My build thread, help much appreciated!

[mfenn]

So if I understand you correctly the P7P55D (around the same price) has the exact same PCI-e lane bandwith limitations as the Gigabyte?

I was referring to the P7P55D-E when I mentioned that the ASUS has a bridge chip. It's not fair to compare that with the P7P55D because that board lacks USB 3.0.

All P55 boards have the exact same number of PCIe lanes. The ones that lack USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s can allocate more to the PCIe x16 slot because they doesn't have to allocate any to the USB 3.0 and/or SATA 6Gb/s chips.

I'm not sure why you so worried about the board operating at x8 TBH. Did you check out the link in my previous post? I don't see the point in paying the same amount of money for a board with fewer features.

 

[Jim Raynor]

First of all let me thank you for imput, really appreciate it.
And I might be exaggerating here but if I pay a price for a graphics card I want to leech every fps of performance out of it, why be satisfied with 97% of bandwith if you can have 100%?
Ok let me put it this way. If I don't use the USB3 features the board (the Gigabyte you recommend) operates at x16? Then the logical solution is not to use USB3 when using the graphics card intensively.

 

[MisterDonut]

Judging by the way the community around me is upgrading, etc., I don't think USB3 should be considered much of a factor yet.

If you punch in the numbers, of course, it's gonna spit out 97% vs. 100%, but when you're gaming, that difference is minimal. It's like running 900 core clock vs. 901.

Neither of those issues seems like it should be a big deal, so go with the cheapest satisfactory board .

 

[mfenn]

First of all let me thank you for imput, really appreciate it.
And I might be exaggerating here but if I pay a price for a graphics card I want to leech every fps of performance out of it, why be satisfied with 97% of bandwith if you can have 100%?
Ok let me put it this way. If I don't use the USB3 features the board (the Gigabyte you recommend) operates at x16? Then the logical solution is not to use USB3 when using the graphics card intensively.

Hey man, it's up to you in the end. I agree with Donut that you're not going to notice the difference. Like if I switched the setting while you weren't looking, you would be none the wiser.

You are correct in that if you are not using USB 3.0, the PCIe link will operate at x16.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Hey man, it's up to you in the end. I agree with Donut that you're not going to notice the difference. Like if I switched the setting while you weren't looking, you would be none the wiser.

You are correct in that if you are not using USB 3.0, the PCIe link will operate at x16.

Haha that first thing would be so very true!
Please understand that I want to know what I'm starting and don't want surprises in the end. So last question about this matter, is "not using" USB 3.0 not having a connection in the USB 3 slot OR disconnecting the card from the PCI-e slot?

 

[mfenn]

Haha that first thing would be so very true!
Please understand that I want to know what I'm starting and don't want surprises in the end. So last question about this matter, is "not using" USB 3.0 not having a connection in the USB 3 slot OR disconnecting the card from the PCI-e slot?

Well, there is no card, per se because it is really just a chip on the motherboard. You but you can disable it in the BIOS, which is effectively the same thing.

On my UD4P (very similar Gigabyte board) there are 3 BIOS options for the USB 3.0 chip: Disabled, On, and Auto.

• When Disabled, the PCIe x16 slot has 16 lanes and the USB 3.0 ports don't work (obv)
• When On, the PCIe x16 slot has 8 lanes and the USB 3.0 ports work
• When Auto, the PCIe x16 slot has 16 lanes until a USB 3.0 device is plugged in, then it goes down to 8. When all USB 3.0 devices are unplugged, it goes back go 16.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Ok thanks alot MFenn. That explains it completely. I've been browsing around more and I've seen mixed messages. Alot of them advise to go for AM3 mobo with either 955 or 1050.

 

[Jim Raynor]

BUMP!

Similar build:

AMD Phenom II 955
STOCK CPU COOLER
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 MOBO
G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ 4GB RAM CAS 9 DDR3-1600
Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD 500 gig
ASUS HD5850 DIRECTCU GRAPHICS
Corsair TX650 PSU
HAF 922 CASE

 

[mfenn]

BUMP!

Similar build:

AMD Phenom II 955
STOCK CPU COOLER
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 MOBO
G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ 4GB RAM CAS 9 DDR3-1600
Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD 500 gig
ASUS HD5850 DIRECTCU GRAPHICS
Corsair TX650 PSU
HAF 922 CASE

That would be fine too. The 750 and 860 are a little faster, but you won't notice when gaming.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Yeah true. I was thinking to keep things cheap and simple since this is my first build and upgrade down the road. Ofcourse some quality things have to be bought at first, like a case and a psu (maybe some RAM) and I'm set.

Was thinking about keeping things cheap and going for a mobo like this: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/248263/msi-770-g45.html#tab:info

Won't this be too cheap? You get what you pay for? Or shouldn't I be worried?

 

[mfenn]

Yeah true. I was thinking to keep things cheap and simple since this is my first build and upgrade down the road. Ofcourse some quality things have to be bought at first, like a case and a psu (maybe some RAM) and I'm set.

Was thinking about keeping things cheap and going for a mobo like this: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/248263/msi-770-g45.html#tab:info

Won't this be too cheap? You get what you pay for? Or shouldn't I be worried?

I wouldn't worry about it. That is a good, basic board. It doesn't have a lot of extra features, but it will do everything you need as a first-timer.

 

[Jim Raynor]

So I can get even cheaper without sacrificing quality. Let me build something, sec.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Samsung F3 500 gigs
HAF 922
Corsair 650TX
G.Skill ram or any other set

318 euro's

Msi 770-G45
Phenom 955

210 euro's

Any graphics card

5850 Asus or MSI Twin Frozr
or 5870 Vapor-x

290 or 390

OR

gigabyte-ga-p55-usb3
i7 750

around 290 euro

I might get away with a cheaper p55 board.

So thats about it isn't it?

(sry doublepost)

 

[mfenn]

Yeah, I think you've got it. You'll just have to decide if the Intel system is worth the extra $80 euro to you. It will be faster. Will it be 80 euro faster? Only you can answer that question.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Yes ofcourse. I'm starting to think it's not worth the 80 euro.

 

[Jim Raynor]

Look at this.

http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/compare/49/256052;246222

The Vapor-X version seems like an expensive card. It can be made cheaper by picking this one. They are now closer. Choices choices.

 

[mfenn]

Look at this.

http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/compare/49/256052;246222

The Vapor-X version seems like an expensive card. It can be made cheaper by picking this one. They are now closer. Choices choices.

I would say to go with the cheapest version of whatever GPU you want (from a reputable manufacturer).

 

[Jim Raynor]

BUMP for more input

 

[Jim Raynor]

I'm still in doubt LOL.

 

[mfenn]

We can't tell you what to do.

Both the Intel and AMD builds that you have laid out are good values, as are the 5850 and 5770. You'll just have to device how much money you are comfortable spending.