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Hello, I'm a software developer and I need a computer that executes many many simple commands to any application I'm running very quicky and that is very very very responsive while running a lot of heavy stuff in the background.
What is your budget?
800-1000 EUR = 3500-4200 RON (Romanian Currency from the website I'm gonna order the components)
What is your resolution?
1920x1200
What are you using it for?
A. Gaming Mode
I'm gonna take some games I missed from past to the near future (First half of 2011). I'm gonna play them aproximatively in order so if some games from late 2010 or first half of 2011 can't be played on the GPU card you recomend, I would target to buy another GPU at the end of 2011 when I get to these games.
It would be nice if I had the open option such that some time in the future I can play on multiple screens but this is optional.
B. Software Developing Mode
This is the most important and Hard Core Mode and the one that prevents me from solving the choice by myself. I would really apreciate if you could focus mostly on this need:
All on top of a Windows 7 Ultimate I already own:
I run at least an Apache Server, an Application Server and a MySQL Server in the backround for the entire time (some times even while in Gaming Mode).
I use Development Enviroments like NetBeans and Eclipse some times simultaneously. These are heavy RAM consumers and I think HDD consumers (I think they may make a big number of small I/O operations).
I use Firefox+Chrome+Opera simultaneously, Firefox with about 50 tabs open, at least one beeing radio. I sometimes open and close other browsers. (Website and application for testing purposes)
I use a couple tools like Open Office at the same time.
At the same time I have YM and Skype open; at peak usage with voice or webcam.
Also I may have a Virtual Maching running Linux or a Remote Desktop Connection (depending on the project).
At peak usage I usually alt tab a lot from one application to another and give short/simple commands (like searching for all references of a file/class/function in the project; refactorings; sending an email; etc.) that I expect to instantly complete and long commands (build and deploy the application on the server). I start and close a lot of tools and navigate a lot through the computer directories. I talk on Skype and listen to radio. Optionally, some times, I just don't want to close all programs; so while everything is running just jump into a SC2 game and back to work.
What I'm looking is for a system that at peak usage will make navigation though the system, opening/closing tools and short commands to happen instantly while everything is working in the background; and the long tasks happen relatively quickly while not trading responsiveness.
So the main concern is responsiveness of simple operations.
Would I need 8GB of RAM because I use so many things at once and I want responsiveness? I think so.
What is your upgrade cycle?
3-4 years
When do you plan on building it?
March 2011 or First Week of April 2011.
Do you plan on overclocking?
I would target a i5-2500K or i7-2600k and maybe overclock it up to 4200Mhz BUT ONLY if improves the performance for the purpose I'm buying my computer: A station that responds instantly to any click.
Do you need an Operating System?
NO
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
I want to play all the games released until and including first half of 2011 at maximum details and 1920x1200 resolution. So at the end of the year 2011 I plan to add another GPU ONLY IF there are some games left that I can handle with only one GPU.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'll buy all the parts from Romania, www.emag.ro
Please Help me and thank you for your attention!
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I would go for something like:
CPU: i7-2600k ~280€
MB: Gigabyte UD3P ~130€
Graphics Card: Radeon 6950 ~200€
RAM: 16GB any 1333MHz Ram ~140€ (not really sure about this, but RAM is really cheap at the moment, and your applications...)
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB ~45€
SSD: new SSDs will be released next week by Intel and Sandforce, so get one of those new ones
PSU: CoolerMaster SilentPro M500 or Antec TP550 ~80€
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The i7-2600k is because of hyper-threading? (It seems I would really need it considering the purpose I use my computer for)
I ask because tomshardware.com recomends the i5-2500k because, except hyper-threading, the difference is small and i5 is less expensive (and i5 is the sweet spot quality/price).
In my case prices are:
i5-2500k ~210 EUR
i7-2600k ~320 EUR
(Computer stuff is more expensive in Romania... for some reason)
Second question: What would be the bottleneck for the configuration (In Software Development Mode)? Could it be the i5 if I go for that one? In that case I would surely go with the i7.
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I would get the i5-2500k and then spend the difference on a larger capacity SSD. Most of that should be I/O constrained rather than CPU constrained, and I don't think the hyperthreading would really help. I don't even think overclocking the CPU would help that much, except in some compiling and some games--then again, overclocking a i5-2500k is straightforward. Servers, indexing, searching, etc. are all heavy I/O workloads. 8 GB RAM sounds like enough.
For the GPU, a GTX 460 may be enough for now, since you'd upgrade the GPU later to play future games. I would seriously consider spending a significant portion of the money on the SSD, so no need for a HD 6950 or similar now.
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I think the servers, being just for testing, don't get many requests so maybe I don't use them so intensive for I/O. The search and indexing that I do in an IDE are through the project tree that should be all loaded in the memory.
Second Question: I would upgrade the GPU in the sense that I would buy another one exactly the same and put them in SLI/Crossfire. It seems that new games scale quite well in SLI/Crossfire. Which brings us the question, will GTX 460 let me play most of the games released up until 2010 on about 60 fps on 1920x1200 on max settings? and 2 x GTX 460 do the same for all the games released up until and including first half of 2011?
Third Question: 8 GB seems enough. The questions is 2 x 4GB? or 4 x 2GB?
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He wants to play games with maximum details for at least another year, I don't think the GTX460 will be enough for that, maybe even the 6950 is not.
I would definitely go for the 2600k though, if you want to run all that stuff in the background, many games already utilize 4 cores for the game itself..
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Another question: HDD and SSD.
Should I buy both or your suggestion was for either one of them?
I thought at some moment to get a SSD for the System (all applications) stuff and a HDD for storage (Music, Vids, Pictures and Games). What do you think about this?
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Yeah, that was exactly what I meant.
I would go for a 120GB SSD and an additional hard drive.
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2x4 gb would give you more flexibility to upgrade in the future
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I completely missed that question, but as KOFgukuon said, definitely 2x4GB.
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On February 26 2011 00:44 Mischi wrote:
He wants to play games with maximum details for at least another year, I don't think the GTX460 will be enough for that, maybe even the 6950 is not.
I would definitely go for the 2600k though, if you want to run all that stuff in the background, many games already utilize 4 cores for the game itself..
Even Crysis 2 looks less system demanding than Crysis 1, which came out in 2007. GTX460 will be fine for 2-3 years to come and 6950 will continue to be overkill. I'd recommend a bit more GPU power for BF3, but if you're not interested in that I really have a hard time believing a single 6850 or 460 1gb won't be enough for anything coming out this year. Also the i7-2600k will not increase gaming performance over i5-2500k, so keep in mind what you're paying extra for
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On February 26 2011 01:17 Aduromors wrote:Show nested quote +On February 26 2011 00:44 Mischi wrote:
He wants to play games with maximum details for at least another year, I don't think the GTX460 will be enough for that, maybe even the 6950 is not.
I would definitely go for the 2600k though, if you want to run all that stuff in the background, many games already utilize 4 cores for the game itself.. Even Crysis 2 looks less system demanding than Crysis 1, which came out in 2007. GTX460 will be fine for 2-3 years to come and 6950 will continue to be overkill. I'd recommend a bit more GPU power for BF3, but if you're not interested in that I really have a hard time believing a single 6850 or 460 1gb won't be enough for anything coming out this year. Also the i7-2600k will not increase gaming performance over i5-2500k, so keep in mind what you're paying extra for
My biggest concern is to have a computer that responds instantaneously and works very fast with my daily work, software development. I described it at the beginning of Page 164. Will the i7 make a difference in that case?
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Heads up - Intel's H61 chipset. You might be seeing these SKUs pop up at your fav etailer. The H61 is an ultra affordable Sandy Bridge enabled chipset. These motherboards are being sold for as low as $60 ! The H61 differs from the H67 as there are only 2 dimm slots (but still dual channel). SATA6 isn't available either but could be provided through a 3rd party chip, as USB3 is being offered on these boards through 3rd party chips but is not part of intel's chips.
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On February 26 2011 01:25 ForgottenOne wrote:Show nested quote +On February 26 2011 01:17 Aduromors wrote:On February 26 2011 00:44 Mischi wrote:
He wants to play games with maximum details for at least another year, I don't think the GTX460 will be enough for that, maybe even the 6950 is not.
I would definitely go for the 2600k though, if you want to run all that stuff in the background, many games already utilize 4 cores for the game itself.. Even Crysis 2 looks less system demanding than Crysis 1, which came out in 2007. GTX460 will be fine for 2-3 years to come and 6950 will continue to be overkill. I'd recommend a bit more GPU power for BF3, but if you're not interested in that I really have a hard time believing a single 6850 or 460 1gb won't be enough for anything coming out this year. Also the i7-2600k will not increase gaming performance over i5-2500k, so keep in mind what you're paying extra for My biggest concern is to have a computer that responds instantaneously and works very fast with my daily work, software development. I described it at the beginning of Page 164. Will the i7 make a difference in that case?
Yes it will.
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Would this compilation be able to display 4on4 on at least low without any fps drops? And if so, would you recommend me to buy it now, or can you give a better solutions?
Case: Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower - black Window
CPU: Intel Core i5-760 Box 8192Kb, LGA1156
Mainboard: MSI P55A-G55, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3
Graphics Card: MSI N460GTX-MD1GD5/OC, 1024MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express
RAM: 4GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL9
PSU: be quiet! Pure Power 530 Watt / BQT L7
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB, SATA II (HD502HJ)
Drive: LG GH22NS Retail schwarz SATA
Resolution will be 1920x1080.
Thx in advance 
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You should get the i5-2500k for a CPU instead and a socket 1155 mainboard.
Other than that it's ok, though I would go for a different PSU, since I heard a lot of bad stuff about the bequiet PSUs lately.
PSU
CPU
Mainboard
You can also save some money if you look up the cheapest vendors on geizhals.at/de .
Atelco is usually too expensive.
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What is your budget?
I'd like to spend around 600€ even though I could spend more if there is something for which it is worth it.
What is your resolution?
Well I've been playing on a really outdated laptop so far so I guess I would want that to change. Lets say 1920 X 1080
What are you using it for?
I really want it to run SC2 smoothly it would also be great if I could stream with it too.
What is your upgrade cycle?
I'd like it to run for more then 3 years.
When do you plan on building it?
Pretty much now since I can't wait to get rid of my outdated Laptop....
Do you plan on overclocking?
No
Do you need an Operating System?
No
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
Nope unless I would need that for streaming which i doubt.
Where are you buying your parts from?
Well I'm kinda split on that either I go to a local computer store (I live in munic) or I'd most likely order it from hardwareversand.de, I don't necessarily plan on assembeling it as long as there somebody would built it for me fo an ok price.
On a side note I'd prefer the CPU to be from AMD as long as there aren't any major concerns about that.
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http://geizhals.at/eu/?cat=WL-141017
Intel CPUs are way better for Starcraft at the moment so you should get a Intel.
If you really want to have AMD and a worse performance you can go for the Phenom II X4 955 and ASRock 870 Extreme3.
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Hi guys!
Currently Im looking to change my whole PC. Right now, Im working with a Mac Mini and a really old 14 inch monitor, and really need tu upgrade this 
Basically my work involves graphic design, 3D animation, and heavy PS and Illustrator usage, so a big monitor *21-23inches* would really help out.
What is your budget?
My budget is around $1000 - $1200
What is your resolution?
1920x1200 - This is my expectation.
What are you using it for?
WORK: I will use it for heavy applications such as Maya 2011, Adobe Master Suite CS5 *including After Effects CS5*, and alot of these apps open at the same time.
GAMING: Just sc2. I dont care about incredible framerate on ultra high settings, I just want something that doesnt lag with my resolution.
What is your upgrade cycle?
3-4 years
When do you plan on building it?
April 2011.
Do you plan on overclocking?
No
Do you need an Operating System?
Yep - Windows 7
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No
Where are you buying your parts from?
Ill buy them from an online store and have the parts delivered to Costa Rica
Im planning on getting the case here in Costa Rica * a cheap one* and use my old soundcard if there is no integrated sound card on the motherboard. Also planning on using my DVD reader and another DVD burner from my old computer and just plug that in.
Any recommendations? Are the list of GPUs listed on the front page only accesible for the resolution in which they are listed in?
Thanks in advance!
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I don't know exactly where you are gonna buy, but the parts should be within you budget.
CPU: i7-2600k ( I think the CS5 stuff will profit from that, if not please somebody correct me on that)
Mainboard: Gigabyte P67 UD3P or ASRock P67 Extreme4 or ASRock P67 Pro3 (last if you want to save some money)
GPU: Radeon 6950 1GB
RAM: 8GB of any 1333MHz Ram
PSU: Antec TruePower 550 or Coolermaster Silent Pro M500
Case: chose what you like and whats in your budget - Xigmatek Asgard II or III are good low priced ones
SSD: You can get a SSD with that, next week some new ones should be released (new Intel, new Sandforce, new Marvel), get one of those
HDD: Samsung F3 1TB
+Windows
That should be in your budget, I think.
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EPT
