New PC Upgrade

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:19

about 4-5 years ago i upgraded by PC, i am about to upgrade again and would like feedback on my current choces. I have 2 different upgrades in mind differing in the choice of Motherboard. I would like a PC suitable for Rendering software such as 3DS Max, Maya and zBrush.

Current Specs

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3700+ 2.21 GHz
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX x 2 (SLI)
Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy ZS
MotherBoard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
Ram: 2GB

Suggested Specs

Option 1

Processor: Intel Core i7 975 3.33Ghz (Nehalem) Extreme Edition (Socket LGA1366) - Retail + World In Conflict PC Game - £801.99 inc VAT
Graphics Card: Not upgrading
Sound Card: Not upgrading
MotherBoard: Asus P6T7 WS Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard - £329.99 inc VAT
Ram: Kingston HyperX 6GB (3x2GB) Intel XMP DDR3 12800C9 1600MHz Tri-Channel Kit (KHX12800D3K3/6GX) - £79.98 inc VAT

Total £1211.96

or

Option 2

Processor: Intel Core i7-975 Extreme quad-core processor
Graphics Card: Not upgrading
Sound Card: Not upgrading
MotherBoard: Asus P6T Deluxe v2 motherboard
Ram: 6GB of Kingston Hyper-X KHX12800D3K3/6GX DDR3 RAM

Total £1,159.99

Another item i need is a new PSU to cope with the new Parts as my current one is just 500

I will be upgrading the graphics card, sound card and hard drives at a later date

Dauthi · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:33

The reason the i7-975 is so extortionately expensive is the unlocked multiplier if your not going to even be using a non-reference cooler to make use of that its hard to recommend the 975 when even if you compare it to the slightly slower I7-950 its half the price for 250mhz less.

jak731 · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:40

get the 920 i7 and just overclock it i say

you can then just upgrade the gpu sound card and maybe even hdds too

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:40

thanks for the response but what exactly is a non-refence cooler :confused:

i havnt really been paying any attention to the hardware market for the last few years

shadowake · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:58

Much better/cheaper spec + includes graphics, PSU etc:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail + World In Conflict PC Game £208.99
(£181.73) £208.99
(£181.73)
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £167.99
(£146.08) £167.99
(£146.08)
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £166.99
(£145.21) £166.99
(£145.21)
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply £140.99
(£122.60) £140.99
(£122.60)
Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) £91.99
(£79.99) £91.99
(£79.99)
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) £75.99
(£66.08) £75.99
(£66.08)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) £68.99
(£59.99) £68.99
(£59.99)
Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) £33.34
(£28.99) £33.34
(£28.99)
Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£15.64) £17.99
(£15.64)
Sub Total : £846.31
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £128.82
Total : £987.63

shadowake · 2 Jul 2009 at 14:59

shadowake said:
Much better/cheaper spec + includes graphics, PSU etc:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail + World In Conflict PC Game £208.99
(£181.73) £208.99
(£181.73)
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £167.99
(£146.08) £167.99
(£146.08)
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £166.99
(£145.21) £166.99
(£145.21)
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply £140.99
(£122.60) £140.99
(£122.60)
Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) £91.99
(£79.99) £91.99
(£79.99)
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) £75.99
(£66.08) £75.99
(£66.08)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) £68.99
(£59.99) £68.99
(£59.99)
Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) £33.34
(£28.99) £33.34
(£28.99)
Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£15.64) £17.99
(£15.64)
Sub Total : £846.31
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £128.82
Total : £987.63

As stated the 920 will easily overclock to 4GHz

user1453 · 2 Jul 2009 at 15:06

No point going for a gamer gfx card, I don't think the rendering programs are accelerated by non worksation cards

It may be worth buying a couple of second hand 8800 GT cards and bios flashing them into quadro cards

Far as the rest of the system goes, as others have said get a 920

I'd suggest an ssd for OS and programs to boost overall system performance and a raid array, raid 5 or 0+1 for storage

There are only two reasons I can think of for getting the asus workstation board;

You need 6 pci express x16 slots

as for the 975s speed advantage, it takes 2 mins to get a 920 to those speeds, just a quick fiddle abot in the bios

It's controller supports sas hdds so you can use enterprise 10K rpm hard drives

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 15:48

thankyou for the replys , Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card was suggested will this be an increase in specs compared to my current sLI NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX. I was not planning on a gamiing PC as its ment for use a Uni for rendering...but it wouldnt hurt to play the latest games...my current PC pratically dies when it runs ProtoType

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 15:57

shadowake said:
Much better/cheaper spec + includes graphics, PSU etc:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail + World In Conflict PC Game £208.99
(£181.73) £208.99
(£181.73)
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 PCS+ BattleForge Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £167.99
(£146.08) £167.99
(£146.08)
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £166.99
(£145.21) £166.99
(£145.21)
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply £140.99
(£122.60) £140.99
(£122.60)
Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) Coolermaster HAF 922 Case - Black (No PSU) £91.99
(£79.99) £91.99
(£79.99)
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) £75.99
(£66.08) £75.99
(£66.08)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) £68.99
(£59.99) £68.99
(£59.99)
Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) £33.34
(£28.99) £33.34
(£28.99)
Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£15.64) £17.99
(£15.64)
Sub Total : £846.31
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £128.82
Total : £987.63

I really like the look of this, thankyou , the amount it saves i might also try to get a new soundcard such as Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Fatal1ty Champion Serie

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:01

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB

i see some of the items also have bundles available

shadowake · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:20

thepatriots said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB

i see some of the items also have bundles available

Fantastic sound card for the money:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-002-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

Those bundles work out slightly dearer, but OCUK overclock for you so if your not confident with that and dont mind spending a bit extra they are worth it.

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:38

thanks for all the help so far. I may leave the soundcard for now, as i have got this ********, which the attachement on the front which i use as an input for my PS3 and keyboard, i still need to use, although i would buy HD audio cablees for the PS£ the keyboard offers no other outputs than midi. Would this be a good cpu cooler to get as it offers me to install an additional 2 fans, as i will taking your suggestion to overclock the 720 and was considering it in precuation of the extra heat produced http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-025-AS

shadowake · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:43

thepatriots said:
thanks for all the help so far. I may leave the soundcard for now, as i have got this http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/20229-creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-fatal1ty-fps.html, which the attachement on the front which i use as an input for my PS3 and keyboard, i still need to use, although i would buy HD audio cablees for the PS£ the keyboard offers no other outputs than midi. Would this be a good cpu cooler to get as it offers me to install an additional 2 fans, as i will taking your suggestion to overclock the 720 and was considering it in precuation of the extra heat produced http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-025-AS

The Fenrir is a far better CPU cooler, if you want to make it better get two of these fans to replace the stock one:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-004-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

That sound card you've already got should be more that adequate.

PS Your not allowed to link to competitor sites

thepatriots · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:57

Ok thanks....i have edited my previous message :eek:

, and i think ive found a good guide which tells me how to overclock a 920 from 2.66GHz frequency to 3.8GHz. Huge thanks for the feedback