Time to upgrade... - Page 5

CaptainHaplo · 10-03-09, 06:07 PM

Onelife - I understand what your saying - but remember that is under test conditions from the link you gave.

Here is a bit of REAL WORLD info....

http://www.overclock.net/ati/471762-...er-supply.html

Guy has a 550W PSU - and he doesn't have the power to run the 4850x2. Everything points to a hefty PS of at LEAST 600W or more. When you start figuring on drives, CPU/Mainboard, additional periphirals - you are looking at cutting your tolerances WAY TO THIN with anything less than 600+. Also remember that you don't want to run the PS at max - your going to blow it out quicker. Better to add in a bit of a safety factor, or the next time you hook up something to a powered usb port, it might just go up in smoke.

Its your build, but you asked for advice.

I am in the US so I can't buy in pounds - but 600 works out to $955 in American Dollars. Now - with that budget - here is the HARDWARE I would purchase to get the best "bang for the buck". (This assumes you are going to use your current case and any Optical Data drive - CD/DVD reader or burner.)

Asus M4A78-EM - $89.99
Phenom II X4 965 Black - $239.00
2X Seagate 750Gb HD's (32MB Cache) 7200rpm - $59.94 Each
Transcend ddr3 1800 4BG kit $159
Corsair TX750W PSU - $120

This totals to $728 - but does NOT include your vid card.
I didn't put it in because you have some choices at this point. We have a hare under $220 left. The Asus is setup for crossfire - but I suggest you avoid it. Instead - your BEST option would be:

ATI 4870 X2 for $199.99

You COULD go with a Nvidia GTX275 for $214 and stay within the budget - but you would be cutting it alot closer and really wouldn't get as good performance.

You could also cut costs on things like the second HD. Drop the second drive, go with the 4870x2 - and the savings cover all the sales tax on top of it.

This is without any OS - but since you indicated you were building that way anyway, no point in buying one.

onelifecrisis · 10-03-09, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

Onelife - I understand what your saying - but remember that is under test conditions from the link you gave.

Here is a bit of REAL WORLD info....

http://www.overclock.net/ati/471762-...er-supply.html

Guy has a 550W PSU - and he doesn't have the power to run the 4850x2. Everything points to a hefty PS of at LEAST 600W or more. When you start figuring on drives, CPU/Mainboard, additional periphirals - you are looking at cutting your tolerances WAY TO THIN with anything less than 600+. Also remember that you don't want to run the PS at max - your going to blow it out quicker. Better to add in a bit of a safety factor, or the next time you hook up something to a powered usb port, it might just go up in smoke.

Its your build, but you asked for advice.

I am in the US so I can't buy in pounds - but 600 works out to $955 in American Dollars. Now - with that budget - here is the HARDWARE I would purchase to get the best "bang for the buck". (This assumes you are going to use your current case and any Optical Data drive - CD/DVD reader or burner.)

Asus M4A78-EM - $89.99
Phenom II X4 965 Black - $239.00
2X Seagate 750Gb HD's (32MB Cache) 7200rpm - $59.94 Each
Transcend ddr3 1800 4BG kit $159
Corsair TX750W PSU - $120

This totals to $728 - but does NOT include your vid card.
I didn't put it in because you have some choices at this point. We have a hare under $220 left. The Asus is setup for crossfire - but I suggest you avoid it. Instead - your BEST option would be:

ATI 4870 X2 for $199.99

You COULD go with a Nvidia GTX275 for $214 and stay within the budget - but you would be cutting it alot closer and really wouldn't get as good performance.

You could also cut costs on things like the second HD. Drop the second drive, go with the 4870x2 - and the savings cover all the sales tax on top of it.

This is without any OS - but since you indicated you were building that way anyway, no point in buying one.

Thanks very much, I appreciate that. From what I can find (lab tests mind you

) it looks like you have a very good recommendation there. The Core i5 is nice and shiny, but the X4 945/955/965 seem to offer better bang for buck, especially when placed on DDR2 boards such as the one you suggested.

Still shopping around...

bybyx · 10-04-09, 04:16 AM

Any other PC shops around you area?
There must be something like Newegg in UK

bybyx · 10-04-09, 11:10 AM

I tried to build a system myself and came up with this at
http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk

Case: COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 Mid Tower Case
Lights & Illumination: NONE
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default Case Fan
Internal Expansion: NONE
Power Supply Upgrade: 700 Watts Power Supplies (SLI / CrossFire Ready Quad Rail Power Supply *** Not Recommended for Overclocking***)
CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2.66 MHZ 8MB Cache LGA1156 ***Overclockable XXX***
Overclocking Service: No Overclocking
Cooling Fan: INTEL LGA1156 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
Motherboard: GigaByte P55M-UD2 Intel P55 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 3 PCI *** XXX overclocking ***
Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) PC12800 DDR3/1600mhz Dual Channel Memory (G.SKILL NQ Series w/Heat Spreader ***Overclockable XXX***)
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCI-E x16 1GB DDR5 Video Card
Video Card 2: NONE
Video Card 3: NONE
Monitor & LCD: NONE
2nd Monitor: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Hard Drive Cooler: None
Optical Drive: NONE
Optical Drive 2: NONE
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Speakers: NONE
Network: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
MODEM: NONE
Keyboard: NONE
Mouse: NONE
Extra Thermal Display : NONE (AS SHOWN)
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: NONE
Wireless 802.11B/G Access Point: NONE
Flash Media Reader/Writer: None
Cable Wiring: None
Cables: None
Video Camera: NONE
Power Surge Protection: Belkin 6-Socket Surge Protector
IEEE Card: NONE
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USB Portable Drive: NONE
Floppy: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (BLACK COLOR)
OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY(NO OVERCLOCKING AVALIABLE)
Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon: None
Media Center Remote & TV Tuner: NONE
RUSH SERVICE: NONE
WARRANTY SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
HOME INSTALLATION SERVICE: NONE

It goes at 647,45 including VAT before all applicable rebates

bybyx · 10-04-09, 03:22 PM

Where are you OLC??

I was thinking...

You know how the Romans used to say: "In vino veritas". Well after a couple of glasses of Romania's finest wine, ( We really have some of the finest wines in the world. In the past the Popes in Vatican drank the wine from Transylvania.),a cigar and a poker game with my friends I started to see things more clearly.

What if you could wait until winter! I mean there must be some special promotions during winter holidays. C'mon it's Christmas and New Year's eve and the rebates after. ATI already has a DX11 video card and Nvidia will follow soon. The prices for Cpu's will go down. The same goes for Ram and other things. AMD will put out their six core CPU.
What do you say?

Ps. It is 23:37 Pm when I write these words. I hope I am not talking s%&t

onelifecrisis · 10-04-09, 05:57 PM

Unfortunately I need the PC for work as well as gaming, and for the former I really need it yesterday. Thanks a lot for the suggested system, I'll take a look.

onelifecrisis · 10-05-09, 05:43 AM

Finally after three days of shopping around I've ordered this system from RL Supplies:

AsRock P55-PRO
Intel Core i5-750
GeForce GTX 260 (896MB)
2MB 1333MHz DDR3 (I can add more RAM later)
Maxtor 750GB SATA2 HDD (7,200rpm, 32MB cache)
Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU (Antec are good, right?)
Arctic Cooling 120mm Low Noise Case Fan
Arctic Cooling 80x25mm Low Noise Case Fan

Comes to £600 with VAT. No delivery charge because I'm collecting from the store on Wednesday.

CaptainHaplo · 10-05-09, 05:59 AM

Good solid Mainboard, solid chip, and highly capable vid card.

Yes, the earthwatts line - and antec in general - are very good PSU's.

That config gives you plenty of room to grow in a year or 2, as well as it will run great now!

Excellent choices!

onelifecrisis · 10-05-09, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

Good solid Mainboard, solid chip, and highly capable vid card.

Yes, the earthwatts line - and antec in general - are very good PSU's.

That config gives you plenty of room to grow in a year or 2, as well as it will run great now!

Excellent choices!

onelifecrisis · 10-05-09, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

That config gives you plenty of room to grow in a year or 2, as well as it will run great now!

Yeh, I checked and that mainboard can be tweaked/hacked/whatever to support full SLI (it has two PCIex16 slots) so I can add another GTX 260 in a year or two, and keep the machine going that way. I know you guys (and everyone else on the net) say that SLI is crap, but I'm thinking about cost-effectiveness here. I reckon that adding a second identical card in SLI mode will be better than replacing the original card, in a year or so, in terms of bang-for-buck. By that time I should think most games will be coded to use SLI.

onelifecrisis · 10-05-09, 06:42 AM

Bah, in my excitement I forgot my manners!

Thank you very much AVG, Raptor, Fluffysheap, Arclight, bybyx and Haplo for your excellent advice.

AVGWarhawk · 10-05-09, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Hmm, thanks for the advice, but I'm not convinced.

I reckon that by the time I'm needing 8Gb of RAM this system will be ready for the trashcan. In the meantime I have the space to upgrade to 4Gb when that starts being beneficial (which, as far as I can tell, it currently is not - at least not for people like me who use one app at a time

).

Get the 4 gig of RAM! I had 4 gig and everything ran flawlessly. I bumped to 8 gig because...well....I could using 64 bit. The set up I see you selected is great but I would get the RAM addition. What you have will run all the bells and whistles on any game.

bybyx · 10-05-09, 11:11 AM

Excellent choice OLC. Enjoy your PC. My advice for you is to buy as much Ram as you can: 4gb, 8gb, 12 and so on. More ram will be better. with 8gb or more you can disable the page file sistem in Windows and speed up things. Install both Xp an Windows7. That Motherboard takes up to 16 gb, and goes with Crossfire like breeze. AsRock is ASUS's little brother. The P55 chipset is great.

Arclight · 10-05-09, 08:12 PM

Aye, I think that system will serve you well. And I doubt you'll regret changing to that GTX; should run a bit cooler and quieter, and less stress on PSU again means less heat and noise.

10-03-09, 06:07 PM	#61
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Onelife - I understand what your saying - but remember that is under test conditions from the link you gave. Here is a bit of REAL WORLD info.... http://www.overclock.net/ati/471762-...er-supply.html Guy has a 550W PSU - and he doesn't have the power to run the 4850x2. Everything points to a hefty PS of at LEAST 600W or more. When you start figuring on drives, CPU/Mainboard, additional periphirals - you are looking at cutting your tolerances WAY TO THIN with anything less than 600+. Also remember that you don't want to run the PS at max - your going to blow it out quicker. Better to add in a bit of a safety factor, or the next time you hook up something to a powered usb port, it might just go up in smoke. Its your build, but you asked for advice. I am in the US so I can't buy in pounds - but 600 works out to $955 in American Dollars. Now - with that budget - here is the HARDWARE I would purchase to get the best "bang for the buck". (This assumes you are going to use your current case and any Optical Data drive - CD/DVD reader or burner.) Asus M4A78-EM - $89.99 Phenom II X4 965 Black - $239.00 2X Seagate 750Gb HD's (32MB Cache) 7200rpm - $59.94 Each Transcend ddr3 1800 4BG kit $159 Corsair TX750W PSU - $120 This totals to $728 - but does NOT include your vid card. I didn't put it in because you have some choices at this point. We have a hare under $220 left. The Asus is setup for crossfire - but I suggest you avoid it. Instead - your BEST option would be: ATI 4870 X2 for $199.99 You COULD go with a Nvidia GTX275 for $214 and stay within the budget - but you would be cutting it alot closer and really wouldn't get as good performance. You could also cut costs on things like the second HD. Drop the second drive, go with the 4870x2 - and the savings cover all the sales tax on top of it. This is without any OS - but since you indicated you were building that way anyway, no point in buying one. __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

10-04-09, 11:10 AM	#64
bybyx Ensign Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Otopeni, Romania Posts: 233 Downloads: 942 Uploads: 0	I tried to build a system myself and came up with this at http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk Case: COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 Mid Tower Case Lights & Illumination: NONE Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default Case Fan Internal Expansion: NONE Power Supply Upgrade: 700 Watts Power Supplies (SLI / CrossFire Ready Quad Rail Power Supply * Not Recommended for Overclocking) CPU:* Intel Core i5 750 2.66 MHZ 8MB Cache LGA1156 *Overclockable XXX* Overclocking Service: No Overclocking Cooling Fan: INTEL LGA1156 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK Motherboard: GigaByte P55M-UD2 Intel P55 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 3 PCI * XXX overclocking * Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) PC12800 DDR3/1600mhz Dual Channel Memory (G.SKILL NQ Series w/Heat Spreader *Overclockable XXX) Video Card:* ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCI-E x16 1GB DDR5 Video Card Video Card 2: NONE Video Card 3: NONE Monitor & LCD: NONE 2nd Monitor: NONE Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD) Data Hard Drive: NONE Hard Drive Cooler: None Optical Drive: NONE Optical Drive 2: NONE Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO Speakers: NONE Network: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD MODEM: NONE Keyboard: NONE Mouse: NONE Extra Thermal Display : NONE (AS SHOWN) Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: NONE Wireless 802.11B/G Access Point: NONE Flash Media Reader/Writer: None Cable Wiring: None Cables: None Video Camera: NONE Power Surge Protection: Belkin 6-Socket Surge Protector IEEE Card: NONE USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports USB Portable Drive: NONE Floppy: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (BLACK COLOR) OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY(NO OVERCLOCKING AVALIABLE) Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon: None Media Center Remote & TV Tuner: NONE RUSH SERVICE: NONE WARRANTY SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT HOME INSTALLATION SERVICE: NONE It goes at 647,45 including VAT before all applicable rebates Last edited by bybyx; 10-04-09 at 03:24 PM. Reason: I typed results instead of rebates

10-04-09, 03:22 PM	#65
bybyx Ensign Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Otopeni, Romania Posts: 233 Downloads: 942 Uploads: 0	Where are you OLC?? I was thinking... You know how the Romans used to say: "In vino veritas". Well after a couple of glasses of Romania's finest wine, ( We really have some of the finest wines in the world. In the past the Popes in Vatican drank the wine from Transylvania.),a cigar and a poker game with my friends I started to see things more clearly. What if you could wait until winter! I mean there must be some special promotions during winter holidays. C'mon it's Christmas and New Year's eve and the rebates after. ATI already has a DX11 video card and Nvidia will follow soon. The prices for Cpu's will go down. The same goes for Ram and other things. AMD will put out their six core CPU. What do you say? Ps. It is 23:37 Pm when I write these words. I hope I am not talking s%&t Last edited by bybyx; 10-04-09 at 03:39 PM.

10-04-09, 05:57 PM	#66
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Unfortunately I need the PC for work as well as gaming, and for the former I really need it yesterday. Thanks a lot for the suggested system, I'll take a look. __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

10-05-09, 05:43 AM	#67
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Finally after three days of shopping around I've ordered this system from RL Supplies: AsRock P55-PRO Intel Core i5-750 GeForce GTX 260 (896MB) 2MB 1333MHz DDR3 (I can add more RAM later) Maxtor 750GB SATA2 HDD (7,200rpm, 32MB cache) Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU (Antec are good, right?) Arctic Cooling 120mm Low Noise Case Fan Arctic Cooling 80x25mm Low Noise Case Fan Comes to £600 with VAT. No delivery charge because I'm collecting from the store on Wednesday. __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

10-04-09, 04:16 AM	#63
bybyx Ensign Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Otopeni, Romania Posts: 233 Downloads: 942 Uploads: 0	Any other PC shops around you area? There must be something like Newegg in UK

10-05-09, 05:59 AM	#68
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Good solid Mainboard, solid chip, and highly capable vid card. Yes, the earthwatts line - and antec in general - are very good PSU's. That config gives you plenty of room to grow in a year or 2, as well as it will run great now! Excellent choices! __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

10-05-09, 06:42 AM	#71
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Bah, in my excitement I forgot my manners! Thank you very much AVG, Raptor, Fluffysheap, Arclight, bybyx and Haplo for your excellent advice. __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

10-05-09, 11:11 AM	#73
bybyx Ensign Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Otopeni, Romania Posts: 233 Downloads: 942 Uploads: 0	Excellent choice OLC. Enjoy your PC. My advice for you is to buy as much Ram as you can: 4gb, 8gb, 12 and so on. More ram will be better. with 8gb or more you can disable the page file sistem in Windows and speed up things. Install both Xp an Windows7. That Motherboard takes up to 16 gb, and goes with Crossfire like breeze. AsRock is ASUS's little brother. The P55 chipset is great.

10-05-09, 08:12 PM	#74
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Aye, I think that system will serve you well. And I doubt you'll regret changing to that GTX; should run a bit cooler and quieter, and less stress on PSU again means less heat and noise. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.