i7 game /

[leatherface7]

So, I posted this about a month ago, but here are my final touch ups. I will most likely order this tomorrow, so any last second comments/suggestions are appreciated. I already bought the video card while it was on sale. Also, I realize the cooler is a big expensive so not sure if there is better bang for the buck or something easier to mount (I posted this in the cooling section as well). Also, I am getting a combo deal with the hard drive, thus why I am choosing this over some other ones.

Mostly used for gaming and multitasking. Use 2 22" monitors @ 1680x1050, but will be upgrading to 1920 soon. Also want to throw in an SSD and another GPU towards the end of the year.


Processor Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz $280

Cooling Scythe Mugen-2 Rev.B $ 50

Video HIS H587FN1GD Radeon HD 5870 1GB $400

Motherboard ASRock P55 DELUXE3 $160

Memory G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1600 $110

Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $75

Optical Drive LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW $25

Case Antec 900 Two $120

Power Supply CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W SLI Ready $110


Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium $100


Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

Seems good to me. (bet you're tired of hearing me say that, eh? )

 

[leatherface7]

Seems good to me. (bet you're tired of hearing me say that, eh? )

Haha, no i figured I would be mostly getting that. I just wanted to double check since I am buying tomorrow =p.

Honestly, I just didn't know if someone would have came across a better mobo buy, or better cooler for what I wanted (no hard OC'ing, easy to mount, fits in a antec 900 without problems, good price/efficiency). Or perhaps someone saw some good deals lately!

 

[Sp12]

Ram has a 10% off code.

Hard drive is a tad small for the price, but it is a caviar black. You could get a quality terabyte drive for 5$ more, which would likely be more useful once you get an SSD.

Also, instead of moving to a single 1920 screen, what are your thoughts on buying a matching 1680 monitor for eyefinity?

 

[leatherface7]

Ram has a 10% off code.

Hard drive is a tad small for the price, but it is a caviar black. You could get a quality terabyte drive for 5$ more, which would likely be more useful once you get an SSD.

Also, instead of moving to a single 1920 screen, what are your thoughts on buying a matching 1680 monitor for eyefinity?

I agree the hard drive is a tad small for the price. I only decided to go with it rather than a 1TB spinpoint because the caviar black is part of a combo deal with the PSU.
Hard Drive + PSU combo Combo Deal Details

I was unaware of the Ram having the 10% off code so thanks!

My plans were to actually just switch out 1 screen for a 1920 screen shortly, then another later. I wouldn't be against any suggestions though. I don't know much on this area so any comments are very appreciated.

 

[leatherface7]

Here is a decent deal for an SSD - kinda want to pick one up now just so I can set it all up on my first build. Thoughts?

SSD OCZ Agility Series 60GB

 

[Sp12]

NP.

Do you live by microcenter?

Umm eyefinity basically takes 3 (or more) monitors and presents them to the OS as one large one. In landscape mode, it gives you a lot of peripheral vision and adds immersion.

And in portrait mode you have a HUGE screen space for RTS, about 40% more pixels than a 30in screen for 3 1680 screens. Only issue is the bezels (which most people don't think are that big of a deal, I certainly don't, you might though, check out some videos on youtube)

On the other hand, 1920*1080 is better for HD content like movies, as there's no downscaling.

 

[mfenn]

Here is a decent deal for an SSD - kinda want to pick one up now just so I can set it all up on my first build. Thoughts?

SSD OCZ Agility Series 60GB

That's a pretty good price.

 

[mfenn]

NP.

Do you live by microcenter?

Umm eyefinity basically takes 3 (or more) monitors and presents them to the OS as one large one. In landscape mode, it gives you a lot of peripheral vision and adds immersion.

And in portrait mode you have a HUGE screen space for RTS, about 40% more pixels than a 30in screen for 3 1680 screens. Only issue is the bezels (which most people don't think are that big of a deal, I certainly don't, you might though, check out some videos on youtube)

On the other hand, 1920*1080 is better for HD content like movies, as there's no downscaling.

For RTS it is really game dependent. Some have a fixed field of view (e.g. Starcraft 2) because a larger one would give too much advantage in competitive multiplayer.

 

[leatherface7]

That's a pretty good price.

So are you saying good deal, but it up fool? =p

 

[leatherface7]

For RTS it is really game dependent. Some have a fixed field of view (e.g. Starcraft 2) because a larger one would give too much advantage in competitive multiplayer.

I honestly play a bit of everything. RTS, SC2, WOW..just depends. I also watch movies and netflix and play multi screens of poker. With that being said, I am still open to whatever! Is eyefinity part of the some GPU's or what; I remember hearing a lot about this recently but still don't know too much.

 

[Sp12]

For RTS it is really game dependent. Some have a fixed field of view (e.g. Starcraft 2) because a larger one would give too much advantage in competitive multiplayer.

Afaik that's the only game with that, but the fact that it's a competitive advantage is, IMO, telling.

To OP:

Microcenter?

Eyefinity is a feature integrated into all 5000 series ATI series GPUs. The biggest constraint is that one monitor must be driven via displayport.

However, as you have 3x the screen space, you reduce your framerate as if you tripled your resolution (because you did). However, I'm able to drive demanding games like batman AA with 2x AA on 3x 1680*1050 on a single 5850 for 60 frames.

 

[leatherface7]

Afaik that's the only game with that, but the fact that it's a competitive advantage is, IMO, telling.

To OP:

Microcenter?

Eyefinity is a feature integrated into all 5000 series ATI series GPUs. The biggest constraint is that one monitor must be driven via displayport.

However, as you have 3x the screen space, you reduce your framerate as if you tripled your resolution (because you did). However, I'm able to drive demanding games like batman AA with 2x AA on 3x 1680*1050 on a single 5850 for 60 frames.

Sorry, no microcenter..i wish! How exactly do you drive 'displayport'?

 

[Sp12]

Sorry, no microcenter..i wish! How exactly do you drive 'displayport'?

The GPUs are only able to output 2 clocked signals, so they have to use displayport (which is clockless) to run the third. You either have to use a monitor that accepts displayport as an input, or you have to use an adaptor (what I did).

I used a cheap (~25$) Displayport-->VGA adaptor, but 1680*1050 is about the limit of what you can do without getting an expensive active adaptor.

 

[leatherface7]

The GPUs are only able to output 2 clocked signals, so they have to use displayport (which is clockless) to run the third. You either have to use a monitor that accepts displayport as an input, or you have to use an adaptor (what I did).

I used a cheap (~25$) Displayport-->VGA adaptor, but 1680*1050 is about the limit of what you can do without getting an expensive active adaptor.

Ok, I'll try to look into an adaptor then in the near future when I purchase another monitor. Thanks!