Rebuild of gaming system looking for higher end setup

[CVSiN]

been looking around and decided I dont really want to wait for SB and would rather just go I7 or I5 and maybe a SLI 460 setup and possible try out the 3rd card as a dedicated PhysX card with a GTX 285 I have laying around.

Was looking at Corsairs recent build using Lynnfield 860 CPU, and ASUS P7P55D Deluxe motherboard, and our new 8GB Lynnfield memory kit, the Dominator CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 all in the new D800 case and using the H70 watercooler on the proc.

This is kinda the direction I want to go but want to hear what you guys think.
If there are better ways to spend my cash I'm open for that.


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

Gaming and Media

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

700-1500

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA have Fry's and Microcenter and Directron local

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.

Nvidia and Intel

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

Hard drives already have, optical already have, EVGA GTX 460 SC bought but not installed yet.


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

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

Not big on OCing anything really.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

2x 22 inch LG 2MS monitors max/native resolution

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

within next few weeks.

 

[CVSiN]

http://www.corsair.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=1099104

link to the build.

 

[mfenn]

I'd rather have a GTX 480 than two GTX 460s. I'd probably send them back, especially since the are EVGA Superclocked (code for "way too expensive"). Also, that Corsair "build" solely exists to sell you their highest-priced stuff.

i5 760 $170
GA-P55-USB3 + GTX 480 combo $515 AR
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $147
750TX $90 AR
Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $967 with GPU

If you want to spend a bit more, grab an 850TX, an SLI-capable mobo like the GA-P55A-UD4P and another GTX 480.

 

[fffblackmage]

That Corsair build is kinda lame... I was expecting SLI or xfire in there, considering how expensive all the other components looked.

Anyways, a PSU that has enough PCIe power connectors for three graphics cards is gonna be expensive and then you need to add some more money for a mobo that supports three graphics cards. The GTX460 SLI + GTX285 build doesn't look much better than GTX480 + GTX285.

 

[CVSiN]

I dunno about spending nearly double the cost of 1 card for a single card solution.
half of the benefit of SLI is offloading PhysX to the second card which in some games severely helps.

I prefer EVGA myself and at 230 per card for the 1G SC at Frys they were right in line with all the other brands.
I used to love XFX but they are blacklisted from Nvidia and BFG is gone completely.. I dont trust gigabyte (for vid cards) or alot of other smaller companies.. lots of RMAs and crappy warrantys on cheaper crap.

The case is the main thing that attracted me to that build.
I love the server style drive bays and the cable management solution. although I am semi tempted to get the 159 dollar version which is a little smaller but doesn't have the hot swap drives. I really don't care of the simple style case you posted. (id keep the one I have now over that one.) Now if there are any other company out there with the same style cable management as the Corsairs as well as the superior cooling capabilities and drive setups then post away.

I normally use OCZ, Kingston, or Corsair top end ram when I build.
my current system has the older Dominator DDR2 in it and I loved it. I'm not sold on bargain ram like Gskill. especially when building with certain companies mother boards.

Now that board you listed is Crossfire I needed a SLI board. any reason over the well reviewed ASUS they used?

The chip as well I thought most people liked the i5 750 is the 760 a better chip? its alot less than the 750.

the Corsair PS you posted I like but its hard wired instead of modular.. another huge negative for a clean install.

 

[CVSiN]

That Corsair build is kinda lame... I was expecting SLI or xfire in there, considering how expensive all the other components looked.

Anyways, a PSU that has enough PCIe power connectors for three graphics cards is gonna be expensive and then you need to add some more money for a mobo that supports three graphics cards. The GTX460 SLI + GTX285 build doesn't look much better than GTX480 + GTX285.

Hmm yeh thats why I was looking at the 850 or the 1000 corsair PS.
I guess maybe the 480/285 build may work just as well..

The board they used on the build was SLI capable though. they just only did a single AMD card =/

 

[mfenn]

I dunno about spending nearly double the cost of 1 card for a single card solution.
half of the benefit of SLI is offloading PhysX to the second card which in some games severely helps.

I think you're a little misinformed. If the second card were handling PhysX in addition to graphics duties, you'd get microstutter like crazy. Not good.

I prefer EVGA myself and at 230 per card for the 1G SC at Frys they were right in line with all the other brands.
I used to love XFX but they are blacklisted from Nvidia and BFG is gone completely.. I dont trust gigabyte (for vid cards) or alot of other smaller companies.. lots of RMAs and crappy warrantys on cheaper crap.

$230 is way too much to be spending on a GTX 460 1GB. You can get them for $200 any day of the week. And last I checked, Gigabyte isn't exactly some fly by night outfit. 😀

The case is the main thing that attracted me to that build.
I love the server style drive bays and the cable management solution. although I am semi tempted to get the 159 dollar version which is a little smaller but doesn't have the hot swap drives. I really don't care of the simple style case you posted. (id keep the one I have now over that one.) Now if there are any other company out there with the same style cable management as the Corsairs as well as the superior cooling capabilities and drive setups then post away.

Fair enough, though it'd be nice if you listed your current case. That would help us out a lot when determining what you be an upgrade. Anyway, look into the Antec P183. You can route cables behind the mobo tray and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than an 800D. (Then again, pretty much any case is).

I normally use OCZ, Kingston, or Corsair top end ram when I build.
my current system has the older Dominator DDR2 in it and I loved it. I'm not sold on bargain ram like Gskill. especially when building with certain companies mother boards.

"Top-end" RAM is a waste of money. Always has been, always will be. G.Skill is by no means "bargain ram". It's pretty much the gold standard for bang for buck. I am detecting that your knowledge is a bit out of date, especially since you mention "OCZ" and "compatibility" in the same sentence.

Now that board you listed is Crossfire I needed a SLI board. any reason over the well reviewed ASUS they used?

If you notice, I also recommended you get a single-card solution. The ASUS board is just a waste.

The chip as well I thought most people liked the i5 750 is the 760 a better chip? its alot less than the 750.

Huh? The 760 is the replacement for the 750. Same thing, just at a higher clock.

the Corsair PS you posted I like but its hard wired instead of modular.. another huge negative for a clean install.

What's the point of a modular PSU in a high-end build? You're going to end up using most every connector anyway.

 

[CVSiN]

PhysX and SLI right from Nvidia.com FAQ

When two, three, or four matched GPUs are working in SLI, PhysX runs on one GPU, while graphics rendering runs on all GPUs. The NVIDIA drivers optimize the available resources across all GPUs to balance PhysX computation and graphics rendering. Therefore users can expect much higher frame rates and a better overall experience with SLI.

A new configuration that’s now possible with PhysX is 2 non-matched (heterogeneous) GPUs. In this configuration, one GPU renders graphics (typically the more powerful GPU) while the second GPU is completely dedicated to PhysX. By offloading PhysX to a dedicated GPU, users will experience smoother gaming.

Finally we can put the above two configurations all into 1 PC! This would be SLI plus a dedicated PhysX GPU. Similarly to the 2 heterogeneous GPU case, graphics rendering takes place in the GPUs now connected in SLI while the non-matched GPU is dedicated to PhysX computation.

Why is the ASUS board at 160 bucks a waste?
My current case is a 7 year old Aluminum Lian Li needs to be replaced but I'm looking for a high end case. I will check the other case you listed.
We use Coolermasters and Antecs high ends at work and I'm not crazy about the designs.

Yes maybe my views are a tad old school but I tend to be a creature of habit as well..

with the Corsair case and the drive setup you only use 1 drive pig tail for all of them.

 

[crucibelle]

If there are better ways to spend my cash I'm open for that.

I'm beginning to wonder about that. You are receiving some excellent advice here, but you appear to be disregarding it all.

Yes maybe my views are a tad old school but I tend to be a creature of habit as well..

There's a difference between 'old school' and 'out of date'. Old school is cool, IMO. Out of date means that you are likely to make not-so-great decisions based on antiquated information.

That said, it is your money.

Good luck with your build... I must admit I like that Corsair case. If I had the money & the space for it, I might be inclined to buy it for myself. 🙂

 

[mfenn]

PhysX and SLI right from Nvidia.com FAQ

When two, three, or four matched GPUs are working in SLI, PhysX runs on one GPU, while graphics rendering runs on all GPUs. The NVIDIA drivers optimize the available resources across all GPUs to balance PhysX computation and graphics rendering. Therefore users can expect much higher frame rates and a better overall experience with SLI.

I think I worded my initial response poorly. What I was trying to get at was that you should not use GPU-accelerated PhysX on cards that are rendering in SLI, even though it is technically possible.

SLI (and Crossfire for that matter) use AFR (alternate frame rendering) for most every new game (SFR or split frame rendering is just too complicated for most games). In AFR, each card renders successive frames in a round-robin fashion. The downside to AFR is that the cards must be perfectly synchronized in order to avoid microstutter. If you enable GPU-accelerated PhysX on one of those cards, suddenly the drivers have to work really hard to keep everything synchronized and they make small mistakes (ask a computer scientist, process scheduling is hard!) which are perceived as microstutter.

As for your other responses: it's your money, spend it how you want to. IMHO every $40 here and $50 there adds up. I've identified a less expensive config that has very similar performance. It's up to you whether or not you want to buy it.

 

[CVSiN]

I'm beginning to wonder about that. You are receiving some excellent advice here, but you appear to be disregarding it all.



There's a difference between 'old school' and 'out of date'. Old school is cool, IMO. Out of date means that you are likely to make not-so-great decisions based on antiquated information.

That said, it is your money.

Good luck with your build... I must admit I like that Corsair case. If I had the money & the space for it, I might be inclined to buy it for myself. 🙂

I laid out what I wanted and was looking for options along those lines.
I for sure want a SLI supported board and listed the reasons as such I wanted it.
for people to suggest a crossfire board when I already said I'm committed to Nvidia just doesn't make sense.

I am listening and adjusting my build accordingly.
I already switched to the i5 760 from his suggestion.

The main reason I posted was not to lower the price of my build,
But rather to see if anyone any better suggestions along the same lines on the parts in that build..
IE "that particular board is known for bugs or failures try this one instead"

I do appreciate the advice but am looking for very focused advice.

 

[mfenn]

I laid out what I wanted and was looking for options along those lines.
I for sure want a SLI supported board and listed the reasons as such I wanted it.

I guess we were both replying at the same time. I know how SLI works, read my reply above.

for people to suggest a crossfire board when I already said I'm committed to Nvidia just doesn't make sense.

Yes, the GA-P55-USB3 is technically Crossfire-capable.
No, I did not recommend that you use the Crossfire capabilities. Let me quote my second reply "If you notice, I also recommended you get a single-card solution.". Let me reiterate: I am not suggesting that you Crossfire with the GA-P55-USB3, I am suggesting that you get a single GTX 480 instead of SLI GTX 460s.

The reason that the GA-P55-USB3 is "Crossfire capable" (albeit in a crappy x16/x4 config) is because AMD doesn't charge licensing fees for Crossfire, so every mobo manufacturer lists their boards that have more than one physical x16 slot as "Crossfire capable".

 

[Sp12]

You are receiving some excellent advice here

I'd just like to reemphasize that point there.

 

[solofly]

I'd rather have a GTX 480 than two GTX 460s.

Not me...🙂

 

[CVSiN]

I guess we were both replying at the same time. I know how SLI works, read my reply above.



Yes, the GA-P55-USB3 is technically Crossfire-capable.
No, I did not recommend that you use the Crossfire capabilities. Let me quote my second reply "If you notice, I also recommended you get a single-card solution.". Let me reiterate: I am not suggesting that you Crossfire with the GA-P55-USB3, I am suggesting that you get a single GTX 480 instead of SLI GTX 460s.

The reason that the GA-P55-USB3 is "Crossfire capable" (albeit in a crappy x16/x4 config) is because AMD doesn't charge licensing fees for Crossfire, so every mobo manufacturer lists their boards that have more than one physical x16 slot as "Crossfire capable".

I do understand the licensing deal.. but that doesnt change the fact I asked for advice on a SLI MB and setup..

 

[MisterDonut]

Funny thread: OCZ, top-end....classic 😀.

For real though, OP, you should take everybody's advice. When everyone is telling you the same thing, there's a reason why...but it's your build. If you have money to blow away like that, by all means...

 

[Disorient]

If you really want to game at max rez on a dual monitor setup, the single 480 is the way to go. The dual superclocked 1GB 460's will run quieter and not need as much power though. Should be easier to keep them cool too. The performance difference isn't much until you get up around the 2880x900 or 3360x1080 resolutions. Some games will actually perform better on the SLI 460's at 1920x1080. Honestly I don't think there is a bad decision to make here. Both setups are terrific.

EDIT: 2 768MB 460's are as good as a single 480 on most resolutions. 2 1GB 460's are on average 16-20% better performing than a single 480 and actually perform better at the extremely high end resolutions.

 

[mfenn]

If you really want to game at max rez on a dual monitor setup, the single 480 is the way to go. The dual superclocked 1GB 460's will run quieter and not need as much power though. Should be easier to keep them cool too. The performance difference isn't much until you get up around the 2880x900 or 3360x1080 resolutions. Some games will actually perform better on the SLI 460's at 1920x1080. Honestly I don't think there is a bad decision to make here. Both setups are terrific.

EDIT: 2 768MB 460's are as good as a single 480 on most resolutions. 2 1GB 460's are on average 16-20% better performing than a single 480 and actually perform better at the extremely high end resolutions.

The problem is that in most mobo's the top 460 gets smothered by the bottom one, making it very hot and loud.

 

[CVSiN]

If you really want to game at max rez on a dual monitor setup, the single 480 is the way to go. The dual superclocked 1GB 460's will run quieter and not need as much power though. Should be easier to keep them cool too. The performance difference isn't much until you get up around the 2880x900 or 3360x1080 resolutions. Some games will actually perform better on the SLI 460's at 1920x1080. Honestly I don't think there is a bad decision to make here. Both setups are terrific.

EDIT: 2 768MB 460's are as good as a single 480 on most resolutions. 2 1GB 460's are on average 16-20% better performing than a single 480 and actually perform better at the extremely high end resolutions.

thats what I was thinking as well.. 2x 1gig 460s..

I'm really not worried about extra noise or power consumption.
Im interested in performance across the board.

guess people aren't interested in offering SLI advice just stuck on single card solutions. which I am clearly not interested in.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Aren't 470's around $250-260 now? That'd be a very powerful SLI setup for the money.

 

[Disorient]

Aren't 470's around $250-260 now? That'd be a very powerful SLI setup for the money.

The 460's might be a little tough keeping cool. I wouldn't try SLI 470's without some water cooling. Unless you want to upgrade to a 4 slot motherboard so you can have the two empty slots between them. Cost difference between water cooling and 4 slot motherboard is about even....

 

[Davidh373]

guess people aren't interested in offering SLI advice just stuck on single card solutions. which I am clearly not interested in.

There is absolutely NO benefit in SLI 460 over the 480. The graphics data is mirrored between both Graphics cards and while the computing is split, it will always run into ram shortages. A 480 will be much better. The only way I would ever use SLI in a rig is if it was 2 high end cards that could not be equaled by a single card (AKA 2 470s/480s)

PhysX, while wasting power for the second GPU will only give you like 2% performance increase, it's old news, and it's outdated imo.

SLI is brilliant from a business standpoint, because it's selling you a card you don't need, but laughable from a price/ performance standpoint.

You asked for advice on a build, and you chose to ignore the many wonderful people giving advice. You can't be angry about that.

benefits of Single card

easier to keep cool

Less frequent frame stuttering

options of using that 285 for PhysX and still getting performance benefit.

lesser power load

less expensive (especially since you seem stubborn enough to keep those Superclocked)

you'll look less like you're covering up deuchy personallity defects or small penis size.

Benefits to dual card

You get to brag that you have one of the most energy inefficient computers on this earth.

You get to have a few extra frames (~64 vs. 60, example of a modern game, which are both indistinguishable from 30 in most games)

You get to brag that your machine is more powerful than most industry professional computers.

I hope you see the light man, I really do, but I'm rather tired of putting time into giving great advice along with many others and because of a person's ego/ attitude/ "knowledge" getting ignored.

 

[Sp12]

It's not quite that coarse, but in most cases SLI is a lot of additional hassle compared with a single-strong GPU.

If possible I would wait ~3 days for the ATI 6870s to launch.

 

[jchu14]

There is absolutely NO benefit in SLI 460 over the 480. The graphics data is mirrored between both Graphics cards and while the computing is split, it will always run into ram shortages. A 480 will be much better. The only way I would ever use SLI in a rig is if it was 2 high end cards that could not be equaled by a single card (AKA 2 470s/480s) ...
.

You have some very good points, but it's not that cut and dry. SLI GTX 460 can give you very good bang for the buck if you can accept its limitations/drawbacks. You can get a pair of ZOTAC GTX 460 768mb card for $273 after rebate. That's gtx 480 level performance in many cases for $150 less.

 

[fffblackmage]

You have some very good points, but it's not that cut and dry. SLI GTX 460 can give you very good bang for the buck if you can accept its limitations/drawbacks. You can get a pair of ZOTAC GTX 460 768mb card for $273 after rebate. That's gtx 480 level performance in many cases for $150 less.

Even after adding the additional cost of SLI mobo and power supply with at least 4 PCIe power connectors, you do get an advantage with performance (for GTX460 1GB though), despite the drawbacks of SLI.

I still don't think it's worth it though. The performance of GTX460 1GB SLI is a bit too close to the GTX480, which would have no problems.

Those GTX460 768MB you posted aren't going to cut it. They seriously lag behind once you go above 1080p. You wouldn't be gaming on a cheap 1080p display if you're going to spend that much on a high-end build would you?

The only way I would ever use SLI in a rig is if it was 2 high end cards that could not be equaled by a single card (AKA 2 470s/480s)

+1
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.