Advice Needed With Specs For My New Pc

[TALBO]

In regards to power supplies do not under estimate what's required, to put it simply.... 99.9% of PSU's that come already installed in cases are shit and have the potential to f**k up your brand new shiny hardware. I've used Corsair and Seasonic (pretty much identical and both made by Seasonic) exclusively for the past year or so on the builds I've done and these things can handle the amps drawn by high performance graphics cards and systems.

Something that might be worth considering is a mild overclock. For example to get 3.0GHz out of a 2.4GHz Q6600 is incredibly simple without the danger of having to over volt anything and risk damage. It's kind of a bargain because you buy a Q6600 and effectively (if so inclined) get a Q9650

[-FIGJAM-]

trav how much video editing are u doing?

I am a computer reseller to production companies and video editors ect ect (www.stormfx.com.au if u want te see the company)

if you do alot of good HD video editing then $2000 for a machine will not last long at all. From a company like HP you will look more at 10grand for a video editing machine that will last a little while and has room for improvement.

If you want some more info pm me and ill send you some information, probably wont check this thread again.

Cheers,

Oh a gaming machine, 2grand is a good budget, get a machine built for that price that will do good damage to any game you get. ATI cards=poo... NVIDIA are top of the range hands down, thats why they are supported by all 3d applications and software. ATI are decent bang for buck, not great cards from my experience.

Gaming card, i currently have a GTX280 which goes well.

[iseekool]

Hey All, my current PC (AMD Athlon XP2000) has done well for 5 years, but its time to upgrade!

It's been a while since i built a computer, and i havent stayed up to date, so need some advice on...

1. Should I aim for an entry level Intel i7 processor(eg i7 920 - 2.66GHZ /8MB), or spend the same money on a Intel Core2 Quad which should have come down in price with the launch if the i7. (eg Q9550 2.83GHz/12MB/1333FSB)

2. I want something to last me a few years, so looking at 8GB of RAM (4x 2GB sticks). Would DDR2 say 1066MHz suffice? Not sure if its worth the extra $ s to go for DDR3 1333MHz. I'm on a bit of a budget.

3. Looking at a Gigabyte video card, 9800GT 1Gig DDR3 with nVidia Chipset. Any comments?

4. Haven't started looking at motherboards yet, too many to sift through. want to sort out the above and then find a mb to match.

Thanks for any advice.

Just a tip.

If you decide to get 8GB RAM you must use a 64 bit operating system. 4GB is the maximum a 32 bit operating system will support....

[Howie]

4GB is the maximum a 32 bit operating system will support....

Just a correction... max 32bit o/s can address is 3GB of ram.

[bnr#@]

Just a correction... max 32bit o/s can address is 3GB of ram.

Correction to your correction

It is actually 4GB however the video card also has ram that the OS must address so if you have a 512mb videocard windows will see 3.5GB of your 4GB ram

[Trav33]

Hey Nismoid,

I'm thinking i should go the overclocking path. Some good results in the Feb PC User Mag.

Looking at the E8500 + CoolerMaster V8 which is approx the same price as a quad core Q9400 - but significantly higher results from their tests.

1. Is the motherboard you mentioned, Gigabyte EP45-UD3R, suitable for overclocking?

2. Trying to read up on the basics, do you need faster RAM for an overclocked machine? i was going with 800MHz DDR2 ram, but not sure if this should be 1066MHz, if i'm overclocking the CPU from 3.16 to 3.99MHz.

Thanks mate

[R31Nismoid]

Hey Nismoid,

I'm thinking i should go the overclocking path. Some good results in the Feb PC User Mag.

Looking at the E8500 + CoolerMaster V8 which is approx the same price as a quad core Q9400 - but significantly higher results from their tests.

1. Is the motherboard you mentioned, Gigabyte EP45-UD3R, suitable for overclocking?

2. Trying to read up on the basics, do you need faster RAM for an overclocked machine? i was going with 800MHz DDR2 ram, but not sure if this should be 1066MHz, if i'm overclocking the CPU from 3.16 to 3.99MHz.

Thanks mate

Your better off going a E8400 and putting the coin towards something else.

You don’t need the 9.5x multiplier of the E8500 to get to 4.00ghz

Simply using the 9x and around 450FSB and you should see 4ghz out of a E8400 on air without a drama.

My E8400 was running 4.3-4.4ghz on air with around 480FSB, and that was using OCZ 800mhz ram, which was obviously overclocked too around 1000mhz… it did crash during the 46degree days here in melb and I suspect I damaged the ram …

So currently testing that out to find out what's gone wrong… but otherwise 4ghz would be EASILY done in a E8400, and 800mhz ram (just read up about the ram your going to choose and if its capable of running higher with more volts etc)

If you want then 1066 would mean you wouldnt have to over clock at all... so upto you

The GB UD3R is probably one of the best of the entire P45 series for the price you pay vs what you get.

A simple google search will confirm this

It’s a generation up from the board I have now, which in itself is excellent for over clocking which netted me the above

Im actually thinking of putting my current mobo/cpu/ram into my media box and running it at stock voltages and see what speed i can get. And then build another on the UD3 board as I cant justify the i7 cost which is nearly 1k more for not as big of a gain

And then use my media PC as a folding@home PC to help medical research 24x7.. cause my media PC is just a little slow and i wanna use vista MC instead of XP

[Trav33]

Thanks,

So is the E8200, E8300, E8400, E8500 and E8600 all the same processor, but with a different Clock Multiplier?

And to push the E8400 to 4GHz, you need to bump the FSB up a bit more compared with if you started with the E8500?

Is the E8500 able to be o/clocked any higher than the E8400? I've found this page, with lots of results, will have a bit of a read tonight.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=544848

[R31Nismoid]

Ye same familiy - core2duo.

There is even a E8700 out now almost running 4ghz stock spec as the manufacturing line has matured enough now to yield that level.

You can clock a E8500 a little higher on air (around 4.5ghz) as opposed to a E8400 mainly because of the higher multi meaning you dont need to pump the FSB as high.

Any good mobo will do 450FSB with ease, and the UD3 i believe will rattle 500FSB without much problem which is great for the price

So agian, thats why the FSB doesnt need to go as high with a E8500, being you get the 9.5x multi

eg:

E8400 - 460FSBx9 = 4,140

E8500 - 440FSBx9.5 = 4,180

Same output, one lower FSB... there is more too it and how multipliers work with vcore etc... but thats another day and not overtly relevant here

No harm running 460 through a E8400, as long as you get a "C0" stepping chip, it'll do it on a very low vcore, just a bit more than stock which is great for keeping temps low under full song... and its rare you'll ever be running @ full song in all honesty

[Trav33]

I think the price difference is approx $30.

If 460MHz is doable, and i've got $30 to spare, isnt this better:

E8400 - 460FSBx9 = 4,140

E8500 - 460FSBx9.5 = 4,370

[R31Nismoid]

It is, but at the end of the day you really aren't gonna notice it in general useage.

If you are benchmarking and so on or just pushing it for something to do, then ye.

But if your just going to game on it etc, just get the 8400, 4ghz on a low vcore and off you go.

the extra 300mhz you wont notice. Its like ram with 5-5-5-15 vs 6-6-6-18 timings... there is a difference but realistically you wont notice them

[Trav33]

After all the words-of-wisdom and other research i've done, here's my proposed system...

Case: Coolermaster RC-690

PSU: Coolermaster Extreme Power650W

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8500

Cooler: CoolerMaster V8

MBoard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3R

RAM: 4GB Kit(2x2G)DDR2 1066 Kingston

OS: MS Win Vista Home Premium 64b OEM DVD

Monitor: 24” 2ms HDMI WS Acer P244WB

HDD: WD Caviar GP 1TB SATAII 32MB Cache IntelliPower

Optical: LG 22X+-DL DVR/RW Black

Video Card: Palit Radeon HD4870 1GB Sonic Dual Edition

Speakers: Logitech G51 5.1 155W

Desktop: Microsoft OEM Wireless 3000

This is coming in at approx $2200, the most expensive component being the Video Card.

Edited February 11, 2009 by Trav33

[R31Nismoid]

IMO the OCZ Vendetta2 is better based on may online reviews... and with the stock fan i can assure you its dead quiet.

I upgraded the fan to one that moves more air, and its louder etc as to be expected but in stock form i was very impressed for the price

IMO get WD 640's and run them in RAID... it works out the same price, and faster

And don't get a wireless keyboard if your gaming, same for mouse.

I have a Logitech G15 keyboard & G9 mouse... awesome combo i reckon as the G9 is a bit bigger and fits hands better

it'll be a good setup that will last for a good couple of years, if it ever feels slow (and heaven forbid software catches up to the hardware) you can just jam a newer higher end quad core on the 775 socket, which is what ill do if enough code/programs come out, but i doubt it

[DivHunter]

No, dual channel is just the ram itself, you can use one stick if you wanted.

lul wut

Double Data Rate and Dual Channel (Triple Channel for DDR3) are most definitely not the same thing. You also do need pairs to run dual channel as you need sets of three to run triple.

After all the words-of-wisdom and other research i've done, here's my proposed system...

Case: Coolermaster RC-690

PSU: Coolermaster Extreme Power650W

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8500

Cooler: CoolerMaster V8

MBoard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3R

RAM: 4GB Kit(2x2G)DDR2 1066 Kingston

OS: MS Win Vista Home Premium 64b OEM DVD

Monitor: 24” 2ms HDMI WS Acer P244WB

HDD: WD Caviar GP 1TB SATAII 32MB Cache IntelliPower

Optical: LG 22X+-DL DVR/RW Black

Video Card: Palit Radeon HD4870 1GB Sonic Dual Edition

Speakers: Logitech G51 5.1 155W

Desktop: Microsoft OEM Wireless 3000

This is coming in at approx $2200, the most expensive component being the Video Card.

How horrid that you have to buy an OS. Nice LCD, pitch is a little high for my liking but looks like decent value for a 24". The E8500 will go past 4GHz no worries. Nice choice on the graphics, run pretty much anything quite well and still represent excellent value despite the drop in $AUD. I had a E8200 running 3.8GHz on an Asus Silent Knight before I got the E3110 and went water (so much quieter).

[Trav33]

so what would be quicker:

2x 2GB DIMMs,

or 4x 1GB DIMMS?

I'm assuming dual-channel can only work with 2x DIMMS so the first option would be quickest.

[DivHunter]

so what would be quicker:

2x 2GB DIMMs,

or 4x 1GB DIMMS?

I'm assuming dual-channel can only work with 2x DIMMS so the first option would be quickest.

That's not a dual vs non dual channel question, 4 dimms will run dual channel.

You'd want to 2x2GB though because there's less likely to be problems with RAM timing etc and you can get more RAM without throwing out the old.

[Trav33]

That's not a dual vs non dual channel question, 4 dimms will run dual channel.

You'd want to 2x2GB though because there's less likely to be problems with RAM timing etc and you can get more RAM without throwing out the old.

Ah of course...

i should have compared:

1x4GB DIMM

with 2x2GB DIMM's

so as soon as you split the RAM over 2 DIMMs, you'll get faster access because the mboard will utilise dual-channel?

[DivHunter]

Ah of course...

i should have compared:

1x4GB DIMM

with 2x2GB DIMM's

so as soon as you split the RAM over 2 DIMMs, you'll get faster access because the mboard will utilise dual-channel?

It then becomes a price/performance comparison. Large dimms are more expensive (and a little slower) but you can fit more RAM. Large and cheap dimms are much slower and by much it is in ms so will you notice it? Maybe not, yes if benching.

2 x 4 will give you more stability, 4 x 2 will give you lower timing (4-4-4-10, 4-4-4-12, 5-5-5-15)

Also have a look around how your chosen motherboard handles any RAM brand/config you consider.

[Trav33]

I've got a rough idea what timings mean (thanks to wikipedia), and i think the kingston 1066 ram i'm looking at is 5-5-5-15 which is ok. but is the throughput important too? i saw some figure mentioned (i think MB/s), which was different from the speed of the RAM.

Been out of the computer scene for a few years, this thread+a couple PC User Mags have helped learn and try to get up to speed, but havent seen a memory comparison in PC user yet.

[R31Nismoid]

A ye Div - NFI what i was smoking dual C vs DDR2 LOL

Your definitely right, i dont even know what i was thinkin about :hrmm: