Qx6700

Anti

Just ordered one from komplett.co.uk for 650£ Delivery is not stated, but im guessing 2 or 3 weeks

Because of the price of this cpu, im limited to a 7950gx2 or a x1950xtx.

Not sure which to get, Im inclined to go for the ati, As the abit board i want is not sli compatable. Also the gddr4 over gddr3 sounds better.

Also 4 cores at over 3ghz should have me at the top of the pi leagues

Flaccus

The ati has better image quality, no shimmering with af, and is not as noisy as previous 1900 and below over better cooler. It also runs Oblivion with aa+hdr and is generally faster then the nvidia solution (in Oblivion).

GX2 is faster in every other game especially at higher res (except Oblivion) as it's 2xoverclocked 7900gt's or 2xunderclocked7900gtx's depending on who you believe. And every game I play supports the gx2. Also it overclocks to within a hair of 2x7900gtx's. So you are getting sli performance.

If benchmarks matter to you, an overclocked 7950gx2 on a Core2Duo at just over 3ghz gets over 10k in 3dmark06. With the quad core overclocked to the same you get about 1000-1500 more in 06. I was running a Precision 490 with 2xWoodcrests (Xeon 5160, 1333fsb (workstation version of Core2Duo)) so essentially quad core and that was my experience. So the GX2 is most definitely faster the the 1950 which was barely getting 7000. I just got my Kentsfield quad core myself on Friday and am waiting for the G80 before testing

Regarding DDR3 v DDR4 it is commmonly known the DDR4 gives no advantage except lower power consumption but no incrsased speed due to the relaxed timings ati used. Check benchmarks on various sites. Also bear in mind that under load the GX2 uses slightly less power then a 1950XT-X. See Anandtech for this. Also the GX2 runs reasonably quiet. The only minus is the cooling solution does not exhaust that much air like the ATI so the card idles at around 60 and can hit 75 under load. Still the ATI can hit over 80 underload, despite a better cooling solution. One thing I know for a fact is that ATI when going full whack throws out so much hot air that your hand will almost get scorched if you put it near the exhaust vent of the ati card for any length of time.

Why don't you hold off and buy an 8800GTS. It will be priced similar to a 7950GX2 and give better performance by the looks of it. It also add improved AA+HDR, they have fixed AF so no more shimmering, improved image quality, and DX10 compatible.

Anti

Yeah i might do that. The longer i wait, the more this is costing me. I was happy with a e6600. but no, Intel decide to launch the quad core. I was happy with 2gb of ram. Then i seen the ocz ati ram. So 4gb of that. Was happy with a 20.1" now im looking at a 24".

This is the worst thing about not having a budget, i priced it up just no and hit 4500£. But i dont want to spend tat in one go. I wanna keep it around the 2500£ Then in a few weeks when i clear some of the money off the CC, spend about 500£ on some trick watercooling.

About the graphics cards, the x1950xtx seems to be faster then the 7950gx2 in almost all games. According to tomshardware anyway. Other places say the opposite. Its hard to know where to trust sometimes.

Cuddlesworth

anti wrote:

Also 4 cores at over 3ghz should have me at the top of the pi leagues

I'm hoping that sarcasm.

jesus_thats_gre

Hmmm

Psycopat

anti wrote:

About the graphics cards, the x1950xtx seems to be faster then the 7950gx2 in almost all games. According to tomshardware anyway. Other places say the opposite. Its hard to know where to trust sometimes.

toms hardware is wrong with the 7950 tests, it shows a 7900 gt beating it in prey :eek: im assuming they use non-sli drivers

Flaccus

anti wrote:

About the graphics cards, the x1950xtx seems to be faster then the 7950gx2 in almost all games. According to tomshardware anyway. Other places say the opposite. Its hard to know where to trust sometimes.

Tom is talking out his hole and it's not the first time. Read any *reputable* reviews on anand, hexus, xs, firingsquad etc.. and the 7950gx2 is currently the fastest single card out there. I don't want to debate if its 1 card or 2 cards but think about it, how could 2 x 7900GTX gpu's in sli be slower then a single 1950 ? Even 3dmark, which I know is not a game shows that too. But it's your money and if you don't want to believe people like me who had a 1950 and a GX2 then go ahead and buy the slower card.

Anti

I didnt say i dont believe you, I was just stating that there are conflicting reviews all over the place. I have a 7800gtx here, So i can use that for now. I was thinking about 2 7950gt ultimates but cant find much about them atm.

this is the part i hate about building a new system, finding out which is truly the best.

Flaccus

The best way to find out is to read peoples experiences on various forums like OcUK. I have found Toms Hardware to be getting more and more suspect every year and generally don't trust it for video card reviews. They did the same for LCD's when they claimed the Dell 2405 24" was pants for gaming and almost everyone who bought it thought it was great for gaming. I find AnandTech a lot better. And some of the more extreme sites like Xbitlabs and xtremesystems.

With the kind of money you are spending why not get a G80 and forget about quad core seeing as virtually nothing will use it until next year *games wise*, and you will still have the fastest DX9 card around.

TonyM.

http://www.vadim.co.uk/Custom+pc+build/14547

€4500 is not going to do it if you want one "the ultimate computer" .

Psycopat

I think he's gona build it himself :rolleyes:

Cuddlesworth

TonyM. wrote:

http://www.vadim.co.uk/Custom+pc+build/14547

€4500 is not going to do it if you want one "the ultimate computer" .

Lol for 4500 I could build a pc that would rip that to shreds and look 4 times as good.

Flaccus

krazy_8s wrote:

Lol for 4500 I could build a pc that would rip that to shreds and look 4 times as good.

I call BS on the speed bit anyway.
It's got 2 of the fastest video cards in there (about 1.5k euro worth), and the fastest cpu (1k euro), 2 of the fastest raptors (500 euro), and the fastest/biggest 7.2k rpm drive (400 euro) and one of the best Lian Li cases around. Lets not forget the best psu in existence, the best gaming soundcard and some of the tastiest memory around (Patriot DDR2 1066). That lot comes to 4.5k euro. Not sure what the liquid cooling is worth, lets say 500 euro. So around 5k euro. Sure it's overpriced, as they are adding at least another 1k euro markup, but I honestly cannot see how you say you could build a machine that would rip that to shreds when they are using the fastest gpu,cpu's and hard drives. Unless you are talking of some exotic water cooling or phase change.

Psycopat

lol it isnt even overclocked.....

Cuddlesworth

Flaccus wrote:

I call BS on the speed bit anyway.
It's got 2 of the fastest video cards in there (about 1.5k euro worth), and the fastest cpu (1k euro), 2 of the fastest raptors (500 euro), and the fastest/biggest 7.2k rpm drive (400 euro) and one of the best Lian Li cases around. Lets not forget the best psu in existence, the best gaming soundcard and some of the tastiest memory around (Patriot DDR2 1066). That lot comes to 4.5k euro. Not sure what the liquid cooling is worth, lets say 500 euro. So around 5k euro. Sure it's overpriced, as they are adding at least another 1k euro markup, but I honestly cannot see how you say you could build a machine that would rip that to shreds when they are using the fastest gpu,cpu's and hard drives. Unless you are talking of some exotic water cooling or phase change.

Cards are a no brainer, I cant compare. But a low end cpu with phase, scsi card and 146gig 15k drive, cheaper memory can clock just as high and liquid cooling for the cards can be done for 300. Add to that a powdercoated lian li case and you have a much better rig.

Flaccus

krazy_8s wrote:

Cards are a no brainer, I cant compare. But a low end cpu with phase, scsi card and 146gig 15k drive, cheaper memory can clock just as high and liquid cooling for the cards can be done for 300. Add to that a powdercoated lian li case and you have a much better rig.

Agree on the case...but he could overclock the extreme and go higher again Plus wouldn't the cost of phase make the point of a low end cpu pointless. And while scsi is faster it generates more heat, less space and not sure if you could fit a sci card, soundcard, physx and 2 g80's into any case/mobo today. I still think they are overcharging but they are about the fastest mainstream parts around.

jesus_thats_gre

Where would one source a powder coated Lian Li online?

Cuddlesworth

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Where would one source a powder coated Lian Li online?

http://www.extremeprometeia.com/acatalog/customcases.html

Flaccus

Shipping to Ireland from they guys is nuts. And imagine it gets damaged in transit !!!

gline

Flaccus wrote:

Shipping to Ireland from they guys is nuts. And imagine it gets damaged in transit !!!

i dealt withExtreme Prometeia before a few times and you shouldnt have a problem there, i bought a full mach2 unit and matching case and there was no problem with shipping

Flaccus

Sorry - I was thinking of another company (or individual) who does a much wider range of cases but charged 100 quid sterling for shipping !!

Anti

Thinking of caseking.de ?

TonyM.

http://www.xcase.co.uk/acatalog/Lian_Li_V1000__.html

Good selection here but will not ship to Ireland.

Flaccus

Just installed my Qx6700 and it's DEAD....arrrrggghhhh.:mad:
Using a crappy Pentium D 805 now...:(

gline

Flaccus wrote:

Just installed my Qx6700 and it's DEAD....arrrrggghhhh.:mad:
Using a crappy Pentium D 805 now...:(

ah no way man, that suks.

can u get another one?

Flaccus

Hoping...but it was an ES so I can't really complain.
Just my luck.

Cuddlesworth

You sure its the chip and not the mobo?

Flaccus

I can only assume the bios supports quad core....no mention of it in latest release notes but all the reviews of Bad Axe1 v Bad Axe2 have used quad core and I have used same bios. My PC just beeps with this cpu. Stuck back in a cheap ass 805 until I get to the bottom of it.