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New Computer Questions / Suggestions

J

jrphoenix

Golden Member
First post in a while. I have my own business now so, not much time to rebuild a new system (built the one I'm using now, built way back in June 2004). After reading the review Anandtech did on cyberpower pc, I'm going to puchase a new system. Questions below:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
General purpose, quickbooks for business, gaming (wife games Sims 2 & soon Sims 3). I will be gaming Crysis (never played yet) Crysis war head & The entire total war series.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
I would like to keep it under $3,000, closer to $2,500 preferable.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
United State (cyberpower pc)
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, etc, etc, you get the picture.
I will ultimately go with the best.... I prefer AMD / ATI.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
My sound system... keyboard... Monitor (maybe... I have a Samsung 213T 1600 x 1200) will probably need a newer monitor?
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
No
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Yes, I understand AMD is slower that Intel I7... If I stay with them I will need to overclock a great deal, plan on getting water cooling.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
This week or next week buy?

Now that the formalities are answered. I do have some questions. I was planning on getting a system like the one pasted below:

Questions:

1. Is there anything coming out from AMD / Intel soon?
2. If I were to get the 940 to overclock to 4+ GHz would that be enough for the 2 4870X2 cards?
3. If I buy a new monitor and plan on keeping this system for 4 years... do I need 2 4870X2 cards?
4. My current monitor is only 1600 x 1200... what size and resolution would you recommend?
5. Any suggestions from the cyberpower pc configurator would be appreciated!

# ASE: CoolerMaster Cosmos S Gaming Full Tower 420W Case w/ Transparent Side Panel
# POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: 750 Watts Power Supplies (**Recommended** Thermaltake ToughPower 750W - Quad SLI Ready)
# CPU: AMD Phenom?II X4 940 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
# COOLING FAN : CoolIT Domino A.L.C. Advanced Liquid Cooling System for CPUs with Intuitive & Easily Accessible User Controls & Display
# MOTHERBOARD: Asus M4A79 Deluxe 790FX CrossFire Chipset with Quad PCIE slot DDR2 SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394, & 7.1Audio
# MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader)
# VIDEO CARD 1: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB DDR5 PCI-Express Dual DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
# VIDEO CARD 2: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB DDR5 PCI-Express Dual DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
# HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (1.5TB (1.5TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
# Data Hard Drive: 1.5TB (1.5TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
# Optical Drive: LG 20X Double Layer DVD+-RW Super Allwrite + Lightscribe Technology (Black Color)
# Optical Drive 2: Sony Optiarc BC-5100S 5X Blu-Ray Player & DVDRW Combo Drive (Black Color)
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
# Extra Thermal Display : Xion XON-MTR002B Color LCD Thermal Control Panel Display
# FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE (BLACK COLOR)
# OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista? Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
 
Originally posted by: jrphoenix

Questions:

1. Is there anything coming out from AMD / Intel soon?
2. If I were to get the 940 to overclock to 4+ GHz would that be enough for the 2 4870X2 cards?
3. If I buy a new monitor and plan on keeping this system for 4 years... do I need 2 4870X2 cards?
4. My current monitor is only 1600 x 1200... what size and resolution would you recommend?
5. Any suggestions from the cyberpower pc configurator would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

1. The Core i5 is coming out from Intel (haven't heard much about it), AMD's answer I'm uncertain. Haven't had much exposure with Phenom II (a friend has a Core i7 rig).

2. I would imagine that with a processor that can process 8 threads at once, 2x 4870x2 cards should not be a problem. At 4GHz you probably wouldn't have any noticeable issues (but I wouldn't know since I don't use x2 cards or overclock well over stock speeds).

3. Eh, Considering how very few games really, REALLY utilize SLI/Crossfire (beyond 2 cards) I doubt you will have to go with more than one card. Then again in 4 years who knows what generation of cards (or technical specifications) we'll be in.

4. With a rig like that a 20-22" monitor supporting a 1680x1050 resolution should be bare minimum. You can probably get away with a 24" monitor at 1920x1080 resolution (with "eye candy" graphical effects turned on).

5. Personally I wouldn't build a computer through a PC vendor (I like to control what goes into my build), but in your case I would go for parts that you will ACTUALLY use. A 1.44MB floppy drive is probably not on the top of your commonly used items. Another item I noticed is the "CoolIT ... Liquid Cooling System" for the CPU cooler.

I personally wouldn't recommend it, unless you want liquid cooling but don't want to spend on a custom built (i.e. you selected the parts) water-cooling system. I would suggest going with a very good aftermarket air cooler (like a Xigmatek, Arctic Cooler, any highly recommended air cooler on Newegg). From what I have seen the performance for that cooler is not as impressive as you may expect. Plus it'll say you some money from the overall build.

Hope that helps.
 
Originally posted by: somethingsketchy
Originally posted by: jrphoenix

Questions:

1. Is there anything coming out from AMD / Intel soon?
2. If I were to get the 940 to overclock to 4+ GHz would that be enough for the 2 4870X2 cards?
3. If I buy a new monitor and plan on keeping this system for 4 years... do I need 2 4870X2 cards?
4. My current monitor is only 1600 x 1200... what size and resolution would you recommend?
5. Any suggestions from the cyberpower pc configurator would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

1. The Core i5 is coming out from Intel (haven't heard much about it), AMD's answer I'm uncertain. Haven't had much exposure with Phenom II (a friend has a Core i7 rig).

2. I would imagine that with a processor that can process 8 threads at once, 2x 4870x2 cards should not be a problem. At 4GHz you probably wouldn't have any noticeable issues (but I wouldn't know since I don't use x2 cards or overclock well over stock speeds).

3. Eh, Considering how very few games really, REALLY utilize SLI/Crossfire (beyond 2 cards) I doubt you will have to go with more than one card. Then again in 4 years who knows what generation of cards (or technical specifications) we'll be in.

4. With a rig like that a 20-22" monitor supporting a 1680x1050 resolution should be bare minimum. You can probably get away with a 24" monitor at 1920x1080 resolution (with "eye candy" graphical effects turned on).

5. Personally I wouldn't build a computer through a PC vendor (I like to control what goes into my build), but in your case I would go for parts that you will ACTUALLY use. A 1.44MB floppy drive is probably not on the top of your commonly used items. Another item I noticed is the "CoolIT ... Liquid Cooling System" for the CPU cooler.

I personally wouldn't recommend it, unless you want liquid cooling but don't want to spend on a custom built (i.e. you selected the parts) water-cooling system. I would suggest going with a very good aftermarket air cooler (like a Xigmatek, Arctic Cooler, any highly recommended air cooler on Newegg). From what I have seen the performance for that cooler is not as impressive as you may expect. Plus it'll say you some money from the overall build.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...


Any idea when the core I5 will be coming? Is this a performance part?

If I did only go with one 4870X2 I could use the other money towards a new 1900 X 1080 monitor. My current one is nice but, can have slight ghosting. Hell, it's 6 or 7 years old.. when I bought it back then it was $1,200.

I was only going to go with water cooling to guarantee a good overclock with the AMD chip.

Thank you for the suggestions.

I was tempted to build again but, my wife suggested against it 🙂 Last time I spent a weekend trying to work out all the "gotcha's" I ran across. Much cursing later, it was built... 😛
 
Originally posted by: somethingsketchy
The best I could come up with information for the Core i5:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_i5
http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...intel-core-benchmarked

I am not sure what exactly is different from the i7, but I'm guessing the i5 is mostly to put processors into more computers (i.e. making the price low so more people will install them, beats me).

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks... I guess that chip is a little too far out to wait for (3rd or 4th quarter). Currently I guess the best chips are the i7's... I may stick with AMD though?
 
Originally posted by: jrphoenix
Originally posted by: somethingsketchy
The best I could come up with information for the Core i5:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_i5
http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...intel-core-benchmarked

I am not sure what exactly is different from the i7, but I'm guessing the i5 is mostly to put processors into more computers (i.e. making the price low so more people will install them, beats me).

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks... I guess that chip is a little too far out to wait for (3rd or 4th quarter). Currently I guess the best chips are the i7's... I may stick with AMD though?
Click to expand...

Quad core processor, quad graphics, 4GB RAM?

I know that 4GB RAM is a good place, a good amount, but if you are dropping that much coin on a system, might as well go for 8GB.

Quad graphics... I know what games you are saying you want to play, but jeebus, that seems like a massive overkill to me, especially if you are on a single 22" monitor. A 30" monitor would actually justify that amount of GPU power, especially if you, you know... had like 2-3 of them.

I realize the importance of 'future-proofing' a system, but I honestly think that you are better off leaving yourself some more avenues of upgrading. Get 1 card but a board that supports 2 so that if you determine that you need the added oomph down the road, you can provide it. Expandability is important and something that I didn't fully consider when i built my most recent system. It is a little short on SATA ports and only has the 1 x16 slot.

So, keep the CPU, double the RAM maybe, and I honestly think you should drop one of the graphics cards. Divert the money toward a larger monitor that would actually make the dual (really, dual?) bluray drives worthwhile. It starts to feel like you are almost adding things to the list solely for the purpose of spending money.
 
Hey there

I bought a top of the line computer from cyberpower.com I believe 2-3 years ago. I spent A LOT of dough on the rig, and it really did suck. I used it just to play counter-strike 1.6 and I can remember anytime a smoke grenade was on the floor a horrible lag would happen every time. The computer also had memory problems as well and was as loud as a jet plane. When you open it up you can tell they put really cheap stuff in it; espicially when it came to the graphics card. It was probably the biggest mistake I made regarding a computer purchase. Not to mention when I first got it, it wouldn't boot and I had to ship it back and wait for a new one and I had to pay for the shipping.
 
Originally posted by: TheStu
Originally posted by: jrphoenix
Originally posted by: somethingsketchy
The best I could come up with information for the Core i5:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_i5
http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...intel-core-benchmarked

I am not sure what exactly is different from the i7, but I'm guessing the i5 is mostly to put processors into more computers (i.e. making the price low so more people will install them, beats me).

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks... I guess that chip is a little too far out to wait for (3rd or 4th quarter). Currently I guess the best chips are the i7's... I may stick with AMD though?
Click to expand...

Quad core processor, quad graphics, 4GB RAM?

I know that 4GB RAM is a good place, a good amount, but if you are dropping that much coin on a system, might as well go for 8GB.

Quad graphics... I know what games you are saying you want to play, but jeebus, that seems like a massive overkill to me, especially if you are on a single 22" monitor. A 30" monitor would actually justify that amount of GPU power, especially if you, you know... had like 2-3 of them.

I realize the importance of 'future-proofing' a system, but I honestly think that you are better off leaving yourself some more avenues of upgrading. Get 1 card but a board that supports 2 so that if you determine that you need the added oomph down the road, you can provide it. Expandability is important and something that I didn't fully consider when i built my most recent system. It is a little short on SATA ports and only has the 1 x16 slot.

So, keep the CPU, double the RAM maybe, and I honestly think you should drop one of the graphics cards. Divert the money toward a larger monitor that would actually make the dual (really, dual?) bluray drives worthwhile. It starts to feel like you are almost adding things to the list solely for the purpose of spending money.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't want to go to crazy. I'll back down to 1 4870 x2 or 2 4890's and use the extra case on a new monitor. I'll also double the ram. Is there any sense in going from DDR 800 to DDR 1066 for the Phenom 2?
 
Originally posted by: damage424
Hey there

I bought a top of the line computer from cyberpower.com I believe 2-3 years ago. I spent A LOT of dough on the rig, and it really did suck. I used it just to play counter-strike 1.6 and I can remember anytime a smoke grenade was on the floor a horrible lag would happen every time. The computer also had memory problems as well and was as loud as a jet plane. When you open it up you can tell they put really cheap stuff in it; espicially when it came to the graphics card. It was probably the biggest mistake I made regarding a computer purchase. Not to mention when I first got it, it wouldn't boot and I had to ship it back and wait for a new one and I had to pay for the shipping.
Click to expand...

Wow... I was going based off the anandtech system review. What builder would you recommend. I can build a system but, I honestly don't like too (frustrated over the gotchas) and it takes up most of my weekend when time is precious.
 
I believe Ibuypower is anands new baby (and firingsquad's as well). Their prices are pretty good if you look into it though, most of their gaming setups are within 95% of newegg price and sometimes you get more for your money with their seasonal cashback or freebie deals.
 
Originally posted by: Astrallite
I believe Ibuypower is anands new baby (and firingsquad's as well). Their prices are pretty good if you look into it though, most of their gaming setups are within 95% of newegg price and sometimes you get more for your money with their seasonal cashback or freebie deals.
Click to expand...

I'll check it out today. I'm definitely excited to overhaul this 5 year old computer I'm using.

They're actually priced below retail which seems amazing!
 
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