Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Help with a new build please..
Options
-
13-04-2010 10:55pm#1Hi all,
I've been researching and reading on tomshardware.co.uk, here and Google for the last few weeks to help with putting together a gaming
and development machine with a flexibe budget of EUR1000 plus a monitor exVAT. I am looking at two possible directions:
i5-750, LGA 1156, 2x ATI 4850 in Crossfire
or
i7-930, LGA 1366, ATI 5850
I want this to still be a very good machine in 2 years.
I'm shopping primarily on dabs.ie and komplett.ie (worried about ordering with them since the website fell apart, but they're much cheaper than Dabs).
Where I'm stuck now is deciding on a motherboard and case for each box.
So I'd love some input on the build in general and more specifically on options for the motherboard and case.
Another small question that has come up is about wifi. I'd like to have a wireless n card in it but the cheapest route seems to be a usb stick as
I'm paying EUR40-60 otherwise! Is this the case or have I missed something?
Details are here or in the image below:
P.S. This will be my third build but the last was back in 2005.
Thanks for the help in advance.0
Comments
-
What kind of developing we talking about here? We talking massively multithreaded apps with streamlined modular threads? If not then there's precious little reason to go above the i5-750.
As for GPU... HD5850 >> CFd HD4850s. Seriously. Even then it only takes about ~40% of the juice of both cards combined. Downside is that its pricier... What kind of monitor we talking about here? And what games? Although if you have cash to spare I won't blame you for chasing after elusive HD5850s; they're just made of win and if you want something that has a snowball's hope in hell of running something even close to a playable framerate in 1080p in DX11 its well worth it.
Mobo is up to you, go with at least a USB3 model if you want futureproofing...
PSU partially depends on whether you intend to OC or not but I doubt you'll need any more than a VX550 for either CPU + HD5850; with a lower-TDP LGA1156 CPU like the i5-750 or i7-860 you could even get a fair bit of OCing out of it without straying past the 50% load line
On that note a CFd HD4850s rig would need a bit more growing room; TX650 or similar if you want to OC or just have the wiggle room.
Case is all about personal preference; anything from a NZXT Gamma upwards should work fine. A modern mid-range case including the Xigmatek Midgard + fans, Antec 600, CM HAF922 or Storm Scout would be a decent match. But the amount of glowing LEDs and such is very much a taste thing so have a look at the case as well as its specs before committing!
Komplett did have wireless-N PCI cards for €20ish a short while back...
Oh, and RAM is wrong for the LGA1156; it runs on dual-channel DDR3, not triple. HDDs aren't so hot either - just do yourself a favour and go get some Samsung F3 1TB drives
WAIT! Komplett have HD5850s under €250?!... *runs off to buy*0 -
-
-
-
Just to note also, you're talking about how you'll still want it to be able to handle high-end stuff in two years time.
I'd recommend you get a motherboard with 2 pci express slots so then you can add another 5850 in a years time.
It's pretty good practice imo buying a reasonable high-end gpu and then upgrading when the new games need the extra grunt and the gpu's cheaper.
You should also be wary that if you are getting a mobo with 2 pci express slots then make sure to get a good 650watt psu. As when you upgrade the pc it'll need to be able to handle the extra gpu.
0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
Nope. Its the data bandwidth that's compromised, and tests showed that its not usually that big a deal with current ATi cards. After all, if a HD4870X2 can run unhindered on PCIe1.0x16 then a HD5850 has room to spare with PCIe2.0x8...
The problem is that USB3 and/or SATA3 eats up PCIe bandwidth on P55 too, so if you want either of them and CFd HD5850s then you have to go for an LGA1366 mobo. A second HD5850 itself is heading toward "lunacy booth" money; a full i7-930 build with two HD5850s will blow your budget to smithereens
0 -
A second HD5850 itself is heading toward "lunacy booth" money; a full i7-930 build with two HD5850s will blow your budget to smithereens
I mean that he could add the second 5850 in a years time or whenever he finds the performance dropping with new titles.
Getting 2 now would be a waste0 -
Advertisement
-
Edit: @Solitaire again Sorry but where did you see it marked as triple channel RAM on http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/08_MEMINT/productdetails/15492643/Corsair_XMS3_Memory_6_GB_(_3_x_2_GB_)_DIMM/CMX6GX3M3A1600C9/default.aspx?
There's three of them. You only ever see RAM modules being sold in packs of three if they're destined for LGA1366 triple-channel rigs. They'll work on LGA1156 and AM3 as well, but its a very expensive way to buy virtually no real-world improvement in performance Most LGA1156 rigs get by just fine on 2x2GB. 0 -
-
-
Thanks again for the help guys.
So I now have http://bjmarine.net/NewPC2.html
I have to decide between the 2 case. I like the Antec but not sure if I'd be better with the larger space in the Cosmos. Noise is and easy of build are the 1 & 2 in my factoring.
I picked the PSUs based on brand and a guess on the poor I need and may expand to, same factors as above apply I suppose.
The final big thing now is the mobo. And I must admit I'm intimidated every time I pull up a list of them and even though I've read through a few articles and done some builds in the distant past I just don't know where to start, especially as Komplett doesn't have working filters atm.
EDIT: After some more reading I think I'm leaning toward the CoolerMaster Silent Pro M600 @ €80 and 600 Watts0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
I do! And I will.
Also did the math on power after another suggestion and even when I go to Crossfire I'll need less than 600W so I'm going to more down to a 650W and save a little more. I used http://www.antec.outervision.com/index.jsp which seems very handy.0 -
-
-
Advertisement