Computer Build for 2010

[Revalos]

My brother needs a new computer, so I'll be giving him my old one and that means I have to build a brand new one from scratch. And since the government is closed tomorrow, I have all this free time to think about it.

This is a weird situation as most of my new PC builds have been predicated on a crazy graphics intensive FPS coming out that I needed to upgrade for...but now I have a PS3 for that stuff. But who knows, better be prepared, right?

I have a 500GB drive that has been sitting around in a sealed box for a while and I'll put in my current 320GB as a pagefile and backup. I don't do RAIDs.

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

I could wait for the 930 to come out, but Newegg doesn't even have an arrival time for that and I've heard good things about overclocking this.

MSI R5770-PM2D1G/Seaweed Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1

I honestly have no idea what graphics card to get. I saw this one was PCI-E 2.1 compatible (PCI-E 3.0 bios specs without any speed improvement over 2.0). I'd rather get an NVIDIA, so if anyone has any $170 comparable card I'm all ears.

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler

Pricey but very high performing cooler. I'd like to not have to drop $75 on a freaking cooler, so any cheaper suggestions here are great.

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support

Duh.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

Yes, I am willing to pay for a copy.

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard

Seems a solid motherboard. DDR3 1600 compatibility, good specs all around.

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

OK, is it just me or is it nearly impossible to find DDR3 1600 RAM with timings better than 8-8-8-24? This triple channel kit does (6-7-6-18) but is it worth it for the additional $100 price tag?

Thermaltake W0296RU 800W ATX 12V 2.2 / EPS 12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Thermaltake Eureka VC8000BWA Black Chassis Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

I actually just bought both of these for $200 total. I couldn't pass up a deal like that. That's what has really started me down the building line.

Anyway...total cost looks to be about $1500, but I'd like it to go down a bit before I buy anything else. Suggestions appreciated.

[pabstblueribbon]

Looks good if you can/want to afford an i7 setup. I personally would choose a Phenom II and get a 5900 series radeon.. maybe two with the money you'd save by going AMD... but, yeah.

[Revalos]

I could go AMD if PhenomII is really worth it compared to i7. But I can't even find a 5900 series Radeon on Newegg, and their 5800s are in the 300's at least. I really don't see any reason to go nuts on graphics without a game.

[Bobmuhthol]

Please don't get a 128-bit graphics card.

[pabstblueribbon]

I could go AMD if PhenomII is really worth it compared to i7. But I can't even find a 5900 series Radeon on Newegg, and their 5800s are in the 300's at least.

Eh, I'd rather save on the cpu/mobo and get the 5800 and more system memory.


I really don't see any reason to go nuts on graphics without a game.

I guess my philosophy is 180 degrees from that. Why get a game without a good graphics card?

[Revalos]

Please don't get a 128-bit graphics card.

OK, what about this one instead?

MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127445

And more memory?!?! Are you serious? I have 8GB (2x4GB dual channel) in this current rig and I never ever use more than 5. I can't afford 3x4GB at the prices listed. I could do 2x4GB DDR3 if I saved money elsewhere but it'd be a while before I could get the last stick and it'd be difficult to get a perfect match for triple channel.

Looking quickly at AMD mobos, I don't see any with Triple channel support, and few with DDR3 1600 support without initial OC. I think I'll stick with Intel.

[pabstblueribbon]

You apparently arent looking very hard.

[Revalos]

You apparently arent looking very hard.

Examples?

[Androidpk]

Nvidia 300 series cards SHOULD be out in the 1st quarter. I would definitely wait and check that out.

[pabstblueribbon]

I stand corrected, I thought AMD was going to support triple channel with AM3 but unlike Intel they decided to forgo it until it actually made a difference. The only way you're going to see a large difference in performance is in the video card/system memory, since most things are limited by those two things, and not the cpu (although some of intels instruction sets work better with some programs). I wasn't necessarily suggesting getting more memory.. maybe some with faster timings. You could also use the coin to setup a fat raid, or get a good SSD.

It does sort of boil down to what you're going to do with it and what you can afford though. To simply say, well, im going to get this because it has a higher number, in they case of 128bit (sometimes) without actually looking at benchmarks is folly. I am not an AMD fanboy but they have the crown at every pricepoint in the video card realm right now, and being a gamer, I generally build my computer around the video cards.

anandtech.com is a good place to look up benchmarks.

[pabstblueribbon]

I havent read anything on the nvidia 300 series yet. It may prove interesting.

[kookiegod]

new stuff is always coming out...

This is my new toy and rockin hard...

Case(CoolerMaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Gaming Case - Black)
Processor(Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache))
Processor Cooling([Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1366])
Memory(12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card(ATI Radeon HD 5850 - 1GB - Single Card)
Motherboard(MSI X58 PRO-E -- Intel X58 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, Triple-Channel DDR3, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB)
Power Supply(800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready)
Primary Hard Drive(1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive)

Didn't want to build, and got the ATI/directX11 card, 12gb of DDR3 ram, and paid about 1000 in total, got some other parts to install, but easy.

[pabstblueribbon]

That hard drive is a terrible eyesore in that otherwise good looking build :p

[Bobmuhthol]

The GTS 250 is fine, particularly if you are not looking for long-term, intensive gaming.

[phantasm]

If your not building your system for cutting edge gaming, then your building it for web browsing, and watching videos/looking at porn.

I would recommend getting the cheapest internal hardware you can afford, maybe comparable to the machine you have now.

Spend the money saved on the biggest fucking LCD you can afford maybe with touchscreen.

[Revalos]

new stuff is always coming out...

This is my new toy and rockin hard...

Case(CoolerMaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Gaming Case - Black)
Processor(Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache))
Processor Cooling([Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1366])
Memory(12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card(ATI Radeon HD 5850 - 1GB - Single Card)
Motherboard(MSI X58 PRO-E -- Intel X58 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, Triple-Channel DDR3, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB)
Power Supply(800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready)
Primary Hard Drive(1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive)

Didn't want to build, and got the ATI/directX11 card, 12gb of DDR3 ram, and paid about 1000 in total, got some other parts to install, but easy.

Not bad...looks similar to my ideas.

Where'd you get the free upgrade on the CPU cooler? I'd love to get a liquid cooler for the CPU but can't afford to make the whole case liquid cooled.

I like that Mobo, but did you have to OC it to put in DDR3 1600s?

I hadn't considered going 6x2GB because I was concerned that when I'd need to upgrade to 4GB across the board I'd have to throw all that RAM away...but now that I think about it how long is 12GB going to probably be enough? Probably longer than I'll have the freaking system even if I build it to cutting edge.


If your not building your system for cutting edge gaming, then your building it for web browsing, and watching videos/looking at porn.

I would recommend getting the cheapest internal hardware you can afford, maybe comparable to the machine you have now.

Spend the money saved on the biggest fucking LCD you can afford maybe with touchscreen.

Very true statement...either go all the way or don't go anywhere at all. I could really do all of the porn watching on my PS3 if I wanted to, but I like building, and it is important to me that at least the underlying components (motherboard, PSU, CPU cooler, and sometimes case and RAM) are as future proofed and high quality as they can be and I can scrimp on the peripherals (graphics card, Hard Drive, processor, DVD drive) since I can upgrade them later as prices drop on higher quality stuff.

I am definitely going to get a gigantic LCD in the future, but I don't need one right now. I can hook this rig up to my 46" Bravia XBR8 without any difficulty at the moment, so I'll probably just do that until I need to move stuff to different rooms.

[pabstblueribbon]

The GTS 250 is fine, particularly if you are not looking for long-term, intensive gaming.

Prior to product line renaming, the 250 is actually a 9800 gtx+.

Extremely sub-par performance with todays video card standards.


I could really do all of the porn watching on my PS3 if I wanted to, but I like building, and it is important to me that at least the underlying components (motherboard, PSU, CPU cooler, and sometimes case and RAM) are as future proofed and high quality as they can be and I can scrimp on the peripherals (graphics card, Hard Drive, processor, DVD drive) since I can upgrade them later as prices drop on higher quality stuff.

The "motherboard, psu, cpu cooler, and sometimes ram" is just as easy to upgrade later as anything else.. if you're a decent builder.

[Clove]

I place a lot of faith in Ars Technica's system guides, though you might want to wait until the Jan. 2010 comes out.

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/guides/2009/10/ars-system-guide-october-2009-edition.ars

[Revalos]

I place a lot of faith in Ars Technica's system guides, though you might want to wait until the Jan. 2010 comes out.

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/guides/2009/10/ars-system-guide-october-2009-edition.ars

Yeah, that is a little dated, but looks like I'm shooting for the right price point for a mid tier system. Looking at the current deals at Newegg I'll have to make a call by the 31st for some of the components, so we'll see what after Christmas sales happen so I won't be able to wait until the end of January...plus my brother will probably want his computer before then.

[Clove]

Yeah, that is a little dated, but looks like I'm shooting for the right price point for a mid tier system. Looking at the current deals at Newegg I'll have to make a call by the 31st for some of the components, so we'll see what after Christmas sales happen so I won't be able to wait until the end of January...plus my brother will probably want his computer before then.Emphasis on little considering it was less than 3 months ago. I'm sure Ar's hot-rod suggestions would work out well in terms of price and performance.

[Bobmuhthol]

Extremely sub-par performance with todays video card standards.

rofl. I have a 9600 GT and I can assure you that my performance is not subpar. The existence of better technology does not make it the standard.

[pabstblueribbon]

Sub-par performance means it performs horribly compared to current gen cards at their current price points. It has little to do with the existence of better tech.

Anyways, this is what I'd build, cant photobucket link right now, at work.

I'd use a thermalright pure copper heatsink, but they dont sell them on newegg.

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/cpu/true-copper/product_cpu_cooler_t_copper.html

EDIT: Bah, can't get the print screen of the list to shrink under 90kb.

[Celephais]

Sub-par performance means it performs horribly compared to current gen cards at their current price points.
... well that might be your definition, but that is not the definition.

[Clove]

It sounds like PBR is describing state of the art/not state of the art performance.

:thinking:

[Celephais]

It sounds like PBR is describing state of the art, not state of the are performance.

:thinking:
He's also defining par as top of the line.

[Revalos]

Yeah...I'm not building SKYNet yet...just something that won't crap itself if they make a WWII MMORPG with good graphics in the not too distant future...Infinity Ward.

I've made another change today based on a suggestion from another forum:

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Sata 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 sells me on this one. Yes, neither are widely used yet, especially USB 3.0 that won't be accepted by Intel until 2011, but I do like future proofing. Under $300 is fine for a Mobo.

I just can't stomach dropping another $300+ on a video card that is obsolete before it gets shipped to me. I got suckered in on the Radeon HD 3870 back in the day for almost that much and it dropped $150 about 2 days after Newegg's price guarantee expired on it. I'd rather pick up a reasonably good Nvidia and then SLI in another one if that is needed later. Although I am starting to think $150 is a bit too cheap. I may have to wait for that 300 series to come out.

[pabstblueribbon]

... well that might be your definition, but that is not the definition.

I suppose we can argue semantics all day, but i'm not an English major so, I really dont feel like trying. I will explain what I meant though.

If you take cards that you can buy today in that price sector, and compare their benchmarks, you'll see that the 9600 performs below the vast majority in that list. The majority setting the average or the 'par' while the 9600 performs below it, hence 'sub'.

Describing state of the art? Not exactly, If I were, I would go with the i7. State of the art and cost do not equate into overall better system performance. What I am describing, since the lot of you know nothing about current system bottlenecks, IE the hard drive and the video card, is over all system performance, and cost / performance ratio. This is of course, relative to what you'll be using the computer for.

Here is the list of things I compiled:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w73/wtfnancy/eatit.jpg

Of course, this route may not be for you.. it will set you back over 1500 dollars, but this is what I'd go with. I like to discuss computer builds. :shrug:
Im sure some of you will say omgwtf 30gb, but i'd only use that as the OS and my 'fav' game drive, and buy some shitty 1 TB drive for storage.

[Bobmuhthol]

The 9600 underperforms compared to $100 cards? This is news to me.

[pabstblueribbon]

Consider yourself informed I guess. If you do a quick search you can find benchmarks where the radeon 4850 out performs it almost 5x.

You can get the 4850 for around 100 dollars give or take.

[Bobmuhthol]

The 4850 is more expensive than the 9600 GT regardless of giving or taking, and what are you using as a means of saying it has 5 times the performance? 1329 rating vs. 939 rating is less than 1.5 times.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

[pabstblueribbon]

Unfortunately most 3D benchmarking utilities are woefully inadequate at showing real world performance. This is prety much common knowledge.

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/gt220_101209014938/20421.png

You can get a 4850 for 70 bucks..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770R&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-770R-_-Product

[AestheticDeath]

that looks like 78! and open box...

[Clove]

Jesus PBR that's almost 80 bucks and it's open box...

I didn't even see the 9600 on that benchmark pic you posted and are longer bars better or worse?

[pabstblueribbon]

I love open box.

:thumbup:

Is it fuck with PBR over little details day? I think for the most part what I've tried to convey is accurate.. oh well fuck it, build a big fat box of shit for all I care.

[Bobmuhthol]

Yeah everything you're presenting is pretty underhanded. That is certainly an open box video card, and I am not seeing the 9600 GT on that list. I know it isn't a 9500 GT, so the 4850 is definitely not 5 times as powerful.

[pabstblueribbon]

The 220 is the 9600 gts rebranded... fucking get a clue already. I also said that hoping you had a basic understanding that it wont always be exactly 5x the performance in every game. I guess I was wrong.

And who cares if its open box, you can still get it for that. If you paid the full 100 for the 4850, it would still be a better deal than what you could get your stupid fucking 9600 GT for, even if you got it for 1 goddamn dollar. Now go back to playing 'bedazzled' at 30fps on your piece of shit computer.

Phew. I need beer.

[Bobmuhthol]

It's weird that I get significantly more than 37 FPS on max settings in Left 4 Dead then. Cool image but my "real world performance" is more like 60 FPS.

Huge difference between 5 times the performance and less than 3 times, but sure, I don't have a basic understanding of what performance means. I think the problem is that I actually give a fuck about factual data.

Oh hey, how come every GT 220 I've looked at is 128-bit? What happened to it being my piece of shit card? Get a fucking clue ;)

[Bobmuhthol]

Yeah I am just going to reiterate that I play Left 4 Dead (2 now) on max settings constantly.

[pabstblueribbon]

So find me some 'factual' data with a 256 bit interface. I doubt there's much of a difference. Still doesnt dispute the fact that the 4850 is a better buy. All you've done is spouted rhetoric without any sources.

OMG MY 4850 GETS 100FPS IN CRYSIS ON MAX SETTINGS NUB.

Omg your numbarz arent 100 percent correct and that is wut i will challenge you with cuz i know purformance!

All you've supplied is a chart that means fuck-all and bullshit that you've typed up.

[Clove]

Yeah a 9600GT while it isn't a state of the art card certainly isn't sub par as long as it's part of a good system.

[Bobmuhthol]

My source is that I use the 9600 GT (ie., I HAVE BETTER INFORMATION THAN A GRAPH) and you are calling me a fucking idiot while simultaneously making ludicrous claims. On top of that, when called on it, you just say that I am not citing anything, but you definitely didn't cite a goddamn thing when you called my card a GT 220. Want me to take a screenshot of me playing L4D2 for you or something?

[Clove]

In PBR's defense he did find an open-box card for 78 bucks...

[Clove]

Just sayin'

[Bobmuhthol]

lmao. Let me remind the entire thread that Revalos isn't getting a card for gaming so what the fuck is the issue?

[pabstblueribbon]

What was ludicrous about my claims?

The 220 is the rebranded 9600. Would you like me to link you to something that would explain that to you?

I'd like you to show me numbers from a decent website for your particular card and a fairly modern game. Then we can compare them. Its real easy like. You could also stop being such condescending little asshole, but im sure thats asking a little too much.

[Bobmuhthol]

The 220 is the rebranded 9600. Would you like me to link you to something that would explain that to you?


Did I not just say that there is no 220 with 256-bit memory? And yet, here I am, using a 256-bit 9600 GT?

[pabstblueribbon]

lmao. Let me remind the entire thread that Revalos isn't getting a card for gaming so what the fuck is the issue?

No real issue in that regard. Just trying to explain why I thought the 9600 was a bad choice because it performed less than most cards you can buy for that price.

I do owe you an apology because it was the first link I could find and I have a habit of skimming.. reading too fast
GT 220 and G 210 are based on the GT216 and GT218 cores respectively (anyone confused yet?) which are the first and so far only 40nm members of NVIDIA’s GT200 family. These are specifically designed as low-end cards, with 48 SPs on the GT 220, and 16 SPs on the G 210. The GT 220 is designed to sit between the 9500GT and 9600GT in performance, making its closest competitor the 48SP 9600GSO. Meanwhile the G 210 is the replacement for the 9400GT.

So its not technically a replacement for the 9600, but more of a step up from the 9500. The 4850 is still widely regarded as much better than the 9600gt and more comparable to the 9800gt.

Either way..

[Bobmuhthol]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200-AA,801.html

Sum of FPS benchmarks, which gives better cards an even larger advantage since the gap will widen with each game tested. Bear in mind that I never said the HD 4850 was not a better card; I said it was more expensive than a 9600 GT. The 4850 is nowhere near even twice as powerful as the 9600 GT, though, so if you could stop saying that it would be great.

[kookiegod]

That hard drive is a terrible eyesore in that otherwise good looking build :p

Yes, I know...i'll replace it...



Not bad...looks similar to my ideas.

Where'd you get the free upgrade on the CPU cooler? I'd love to get a liquid cooler for the CPU but can't afford to make the whole case liquid cooled.

I like that Mobo, but did you have to OC it to put in DDR3 1600s?

I hadn't considered going 6x2GB because I was concerned that when I'd need to upgrade to 4GB across the board I'd have to throw all that RAM away...but now that I think about it how long is 12GB going to probably be enough? Probably longer than I'll have the freaking system even if I build it to cutting edge.


Upgrade to the cpu cooled was ibuypower.com, where i got the whole thing for 1300, including free shipping.

12gb of mem is still running everything at top speed, I don't see anything coming thats going to use all that, the CPU, and the new graphics card to anything remotely approaching a limit, and now that I got off my ass and got away from Dell's, I can do a lot more upgrading myself.

~Paul

[Clove]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1920x1200-AA,801.html

Sum of FPS benchmarks, which gives better cards an even larger advantage since the gap will widen with each game tested. Bear in mind that I never said the HD 4850 was not a better card; I said it was more expensive than a 9600 GT. The 4850 is nowhere near even twice as powerful as the 9600 GT, though, so if you could stop saying that it would be great.But it's sub par.

[Celephais]

But it's sub par.
Heh

Anyone have any good advice on SSDs? I'm ready to jump in and have done a lot of research on it, the problem I'm seeing is finding any real price/performance evaluations. I know about the difference in controllers and how trim keeps the drive running at near new condition, as it stands my plan is to use it as a boot drive, with a handful of programs (Visual Studio, Photoshop, and two or three games, whatever I'm playing at the time, actively moved off the drive as I finish playing them). With that criteria I'm thinking 60gb is my minimum.

Is it really worth doubling the cost to go from a samsung to an indilinx controller, or once again to go to an intel controller? As it stands now I'm thinking OCZ Vertex @ ~$200, but hoping I can wait it out to find a good deal, I know the intel ones have been having some issues w/ firmware but I trust they'll be updated soon and I'm under the impression intel has a lot more reserved space (so faster when fuller).

Anyone pipe in on this with experience... (I've read all the anand, toms, ars, etc articles, but again none seem to address this situation or current pricepoints... if you have a recent article though I'd be interested.)

[AnticorRifling]

Ok I've been out of the "keeping track of hardware advancements and trends loop" for about 3 years now. Basically since I stopped being a bench tech and doing field break fix shit. I'm looking at a potential video card upgrade (I'm thinking that's my issue with my FPS in certain WoW dungeons since I got the new monitor).

-I'm not looking to spend a lot. Just need to get smooth 35 plus at all times if possible, like I said in the other thread I'm generally there, and usually 60fps outside of raids.

-I've got a SLI mobo if that's an option (hell do I need matching video cards to take advantage of that I don't even know, obviously they both have to be SLI capable)

-I don't know the specs of my current rig off the top of my head, I'll post them later.

-I am leeching off this thread because I don't want to make a new one.

-I'm going home, fuck trying to figure out why this 3rd party software doesn't want to import data from our ERP.

[Bobmuhthol]

Yes, SLI cards have to be identical cards.

[Celephais]

Yes, SLI cards have to be identical cards.
Odds are he doesn't have a hybrid SLI capable motherboard, but under the correct set of circumstances you can have different types of cards and still SLI them.

[AnticorRifling]

Mobo is an Asus M2N - SLI

Current video card Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512MB

XP service pack 3
AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ 2.71GHz
3GB RAM


So I'm guessing I'll try and track down another card to match. Unless you've got better idea(s) which I'm assuming you do :)

[BigWorm]

Odds are he doesn't have a hybrid SLI capable motherboard, but under the correct set of circumstances you can have different types of cards and still SLI them.

I thought the only hybrid SLI option (at least for nVidia) was hybrid between a discrete card and an integrated card, and I thought that was mostly for laptops. Could be wrong because I am definitely not big on SLI. Otherwise as far I as know in SLI the cards have to be really similar. Pretty sure its recommended to use even same model # (e.g. 9800) AND series (GTS, GT, etc) and if there is any differences the better card slows itself to the performance of the crappier one.

Anyway, it is a moot point since I very much doubt that the gain in performance of having two cheap cards in SLI compared to a single more capable card is worth the cost in $/power/ease of setup. SLI is for enthusiasts at high end of the spectrum, not for the mainstream consumer.

Personally, I have a big boner for multiple monitors so I'd much rather keep the cards separate and connect another monitor or two.

[Celephais]

There's a lot of weird conditions with hybrid SLI (but yes, integrated/discrete only for current implementations), didn't read up on it very much as I didn't have an interest in it, I was more concerned with a hybrid scenario where you make your old GPU a dedicated PhysX or CUDA coprocessor (basically for upgrade scenarios, so the old card isn't just trashed) in those cases they do not need to match.

[Kranar]

Personally, I have a big boner for multiple monitors so I'd much rather keep the cards separate and connect another monitor or two.


With SLI you can connect a second monitor while SLI is enabled.

[BigWorm]

With SLI you can connect a second monitor while SLI is enabled.

I was talking more like 3 or 4 screens and maybe a TV. Can you use all the outputs of both cards in SLI?

[Revalos]

I was talking more like 3 or 4 screens and maybe a TV. Can you use all the outputs of both cards in SLI?

3-4 screens and a TV is pushing it. 3-4 screens is pretty doable though. Many SLI capable cards already have 2 DVI outs, some even have a DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI out, but I doubt they'd handle 3 devices by themselves. I'd wager a mid-high range card can handle 2 medium size monitors (22inches or less) without losing too much capability.

I am still stuck on my graphics card for my system, I think all the other decisions are basically made at this point. I see both sides of the argument...either I get a mid range fairly cheap card knowing I can either SLI in another one and get mid-high range performance or I drop a few hundred more and get a mid-high range card and be able to SLI in another one for pretty damn good performance for a while.

Oh...here is a link to the wishlist if anyone else is looking at parts like this for pricing:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16995807

[Celephais]

The thing about multiple screens is that most games won't take advantage of them, and there is a MASSIVE performance hit for having a windowed DirectX render target span screens, and in the case of full screen they have to explicitly render for each screen, and most games just don't bother with it (big exception being flight sims).

It's pretty easy for a card to handle the multiple screens for desktop applications as long as it has the outputs for it, although WPF (Aero) has lowered the bar for graphic intensive applications into simple desktop applications.

[Kranar]

I was talking more like 3 or 4 screens and maybe a TV. Can you use all the outputs of both cards in SLI?


Unfortunately not while SLI is enabled. SLI only supports two monitors, if you want more than two monitors you will have to switch SLI off.

[Revalos]

Man, I am indecisive about video cards on this build. I'm back with Radeon after a healthy check at DirectX 11 capabilities and the lack of an NVidia DirectX 11 offering before February and probably for not less than $500 because of a damn shortage of 40nm chips. I don't like paying for supply stupidity, but it seems like I will either way.

5850s are running around $300, 5870s are running around $400. I am going to keep my eyes open for deals over the next few weeks on 5870s unless these GT300 Fermis from NVidia magically show up.

[BigWorm]

The thing about multiple screens is that most games won't take advantage of them, and there is a MASSIVE performance hit for having a windowed DirectX render target span screens, and in the case of full screen they have to explicitly render for each screen, and most games just don't bother with it (big exception being flight sims).

It's pretty easy for a card to handle the multiple screens for desktop applications as long as it has the outputs for it, although WPF (Aero) has lowered the bar for graphic intensive applications into simple desktop applications.

Multiple monitors are useful for lots of things not gaming related.

[pabstblueribbon]

The thing about multiple screens is that most games won't take advantage of them, and there is a MASSIVE performance hit for having a windowed DirectX render target span screens, and in the case of full screen they have to explicitly render for each screen, and most games just don't bother with it (big exception being flight sims).

It's pretty easy for a card to handle the multiple screens for desktop applications as long as it has the outputs for it, although WPF (Aero) has lowered the bar for graphic intensive applications into simple desktop applications.

Google Eyefinity by Radeon. Its new, and I do believe you can use it with any game or application. Up to 6 monitors per card IIRC. They also just released drivers so that you can use crossfire and eyefinity at the same time.

I'm not too sure whats going to happen to Nvidia. They've burned their bridges with intel and can't sell mobo chipsets and they sure aren't going to sell any for ATI/AMD. I hope they dont go away because competition is what has driven these prices down but it doesnt look good for them right now with ATI's huge momentum and their delays with Fermi. I don't think the 300gt Fermi's from nvidia will show up until well into next year, since they haven't even really started with the paper launches or releasing performance data yet.

I wish I could say the same things about AMD/ATI's CPU division. Would really bring the prices down on those intels.

I did misread the 9500 as the 9600 and thats where I got the 5x number. Later I skimmed another site mentioning the 220 as the replacement part for the 9600, while not the same part, its what they began selling in place of it since they quit producing it.

[Celephais]

Multiple monitors are useful for lots of things not gaming related.
Absolutely agree, I have a 1920x1200x2 setup that benefits me zero in games.. the point I was making... addressing the post I was responding to, was that you don't need a good graphics card to handle multi-monitor situations... if the monitor physically supports it, then odds are it'll be fine for the task at hand (again, flight sims being the wrench in the works)

[Revalos]

Christmas Eve update:

Received the freaking gigantic ATX case and the power supply. Even though I already had a BillMeLater account before PayPal took them over, I was able to get the $25 off my purchase as a first time BML user deal anyway without them opening any new credit on me, so if anyone already has BML you can still get that discount without having another hit against your credit.

Microcenter has a really sweet deal right now on i7 920 processors with Intel retail heatsink and fan (199.99 + Tax), $90 cheaper than Newegg, makes it as cheap as buying a good Phenom II so that pretty much links me to the X58 Mobo as well. This is only valid for in-store pickup, BTW so check www.microcenter.com and see if you have a drivable location.

Damn RAM kit cost went up by $10 last night, so now I'm shopping around seeing if there is anything better at that price point...may switch to another brand of RAM too. Microcenter again is just about on par with Newegg's deal except tax kills that one.

[Clove]

/smirk, yeah there's a Microcenter in Boston I can drive to in 2.5 hours. 5 hours round trip and 20ish bucks in gas just doesn't seem worth a 90 dollar discount. With only 22 locations nationwide I'm betting the same will be true for most of us. Not that I'm building anything at the moment. Just sayin'.

[kookiegod]

Man, I am indecisive about video cards on this build. I'm back with Radeon after a healthy check at DirectX 11 capabilities and the lack of an NVidia DirectX 11 offering before February and probably for not less than $500 because of a damn shortage of 40nm chips. I don't like paying for supply stupidity, but it seems like I will either way.

5850s are running around $300, 5870s are running around $400. I am going to keep my eyes open for deals over the next few weeks on 5870s unless these GT300 Fermis from NVidia magically show up.


Yap, the 5870 puts you ahead of the curve by far.

I love mine! :)

~Paul

[Cephalopod]

Don't forget to peek at TigerDirect. They've had a lot of one-day deals on RAM the last few weeks.

[Revalos]

Don't forget to peek at TigerDirect. They've had a lot of one-day deals on RAM the last few weeks.

FTW! 12.8% Bing Cash Back at TigerDirect just started an hour ago (use the search term "motherboard") + Free shipping under 35 lbs + $10 off $100 using Paypal.

Picked up the XFX HD 5870 that came with Dirt 2 and the ASUS P6X58D Mobo and saved $100 on that deal.

I grabbed my copy of Windows 7 64bit Home Premium earlier today over at ZipZoomFly for 88.99 with the $15 discount when using eBillMe as the payment method.

So all I've got left to get is:

Tuniq TX-3 Thermal Compound (11.98 shipped after rebate at Newegg) - I don't use Arctic Silver anymore after I bought some and it was completely separated

Some kind of cheap Dual Layer DVD burner - I may snag one at Microcenter tomorrow when I go pick up my processor if their deal $30 deal for an OEM one is to be believed

12GB of DDR3 1600 RAM - Newegg is screwed up, they've got a 12GB kit from OCZ at $301 after rebate, but if you buy the same RAM in two sets of 6GB you can get 12GB for $270 after rebate

Looks like I'll be ringing in the new year with a new PC. Once everything is bought I'll price the entire build out with all the discounts and such.

[pabstblueribbon]

Unf. Nice card.

[BigWorm]

Christmas Eve update:

Received the freaking gigantic ATX case and the power supply. Even though I already had a BillMeLater account before PayPal took them over, I was able to get the $25 off my purchase as a first time BML user deal anyway without them opening any new credit on me, so if anyone already has BML you can still get that discount without having another hit against your credit.

Microcenter has a really sweet deal right now on i7 920 processors with Intel retail heatsink and fan (199.99 + Tax), $90 cheaper than Newegg, makes it as cheap as buying a good Phenom II so that pretty much links me to the X58 Mobo as well. This is only valid for in-store pickup, BTW so check www.microcenter.com and see if you have a drivable location.

Damn RAM kit cost went up by $10 last night, so now I'm shopping around seeing if there is anything better at that price point...may switch to another brand of RAM too. Microcenter again is just about on par with Newegg's deal except tax kills that one.

We just got a Microcenter here in St. Louis, but I have only checked them out on-line. Lots of people from my User Groups have been raving about it though, so I have been meaning to check them out.

I just recently got my first visit to a Fry's when I was in San Diego on a business trip. I wish there was a place like that around here for the little odds and ends that you don't realize you need until halfway through a weekend project.

[Revalos]

We just got a Microcenter here in St. Louis, but I have only checked them out on-line. Lots of people from my User Groups have been raving about it though, so I have been meaning to check them out.

I just recently got my first visit to a Fry's when I was in San Diego on a business trip. I wish there was a place like that around here for the little odds and ends that you don't realize you need until halfway through a weekend project.

Microcenter is good most of the time and can be great some times (as you can see by that deal I got earlier). I consider it the equivalent of Auto Zone and Apple Store for PCs. Fry's is a bit better (I've only been to the Las Vegas location) as they have crazier deals occasionally. MC is really the Fry's of the East Coast.

The one I go to in Rockville, MD is chock full of odds and ends and has some of the really top of the line stuff under glass for you to check out how it looks before you go buy it online (I'd love to buy it there too but their prices can be a bit ludicrous for specialty stuff like water cooling blocks).

Rumor has it they used to pricematch Amazon and Newegg when this store opened so they could snag early business. If yours in St. Louis is new, don't hesitate to try it out and see.

[Revalos]

All parts are now purchased and on their way or already here, so here's the damage:

2 x OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory - $269.99 from Newegg

Thermaltake Eureka VC8000BWA Black Chassis Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $94.98 from Newegg

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $270.31 from TigerDirect

XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express Video Card + Dirt2 - $347.51 from TigerDirect

Thermaltake W0296RU 800W Active PFC Power Supply - $124.71 from Newegg

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor and Heatsink fan - $211.99 from Microcenter

SAMSUNG Black 22X DL DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - $31.79 from Microcenter

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $88.99 from ZipZoomFly

and my one impulse buy today...stupid Newegg deals always get me:

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $149.99 from Newegg (I already had a 500GB drive for storage/pagefile sitting around, so I can install the OS on this)

Total price: $1590.26 with tax and shipping

Should be a pretty good machine for the forseeable future I think...and I stayed under $1600. Thanks for the assistance everyone! My brother will thank you even more that he's getting my old rig for free.

[Androidpk]

How reliable is bing cashback? I bought a laptop in november when bing had 30% back and I still haven't gotten credit for it.

[Revalos]

How reliable is bing cashback? I bought a laptop in november when bing had 30% back and I still haven't gotten credit for it.

Back in the good ole days in August of last year and they had the absolutely ridiculous 30% deals for anything (ANYTHING) bought on Ebay, I was convinced that it would never work, but lo and behold 90 days later I got my $500.

If it worked during those absolutely stupid deal times, I have to imagine it still does. You've probably got another 30 days or so to see your money show up. PM me if you need more assistance in verifying that things are OK if you don't want to post additional info.

[Sean of the Thread]

I'm jealous of the 800w power supply. Mine is hurting bad.


Hell I'm jealous of the whole set up. My frankenstein of a computer is dying fast and I don't think I can sew it back together much longer.

Bastard.