When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly.

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 06:13 GMT

#501

FragKrag you linked a Spinpoint F3 for the mobo suggestion

I'm sure you were referring to this one, which I also paired with a 965 to save $25.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.430438

I'd opt for a 5850, better performance, future crossfire possibility.

Plus, your PSU only has 2x 6 pin connectors, while each 4870 has 2 each.

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 06:13 GMT

#502

I have some shitty OCZ Gamexstream 700W i bought for like 70$, and I plan on working around 350-400$ CAD. I found someone locally selling an i5 750 for 200$ flat new unopened, just need to find a ram and mobo now T_T

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 04 2010 06:18 GMT

#503

Yeah, I meant that gigabyte :<

Baarn

United States2702 Posts

August 04 2010 06:23 GMT

#504

On August 04 2010 15:13 SONE wrote:
I have some shitty OCZ Gamexstream 700W i bought for like 70$, and I plan on working around 350-400$ CAD. I found someone locally selling an i5 750 for 200$ flat new unopened, just need to find a ram and mobo now T_T

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5_750-_-19-115-215-_-Product

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 06:26 GMT

#505

He's from Canada, prices are more expensive there.

That being said, can't help you SONE, I don't know how to build Intel

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 06:29 GMT

#506

Yeah I'm from Canada, so the 200$ flat for a new unopened is saving me some dolla. Since we have 13% in my province, and since NCIX(the store I usually buy from) opened up in my province, full tax

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 06:32 GMT

#507

Well the 750 is a good deal, but with 350-400 budget you'll be stretching it.

decent 1156 mobos usually range from $130-160, while RAM is about $25/gb.

Can you live with 2gb RAM for a while?

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 06:36 GMT

#508

humm I don't know =(

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 06:45 GMT

#509

ASUS P7H55-M Pro mATX H55 LGA1156 Motherboard
$107

EVGA P55 V SLI mATX P55 LGA1156 SLI 8x/8x Motherboard
$100

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 06:47 GMT

#510

Am I reading that EVGA motherboard correctly? it's only 8x on the pci-e? I only when you SLI it does that but, just clarification. Also, I've never had a mATX, any feedback on those?

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 06:52 GMT

#511

Yes, but you won't be bottlenecked if you SLI your GTX 280. The only things that are bottlenecked at 8x are $300+ cards. (someone clarify starting at what cards will 8x be bottlenecked? but I know it's not near 280)

m-atx are usually limited by amount of pci slots and the bandwidth of the slots, but if you don't plan on utilizing those slots it's a moot point (someone also clarify this, I'm sure I have a gist of it though).

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 06:55 GMT

#512

Ahh I see. Gigabyte any good? Only motherboards I've ever owned are ASUS so, yeah my friend just linked me this GA-H55M-S2H

Errol

Canada102 Posts

August 04 2010 07:08 GMT

#513

On August 04 2010 15:07 FragKrag wrote:
890FX mobo for $10 more but you get USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s along with a better chipset.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233124
is a better SSD for $20 more. You get better sequential write and better sequential read. Random performance should be better as well, though it isn't exactly necessary.

HD 5850 is a better choice imo. At $300 you get great performance that maxes out SC2, but doesn't bring your temps to unreasonable levels. If you find yourself wanting more power, you can always buy another HD 5850 when they become cheaper and put them in CrossFire.

The GTX 460 also maxes out SC2 at a lower price, but it does limit ugpradeability a bit.

Personally I would go with the GTX 460.

I switched to the better SSD, figured I'm already paying a bunch for solid state badassness I might as well kick it up a notch.
Would both the cards last me long enough (2+ years) that I wouldn't need to worry about adding on the second HD 5850? If so I'd probably go GTX 460.

On August 04 2010 15:13 R04R wrote:
FragKrag you linked a Spinpoint F3 for the mobo suggestion

I switched to the MB/CPU Combo, though will the DDR3 1600 RAM work with the MB?

I could of sworn the PSU had 4 PCI-E connectors, am I reading it wrong?

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 07:15 GMT

#514

Errol: The 460 will last 2+ years, but since you won't be able to SLI them if you ever get a 2nd one, buying an 890FX board is a waste of money. Look for an 880G, 870, 785G, 770 board etc.

Ah, your PSU is 750tx, I looked over it and I assumed it was a 650tx. If you're going to stay 1 video card I'd recommend 550w at most btw.

SONE: The mobo is nice but it only has 2x RAM slots, but I'm not sure if that matters to you.

I gathered up a couple that looked cheap on ncix. The EVGA looks like the one you want if you plan on getting another GTX 280 to SLI later on. Other than that I myself don't know any differences between the mobos, just brands and the utilities they provide.

~~Huh, I didn't know GTX 280s were that powerful, there might be some bottlenecking in the 8x lane. not completely sure though.~~

SONE

Canada839 Posts

August 04 2010 07:31 GMT

#515

Yeah I only planned on doing 4gb total anyway. As for finding another 280, I don't even know where I can find one now. I bought it like 2 years ago, a month before the 285 came out or something(timeline may be messed a bit but I remember being quite mad at that haha)

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 08:22 GMT

#516

Yeah well if you can squeeze out another couple dollars somewhere to cover tax/shipping you can get 4GB of RAM and you'll be all set

johanngrunt

Hong Kong1555 Posts

August 04 2010 09:18 GMT

#517

Well, I'm almost going to go out and buy my rig from a brick and mortar store (no online stores here)

CPU: i5 760.
Cooler: Cooler master Hyper 212 +
Case: Lancool Dragonlord K62
GPU: GTX 460.
Mon: Samsung BX2440X (Full HD)
HDD: Spinpoint F3 1TB
DVD: Liteon iHas 124
PSU: OCZ Modxtreme 600W
RAM: Name brand 4GB 1333Mhz DDR3.

Things I'm really not sure of.

MoBo.
Does USB3 and Sata 3 support matter?
In that case, I don't want Gigabyte because it cuts into my PCI 2 lanes. (their budget Mobo does not have a PLX chip)

I really want a stable motherboard for overclocking.

at this point, I'm thinking of the
MSI P55 GD65
or the MSI P55A GD65 (which is just about the same as the flagship GD85 sans some minor features)

EDIT: especially keen on hearing other Motherboard recommendations.

Total Cost with Mobo around 9300 HKD, 1200 USD give or take a few dollars.

any thoughts?

Once I get this I can finally play SC2!!!

R04R

United States1631 Posts

August 04 2010 09:49 GMT

#518

SATA 3 is important for the future of SSD drives, USB 3 less important. USB 3 will allow more bandwidth with USB-based peripherals, with impact more-so on things like HD webcam/external hard drive/flash drive/etc. If you don't plan on using SSDs you don't need it.

johanngrunt

Hong Kong1555 Posts

August 04 2010 10:23 GMT

#519

I agree, but unless the Mobo has a PLX chip, to use up the PCI 1 lanes and (edit)not eat up the PCI 2 lanes, then I don't really think it's that attractive.

And I intend to get an SSD in the future when the price drops further.

Any good recommendations, especially for overclocking, and not too expensive.

mav451

United States1596 Posts

August 04 2010 15:02 GMT

#520

The PLX chip is not necessarily better. PLX chip is relies on DMI instead of PCI-e, but it has its own drawbacks. I.e. Instead of affecting your PCI-e lanes, it affects everything else attached to your chipset. On-board audio, RAID, your OS drive, etc. The PLX chip is NOT adding DMI bandwidth, but simply shifting the bottleneck elsewhere, except as a hardware solution.

At least with Gigabyte, you have a choice of where you want to take the b/w from:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035815199&postcount=8
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035815423&postcount=11

IMO, if you want a non-neutered solution, where you don't sacrifice anything you will need a X58A board tbh. In that case you are sacrificing your wallet :D

*as for overclocking - if you are doing air only, ANY board will do. 3.6-3.8Ghz is cake, which is all you really need anyway. I'm at 3.6Ghz out of laziness.