Options and opinions

[valyn42]

All this talk of upgrading has got me fingers itchy to build again. Haven't built one in over 4 years now, so I'm a bit rusty. Told my Pops I would build him one as soon as I closed on my house, and that is coming on Friday morning(I hope!). So details...

Dad's requirements: Quiet(no liquid cooling in my computer son, what are you on drugs? ), point-and-click fast(so I'm thinking SSD with plenty of mem), and a good tv tuner card. The rest is up to me with ~$1500 of his money. I'll be able to steal some cycles from him, but this is not a 24/7 cruncher.

Just from doing some reading here and researching.. I'm thinking of the HAF-X case with a 1000w psu (I'm thinking of stealing some extra gpu cycles here like maybe a pair of 460's or so), a decent size SSD(128) and likely 16G of memory. Haven't decided on anything, so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

[joker]

First question: what is going to be doing with it? If he is just going to be surfing the net and watching TV on it, you may not need an SSD or a ton of memory. Just a thought. I am sure that the other hardware gurus will chime in on this.

[valyn42]

The more info the better. Other than the usual surfing and reading, video encoding to put movies on mom's ipad is the hardest crunching he does. He also has it set up as a music server for Sonos and such, but nothing major. He just wants programs to load faster(especially windows) when the clicky happens...:)

[Maxwell]

I don't think you need nearly that much RAM. 8GB is likely plenty...

SSD would be good, but couple that with a large second HDD to store big things (and backup the SSD). If you're set on going one drive (or you want super high speed across the board), try something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136555).

XP is a faster OS than Win7, though if you go with a SSD, that will be mitigated.

HAF 932 is quiet and a great cooling case, and is about $40 cheaper than the HAF-X. Unless you are sticking 3 GPUs in there *coughDrPopcough* you'll be happy with it.

AMDx6 is probably the way to go. Cheaper, will handle what your Pops is doing. I would buy cheap on the processor and OC it (moderately). Don't spend extra $$ for something you can make it do yourself.

Video card - quiet is key. I have this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125365)card in my box I'm typing from, and it has a nearly 20% OC on it with fans at 50%, and the crickets outside are louder than the entire box (it's in a HAF 932).

[zombie67]

GPUs are noisy. Especially those running hot due to crunching.

Ran should be 1gb per thread. 2gb per thread if you can afford it.

[DrPop]

A pair of 460's would be nice and quiet. A pair of 560 Ti 's or even 570's even better. :D
SSD is not a bad idea. You could get a nice 64GB SSD for ~$100 on sale. Then get him a large HDD, say 1TB for $60. Put the OS and install all the apps on the SSD, and then set it so his storage drive for pictures, movies, music, is all on the HDD. Way awesome speed and way awesome storage capacity that way.

I'd look at a Sandy Bridge i5 2400 for budget or go the full montey with Sandy Bridge i7 2600K for $100 more. For mobo, we need some more info for recommendations. Will you ever be tempted to run 3 GPUs, or will 2 be the max?
You can set all kinds of flags for the latest BOINC client, like make it stop crunching when a certain .exe file runs, set it to crunch only at certain times of the day; only when idle, etc...lots of ways to make the rig really snappy for Pops, but still get millions of good credits too! :D

The number of GPUs will help with the case and PSU recommendations as well. You can go quite a bit cheaper than a HAF-X and 1000W if you are doing 2 GPUs. But for 3 GPUs, that is what I would recommend.

I would also say 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM at this time. He would not notice a difference with any more RAM for what he's doing; so I would be going for 8GB and throw the extra $ at the better CPU or GPU.

[DrPop]

Max has good ideas- almost same as mine lol! ;)
AMD X6 is a solid system, and you could rock it cheaper than the Sandy Bridge. However, I have to admit it is less powerful, and cost per GFLOP they are the same. If it comes down to the wire, I would rather have faster, newer Generation GPUs and a less powerful CPU, but that's just me. GPUs become outdated and the bottleneck faster than CPUs do...that is what I hate about laptops, is that you're locked into a GPU.

I think at this point we definitely need to know the answer to: 2 GPUs or someday 3 . . . and then we can give specific advice with parts from Newegg for that $1500...and we can do a build up with Sandy Bridge, and one with AMD x6 and then see which one you like the best.
I'm going to say at the outset and from recent hard learned experience- -if Pops likes quiet, then might want to stick with 2 GPUs. 3 is awful hot and therefore more noisy to cool...

[Maxwell]

Esp. if this is going to be an occasional cruncher, I think a cheaper processor is best - DrPop is right *coughdamncough* that the Sandybridge will get you more output, but I would personally not spend more money for such little return (due to the occasional-ness of the crunching).

Another spot to potentially save $$ is the PSU - if you're not going to put a bunch of big cards in there, you don't need 1000W. But that depends big time on how many GPUs...

[valyn42]

Keeping it quiet is key, so from your hard-earned experience, it sounds like 2 GPU's is what will be going in it. We've got a 1TB SATA II in his existing machine as storage, so I think we are good there(he doesn't keep near as much as I do). With a full tower case, I could always add a SATA III down the road.

Keep the comments coming though, it looks like a picture is coming together for a nice little build

[DrPop]

2 GPU rigs it is, then! I will spec 2 builds, one AMD, one Intel. I'm at home on the smart phone (finally picked up an Atrix) so it will take me a bit. Then all the guys can throw in their opinions and you could easily tweak the builds to suit your final taste.

Quick question: is $1500 a target, or is it more like, "as cheap as possible with $1500 the upper limit?"

Also: does he have an OS already or do we need to include Win7 in the $1500?

[Maxwell]

Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435): $138
CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851): $160
RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104163): $100
Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932-_-11-119-160-_-Product): $175
SSD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551): $183
Optical Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204): $29

Heatsink (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065): $40
PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006): $110

That is $935 before tax but including shipping.

GPU, 570 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127564): $360.

Let the battle begin... :cool:

[Fire$torm]

My 2%....

If you want a super quiet PC then you have to forgo the HAF-X. Its a great case but its way too open to be silent. The HAF series are free flow air designs.

The Antec Performance One Series are much quieter cases. The down side to such a case is that it doesn't breath as freely. Since its not a 24/7 cruncher that wont be an issue. So take a look at the Antec P183 V3. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129174)

[DrPop]

Arrgh...trying to copy and paste on this phone for links to parts is driving me nuts. I'll have to wait till the morning when I'm at a computer. . .:p

[zombie67]

If you are after quiet, there are several things you can do, including insulating material like in cars:

http://www.acousticpc.com/quiet_computer_case_insulation.html
http://pcworld.about.net/magazine/2203p174id114163.htm

But here is the thing. You have to move the air, and fans make noise.
- There is the fan(s) in the PSU. Nothing to be done with that, so make sure you buy a quiet one up front.
- Then there is the fan on the CPU heat sink. Stock one that comes with the CPU is noisy. Go after market. Maybe you can get away with passive (no fan).
- The fan(s) in the GPU are out of your control too. So pick a quite GPU (he says, as if that was a feature you could compare).
- Finally, the case fans. And this applies to all fans. It's not just the volume of noise, it is also the pitch. Small, high pitch fans are WAY more annoying than their larger, lower pitch fans with the same sound level. So bigger, even slower fans are better than small screamy fans, assuming the same air flow.

[valyn42]

The $1500 is a rough guideline I made up. Pretty sure I could build a sweet system for around that, can go higher. I will need Win7. And I darn sure agree with Zombie about the fans, would much rather have bigger fans than smaller. We know the computer is going to make some noise, the last one I built was a screaming fast machine, but it sounded like a Blackhawk chopper when I turned it on:P That's what I'm trying to avoid

[Dandasarge]

Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435): $138
CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851): $160
RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104163): $100
Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932-_-11-119-160-_-Product): $175
SSD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551): $183
Optical Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204): $29

Heatsink (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065): $40
PSU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006): $110

That is $935 before tax but including shipping.

GPU, 570 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127564): $360.

Let the battle begin... :cool:

Hmmm Everyone should know by now I shoot for the Performance per dollar. Lets see what I got.

I want to say Newegg has 2 great combo's on this page DIY-PC-Combos (http://www.newegg.com/Store/MasterComboStore.aspx?StoreID=7&name=DIY-PC-Combos)

I'll work on a build later.

[Shadow]

I just switched from an Antec 1200 to a Haf X. I've got to say I absolutely love it. And to keep the GPU noise down, get these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186043&cm_re=accelero_xtreme-_-35-186-043-_-Product

I have the accelero's set on 100% and don't even hear them. I can hear my CPU cooler fan barely, it's a Cooler Master V8. It's quiet enough that I can hear my hard drives spinning. I've got 4 WD 1TB Caviar Blacks in a raid 10 config. 24 gigs of ram and 2 HIS 6970's (950/1400). I7 950, 10% OC. And a Corsair 1200w PSU to power it all.

I'd have to say to go with a Sandy Bridge CPU, just for energy (and heat) savings alone. You can do a similar setup for right around $1500, depending on what PSU, GPU's and the amount of ram you get. It's overkill for just plain crunching, but it was originally built for gaming.

[DrPop]

OK, the DrPop version for $1500 total, prices incl shipping, non-dedicated cruncher, focus on quiet.
Stated you need Win7 incl. in price, and you already own 1TB HDD for storage.

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3-B3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128501) $127
CPU:Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074&cm_re=sandy_brdige-_-19-115-074-_-Product) $190
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095) $70
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550) $105 ($15 rebate makes it $90)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Bronze (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136&Tpk=tr2%20750w) $92 ($20 rebate makes it $72)
HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057) $30 (very quiet - only 19dBA!)
Optical: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289) $20
CASE: IN WIN Dragon Rider Black ATX Full Tower (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376&Tpk=IN%20WIN%20Dragon%20Rider%20Black%20ATX%20Full %20Tower) $150
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986) $99

COST to this point: $883 incl shipping, with rebates = $848.
This leaves you approx. $650 for GPUs, or option to spend less than $1500.

GPUs: Sky's the limit. How close to that $1500 you want to go? ;)
(2x) MSI GTX 570 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127568&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-127-568-_-Product) would be insanely fast, and set you back exactly $650, (down to $620 after rebate.)


Couple notes:
For quiet, efficient, I don't think you can beat the SandyBridge right now...though I wish AMD could, I'm a bit of an "under dog" fan...so here's to hoping Bulldozer is good!

RAM - I have the same RAM running a nice O/C and it's fast. Cool running, only 1.5V...

Case I suggested is a top editors pick, nice build quality, cheapest way to get giant, quiet fans AND 8 expansion slots in the back. Never know when you'll want to re-use whichever case you get for a 3GPU screamer down the road some day...;)

PSU -- don't be fooled by high Watt ratings on some cheaper PSUs. The PSU I suggested is 85% efficient, and has 56Amps on a single 12V rail -- you could run anything your Pops would throw at that, and not care which cables you use, because they're all off the same rail. Fool proof.

Let me know what you think, and we can get down to some fine-tuning and tweaking the individual components if you have preferences. Let's see what the guys say... Ah, I love this stuff. :D ;)

[John P. Myers]

I agree with going for Sandy Bridge. These CPUs run cooler than their AMD counterparts, meaning the CPU heatsink fan will spin slowly enough that you'll never hear it. Also, as far as a quiet PSU, go for the Thermaltake Toughpower series. I have personally owned 2 different models of these PSUs (one 750W and one 1350W) and have yet to be able to hear anything at all from them. Occasionally i put my hand over the air intake hole of the PSU just to be sure the fan is actually spinning :p

Also, for the HAF X, it is a very quiet case. The massive 200mm and 230mm fans only spin at 900 RPM. You can barely hear them. As Zombie said, these bigger fans are much better with noise than smaller ones, especially since their speed can be reduced to provide the same amount of airflow.

[DrPop]

Agree w/ JPM on the PSU...I personally own one of those ThermalTake 750W PSUs I suggested, and you cannot even hear it run. Even a CPU or GPU cooler on their lowest setting is louder! ;)

[Duke of Buckingham]

Can anyone tell me about 1.000w PSU. Reliable.

Duke

[John P. Myers]

Can anyone tell me about 1.000w PSU. Reliable.

Duke
This one. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153118)

[Maxwell]

GPUs: Sky's the limit. How close to that $1500 you want to go? ;)
(2x) MSI GTX 570 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127568&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-127-568-_-Product) would be insanely fast, and set you back exactly $650, (down to $620 after rebate.)
I mentioned this way up in the thread, but for quiet, I would actually recommend this 570 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125365). I currently have this exact card OC'ed to 900/1800, and fans at 50%, and I can't hear it. Me typing is louder. I'm strangely in love with this card...

[DrPop]

Duke, can you tell us the specs of your rig -- i.e., which GPUs are you using so that you "need" a 1KW PSU? I recently acquired one myself, fun to have one -- but a lot of money.
JPM's recommendation is top notch as always, (but expensive as always, too!) :P ;)
This Corsair is awesome (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013) -- 950W, 78A on single 12V rail, and legendary performance ;) . . . $129 after rebate! :cool:

Per JPM's discussion below, I edited out the Antec PSU I had suggested...sorry, I did not realize it was for a specific case! :p

[John P. Myers]

Duke, can you tell us the specs of your rig -- i.e., which GPUs are you using so that you "need" a 1KW PSU? I recently acquired one myself, fun to have one -- but a lot of money.
JPM's recommendation is top notch as always, (but expensive as always, too!) :P ;)
There is a nice Antec one on Newegg here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371036)for $135 that may suffice.


Actually i do like that Corsair, though iono who needs 12 SATA connections, but ok :p And i doubt it's nearly as quiet. But it looks good and since it's on sale, might as well grab it :)

That Antec is junk though. lol4rails. No wonder it's on sale. Did you see the wtfexternal cooling fan on it? haha refuse to let the PSU suck air out of my case :/ And it says it's modular. looks more like modularish. Very few places to plug in your wires. But most importantly
Exclusively for - Twelve Hundred(1200)/P183/P193/DF-85
Only works for that specific case.

[Dandasarge]

Duke, can you tell us the specs of your rig -- i.e., which GPUs are you using so that you "need" a 1KW PSU? I recently acquired one myself, fun to have one -- but a lot of money.
JPM's recommendation is top notch as always, (but expensive as always, too!) :P ;)
This Corsair is awesome (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013) -- 950W, 78A on single 12V rail, and legendary performance ;) . . . $129 after rebate! :cool:

Per JPM's discussion below, I edited out the Antec PSU I had suggested...sorry, I did not realize it was for a specific case! :p

I'm going to 3ed this, just to be with the cool guys :) I can't find a better one for less

[Duke of Buckingham]

Sorry I have been sleeping for a while. My rigs are one HD5870 and HD5450 the MB is an Asus P5P41T LE (LGA 775 - DDR3 1333) Chipset Intel G41 I hope this is what you want, I think. And no adicional cooling for Portugal that can be deadly. Today we had 30 degrees centigrade and the summer hadnt started yet.

Duke

[joker]

What CPU are you running in that rig DB?

[Duke of Buckingham]

E7600 3.06 GHz,1066FSB,L2:3MB,rev.R0 is that what you want?

Duke

I am trying to install the computer now and I am shaking like a pudin The system would be win 64. I dont know nothing about this.

[DrPop]

Duke, you can save yourself some money and get a nice 750W PSU with a strong 12V rail! That will be plenty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136&Tpk=tr2%20750w
Only $70 after rebate.

Although...maybe a cheaper place to get one in Europe?:confused::p

[Duke of Buckingham]

Do you think that is enoug because I have 500W Asus PSU.

Duke

ASUS P-50GA 500 W Power Supply

[John P. Myers]

Duke, you can save yourself some money and get a nice 750W PSU with a strong 12V rail! That will be plenty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136&Tpk=tr2%20750w
Only $70 after rebate.

Although...maybe a cheaper place to get one in Europe?:confused::p

Wow that PSU looks familiar :D

And yes Duke, that will be good enough for what you have.

[Duke of Buckingham]

I think is better to pay the "sending" stuff. Sorry I dont know the word.

http://www.shopping.com/750-psu/products

Duke

[joker]

Ill take a guess here and guess that you mean "Shipping" DB.

[DrPop]

Duke I think the question now becomes, how much do they charge you to ship a PSU to Portugal? If it cost a lot, or if you have to pay import fees, maybe better to get the bigger one and not have to buy again for many years. Does that make sense?

[valyn42]

Love all the input, think I'm going to be ordering soon for a Memorial weekend build. Can anyone tell me if BOINC can leave a specific GPU alone? I've got a 9500 GT that I could put in pops rig that should do all his video needs, and have a couple of cards crunching away 24/7?

[joker]

Im pretty sure it can. I will leave it to others to tell you how though.

[Duke of Buckingham]

Yes you do make sense as usual. X_X You must be right. The 500W arent enough for GPUs or are they? And joker thanks for the "shipping". That is the word.

[dan]

Personal recommendations.

Looking at benchmarks Intel's 2600K cremes every other processor except for a few high end 1366 socket ones. These are running mid $200s.

ASUS mother boards are solid. MSI I went through 4 until I found one that worked, so stay away.

CORSAIR PSUs. Understand the diff between, Plus, Bronze, Silver and Gold, before you make a choice. Modular is nice if you can afford the price difference.

GSkill memory is my favorite. Every stick I have works perfect and customer service is outstanding.

SSD Crucial makes SATA III drives and when I got mine they were the only one making SATA III drives. Min size should be 128. I got only 32 GB left on my SSD. It boots real fast.

Secondary Hardrives. RAID 5. I have 5 500GB Western digitals. The throughput beats my SSD. Small drive in a RAID 5 or 10 are the way to go. Now why an SSD? Seek times on an SSD are between 100 and 1000 times faster than disk.

CPU Cooling. Don't get oversold on water cooling. My Zalman CPU coolers performed the same temps as my water cooling of the same CPU.

Case. Still an Antec fan. Love my Lanboy, 1200 and want to get a DF-85 and yes I've looked at the HAF and still am not interested.

That should cover my opinions. And you know what they say? Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

Good luck!

[Maxwell]

Love all the input, think I'm going to be ordering soon for a Memorial weekend build. Can anyone tell me if BOINC can leave a specific GPU alone? I've got a 9500 GT that I could put in pops rig that should do all his video needs, and have a couple of cards crunching away 24/7?
You can - from memory, it's something like <ignore_cuda_dev>X</ignore_cuda_dev>. But don't quote me on that. Check this FAQ item (http://www.setiusa.us/faq.php?faq=manage#faq_manage4) for info on the cc_config.xml file (there is a link there for all the options you can configure).

[John P. Myers]

You can - from memory, it's something like <ignore_cuda_dev>X</ignore_cuda_dev>. But don't quote me on that. Check this FAQ item (http://www.setiusa.us/faq.php?faq=manage#faq_manage4) for info on the cc_config.xml file (there is a link there for all the options you can configure).

But, if the 9500GT is the weakest GPU in the system, and at least 1 other GPU is an Nvidia, the 9500GT will not be made to crunch by BOINC by default.

[DrPop]

Love all the input, think I'm going to be ordering soon for a Memorial weekend build. Can anyone tell me if BOINC can leave a specific GPU alone? I've got a 9500 GT that I could put in pops rig that should do all his video needs, and have a couple of cards crunching away 24/7?

Yes, you can do exactly that! In fact, you could put the older card in there, and hook the monitor to it- -BOINC will completely ignore the lesser card. You could even get something insane like a GTX 590 :D for the second slot and let it crunch away...or stick w/ the GTX 570 if you want to save some cash. ;) I dunno if the 580 is a good option or not...JPM or F$ could tell you that.

[Maxwell]

But, if the 9500GT is the weakest GPU in the system, and at least 1 other GPU is an Nvidia, the 9500GT will not be made to crunch by BOINC by default.
True - but I don't like relying on BOINC's defaults, as they often change without warning...

[John P. Myers]

Personal recommendations.

Looking at benchmarks Intel's 2600K cremes every other processor except for a few high end 1366 socket ones. These are running mid $200s.

This is true. But an overclocked 2600K beats an overclocked anything 1366.


CORSAIR PSUs. Understand the diff between, Plus, Bronze, Silver and Gold, before you make a choice. Modular is nice if you can afford the price difference.

Don't forget the Platinums :D



GSkill memory is my favorite. Every stick I have works perfect and customer service is outstanding.

I am currently using GSkill myself. It is the first time i ever have and i'm impressed. I'd be just as happy with Kingston though.



SSD Crucial makes SATA III drives and when I got mine they were the only one making SATA III drives. Min size should be 128. I got only 32 GB left on my SSD. It boots real fast.
OCZ makes the best SSDs now since they switched controller chips awhile back.



Secondary Hardrives. RAID 5. I have 5 500GB Western digitals. The throughput beats my SSD. Small drive in a RAID 5 or 10 are the way to go. Now why an SSD? Seek times on an SSD are between 100 and 1000 times faster than disk.
Go go Western Digital! Over the past few days, i've noticed quite a few of us use this brand. Can't beat it.



CPU Cooling. Don't get oversold on water cooling. My Zalman CPU coolers performed the same temps as my water cooling of the same CPU.
This is true when talking about the all-in-one kits such as the Corsair H60. But there's no comparison when it comes to a real water cooling setup.

And those are my opinions (and some facts) of your opinions! :p

[John P. Myers]

I dunno if the 580 is a good option or not...JPM or F$ could tell you that.

What in the world could possibly be wrong with a 580? :D Get one for each PCIe slot! :D

[Duke of Buckingham]

Done the first part. Can I connect a GPU for a while with no cooler or aditional Power or is that to risky. Should I wait or can I try the Gpus for a while.

Duke

[joker]

Done the first part. Can I connect a GPU for a while with no cooler or aditional Power or is that to risky. Should I wait or can I try the Gpus for a while.

I could be wrong here but if you are looking to get a 580, you probably need to get your PSU first.

[Duke of Buckingham]

Thanks.

[DrPop]

What in the world could possibly be wrong with a 580? :D Get one for each PCIe slot! :D

Nothing, LOL! :D I was referring to credits / dollar -- I don't know if the 580 stacks up well to the cost of a single 590 or two 570's or...:cool:

[dan]

This is true. But an overclocked 2600K beats an overclocked anything 1366.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/overclocked_cpus.html
Depends on the stats you look at. Unlocked Multipliers are the easiest for over clocking Intel chips. Like I said elsewhere, the benchmarks remind me of ATI and Nvidia comparisons. I guess it depends on what coolaid is being served.




OCZ makes the best SSDs now since they switched controller chips awhile back.



I read a few dissatisfied customers of OCZ. Also, are they SATA III? And lastly, my other OCZ products have burnt up. Two PSUs in the last year.



This is true when talking about the all-in-one kits such as the Corsair H60. But there's no comparison when it comes to a real water cooling setup.


Mine was a Thermaltake armor with water. I want freon or liquid nitrogen :-)

More opinions and facts of mine.

[Duke of Buckingham]

Did the world finnished already?

Duke

One more day passes with no strong emotions.

[John P. Myers]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/overclocked_cpus.html
Depends on the stats you look at. Unlocked Multipliers are the easiest for over clocking Intel chips. Like I said elsewhere, the benchmarks remind me of ATI and Nvidia comparisons. I guess it depends on what coolaid is being served.
Very true. But i noticed the avg. OC of the 2600k is 400-500 MHZ lower than what most people were able to achieve. But then the 980X/990X may have been low too. Who knows? :p



I read a few dissatisfied customers of OCZ. Also, are they SATA III? And lastly, my other OCZ products have burnt up. Two PSUs in the last year.

Yes, they are SATA 3. And as i said, since they switched contollers, OCZ can't be beat. For SSDs. Nothing else they make is very good. SSDs are their forte. I'd never own an OCZ PSU. It's kinda like Sony. They make great TVs, but horrible speakers/amps/radios etc.



Mine was a Thermaltake armor with water. I want freon or liquid nitrogen :-)

Hmmmm....here you go (http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9725/ex-vap-19/OCZ_Cryo-Z_Phase_Change_Single_Evaporator_CPU_Cooling_Unit_ OCZTCRYO_-_Sockets_478_754_775_1156_1366_939_940_AM2_AM2_AM3 .html?tl=g49) :D

EDIT: OCZ Vertex 3 SSD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-227-706&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo). The only people who gave it bad customer reviews were people plugging it into SATA2 and expecting SATA3 speeds (durrrr), and a guy switching from WD Caviar Blacks in RAID to a single SSD and expecting some miracle. Caviar Blacks in RAID are difficult to surpass with a SSD, as i'm sure you know :) Anyway, Newegg has 7 different OCZ SSD SATA 3's. The Agility series just came out earlier this week so not many reviews there yet.

[dan]

Very true. But i noticed the avg. OC of the 2600k is 400-500 MHZ lower than what most people were able to achieve. But then the 980X/990X may have been low too. Who knows? :p


The comparisons get to silliness when it comes to OC the 980x. I've seen people report 5 and 6 GHz OC for the 980x. I think the 2600k is an exceptional performer, but I'm waiting for the chips that go into the 2011 socket. So for now I just upgraded my 950 to a 980x.



Yes, they are SATA 3. And as i said, since they switched contollers, OCZ can't be beat. For SSDs. Nothing else they make is very good. SSDs are their forte. I'd never own an OCZ PSU. It's kinda like Sony. They make great TVs, but horrible speakers/amps/radios etc.


Hmmmm....here you go (http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9725/ex-vap-19/OCZ_Cryo-Z_Phase_Change_Single_Evaporator_CPU_Cooling_Unit_ OCZTCRYO_-_Sockets_478_754_775_1156_1366_939_940_AM2_AM2_AM3 .html?tl=g49) :D

EDIT: OCZ Vertex 3 SSD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-227-706&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo). The only people who gave it bad customer reviews were people plugging it into SATA2 and expecting SATA3 speeds (durrrr), and a guy switching from WD Caviar Blacks in RAID to a single SSD and expecting some miracle. Caviar Blacks in RAID are difficult to surpass with a SSD, as i'm sure you know :) Anyway, Newegg has 7 different OCZ SSD SATA 3's. The Agility series just came out earlier this week so not many reviews there yet.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm moving my OSs to SSDs. I've put one on a Crucial and will try my other box on this, but if I have to keep RMAing it, I'm blaming you:D

Dan

[John P. Myers]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm moving my OSs to SSDs. I've put one on a Crucial and will try my other box on this, but if I have to keep RMAing it, I'm blaming you:D

Dan

Hehe. Blame away.

As for waiting for socket 2011, i don't blame you.

[valyn42]

Supposed to close on the house in one hour.. hope everything goes smooth [-O<

If it goes well, here starts the list..

case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

Mem - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726

And going to use my old 9500 GT as his main video card and throw this in there to judge heat and noise levels. If all acceptable I'll have a third slot on that board to throw my GTX 460.

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130626

Leaving to close now, please add any suggestions or opinions!

[John P. Myers]

1 suggestion on the RAM. Your mobo has 4 slots. With only 2 sticks, your bandwidth will be cut in half, using only 1 channel instead of 2. Having multiple memory channels active works similar to the way RAID works for hard drives. Doesn't matter if you're using a large percentage of your memory or not, it can read from/write to both channels at the same time instead of just 1, greatly increasing system responsiveness.

[DrPop]

Supposed to close on the house in one hour.. hope everything goes smooth [-O<

If it goes well, here starts the list..

And going to use my old 9500 GT as his main video card and throw this in there to judge heat and noise levels. If all acceptable I'll have a third slot on that board to throw my GTX 460.

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130626

Leaving to close now, please add any suggestions or opinions!

Congrats on the house! Exciting time, I hope you get on with it well.
List is looking nice. I really like that mobo for the 3rd GPU option...however, you might want to go with the case I linked you to instead, so then you have 8 slots in the back if you want to ever use that 3rd PCI-e slot. You won't be able to do it that well with the HAF-932.

Also, I'm not quite clear - do you already own the 460x2 GPU card? Or were you going to buy one now? It's not worth the extra $ at this point over a GTX 570 -- if you already own it from before, that's totally awesome. If you were going to be buying a new GPU, I would get a GTX 570 instead.

[Fire$torm]

1 suggestion on the RAM. Your mobo has 4 slots. With only 2 sticks, your bandwidth will be cut in half, using only 1 channel instead of 2. Having multiple memory channels active works similar to the way RAID works for hard drives. Doesn't matter if you're using a large percentage of your memory or not, it can read from/write to both channels at the same time instead of just 1, greatly increasing system responsiveness.

hmmmm. I need to ask....... Are you sure?

From the User Manual for my GA-P55-UD6:

Due to CPU limitations, read the following guidelines before installing the memory in Dual Channel mode.
1. Dual Channel mode cannot be enabled if only one DDR3 memory module is installed.
2. When enabling Dual Channel mode, it is recommended that memory of the same capacity, brand, speed for optimum performance.

When enabling Dual Channel mode with two memory modules, be sure to install them in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_4 sockets. When enabling Dual Channel mode with six memory modules, make sure that memory modules to be installed on the DDR3_3, DDR3_2, DDR3_6, DDR3_5 sockets are all single-sided.

[DrPop]

Dual channel RAM anymore usually does not require more than 2 sticks...each one can run on one channel. At least, that is the way my AM3 mobo works.:confused:

I would definitely go with (2x) 4GB sticks. This allows you to upgrade to 16GB in the future when it's cheaper and you need it! :D

[John P. Myers]

hmmmm. I need to ask....... Are you sure?

From the User Manual for my GA-P55-UD6:
lol well yeah there's that :p dual channel - single bank is still a tad slower though. guess i just do things differently out of habit. to me, empty slots means you're not done yet! :D

you could always pull out half your RAM and do a memory benchmark to see just what the effect is, though if you're at least running dual channel, it won't be that noticeable. i just hate empty slots :/

[joker]

to me, empty slots means you're not done yet!

I SO want to turn this perverted. >:)

[Duke of Buckingham]

There is something I need to learn because I dont know nothing about and I need to know. As I never used GPUs Before I dont know a thing about video connectors. Can anyone help me in this matter DMI/HDMI/VGA and so on or if there is a good site about this it would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

Lost Duke :((

[joker]

Well, I have to ask: what are you trying to do? Crunching, hook your TV up to your computer??

[valyn42]

The house closing went ok. There for 3 hours, they lost paperwork, blah blah blah. But we be done!!\:D/

Going with DrPops case selection, and Maxwell's 570 recommendation.

And the trigger has been pulled, with UPS 3-day should be here in time for a weekend build!=P~

[Fire$torm]

There is something I need to learn because I dont know nothing about and I need to know. As I never used GPUs Before I dont know a thing about video connectors. Can anyone help me in this matter DMI/HDMI/VGA and so on or if there is a good site about this it would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

Lost Duke :((

Wikipedia:
List of Video Connectors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_connectors)
Video Card Outputs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_card#Outputs)
Computer Display Standard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_display_standards)

[Duke of Buckingham]

Well, I have to ask: what are you trying to do? Crunching, hook your TV up to your computer??

No :o I had a small problem my computer didnt install the GPU HD5450 because I didnt connected the monitor. Well no one told me I must do it. It so stupid I know. and I just dont understand were I should connect the monitor since the hd5450 and the hd5870 have several connectors. Damn is so stupid but i just dont know.

[Maxwell]

There is something I need to learn because I dont know nothing about and I need to know. As I never used GPUs Before I dont know a thing about video connectors. Can anyone help me in this matter DMI/HDMI/VGA and so on or if there is a good site about this it would be very nice. Thanks in advance.

Lost Duke :((
In terms of crunching, the connectors don't matter. It only matters in terms of how you want to hook the monitor/TV up to the graphics card.

VGA are the old style plugs that old monitors have. Most new monitors have these plugs, though not all graphics cards have them.
http://www.spd.dcu.ie/hosted/support/images/AV%20Website/VGA%20plug.jpg

DVI are newer style plugs, and most graphics cards and newer monitors come with them. They are also readily convertible to VGA if you have an old monitor.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/dvi-cables/dviiplug.jpghttp://thingsfinder.com/files/img/1/1/G_10.jpg

HDMI are new HiDef plugs that HDTVs come with. They also carry sound with them, so you don't need separate cords for sound.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Images/Products/size_3/MXHDM3HD.JPG

Honestly, there are converters from one to the other. The easiest thing to do is make sure the output from your GPU matches the input on your monitor. And you should be fine. Of course, further details may have specialized answers, but that's the main thing.

[Maxwell]

No :o I had a small problem my computer didnt install the GPU HD5450 because I didnt connected the monitor. Well no one told me I must do it. It so stupid I know. and I just dont understand were I should connect the monitor since the hd5450 and the hd5870 have several connectors. Damn is so stupid but i just dont know.
Oh yeah - ATI cards require you to connect a monitor (or dummy plug) to them. CUDA cards don't.

[joker]

To try and understand...
my computer didnt install the GPU HD5450 because I didnt connected the monitor. Does this mean that you computer does not recognize the 5450? Or are you having problems getting the monitor to work?

[joker]

Oh yeah - ATI cards require you to connect a monitor (or dummy plug) to them. CUDA cards don't.

Or has Max has insturcted me before, Crossfire them and use the old 10.10 drivers if you are just crunching MW.

[Duke of Buckingham]

Oh yeah - ATI cards require you to connect a monitor (or dummy plug) to them. CUDA cards don't.

Maxwell the problem is that my 3 Monitors dont connect with the 2 GPUs. No connection with nothing I am getting crazy. What is a dummy not counting with me of course.

[Fire$torm]

No :o I had a small problem my computer didnt install the GPU HD5450 because I didnt connected the monitor. Well no one told me I must do it. It so stupid I know. and I just dont understand were I should connect the monitor since the hd5450 and the hd5870 have several connectors. Damn is so stupid but i just dont know.

192

My cables connect to the bottom port of each card. Bottom of card is where the card plugs into the Motherboard.

Btw: All those cables connect to the same monitor. My monitor has multiple video inputs so this works. Many of the newer flat screens have this feature.

[Duke of Buckingham]

192

My cables connect to the bottom port of each card. Bottom of card is where the card plugs into the Motherboard.

Btw: All those cables connect to the same monitor. My monitor has multiple video inputs so this works. Many of the newer flat screens have this feature.

Ati recognized and Ok the Hd 5870 is installed. The Hd5450 doesnt recognize the monitor. The connector on the 5450 has no "thing" to screw That "thing' is not there. Sorry I dont know the name. The two things to "screws" on each side of the connector are not there.

[Duke of Buckingham]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OoMy9rv4P8M/THX_rIke3QI/AAAAAAAAAPI/fOCFkyIY3xQ/s1600/suicidio2.jpg

[Fire$torm]

Ati recognized and Ok the Hd 5870 is installed. The Hd5450 doesnt recognize the monitor. The connector on the 5450 has no "thing" to screw That "thing' is not there. Sorry I dont know the name. The two things to "screws" on each side of the connector are not there.

These?

193
Click to enlarge

[Duke of Buckingham]

yes yes yes TY TY TY. That thing is not there. You are clever. Are you my cousin?
I thought no one would understand. I dont know the name of that. those two are not there.

[Maxwell]

yes yes yes TY TY TY. That thing is not there. You are clever. Are you my cousin?
I thought no one would understand. I dont know the name of that. those two are not there.
Those are actually not entirely necessary - they are just screws that help keep the monitor cable in place. Half the time, I don't use them, as I don't move the monitor or box. If you just have the connector, you can just plug it in, and it should work.

[Duke of Buckingham]

Those are actually not entirely necessary - they are just screws that help keep the monitor cable in place. Half the time, I don't use them, as I don't move the monitor or box. If you just have the connector, you can just plug it in, and it should work.

No dont recognize.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OoMy9rv4P8M/THX_rIke3QI/AAAAAAAAAPI/fOCFkyIY3xQ/s1600/suicidio2.jpg

How can I see if the GPU is no good. Because this Gpu came from Germany maybe has some problems.

[DrPop]

No dont recognize....
How can I see if the GPU is no good. Because this Gpu came from Germany maybe has some problems.

The best way would be to removed the other GPU from the computer, and only put this GPU in the computer that you want to test. See if the monitor turns on when you run it. You do not need to screw the cable in, just plug it in, and it will work fine.

[YoDude9999]

IN CASE YOU ALL FORGOT!

I have SEVERAL dummy plugs available for those with ATI/AMD GPU cards that may need them.

Send me a PM if interested!

Yo-