Spec build first time - max 1200

eXalin

eXalin

eXalin

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5 Oct 2008
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121
Hi, am going to university in september and so will be building a new pc when i get my grant/loan money.

The reason I have chose AMD set up because I dont think the i7 route is worth it when I could spend more on a better graphics card, and I havent read anywhere that tri channel is seriously worth getting over dual channel.

New build will be used for -

Basic Study work
Gaming ( I want to be able to play games on max settings)

I dont know whether prices for the items I have chosen will lower by the time i purchase all the parts (november/december - anyone reckon there will be any worthwhile price cuts?)

So this is what I have selected, any recommendations or advise on what I should change or improve would be greatly appreciated as I dont really have a clue and cannot be bothered to read mass reviews of all the products im purchasing:D!

any new set up baskets will also be welcomed!

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you would be wise to get a modular psu.

and do you really want a 3D monitor?

you wont need crossfire with the small 22" monitor, so get a cheaper motherboard.

but your so far away from buying that spec, that by the time comes that you do, it will be wrong, better stuff available at similar prices.
 
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excuse my n00bness but what is the difference between a modular psu and the atx sli compliant one? benefits/negatives?

as im getting the crosshair motherboard (im just choosing it cos its the most expensive sexy looking mofo :p) i thought it would be a good idea incase i chose to buy another gfx card for crossfire.


the reason I chose the 3D monitor was so I could expierence the new technology(obviously buying the glasses at some point), i dont know whether it is incredibly overpriced at the moment and whether to wait and just get a nice LCD?
 
a modular psu, will have detachable cables, making a tidy build easier,

you wont need crossfire with a 22" monitor a 5870 is more than powerful enough.

but for a 3D monitor you want a Nvidia card, such as GTX470/480, which then means you can do 3D vision gaming with this - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-019-NV&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

and you cant sli two Nvidia cards together on a AMD chipset motherboard anyway, so just get a lesser one.
 
oh right! so ati is not yet 3D ready? only nvidia.

the reason I wanted to get ati is because i have read that they are leagues ahead of nvidia in the graphics card market and that the 5870 blows everything out the water(with the exception of the 5900 series), also i swear nvidia cards are more pricey!


so maybe its worth scrapping the whole 3D gaming thing for now, i dont know whether it would just be a novelty or whether it would be something I would use frequently.

so instead of a 3d monitor/nvidia set up, maybe I should get a 23inch or + regular lcd, ( I would like to watch films in really good quality)? and keep with the ATI card
 
Ati have eyefinity, where you put multiple monitors next to each other for a huge widescreen display.

and I think some people will have some things to say about ATI being miles better than Nvidia, especially as the GTX480 is the fastest single gpu card available.

but yeah, a 24" monitor and a single 5870 is a better pick, if your insistent on ATi.

but 3months away is a long time in pc component land, so your spec may fly out of the window and something a lot better at the time of purchase will be an option.
 
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I do not care for eyefinity really, I found that I could get an ATI HIS 5870 for around 290/300, the cheapest nvidia 480 i could find on overclockers was 365, so is it really worth paying the extra 65 for the nvidia? would the difference between the 2 cards make the nvidia considerably better for gaming?

the one attraction i can see for the nvidia is ofcourse the 3d aspect which ati does not have.

is it true that AMD set ups are optimised to work with ATI, and nvidia to work optimally with intel based systems?
 
with the right Intel motherboard you can do both crossfire or sli.

with a AMD board it will only do crossfire, the two companies hate each other that much!

but even being able to do either of these features depends which versions of the chipsets on the motherboards you pick.

for instance, out of all the 8** series motherboards, only the 890GX and 890FX chipset gives both cards an equal bandwidth, the other chipsets run the second crossfire card at a reduced speed, causing performance problems.

the crosshair you picked is a 890FX chipset, so gives each card 16 pci express lanes each to communicate with, the 890GX gives 8 lanes to each card.

the other chipsets just run the second card at 4X lanes while the first card gets 8X.

if your deciding to pick just one single fast graphics card, such as a 5870, then a cheaper motherboard with a lower chipset will be fine.
 
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