22 réponses à ce sujet

[Freely]

Hi all,

As a gamer who has become obsessed with FPS, I'm looking to build a very high-end gaming rig that will last me a decent length of time.

I've built my last two computers so I'm comfortable building the computer, but they were standard PC (nothing too special) and I don't know many people to ask for advice. As such, I'm looking for some input/thoughts on the components I'm looking at. Any suggestions for other components or recommended websites are welcome, as I've solely been looking at ebuyer.com and misco.co.uk.

So, these were my thoughts (note: I'm taking my BD-ROM out my old PC, hence its absence):

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Case: Antec 902 (last PC used the 900 and I was very pleased with the case)
PSU: Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W (again, pleased with previous experiences with 500W & 650W by Antec)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz
GPU: 2x Sapphire HD 5970 OC
HDD: Western Digital 2TB Hard Drive SATA300 7200rpm 32MB Cache
RAM: Big unknown. I know I'm going to have to be careful with compatibility. I'd like to max RAM, but based off ebuyer & misco all I could find to do that is KINGSTON 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 ECC Reg w/Parity CL9 DIMM.

As I say, I want to make sure everything is correct and good value for money, so any thoughts/suggestions or reliable websites will be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Freely]

Anyone?

[flem1]

(1) I can't imagine what you'd need more than one 5970 for. Just because you can? Besides, Fermi is coming.

(2) I'd get one of Antec's CP-series PSUs (CP-850/CP-1000) and a compatible case (1200/P183/P193). Insanely overbuilt (better than the TPQ series).

(3) AM3 gives a clearer upgrade path, but i7 is noticeably ahead now. If you *do* get the 965, make sure it's the 125w version (not 140w).

(4) You want CL7 DDR3. I suggest G Skill Ripjaws (works perfectly with my Gigabyte AM3).

(5) You might as well throw in one of those big aftermarket 120mm heatpipe direct touch coolers for the CPU. Even if you don't overclock, the reduction in fan noise is worth it. Make sure to apply the thermal goo correctly though -- HDT coolers are trickier.

(6) I have some British hardware sites/stores listed here.

(7) If you're throwing around that sort of money, consider a SSD boot drive.

Modifié par flem1, 17 mars 2010 - 05:59 .

[Freely]

Thanks for the info, Flem.



I was considering the new Fermi (I think its the GTX480), but when I saw nVidia's promotion where they compared against the HD 6870 it set off alarm bells. Why would a manufacturer compare their newest tech against their competitor's 2nd best? Anyway, we shall see.



As for why 2x HD 5970, there some trivial reasons. Firstly, if I'm going to be spending a lot of money I thought go for the best I can. Secondly, I've always heard that Alienware computers are amazing, so I'm trying to build an equivalent. Thirdly, I do want this computer to last a decent amount of time - while I could just buy 1, wait and buy another or something new when needed, I may not have the finances at that time (or their could be compatibility issues leading to upgrades of other components). However, if it is a distinct waste of money I'm more than willing to re-assess and assuming from your comments, it is.



I'll have a look at the price differences between i7 & AMD, I noticed i7s were considerably more expensive. Would a better approach be to buy 1x HD 5970 and an i7 rather than AMD & 2x HD 5970.



If I did go for an after market cooler, do you have advice on how to apply the thermal goo? I certainly don't want to fry my cpu.



Lastly, thank you very much for the link. I'll have a look at those websites tonight. Hopefully, it will give me better prices and/or choices on what I pick.



Thanks again.

[flem1]

thermal goo on HDT

5970 = 2 GPUs on one card. Double GPU performance is getting better, but single is still more trouble-free and definitely its own category (hence the comparison).  5970 may still be worth it, we'll see how the prices and such shake out.

Instead of buying a second 5970, I'd put that money into a "next vidcard" bank account or something.   Unless you plan to try maxing out Crysis on an Eyefinity setup or something...

The only i7s you should consider are the 860 (socket 1156) and 930 (socket 1366). Actually, the i5 750 (1156) is about the same speed as the 965 you're looking at... The Intels will overclock better, but you may not be overclocking in which case it's a matter of current performance on the i7 vs cost and later possible ease-of-upgrade (again, AM3 should carry over to AMD's next processor generation, Intel's almost certainly won't).

Modifié par flem1, 17 mars 2010 - 06:52 .

[Freely]

Flem, thanks for even more information.



Based on your advice, I've decided not to go for a second 5970. The only question remaining is for me to decide if I can wait until the release of the GTX 480 (I've read its 26th March) to see some benchmark comparisons.



I'm totally undecided in terms of processor. I don't want to overclock and based on your information I've looked at some comparisons between the AM3 and the i7 and I'm extremely surpised at the difference between the i7 930 and the 965 BE. I think the difference was about 5-6 fps on both min and average fps on Crysis. My ultimate decision will no doubt be financial, is an extra 5fps worth over £100. The ability to upgrade later is always a bonus too, so I'm probably balanced more so to the side of the AM3.



Just picking back up on a comment in your first post - I'd never heard of SSD. Based on the pricing, I assume I wouldn't be aiming to have that as my storage hard drive. How would I utilise it as a boot drive? Would that mean Windows is installed onto that, but everything else is installed on another HDD?



Thanks again.

[Freely]

One last question: Is it possible to get 4gb DDR3 CL7? Based off the 5 UK websites all I can seem to find is 2gb (with the exception of Dabs, which only listed 1066s that were out of stock).

[xODD7BALLx]

all that is well and good but no high end pc is truly high end until you get Andre the Giant's face airbrushed on the side, you just cant have a Hulk Hogan wallpaper or the tower will literally explode.

[flem1]

Freely wrote...

One last question: Is it possible to get 4gb DDR3 CL7? Based off the 5 UK websites all I can seem to find is 2gb (with the exception of Dabs, which only listed 1066s that were out of stock).

Oh, 2gb per stick is fine.  Just get a pair or two.  A lot of these come in pairs, you know (2*2gb)

Again, the Ripjaws has CL7 (1333 should be fine for AM3, but you can get 1600 if the mobo supports it) sticks.  Not sure which other brands do if G Skill isn't carried in the UK.

[Loerwyn]

I've seen G Skill around, I'm sure of it.

I agree with flem1 on the dual-GPU front though. Aside from it's double the power/price for not even double the performance, proper support in games for dual GPU solutions is still fairly rare.

As for HDDs, I've heard Intel's value SSDs are really good for their price, so one might be worth getting as a boot disk. Another name I hear thrown around on computing sites is the Samsung F3 series of drives, and they've been recommended since F1 I believe.



And as to your Alienware point; they're really not all that good. Expensive, I'm sure they use proprietary Dell hardware (therefore it can be harder to upgrade them, I believe) and the cases look a bit daft. You're paying for style over substance.

[Freely]

Thanks for all the advice.



The mobo I was looking at can be overclocked to support 1600 RAM, but I'm going to look through the other websites to find one that supports it without OC. If not, I'll probably just go with 1333. Found plenty of 1600 Ripjaws and I think a couple of sites had 1333s so that shouldn't be a problem.



Luc0s, if you could provide information on setting up HDDs in RAID-0 setting I'd be very grateful.



Thanks again to you all.

[flem1]

Make sure you get a 7-7-7 timed Ripjaws -- there are some cheaper ones also floating around.  AM3 is optimized for low-latency 1333 RAM, so you should be fine with that.  (I think you see more benefit with 1600 for i7.)

IMO RAID 0 is a drive system failure waiting to happen. And it still doesn't come close to SSD speeds. And this is the true bottleneck in your system, so given that you were willing to spend many hundreds of pounds on a useless second video card...

Useful piece on recent SSD developments.

Modifié par flem1, 18 mars 2010 - 03:49 .

[Freely]

Very true. In the grand scheme of things I've saved myself close to £600 on the second graphics card and a bit of cash on the CL9 RAM that was registered and therefore wouldn't have worked at any rate.

EDIT: One other question, if I did get a SSD drive, would I need some kind of cradle or something for it to sit in to make it fit into the drive bay?

Modifié par Freely, 18 mars 2010 - 06:24 .

[Freely]

Based on the 5 Uk websites in the link, I cannot find any 7-7-7 timed Ripjaws at 1333

[Freely]

I'm still battling to try and find RAM that will be fine on the Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5.



Anyone know if either of these two products will work?



Corsair 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL7(7-7-7-20) (CMD8GX3M4A1333C7)

or

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10666 Platinum Kit CL7 Unbuffered (OCZ3P13334GK)



Thanks.

[LOST GAM3R]

I recommend the Alienware M17x. It IS a laptop, but it will put most desktops to shame.

WARNING: The Alienware M17x will make your wallet cry ($1,600 - 6,000+) That's my only (big) issue with it.

[flem1]

Freely wrote...

I'm still battling to try and find RAM that will be fine on the Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5.

Anyone know if either of these two products will work?

Corsair 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL7(7-7-7-20) (CMD8GX3M4A1333C7)
or
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10666 Platinum Kit CL7 Unbuffered (OCZ3P13334GK)

Thanks.

I'm pretty sure both will.  But there's no reason to think the slightly cheaper "i5" version of the OCZ (OCZ3P1333LV4GK) won't work either.

The Corsair has a taller heatsink if it matters (may cool better or may get in the way of your big CPU cooler  ).

[Freely]

Thanks, Flem.



Time to start buying some parts.



Thanks for all your advice.

[addiction21]

Not much time but when you have some google and look for some tech type of forums. Lots of advice out there allready. Best of luck.