combo deal.
i plan to OC the CPU down the line.do i have to OC the RAM as well? never dealt with foxconn how are they in terms of quality and ease of use to first timers like me?and if you mean because of the water cooling, were i live and the room im at happen to be pretty toasty during the summer but very chilly in the winter time.

 

[brain_stew]

just gonna use my GTX 260s until i can summon (LOL) more money and then i say hello to hopefully a 58XX whatever is the latest by mid next year. is NVIDIA really going purposefully lose this round to ATI? i am interested to see what they will offer but if it's the same price structure as the G200 generation then forget them.

Fermi will be competitive, its just pricing that may be the issue.

 

[SapientWolf]

hmmm, well if you mean the RAM, i'm getting that only because of the combo deal.
i plan to OC the CPU down the line.do i have to OC the RAM as well? never dealt with foxconn how are they in terms of quality and ease of use to first timers like me?and if you mean because of the water cooling, were i live and the room im at happen to be pretty toasty during the summer but very chilly in the winter time.

No, not the memory. Foxconn made some defective CPU sockets that found their way into some high end motherboards, including Gigabyte and ASUS. They don't make good contact with the processor and typically burn out the pins during a high overclock.

Linky here:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3661

I actually ended up going Biostar for my build.

 

[Pachinko]

Well, when you do it remember to use PriceCanada and ShopBot to see what the cheapest prices are. It is very rarely a good deal to order everything from NewEgg in Canada. The defacto computer store in Canada is NCIX, mostly due to their price match policy. You also only get charged GST if you live outside BC (PST + GST if in BC).

Ooo. price matching eh ? I was no awares of that, I had a bad experience trying to buy from NCIX earlier this year (street fighter arcade stick, said it was in stock and billed me then immediatly put it on back order for a month). But yeah... that wasn't for pc stuff. The other advantage I suppose is that they'll actually put the thing togethor for me. Hell , even if they just mounted the motherboard and cpu, setup the bios or whatever so all I had to do was put in the windows 7 disc and install it that'd be fine. I just don't trust myself with the delicate operation that is cpu installation.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

No, not the memory. Foxconn made some defective CPU sockets that found their way into some high end motherboards, including Gigabyte and ASUS. They don't make good contact with the processor and typically burn out the pins during a high overclock.

Linky here:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3661

I actually ended up going Biostar for my build.

hmmm... i do remember reading one or two reviews about that, *sigh* then again i had an EVGA board go bad on me so it's all a crapshoot sometimes... though i don't think i'll be doing a 5.0GHZ OC! :lol

 

[Easy_D]

Yes. But you should also considering a ATI 4890 or a GTX 260 (216), which both showed a better performance in benchmarks than the 4770 but lacking the full DX11-Support. If you decide for the GTX 260, which is priced under 150€ on most shops, you can use your 8800GT as a dedicated PhysX-Card, for the few games that support the feature. I myself bought a Gainward GTX 260 Golden Sample(which is default overclocked), and been pretty satisfied with it so far.

If you want to compare your card with the newer ones, look for benchmarks with the 9800GT - It's basically the same card as the 8800GT.

I think I'll get a 5850 later on. In December I start getting cash each month, couple that with still being a lazy slob who lives at home and I can afford a new GPU easily.

PhysX isn't that important, but it sure looked pretty in Mirror's Edge and Batman:AA

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I think I'll get a 5850 later on. In December I start getting cash each month, couple that with still being a lazy slob who lives at home and I can afford a new GPU easily.

PhysX isn't that important, but it sure looked pretty in Mirror's Edge and Batman:AA

tell me more about this getting cash thing.... besides working that is.

 

[Easy_D]

tell me more about this getting cash thing.... besides working that is.

:lol After 3 months of being unemployed and looking for a job, in Sweden you are entitled to 2500 SEK, or 250 euros a month. Not much to it, really.

 

[Red]

Just bought parts for a rig to put together for my family, but got an email from an amazon vendor about them being out of the video card I ordered. Here's the email they sent me:

Thanks for your interest in the items that we sell at Amazon. I regret to inform you we are out of the video card Sapphire Radeon HD 100245HDMI, that you ordered. May I recommend the Sappire 100245L (see specs below) for the same purchase price you paid for the 100245HDMI or if you wish, we will refund the full amount of your order.

Is this a decent replacement? I don't really know the differences between these two cards. I don't need something terribly powerful, but an HDMI port is a must. I'm guessing the replacement doesn't have an HDMI-out since the one they're out of has "HDMI" distinctly in its name. Any ideas?

 

[kmfdmpig]

I greatly need GAF's input on wrangling up a New, Modern Desktop PC.

Here's what I know I'm going to want so far, while the rest and particulars I'm unsure of.

-Dual monitors for a productivity boost as I need all the tricks I can muster. Would be nice if, in theory, could function as an HDTV equivalent for some manner of HD console somewhere in the future.
-Win 7 64...Ultimate I presume.
-In turn, 8 GB good RAM to make the most of finally having access to 64
-Webcam of some sort, good/accurate Mouse, nice Microphone with a stand, keyboard that works/possibly glows. I haven't used a printer in years so probably not important
-Ability to burn DVDS to back things up at long last. I also have one of those WD My Book 750 GB external dealies, but still.
-Ability to make use of SD cards strikes me as potentially useful.
-Will play nice with my Cable internet

Again, I thank you all for what help and input able to be offered to good effect.

Edit: I'm in the US!

Depending on the apps you're going to run and the processor you might be just fine with a bit less RAM.
Most users are just fine with Win 7 Premium and don't need Ultimate.
Those are two areas to save some money.

For a video card you might want to check for a 5850. It's hard to find now as demand > supply at this point, but in terms of bang for the buck and being a bit future proof (DX11) it's very good.

You can pick up either an internal or external flash card reader for cheap.

You can also grab a good DVD/R drive for $30 or less.
If you have a 750GB drive that you can use then you may want to consider an SSD drive as your main drive. It's a bit more expensive, but it will trim loading times dramatically. When using one the general goal is this: Apps and OS go on the SSD, files such as music, video files, etc... go on your other drive. That lets you get by with a smaller drive for your SSD.

 

[Terrifyer]

Just bought parts for a rig to put together for my family, but got an email from an amazon vendor about them being out of the video card I ordered. Here's the email they sent me:


Is this a decent replacement? I don't really know the differences between these two cards. I don't need something terribly powerful, but an HDMI port is a must. I'm guessing the replacement doesn't have an HDMI-out since the one they're out of has "HDMI" distinctly in its name. Any ideas?

So the first one is a 4850, is the replacement card a 4850 as well? To answer your question anyways all newer ATI cards come with an HDMI adapter that will output both audio and video, I actually don't know of any benefit to having the port built in.

 

[Red]

So the first one is a 4850, is the replacement card a 4850 as well? To answer your question anyways all newer ATI cards come with an HDMI adapter that will output both audio and video, I actually don't know of any benefit to having the port built in.

Yeah, they should both be 4850s. I ended up canceling the order, ordered this card instead.

 

[Vinci]

Okay, PC gurus. Five years back or so, my best friend and I bought new computer systems. Mine was higher-end, still runs well - but he's in need of an upgrade. So I'm looking for some information on what he needs for the following machine:

HP Pavilion 061
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 4200+, MMX, 3DNow
2046MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256.0MB​

Any other details you guys need to know, just ask. I'll have him get it for you whenever he can. His goals are to upgrade his gaming rig to handle pretty much anything out now or in the immediate release pipeline.

 

[Max]

Buying a new pc from newegg.ca

NEED OPINIONS:

I'll be able to overclock it once I buy a heatsink, but that won't be till later.

 

[Firestorm]

Buying a new pc from newegg.ca

NEED OPINIONS:
http://i36.tinypic.com/2ihm7pe.png

I'll be able to overclock it once I buy a heatsink, but that won't be till later.

You are overpaying for inferior parts.
I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow for the new NCIX sale and getting an i5 + Radeon 5850 or 5870 computer for that price.
As a positive, if you're outside BC you won't pay PST and if you're inside Metro Vancouver you can pick up instead of paying for shipping.

 

[vesp]

You are overpaying for inferior parts.
I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow for the new NCIX sale and getting an i5 + Radeon 5850 or 5870 computer for that price.
As a positive, if you're outside BC you won't pay PST and if you're inside Metro Vancouver you can pick up instead of paying for shipping.

I'm fairly ignorant of how the canadian exchange rate works, but I built a small form factor (aka more expensive than normal size) i5/5850/4gb ram/same monitor for $1150ish US about a month ago.

I've always been an AMD fan but i5 is the definite budget processor choice until AMD refreshes.

 

[brain_stew]

You are overpaying for inferior parts.
I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow for the new NCIX sale and getting an i5 + Radeon 5850 or 5870 computer for that price.
As a positive, if you're outside BC you won't pay PST and if you're inside Metro Vancouver you can pick up instead of paying for shipping.

I'll echo this and add the PSU is a little OTT as well.

 

[Max]

How does this look, my friend prefers this build he made me

Grand Total: $1,734.79

 

[brain_stew]

Well you've went from one extreme to another. There's a happy middle ground.

 

[Max]

Could I get some help with a happy middle ground build? I honestly know nothing about computer parts and what's best for the price, that's the reason i'm posting in this thread

My budget is preferably around $1,500