Thoughts on my new rig?

H

HanoverFist

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Wishlist @ Newegg

Its a 9950 crossfire system.

I was looking at Intel's but wasn't finding mobo/cpu/ram that wasn't overpriced in comparison.

And no, I will not use Nvidia.

(The PSU is a combo deal or I will go with a 1000w Toughpower.)


Thoughts? Comments? Snarky remarks? All are welcome.
 
Great system dude.

You are missing one thing which is the Operating System. If you are going windows vista or xp make sure they are 64 Bit versions.

Also, instead of getting 2 video cards there is x 2 versions of it. I'm not sure if it's out yet but if it is cheaper, do it that way so you don't have to do more work.
 
Going to get he OS through the campus bookstore so I get a discount.

A for x2's you only get 2 GPUs and one bus. It may increase the cards processing power but you're still cramming all the data through 1 bus. I'd prefer to run 2 cards on 2 separate busses.

(x2 is just slightly cheaper than two single gpu.)
 
Get another hd and go RAID. As I said on another thread - it's nice not having to wait for things to load.
 
Oh yea, meant to say something about your hard disk storage. 250 is way too small I think. Especially when 500 is like 130 bucks or less. And if you are only using this for games, why not go with the WD Raptor version?
 
That's with those 2 drives being used in raid. I have tons of sata and ATA133 drives around for basic storage and whatnot.
 
The case, IMO, is a little excessive. If you want a good fulltower, just buy an Antec 1200 for $50 less.

Also, consider another CPU cooler if you plan on overclocking, as the Zalman is about average on the range of aftermarket CPU coolers. I suggest the Tuniq Tower.
 
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Couple suggestions

I'm not sure if you've bought it yet, but I'd highly recommend spending less on some of the items.
1st - A 9850 processor. Why? First off, it uses less power. Second, you will most likely not see the difference in .1 ghz. And unless you are planning on heavy overclocking, you prob dun need the CPU fan either. Right now, I'm using the 9600 and I have it OCed to 2.4 (I know, not much, and I'm a hypocrite for what I said earlier as well) and the stock cooler keeps it below 30c.
2nd thing, diff power supply? I really don't think you really need 1000w, especially with that small of a mobo where you probably won't be running more than 2 cards.
3rd - the mobo. It's kinda small for that tower (the tower is massive), and it's kinda a bummer to upgrade on.
4th - the tower. Are you going to be running water cooling? My friend used that case w/o water cooling for a while and it heats up a bit (but its great for WC as he later found out). And, if you plan to LAN with it, buy a dolly as well :D
An alternate recommendation for the tower is the 300/900

Sorry, I've just bashed some of your main choices in components xP but I'm just voicing my opinion based on what I've seen personally.


sidenote: you really don't need 64 bit, contrary to popular belief it is NOT any better than 32.
 
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xplag said:
I'm not sure if you've bought it yet, but I'd highly recommend spending less on some of the items.
1st - A 9850 processor. Why? First off, it uses less power. Second, you will most likely not see the difference in .1 ghz. And unless you are planning on heavy overclocking, you prob dun need the CPU fan either. Right now, I'm using the 9600 and I have it OCed to 2.4 (I know, not much, and I'm a hypocrite for what I said earlier as well) and the stock cooler keeps it below 30c. Cooler is always better. Obviously you're not stressing your CPU with Prime95.
2nd thing, diff power supply? I really don't think you really need 1000w, especially with that small of a mobo where you probably won't be running more than 2 cards.That's a full ATX mobo, it's by no means small.
3rd - the mobo. It's kinda small for that tower (the tower is massive), and it's kinda a bummer to upgrade on. Again, it's an ATX mobo. Only thing larger (to my knowledge) is an eATX mobo, ie SkullTrail
4th - the tower. Are you going to be running water cooling? My friend used that case w/o water cooling for a while and it heats up a bit (but its great for WC as he later found out). And, if you plan to LAN with it, buy a dolly as well :D
An alternate recommendation for the tower is the 300/900 Cases are all about personal preference. I despise small cases (except for a HPTC), so I go balls out and get the biggest one there is. Better airflow, more room for expansion, etc. Again, it's all personal preference.

Sorry, I've just bashed some of your main choices in components xP but I'm just voicing my opinion based on what I've seen personally.


sidenote: you really don't need 64 bit, contrary to popular belief it is NOT any better than 32Sure as hell is if he's using more than 4GB of RAM.
Click to expand...

Bold = Me.

~Gooda~
 
lol gooda, slow down on the ownage
load I get around 55-60 on the processors, so I guess you are right there, but in games, I never get over 40
Full ATX maybe, but its only got room for 2 GPUs and a smaller card (ethernet/esata/etc) so the 1000 psu probably isnt necessary
That board will not come close to filling up that tower, maybe 2/3rds at best with all parts, and I like big cases too, but not when they need a dolly (unless you consider a 900 small)

Maybe I'm misinformed, but at the local shop the builder claims that 32 bit will use the 4 gigs, it's just the software doesn't show it.
edit: I decided to look for myself, yes there is a memory hole at ~3.5 gigs. So 64-bit is the only way to use all 4 gigs of ram. This is what I get for going against the almighty gooda xP (i got pwned)
 
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xplag said:
lol gooda, slow down on the ownage
load I get around 55-60 on the processors, so I guess you are right there, but in games, I never get over 40
Full ATX maybe, but its only got room for 2 GPUs and a smaller card (ethernet/esata/etc) so the 1000 psu probably isnt necessary
That board will not come close to filling up that tower, maybe 2/3rds at best with all parts, and I like big cases too, but not when they need a dolly (unless you consider a 900 small)

Maybe I'm misinformed, but at the local shop the builder claims that 32 bit will use the 4 gigs, it's just the software doesn't show it.
edit: I decided to look for myself, yes there is a memory hole at ~3.5 gigs. So 64-bit is the only way to use all 4 gigs of ram. This is what I get for going against the almighty gooda xP (i got pwned)
Click to expand...

You just got SERVED!

No really, there's no problem. True, your CPU will NEVER get as hot as when running Prime95, but it's always a good indicator.

The mobo has room for 3 dual slot cards. By no means small, dunno what you're on about.

Yep, a 1KW psu is overkill for this build, but then again, I'm the guy with the 1200W psu -.-

Yes, I consider the 900 small, it's a mid tower case.

x64 ftw.

Off to save the world from ignorance, be back in two hours! (really, I'm in class)

~Gooda~
 
As for the PSU, 900 was recommended minimum for 2+ 4870s in crossfire I believe and I like room to upgrade. I planned to go with a Toughpower 1000 but this one was a combo deal. Might even end up with a 1200w. :P

As for the case I'm really up in the air on that. I like the Cosmos 1000 cause its nice and quiet but I hear some bad things about it and it has no window. That's why I ended up with the Cosmos S. My biggest issue on the case is fitting up to 4 cards in crossfire eventually. Plus I like to RAID the hell out of drives. Also, I may drop in water cooling later (I do live in Phoenix). So a huge tower would probably see some use. But I can make do with a great mid-tower if one's suggested.

As for the 9950 cpu it seemed like a great deal when i was window shopping. Also, my cpu has always been a huge issue. So I don't want to have that bottleneck dragging me down anymore if I can avoid it. Ill gladly pay the extra at this point. :D

And of course, I'm getting more wishy-washy on all his as the time to buy gets closer. Been looking at a Q6600 with dual 9800GTX+. Could probably swing a couple 260s but not sure about them. And, I really, really, REALLY hate Nvidia and their corporate practices. So I'd prefer to donate my money to the ATI crew. Also, I know jack about Intel. Been looking at the x48 chipsets for that. Opinions? is 790i better?

Anyways, I'm still open to suggestions on all this. I want a rig that will play games nicely for next few years (duh) and still have a little room left if I have to push it to 5 yrs. Budgets around $2-2.5k at this point (buying everything but monitor).
 
HanoverFist said:
As for the PSU, 900 was recommended minimum for 2+ 4870s in crossfire I believe and I like room to upgrade. I planned to go with a Toughpower 1000 but this one was a combo deal. Might even end up with a 1200w. :P

As for the case I'm really up in the air on that. I like the Cosmos 1000 cause its nice and quiet but I hear some bad things about it and it has no window. That's why I ended up with the Cosmos S. My biggest issue on the case is fitting up to 4 cards in crossfire eventually. Plus I like to RAID the hell out of drives. Also, I may drop in water cooling later (I do live in Phoenix). So a huge tower would probably see some use. But I can make do with a great mid-tower if one's suggested.

As for the 9950 cpu it seemed like a great deal when i was window shopping. Also, my cpu has always been a huge issue. So I don't want to have that bottleneck dragging me down anymore if I can avoid it. Ill gladly pay the extra at this point. :D

And of course, I'm getting more wishy-washy on all his as the time to buy gets closer. Been looking at a Q6600 with dual 9800GTX+. Could probably swing a couple 260s but not sure about them. And, I really, really, REALLY hate Nvidia and their corporate practices. So I'd prefer to donate my money to the ATI crew. Also, I know jack about Intel. Been looking at the x48 chipsets for that. Opinions? is 790i better?

Anyways, I'm still open to suggestions on all this. I want a rig that will play games nicely for next few years (duh) and still have a little room left if I have to push it to 5 yrs. Budgets around $2-2.5k at this point (buying everything but monitor).
Click to expand...

I got the Thermaltake 1200W ;) If you got any questions about WCing, give me a shout ;)

Also, the 790i fails miserably. EVGA quit producing it because of some bug for awhile. I think it's back up now though.

X48 and X38 are almost the exact same thing. Very slight differences + a small increase in performance.

X48/38 = Full x16/x16 crossfire
P35/45 = x8/x8 crossfire

~Gooda~
 
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