New Build-Waiting on IVB

[RandL]

I am planning a new build, have been since November. Then I heard the Intel Ivy Bridge would be coming out first quarter of 2012. I am not a gamer but need a fast machine that can acquire and display data very fast onto 4 screens.

I am planning on a Core i5-3570K CPU running with G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Memory (8GB). This is 240 pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600. Both of these will be on an ASUS P68Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Socket MOB (unless the new ones are competitive and better).

Will the Low Voltage memory work with the new CPU?

The other 2 key items of my build are the GPUs - (2) EVGA GTX460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit (ready SLI); and, Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

Besides the question on the low voltage memory, I am also asking for the help of the experts in this forum to let me know if the integration of these components will work with speed and make for a reliable rig.

Thanks.

 

[HexiumVII]

I'm waiting for Ivy too. If you look at the prices in Europe, the Z77 chips should be very competitive as reported. You get native USB3.0 mostly. And PCIE 3.0 support, which won't matter much unless you SLI/XFire the newer stuffs.

The LV memory shouldn't really be an issue. The procs always perfer lower voltage anyways.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

the SB and IB prefer 1.5v = lower voltage?

 

[RandL]

I am not sure I understand your post T_Yamamoto. The memory I intend to use is 1.25V. This is my question. 1.5V vs 1.25V - I am assuming the newer CPUs will force the entire system to run cooler and thus be able to use lower voltage (less waste heat).

But, will 1.25V work?

 

[Ken g6]

O/T for this forum, but...why two GTX460s? Is your application GPU-accelerated, so that GTX 460s are better than, say, two 6670s (with GDDR5) or two 6450s (with only GDDR3)? (Or maybe one 6670 for three monitors plus the onboard graphics for one, though I'm not sure you can do that.)

Point is, 2 GTX460s will take much more power than low-voltage memory will save.

 

[SickBeast]

OP do you already have the GTX 460s or are you buying them?

I ask because there are single cards that can drive 4 screens no problem.

 

[RandL]

I am buying the 460s.

 

[SickBeast]

Check out the Asus GTX 560 ti 448 direct cu ii. I think it can drive 4 screens.

 

[RandL]

SickBeast, thanks for the input good suggestion, however, in the review I read at TechPowerUp, they said this: "Display connectivity is two DVI ports, one full size HDMI port and one full size DisplayPort. Due to NVIDIA's architecture you may only use two outputs at the same time."

I give up 3 slots per card and I still need 2 cards.

 

[RandL]

If you guys don't mind me asking, what is the unstated issue with the 460's? Are near obsolescence? will they be the bottle neck of the system? If so, I would ask for suggestions (not AMD - have had BAD experiences with them). Power is not an issue with the rest of the system. I am driving it with a SILVERSTONE Strider Gold ST85F-G 850W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified 100% Modular, Active PFC Power Supply. Which I think may be overkill, however, I want a power supply that runs at near half capacity in order to extend its life.

Having said that, I am also trying to find a balance between power usage and waste heat. The more power the system uses, the more waste heat I have to exhaust and the more fans I need, etc.

 

[SickBeast]

Well, I had GTX 460 SLI and it's not an ideal setup. When it works, it works well and will give you power equivalent to a GTX 580 for far less money. When it doesn't work though, you're stuck using only 1 GPU. Also, when idle, one of the GTX 460s will not power down which will give you really bad power consumption. You will also have more heat and noise to deal with.

I just think that right now there are single cards that will perform about the same as the GTX 460 SLI and you won't have to deal with SLI.

I'm pretty sure most if not all AMD cards will drive 3 displays no problem. You might need an adapter; I've never tried a setup like this so you might need to google it.

Good luck.

 

[Ken g6]

what is the unstated issue with the 460's?

460s are relatively old, but the main issue is that they put out more heat than average for their performance.

The other issue is that I don't expect you to see any benefit from the performance of a GTX 460 over, say, a 6670. I also Googled, and, anecdotally, the onboard graphics can drive one or even two monitors! So unless you need the 3D graphics processing power of a 460 or two, I'd go with one 6670, along with the onboard graphics, and see if that's enough for you.

P.S. A single 6670 won't stress an 850W PSU anywhere near even half capacity. If you don't need the power for a gaming GPU I suggest a less powerful PSU.

 

[SickBeast]

460s are relatively old, but the main issue is that they put out more heat than average for their performance.

The other issue is that I don't expect you to see any benefit from the performance of a GTX 460 over, say, a 6670. I also Googled, and, anecdotally, the onboard graphics can drive one or even two monitors! So unless you need the 3D graphics processing power of a 460 or two, I'd go with one 6670, along with the onboard graphics, and see if that's enough for you.

P.S. A single 6670 won't stress an 850W PSU anywhere near even half capacity. If you don't need the power for a gaming GPU I suggest a less powerful PSU.

Yeah but I don't think that the onboard graphics will allow him to run multiple monitors while gaming.

A 6670 is not quite as fast as a GTX 460. The GTX 460s are actually a pretty good option if he really wants to go with nVidia and use Eyefinity.

 

[RandL]

Thanks for the feedback. How about this choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=1kar89s2riqmo

I can see this card can drive 4 monitors (it comes with the connecting cables to do that).

 

[SickBeast]

If you're not a gamer that would be fine, but you could probably get something cheaper. I saw the AMD 6450's on sale for $15 last week; if you had 2 of them I'm pretty sure that would drive at least 4 monitors.

 

[RandL]

Yes, I am not a gamer, however, I need a system that can take in lots of rushing data and display it near-real time. I don't need 3D or fancy shading. I need to see the Market graphs when the market is moving very fast. my current computer locked up in the crash of May 2011. I can't afford that. I learned at that time that my bottleneck was my CPU. As I said earlier, I am fearful of AMD cards, have NOT had luck with them. I looked into the 6450. A quick review here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385821,00.asp

made me feel like I was going back to the cards I have today - 2 - GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB DDR2; p/n 512-P2-N738-LR.

I also checked out the possibility of using 2 of these cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130625

Thanks for the feedback it's all appreciated.

 

[RandL]

I was wrong above. It was not May 2011 it was May 2010 (times flies I guess). If you want to get an idea of the speed the market can have, watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mC4tu1NhUA

If you get past the first minute (normal market), you will see the real action. You may notice that Ben's computer locked up as well. If I have an order in the Market and my computer locks up at the worst moment, I have Major problems.

This is why I am looking for an integrated system that works well together.

 

[SickBeast]

Hey just out of curiousity couldn't you just use the integrated GPU in the 3570K to drive a couple of displays and then use pretty much any dedicated GPU for the other two?

 

[RandL]

Yes, this (using the iGPU) may be a possibility. The risk to me is: buy 2 in-family graphic cards together? Or buy 1 and if the setup does not work, I am stuck with a card I can't use. I need to learn more about the IVB+MOB. May be I keep on working this, right up to when the market opens for the CPU to make a decision. The IVB CPU will drive a lot of jockeying in the market.

More information is bound to come out between now and then.

 

[PhoenixEnigma]

The 460's are almost certainly overkill unless your programs are actually GPU-accelerated, and it doesn't sound or look like they are. You don't need that much horsepower if it's just pushing 2D business graphics - anything that can drive the monitor at all will do an equal job of it.

If you really, truly want to spend that much on video output, and want something that will be rock solid, maybe look at a pair of entry-level workstation cards? A pair of Quadro NVS 300s will be around the same price, and be quieter and more efficient.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Whatever you do, do NOT enable SLI. SLI introduces GUI lag. At least it does on my main rig, with two GTX460 1GB cards, when crunching with BOINC (CUDA apps).

 

[SickBeast]

I had SLI and I never had input lag issues like that.

OP one thing to think about if you really do care about redundancy is that if you're going to use the integrated GPU to drive a couple of screens, you have a greater chance of a driver issue causing problems for you because you would rely on both Intel and nVidia.

That $100 nVidia card might be a pretty good bet for you actually.

If you want to save $70 or so you could probably use just about any card out there, maybe even the ones you already have.

 

[Don Karnage]

460s were great when they were released now they're old and obsolete.

 

[RandL]

Great discussion and good suggestions. Thank You!
Now I am leaning towards this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162083

I have the option to use either Intel iG's and/or all of my monitors on the card itself, for the same price.

 

[SickBeast]

Yeah OP that card looks good.

I wish I could have found you something cheaper that does the same thing.