New build, gone from the scene

[onikage]

Looking to build a new system for gaming.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming. Upcoming big name MMO (The Old Republic) and MANY other games. If it's a good game I'll definitely want to play it, (FPS, Starcraft 2, Mass Effect 3, all the big name titles)

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.

For now I'm thinking $1000.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No preference.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

My "newer" PC (2006) uses a Cooler Master Centurion 5 and an OCZ StealthXStream 600W PSU. I'm guessing the case should be fine, but I'm not sure about advances in graphics cards and mobos if the PSU is adequate in terms of connections and what not. I'd like to keep both if I can to put that $150 saved into the new stuff.

I also have a 22" Envision monitor (crappy brand I know) that has VGA only. I would be willing to upgrade to a better monitor outside of the $1000 budget if necessary if it would make a big visual difference. Side Note: I have a 52" 1080p HDTV haha. Not very practical to play games on though.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes I have.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I have never OCed before, but from what I've read it's getting easier and safer these days. I wouldn't mind doing it if its going to get me the performance I need.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

Whatever the best resolution is that the combined monitor and video card can handle.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Within a month or so possibly. I really am still on the fence.

 

[mfenn]

Passmark benchmarks are synthetic nonsense that I don't put any stock in. Another thing that you should know is that the FFXIV "benchmark" that was released is apparently in no way indicative of how the game itself will perform (stupid I know). Check last week's episode of the PCPer.com podcast for more info.

$1000 is definitely plenty for an MMO box. You can probably even fit the monitor into that budget.

Phenom II X4 955 + M4A87TD/USB3 combo $225
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $83
GTX 470 $275 AR
Samsung F3 1TB + 650TX combo $135 AR
DVD Burner $19
Use existing case $0
Total: $737

Add $100 if you need a Windows 7 license.

As for monitor, this ASUS 24" is good.

 

[onikage]

I wasn't aware of Passmark being crap. That's good to know. Thanks for being the first to offer up a suggestion.

How does that Phenom stack up against Intel offerings?

Also, my PSU is no good? What does the new one offer? Vid cards use more connectors now? Finally, I have a Windows 7 license.

 

[RavenSEAL]

These are mostly upgrade kits, but hell, look around and find a good one and see if you like it. Again, Newegg gives great discounts on bundles. These are great if you wanna reuse old parts. If i had more time to spare i would help you more. You can look at my rig which i use mostly for MMOs and BF2/2142, this one ran about 500+170 for monitor. Runs most MMOs on ultra high @ 1920*1080p at 40ish FPS. Goodluck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...50%20-%20$1000

 

[mfenn]

I wasn't aware of Passmark being crap. That's good to know. Thanks for being the first to offer up a suggestion.

How does that Phenom stack up against Intel offerings?

Also, my PSU is no good? What does the new one offer? Vid cards use more connectors now? Finally, I have a Windows 7 license.

The Phenom is slower than an Intel i5 7xx or i7 8xx, but IMHO it's more important to spend money on the GPU of gaming box. A 955 will not hold you back in games.

As for the PSU, 650W is probably the minimum that I would go with for a GTX 470 and OCZ PSU's have had issues with actually being able to output their rated wattage.

 

[Davidh373]

Keep in mind that FF IV has got "Recommended system requirements for an i7. That is not to say "YOU SHOULD GET AN i7 NOOOOOW!" but just to throw that out there. I don't think it's much to worry yourself on.

 

[mfenn]

Keep in mind that FF IV has got "Recommended system requirements for an i7. That is not to say "YOU SHOULD GET AN i7 NOOOOOW!" but just to throw that out there. I don't think it's much to worry yourself on.

Another thing that you should know is that the FFXIV "benchmark" that was released is apparently in no way indicative of how the game itself will perform (stupid I know). Check last week's episode of the PCPer.com podcast for more info.

Go listen to last week's PCPer podcast. They got some info straight from NVIDIA/ATI (who get prerelease versions of the games) and talk about it in some detail.

 

[Davidh373]

No offense intended mfenn, but i'm not interested in FF games... they're... kinda... Japanese... I'm sure it doesn't need an i7, and therefore th OP doesn't. I was only stating what I saw on the game's website for a separate thread.

 

[Davidh373]

Off topic a bit, these guys on this podcast are really good. I'm really liking #119

 

[mfenn]

No offense intended mfenn, but i'm not interested in FF games... they're... kinda... Japanese... I'm sure it doesn't need an i7, and therefore th OP doesn't. I was only stating what I saw on the game's website for a separate thread.

None taken. I just didn't want people to think I was spamming the thread, so I quoted myself.

Off topic a bit, these guys on this podcast are really good. I'm really liking #119

Yeah it is good!

 

[onikage]

Final Fantasy XIV isn't the only game I'll be playing, but that and next years "The Old Republic" are definitely the driving force for wanting to beef up a new system. As a consequence, I'll then be able to get back into PC gaming and play the usual fair (FPS, etc).

However I do agree with the benchmark being crap. We ran it on my wife's new Studio 15 laptop that has a Mobility Radeon 5870 (I think). Of course we expected a non gaming laptop to not perform well however, the gameplay ran quite smoothly and look really good, but it gave her a score of 750. That's better than the 350 score my Macbook received in bootcamp

 

[Davidh373]

lol, Macbooks are pretty crappy for the price you pay. They got a little reboot this year to make them a little more fair in price but they are still a bit over. The Studio 15 from dell is actually quite beefy. The parts are a fair match for an Alienware with exception to the optional (and quite costly) SLI graphics the Alienwares are capable of.

 

[mfenn]

Final Fantasy XIV isn't the only game I'll be playing, but that and next years "The Old Republic" are definitely the driving force for wanting to beef up a new system. As a consequence, I'll then be able to get back into PC gaming and play the usual fair (FPS, etc).

However I do agree with the benchmark being crap. We ran it on my wife's new Studio 15 laptop that has a Mobility Radeon 5870 (I think). Of course we expected a non gaming laptop to not perform well however, the gameplay ran quite smoothly and look really good, but it gave her a score of 750. That's better than the 350 score my Macbook received in bootcamp

If you go with the build that I recommended above, I think you'll find that the GTX 470 will run that benchmark like there's no tomorrow.

 

[Davidh373]

f you go with the build that I recommended above, I think you'll find that the GTX 470 will run that benchmark like there's no tomorrow.

Agreed!

 

[onikage]

lol, Macbooks are pretty crappy for the price you pay. They got a little reboot this year to make them a little more fair in price but they are still a bit over. The Studio 15 from dell is actually quite beefy. The parts are a fair match for an Alienware with exception to the optional (and quite costly) SLI graphics the Alienwares are capable of.

I don't discriminate on brands. I am a software developer mostly working with .NET languages, however I also do iPhone development, hence the Macbook. I tried it on a hackintosh first, but I had some issues so just went with Apple hardware. Apple hardware has always come at a premium, but if there is a valid use case for it with no equivalent alternatives, then it's ok. It's been a great laptop for me and so I have no complaints.

I am impressed with the Studio 15, but that might be simply because my wife was upgrading from an Atom based laptop. She was offered the laptop for next to nothing and so she was excited to grab it.

 

[Davidh373]

Totally, no need to defend yourself. I have a Macbook Pro. I like it, and it isn't like it doesn't work. It's just very expensive.

 

[onikage]

Totally, no need to defend yourself. I have a Macbook Pro. I like it, and it isn't like it doesn't work. It's just very expensive.

Haha. Damn you and your feint! j/k

EDIT: Is there a website out there that offers quick side by side performance charts for various hardware? Kind of like a frequently updated database more reliable than the Passmark stuff? If it's on Anandtech then I just haven't found it yet. I'll have a look when I get home. The reason I ask is because I might not end up building this computer until October so if new stuff comes out I was hoping for an at a glance comparison.

 

[onikage]

Bumping this thread because I wanted to check if this build was still relevant for what I wanted to do. Last time I gave the misconception that I'd only be playing MMO, but in reality I am a heavy gamer and in recent time was limited by not having a good PC.

I saw it get suggested recently here, but it was by mfenn again So I'm guessing nothing has changed much.

So in summary will this handle all gaming, even the more demanding titles (current and upcoming) with high settings?

Secondly, I know ATIs high end card is coming, should I wait or will it, combined with mobo and cpu changes push me over my $1000 budget?

Last question is for future expandability. Is it typically a good idea to plan for SLI/Crossfire down the road when we need more performance from an aging video card or to just buy a new single card solution and hope tech hasn't changed too much to make it incompatible with your mobo?

Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

Bumping this thread because I wanted to check if this build was still relevant for what I wanted to do. Last time I gave the misconception that I'd only be playing MMO, but in reality I am a heavy gamer and in recent time was limited by not having a good PC.

I saw it get suggested recently here, but it was by mfenn again So I'm guessing nothing has changed much.

So in summary will this handle all gaming, even the more demanding titles (current and upcoming) with high settings?

Secondly, I know ATIs high end card is coming, should I wait or will it, combined with mobo and cpu changes push me over my $1000 budget?

Last question is for future expandability. Is it typically a good idea to plan for SLI/Crossfire down the road when we need more performance from an aging video card or to just buy a new single card solution and hope tech hasn't changed too much to make it incompatible with your mobo?

Thanks!

Yes, the build will handle gaming just fine. Things are pretty much the same, just the GTX 470 has moved down a bit. The 6870 is similar price/performance (a bit cheaper and a bit slower).

I wouldn't plan for SLI/CF as an upgrade path. If you want max performance right now, then buying two 6870's right now is a good choice. However, in 18 months, you'll probably not want to be adding in another old news card as an upgrade. A newer, faster single card solution would be all around better.

 

[onikage]

Thanks again mfenn. Any reason why you didn't recommend the EVGA version of the 470? It doesn't seem to be much more and has the lifetime warranty. The superclocked is only $10 more on top of that. Although, I did read people complaining about heat, but they might be a minority.

My 6800 GTX died on me and was under a lifetime warranty from BFG (replaced once before they went out of business) so I carry that worry about dead cards.

 

[betasub]

6800GTX? How old was that? And what kind of replacement might you have been offered?
Also, have you read the thread on EVGA warranty replacements? It's been a very frustrating and repetitive process for some.

 

[onikage]

6800GTX? How old was that? And what kind of replacement might you have been offered?
Also, have you read the thread on EVGA warranty replacements? It's been a very frustrating and repetitive process for some.

I believe I purchased the card when I built a system in 2006. In 2008 the card died and I called BFG support. They issued an RMA number without incident and I was given, I believe (hard to recall), a 7600 GS. The 7600 performed better, but not by a huge margin. This year, the 7600 died and I called BFG, but they said they were going out of business and were no longer offering RMA.

I have not read the EVGA thread. I have only seen opinions here and there in customer reviews and forums that they were easy to deal with. I guess, like anything, it is a stratified experience. I will definitely read the thread though so thanks for the heads up.

 

[betasub]

Glad you got a decent replacement first time round. The main gripe in the EVGA thread is not their helpful customer service (all good there), but the failure rate of the refurb replacements they provide (not living as long as your replacement card, that outlived BFG!).

 

[onikage]

Right. They are sending you old RMAs after all. Gigabyte provides a 3 year which is probably about the length you would want to use the card anyway. Although, their RMA stuff is pretty hidden in there and they do a good job of telling you to go back to the retailer.

I was mainly just referring to the difference, if any, in performance/heat issues/anything, etc with the two card brands.

It's called being gun shy haha.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks again mfenn. Any reason why you didn't recommend the EVGA version of the 470? It doesn't seem to be much more and has the lifetime warranty. The superclocked is only $10 more on top of that. Although, I did read people complaining about heat, but they might be a minority.

I recommend the cheapest card. Pretty much all GPUs come with a >2 year warranty, which is nearly the useful life of the card anyway.

IMHO, EVGA is really just riding their brand name right now. They charge more for the same thing because they can. I'd rather get a replacement card that works from Gigabyte than get stuck in EVGA's RMA treadmill from hell.