Yes another "Upgrade Time" post ... :D

Dan221081

Dan221081

Dan221081

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Joined
8 Mar 2007
Posts
62
Sorry in advance, I know there are so many posts like this on this forum so I will try and keep it simple and quick.

Many moons ago (i.e over 3 years ago) I believe 9th May 2007 according to when I last posted :)

Forum members offered advice on purchasing and overclocking my then new PC. See my sig for details of what it was then. Since then the only thing that has really changed is the GFX card which is now a GTX260 as the 8800 died about a year ago and the ram has been upgraded to 8gb.

Essentially I'm looking at replacing the entire system as just about every component in it is rather old and I am planning on turning it into a file server.

The motivation for the new build is to build a system that will last another 3 years without having to seriously spend out on it or as long as possible anyway.

Essentially I have narrowed it down to 3 configurations

  • One using SSD for the OS and a conventional drive for data and a single 5870
  • One using just a conventional drive with no SSD but with dual 5870s in crossfire
  • One using a conventional sata 3 drive but with a single 5970

Looking at this site and others, I am looking at the core components of the being spec :-

CPU
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.80GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache

Ram
6GB CORSAIR XMS3 TRI-DDR3 1600MHz (3 X 2GB) or Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel

Motherboard
Gigabyte EX58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard or ASUS P6X58D-E

Conventional Drive
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE, 7200RPM

SSD
OCZ Vertex 50GB SATA2

With the experience you guys have had with building systems or perhaps you have seen systems similar to the above configurations can you offer any advice on which of the above would offer better build life and better gaming performance ? The above specs come to about £1600 which is my upper limit.
No matter where I get the the system from I will be getting water cooling as an option and will be overclocking myself or going for an overclocking option.

Any advice is appreciated :)
 
For now I wouldn't bother with a whole new system, GTX260 is fine, maybe pick up a cheap used Q6600? Better off waiting for the next gen of consoles as that is when the majority of games will take a real step up and by then SSDs will be cheaper.

However if you really want to upgrade I'll spec you something, you say the budget is £1600? Is that just for the parts above? If not just list what you do/don't need for that budget (e.g OS, Monitor)

EDIT: You say you are OCing on water, in that case get the i7 920 D0 over the 930. Do you already have the WC stuff, or is that in the budget too?
 
What sort of resolutions do you use? Do you use duel screen?

I would recommend option 1, the SSD with th esingle 5870 - The SSD makes loading up so much quicker and makes the whole thing more responsive and the 5870 is a great top end card (not much call for higher than that at the moment - and you could always crossfire later on if you find you need it for a big boost).

I don't think you'll need 2 cards unless you're looking at more than one screen and the 5970, imo, isn't really worth the money over the 5870 with current games etc at the moment.

Edit: Oh, don't forget a third party cooler if you're looking at overclocking!
 
£1600 is the budget for the complete system. My current setup has components that simply wont take advantage of the developments from the last couple of years and so it looks likely that a new build will be required. I don't want to be fitting components from my current system into the new one especially if there is a risk that they will slow it down.

For example my MB will take the current graphics cards as it has a PCI-E 16x but is only PCI-E 1 as opposed to 2. My HDs are currently SATA not SATA 2 etc etc its just old :)

I do not require a monitor etc as I run through a 1080p HDTV (37inch) at 1900x1080.

I don't need an operating system as I have a MSDN sub. I don't have any WC equipment but they dont seem that expensive and I always seem to manage to add one to the spec and keep it under the budget. Up until now I have always OC'ed on air water will be a new area for me but I have heard good things about it.

I have a soundcard I could use or I could stick with HD onboard for a while.
 
Ok then, well it depends on what parts you want to put in the loop (CPU, NB, GPUs) but it could easily run up a few hundred, I'll go do a spec now.
 
All of those options look pretty good, I also think it's overkill with the graphics cards, every game I play is running great on a 4870x2, very similiar to the 5870, with the exception of gtaIV.

I wish I had shown more patience and got a quad cpu with hyperthreading like the i7 930 rather than the more affordable i5.
 
1338i75870WC.jpg


I would try and find the 920 else where for less.

Some might spec this mobo, but I don't know how long it will be at this price for, but if it's still in stock when you want to buy then go for it.

The WC I chose is good for first timers (has instructions ect) but the case I just chucked in and wont be any good, so go for a good full tower.
 
Dan221081 said:
I do not require a monitor etc as I run through a 1080p HDTV (37inch) at 1900x1080.
Click to expand...
If I may ask, which make/model of 37in HDTV do you use?

My next planned upgrade is to add a similar screen to my PC and am trying to learn which ones support true 1080p from PC. :)

Thanks.
 
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Stickman said:
If I may ask, which make/model of 37in HDTV do you use?

My next planned upgrade is to add a similar screen to my PC and am trying to learn which ones support true 1080p from PC. :)

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Any that have a native res of 1920x1080 with digital outputs such as HDMI/DVI
 
Thanks for the spec , looks good I will hopefully order shortly.

With regards to the TV I am using with the native res of :-

1920 x 1080

I have the following :-

Samsung LE37B650

Full specs are :-

Product Description
Samsung LE37B650 - 37" LCD TV

Product Type
LCD TV

Diagonal Size
37" - widescreen

Dimensions (WxDxH)
91.8 cm x 25.5 cm x 66.4 cm - with stand

Weight
17 kg

Colour
Platinum black

Digital Television Certification
HD ready 1080p

Resolution
1920 x 1080

Display Format
1080p (FullHD)

Enhanced Refresh Rate
100 Hz

Motion Enhancement Technology
100 Hz Motion Plus

24p Technology
1080 24p Real Movie

Video Interface
Component, composite, HDMI, SCART

HDMI Ports Qty
4 port(s)

PC Interface
VGA (HD-15)

HDCP Compatible
Yes

Technology
TFT active matrix

Progressive Scan
Yes

Image Aspect Ratio
16:9

Multi-channel Preview
Picture-in-picture (PIP) (1 tuner)

Features
Sleep timer, DLnA, Wide Color Enhancer 3, Anynet Plus, ultra clear panel

Sound Output Mode
Stereo

Speaker System
2 speakers

Built-in Decoders
Dolby Digital Plus

Sound Effects
SRS TruSurround HD

USB Port
Yes , 2 port(s)

Remote Control
Remote control - infrared

I bought it about 6 months ago and it acts as a good hub for the PS3 / blu-ray and PC. I think I paid about 700 for it at the time. Looks like the price has come down a bit since then.
 
The second one looks nice :)

Just out of curiosity does anyone have a spec similar to the above who could tell me how many marks they get in 3dmark Vantage ?
 
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Guess it would depend how high you take the i7, should get 4Ghz easy. Then if you're really into benchmarking you could get another 5870 and two blocks, upgrade the rad to a triple and OC them, but not much real world use for something that powerful.
 
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