My computer build...done?

[Goretex]

I just got all my parts picked out for the computer I want to build. I wanted to ask you guys if everything that I picked out is going to be compatible with each other and if there are any issues with some parts I don't know about.

http://secure.newegg.ca/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9511032

It's my first time building and I have been asking a lot of questions here because I basically started to read about computer components/specs for building a computer less then a week ago.

 

[HardHat]

Everything looks great. Have fun putting it together.

I know cases are usually personal preference, but have you considered swapping the CoolerMaster for an Antec 300 instead? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Also, how about replacing the stock Intel HSF with either the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

or the Xixgmatek HDT-S1283: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

 

[xKodiakx]

I'm diggin the comp exactly how you got it... as long as you don't OC you will be perfectly fine. I just notice a couple out of stock items on the list...

 

[HardHat]

Overclocking or not, for an extra $25, grab the AC Freezer 7 Pro and replace the noisy stock HSF. Since both the CM and the Antec have perforated fronts and vents on the side panels, the annoying whine of the Intel fan when it ramps up will leak out and drive you nuts.

 

[xKodiakx]

if it gets that loud, 45nm and proper air flow, ambient temps inside the house... might not need to get loud.

even tho I'm arguing the fact, I never use stock heat sinks... I always buy the freezer 7 when I build a comp so yeah it's recommended you do so, but it's not a absolute need...

 

[e MpTy]

You forgot a nice good or high quality sound card

 

[Sneakers O'Toole]

Just a few recommendations.

Processor: Go with a q6600. Its a lower clock speed but its a quad core compared to dual-core you are thinking of getting. It is really the backbone of processors right now when it comes to gaming machines. Also many people have had good luck oc'ing it pretty high including myself. While its a 65nm core you can get a AC freezer 7 for 20 bucks and the total comes out to be the same.

Processor link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Heatsink and fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Hope this helps.

EDIT: didn't realize you were on newegg.ca so the prices are different. The quad core is a little bit more expensive but worth it.

 

[xKodiakx]

It is really the backbone of processors right now when it comes to gaming machines.

There are very few games that even support quad cores, and unless the game specifically supports more then 2 threads... they have already proven Quad and Dual don't make a difference in games

 

[metro]

Overclocking or not, for an extra $25, grab the AC Freezer 7 Pro and replace the noisy stock HSF. Since both the CM and the Antec have perforated fronts and vents on the side panels, the annoying whine of the Intel fan when it ramps up will leak out and drive you nuts.

QFT, Tis a great cooler nice and quiet, and more effective than stock.

You might want a cooler case for running the 4870 in though. Although the Sapphire heat-sink is is great at cooling the chip, it doesn't do a great job of moving the hot air out. Just my $0.02.

 

[Sneakers O'Toole]

There are very few games that even support quad cores, and unless the game specifically supports more then 2 threads... they have already proven Quad and Dual don't make a difference in games

While a game does not support quad core the operating system will and if you have a game running on two cores the os which is still alive in the backround can run on the other two cores. Its not as much as having the game take full advantage of the cores as it is being able to dedicate cores to a certain process.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

It doesn't work like that Sneakers, the games will still run on the cores that the OS is running on. The game can't just "switch" to the less used cores, as it's not multithreaded.

Suggestions for OP:

Get the 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2-1000 kit. It's about $45 now (last I checked).
Western Digital 640GB AAKS (or AALS) drive. More space, cheaper, and IIRC, a wee-bit faster.
I think the E8400 will be fine for you, unless you're doing any video encoding or something.

~Gooda~

 

[Sneakers O'Toole]

It doesn't work like that Sneakers, the games will still run on the cores that the OS is running on. The game can't just "switch" to the less used cores, as it's not multithreaded.

Suggestions for OP:

Get the 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2-1000 kit. It's about $45 now (last I checked).
Western Digital 640GB AAKS (or AALS) drive. More space, cheaper, and IIRC, a wee-bit faster.
I think the E8400 will be fine for you, unless you're doing any video encoding or something.

~Gooda~

In vista and xp you can tell a process such as hl2.exe to run on only core 2 and 3 so core 0 and 1 will not be used. It can be done through task manager.

 

[VoiDeD]

In vista and xp you can tell a process such as hl2.exe to run on only core 2 and 3 so core 0 and 1 will not be used. It can be done through task manager.

Yep, this is correct.

SetProcessAffinityMask() and SetThreadAffinityMask() both limit what core/thread execution can run on, but generally you get a loss of performance because the scheduler would have less options when starting a context switch.

If you currently had 2 free cores, but you limited process execution to only 1 of those cores, you'd get half the performance if you had threads set with affinity to only a single core.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms684251(VS.85).aspx

Thread affinity forces a thread to run on a specific subset of processors. Use the SetProcessAffinityMask function to specify thread affinity for all threads of the process. To set the thread affinity for a single thread, use the SetThreadAffinityMask function.

Edit:

Oh and for the build, that's very nice and also surprisingly similar to mine, everything is about the same except for the CPU. I personally got myself a E8500, but I'm sure the stock difference is negligible. And I don't overclock myself so whatever.

 

[Sneakers O'Toole]

Yep, this is correct.

SetProcessAffinityMask() and SetThreadAffinityMask() both limit what core/thread execution can run on, but generally you get a loss of performance because the scheduler would have less options when start a context switch.

If you currently had 2 free cores, but you limited process execution to only 1 of those cores, you'd get half the performance if you had threads set with affinity to only a single core.

Well I know what I'm doing when I get off work. Turning that crap off. Thanks Microsoft for tricking me once again..... le sigh.

 

[VoiDeD]

Well I know what I'm doing when I get off work. Turning that crap off. Thanks Microsoft for tricking me once again..... le sigh.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this would generally only affect you if you're using something that uses 4 cores (such as modern video editing, 3d model programs, etc), and then you limit them down to 2 or something similar.

If you have a game that is using 2 cores, and you swap affinity to the other 2 cores there shouldn't be any impact.

Also, OS execution will always occur on any available core/thread, so limiting a game to 2 cores (assuming it only uses 2) wouldn't give you any benefit because the OS will still use the cores that you moved the game over to.

Sorry for any confusion I may have created with my first post.

 

[Sneakers O'Toole]

Couldn't you take all the os executions and set them to the other two processors so only the games use 2 and everything else is set to use the other 2. Wouldn't that provide some benefit?

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

In vista and xp you can tell a process such as hl2.exe to run on only core 2 and 3 so core 0 and 1 will not be used. It can be done through task manager.

Yes, and I do it quite frequently, lol. But I doubt the average user would know that.

~Gooda~

 

[VoiDeD]

Couldn't you take all the os executions and set them to the other two processors so only the games use 2 and everything else is set to use the other 2. Wouldn't that provide some benefit?

Nope, you can't set thread/core affinity for the actual scheduler that uses affinity to determine execution scheduling!

You can however limit most services and background processes to run on only certain threads.