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New gaming PC - ...Questions,Comments,Concerns???
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FallenTitan
State War Academy
Caldari State
#1 - 2012-01-25 02:07:03 UTC
Well, It's time for me to upgrade my gaming PC (starting to show its age, 4gb DDR2.. GeForce 8800GT, Q6600, Etc). I can play BF3 on it...but barely...on low settings...and eve is starting to get quite choppy in station/etc. I figured I would give this computer to one of my mates with money problems and grab myself a new rig for gaming.

I'm getting my prices from Australian websites and stores (I think they are more expensive than most places around the world) and I will probably get them to build it too since they offer warranty/etc and if they break anything in the build process it won't be my fault. This is what I'm looking at so far (running on my existing monitor at 2048x1152):


CPU: Intel S1366 Core i7 960 3.2GHz Quad Core CPU

MOBO: Gigabyte S1366 GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard

RAM: 3x DDR3 4GB (1x4G) Kingston 1333MHz Ram

HDD: 1TB Seagate 7200rpm SATA 6Gb/s HDD

GPU: NVIDIA GTX570 1280MB ASUS PCIe Video Card

CASE: Thermaltake Armor A90 Tower Mid ATX Case

POWER: Thermaltake LitePower 700 Watt ATX Power Supply

DISK DRIVE: LiteOn 24x DVD Writer SATA Black

SOUND CARD: Integrated Sound Card (I'm not sure if it's worth getting one or just using integrated?)

OS: MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM


System Cost ~$1540


It would be much appreciated if you had any opinions about this rig before I commit to it. My computer knowledge is fairly limited when it comes to putting together rigs. I want to run BF3 on max (or very high) settings. I'll also be playing Diablo3 when it eventually comes out... and of course I'll be playing eve.
Citizen20100211442
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#2 - 2012-01-25 03:42:42 UTC
Consider getting SSD drive, it's worth extra 200$ or so.

If you reached your budget limit, replace your processor with i7-2500k (this will save like $100, without much performance impact)

To be, or not to be, that's the question.
FallenTitan
State War Academy
Caldari State
#3 - 2012-01-25 04:19:19 UTC
Citizen20100211442 wrote:
Consider getting SSD drive, it's worth extra 200$ or so.

If you reached your budget limit, replace your processor with i7-2500k (this will save like $100, without much performance impact)


Thanks for the input,
I will have that in addition to my 1TB HDD?
There are a few SSD (like this one; 60GB OCZ Vertex 3 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD Drive $118). Since SSD drives are just for things like installing games(?) 60gb should be enough I guess.
SlayerOfArgus
Hermes Enterprises
#4 - 2012-01-25 04:24:44 UTC
The CPU that I'm using has so far been able to take everything and not even been close to being stretched to a tough point
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
It can handle a lot. If you want to save some money, then get an i5.

Everything else looks good honestly. If you were wanting to save even more money, you could try and use the same HDD from your current computer and use that as a second drive while having an SSD for your main drive. I have this for my main drive while using a 2 TB external HDD for other storage. Yeah, my SSD is small but all I have on it are the necessary programs like windows, eve and a few other things. Everything else is on the HDD. SSD's really are great. They are ridiculously fast as well. (You may need to get an adapter to put it in a 3'5 HDD drive bay in the computer, since this is technically for a laptop).

Hope that helps Big smile
VKhaun Vex
Viziam
Amarr Empire
#5 - 2012-01-25 05:27:31 UTC  |  Edited by: VKhaun Vex
You don't need a new PC you just need a new graphics card.

Check the recommended system specs for BF3.
Your processor is current and your card is out of it's league.


How in the world did you end up with a 6600 paired with an 8800gt in the first place? That's a crazy combo. The only way I could see someone buying those two together would be with the specific intention of upgrading the card later...

I recently laid out my opinion on buying a PC right now in this thread. In short, I think it's a bad time to spend that much on a new PC. You only need a graphics card and you're still ahead of the curve, and you'll stay there until the next generation of consoles comes out. THEN you want to spend your $1,500 on a primo system.

Charges Twilight fans with Ka-bar -Surfin's PlunderBunny LIIIIIIIIIIINNEEEEE PIIIEEEECCCCEEE!!!!!!! -Taedrin Using relativity to irrational numbers is smart -rodyas I no longer believe we landed on the moon. -Atticus Fynch
Citizen20100211442
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#6 - 2012-01-25 06:03:00 UTC
VKhaun Vex wrote:

How in the world did you end up with a 6600 paired with an 8800gt in the first place? That's a crazy combo. The only way I could see someone buying those two together would be with the specific intention of upgrading the card later...


Erm..Q6600 is like .. processor from year 2006-2007? Do you know anything significiant better card from that time? It was actualy very popular combo.

To be, or not to be, that's the question.
FallenTitan
State War Academy
Caldari State
#7 - 2012-01-25 09:07:08 UTC  |  Edited by: FallenTitan
Thanks for the input guys,
One thing I don't know much about is Motherboards, is the one I've selective fine? is it in line with the RAM, CPU and GPU? I am a bit flexible with the budget and thanks to the recommendations I'll be adding a SSD to the rig.

Also, how much of a difference will it make upgrading my GPU to a GTX580?


VKhaun Vex wrote:
How in the world did you end up with a 6600 paired with an 8800gt in the first place? That's a crazy combo. The only way I could see someone buying those two together would be with the specific intention of upgrading the card later...
I'm not sure, thats just what I chose at the time (around 4-5 years ago..my setup was pretty boss back then, now it's showing its age). I'm not that strapped for cash so I would rather get a brand new rig.

SlayerOfArgus wrote:
The CPU that I'm using has so far been able to take everything and not even been close to being stretched to a tough point
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
It can handle a lot. If you want to save some money, then get an i5.

Everything else looks good honestly. If you were wanting to save even more money, you could try and use the same HDD from your current computer and use that as a second drive while having an SSD for your main drive. I have this for my main drive while using a 2 TB external HDD for other storage. Yeah, my SSD is small but all I have on it are the necessary programs like windows, eve and a few other things. Everything else is on the HDD. SSD's really are great. They are ridiculously fast as well. (You may need to get an adapter to put it in a 3'5 HDD drive bay in the computer, since this is technically for a laptop).

Hope that helps Big smile

Yes, thanks it does help. So i just load the SSD with Windows OS, The games I want to play... and thats it? I keep all the non-performance related data like documents/movies/etc on the HDD correct?


***PS: Looking at the S1366 CPU specs, it says "Integrated memory controller enables three channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory" yet the RAM i'm looking at getting is 1333 MHz What? does that mean my RAM will only operate at 1066 MHz max?

"Intel S1155 Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU UNLOCKED" is only about $10 more expensive and says;
"Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type)
32 GB
Memory Types
DDR3-1066/1333
# of Memory Channels
2"
I guess this means it would support my 1333 GHz RAM better? Although the # of memory channels says it can only hold 2 sticks? What?What?
AlleyKat
The Unwanted.
#8 - 2012-01-25 12:41:40 UTC
Ivybridge is just round the corner, as is a revision of the 580 (680) and a new GPU from nVidia not long after that.

Not dissing your choices, but in a very short amount of time you can either get that spec for less, or, get the new bling.

The 2600k got updated to 2700k last year.

As VKhaun Vex said: if you want to play BF3 - get a new GPU, nothing wrong with your current system spec other than that tbh.

As for hard drives, there are lots of options for how you want to setup your 'drives, but general rule of thumb:

SSD - Boot, OS, plus near-line applications 64-256GB [optional RAID-0 for uberspeed]
HDD - Storage/media/photos/movies [optional RAID-5 for protection]
NAS - backup

And DDR4 might come out this year...

AK

This space for rent.
FallenTitan
State War Academy
Caldari State
#9 - 2012-01-25 12:56:48 UTC
AlleyKat wrote:
Ivybridge is just round the corner, as is a revision of the 580 (680) and a new GPU from nVidia not long after that.

Not dissing your choices, but in a very short amount of time you can either get that spec for less, or, get the new bling.

The 2600k got updated to 2700k last year.

As VKhaun Vex said: if you want to play BF3 - get a new GPU, nothing wrong with your current system spec other than that tbh.

As for hard drives, there are lots of options for how you want to setup your 'drives, but general rule of thumb:

SSD - Boot, OS, plus near-line applications 64-256GB [optional RAID-0 for uberspeed]
HDD - Storage/media/photos/movies [optional RAID-5 for protection]
NAS - backup

And DDR4 might come out this year...

AK


How soon are people expecting the new gear to be released? and what sort of rough price drop would it likely be?
Thing is, this comp also desperately needs a reformat (and larger HDD space)...so i figured new PC while i'm at it.
If your only talking about waiting a month or so for a ~$300 system price drop...then maybe thats viable.

I appreciate everyones help so far.
Saul Shardani
People of the Saiya
Silent Company
#10 - 2012-01-25 15:20:13 UTC  |  Edited by: Saul Shardani
VKhaun Vex wrote:
You don't need a new PC you just need a new graphics card.

Check the recommended system specs for BF3.
Your processor is current and your card is out of it's league.

Gonna have to agree with you on this one. The Q6600 is still a fine processor for its age, and easily OCed if you know what your doing. People can get 2.8-3Ghz without uber expensive heat sinks and coolers.

The MAJOR problem is, finding a stable Mobo for it, and thats getting increasingly harder since they dont make 768 Mobo's anymore. I'm in that league, still pushin my girl to her limits, but my Mobo sucks for OC'ing and doesn't offer much manual control over voltage, so I'm stuck around 2.7Ghz, but paired with a very affordable budget video card (ATI HD5870) I'm able to run EvE at max settings on a 1680x1050 res (max my monitor allows), and also able to run BF3 on High setttings. By no means am I trying to talk you out of spending the dough on a new i7 (lord knows if I had the money I'd do it too), but if you have to cut corners, you'd be fine with sticking with the Q6600

I do also highly recommend a SSD. I know they're pricey, but definitely worth it. I got the little OCZ Vertex 3 60GB one, and just run my OS on it and use SATA linked HDD's for storage and games.
Kattshiro
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#11 - 2012-01-25 15:49:23 UTC
I had a near identical setup as the OP. I can tell you it is a substantial difference from Q6600 to an i5 2500k. Not only in shear speed, but more cache, the integrated mem controller speeds up from the previous 775 in which it was located on the north bridge of the MB I believe? (Also memory bandwidth is larger) The 32nm instruction set also speeds things up. (Not necessarily gaming, but overall day to day functions, and video "stuff")

Granted this could also be that you'd be needing DDR3 instead of 2 and at a higher freq, but I have no regrets spending the money on said upgrades. I did get a deal and the ram processor and MB were just shy of $250 (It was a noticeable difference...to reiterate)

You can then use your older hardware like I did to make a home media/ftp server. Stream to an xbox or ps3 for tv viewing in another room.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#12 - 2012-01-25 17:15:35 UTC  |  Edited by: Akita T
Start with oldies but goldies:
http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1559734

Note that right now HDDs are insanely expensive, since the electronics world has not yet recovered from the Taiwan floods this past autumn ; HDDs are selling for up to double the price of this time last year, and prices are very likely to fall very strongly in the coming months as factories resume full production capabilities.

1. IF YOU CAN WAIT A WHILE (April-June 2012 most likely), get one of the new IvyBridge CPUs and one of the new 600-series NVIDIA GPUs.
Recommended ones ?
CPU : i5-3570K (quad core, no HT, 3.4 GHz base, 3.8 GHz TurboBoost2, unlocked multiplier, Intel HD 4000, native dual channel DDR3-1600 support, 77W TDP, LGA 1155 socket), with the most likely price of around 225 USD on launch day
Motherboard : whatever decent Z77-series motherboards will be available at that time (supports up to three simultaneous PCI-E 3.0 at 16 total combined lanes, SSD caching possible -a.k.a. "Smart Response Technology"-, fully supporting overclocking for RAM/CPU/integratedGPU)
GPU : most likely the NVIDIA GeForce 670 GTX (assuming they preserve the performance//naming scheme and they don't skip directly to "7xx" instead) - either one or THREE of them, don't bother with just two even if NVIDIA has a better handle on 2-way-SLI microstutters (that is, if the 670GTX will support 3-way SLI, since that could be limited for the 680GTX and above only)
RAM: 4x4 GB @1600 DDR3 minimum, optimally 4x8GB @1800 (or higher), preferably XMP // low CL number // low voltage
SSD: whichever of the faster 60/64 GB ones you can afford, use in SSD caching mode alongside a decent large capacity (2+TB) "performance" 7200 RPM HDD
OS : Win7 Professional 64 (max 192 GB RAM) or higher

2. IF YOU WANT SOME NEW MACHINE RIGHT NOW AND IT JUST CAN'T WAIT
CPU : i5-2500K
Mobo : whatever cheap Z68 one you can find
GPU : a single 560 GTX (don't even bother with the 560 GTX Ti, let alone the 570)
RAM : 2x4GB @1333 DDR3, or maybe 4x2GB@1600, whichever one is cheaper ; alternatively 4x4 GB of 1333+ if cheap enough for your taste (needs Home Premium 64 in that case)
SSD: just about any of the 30 or 40 GB ones, even a 16GB one if strapped for cash (or any 60GB one if not so strapped for cash), use in SSD caching mode alongside a decent modest capacity (500GB-1TB) "green" 5200 RPM HDD
OS : doable with Win7 Home Basic 64 (max 8GB RAM) or higher, but preferably Home Premium 64 (max 16GB RAM) or higher


For both machines, if a single-GPU config is chosen, a 450W quality PSU might already do its job just fine with some wattage to spare without overclocking, 550W if you're feeling a bit paranoid or want to overclock a bit.
If you want to go 3-way SLI though, you might want to upgrade to a 800W PSU or even slightly higher if you're planning on any overclocking (or higher tier video cards).

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
stoicfaux
#13 - 2012-01-25 17:29:16 UTC
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: January 2012

Best SSDs For The Money: January 2012

Build Your Own: www.tomshardware.com -> Build Your Own (in the title bar of "latest articles"). Look at the System Marathon builds.

Charts: Under the Charts tab, there's a ranking of video cards for various games for a *huge* number of cards.

etc.

Pon Farr Memorial: once every 7 years, all the carebears in high-sec must PvP or they will be temp-banned.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#14 - 2012-01-25 17:37:21 UTC
Be wary of 2-way Crossfire or 2-way SLI GPU configurations.
More details here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html
For two cards, NVIDIA SLI suffers less from it (ATI//AMD Crossfire is pretty bad), but it is still noticeable enough to bother at times, allegedly.

I would recommend going either single card or 3-way SLI/Crossfire, don't really bother with 2-way SLI/Crossfire.

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
AlleyKat
The Unwanted.
#15 - 2012-01-25 18:49:27 UTC
FallenTitan wrote:


How soon are people expecting the new gear to be released? and what sort of rough price drop would it likely be?
Thing is, this comp also desperately needs a reformat (and larger HDD space)...so i figured new PC while i'm at it.
If your only talking about waiting a month or so for a ~$300 system price drop...then maybe that's viable.

I appreciate everyone's help so far.


Could be as early as February for Intel on the Ivybridge, but April-June is much more likely.

To be honest, those that know won't tell; and those that would tell, don't know.

My advice - get a new GPU today and ride the rapids until the new stuff comes out, because you might end up hating the reflection in the mirror.

You should be able to knock $300 off by haggling over the phone with these kind of people - try calling them on the last Friday of the month, if their sales targets haven't been met - the phone monkey on the end of the phone should be fighting for the money.

And I'd throw into the conversation the new chips coming out....keep them dangling on the phone...throw a few carrots at them...play dumb, you'll soon get what you want.

This space for rent.
Squidgey
Perkone
Caldari State
#16 - 2012-01-25 19:36:14 UTC
Q6600
GTX 465
8GB gskill ram
tri-sli motherboard
1050w (something like 850 continuous) quad SLI certified PSU.

All of it overclocked slightly.

Been using it for 4 years. Built in Jan 08. Still plays eve at up to 150 fps. Overheats a tick running two 1920x1080 screens, but thats because its a GF100 chip and it sucks.

Ran BF3 flawlessly at max settings, and don't get me started on older titles. The only game I have trouble with is RIFT, and that is because they don't know how to build a graphics engine.

Oh, and did I mention I still have the bandwidth on the motherboard to support the latest and greatest GPU?

It is possible to "futureproof" (and I use this term VERY lightly) your gaming PC for at least 3-4 years. You just have to spend a little bit extra on stuff that can accept the upgrades. I imagine next year some time I will pick up a 580 or something from a clearance bin and that will be about the limit of this computer's abilities.
Iosue
League of Gentlemen
The Initiative.
#17 - 2012-01-25 20:36:50 UTC
yeah, i'm also running a Q6600 atm. upgraded the GPU several months back when incarna killed my 9800GTX. Now running a GTX 570. i'm not even overclocked my rig breezes thru all the games i play on highest settings. prolly gonna give it another 6-8 months before looking into replacing the CPU/Mobo/Ram. i say upgrade the GPU first and see what you think. If you're not impressed, you can always go all the way and get the rest of the components.
Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
#18 - 2012-01-25 21:12:36 UTC
AlleyKat wrote:
Could be as early as February for Intel on the Ivybridge, but April-June is much more likely.

The rumourmill says April 8th.

Akita T evewiki profile | | | Build your own EVE-ready PC
Something Random
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#19 - 2012-01-25 22:25:31 UTC
Akita as always is sound advice here.

Just want to add. HDD are insanely expensive right now whereas RAM is insanely cheap, even for primo named and insured pieces.

Avoid buying an HDD.
Fill your boots with RAM.


BTW as has been said, right now and for the foreseeable, the i5 2500k's are the muttz danglies. Get a real purty superpassivecooler for the savings.

"caught on fire a little bit, just a little."

"Delinquents, check, weirdos, check, hippies, check, pillheads, check, freaks, check, potheads, check .....gangs all here!"

I love Science, it gives me a Hadron.
Marine
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#20 - 2012-01-26 15:46:45 UTC
Many have said the reasonnable here and i second them. Get a new GPU first ; the Q6600 is a good CPU, you need to feed it with a good GPU.

1) If you've the time to wait 4/6 months, you'll get a budjet 28nm GPU (Envidia or AMD) which will be : faster (DX 11) and cooler than the eat watt monsters 40nm we have now since 3 years.

2) If you do not want to wait, you can look at AMD, because the 28 nm is out now so the 40nm will drop in price ( if you're looking for budjet) very soon (TM) (1,2 months).
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