EVE General Discussion

The last time I built a computer I was in high school and the high end processors ran at a whopping 733 Mhz So allot has changed...

I was going to buy a new one because I want to run two screens at maximum graphics settings, but it has occurred to me that I might want to build one instead. Whether or not I will do this depends on my effort Vs. reward (in true EVE fashion ) what I get out of it and how much money I save.


So...
In this thread build your dream machine so I can pirate your Computer building skills.
Your max budget cannot exceed $1,500
The minimum requirements 1. Dual monitors with max graphical settings and 2. non-laggy Incarna




Also...

Are any components that you are using giving you issues when running EVE?
Does alienware's costumer service really suck?




ATM... I am pondering This Thread by Akita T and thinking about doing something like this. What do you all think about the set up recommended as her/his Gaming High-end Machine?

Already have my dream Eve Gaming Machine

I would swap that velcirator for an SSD, much faster and more responsive, not as big though, but I have no probs as I own an SSD this size, with serveral games incluing 3 eve installs and most programs installed on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227737

That is one of the fastest on the market, but if you want more capacity

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227688

Still faster than the raptor, but not as fast as the other one.

Recently built myself a gaming rig for 1.1k runs my favo games (EvE, TF2, L4D, BFBC2) all at max graphics with excellent fps (Eve caps out at 60, TF2 caps out at 121, though that's because I set that 121 the max. Uncapped I've seen it easily hit get 300)

I can give you links to all the parts, I bought it all from newegg

It has 8GB of ram (2 dual channel 4gb sticks)
Intel 2500k Sandy Bridge Processor (You can go for the i7 if you want, for me though spending another $100 for like 3% increase in performance didn't make sense though...)
ZOTAC ZT-50701-10M GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (was on sale got it $100 off :D great card)

Links-
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-500-206&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

I'd also recommend this CPU cooler, works very well, it's a closed loop liquid cooling system, comes pre filled and you don't need to worry about changing the liquid.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

there have been build quality problems with closed loop systems like that leading to leaks and dead systems. i'd steer clear of them.

with a good case like the CM HAF 932A you don't really need it.

as much as i'd love to watercool that system i linked for my design (And that case is freaking GREAT for doing water cooling) - thermally speaking i don't really need it.

much to my nerdy displeasure. won't spend $600 on a cooling system i don't need. i'll spend it on other stuff instead :D

PS OP - if you want to go with one card the power you have is fine, with two i'd go up to around 1200W

you want your actual power usage on your PSU to be about 80% of it's maximum capability. this is it's "sweet spot" of maximum efficiency, and over 80% draw consistently shortens the lifespan

i don't really care about boot time. boot time isn't a big deal. especially when i typically hibernate my system instead of powering off.

so instead just the SSD for game storage.

Drop the crap power supply, Go with one of the 80 plus Seasonic, Corsair or a NZXT Halle 90 (the one I got since it was the only one I could pick up locally and rated on par or better than the Corsair and I wasn't patient enough to wait for a Seasonic)

The power supply is one of the most important components in your computer though most people don't realize it.

Be sure to get a good CPU cooler I like my Corsair H50 it's a self contained water cooler there are some better airbased coolers but this one has solid performance and is dead quiet while the air coolers tend to sound like small jet turbines.

Personally I prefer AMD processors since you tend to get better bang for your buck but Intel is the performance leader so what ever you want to go with. Agree with the general consensus get an SSD drive rather than the velociraptor no mechanical drive is going to be able to come close to matching solid state. 8gb ram should be plenty even for multiple clients (I run 5 on 8gb).


As to monitors I'd look around and see if you can find a couple of the I-INC 28 inchers got one of these a couple years back for my primary monitor and it seriously kicks ass. None of that 1080 BS full on 1920X1200 resolution better than HD ;). Good response and big enough to actually read the in game font. Insanely cheap for what you get as well.

One thing I'd experiment with if you get the two 570s is see if your dual clients run better in SLI or non personally i'm running a system with a 460 and a 8800 with one card running each monitor obviously in non-sli, went with this solution because I happened to have a a board that supports multiple PCIE cards but not two matching cards (older AMD board so wouldn't be able to do SLI anyway) but I'm curious which option would offer better performance.

BTW Denidil why are you going with so much nice high end hardware and sticking a **** PS in it? Get a Corsair(good choice) or Seasonic(Best choice) forget Thermaltake they're iffy at best.

The machine I built at the start of the year still serves me well. It originally had a 2GB HD5870 VaporX Edition, but the card was utter crap so I swapped out for SLI :

Intel Core i7 980x (3.33GHz / 6 Core) @ 5.0GHz
Asus Rampage III Extreme x58 Mainboard
24GB 1600MHz Corsair Dominator Triple Channel DDR3 (1600MHz) @ 2100MHz
2x 3GB Palit GTX580
6x 1TB Samsing Spinpoint F3 (Paired in Raid 1 to create 3x 1TB Arrays)
Corsair Force F40 SDD
1200w Antec TruePower Modular PSU
Three Dell 2407WFP Ultrasharp 24" displays @ 1920x1200 (Portrait mode for 3600x1920 goodness)
Antec DarkFleet DF-85 Full Tower ATX
Corsair H70 Liquid Cooler
Corsair Dominator RAM Cooler

The SSD was bought really just to mess around with and gauge performance. I've dropped a couple of games on it over the time I've had it and in terms of price vs day to day gaming performance I've not been impressed with it at all. I'll stick with mechanical drives until it's actually worth the price buying the larger ones.

In terms of displays, if you have three and they'll sit well in portrait orientation I highly recommend it. Fantastic for gaming.

As for the Corsair closed loop water cooling systems (Hydro H50 and the larger Hydro H70), I've built over a dozen machines for people since the turn of the year, every single one of them has used one of the two. With these around there's literally no point in paying for a high end air cooler. I've not had a single issue with one of them and they're insanely easy to install (we're talking 5-10 minutes on a new build). People saying they're a bad idea don't have a clue what they're talking about, my machine is sat with a 5GHz overclock, and averages about 55-60c on full load.

I am curious why you went with a h70 instead of a proper full loop, cooling those 580s as well considering the amount of cash that you have thrown into that build and since you obviously overclock.