New Computer...Did I do OK?

Open discussions about anything! Let's keep it Rated R (or better)!
Hansmoleman

New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#1 » 09 Dec 2010, 18:11

Hiya all,

Finally got off the trucking gig, and now I get to be home every night. So yay to that!
As a reward I was able to gather about 1grand for a new rig, and I'm woefully short in knowledge on computers.

What I'm hoping for is someone to say I did ok for my thousand bucks. Now bare in mind, I cannot build my own rig, for one I haven't the time, as well as not knowing jack about building one. I went to cyberpower and Ibuypower during the cyber monday sales events and tinkered around for hours trying to piece one together that would play wow the way I want to see wow.

I used tomshardware, and whatever review I could find to help narrow down components and maximize my money.

So without further ado this is what I got:

CAS: CoolerMaster HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage (Black Color)
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-870 2.93 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1156 [+84]
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
FAND: Asetek 550LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Advanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) [+18]
FREEBIE_CU1: Civilization V Full Version Game
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MB_ADDON: 2X USB 3.0 and 2X SATA III 6.0GB/S PCI-E Expansion Card
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI [+27]
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: * 750 Watts - Thermaltake TR2 RX Modular 80 Plus PSU - PN: TRX-750M [+75]
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+114] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)

Hansmoleman

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#2 » 09 Dec 2010, 18:16

So thats what I got for my grand. I upped it from an i5 to the i7 870 after reading a review that stated they were pretty much equal but the i7 had hyperthreading and turbo boost. it wasn't that much of a price difference so I went for it.

The ram upgrade from 1300 to 1600 was free (cyber monday special)

now the video card. the upgrade was a tough choice, but the price was right, after reading some reviews on the ATI "budget card" the 6850, I thought it was a good choice. It was only several frames slower then the nvidia 470, but about $100 cheaper.

So let me know what ya think, if ya have time.

Thanks,
Bob: Hansmoleman.

Lithiny

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#3 » 10 Dec 2010, 01:33

You did fine. That is a great video card for the money. Really you can't go wrong with a 3 year warranty.

Hansmoleman

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#4 » 10 Dec 2010, 10:20

Lithiny Thanks for the reassurance, thats what I was hoping for. :)

By the way. Best use of Tool lryics I've seen.

Love that song 8)

Lithiny

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#5 » 10 Dec 2010, 17:52

Yea that was a post by a blue no less. In response to some inane bullshit comment someone made on the forums. It was pretty epic.

Kickaha

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#6 » 11 Dec 2010, 22:37

Looks good!
Then again even if we did have different suggestions were hardly gonna mention em now :)
Im looking into a solid state disc ,but it would only be usefull if I can get the os and WoW onto it and they are expensive for the size.
Then there is the hassle of reloading os and WoW.
Its an option you could check out when they drop in price more.

I gotta get me some trim
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... es&x=0&y=0

Hansmoleman

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#7 » 13 Dec 2010, 09:28

Well Kick the suggestions at the time were what I was lookinf for. Due to the rush that cyberpower had during the cyber monday- black Friday weekend they hadn't started to process my order at the time of my post, so i still had the chance to consider alternatives.

And now I have even more time. Besides taking about 10 days to even get to the point where they were going to process the credit card...they F'd up and I got a call from my CC holder letting me know that Cyberpower had tried to charge my account with a card that did not match the expiration date. So the order still has not been processed, doubtful it will arrive by the 25th at this point, and Im seriously considering starting over, and telling them to shove it, once its 8:30am pacific time.

User avatar
120
Houtoku
Guild Member
Guild Member
Posts: 2332

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#8 » 16 Dec 2010, 00:37

I'm plotting to build my own system over January when I have the month off(-ish). So far I've got the CPU, Mobo, GPU & RAM picked out.. could use some suggestions on decent cases/PSUs/HDD models, etc.

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Motherboard: EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 SLI 3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

GPU: EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

In terms of HDD size, I'm thinking probably a 500Gb single drive, my current HDD is 300Gb and I have just barely 200Gb used, most of which is the combination of WoW & Starcraft.. lol

PSU-wise, kinda stumped on what I should be aiming for. GPU says 550W minimum recommended, +130W from the CPU.. was thinking after Blu-Ray drive + HDD + USB bus ... something in the 750-850W range should do it. Don't plan to SLi anytime soon, so don't need anything crazy in the 1kW+ range.

But yea, Kick/Dantep.. get to work minions. :mrgreen:
Houtoku - 100 Death Knight (Unholy)
Malgan - 100 Paladin (Holy)
Daelen - 100 Mage
Khalur - 100 Warlock
Malfor - 100 Druid (Guardian)
Carcharocles - 100 Warrior (Protection)
Malastor - 100 Rogue
Celerion - 100 Hunter
Haedrem - 100 Shaman

120
Merien
Guild Member
Guild Member
Posts: 1287

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#9 » 16 Dec 2010, 08:32

i just built one i would suggest a SSD for the os and like a a 1 TB as the secondary for media and apps. It would be nice to put wow on the ssd but that is to expensive for me at the moment
Sorry bear rides are for Viola only.

Teleri

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#10 » 16 Dec 2010, 12:09

Merien wrote:i just built one i would suggest a SSD for the os and like a a 1 TB as the secondary for media and apps. It would be nice to put wow on the ssd but that is to expensive for me at the moment


Yeah maybe when prices fall. Right now I have my OS and a few apps on my SSD and it is fast. However, WoW and everything else is regulated to my HDD.

Kickaha

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#11 » 16 Dec 2010, 14:10

For both hans and hout

This seems to be the hard disc to go for at the moment,Its faster than any regular hard disc isnt too expensive and has a lot of the ssd benefits and has good reviews.

http://www.memoryc.com/products/descrip ... index.html


I dont know that much on the i7/i5 just that u still pay a premium in$ for the i7 900+ and the only good value mbrd ive seen is the gigabyte x58 ud3r

remember as well the 1156 processors are due to be replaced by a new socket type "sandybridge"in mid-late 2011,...1155 pins lol hows that for instant outdating yer cpu
Then the 1366 is due to be replaced early 2012 ,by something like putzberg..,i forget the name.

psu 700w should be plenty for any non sli even if both cpu and gpu are overclocked.

470 is supposed to consume a lot of power,mine (460 can pull near 200w a 470 maybe 250w on a big overclock )

do get a modular (plugs and sockets for the cables) psu if you can and single rail for simplicity and probably at least 4 6pin pcie connectors,just in case you do decide to run sli.
Im using 2 psu's but honestly a single one would be better,I have a mass of cables"hidden behind the hdd cages.

Oh yeh pcie 3.0 (x32) is supposed to be due out end 2011 also..they gotta keep selling right!

nb just tried to install win 7 and WoW on my new ssd (60gb) its just a bit short of space ,ill have to try and prune out more apps.

Dantep

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#12 » 16 Dec 2010, 15:15

Kick beat me to the hard drive recommendation. I just got done reading about that thing about 15 minutes ago on another site.

Pure SSD will keep falling in price but so far I'm not sold =)

I have one of the GTX470 and sometimes I don't think it reports the FPS correctly but it renders like no other. I had an ATI Radeon 4890 and upgraded to the GTX470 and it's very noticeable. I enabled DX11 for WoW and have no screen jitter or tearing even in places like Stormwind atm.

Cases really don't matter IMO, just get a case with 3-5 fan mounts and you usually will be fine. I am partial to the Antec LanBoy Case if you are going to spend about 200ish on a case.

For power, I would recommend 1000W especially if you are going to run Blu Ray etc. Another major area you don't want to be cheap on is the power. Under powering high end computer parts is the first and best way to fry your system. Also, make sure the PSW supports 2 6 pin PCI-E cables off the rail (it's better than converting 2 IDE into one 6 pin PCI-E with converters)

User avatar
120
Houtoku
Guild Member
Guild Member
Posts: 2332

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#13 » 16 Dec 2010, 20:58

Dantep wrote:Also, make sure the PSW supports 2 6 pin PCI-E cables off the rail (it's better than converting 2 IDE into one 6 pin PCI-E with converters)


How would I check if it's off the rail or not, NewEgg & TigerDirect only mention the quantity of the various cable types

Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139014 or possibly it's 850W little brother.

For PCI-Express Connector it just says 2x 6-pin, 2x 6+2-pin (the 470 I'm looking at only reqs. 2x 6-pin)
Houtoku - 100 Death Knight (Unholy)
Malgan - 100 Paladin (Holy)
Daelen - 100 Mage
Khalur - 100 Warlock
Malfor - 100 Druid (Guardian)
Carcharocles - 100 Warrior (Protection)
Malastor - 100 Rogue
Celerion - 100 Hunter
Haedrem - 100 Shaman

Kickaha

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#14 » 17 Dec 2010, 06:38

Houtoku wrote:
Dantep wrote:Also, make sure the PSW supports 2 6 pin PCI-E cables off the rail (it's better than converting 2 IDE into one 6 pin PCI-E with converters)


How would I check if it's off the rail or not, NewEgg & TigerDirect only mention the quantity of the various cable types

Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139014 or possibly it's 850W little brother.

For PCI-Express Connector it just says 2x 6-pin, 2x 6+2-pin (the 470 I'm looking at only reqs. 2x 6-pin)

:mrgreen:

Expensive piece of kit!
1.Since its single rail all the power is coming from one 12v rail so you dont have to worry about distribution.

2.the 6x(6+2) connectors just means u can use 3 hi end gx cards .
so right now you would have 4 "spare" connectors if you bought that psu.

nb I think nvid cards like the 470 will only work in sli with 2 cards,
For 3 cards I think you need ati,not sure n Im not gonna have to worry :)

If you have a slightly older gx card ,say a 9600gt and an sli mbrd,you can try "poor mans" sli:
Get the 9600 gt to handle the "physx" and the 470 looks after the rest.
Im not sure how effective that is ,never tried it.

User avatar
120
Houtoku
Guild Member
Guild Member
Posts: 2332

Re: New Computer...Did I do OK?

Post#15 » 17 Dec 2010, 09:10

MB I'm looking at specs for 3-way SLI, and I knw there's even a couple that can run 4-way. That's absolute overkill for me, won't need that kind of rendering power till I start playing Starcraft II again and get into some silly 4v4 200/200 battles, lol
Houtoku - 100 Death Knight (Unholy)
Malgan - 100 Paladin (Holy)
Daelen - 100 Mage
Khalur - 100 Warlock
Malfor - 100 Druid (Guardian)
Carcharocles - 100 Warrior (Protection)
Malastor - 100 Rogue
Celerion - 100 Hunter
Haedrem - 100 Shaman

Return to “Open Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 14 guests

cron