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Rebuilding my deceased desktop

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Ash811
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#1 - 2014-03-02 00:46:57 UTC
Hey everyone, so my 7 year old Alienware Aurora 7500-R4 has finally quit working on me. I believe the mother board has "gone out" in that it won't boot up, tried using a different power supply to power just the MB to no avail. So I figured since its still a very nice case, and the power supply still seems to be in excellent condition, I will just purchase some new components and essentially "rebuild" her.

My problem is that the last time I tried building my own computer, nothing worked...for some reason all the components together would not work, but individually they worked just fine.

So I'm here hoping I could get some good advice

What I DO have:

750W Power supply
Old 7200 RPM HDD
Kick ass case
Keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

What I want:

So what I'm looking for is a PC that I can run 4 displays and 4 instances of Eve.

I'm willing to spend some money but I don't want the suggestions like "3 $1500 graphics cards" that are just a little extravagant just to run some Eve accounts.

I'm not sure if a 750W power supply would be enough to run 2 graphics cards in SLI, if someone could shed some light on this for me I would much appreciate it. Or if it would be more economical to just spend extra money on 1 GPU that could run 4 displays? I'm not sure...

I am interested in the notion of liquid cooling, although I admit to being completely ignorant to this technology, so if that can be achieved on a decent budget then extra points lol

If you put a gun to my head and forced me to give a dollar amount to how much I'm looking to spend, I'd prolly say around $1k when pressed.

And I will probably end up getting a SSD as well just for the OS and my Eve folder, what companies these days make a good SSD?

Anyways thanks for reading and any advice is most appreciated! Fly safe!
Caleidascope
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#2 - 2014-03-02 02:47:56 UTC
SLI is useless in EVE.

Life is short and dinner time is chancy

Eat dessert first!
Caleidascope
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#3 - 2014-03-02 02:53:54 UTC  |  Edited by: Caleidascope
Just in case: check the capacitors on the mobo, one or more might have popped. The electrolytic caps "dry out" after a few years and pop (like popcorn), anywhere from 3 to 8 years. I had one cap pop on P3 mobo, a friend replaced it. I am looking at another cap that popped on my lcd monitor power board, I am planning to replace it in a week or two.

Life is short and dinner time is chancy

Eat dessert first!
Anonymous Player
Alt Shift Q
#4 - 2014-03-02 04:50:46 UTC
Are you using the four accounts for logistics and/or mining? Or are you trying to run four in combat? You can buy a cheap USB-to-HDMI adapter (Plug you HDMI monitor into it and then plug it into a USB3.0 slot and you have video support with pretty decent speed for auxiliary monitors, but I would use a real graphics card for anything you plan on actually using in combat). The adapters are $50 or so.

The CPU I am putting in my new computer is an AMD FX-6300, which is a pretty decent CPU with 6 cores and capable of a 4Ghz "Turbo" boost for the cores that are in heavy use. I wouldn't say it is the top end CPU, but it is a pretty good one and would fit your requirements. You can get it for $120 or so.

For $130 or so you can get a Radeon R7 260X graphics card with 2GB of dedicated memory. Again, not the top of the line, but it runs EVE on pretty high settings quite well, and is pretty dang cheap for what you get.

You can also get a 128GB SSD for super cheap, saw one for $60 on one website not long ago. If you are just using it for OS and EVE, that should be enough, but the bigger ones are not too bad either, saw a 1TB for under $500 which was actually surprising.
Ash811
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#5 - 2014-03-02 14:51:45 UTC
Caleidascope wrote:
SLI is useless in EVE.


Ah, I see, I must not have a good grasp on what SLI is then, I just thought it was the ability to link two or more of the same graphics cards...this sounds like a job for google!

Hmm...I also do not know how to quote multiple forum posts in one posts...anyways thanks for the tip on repairing the MB, but honestly its so old, and that is a job that is beyond my limited skillset I think I'd prefer just to go the upgrade route, I appreciate the help though!

To Anonymous Player

Yes the four accounts are my combat mission runner accounts, so it would need to be a dedicated GPU, but I am happy to see someone's opinion on those monitor splitters, I saw one at Fry's the other day and was quite curious about them.

A 6 Core AMD CPU does peak my interest though and I will be sure to searching for a compatible MB.

Since Caleidascope says SLI isn't good for Eve I've been looking at EVGA's Nvidia cards, they say they support up to 4 monitors with one card which sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, anyways thanks for all the help you guys!
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#6 - 2014-03-02 15:09:20 UTC
You dont want to use those USB things...

Add your video card first then work your budget around that.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/32KFv you can use that as a guide

As for the SLI / Crossfire its just a simple matter that it does not work in window mode. But if you're going to have more than 4 displays your gonna need a 2nd card

-k8

My Fanclub
Ash811
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#7 - 2014-03-02 15:51:37 UTC
Commissar Kate wrote:
You dont want to use those USB things...

Add your video card first then work your budget around that.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/32KFv you can use that as a guide

As for the SLI / Crossfire its just a simple matter that it does not work in window mode. But if you're going to have more than 4 displays your gonna need a 2nd card



Wow thank you for that link that is amazing!

So i guess my question is that the only Mobo's that are compatible with the AMD FX series chips only have PCI Express 2.0 slots, so I guess I can still buy a PCI Express 3.0 card and it will be backward compatible and it just won't be as fast as it could on 3.0?
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#8 - 2014-03-02 15:58:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Commissar Kate
Ash811 wrote:
Commissar Kate wrote:
You dont want to use those USB things...

Add your video card first then work your budget around that.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/32KFv you can use that as a guide

As for the SLI / Crossfire its just a simple matter that it does not work in window mode. But if you're going to have more than 4 displays your gonna need a 2nd card



Wow thank you for that link that is amazing!

So i guess my question is that the only Mobo's that are compatible with the AMD FX series chips only have PCI Express 2.0 slots, so I guess I can still buy a PCI Express 3.0 card and it will be backward compatible and it just won't be as fast as it could on 3.0?


There are AMD boards with PCIe 3.0 but then the price goes up. And yes 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0.

EDIT: or swap it to a FM2 board and CPU.

Intel is a choice too but they are generally more expensive than AMD.

-k8

My Fanclub
Caleidascope
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#9 - 2014-03-02 16:20:53 UTC
Looks like only FM2 boards have PCI-e 3.

Life is short and dinner time is chancy

Eat dessert first!
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#10 - 2014-03-03 05:21:03 UTC  |  Edited by: Commissar Kate
Caleidascope wrote:
Looks like only FM2 boards have PCI-e 3.


http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_990FXGEN3_R20/ there is a AM3+ with PCIe 3.0, they are out there but its almost double the price of a FM2.

-k8

My Fanclub
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#11 - 2014-03-03 05:30:21 UTC
Haha, I would not 100% rely on it but you can mess around with this too.

http://choosemypc.net/build/?budget=1150&oc=false&options=removecase,

-k8

My Fanclub
Rain6637
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation
#12 - 2014-03-03 07:19:35 UTC  |  Edited by: Rain6637
pci 3 is supposed to be compatible with 2.0, but with some peripherals i get erroneous inputs... my wacom stylus is pc...

oh sorry pci-e not usb Lol i'm going to post this rather than back out of the thread

Help, I can't download EVE

President of the Commissar Kate Fanclub

PLEX: A Giffen good? (It's 1B?)
Frank Millar
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#13 - 2014-03-03 10:07:35 UTC
Personally, if that PSU is 7 years old, I would be looking at a new PSU as well.

It might not give out right now, but it eventually will. Plus, technology and efficiency have a come a long way and it may keep down the electricity bill (although with multiple monitors that will be the least of your worries Blink ).
Ash811
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#14 - 2014-03-03 18:32:51 UTC
Thank you all very much for all the help! I think I have a really good idea now of how I'm gonna tackle this problem!

To Frank Millar:

Yeah I can understand that sentiment, but when my Alienware first went down that was the first thing I checked, I went through and checked all the voltages being put out by the PSU and everything was well within tolerances. Granted thats not proof for future operation, but I think for science I'd like to see just how long it'll last Blink

Thank you all again!
Frank Millar
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#15 - 2014-03-03 21:35:22 UTC
Fair enough. Good luck to you. Smile
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#16 - 2014-03-03 22:39:45 UTC
Ash811 wrote:
Thank you all very much for all the help! I think I have a really good idea now of how I'm gonna tackle this problem!

To Frank Millar:

Yeah I can understand that sentiment, but when my Alienware first went down that was the first thing I checked, I went through and checked all the voltages being put out by the PSU and everything was well within tolerances. Granted thats not proof for future operation, but I think for science I'd like to see just how long it'll last Blink

Thank you all again!


Only problem you might run into is lack of dedicated 6 or 6+2 pin PCIe plugs. Does your old PSU have those?

-k8

My Fanclub
DaReaper
Net 7
Cannon.Fodder
#17 - 2014-03-04 16:58:35 UTC
I'm using an amd 6 core, with an ati (amd) radeon card, 16 gb ddr3 ram, total cost was like $450 on black Friday. It runs 6 accounts at full graphics with no issues.

OMG Comet Mining idea!!! Comet Mining!

Eve For life.
Commissar Kate
Kesukka
#18 - 2014-03-05 00:12:18 UTC
DaReaper wrote:
I'm using an amd 6 core, with an ati (amd) radeon card, 16 gb ddr3 ram, total cost was like $450 on black Friday. It runs 6 accounts at full graphics with no issues.


As this is Eve you should always include how many screens you use and what resolution. Six clients on full is all fine and dandy but is that on six displays or just one or two?

-k8

My Fanclub
DaReaper
Net 7
Cannon.Fodder
#19 - 2014-03-05 00:28:39 UTC
Commissar Kate wrote:
DaReaper wrote:
I'm using an amd 6 core, with an ati (amd) radeon card, 16 gb ddr3 ram, total cost was like $450 on black Friday. It runs 6 accounts at full graphics with no issues.


As this is Eve you should always include how many screens you use and what resolution. Six clients on full is all fine and dandy but is that on six displays or just one or two?


just one, and I forget the resolution. My wife looks at me with that 'you really don't need that, so no' look when I tell her I want another screen

OMG Comet Mining idea!!! Comet Mining!

Eve For life.
Rain6637
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation
#20 - 2014-03-05 01:02:40 UTC  |  Edited by: Rain6637
you should talk with the missus about the need vs want thing (no that's not all of me/but with a screen 3 screens to spare)

or just get her a purse when you get yourself a setup

the way multiple screens work is, the inactive clients (ones not selected) idle at some low fps, maybe 20ish... the active one will jump to 120fps. (interval immediate). works out... you're not pushing 6 clients full-time, though they're visible

this setup is cheaper now, though the video cards are not in production... but there's always an eyefinity edition with some version number (eyefinity HD XXXX is what you're looking for) add maybe $450 per card

total res currently is... 8192x3062... with 1080p displays you could push 12x with those cards for like... 11520x2036

but maybe i'm just talking smack. i don't have a missus.

if she doesn't like the purse idea, drop corp. "sorry girl, but all you had to do was accept the purse."

boing

Help, I can't download EVE

President of the Commissar Kate Fanclub

PLEX: A Giffen good? (It's 1B?)