Anyone here build computers?

[Eeyore007]

I'm building my first computer and wanted to run the build by someone who has done them before. Pretty much a gaming computer on a fairly small budget.

cpu: amd phenom II X6 1100T am3
mb: asus sabertooth 990FX sata 6 am3
vid: sapphire radeon 6970HD 3Gb pci express 2.1x16
hdd: seagate barracuda 2Tb sata6 7200rpm
ram: gskill ripjaw 16Gb (4x4Gb)
power: corsair pro 750HX modular
case: antec 1200v3
cpu fan: noctua nh-d14
dvd: asus drw24b1st/blk/b/as sata

will run win7 pro 64bit and i already have an external hd and dvd burner to use

didn't want to sign up on some other site just to ask..

 

[Mike_Yates]

I'm building my first computer and wanted to run the build by someone who has done them before. Pretty much a gaming computer on a fairly small budget.

cpu: amd phenom II X6 1100T am3
mb: asus sabertooth 990FX sata 6 am3
vid: sapphire radeon 6970HD 3Gb pci express 2.1x16
hdd: seagate barracuda 2Tb sata6 7200rpm
ram: gskill ripjaw 16Gb (4x4Gb)
power: corsair pro 750HX modular
case: antec 1200v3
cpu fan: noctua nh-d14
dvd: asus drw24b1st/blk/b/as sata

will run win7 pro 64bit and i already have an external hd and dvd burner to use

didn't want to sign up on some other site just to ask..

Yes, I built the computer I'm using right now.

That's a pretty nice setup. I've got a Core i7 930 and two HD 5870's in crossfireX.

Although you really should have gone with a Core i7 or Core i5 setup instead. It is MUCH faster than the Phenom II.

 

[QueenLevitra]

Yes, I built the computer I'm using right now.

That's a pretty nice setup. I've got a Core i7 930 and two HD 5870's in crossfireX.

Although you really should have gone with a Core i7 or Core i5 setup instead. It is MUCH faster than the Phenom II.

Why should he listen to someone with an IQ of 70?

:savant:

 

[Eeyore007]

Yes, I built the computer I'm using right now.

That's a pretty nice setup. I've got a Core i7 930 and two HD 5870's in crossfireX.

Although you really should have gone with a Core i7 or Core i5 setup instead. It is MUCH faster than the Phenom II.

You think the i5 would be that much faster? Think I read the big diff with the i7 is its hyperthreading but I wont be doing a lot of multitasking. And the AMD is significantly less expensive.

thx for the response btw

 

[Mike_Yates]

You think the i5 would be that much faster? Think I read the big diff with the i7 is its hyperthreading but I wont be doing a lot of multitasking. And the AMD is significantly less expensive.

thx for the response btw

That AMD 6-core CPU is $300, while a mid-range Core i5 or Core i7 is around $200-300.

The Core i7 is about 40% faster than the Phenom II. The only thing is that the P55/X58 motherboards are a bit pricey.

 

[Mike_Yates]

This is my dream PC

*Core i7 3930K OC'ed to 4.0 GHz with water cooling
*ASUS Rampage IV X79 motherboard
*12GB DDR3 1800MHz memory
*3-way SLI GeForce GTX 680 (kepler) with water cooling circuit
*Silverstone 1,500W power supply
*Coolermaster HAF X case
*A series of three or four solid state drives
*Blu ray drive
*Windows 8

 

[cebalrai]

That AMD 6-core CPU is $300

Actually it's $189 on Newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

The Phenom II X6 is about 40% slower than a modern i7 as Mike said, however that's in single-threaded benchmarks. When you consider multi-threaded benches (and every game made today uses multiple threads) the gap is much narrower. Suddenly the X6 is on par with the i5 and only 10%-20% slower than an i7.

One thing to note though, this particular Phenom X6 turbos up to 3.7 ghz. That means when an application isn't using all the cores, it automatically overclocks another 400 mhz. I've never seen a benchmark for this processor as it's very new, but it's going to take a chunk out of the lead the core i7 has.

On a cost-for-performance basis, this processor is very competitive with Intel's offerings. It would serve your gaming needs well for a very long time. Keep in mind that almost all games are going to be limited by the GPU long before the CPU. If you can save money on a CPU to get a better GPU, it's worth it.

 

[cebalrai]

Lastly, before buying any processor right now you should realize that AMD is releasing the FX-series of processors as we speak. They've already made their way into a few pre-built desktops. They're a next-gen processor with 4, 6, or 8 cores and will be significantly faster than the Phenom series and are competitively priced. If I were you I would wait a couple weeks and build one of those.

 

[snugglestruggle]

I can't argue with anything that has already been said. I will add only this...whatever you build, even if it's the latest thing, will be obsolete in 12 months. Don't skimp on the important stuff, a good processor/Video combo are worth a few extra bucks.

 

[mercury14]

I can't argue with anything that has already been said. I will add only this...whatever you build, even if it's the latest thing, will be obsolete in 12 months. Don't skimp on the important stuff, a good processor/Video combo are worth a few extra bucks.

I would say processor isn't a very big deal. Processor technology is so many years ahead of software at this point. Any game made today can be played perfectly well on an old Athlon 64 X2 made back in 2005, as long as you have a solid video card. It's my understanding that if you have a high-end video card that an old CPU will hold back it's performance a bit, but the video card is still 90% of what's important.

And no, it's absurd to say that processors and video cards will be obsolete in 12 months. Are you saying all the Nehalem i5s and i7s are now obsolete? That a Phenom II X6 is obsolete? Not in the least bit.

 

[JohnnySavage]

I've had this same Gateway lap top for 8 years now. You guys dropping your shit on the floor that you always need a new one?

 

[Sonny Limatina]

I've had this same Gateway lap top for 8 years now. You guys dropping your shit on the floor that you always need a new one?

No, most of us just weren't stupid enough to pay $800 when all we really needed was a calculator and a typewriter.

Ohnoheditten, ohyeshedit.

 

[JohnnySavage]

No, most of us just weren't stupid enough to pay $800 when all we really needed was a calculator and a typewriter.

Ohnoheditten, ohyeshedit.

As I recall, it was $450 at the Best Buy, and i had a $50 Reward Point coupon.

Waste not, want not.

 

[Sonny Limatina]

As I recall, it was $450 at the Best Buy, and i had a $50 Reward Point coupon.

Waste not, want not.

An honest answer to your question: in many cases, the software we need and use progresses so far past the hardware of an old machine that we finally bow to the evil obsolescence planners and upgrade the box.

 

[Mike_Yates]

Wait a few months until AMD's FX "Bulldozer" chips. They are a completely new micro-architecture designed to compete with Intel's mid-range "Sandy Bridge" CPU line.

And with a gaming rig, 90% of gaming performance comes from the graphics card(s) and not the CPU. Most people buy a mid-range CPU and overclock it to outperform the flagship model.

Just about any quad-core CPU can conquer any PC game out there. It isn't necessary to have six or eight-core processors at the moment.

3-way SLI GTX 680's will rip through ANYTHING you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

 

[mercury14]

Wait a few months until AMD's FX "Bulldozer" chips. They are a completely new micro-architecture designed to compete with Intel's mid-range "Sandy Bridge" CPU line.

And with a gaming rig, 90% of gaming performance comes from the graphics card(s) and not the CPU. Most people buy a mid-range CPU and overclock it to outperform the flagship model.

Just about any quad-core CPU can conquer any PC game out there. It isn't necessary to have six or eight-core processors at the moment.

3-way SLI GTX 680's will rip through ANYTHING you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

You don't even need a quad. And 3-way SLI is silly, wasteful overkill.

 

[Shagly]

I build a new computer every 5 years, need to keep up to the outdated technology.

 

[Mike_Yates]

You don't even need a quad. And 3-way SLI is silly, wasteful overkill.

To run certain games like Crysis, on their maximum possible settings, 3-4 graphics cards come in handy.

 

[snugglestruggle]

I would say processor isn't a very big deal. Processor technology is so many years ahead of software at this point. Any game made today can be played perfectly well on an old Athlon 64 X2 made back in 2005, as long as you have a solid video card. It's my understanding that if you have a high-end video card that an old CPU will hold back it's performance a bit, but the video card is still 90% of what's important.

And no, it's absurd to say that processors and video cards will be obsolete in 12 months. Are you saying all the Nehalem i5s and i7s are now obsolete? That a Phenom II X6 is obsolete? Not in the least bit.

Nielsen's Law says that the bandwidth available to users increases by 50%annually.
Under "Koomey's law," it's efficiency, not power, that doubles every year.

I cannot attest to what you understand or don't. In the past hardware limitations placed restrictions on software developers. RAM used to be expensive, now it's dirt cheap. Technological innovation. If you build in more capacity to do something, someone will find a way to use it.
See Nielsens Law* above .

So yeah all that stuff is obsolete after a year 18 months tops, that doesn't mean you can't still get good use out of it.

 

[Mike_Yates]

Nielsen's Law says that the bandwidth available to users increases by 50%annually.
Under "Koomey's law," it's efficiency, not power, that doubles every year.

I cannot attest to what you understand or don't. In the past hardware limitations placed restrictions on software developers. RAM used to be expensive, now it's dirt cheap. Technological innovation. If you build in more capacity to do something, someone will find a way to use it.
See Nielsens Law* above .

So yeah all that stuff is obsolete after a year 18 months tops, that doesn't mean you can't still get good use out of it.

Moore's law is becoming obsolete. And when it does, electronic engineers are going to have to come up with something revolutionary if they want to keep making chips faster and more efficient.

22 nanometers (nm) is pushing the envelope as to how small you can possibly make a transistor. The laws of physics dictate that there is a limit on how small a transistor can be made. Right now they're only about 15-20 atoms thick.

 

[islandman]

cpu: Intel Core i5-2500k
mb: msi Z68MA-G45 B3 SATA III/USB 3.0
vid: TBD
hdd: Hitachi 1.5TB 32mb 7200rpm
ram: gskill ripjaw 16Gb (4x4Gb)
power: Antec 620 watt 80 PLUS
case: Antec Sonata IV
cpu fan: TBD
dvd: No optical drive required
O/S: Windows Home Server 2011

 

[Disgustipated]

cpu: Intel Core i5-2500k
mb: msi Z68MA-G45 B3 SATA III/USB 3.0
vid: TBD
hdd: Hitachi 1.5TB 32mb 7200rpm
ram: gskill ripjaw 16Gb (4x4Gb)
power: Antec 620 watt 80 PLUS
case: Antec Sonata IV
cpu fan: TBD
dvd: No optical drive required
O/S: Windows Home Server 2011

A/S/L ?

 

[islandman]

A/S/L ?

37/M/Boston

U?

 

[Mike_Yates]

cpu: Intel Core i5-2500k
mb: msi Z68MA-G45 B3 SATA III/USB 3.0
vid: TBD
hdd: Hitachi 1.5TB 32mb 7200rpm
ram: gskill ripjaw 16Gb (4x4Gb)
power: Antec 620 watt 80 PLUS
case: Antec Sonata IV
cpu fan: TBD
dvd: No optical drive required
O/S: Windows Home Server 2011

That obviously isn't a gaming rig.

I'm aiming for 3-way SLI GTX 680 (kepler cards) in a liquid cooling circuit!

That should give ANY PC game a run for it's money for many years to come.

 

[vikker]

Wait a few months until AMD's FX "Bulldozer" chips. They are a completely new micro-architecture designed to compete with Intel's mid-range "Sandy Bridge" CPU line.

And with a gaming rig, 90% of gaming performance comes from the graphics card(s) and not the CPU. Most people buy a mid-range CPU and overclock it to outperform the flagship model.

Just about any quad-core CPU can conquer any PC game out there. It isn't necessary to have six or eight-core processors at the moment.

3-way SLI GTX 680's will rip through ANYTHING you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

3-way SLI is also expensive and has diminishing returns past a certain point. If every game were on the level of Crysis 2 or Battlefield 3 in terms of graphics, this wouldn't be the case. But as long as we remain on the PS3 and XBox 360 gen spec requirement for most games, it's a little foolish to throw money into a GPU setup as elaborate as that. Better to go with two cards in SLI or Crossfire configuration and save some cash.