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5930 Posts
ECC memory is slow, its for workstation critical tasks that absolutely cannot have an error like servers or renders. Everyone should definitely get normal DDR3 memory.
Don't worry about memory, get the cheapest you can find. Expensive RAM with awesome timings and frequencies are literally snake oil.
Something like this is fine:
http://www.emag.ro/memorii/kit-memorii-dual-channel-mushkin-2-x-2048mb-st3-10666-ddr3-1333mhz--p996768
On April 04 2011 20:20 Legatus Lanius wrote:
whats the cooling potential of the haf912 vs the 922/932?
and why does the 912 have more cpu cooler room (170s) than the 922 (160) when the 922 is wider?
All cases like that with fan mounts everywhere perform more or less the same.
The HAF 912 probably has more CPU cooler space to worth with than the HAF 922 because he has a 200mm side fan to worry about. If you remove the 200mm side fan, you can apparently fit 190mm tall CPU coolers if you really wanted to.
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On April 04 2011 20:14 ForgottenOne wrote:
@FrozenSolid Because I was talking about 2500K or 2600K I was actually talking about using a 45 multiplier or some close value that will be stable. And from what I understand, this will also make the CPU choose at which frequency to use the RAM. And my concern is whether at such high multiplier it would want some frequency from the RAM that is higher than 1333 Mhz.
Also, with the 45 multiplier, at what frequency the CPU will try to use the RAM?
There is a CPU multiplier and a RAM multiplier, the two are not interconnected. You can have your CPU multiplier set to 45 and you can have your RAM set to 1333MHz, 1600MHz, 1866MHz, 2000MHz, or any other frequency you like.
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@skyR F* my life... now I'm in the dark a little. Can you ,please, enumerate what things are tied to the CPU multiplier for the Sandy Bridge? I read that more things are affected by this than just the CPU's clock frequency (even the RAM and seems I was wrong) and I cannot find it with ease on google...
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@ForgottenOne
You may have misunderstood the articles you've read. Multipliers are independent of one another, increasing the CPU multiplier will just increase the CPU frequency and nothing else. It is the base clock (BCLK) that is tied to everything (SATA, PCI-E, Memory, CPU, DMI, USB, etc).
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Hey all, I have a really quick question. I've just begun building a new PC (still researching, ofc), and I decided to build it around the video card. It's mainly for gaming, though all the basic multimedia purposes of the average person are included. Anyway, I've been looking at dual GTX 460 1gb cards, though I was wondering if it's a better choice to get a single but better video card (GTX 570, perhaps)? Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated. I'm a huge noob when it comes to computer hardware. Thanks!
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@popdeollie
Better to get a single flagship graphics card and not deal with the excess heat, games favouring CrossfireX over SLI, games not utilizing SLI at all, and all other problems associated with SLI. Unless you are doing 3D Surround or playing at 2560x1600, you're not going to be needing a GTX 590 or any SLI setup. A GTX 570 or 580 would be perfectly capable of running all the games today on max settings.
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Wow, thanks for the quick response, skyR. TL is truly the best.
EDIT:
Ok, so I've decided on an EVGA GTX 580 video card and an Intel i5 2500 processor, but I'm struggling to understand motherboards. I really have no clue how to choose one, even after an hour or so of research. This (MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard) seems to be the most popular choice on Newegg, but I'd appreciate someone knowledgeable's opinion, as I've seen some complaints that I don't fully understand.
Is it a good motherboard, especially for gaming? Are there better options? Is it compatible with my video card and processor? Etc. Thanks for any and all feedback!
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if you plan on overclocking, get a 2500k cpu and a P67 motherboard.
if you're not going to overclock, consider the 2400/2500 (non-k) and an H67 motherboard.
from there, find a board with the features (USB3, SLI/crossfire, etc) and connectivity options you want.
lastly, pricing and customer reviews.
(2400 non-k is better buy over the 2500 non-k)
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Ah, my lovely computer building friends, I am back! And I have a Newegg wishlist with a build!
I have no idea if the link works correctly like this, but here it is: link.
Details with rationale for the parts in spoiler tags:
Cooler Master HAF 912 -- $60
+ Show Spoiler +skyR recommended this, but I figured that, especially if I might want Crossfire in the future, I would need a bigger case. The 912 is the budget option of the HAF line, and the excellent HAF 922 is $40 more and would put me over $800. Might not seem like a lot, but I don't want to just go tossing money randomly.
Asus P8P67-M -- $130
+ Show Spoiler +The board skyR recommended, simply put, wasn't too great, so I won't even link it. This is partly because I wanted to get USB 3.0 even though I didn't mention it. Asus makes great boards and this has all of the fancy new connections on it. It's also Crossfire-ready.
Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge -- $190
+ Show Spoiler +Don't think I'm overclocking, thought i5 was probably the best to get for posterity: this seems to be the obvious choice.
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM -- $65 ***sold out; important to read spoiler***
+ Show Spoiler +This is one of the most recommended hard drives out there, and for good reason. However, it is sold out and also doesn't support new things like SATA 6.0Gb/s that my motherboard supports. Based on that, this search shows some cheaper or closely priced hard drives that have those features. I don't think I want the Black Caviar because it's not fully new and has an awful warranty (even if it does have a better cache size). I honestly don't know if I should choose Seagate or Western Digital, but my gut seems to say WD even though it's just a tad more. Thoughts?
MSI R6850 Cyclone PE Radeon HD 6850 1GB -- $175
+ Show Spoiler +The GTX 460 skyR recommended was great. However, I did some research and found this card to be the ATI equivalent. After shedding my preconceived notions and realizing that the compatibility differences between ATI and Nvidia would probably be very minimal, I found that the ATI card performed slightly better in most tests. Furthermore, in Crossfire, it improves more than the other in SLI, which I can add later on to help future-proof and keep playing at very high settings. Do you guys think that this fits the whole "want to still be playing high a few years from now" thing? Benchmarks for single and SLI/CF, respectively: single and SLI/CF.
Corsair XMS3 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333 -- $90
+ Show Spoiler +I was hoping for 8GB of RAM because I wanted to quickly alt-tab and all of that fun stuff. I figure this is around a $40 upgrade from 4GB, so it's not huge. Do you think it is a straight $40 improvement? There was a G.Skill for the same price, but I went with Kingston's familiarity. Finally, I read through skyR's awesome posted article that the speed (1333) doesn't really matter, so I followed that especially since I fall into the non-overclocking group and probably wouldn't see a difference.
Corsair Builder Series CX500 500W Power Supply -- $70
+ Show Spoiler +Simply put, getting another of the same video card to run Crossfire puts me around 460W, I think. Thus, getting this now is a way to maybe save money later. Without Crossfire I think one of my friends said I was around 360W, which sounds weird so I'm not entirely sure. This is only $15 more than the 450W that skyR recommended.
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM --$20
+ Show Spoiler +The most recommended on Newegg. They're basically all the same price. Not much to say here.
TOTAL: $800 on the dot (or about there. I'm trying to ignore the lovely tax and shipping).
What do you guys think?
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On April 05 2011 09:26 Char711 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Ah, my lovely computer building friends, I am back! And I have a Newegg wishlist with a build! I have no idea if the link works correctly like this, but here it is: link. Details with rationale for the parts in spoiler tags: Cooler Master HAF 912 -- $60 + Show Spoiler +skyR recommended this, but I figured that, especially if I might want Crossfire in the future, I would need a bigger case. The 912 is the budget option of the HAF line, and the excellent HAF 922 is $40 more and would put me over $800. Might not seem like a lot, but I don't want to just go tossing money randomly. Asus P8P67-M -- $130 + Show Spoiler +The board skyR recommended, simply put, wasn't too great, so I won't even link it. This is partly because I wanted to get USB 3.0 even though I didn't mention it. Asus makes great boards and this has all of the fancy new connections on it. It's also Crossfire-ready. Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge -- $190 + Show Spoiler +Don't think I'm overclocking, thought i5 was probably the best to get for posterity: this seems to be the obvious choice. Samsung Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM -- $65 ***sold out; important to read spoiler*** + Show Spoiler +This is one of the most recommended hard drives out there, and for good reason. However, it is sold out and also doesn't support new things like SATA 6.0Gb/s that my motherboard supports. Based on that, this search shows some cheaper or closely priced hard drives that have those features. I don't think I want the Black Caviar because it's not fully new and has an awful warranty (even if it does have a better cache size). I honestly don't know if I should choose Seagate or Western Digital, but my gut seems to say WD even though it's just a tad more. Thoughts? MSI R6850 Cyclone PE Radeon HD 6850 1GB -- $175 + Show Spoiler +The GTX 460 skyR recommended was great. However, I did some research and found this card to be the ATI equivalent. After shedding my preconceived notions and realizing that the compatibility differences between ATI and Nvidia would probably be very minimal, I found that the ATI card performed slightly better in most tests. Furthermore, in Crossfire, it improves more than the other in SLI, which I can add later on to help future-proof and keep playing at very high settings. Do you guys think that this fits the whole "want to still be playing high a few years from now" thing? Benchmarks for single and SLI/CF, respectively: single and SLI/CF. Corsair XMS3 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333 -- $90 + Show Spoiler +I was hoping for 8GB of RAM because I wanted to quickly alt-tab and all of that fun stuff. I figure this is around a $40 upgrade from 4GB, so it's not huge. Do you think it is a straight $40 improvement? There was a G.Skill for the same price, but I went with Kingston's familiarity. Finally, I read through skyR's awesome posted article that the speed (1333) doesn't really matter, so I followed that especially since I fall into the non-overclocking group and probably wouldn't see a difference. Corsair Builder Series CX500 500W Power Supply -- $70 + Show Spoiler +Simply put, getting another of the same video card to run Crossfire puts me around 460W, I think. Thus, getting this now is a way to maybe save money later. Without Crossfire I think one of my friends said I was around 360W, which sounds weird so I'm not entirely sure. This is only $15 more than the 450W that skyR recommended. Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM --$20 + Show Spoiler +The most recommended on Newegg. They're basically all the same price. Not much to say here. TOTAL: $800 on the dot (or about there. I'm trying to ignore the lovely tax and shipping). What do you guys think?
Your wishlist is set to private, so we can't check it out. Switch it over to public so we can take an easier look (for the links mostly)
6Gb/s on a normal (not SSD) HDD is a marketing gimmick. HDDs don't utilize the full 3Gb/s, so you really don't need to pay extra for 6. If the Spinpoint F3 is sold out, Corsair Black is a good choice, slightly more expensive, but has a longer warranty (5yr vs 2 or 3). If you want to build before the Spinpoint F3s are restocked, go with a corsair black.
You've selected a P67 Mobo but have an i5-2400 as well. The P67 can overclock, but the 2400 can't as much. Go with a 2500k if you want to OC, or go with a cheaper H67 board, since you don't need the OC.
I wouldn't recommend planning on going SLI/CF in the future. You would probably just be better off to get one good card now, then when time comes to upgrade, ditch it and get a new single graphics cards. It's your choice though. Edit: In your single card comparison of the GTX460 vs ATI 6850, you're comparing a 768MB 460 card, maybe re evaluate with the 1GB and see if it's better. The two cards are very close, it mostly comes down to nvidia vs ati preference.
This RAM is $70 after a promocode, good til the 6th if you're looking to buy now. Same speed, Gskill brand. They sponsor a lot of ESPORTS, always pick them if you can! =P
Looks good all around, enjoy
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Hey guys. I am trying to build my first gaming PC. Much help would be appreciated.
Budget?
800-1000
Resolution?
1920x1200
What are you using for?
Sc2, FPS games like COD and battlefield, etc..
Upgrade cycle?
3-4 years
When do you plan on building it?
Within a month or so. When I have the correct idea of everything I want, so it depends.
Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes
OS
Windows 7
Do you plan on adding a second GPU
No not really
Where do you plan on buying parts?
Anywhere that has the best deals on the parts.
Thanks for the help guys!
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@Char711
Antec EA500D - Cheaper AND better PSU
Wait until the F3 is back in stock, should be within 24 hours
8GB GSkill Ripjaws for $10 less. Slower speed but tighter timings so its the same performance, and the ripjaws are probably better RAM than the corsair.
Finally, you can grab this combo to get a 6870 for only $5 more than the 6850 after a $20 MIR
Just so you know, the P67 chipset is meant for overclocking. You can stick with a H67 board if you don't intend to overclock.
While the 2400 can overclock a small bit its potential is limited, and the $35 extra for the 2500k is probably worth it.
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@Molybdenum
Strange. It already had "shared" checked and I went back and hit the "Make Public" button again just to make sure. Tell me if it doesn't work?
The problem with the Black is that the similar one is $25 more. It doesn't look like the Blue is much different, and it's the same price. There's also a Hitachi for $5 less that won a customer award. Should I stick with WD or get a cheaper Seagate or Hitachi? Most people seem to go towards WD for reliability. If the Spinpoint comes back in time I'll pick it up, though.
The only reason I didn't get a H67 was because it's not a board you get if you use Crossfire.
So, on that note, is everyone agreed on the "only get one card and plan on a completely new one later" thing (basically, will this keep me on high setting for three years)? I guess it also frees up the ability to go Nvidia in the future, which is handy.
Thanks for the RAM idea! I don't know if I'll be able to make it in time, but I'll grab it if I can!
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@deconduo
I think I love you.
Definitely switching to the Antec (forgot they're having a sale with Newegg right now) and the combo. Molybdenum showed a better RAM deal, though, so I'm hoping for that.
I don't intend to overclock (or, rather, I don't think I'll need it). To me the combo with the nicer video card is definitely worth more than the overclockable CPU.
Thank you thank you thank you!
Do you guys have an opinion on the case? I'm wondering if it should be downsized because I won't be getting Crossfire or SLI.
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On April 05 2011 10:07 Char711 wrote:
@deconduo
I think I love you.
Definitely switching to the Antec (forgot they're having a sale with Newegg right now) and the combo. Molybdenum showed a better RAM deal, though, so I'm hoping for that.
I don't intend to overclock (or, rather, I don't think I'll need it). To me the combo with the nicer video card is definitely worth more than the overclockable CPU.
Thank you thank you thank you!
Do you guys have an opinion on the case? I'm wondering if it should be downsized because I won't be getting Crossfire or SLI.
The HAF 912 is an awesome case. and you should definitely stick with it. I wish you could get it over here for a decent price, but its like $100.
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thanks Skyr.. you are great to this thread!
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@Char711
You should look at the amperage of the 12v rail on the power supply instead of the wattage. The Corsair CX500 provides 34A on the 12v rail, Antec Earthwatts 500w provides 37A, and my recommended XFX Core 450w provides 34A. The Corsair unit is inferior and overpriced so decide between the XFX 450W for $55 ($45 after mail in rebate) and the Antec Earthwatts 500w for $60.
H67 motherboards do have CrossfireX capabilities. Going with any of the below boards would save you money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128473
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131711
Western Digital Caviar Blues are slower than Blacks. Hitachi was bought out by Western Digital not too long ago. The Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GBs are in stock, why not just grab one of them and get a Western Digital Caviar Green or an external drive for storage later on.
I'd buy the RAM that Molybdenum posted now. Regardless of what other components you buy, you're going to be using DDR3 RAM anyways.
I'd just switch to another 6850 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353 ) so you get Shogun for free. There's not much of a FPS difference between the 6850 and 6870. And with the combo deal, you'll going to be dealing with mail in rebates which is going to take several months.
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On April 05 2011 10:50 skyR wrote:
Western Digital Caviar Blues are slower than Blacks. Hitachi was bought out by Western Digital not too long ago. The Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GBs are in stock, why not just grab one of them and get a Western Digital Caviar Green or an external drive for storage later on.
I'd buy the RAM that Molybdenum posted now. Regardless of what other components you buy, you're going to be using DDR3 RAM anyways.
I have two 500GB/platter WDs, the 10EALS and the 1001FALS-00Y6A0. They both perform exactly the same, which is pretty funny considering the 10EALS is a Blue drive vs. the 00Y6A0 (Black drive). Really once the Blue drives caught up with platter density/cache, I think the monikers are really for warranty purposes. And as someone who has used 100% WD for the better part of 9 years, I have no problem recommending them. My only beef is with Newegg - unless they've fixed their HD shipping methods, buy your hard drives somewhere else.
Char711 - Platter info comes from here btw:
http://rml527.blogspot.com/2010/10/hdd-platter-database-western-digital-35.html
Scroll down to the 500GB section.
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EPT
