Building a new system, need some advice.

[George Cifranci]

Hi folks,

Since the mid 90's I have built myself a new PC every 3 years or so. My current PC (which you can see the specs in my sig) is 4 years old. I built my last system back in 2005 with the help of these forums. But now it is time to build a new PC. My last 2 builds were AMD systems, but I am open to building an Intel system if there is more "bang for the buck" in doing so. I plan on doing some gaming on this PC as well as some Photoshop work and maybe some video editing. This will be my main PC, so it will need to be stable, so no overclocking unless it is something I can do easily. Not sure about budget but I probably want to stay under $300 for the CPU and under $300 for the mobo.

So I will need some suggestions for the CPU and motherboard to go with. Do I go with the new Intel Core i7 or with a Intel Core 2 Quad, or is a Core 2 Duo good enough? Or something AMD? What mobo? I am open to suggestions but the board definitely will need to support nVidia SLI with at least 2 x16 PCI-e slots.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[noorman]

.

I think you need to first decide if you 're going DDR2 or DDR3 ...

( check prices for those )

That will decide which type of board you 'd need / I 'd go with Intel but would go with a cheaper Quad of the latest series before i7.
The most important parts for gaming are the graphic cards + the PSU of your system !
Check for enough 6-pin and/or 8-pin connectors on a powerful enough PSU to feed those GPU cards !
Most cards need 2 extra plugs put in; depending on the type of card it could be 2x a 6-pin per card or 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin plug per card !

Check the maker's indications for a PSU minimum total power output and go at least one step higher in Wattage to be sure you have stability and reliability from the start !
The PSU is the BASIS of your system and a Gaming rig need stability or your Games will crash sooner or later !
Also check for PSU's with high Efficiency because that saves you on the Power Bills at the end of the year !
Energy isn't cheap anymore


.

[GregManning]

Hi folks,

Since the mid 90's I have built myself a new PC every 3 years or so. My current PC (which you can see the specs in my sig) is 4 years old. I built my last system back in 2005 with the help of these forums. But now it is time to build a new PC. My last 2 builds were AMD systems, but I am open to building an Intel system if there is more "bang for the buck" in doing so. I plan on doing some gaming on this PC as well as some Photoshop work and maybe some video editing. This will be my main PC, so it will need to be stable, so no overclocking unless it is something I can do easily. Not sure about budget but I probably want to stay under $300 for the CPU and under $300 for the mobo.

So I will need some suggestions for the CPU and motherboard to go with. Do I go with the new Intel Core i7 or with a Intel Core 2 Quad, or is a Core 2 Duo good enough? Or something AMD? What mobo? I am open to suggestions but the board definitely will need to support nVidia SLI with at least 2 x16 PCI-e slots.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

With a 300 dollar limit on motherboard and CPU, Core i7 is the only way to go now that DDR3 is reasonably priced. 6Gb of DDR3 1600 is well under 100 bucks now.

If you want to get the full "bang for buck" out of a Core i7 for a more workstation-y build, then a 920 + Gigabyte EX58-UD3R or MSI X58 Pro are the 2 cheapest, but from trust worthy manufacturers, and are the 2 bang for buck champions of X58. They trade blows in features and price. The MSI has 6 ram slots, the Gigabyte overclocks better on average, etc., etc...

Both boards now offer SLI support, even to the vanilla versions. Gigabyte at least even officially added SLI to the vanilla version while the MSI requires a warranty voiding flash to the SLI versions bios.

Newegg prices:
Core i7 920 -289.99
Gigabyte UD3R -189.99
6Gb DDR3 1600 - 100.00 (there is cheaper 1600mhz then this, but this is the level where the lower latency versions begin)

With that build, things like Photochop and video editing/encoding/decoding will be blisteringly fast and stays below the 600 you set for CPU+mobo to net some bang for buck value back from the premium CPU generational cost.

Edit: There is ONE X58 motherboard out there that is cheaper then the Gigabyte and MSI offerings. And nobody has wanted to be the guiney pig for that beasty. Zotac makes it. Last time I checked, it had been on Newegg for a few months by that point, it still had zero user reviews. It was like people avoided it like the plague. Scary stuff. Spend the extra few bucks on one of the other 2 previously mentioned boards would be my recommendation based on the current complete lack of info on it.

[mr_raider]

If the OP updates once every 4 years, ddr2 vs. ddr3 is irrelevant. It will all be outdated as we will be running ddr4.

[George Cifranci]

Can anyone recommend a PSU that would go well with

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI
Intel Core i7 920
Two high end Nvidia cards GTX 285 (or higher)
up to 6 hard drives
fans etc...

My 2005 PC listed in my sig has a PC Power & Cooling 550-SLI, but I figure I am going to need something a little bigger this time around. :-)

Maybe the "PC Power & Cooling PPCT860 860W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready" PSU. Not sure.

I am not settled on that config just yet (hoping to get some more opinions) but I was just curious what kind a PSU the above would take.

Greg > what kind of case are you using with your Core i7?

[GregManning]

Can anyone recommend a PSU that would go well with

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI
Intel Core i7 920
Two high end Nvidia cards GTX 285 (or higher)
up to 6 hard drives
fans etc...

My 2005 PC listed in my sig has a PC Power & Cooling 550-SLI, but I figure I am going to need something a little bigger this time around. :-)

I am not settled on that config just yet (hoping to get some more opinions) but I was just curious what kind a PSU the above would take.

That's ALOT of horsepower there. One thing though, what size monitor will this rig be feeding? Keeping in mind that a pair of GTX285's are wasted on anything less then a 27" LCD, you may be able to target something a hair lower end and end spending less. The GTX295 is a dual GPU card and may be a little easier on power requirements then a pair of 285's would be.

For your above config, a burly 750 watt of reputable manufacturer will be the minimum you want to target. Corsair power supplies are a bit pricey, but will remind you of PC Power and Cooling in it's high quality. Highly recommended from personal experience.

[GregManning]

Greg > what kind of case are you using with your Core i7?

I missed this edit, sorry. Hehehe, my case, eh? She's getting to be an older warhorse, the Thermaltake VM2000A Lanfire. It's 5 years old and has had so many generations of CPU/mobo/ram/GPU through it that I've almost lost track (key word being "almost").

Edit: In this order:
Athlon XP 2400+/2x512 DDR400/Radeon 9700 AIW/Epox mobo (forgot model)
Athlon 64 3200+/2x1Gb DDR400/Radeon 9800XT/FIC K8T800
Athlon 64 3400+/2x1Gb DDR400/Geforce 6800GT/MSI K8 Neo FIS2R
Athlon X2 4400+/2x1Gb DDR400/Geforce 7800GT/Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
Core 2 Duo E6600/2x1Gb DDR2-800/Geforce 7950GT/Gigabyte 965P-DS3
Core 2 Quad Q6600/2x2Gb DDR2-800/Geforce 8800GTS 640/Abit IP35 Pro
Core i7 920/3x2Gb DDR3 1600/Radeon 4870/Gigabyte EX58-UD3R

[George Cifranci]

That's ALOT of horsepower there. One thing though, what size monitor will this rig be feeding? Keeping in mind that a pair of GTX285's are wasted on anything less then a 27" LCD, you may be able to target something a hair lower end and end spending less. The GTX295 is a dual GPU card and may be a little easier on power requirements then a pair of 285's would be.

For your above config, a burly 750 watt of reputable manufacturer will be the minimum you want to target. Corsair power supplies are a bit pricey, but will remind you of PC Power and Cooling in it's high quality. Highly recommended from personal experience.

I have a 24" Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP LCD Panel with a native res of 1920x1200. It's very nice. :-)

[GregManning]

I have a 24" Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP LCD Panel with a native res of 1920x1200. It's very nice. :-)

Then I would really consider the lower cost and lower power requirements of going with the GTX295 for that resolution. It will still allow you to pour on the AA/AF and max out most games. For a single slot, no other card can make Crysis runs so well, and that's saying alot.

Additionally, by going with the GTX295 instead of the pair of 285's, you can target more of a 650watt PSU. That's another 30-40 bucks saved.

Unless, of course, you have your heart set on those 285's. If you do, I cannot say I really blame you at all, and would have to say overkill can be satisfying in it's own way

Edit: I should add that I only have to keep a Dell 22" 1680x1050 monitor fed, a Radeon 4870 or GTX260 was my perfect match. I was torn between them until the choice was made for me and I received the 4870 through work.

[noorman]

.

If you want a stable system without compromise, you need to go above the minimum Power need (PSU).

Check out the efficiency rating of it (80PLUS system)
http://www.80plus.org/
and know that all PSU's have a lowering efficiency at the lower and top end of their power scales.
So if you can work between 50 - 75% usage, you 'll have TOP effeiciency and lowest running costs PLUS top range stability for the system (power wise anyway) !

that way too, if you would like to add somthing to the system later, it won't suddenly become unstable because of the addition

Remember:
a PSU = the basis of any computer !


.

[GregManning]

.

If you want a stable system without compromise, you need to go above the minimum Power need (PSU).

Check out the efficiency rating of it (80PLUS system)
http://www.80plus.org/
and know that all PSU's have a lowering efficiency at the lower and top end of their power scales.
So if you can work between 50 - 75% usage, you 'll have TOP effeiciency and lowest running costs PLUS top range stability for the system (power wise anyway) !

that way too, if you would like to add somthing to the system later, it won't suddenly become unstable because of the addition

Remember:
a PSU = the basis of any computer !


.

Ummm, a 650 watt is approximately 25% more then he'll need with the config I layed out. I think I accounted for that already

750watt is more then enough for dual GTX285's as well.

Edit: BUT, I have a friend over on another forum who went through a major debate on this issue the other day. He said he was saying the same thing as you are, that you never load a PSU up to it's max for best results. Another guy in that forum was insisting that one can max out a PSU with impunity to any problems. I thought that sounded pretty short sighted of that other guy. Glad to see other pro's agree.

[noorman]

Ummm, a 650 watt is approximately 25% more then he'll need with the config I layed out. I think I accounted for that already

750watt is more then enough for dual GTX285's as well.

Edit: BUT, I have a friend over on another forum who went through a major debate on this issue the other day. He said he was saying the same thing as you are, that you never load a PSU up to it's max for best results. Another guy in that forum was insisting that one can max out a PSU with impunity to any problems. I thought that sounded pretty short sighted of that other guy. Glad to see other pro's agree.

.


Indeed, many a PSU has gone to the dogs by being maxed out or couldn't even be maxed out during a test because it wasn't able to produce the output power that was stated in its specs !
And this wasn't just the case for lesser known or cheap PSU's either !

As an Electronics Pro and seeing the graphs I 'd have to agree with my friend who pointed this out recently, that a PSU is best used to 75-80%of its maximum and not more than that.
In that case the owner can usually count on the best power efficiency and it won't strain the PSU too much, shortening its life !

I certainly would not go cheap on any PSU, certainly if one expects 100% stability of the system it is supplying power to !

Of course, if one only needs a 750W PSU it is silly to buy a 1000W model that could easily cost almost twice the price of that 750W model !


.

[GregManning]

.


Indeed, many a PSU has gone to the dogs by being maxed out or couldn't even be maxed out during a test because it wasn't able to produce the output power that was stated in its specs !
And this wasn't just the case for lesser known or cheap PSU's either !

As an Electronics Pro and seeing the graphs I 'd have to agree with my friend who pointed this out recently, that a PSU is best used to 75-80%of its maximum and not more than that.
In that case the owner can usually count on the best power efficiency and it won't strain the PSU too much, shortening its life !

I certainly would not go cheap on any PSU, certainly if one expects 100% stability of the system it is supplying power to !

Of course, if one only needs a 750W PSU it is silly to buy a 1000W model that could easily cost almost twice the price of that 750W model !
.

That's my thinking as well.

[noorman]

.

In some cases it is much cheaper to add a Booster PSU in a 3.5'' slot
like this one: http://www.windows-hq.com/fsp-group-...u-power-suply/

A friend of mine has them.

If your system was OK with PSU X and you wanted to add a heavy duty GPU card or add a second one to an existing system, it 's the one to go for.

Several makers have them in their product line !




.

[Mccordrm]

If you're looking at 6+ harddrives... I've got to ask, "Why?"
If it's for storage, I would STRONGLY recommend a seperate NAS, or other
controller to run it on your network. That's where I keep my media: movies,
music, disk images, ect. (And by disk images, I mean that I have every bit of
software I own in digital format- ISOs, ect.)