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Hello RS comp guru's. You guys have always seemed to steer me in the right direction, so again I come to you guys for advice.
So now I'm in progress of upgrading. Didn't want to hijack the other threads.
I'm not too familiar with some of the new stuff. I only plan to game with this new rig. Basically prepping for BF3, Diablo 3, etc. I would like to be able to run everything at high res with good frame rates. I don't plan on spending HUGE money to upgrade.
I tried googling a bunch of stuff but the techno babble was a little too much for me to comprehend.
Here's what I have now:
Q6600 (stock)
Asus P5K mobo
4 gigs DDR2 ram
9800GTX
650W PSU
Win7 64 bit
I have ordered an Intel i7 2600K. So my plan was to get new mobo/ram. Then upgrade the GPU later. Keep the Win7 64 and the 650W PSU.
So here's my questions:
Would the new sata 6gb/s ports work with traditional sata harddrives? Or are they only for SSD's?
As for the DDR3 ram. I see some boards say they support up to 32 gigs. Maybe I'm old school but with my old stuff 4 gig's was like HOLY FUCK. I'm running Windows 7 64bit. Is 8 gb ram enough? Or 16/32 GB recommended? Does windows 7 64bit support that much ram? Is there much difference between ram? Or is it just the amount of memory all that matters?
As for motherboards. What is the major diff between a $300+ one vs. a $150 one? I assume the higher priced stuff has more ports, can run triple SLI, more RAM. But does the higher end stuff actually help the comp run faster or smoother? Does it make a big difference in gaming? What do you guys recommend for the i7 2600K LGA1155?
last Q, when I do upgrade to a better GPU (GTX560 or HD6850 unless anyone else has other suggestions). Is my PSU enough power for all these upgrades?
4GB is pretty much minimum spec now. Go with 8GB if you can afford it. Should be under $100 for a good set. And it's not about the OS hogging the ram. The OS will take as much ram as you can give it. The more it gets, the smoother it runs. The difference between 4GB and 8GB will be noticable, while going from 8GB to 16GB won't be, unless you are doing a lot of HD video or photo editing, etc.
On a more expensive motherboard, you basically get a bunch of extra features that unless you enjoy tinkering with things, you probably don't need. In the next couple days I'll be posting a review of a $220 AMD board. There isn't much different in actual performance when compared to a $120 board, but there are a TON of features that other boards don't have, for people who want them.
For your i7, you could just get a basic H67 board, although a Z68 will open up some features like hybrid SSD drives, etc. But again if you don't care for that, H67 is fine.
Because you only plan on gaming with this machine, I suggest you stick to 4GB as it is not likely you will need more than that. Focus on getting a lower latency RAM rather than frequency too. Something like CL7 1333mHz is great.
Also, a 2500K would have been a better choice as the hyper threading on a 2600K isnt going to give you benefit for your machine's purpose.
As for motherboards, personally I try to choose one thats <$200 and 8 power phase if you want to be overclocking. Find charts of Gigabyte and Asus and from there, figure out what features you need (notice I didnt mention MSI...stay away from them). I think the z68 is what you should get if you already have or plan to pair an SSD & HDD to get SSD performance on the mechanical drive (not 100% sure about accuracy of this point, someone please correct me if it is wrong please).
Power supply should be plenty but more is always better for that security. Theres a XFX 750W powersupply thats 80+ certified (Bronze) for only 70 bucks on NCIX. Good brands include Seasonic, Corsair (rebranded Seasonic) and Silverstone.
Actually higher frequency memory > lower latency when it comes to games. The difference is only a few FPS though. If on a budget, just go with the cheapest 1.5v DDR3 memory that gives you a lifetime warranty. I think Kingston and OCZ fit this bill well.
Also, a 2500K would have been a better choice as the hyper threading on a 2600K isnt going to give you benefit for your machine's purpose.
I got a deal on the 2600K for $150 from intel. There wasn't any other choice other then the sold out i7 970 for $250. I wanted the 970 but sold out quickkk.
Thanks for headsup on MSI. I actually bought an MSI mobo for the shop and it died pretty quickly. Good to know.
I might go SSD down the road. But even then I'm on the fence. I can't say I'll be using the gaming rig much. I know SSD drives are way faster. But faster as in what? Does it boot up quicker? Or do things like games run better if installed onto them?
I'm trying to keep the upgrading to a minimum considering I don't game that much and moneys kind of tight. I will spend the money if it's really needed and the performance can be justified.
I don't tend to OC my stuff just to avoid headaches. If I can score some aftermarket water cooling I may consider down the road. But still quite unlikely. Oh, and the odds of me running SLi or X-fire is pretty slim. So not really something I will do.
Basically, I just want to be able to game newest games at high res with decent framerates. If loading times can be cut down, then thats a bonus
As for Vid Cards. How are the two choices I'm thinking. GTX560 vs HD6850?
Thanks so far guys for your input. Helping alot already.
They have special deals for people in the industry couple times a year.
Skinny> Really? I just assumed cuz it's double the retail of 2600K that it would be crazy. So for $100 more it seemed to be a steal to me. Not that I really know any better. Seemed like everyone jumped on that deal the fastest.
They have SSD drives in the deal too. Deciding whether I want one or not. Doesn't seem that much cheaper than retail though.
I'm not sure if they combine shipping. If they do then sounds ok. But if not I pay another $36USD. Works out to be 196USD + Duties.
Are they that much better? Will it enhance gameplay or speed up game loading times? I'm under the impression that they're only really meant for the OS. So I assume that means speeding up the boot time of the comp.
The only reason the 970X is more is because it came out as a $1000 CPU. When the 2700K came out, it was never branded as a $1000 CPU, even though it was faster than $1000 CPUs.
Sandy Bridge has essentially made everything else obsolete.
And BTW, nothing - absolutely nothing - will make your PC seem faster than upgrading the hard drive to SSD. You could put the fastest CPU and Ram in there, but a mechanical hard drive will always hold it back.
I might go SSD down the road. But even then I'm on the fence. I can't say I'll be using the gaming rig much. I know SSD drives are way faster. But faster as in what? Does it boot up quicker? Or do things like games run better if installed onto them?
I'm trying to keep the upgrading to a minimum considering I don't game that much and moneys kind of tight. I will spend the money if it's really needed and the performance can be justified.
SSDs should cut down your boot and game load times but to be honest, its not worth it to buy one right now. Rumor has it that the pricing will reach $1 per 1GB by the end of 2012. I'd say a Samsung spinpoint F3 1TB should be good enough for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cman333
I don't tend to OC my stuff just to avoid headaches. If I can score some aftermarket water cooling I may consider down the road. But still quite unlikely. Oh, and the odds of me running SLi or X-fire is pretty slim. So not really something I will do.
Basically, I just want to be able to game newest games at high res with decent framerates. If loading times can be cut down, then thats a bonus
Whoa, your mobo needs seem similar to mine. Personally, I'm too pussy to OC drastically and have no $ to do multi GPU setups, BUTTTT: I like to keep my options open and give myself a little space to grow.
That being said, I recommend a board I've been looking at for a while now, Gigabyte z68x-UD3R. I'd say stick to the z68 chipset so you can stretch the legs of the 'K' if you feel adventurous one day, have the opportunity to use SSD/HDD hybrid caching thing we talked about earlier, have the oppurtunity of running single GPU or multi, and its got a great black/gunmetal colorway rather than those baby blue TURDS every company seems to go with. It wont cost too much either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cman333
As for Vid Cards. How are the two choices I'm thinking. GTX560 vs HD6850?
To be very honest, I dont know shit about graphic cards. But, heres a handy pre-made benchmark webpage:
I already have tons of HDD's. I currently have 2x 1TB, 1x 1.5TB, 2x 2TB. I can't say I really notice the difference between the Caviar black and the greens in terms of speed. Although I've only had the OS installed on the Black.
Man, I'm really on the fence about SSD. Skinnypup kinda has me sold LOL. Fuckit, lets just say I get the Intel 120GB SSD. I guess that plays a big factor in the mobo decision?
The z68 boards are pretty new, so I'd give it a little while before NCIX receieves the full lineup. I really do think this board fits the bill. If you are ina rush to build though, the UD4 is a beefier version that is great too.
OS on the WD Black is perfect. Just make sure the greens are purely for storage.
I doubt you'll notice much of a difference between 4GB and 8GB, UNLESS you actually leave a million things open - like game WITH a browser open with a lot of tabs, plus a whole bunch of other programs running in the background. Even then, it's not that big an issue. I only have 4GB, and it's still fine - not as noticeable a difference as an SSD.
I actually run 2 x 60GB SSD's in Raid 0, things open so quickly - especially PS and LR.
and honestly, overclocking on modern Intel chips is so easy, it's not even funny. You don't need a watercooled system - all you need is a half decent cooler. Look up some settings, and it'll take you 15 minutes to get a decent OC.
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The z68 boards are pretty new, so I'd give it a little while before NCIX receieves the full lineup. I really do think this board fits the bill. If you are ina rush to build though, the UD4 is a beefier version that is great too.
OS on the WD Black is perfect. Just make sure the greens are purely for storage.
No rush. I just ordered the CPU. So probably 4-6 weeks before I see it anyways.
Oddly one of my blacks died recently. It was used for movie storage. Got it warrantied, but still I got the blacks because of their reputation. I've only ever had one HDD die on me (Seagate). I didn't expect the black to die so quickly. The greens r for pr0n. LOL
I doubt you'll notice much of a difference between 4GB and 8GB, UNLESS you actually leave a million things open - like game WITH a browser open with a lot of tabs, plus a whole bunch of other programs running in the background. Even then, it's not that big an issue. I only have 4GB, and it's still fine - not as noticeable a difference as an SSD.
I actually run 2 x 60GB SSD's in Raid 0, things open so quickly - especially PS and LR.
and honestly, overclocking on modern Intel chips is so easy, it's not even funny. You don't need a watercooled system - all you need is a half decent cooler. Look up some settings, and it'll take you 15 minutes to get a decent OC.
Hmmmm. Seems like everyone is recommending the SSD.
What is RAID? I've heard the term before, just unsure what it is. Sounds complicated.
I've tried OC'ing before. I know it's quite easy, but seems I always eventually get the BSOD. Usually while gaming or just at a shitty time. I didn't really notice any gains when I OC'd my Q6600. I had a huge crash and ended up reformatting and everything went back to stock speeds. Ever since I haven't had any issues with BSOD.
Oddly one of my blacks died recently. It was used for movie storage. Got it warrantied, but still I got the blacks because of their reputation. I've only ever had one HDD die on me (Seagate). I didn't expect the black to die so quickly. The greens r for pr0n. LOL
Thanks again.
Fapping -> vibration -> HDD damage. Gotta use them rubber washers for mounting the drives, LOL
and if its within budget, get a SATA3 SSD, they are twice as fast
also, there is no point getting anything other than a Z68 board if you plan to run your video card. only the Z68 board allows intel quick sync with a discrete video card. intel quick sync allows u to convert videos like 10 times faster than without
and my system is wicked fast. 2600k is easily one of the best cpu's right now and can handle a crap load of oc'ing. just make sure you get different cooler since stock ones are lame. I haven't oc'd yet but i've never hit 40c core temp while gaming/photo processing etc. it so much
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This is good enough for your basic needs. Most people don't realize it and they want the best of everything, but when you really think about it, a regular computer user is in no way using enough computing power to require 8gigs of ram/300 dollar mobo's/ etc...
8 gig is definitely the max you should get, and even 8 gigs of ram is kind of pushing it. You don't really need anymore than 4 for basic computing needs.
This video compares the SSD vs HDD. He shows loading times/alt-tabbing times to be much faster on the SSD, so yes, it will improve your overall gaming performance as well. Its definitely an improvement to get the SSD, but:
a) The intel retail edge deal for the SSD is really disappointing, so I didn't see the need to jump on it and
b) Like I said, for an average user, its simply up to you to determine whether or not you want to pay an extra 200 dollars just to be able to cut your loading times in half for a game. Personally, I really don't mind waiting an extra 10 seconds to load something if it saves me 200 dollars lol. Thats just up to you to determine.
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a) The intel retail edge deal for the SSD is really disappointing, so I didn't see the need to jump on it
yes ... quite dissapointing.
you will feel the SSD difference in a system when the harddrive is the bottleneck. i.e. 5400rpm OS drives. a system loaded with crapware. like above said, it depends on how you are using your system. to me, the SSD is worth every penny on the laptop, not so much on the desktop at home.
and the price difference in ram is so minimal.... you will need ddr3 ram anyways. 2 sticks of 4gb is not even 100 bux. same goes with a good cpu cooler and extra fans.
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it so much
