New Build, Advice Really Welcome

MoguMagic

MoguMagic

MoguMagic

Associate
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
13
Hi Guys, First post :)

I was thinking of building myself a system after a very long time since my last build and was wondering if i post up what i was thinking of putting together i could get some feedback if thats ok?, I have done allot of looking around but have known about OC the site for a while and buy a few odds and ends for friends when they have something go wrong or they want something done, and love the site really so i shall be buying as much as i can from OC.

What i'm looking is.

CPU
AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1090T Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail

Mobo
Asus Crosshair IV Formula AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

GPU
2 x XFX ATI Radeon HD 5830 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card in crossfire

Ram
This is where i need help really, I last built a DDR2 system with a single core AMD 64 chip about 5/6 years ago and the ram speeds are now throwing me off what i need... i was thinking something like "CMG4GX3M2A1600C6 - DOMINATOR GT, 4GB (2x2GB), 1600MHz, 6-6-6-18" but this isn't on the site yet? i kind of remember from my old building days and some googling the lower ram timings are better for gaming i think?. but would it help me having 2000mhz ram as i see the board can take it or is 1600mhz with tighter timings better? if anyone could suggest anything from OC i can look at that would be great with the CPU and MOBO that would be fantastic.

Hdd
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB SATA 10,000rpm untill SSD prices come down tbh...

Case
Antec 1200 Twelve Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black

Psu
Antec CP 850W Modular Power Supply maybe the 1000 if i need it as i have seen the 5830's use allot of power in crossfire.

Cd/dvd drives i will worry about later i just really hoped i could see if this would all be cool together with the "overclocking world" as you lot seem gods of the tech world and i know you guys know more than my local PC world and will be honest about it i hope lol, but mainly hoping also good enough so i can have a fiddle and do a bit of OCing myself as my last system i only squeezed a little out of as i was learning and just put everything back to standard untill i knew in the future as i am doing now buying a nice system i have saved up for, just hoping this would be a good pc that would see me into the next 3/4 even 5 years without having to upgrade anything really.

Any help is welcome. And a brill job you guys are doing here :)
 
Thinking i might go for some OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C10 2000MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G2000LV4GK) [OCZ3G2000LV4GK] What does everything think ?

Also found this bit of info gold in another thead

flying grouse said:
When comparing modules with different clock rates you need to do some math to be able to compare the latencies.

Pay attention that we are talking about “clock cycles”. When the clock is higher, each clock cycle is shorter (i.e. lower period). For example, on a DDR2-800 memory, each clock cycle takes 2.5 ns (1 ns = 0.000,000,001 second) – the math is simple, clock period that is "wait time" = 1 / frequency (note that you need to use the real clock, not the DDR clock on this formula; (see table below)

So supposing a DDR2-800 memory with CL 5, this initial wait time corresponds to 12.5 ns (CL 5 x 2.5 ns).
Now suppose a DDR3-1333 memory with CL 7. With this memory each clock cycle will have a period "wait time" of 1.5 ns (see table below). So the total wait time (latency) will be of 10.5 ns (CL 7 x 1.5 ns).

So even though the latency of this DDR3 memory appears to be higher (7 vs. 5), the wait time is actually lower. So don’t go around thinking that DDR3 memories have worse latencies than DDR2 memories: it will depend on the clock rate you are talking about.

That also means DDR3-2000 memory with CL 10 has a better latency than DDR3-1333 with CL 7........(CL10 x 1ns) = latency of 10 ns, compared to latency of 10.5 ns of DDR3-1333 CL 7 (CL 7 x 1.5 ns)



DDR Clock........ Real Clock........ Clock Period
200 MHz.......... 100 MHz.............. 10 ns
266 MHz.......... 133 MHz.............. 7.5 ns
333 MHz.......... 166 MHz.............. 6 ns
400 MHz.......... 200 MHz.............. 5 ns
533 MHz.......... 266 MHz.............. 3.75 ns
666 MHz.......... 333 MHz.............. 3 ns
800 MHz.......... 400 MHz.............. 2.5 ns
1066 MHz........ 533 MHz...............1.875 ns
1333 MHz........ 666 MHz...............1.5 ns
1600 MHz........ 800 MHz...............1.25 ns
2000 MHz.........1000 MHz............. 1 ns
Click to expand...
 
Like the case :) just i like the size of the 1200 as i can fit a double rad on the front and on the rear of the case and i have even seen people adding them to the top fan with a few mods.

Any advice on the ram? which would be better ?
 
if you're watercooling maybe stretch a bit and get an 800d? (you'll never run out of room in one of those lol)

i'm generally quiet sceptic about the noticeable difference you will actually see between different ram timings with same speed ram, noticeable being the key word there lol so i'd wait for someone else to come along for that one
 
Nobody really bothers with 2000MHz RAM unless they're going for some extreme overclocking. You _really_ won't notice any performance difference between 1600 and 2000 for gaming/general use, so just go for a decent 1600MHz kit (C8 timing stuff is fine).
 
Cool so....If i wanted to OC it to higher speeds than 2000mhz i would be looking at a 2000mhz then and i guess if i wanted to OC a 1600 to 2000mhz this is possible anyhoo ?

SO guessing it's down to the price range, so i'm guessing a 2000mhz ram with low latency timings would be the best thing there which is still the old rule of thumb then, Just trying to work out how much has changed lol,
 
Kinda what i was trying to clear up then if the

CORSAIR CMG4GX3M2A1600C6 4GB( 2x 2GB )6-6-6-18 - 1.65v would be a good choice then ? if i can OC it to slighter higher speeds and try keeping tight latency timings it has to start with and if not, or just live with the 1600mhz with standard tighter timings anyway untill 2000mhz with better timings are out.
 
Second the earlier posts. The CM690 II is excellent. I would also either look at a 5770 crossfire or a 5850 one. Forget the 5830. They cost too much for what they are.

Best luck with the build

McT
 
From what i can see and have read from reviews 2 x 5830's will be better than 2 x 5770, and i went on the fact for the price of 2 x 5830's it's the same cost as the top end 2 x 5770's anyway, i can buy more for my money on OC than i can buying a single card.... i would end up with a single 5870 with still less stream processors to help with the fact i have a 6 core CPU
 
Just you can get excellent returns from crossfired 5770's and they are what ,,, £125 each brand new ? :D

Agreed a 5830 xfire might eclipse it , its just going to cost closer to £400 for this. Might as well just grab a single 5870 or even a 5850 crossfire if you are going to spend that sort of money.

Bang for buck 5770 crossfire is way to go from my perspective. As you can see in my signature.
 
I'm wanting to go crossfire this round as i didn't last time i built a system and bought the "one" card and i got outdated quickly, i'd rather buy 2 cards at a "nice" price in my mind £370ish rather than 1 card that is lower in power to start with so any OCing will just get me to the crossfired 5830's specs but with OCing. Call me crazy i just go on the fact as standard it's pretty nice with the specs and speeds so when/if i did OC it i would be ahead of the 5770 straight off. so too me it's what ATI wanted lol, to fill the gap between the 5770 and 5850
 
Thanks :) I'm starting to understand that. as i think memory companys are from a few posts i'm reading, it's becoming less important the higher the ram speeds are now.

as the "OcUK Product Specialist" can you point me too some ram on OC that does this lol ?
 
5830s are a stupid price on OCUK for some reason, but if you look around you can find them for a price that represents pretty good value, so if they fit your budget go for them. The price for 5850s is silly pretty much everywhere now so the old standard advice of 'dont get a 5830 - save a little more for a 5850' isn't so appropriate anymore. 5850s aren't the bang for buck sweet spot they used to be. 5770 remains decently priced so is excellent value, but perhaps even two of them wont give the sort of performance the OP seems to be looking for. So i'd stick with the 5830s, but not from OCUK.
 
Liampope said:
5830s are a stupid price on OCUK for some reason
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I think a quick check of the current dollar exchange rate will explain this for you. Not really so "stupid". However 5830 crossfire wouldn't be my first choice, a single 5870 or if you're feeling adventurous a 5970.

Anyways, the RAM I'd recommend for you is this
A good thing with the new AMD chipsets is you can use a full bank of 8GB and still acheive a high overclock 3.60GHz+. I've found that Corsair tend to make the most reliable Dual channel kits.
 
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