New pc: any advice?

Hi all,

I'm not really having computer problems, but I didn't know where to post it
I'm planning to buy my first real game pc, coz I can't play any recent games any more. But I'm not really a hardware guy, so I'm looking for advice I want something decent that I can use for many years, without having to pay too much (the hardware prices in Belgium are rather high...)

This is what I have in mind (at the moment):
CPU: Intel core i7 920
CPU cooling: Scythe Mugen 2 - SCMG-2000
Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Gene (X58)
RAM: 6 GB Corsair DDR3 1333 MHz (or maybe 1600 MHz)
HDD: 2x (3x) Western Digital 500GB SATA II Blue Caviar SE16 7200rpm AAKS (in raid 0 or 1)
Power supply: Corsair PSU TX ATX 750W 24P 12cm Fan V2.91
Graphic card: 2x nVidia GeForce 285 gtx (but i saw recently the specs of ATI Radeon HD 5870 and HD 5850 and it looks interesting)
Monitor: Samsung 2443BW 24" wide (or Samsung T240HD 24" wide)
Case: I haven't a clue (I don't care how it looks, it just have to be useful)
Keyboard and mouse: something from logitech

I try to keep the price below 2000 euros...
What do the hardware guys think?

Greetz,
Hannibal

those parts look good but 2000 euros m8 i think its expensive..
i think you can build it with less money...let me try to find somehing for you...

i have

cpu: AMD Phenom 2.6Ghrz x4 black series
motherboarg: GIGABYTE S-series M750SLI-DS4
ram:8 GB crosair DDR3
HDD:1x 500GB western digital and 1x 1TB seagate
power suply:Cool Masters-Real Power M520
graphic card:nvidia gforce 1GB (but i will buy 2 nvidia gforce 285gtx to make them sli)
monitor: Fujtsu Siemens 22"
case:its just a big one

and all of those thigs cost me just 880 euros...and am going to need now another 270 euros for the graphic cards

greetz,
mani

let me ask a pc expert on my work!!

he just made a new pc for someone of my work.
a real gaming pc....he bought all the stuff in germany....its very cheap there.
thought it was less than 800 euro!!

DZ

thats the better way ...
2000 euros i think its to expensive...

with 1000 euros you can build a monster

mani

I want a monster
But I checked the prices here in Belgium and they are really high, that's why I said 2000 euros (max).

The ATI HD 5850 and 5870 are new cards and way better than the gtx 285 (and in the same price range).

And I wanted the core i7 of intel coz it provides triple-channel => 3 x 2GB in parallel.

I'm looking forward to the advice of your pc expert, DZ

stefan.....i showed him what you had wrote here what you had in mind.
he looked on alternate.nl......a online shop in the netherlands.
he says its a beast.....is this really needed he asked??

DZ

Aantal Product Stukprijs Totaalprijs
1 CPUs Socket 1366
(Art.-Nr.: HT1I12)
Core i7 920 (4x 2666 MHz)
€ 249,- € 249,-
1 Moederborden Socket 1366
(Art.-Nr.: GTEA08)
Rampage II GENE (Intel X58)
€ 209,- € 209,-
1 Geheugen DDR3-1600
(Art.-Nr.: ICIF7B)
6 GB DDR3-1600 Tri-Kit (6144 MB)
€ 148,- € 148,-
1 Harddisks 3,5 inch SATA
(Art.-Nr.: A9BW70)
WD1500HLFS (150 GB)
€ 139,- € 139,-
1 Voedingen meer dan 600 Watt
(Art.-Nr.: TN7V68)
CMPSU-750TX (750 Watt)
€ 105,- € 105,-
2 Grafische kaarten NVIDIA GeForce GTX
(Art.-Nr.: JCXVPA)
ENGTX285/HTDI/1GD3 (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285)
€ 289,- € 578,-
Totaalprijs: € 1.428,-
incl. 19% BTW. € 228,-
Subtotaal: € 1.428,-
bijkomende verzendkosten

Yep, I'm looking for a beast
I want tu use it for many years (just like my previous one) without having performance problems after 2 years (which I had with my previous one).

Thanks mates! Now I only have to wait for Windows 7
Stefan

Hi M8

the only thing I would change would be the RAID, I have seen too many RAID 0 and 1 fail (if 0 fails you lose all your data, if 1 (mirror) fails you have to hope that you can recover the mirror), if the mobo supports it I would go for RAID 5.

409

LoL
A colleague recommended me to NOT use raid 5 coz he had too many problems with it (especially performance problems). He uses raid 10 for his servers, but that's a bit overhead for me

=S|G=DeZee wrote:

he looked on alternate.nl

I found www.4launch.nl, seems very cheap

Hello Stefan, let me ask TheKiller_BG. A days ago he bought a new MB, new CPU, new videocard. I think all was around 500-600 euro. And his machine is MONSTER. Later ill ask him and will post here what he bought.

TheKillerBG said:
MB Asus P6T delux V.2 1366MZ
CPU Intel core i7 920 2,66Ghz/4core
3 pcs RAM
Videocard CFX GTX 260 black edition.
all this uses 680W power supply
all cost around 1100 euro.

AND he is still banned. And Bulgarian Parliament network too.

hi hanni,i just could not hold my self not to reply!let me start from something many people dont give a lot of attention to!!the psu is as important as the rest of the parts!!750 watts will not do anything for u!especialy if u r going for the SLI or crossfire in the long run!i personaly have the coolmaste M1000!and i have 2 x 8800gtx's running on sli with no problems!an other thing,ATI Radeon HD 5870 and HD 5850 dont beat gtx285!they only r better at crysis i think and thats because the driver's arent 100% perfect!well prices will drop dramatically to these cards anyway cause nvidia is launching the 300 series on november 27!so the new gtx385 is gonna be 50% faster then the gtx 295!!!just the nail in the coffin for ati!the 385 will be what the 8800gtx was a couple of years ago!just unbeatable!so its up to ur pocket for the card!next thing i want to say that i run raid 0 2years now!never ever had a problem!i had 2 raptor 150gb the first time and then when velociraptors came out i sold the old ones and bought 2 new ones!loading speeds???just FAST MY FRIEND!and no people they arent the fastest drives in the world,but thats what i could afford!if i hade the money i would go solid state!now the Monitor,hmmm Samsung 2443BW 24" wide (or Samsung T240HD 24" wide)???well i have the samsung 2493HM and shes a beauty!!!but from the 2 u have up there id go for the cheapist one!not to many differences!so lets see what else i can do for u!!!

case :http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.806652 (63 E)
psu : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.806691 (202 E)
cpu : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.558282 (240 E)
mobo : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.522720 (210 E)
ram : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.553122 (219 E)
gpu : http://www.skroutz.gr/s/88566/Leadtek-GeForce-GTX-295-1-8-G%CE%92.html (389 E)
bluRay rec :http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.330658 (173 E)
HDD :http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.303734 x2 (49 X 2= 98 E) raid 0
keyboard : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.575613 (15 E)
mouse : http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.570248 (53 E)
monitor :Samsung SM-P2450H TFT Monitor 24'' http://www.plaisio.gr/Peripherals/PC-Monitors/Monitors/Samsung-SM-P2450H-TFT-Monitor-24.htm (249 E)
so lets bring out the calculator!!!
TOTAL :1912 E and yes this is a monster!
play ur favorite games with no problems and watch HDTV and bluray dvds with style! and later one u can add one more gtx295!they will drop price soon so ur in luck!
hope i helped!

Thx m8, I'm still hadn't time to actually buy something. But in all articles I've read about the ATI HD5870, it beats the gtx295 easily... I've also recently read an article where they say that the core i5 750 beats the core i7 920 for all games (except one).

oh yes hanni it is better than the gtx 295 my mistake...i meant the new 300 series will be better!!!ati always jumps the gun and thats why they r number 2!!nvidia will come out with a better card!and it will be at the price range of the ati!also read this!!!in the future games might use more threads so thats why u c the 750 beat in most games but as games evalve more threads will be used so id go for the 920!X58 will get the i9s (hex core with 12 threads) while P55 will not. so that means if u get i 5 u will have to change mobo for i9!!!i9 will have 12 threads!!!just look into it for!i cant choose for u!choose whats best for u! m8!

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-266980_10_0.html

lol forgot to post this for u!

I still haven't decided yet but I'm getting close. I decided not to buy an expensive monster pc but to lower my specs a bit (and the price )

I'm thinking to choose the core i7 860 processor, coz it has the same price as the core i7 920 and it has better performance.
Motherboard: Asus Maximus III gene, or a cheaper mobo from asus (but I don't know which is good enough...)
Graphics card: 1x ATI 5850
PSU: Corsair 450W or VX550W
Memory: 2x 2GB Corsair (or maybe 4x 2GB)
case: Antec three hunderd

Any comments?

Hi guys , Hi Hannibal,

As i already meantion in previus post , in summer 2009 i buy a pc:
Case: HEC 6AR6
MB: Gigabyte GA-EX58 UD5
CPU: i7 920 2.66Ghz QPI 4.8 GT/s
HeatSink CPU :Skythe Mugen 2 ( dimensions 130 x 100 x 158 mm ) becarefull to feet in your case tower!!!!!
RAM: Corsair dominator 3x1GB DDR3 1600Mhz
HDD: Western Digital RE3 320GB 16MB cache 7200rpm sata 3 WD3202ABYS fast and cheap
VGA: Ati Gigabyte HD4890 1GB DDR5 GV-R 489-1GH-B
Power Suply: Thermaltake toughpower XT 750W.

So the first think is to buy a case tower with room for VGA cards (not to have problem with installing the HDD because Geforce cards like 275/285 are long enough to touch the hdd disk and left no room for the cables).My HD 4890 its almost touching the hdd cables and i have to remove the hdds from its location and installing them to the flopy disk space as i haven't use flopy.with this i will have better air for the vga fan and my hdds will air by the 12inch fan of mugen heatshink.
Also to have 12inch fans front and back.Τhe better flow air to the tower the better performance for your parts (my ati HD4890 it works at 60C temperature and the x58 chipset at 48C ).I am sagest air flow not water cooling system.its expensive and not nesessary.
Second the CPU must be intel if you want to play all the games.I buy an i7 because it was the best then.
If you play games buy geforce (all the software houses develop their projects in geforce chipset first / i was having problem with the resident evil 5 , fixed after update to the latest catalyst months later).
If you use more desktop aplicatios use Ati.Better view in desktop.
I dont suggest SLI its expensive and provides less effect in games until now and you will need power suply 1000w (more money...).

Think that you can make a PC with 2core Quad CPU with less money.
Many thinks that to play a new game must have a Super pc...
No this is wrong.The game developers make the games to be compatible not to the high end pc but to the most popular until then.
The most games plays good at 2core CPUs if you have a good VGA card..

I hope to be helpfull with your buy...

I always have a lot to say about computers... so I'll just dive right in here.

I would suggest the 920 over the 860 for your CPU. The 920 is on the Bloomfield architecture and is actually quite a bit more powerful than the Lynnfield (the 860). I ran tests at one point for Bloomfield vs Lynnfield, and Bloomfield wins all the way. They do take more power though, so that's the only thing you need to consider (95w vs 130w). The Bloomfield also clocks better if you're looking to overclock at all.

As far as your mobo goes, you're already on the right track with ASUS. Just make sure that you buy the proper board for the CPU you buy. Those two CPUs are different chipsets (LGA 1156 and 1366). I entirely endorse ASUS, every single system I have runs ASUS.

GPU: I wouldn't suggest ATI (but that's just me). I would strongly suggest Nvidia. Even though the ATI cards have "GDDR5" and they have higher sizes, they generally are clocked lower than most Nvidia cards. Nvidia also has a better control panel. That's up to you though, everyone has their preferences.

PSU: You're going to need a minimum of a 600w PSU for that ATI card you're looking at. Anything less and you won't power on. I would suggest Antec as I personally use them in all but one of my systems and I rarely ever have problems. If I do have problems, they are quick to get me the proper support.

RAM: Really depends on what you're running (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Linux, 32-bit, 64-bit). If you're running Vista at 32-bit, you'll max out at 3GB of RAM, so 4GB paired is exactly what you'd want. If you're using a 64-bit version of either Vista or 7, I would actually suggest triple channel DDR3 RAM (6GB), especially with an ASUS board.

If you like the Antec cases, give a look to the nine hundred two case. It's nice, I just got one for my wife's system and it's more than big enough for everything you'll need.

Obviously most of these are just preferences, but your real concern will be your PSU if you buy the parts you mentioned. Make sure you take a look into that. I'm not going to list my computer parts lol, there's too many...

I forgot to mention the consumption in Watts.
With all this new chipsets the consumption is in red level.
My bill to the power company is highest.
This is the reasson i prefer the Gigabyte techology in Motherboards.They have the power saver function that drop the Cpu power to less lever if you dont use the hole power.
So when i play MOHA i dont have to have full power but the lowest.
Another point is the architecture of the motherboard.
See the Gigabyte site for more informations.
Asus motherboard isn't bad but Gigabyte is more flexible...

Think that i was serching for 6 months the configuration to buy.....
And consider the fact that i was mention months ago:
They allready put USB 3 protocol and SATA 3 in the new motherboards (i think MSI did first and Asus/Gigabyte will follow).
We talk about double speeds in both protocols... This is a good reasson to wait...

But from the other hand if u wait and wait and wait u never going to make a pc.
Always somethink new will came out and we will have to upgrade and so on...

At the moment I'm not planning to overclock. In the beginning I wanted to do that, but I think I can better don't touch it
I chose the 860 coz I've read some reviews and benchmarks (on a dutch site) and saw some "game pc" suggestions from some websites and they said the 860 was better. But anyway, I think I still go for the 860 coz I'm not planning to do overclocking and it takes less power. Let's hope I don't regret it

About the mobo's I know the cpu's require different mobo. For the 920 I thought about the rampage gene, and for the 860 the maximus III gene. But for the 860 I wonder whether the Asus P7P55D would be enough for me.

For the PSU I already discovered that 550 wasn't enough, so I was thinking about a 650W PSU.

I was planning to run Windows 7 64-bit and linux 64-bit. The P55 boards don't support triple-channel, so do you suggest 8 GB then instead of 4GB?

My new game pc:

CPU: Intel core i7 860
CPU cooling: Scythe Mugen 2, rev B
Motherboard: MSI P55-GD65
RAM: 2x 4GB Kingston DDR3 1333 MHz6 Valueram
HDD: 2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 rpm (in raid 1)
Power supply: Corsair PSU HX750
Graphic card: Asus HD5850 DirectCU
Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
Keyboard: Logitech G110
Mouse: Logitech MX518 Gaming mouse
Headset: Creative Fatal1ty

It really runs smoothly And when the prices for SSDs drop, I will add one, too.