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Official "I need a new PC!!" 2009 Edition
- Thread starter VictimOfGrief
- Start date
TouchMyBox
Member
So here is what I've been busy with. As I said earlier I ordered some parts to build a spare machine (to take to lans or whatever). The motherboard and cpu arrived (more parts still coming) so I threw it together, put in my 5870 and took a look to see what it can do.
My regular machine is an e8400 @ 3.45GHz a processor which currently retails for $185 CDN at newegg along with a 780i SLI mobo which I bought a year ago for $270. Here is what it can muster up in Vantage with my 5870:
Now the machine which just came in the mail is a Athlon II x3 435 @ 3.45GHz which I bought for $80 after pricematch and a msi 770-C45 which I picked up for $65 after MIR. It gets the following in Vantage:
Not only does it significantly score better, but it does all this while staying at about half the temperature while idle and during load both running with their stock coolers (a better cooler is in the mail)
Not to mention that a BIOS update will soon come out for this motherboard which will allow me to attempt to unlock the 4th core and that ever-so-desireable 6MB L3 cache.
While it is true that this is just a synthetic benchmark, L4D2 on my e8400 dips as far down as 40fps during heavy action, whereas the AMD has only ever dipped to 55fps for perhaps a millisecond, only to resume it's solid 60fps bliss.
Just something I thought those of you looking to build a machine on a budget would be interested in hearing.
edit: and now that I remember, with the Intel build, I had my 5870 under a marginal OC while the AMD machine has the card at it's stock clocks, hence it's even more impressive what such an inexpensive chip can pull-off.
My regular machine is an e8400 @ 3.45GHz a processor which currently retails for $185 CDN at newegg along with a 780i SLI mobo which I bought a year ago for $270. Here is what it can muster up in Vantage with my 5870:
Now the machine which just came in the mail is a Athlon II x3 435 @ 3.45GHz which I bought for $80 after pricematch and a msi 770-C45 which I picked up for $65 after MIR. It gets the following in Vantage:
Not only does it significantly score better, but it does all this while staying at about half the temperature while idle and during load both running with their stock coolers (a better cooler is in the mail)
Not to mention that a BIOS update will soon come out for this motherboard which will allow me to attempt to unlock the 4th core and that ever-so-desireable 6MB L3 cache.
While it is true that this is just a synthetic benchmark, L4D2 on my e8400 dips as far down as 40fps during heavy action, whereas the AMD has only ever dipped to 55fps for perhaps a millisecond, only to resume it's solid 60fps bliss.
Just something I thought those of you looking to build a machine on a budget would be interested in hearing.
edit: and now that I remember, with the Intel build, I had my 5870 under a marginal OC while the AMD machine has the card at it's stock clocks, hence it's even more impressive what such an inexpensive chip can pull-off.
Lostconfused
Member
Weren't there news that most manufacturers stopped using foxconn sockets in their p55 motherboards?Dash said:
How About No
Member
Is this a good reason to move back to an AMD mobo/cpu?Dash said:
Because before considering the core i5 750, I was thinking Phenom II X4...
Weeeeeeeeell, the Radeon 4890 finally dipped below $150(after MIR, Bing Cashback, and Paypal cash back) so I had to bite. In case the rest of you game at high resolutions and don't feel like waiting for the 5850/5870, instructions can be found at http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1718547.
TouchMyBox
Member
How About No said:
Just get whatever offers you the features you want at the most attractive price point. I bet you'd be hard-pressed to notice a difference between the two performance-wise in the vast majority of games.
I hope the above isn't a good reason though, I just recently built several core i5 rigs for friends of mine.
yes.Dash said:
i'm just sucking it up and crossing my fingers for now. i thought i'd get a foxconn-free mobo by going with the GA-P55As, but apparently not. i'm not going to sweat too much about it - if it's an actual spec or manufacturing defect i'll try and get it replaced.
there's not enough information to make an educated call on whether anything has been fixed (either on the foxconn side or in the actual spec).
How About No
Member
Well sweet AMD it is maybe=)TouchMyBox said:
But that brings me back to a question I didn't get answered a couple pages back: can I use an Nvidia card as a secondary card to an ATI? It's nothing important, just a potential bonus.
Lostconfused said:
Supposedly some are, but there is an apparent shortage of Lotes sockets right now.
I've also heard that the new foxconn sockets no longer have an issue. However, this was from only a single person on a message board. I'd hardly qualify it as a confirmation. So far EVGA boards give you the safest chance of not having the problematic socket, but still no guarantee. Although supposedly even EVGA boards with foxconn sockets are not affected (according from an EVGA rep, so who knows how true that is).
I considered going AMD to avoid this issue, but because I want to run PCSX2 and Dolphin as well as I can, I'm forced to go i5. i7 + 1366 is the third option, but the extra 100-150 isn't quite worth the guarantee of a stable socket for me given the i7 has no gaming advantages.
TouchMyBox
Member
How About No said:
If you're talking about having an ATI card do rendering and an nVidia card do CUDA/PhysX, yes. It requires a little bit of extra work and tinkering, but a lot of people have it working great.
If you're talking about using both of them for rendering, you will soon be able to do it with the Lucid Hydra 200 chip which will be debuting in the new MSI big bang "Fuzion" motherboard which will be a P55 based board. There isn't much in terms of benchmarks for the chip out there as of yet, but it does seem promising.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Okay I think I finalized my selections.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16728127
Only thing that might change is an XFX if it becomes cheaper, but then I heard they are cheaper in stores anyway(?)
Building in February. My only concern is the cooler fitting into the case. I don't know how to figure the clearance on that.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16728127
Only thing that might change is an XFX if it becomes cheaper, but then I heard they are cheaper in stores anyway(?)
Building in February. My only concern is the cooler fitting into the case. I don't know how to figure the clearance on that.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Oh, is it? Hmm, okay I looked into it and that is true, and the 955 is $20 cheaper. However, apparently the 125W 965 is C3 so you can OC it to the same levels but at lower voltages and thus cooler. It's $10 more so it's really a question of $30 now, isn't it?Dash said:
perryfarrell
Member
I just upgraded to an AMD Phenom ii x4 940 3.0 Ghz--it runs nice & fast, but a little on the hot site (mid to high 50s, almost 60 under load). I'm using an old AM2 mobo--not the fanciest or newest, but it supports the Phenom ii with the latest bios.
Besides buying a new heat sink&fan, what can I do to get this temperature down?
(I also sprung for the ATI 4770. A nice card for about $100--I can finally run counterstrike with everything maxed out ;-)
Besides buying a new heat sink&fan, what can I do to get this temperature down?
(I also sprung for the ATI 4770. A nice card for about $100--I can finally run counterstrike with everything maxed out ;-)
Dash said:
No. The issues with the socket occurred while overclocking >4ghz at relatively high voltages. If you're not going for a really high overclock it's probably not an issue. Considering I can run 3.4ghz on my i5 at 1.2v (aka bone stock) why worry about it?
Quote from Anandtech's article about it:
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
Overclocking is basically stress testing, so people may be seeing these same issues during normal use further down the line. It's rumored that Intel is working on a revision B of socket 1156 to resolve the various issues.FightTest said:
Is this a decent deal? Keep in mind the price is Canadian and I don't want to build my own PC because I suck. http://www.greenlyph.com/new/product_info.php?products_id=1113
I was planning on going with this but replacing the video card with something way better and maybe adding some more ram. If I end up doing that i'm just wondering what kind of performance I would get with current PC games.
I was planning on going with this but replacing the video card with something way better and maybe adding some more ram. If I end up doing that i'm just wondering what kind of performance I would get with current PC games.
TouchMyBox
Member
mileS said:
It's no rip-off, but you can definitely do a little better. For that price I would expect at least a radeon 4870 and a terabyte hard drive (you could probably still do better than even that, I built my buddy a machine for $1050 CDN after tax and shipping that looked like that and included a 1080p screen). Don't be afraid to pay NCIX $50 to build you a custom rig.
As brain-stew told countless people in this thread, why buy something that you're gonna want to upgrade?
Confusatron
Member
Got a question for all the OC pros here. How far can I take my E8400 before I have to pick up an aftermarket cooler. Also, if I were to pick up a cooler, any recommendations? Right now I'm using the stock cooler and running the cpu at the out-of-the-box 3ghz.
TouchMyBox
Member
Confusatron said:
Aftermarket coolers are a must if you're gonna apply extra voltage to the chip, without extra voltage, many people can get the e8400 to 3.6GHz (400fsb) try that and work your way down from there if it's not stable (you will probably have to play with your memory ratios too).
I personally have my e8400 running at 3.45GHz without any extra voltage running on the stock cooler and it doesn't get crazy hot or anything.
darkpaladinmfc
Member
How is this?
£140.29 - Coolermaster Cosmos RC-1000 Full Tower Case
£103.30 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 iP55 Socket 1156 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
£120.00 - OCZ 6GB (3X2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10666 Gold XTC Triple Channel Memory Kit
£144.31 - Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache
£44.92 - Western Digital WD6400AAVS 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM Green Drive
£50.00 - Asus Xonar D1 7.1 Soundcard - PCI Connection
£56.16 - Antec EarthWatts 500W 80%+ Efficiency PSU
£200.00 - Radeon 5850 (Can't find anywhere at the moment, but when it was in stock I saw it for about £200.00 IIRC)
Total: £858.98
£140.29 - Coolermaster Cosmos RC-1000 Full Tower Case
£103.30 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 iP55 Socket 1156 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
£120.00 - OCZ 6GB (3X2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10666 Gold XTC Triple Channel Memory Kit
£144.31 - Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache
£44.92 - Western Digital WD6400AAVS 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM Green Drive
£50.00 - Asus Xonar D1 7.1 Soundcard - PCI Connection
£56.16 - Antec EarthWatts 500W 80%+ Efficiency PSU
£200.00 - Radeon 5850 (Can't find anywhere at the moment, but when it was in stock I saw it for about £200.00 IIRC)
Total: £858.98
MWS Natural
Member
Just finished PC build for a guy I know, came out pretty decent. I need to go back and wire tie some of the cables. I also need to get a 4pin to SATA aapter since the power supply only game with two power sata cables.
NightHawk17 said:
Kaspersky is better for spyware, where NOD32 is better for viruses and rootkits. My recommendation is setup your scan time, when you sleep, so then it won't slow your computer down when you need it. (as with any virus scan, you want it to scan all files, even if they were there before in case, a virus somehow embedded itself into that file.
DIrtyWeasel
Member
I am now a PC gamer for the first time in a decade! I ordered all the parts last week, mostly from Newegg, and I put it all together 2 days ago.
Right now I have Left4Dead2, Borderlands, and Crysis. I forgot how much better I was with mouse+keyboard controls for FPS than controllers, it just feels more natural. Back in the day my friends used to massacre me at Goldeneye since I was too used to m/kb. Half of the console games I own the past few years are FPS, and I wish I could be playing them with m/kb now.
I think the last PC game I owned was Starcraft, and I didn't even play it very much. I was burned out on the RTS genre at that point and now I miss it. Gotta wait for Starcraft 2 of course, but what RTS should I buy first in the meantime? I've been considering C&C3, Red Alert 3, Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, World in Conflict...
Right now I have Left4Dead2, Borderlands, and Crysis. I forgot how much better I was with mouse+keyboard controls for FPS than controllers, it just feels more natural. Back in the day my friends used to massacre me at Goldeneye since I was too used to m/kb. Half of the console games I own the past few years are FPS, and I wish I could be playing them with m/kb now.
I think the last PC game I owned was Starcraft, and I didn't even play it very much. I was burned out on the RTS genre at that point and now I miss it. Gotta wait for Starcraft 2 of course, but what RTS should I buy first in the meantime? I've been considering C&C3, Red Alert 3, Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, World in Conflict...
Gully State
Member
vertopci said:
I don't understand Nvidia at all. ATi will drop prices to remain competitive when Nvidia releases a better performing card...Nvidia's response to the 5870 5850 and 5770 is to raise prices?
evil solrac v3.0
Member
well it dont matter because after the 58xx line is more widely available, i am switching.
Minsc
Gold Member
DIrtyWeasel said:
Dawn of War 2. It'll be something fresh for you anyway. If you want something more traditional, Dawn of War 1.
Kosma said:
Yea, I have to say, the 5870 is doing a stellar job with my games so far. It's run everything from the poorly coded KOTOR all the way to Dirt 2 on super-maximum-ultra without a hiccup. That survey doesn't even seem to include DX11 cards or the 5800 series, so I imagine the %s will be even higher.
It would not be unexpected to eventually see nVidia lose it's driver edge if it ever becomes in a minority. Seeing more and more games bench significantly stronger on ATI cards is starting, and while ATI is ignoring some key developments like nVidia's 3D Vision, they do have DX11 support out now, and nice features like low idle power usage and Video + Audio over a single cable to a 2nd monitor/HDTV.
About motherboards that have USB3 + SATA3:
Yes, but at least for the cards out now even going high end the impact would be pretty minor.
The source below shows only a 2% drop when going from x16 to x8 on the 5870. It would likely be higher if you were running in crossfire, but it seems like unless you're getting into the Eyefinity multi-monitor setup it wouldn't really cause any noticeable impact in real world applications.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/26.html
birdchili said:
Yes, but at least for the cards out now even going high end the impact would be pretty minor.
The source below shows only a 2% drop when going from x16 to x8 on the 5870. It would likely be higher if you were running in crossfire, but it seems like unless you're getting into the Eyefinity multi-monitor setup it wouldn't really cause any noticeable impact in real world applications.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/26.html
MWS Natural
Member
Hmm...for some reason I can power off the PC but when I shutdown within windows it shuts down windows but the PC's lights and fans stay on...
Nevermind I found the fix:
Nevermind I found the fix:
Volcynika said:
They all use the same reference board, the only difference between the brands is the logo, if it comes with dirt 2 and warranty.
@MWS Natural. Hows that SSD going, I'm guessing it's an OS drive? I have had one for a few months, waiting for a new PC build. I still have it sitting in it's original box :lol . I fail
Okay, so this came yesterday and I put it together today. I re-used my old HDD and my DVD-ROM.. took some time but I feel like I've done everything right. Unfortunately when I boot up the PC I'm not getting any video output at all. The card turns on (holy HELL the fan is insanely loud on this 5770) but it doesn't output any video. My monitor recognizes that it's plugged in because when it's not, it mentions No DVI Cable Connected. The monitor automatically goes into sleep mode though and switches from the white light to an orange.Meier said:
Any suggestions or things I might have forgot to do? The mobo has on-board video output also and I've tried it in that output as well but I'm not getting anything on either.
whatsinaname
Member
Is anyone following the price of the Intel x25-m g2? What is the lowest price you have seen?
ebay has 15% cashback right now and I see an OEM drive selling for 250$.
Can I hope to find it lower than ~212.5$ sometime closer to Christmas?
ebay has 15% cashback right now and I see an OEM drive selling for 250$.
Can I hope to find it lower than ~212.5$ sometime closer to Christmas?
Dammit... I didn't use the 'standoffs' when installing my mobo.. didn't really know to. Wonder if I shorted it? I can't seem to find an LED on this to see if the board is working -- can someone help me locate where it would be on this board?
http://america.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-ma790gpt-ud3h_e.pdf
I should clarify in that I didnt add them. For some reason it only came with 4 screwed in.
Got it working! Well, the monitor and stuff, now I go to the next steps. Still don't see any LED on the mobo though...weird.
http://america.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-ma790gpt-ud3h_e.pdf
I should clarify in that I didnt add them. For some reason it only came with 4 screwed in.
Got it working! Well, the monitor and stuff, now I go to the next steps. Still don't see any LED on the mobo though...weird.
EphemeralDream
Member
So I got this rig:
AMD Phenom II X2 550/Gigagbyte GA-M7770T - $145 - 10 MIR
Antec Sonata III 500 $99 - 20 MIR
Samsung 31
wd caviar 55
g-skill 2x2gb DDR3
With that I was planning on using int. graphics and then getting a gfx card down the line. Problem is I didn't realize the mobo has no int. graphics, I assumed all mobos these days did.
So right now I'm looking for a card about $40-$50. I really don't have the money or time to be playing games so aside from a few I have lying around, I was never planning on building a top-of-the line machine. For roughly that price point, what's my best option?
AMD Phenom II X2 550/Gigagbyte GA-M7770T - $145 - 10 MIR
Antec Sonata III 500 $99 - 20 MIR
Samsung 31
wd caviar 55
g-skill 2x2gb DDR3
With that I was planning on using int. graphics and then getting a gfx card down the line. Problem is I didn't realize the mobo has no int. graphics, I assumed all mobos these days did.
So right now I'm looking for a card about $40-$50. I really don't have the money or time to be playing games so aside from a few I have lying around, I was never planning on building a top-of-the line machine. For roughly that price point, what's my best option?
Amazon had them for $244 with free shipping last I checked. Had one ordered from them but it was out of stock for nearly a month, so I decided to just buy it for a little more somewhere else (ended up paying $260).whatsinaname said:
I'm just waiting on my 5870 to get here and then I can start putting together my PC. Does anyone have tips for OCing an i7-920? I got a Noctua heatsink and fans, so I'm hoping to be able to push the CPU a little bit. What's a good process to go about doing this? I haven't OCed a processor except through software before, and I realize that isn't the ideal solution.
BravoSuperStar
Member
whatsinaname said:
I posted a link earlier in the thread when newegg had them for $214 the day before thanksgiving. Sold out in about 3 hours. I got one.
K.Jack said:
Would this be able to handle FFXIV?
I'm looking for a laptop with a 15-inch screen that is basically in that price range. I will likely be doing some software development on it at some point, but it looks like this can handle what I'll be doing (nothing graphics intensive). What I'm not sure of is the gaming capability. I'm not a huge PC gamer, but I'm starting to get into it more. I'd like to be able to play Dragon Age (which I assume it could do based on the context of the recommendation), and FFXIV down the road.
If this can handle those, I think I'd be in good shape. If not, how far would I have to step up?
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $69.99
ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $79.99
PNY VCGGTS2501XPB GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $119.99 before $30 MIR
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - $119.99
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - $69.99 before $30 MIR
I think I did pretty well with my limited budget. Upgrading from a Dell XPS 400 with the specs:
Intel Pentium D 820 @ 2.8GHz
3GB DDR2-667
GeForce 8800GT 256mb
will be using my 3 250GB hard drives and a DVD drive I already own, and a case a friend gave me. One question about the case however; one of the LARGE case fans doesn't have a molex attached, and has some small wire attached to it. I'll try to take a pic(don't own a digital camera, will have to get a friend to do it) of it. I have the mobo, GPU, and ram at my house already, ordering CPU and PSU tonight.
ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $79.99
PNY VCGGTS2501XPB GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $119.99 before $30 MIR
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - $119.99
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - $69.99 before $30 MIR
I think I did pretty well with my limited budget. Upgrading from a Dell XPS 400 with the specs:
Intel Pentium D 820 @ 2.8GHz
3GB DDR2-667
GeForce 8800GT 256mb
will be using my 3 250GB hard drives and a DVD drive I already own, and a case a friend gave me. One question about the case however; one of the LARGE case fans doesn't have a molex attached, and has some small wire attached to it. I'll try to take a pic(don't own a digital camera, will have to get a friend to do it) of it. I have the mobo, GPU, and ram at my house already, ordering CPU and PSU tonight.