Thoughts on this i7 setup.

DisparateX

DisparateX

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Jan 10, 2009
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Going to order a new rig soon. I saved up my euros and its time for my 3-yearly replacement pc. I thought i might as well ask for some input and/or criticism :) .
I want a large roomy casing to work with. Should be fairly silent but provide good cooling.
I don't like pimpy stuff. Only for moderate oc'ing (3.2Ghz). The mobo should support 12GB stably, i could use it for ram drive purposes. The pc will be used for gaming, photoshopping, and some video editing. I use a Samsung 245T 24" screen. So far a hd audio solution seems too expensive even tho my pc is pricy.

Lian Li PC-A7110B full tower case
Thermaltake Toughpower 850W
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Scythe Mugen 2 cpu cooler (seems a bit heavy tho)
Intel Core I7 920 2.66 GHz
Arctic MX-2 Thermal Compound (only a small price to add to cooling solution)
Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D 12 GB, PC3-12800, 1600 MHz, CAS8, 2x3 modules
Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan (might be overkill)
WD Caviar RE3 320 GB x4 (raid striping maybe, i have external backup)
XFX GeForce GTX 285 Black Edition (supports hdcp, good for gaming)
Lite-On DH-4O1S (blue ray movies)
Samsung SH-S223F (secondary drive)
Teufel Concept E Magnum Power Edition 5.1 loudspeaker set (my Creative Gigaworks 7.1 died after 3 years)
Vista sp1 64bit (moving from XP 64bit)
Roccat Kone mouse (better then my Logitech G7 for large hands)
MS keyboard ergonomic 4000 (works for me)

Thanks for your thoughts on this combination.
 
List your games, and this goes for everyone.

1. Yes, ram fan is total blingbling crap.
2. 6400AAKS or the Black. the 320GB version is stripped down last I read.
3. GTX280 - huge price premium of GTX285 is not worth it for maybe 10% increase in fps. 2x260, 1x295, 1x280, 2x280...
4. If you are just going to be doing 1 card, 500w will suffice for even a GTX280. If you are SLIing, 700w i a good number for 2xGTX280s or 2x285s. I wouldn't get a Thermaltake as their shitty fans have been traditionally loud pieces of poo.
 
Drop the Corsair Dominator RAM and fan -- they're overpriced and unnecessary (respectively). Pick up a cheaper set of DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 RAM.

Which RAID configuration are you going for? Why? For everyday non-server use, one hard drive should be more than enough for your needs.

Vista Home Premium has all of the features that you need. Avoid Vista Ultimate unless you can get it at a huge discount.

I agree with lowteckh with his suggestions on the video card and the power supply. To make things easier on you, pick up either the Corsair VX550 or the TX650. If you must have a modular power supply, then get the Corsair HX620. (If you're going to spend the money, spend it on a quality power supply... but don't spend too much.)
 
I think you should get a 1000 watt power supply.........

This is by no means a serious or remotely helpful post and was created to intice tiraides into fits of laughter. Please disregard.
 
lowteckh said:
List your games, and this goes for everyone.

1. Yes, ram fan is total blingbling crap.
2. 6400AAKS or the Black. the 320GB version is stripped down last I read.
3. GTX280 - huge price premium of GTX285 is not worth it for maybe 10% increase in fps. 2x260, 1x295, 1x280, 2x280...
4. If you are just going to be doing 1 card, 500w will suffice for even a GTX280. If you are SLIing, 700w i a good number for 2xGTX280s or 2x285s. I wouldn't get a Thermaltake as their shitty fans have been traditionally loud pieces of poo.
Click to expand...

1. I will prolly drop it.
2. From what i read the RE3 is same as the Black but better suited for raid (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17910895&highlight=re3).
Two drives in raid striping should be good enough.
3. In Holland the price difference between the GTX 280 and 285 matches the performance (10-20%).
4. Yes, 850W might be overkill, 600+W should still suit a future graphics upgrade or SLI. On the Dutch hardwareinfo.net i read its fairly quiet, same as the Cooler Master 850 Modular. I chose the Toughpower because Kyle/HardOCP seemed to be impressed by its measurements (the 1000W version).
Games I play will be Crysis, upcoming Empire Total War, Silent Hunter 4, EVE Online, Medieval 2 Total War, World in Conflict.
 
tiraides said:
Drop the Corsair Dominator RAM and fan -- they're overpriced and unnecessary (respectively). Pick up a cheaper set of DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 RAM.

Which RAID configuration are you going for? Why? For everyday non-server use, one hard drive should be more than enough for your needs.

Vista Home Premium has all of the features that you need. Avoid Vista Ultimate unless you can get it at a huge discount.

I agree with lowteckh with his suggestions on the video card and the power supply. To make things easier on you, pick up either the Corsair VX550 or the TX650. If you must have a modular power supply, then get the Corsair HX620. (If you're going to spend the money, spend it on a quality power supply... but don't spend too much.)
Click to expand...

Similar specced OCZ ram is not as readily available. There are other cheaper brands i could look into. I picked Corsair as Kyle tested with the p6t and seemed to work well in a 12GB config.
RAID striping, for loading those huge maps in games like FarCry. At least that is my experience.
Vista Ultimate x64 would be around 172 euros, Premium 102 euros (OEM with pc).
Corsair HX620 or TX650 seem a good alternative. Thanks.
 
I wouldn't recommend OCZ RAM as the voltage most models use would limit you when it comes to overclocking. Look for XMS3 RAM or something cheaper. DDR3 1333 RAM is fine for a modest overclock, but for the best possible OC, you'll need DDR3 1600 and an aftermarket CPU cooler.

The problem with the 320GB hard drives are that they generally aren't cheap. In most cases, you're better off spending the extra money for the 640GB drives. Additionally, some retailers still sell the two-platter 320GB drives that are much slower than the one-platter 320GB models. If speed is the priority for you, and you could afford to, swap out the 320GB hard drives with the 640GB drives.

Brashen, that was neither funny nor insightful. (Where are you getting your material from, lowteckh?)
 
tiraides said:
I wouldn't recommend OCZ RAM as the voltage most models use would limit you when it comes to overclocking. Look for XMS3 RAM or something cheaper. DDR3 1333 RAM is fine for a modest overclock, but for the best possible OC, you'll need DDR3 1600 and an aftermarket CPU cooler.

The problem with the 320GB hard drives are that they generally aren't cheap. In most cases, you're better off spending the extra money for the 640GB drives. Additionally, some retailers still sell the two-platter 320GB drives that are much slower than the one-platter 320GB models. If speed is the priority for you, and you could afford to, swap out the 320GB hard drives with the 640GB drives.

Brashen, that was neither funny nor insightful. (Where are you getting your material from, lowteckh?)
Click to expand...

The WD Caviar RE3 320 GB (62 euro) is single platter. Or so i've read. Other sizes available are 250 (57 euro), 500 (76 euro), 750 (110 euro) and 1TB (150 euro): http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=490 . This would seem to indicate either wasting space on platters or it's actually two platters.
 
tiraides said:
(Where are you getting your material from, lowteckh?)
Click to expand...

For the 320GB drive? I think it was Hardware Canucks, or could have been here which might have led to another link... I know some have asked "Why not just the 320GB WD version of the 640GB since it's 1 platter and not 2, theoretically making it faster" but then the answer given was that it had some features stripped, thereby making it slower. Quote from a quote and maybe from another quote :X

Found it/something:
Stolen from http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3269&p=2
wd640charteq5.jpg
 
I would say WD6400AAKS or no go. (HDDs ranging in $50-100)
As for the RAM, you won't ever utilize the bandwidth from DDR3 1600
You won't even use DDR3 1333 since your overclock is very "low"

I would buy a quality 3X2GB kit that has a lifetime warranty and around DDR3 1333 just to be safe with the RAM ratios
 
You should use the Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366 since it has the "best bang for buck" compared to the other i7 coolers & performs the best out of the box.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/880/6/

I wouldn't get the GTX 285 either since you aren't overclocking too much.
The GTX 285 is a scandle - IMO
All it is, is a slightly overclocked GTX 280 renamed
Yeah it runs cooler and more efficient but not that much to suit the price difference

I would also consider the GTX 260 192SP since the 216SP version offers very minimal difference over the 192SP version as well (~3FPS avg) as for comparison to the GTX 280 it should be about ~5-10FPS depending on which game you will be playing on your 24"

The 10FPS at most on avg to me doesn't justify at a minimal of 100 USD price difference.

As for the PSU, that's a great option but if you don't need modularity the TX 750/850 are great options especially for what they offer at the price range
 
lowteckh said:
For the 320GB drive? I think it was Hardware Canucks, or could have been here which might have led to another link... I know some have asked "Why not just the 320GB WD version of the 640GB since it's 1 platter and not 2, theoretically making it faster" but then the answer given was that it had some features stripped, thereby making it slower. Quote from a quote and maybe from another quote :X

Found it/something:
Stolen from http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3269&p=2
wd640charteq5.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info. But that is the SE16 and not the RE3 drive which is derived from the Caviar Black.
 
tonyluu said:
I would say WD6400AAKS or no go. (HDDs ranging in $50-100)
As for the RAM, you won't ever utilize the bandwidth from DDR3 1600
You won't even use DDR3 1333 since your overclock is very "low"

I would buy a quality 3X2GB kit that has a lifetime warranty and around DDR3 1333 just to be safe with the RAM ratios
Click to expand...

You are probably right on utilizing such high bandwith. Funny if you compare it with gfx card memory bandwiths from 3 years ago.
The testing Kyle did on the p6t used a 1529ish MHz clock for the RAM. My idea is to reserve that possibility and go for a 1600MHz set of sticks.
 
tonyluu said:
You should use the Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366 since it has the "best bang for buck" compared to the other i7 coolers & performs the best out of the box.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/880/6/

I wouldn't get the GTX 285 either since you aren't overclocking too much.
The GTX 285 is a scandle - IMO
All it is, is a slightly overclocked GTX 280 renamed
Yeah it runs cooler and more efficient but not that much to suit the price difference

I would also consider the GTX 260 192SP since the 216SP version offers very minimal difference over the 192SP version as well (~3FPS avg) as for comparison to the GTX 280 it should be about ~5-10FPS depending on which game you will be playing on your 24"

The 10FPS at most on avg to me doesn't justify at a minimal of 100 USD price difference.

As for the PSU, that's a great option but if you don't need modularity the TX 750/850 are great options especially for what they offer at the price range
Click to expand...

As i said the price difference in Holland more or less matches the performance difference between the GTX 280 / 285. The 260 is also a great option, but in that case an Ati 4870 comes to mind. As long as its a single gpu card they all seem great.
I chose a modular psu because i don't like the cable messes i'm used to. My current Antec Phantom 500 is great, very quiet, but lacks a bit of juice. I decided to get the CoolerMaster Real Power Modular 700W. http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=568&pageid=1 . A lot cheaper but still enough headroom for later.
 
After reading some more reviews i ordered these for my new pc:
Lian Li PC-A7110B full tower case
Cooler Master Real Power M 700W
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Scythe Mugen 2 cpu cooler
Intel Core I7 920 2.66 GHz
Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D
WD Caviar RE3 1TB x2 (raid striping, have external backup)
XFX GeForce GTX 285 Black Edition, 690/2600 MHz
 
My new stuff arrived 2 weeks ago. I installed vista and w7 public beta on it.
With the cpu at 3200MHz (20x160) and ram at 1604MHz 3dmark2006 gives a score of 17K using default settings at 1920x1200 resolution.
If i use auto setting for cpu and qpi voltage it uses 1.24V for the cpu.
I use the XMP setting for the ram timings (8-8-8-24).
This ps6t deluxe v2 is extremely easy to overclock. I tried 3.8GHz with ram at 1524Mhz selected and CPU voltage at 1.35. Not a single hickup running 7 instances of Orthos for 3 hours. It seems 6x2GB of ram sticks fully used is stable as a rock.
I am insanely pleased with this rig.
The only minor issue is with the limited on board audio solution by ADI. I had to use the SoundMax drivers, the windows drivers didn't perform running games. EAX for gaming is sadly not an option. Nor can i change the crossover freqeuncy for my subwoofer.
On the other hand it has no problem with pcm HD audio playing blu-ray. And you can use and assign the front stereo and mic. connectors independently from the main outputs.
I might buy an auzentech audio card sometime. On the other hand EAX is nice but directsound 3d aint so bad.
My thanks to the guys at HardOCP for inspiring my purchase. Thank you for reading.
 
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