Major Computer Upgrade - Questions
 

Well, after installing TMO's latest edition (and not being too much of a fan of the water), I think I want to build a machine that will run SH5.

I've got a $1225 budget, and I was hoping to build around this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103960 processor.

I can use my existing RAM, HDD, and PSU. So that just leaves me with the video card and motherboard.

I've got 12gb of DDR3 and the PSU is a full gigawatt.

Can anybody show me a good motherboard and card for that processor? Thanks so much.

Oh, I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate x86

The link won't work.... what processor is it?

With that budget - you can DEF get a screamer.

One note - you said running Win7 x86. If your not running x64 - your system is only using 3Gigs of that 12 you have. Plan on using some of that money for an upgrade to 64 bit OS.

Thought the x86 was the better one? Isn't 32 the one that only uses 3gb? I just checked my DxDiag and yeah, x86 is the one that will run both 32 bit and 64 bit programs (it'll run older programs like its Win XP).

Oh, I meant to say 8gb RAM. Don't know why I said 12 up there. On the DxDiag, its all registering

Oh, the processor is AMD's new 3.6 8 core, with built in overclocking software. They say its nothing to get a cheap fan and get it up to 10ghz, and I've heard it will do an automatic overclock to 7ghz without the aftermarket fan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103960

See if that works

x86 is, in pretty much all cases where it's referred to as such, 32-bit, while x64 is 64-bit.

Got it.

So, still not sure what to do about mother board and video card

Ok - with the budget you have - I have to recommend AGAINST that chip.
Depending on the application - its bested by the I5-2500k and is clobbered by the I7-2500k most of the time.

Even if you throw something at it that can use all 8 cores - its behind the I7. *For the record - I generally prefer AMD chips based on pricepoint*

I'd recommend this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116503

This MB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130573

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116997
*personally - I'd go pro but I kept ultimate because its what you currently have in 32-bit.

Video:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130738

This card - at its price - is a monster. What's more - with the setup above you can get two and SLI them if you feel the need - all while staying within the budget (based on rebate).

Alternatively - get one video card now - and spend 100 -150 on an SSD drive to put your OS on. That will leave you under budget with some cash to spare. You won't need to SLI for a good while, so its something you can keep as a "built in upgrade" ability for later as you desire.

I also run FSX A LOT, and use Captain Sim products (if you're not familiar with it - I have to render a hemisphere at a time and run planes that are 3D modeled down to the centimeter, inside and out)

Will this give me at least 30fps in major cities, do you think?

I can't tell you for sure on that. However, I can say that load will run better on the machine above than using the AMD chip based on a head to head performance comparison of the 2.

Will the GPU hold up? Again, can't guarantee it - but if not the 2 SLI would I am fairly sure. I would suspect that one would however.

Then again - will X machine do Y perfectly? To build a "perfect" machine means a perfect - aka unlimited - budget. For the money, this is likely to be a very high level upgrade using the parts you have and still have some room to expand in the future as needed. Do with it what ya will - and good luck! :yeah:

I'd have to recommend the latest Ivy Bridge i5 and a Z77 board. i7 has no benefit in games; save the money there and get the latest chipset.

Arc - what I spec'd is Ivy bridge I believe.... no?

Yus, the "old" Sandy Bridge stuff is 2xxx series (i5 2500k, i7 2600k and the like) while new Ivy parts use 3xxx.

Personally I just can't recommend i7 for gaming. It does better than i5 in heavily threaded stuff (video editing comes to mind), but has little to no benefit for games. Considering the 30-40% price premium, it's hard to recommend unless someone actually needs it.

Z77 sports some extra features like SSD caching (SmartResponse) and native USB3. Older Z68 matches it for the most part, but the "lower" chipsets miss some features such as being able to use the integrated graphics on the CPU (and QuickSync, which may or may not be something you want). The graphics part is terrible (for gaming), but at least it's something to fall back on if your card dies. You paid for that part for the CPU anyway, so why not have the ability to use it.

I'd agree with the others assessment on the processor... the new ivy bridge processors are the current way to go.

I'd only differ on the video card only because of personal preference. I'd argue that this card is approx as good as the nvidia suggested above.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102987

my reason? the eyefinity capability.

i use 2 of these video cards in crossfire with eyefinity across 3 X 24' monitors.. giving me a virtual screen at 5750 x 1080 across 3 screens

here is an example on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYorU...eature=related

One thing you might think about is getting a motherboard that doesn't use electrolytic capacitors. When boards die they usually have popped one or several of those puppies open.

Awhile back there was a case of industrial espionage where a worker for the #1 producer of electrolytic capacitors stole the electrolyte formula and sold it to a competitor. Unknown to him, the copy in the safe was complete except for the preservative. All the caps made by that company had a life of 9 months to a year and a half until the electrolyte broke down, boiled and burst the can. Because these things are a commodity, there is no way to tell where the capacitor is made. These things made their way into computers, graphics cards, televisions, everything imaginable and made people's life miserable for years.

My Gigabyte motherboard uses solid state capacitors, not electrolytic capacitors and has a much longer design life. Although I don't plan on using the thing in 10 years, who knows? And increased reliability is always worthwhile, especially when you don't pay more money to get it.:up: