[lmwamh]

Hello! I will hopefully be getting ~1-2.5k in the month of February/March. I need to build a new computer, as I'm 8 years behind. I can't play any of the newer games (which by the way is a requirement for my college degree at DeVry), or even run the programs needed for my game development courses.

Anyways, my first question is: How much of a difference is there between the 5870 and 5970? I know on a budget like that the 5970 can be a hit or miss, but I do have an OCD thing where I will not play the game unless it is pretty much gorgeous. This is why I avoid using my pc anymore.


Anyways, is there any build I could do from newegg.com that would have an i7 920, a 5970 (or a 5870 if you think it's better) ~6-8gb of ram (preff 1333 or 1600 ddr3), room for another 5870 if I GO for that 5870, and a 1-2TB HDD. I would also like a blu-ray/cdrw optical drive. I do very extreme gaming a times. Obviously if overheating is a factor I would need help with that. I don't understand most of the lingo when it comes to things like that ^^

Oh...and if there is a better dual core processor out there for gaming please let me know. I would like to have the best processor for my choice, but I was under the impression certain cpu's allowed tri-channel memory. (I like to run many many apps at once)....Anyways please let me know if i7s would be best or dual cores. I'm really new to the computer building thing since I've been poor all my life.

Thank you if you can help me. ^^

PS: I was looking through motherboards and I was wondering why none of them on newegg have triple channel memory availability? I heard that was a new thing.

Edited by lmwamh, 30 January 2010 - 01:53 PM.

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I really hope somebody has the ability to help me ^^

[lmwamh]

I really hope somebody has the ability to help me ^^

[Ferrari]

OCD thing where I will not play the game unless it is pretty much gorgeous

5870 will do just fine, it will be gorgeous.

Oh...and if there is a better dual core processor out there for gaming please let me know. I would like to have the best processor for my choice, but I was under the impression certain cpu's allowed tri-channel memory. (I like to run many many apps at once)....Anyways please let me know if i7s would be best or dual cores. I'm really new to the computer building thing since I've been poor all my life.

i7's are much faster than the previous generations Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. Reports show 2-3 times faster.

Anyways, is there any build I could do from newegg.com that would have an i7 920, a 5970 (or a 5870 if you think it's better) ~6-8gb of ram (preff 1333 or 1600 ddr3), room for another 5870 if I GO for that 5870, and a 1-2TB HDD. I would also like a blu-ray/cdrw optical drive. I do very extreme gaming a times. Obviously if overheating is a factor I would need help with that. I don't understand most of the lingo when it comes to things like that

As long as you can spend somewhere around $1500, you can have most if not all of that.

PS: I was looking through motherboards and I was wondering why none of them on newegg have triple channel memory availability? I heard that was a new thing.

Triple Channel Memory is only available on the i7 socket 1366 and X58 Chipset setups.

Let me know if you'd like me to put together a "mock build" for you and see what the final cost could be. It really helps me if I know exactly what you are going to spend. $1000 will fall a bit short of an i7/X58 build with a 5870, but $1500-$2000 will have good room for an Awesome setup.

[lmwamh]

My school said I should be getting ~1650 from student aid back and my mother said she will give me $800 at the end of February (a big maybe)...So I'd say anything for ~2,000 would be great. I would love to see a mock build =)

Also, would it even be worth getting triple channel memory? This computer would be my pc for ~4+ years so I need to be pretty decent.


If my mother also helps me with the computer I will have ~2,000 to spend on the computer.

Since I would have to buy an OS I'm assuming this would be the best choice for W7?

http://www.newegg.co...6-716-_-Product

If so, are i7's capable of 64 bit? If not then how would 32 bit handle 6-8 gigs of ram? Thank you for your help

(was under the impression like 3.04gb or something like that was max ram in 32bit OS due to the bit restrictions)

Edited by lmwamh, 02 February 2010 - 01:26 AM.

[Ferrari]

If so, are i7's capable of 64 bit? If not then how would 32 bit handle 6-8 gigs of ram? Thank you for your help

(was under the impression like 3.04gb or something like that was max ram in 32bit OS due to the bit restrictions)

i7's are 64bit capable, no problem there. And yes you are correct, a 32bit OS can only recognize about 3.5gb of RAM. So you'll want 64bit.

Since I would have to buy an OS I'm assuming this would be the best choice for W7?

You can go with that, or you can go with an OEM license. It doesn't allow for as much upgrading in the future, like changing out the motherboard, but it is much cheaper. Click Here

This is the rough build I have for you:

EVGA X58 3X SLI Mobo $270
i7 920 Bloomfield CPU $289
(2) Patriot Gamer Series 6GB (2gb x 3) 12GB Total $320
Sapphire Radeon 5870 $409
CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W PSU $170
OCZ 60GB SSD Vertex Turbo $260 This is what Windows 7 and your main programs will go on. Solid State Disks are extremely fast.
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD $100 This is what all your storage will go on, or secondary programs. i.e. pictures, music, documents.
Antec 1200 Computer Case $160
Icy Dock 2.5" SSD to 3.5" converter $20 You need this to mount the OCZ 60gb SSD in your case.
Xigmatek Dark Knight CPU Cooler $45
Windows 7 Home 64bit OEM $105
EDIT: LG DVD/CD Burner Combo $25
Total Cost: $2174

This computer would be a BEAST and has room for you to upgrade to a faster CPU, has Crossfire support to add another 5870 without upgrading the Power Supply, and plenty of ventilation to keep the components nice and cool. The motherboard also supports RAID, so you could add a second 60GB OCZ SSD and practically double your hard drive speeds by running them in RAID 0.

If you need to save money, you can eliminate the OCZ SSD and just run on the 1TB if you'd like. Or another possibility is to eliminate one set of the Patriot Sets of RAM (6GB).

Let me know what you think.

Edited by Ferrari, 02 February 2010 - 12:22 PM.

[lmwamh]

I'm looking over the build now but I was looking for something more int he range of 1800-2000.

The reason I don't want to go over is because I could use the extra $400 to pay off some of my bills.

As far as the SSD's go....do they hold any affect on games? If not would it even be necessary for one?

Also, what about this ram?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820104116

or maybe this...

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145242

..I know lower CAS and lower timings are better. I've also heard that 12gb of ram is pretty useless if you're not 100% sure you need it. I think it'd be better if I waited to buy 12gb, and just went with 6gb now to save money. Which set of ram is best at 6gb though?

Yes, it is more...but I trust Kingston more. I've always used their RAM.

I was reading about RAID. What is this?

That was far more costly than I thought it'd be. Especially since I kind of didn't want the OEM Windows. I mean in case I wanted to upgrade and all..but I guess I'll go with OEM to save money.


I won't be able to get this pc until March, so I hope these parts will still be viable then.

Without the SSD and only 6gb of the corsair ram the cost is just over $1800 at $1813. ^^. Thoughts?

Oh..BTW I need a video card that has HDMI output. I have no monitor and I play on my 42" 1080p 120 refresh rate TV. Thank you =) Oh! The 5870 you linked has an HDMI port. I didn't see that at first. Silly me XD

Everything looks nice so far except for the CD/DVD drive. I really hate LG and I don't trust or want to deal with them when it comes to electronics. They have good washers and stuff but that's it. . I'm looking for something else now will edit if I find one I like ^^

What about this Cd/DVD combo?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827135199

Edited by lmwamh, 02 February 2010 - 05:04 PM.

[Ferrari]

As far as the SSD's go....do they hold any affect on games? If not would it even be necessary for one?

Not as much with online gaming, but if you are playing the game by yourself from your hard drive, then yes.

The Kingston RAM looks great, I used the DDR2 version of that in my parents build, seems really nice. If you'd rather go Kingston, then go ahead. You have the correct kind linked too.

I'd say take out the SSD if you are trying to save money, that should put you within your budget. If you'd rather save even more money, then only go with 6gb of RAM instead of 12gb. You can always upgrade later.

I was reading and read about SATA. I was wondering what this is?

SATA is the newest and fastest way of transferring data. The older and slower style is IDE. You want SATA for both the hard drive and the burner. Here is what SATA ports look like CLICK HERE(2red, 4black) and HERE also. Here is what SATA cables look like CLICK HERE

[lmwamh]

Okay well I changed it to RAID not SATA ^^. Anyways, I know that it would have more of an effect on single player games, but the truth is I play a lot of games. a 60gb SSD would hold maybe 2 games plus OS for me. I easily play 50+....So that's why I kind of think the SSD's aren't for me until well in the future.

Also what do you think about the Kingston versus the Corsair? The Corsair has lower timings and CAS...so wouldn't it be quicker?

Also you may want to re-read that post. It looks like I edited it and you missed out on some portions of it

Edited by lmwamh, 02 February 2010 - 09:57 PM.

[Ferrari]

I know lower CAS and lower timings are better.

Yes, you are correct. So Corsair Memory may be right up your alley, that's what I use. Dominator FTW! Pricey though.

I've also heard that 12gb of ram is pretty useless if you're not 100% sure you need it

That's false. Having more RAM actually increases speed. It's best explained in this study by Corsair Memory Inc.: Corsair Memory 4GB vs. 8GB.

I was reading about RAID. What is this?

There are several different kinds of RAID... some more suited for performance, and then some more for mirror drives to prevent data loss (backup). RAID 0 in a nut shell reads and writes half of the files from/to one HDD and the other half from/to the other HDD, thus overall read/write time is nearly cut in half. Here is more info about RAID.

I won't be able to get this pc until March, so I hope these parts will still be viable then.

Most of the parts will be available, the only one I would worry about is the 5870, it was out of stock for quite some time because it was just released. Hopefully there are still some around in March.

Without the SSD and only 6gb of the corsair ram the cost is just over $1800 at $1813. ^^. Thoughts?

I think it will still be a really really nice system. I mean, you will be able to play any game you throw at it with high Frames Per Second (FPS).

The CD/DVD drive you linked to looks fine. Any of them will do just fine, I always pick LG, but others use Samsung, LiteOn, ASUS, etc.

[lmwamh]

I'm not completely computer illiterate and I feel like that video was just a marketing ploy if anything. I've never had more than 3 or 4 apps open, each taken about 50,000 up. The list they gave was absolutely absurd... ..

Also thank you for your help. I'll bookmark everything now

Edited by lmwamh, 02 February 2010 - 10:38 PM.

[Ferrari]

Also thank you for your help. I'll bookmark everything now

Awesome! Good Luck!

Did you see the Crysis Load Times though?

[lmwamh]

They didn't include all of the specs of the pc either. That could have been a bottleneck on the CPU or even a crappy HDD .


Also, were all of the apps still loaded during the crysis load? That's what they made it seem like. If not, it's still not that much of a difference, and they didn't even give you the type of ram they used....

I mean all in all, if anything, it's more or less "propaganda" than it is proof

Yes, they did mention the dominator, but have no valid evidence of their using it, and like I said, area for bottle necks

Also he has so many apps open the whole time. I'm sorry but who the heck uses like 30 apps? That was just...wow.

Edited by lmwamh, 02 February 2010 - 10:48 PM.

[Spyderturbo007]

This computer would be a BEAST and has room for you to upgrade to a faster CPU, has Crossfire support to add another 5870 without upgrading the Power Supply, and plenty of ventilation to keep the components nice and cool. The motherboard also supports RAID, so you could add a second 60GB OCZ SSD and practically double your hard drive speeds by running them in RAID 0.

That is a very nice build Ferrari!

Someone want to buy me one.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 03 February 2010 - 07:20 AM.

[Ferrari]

Thanks SpyderTurbo007,

I'll go ahead and ship you out one today.

[lmwamh]

Just to double check, 850w is enough for crossfire 5870's yea?