Brashen's Dream Machine Project!!

B

Brashen

Gawd
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
695
UPDATE


Now that Nehalem has shown itself to be an acceptable expense it is time to remedy my earlier post with more suitable info.


These threads usually start off with some sap reciting an anecdote that was well
rehearsed the night before in preparation of receiving your advice. As for me .....Well it's been a month and 19 days to the day that I joined these heavenly halls of wisdom, these fountains of information, these.......ahhh let's get to it.

The Case:
Lian Li's own Godly amalgamation of aluminum that makes my eyes water every time I look at it. The Indomitable Tyr PC-X2000. ACQUIRED

The Processor:
Everyone knows this baby and hopefully it will live up to the hype and the flimsy benchmarking they put it through. Intel's Core i7 EE. Purchase ETA Christmas.

The Motherboard:
As there are relatively few previews out there I will leave judgment till later. But it will undoubtedly be whatever Asus spews out from it's factory doors.As of yet undecided waiting for practical reviews.

The Graphics Card:
This is also a highly speculative choice. On one hand I really am partial to Nvidia. But seeing as rumours say that it will be till Q1 of 2009 until a proper NextGen Nvidia card is let loose upon the world I will probably stick it out with my 8800GTX and then go Sli with that. But who knows I might go Ati. Going with 4870 x2 due to 30 inch display.

The Ram:
Well as I'm a graphics artist (Digital Painter) and since the new Potoshop CS4 will be 64 bit (Thank God), 8gb is the range I'm going for here. Now the speeds will depend on how well they work with the new processors so we'll also have to see about that (correct me if I'm wrong here). As for the companies Corsair or OZC. Which ever!! As of yet undecided might go for 12gb

The Hard Drives:
I've all ready set my mind on 1xWD Velociraptor (The ones with the new controllers) 2xWD 1TB Black Caviars and maybe a 1TB external for extra backup. Aquired modified setup: 1 300GB WD Velociraptor and 3X 1TB drives. I Black 2 Green

Display : NEC LCD3090WQXI.


This list will be updated with more items,links and pictures as time passes and things are bought.

Thank you for looking and if you have any suggestions feel free to share them.
 
Ok just want to make sure of this: You do know that you will be spending $1000 on that Extreme Edition Core i7? And that no Extreme Edition CPU has ever lived up to it's $1000 price tag?
 
Well yes I'm very well aware that Ill probably be spending an insane amount of cash but I'm also not stupid. That's why I'm going to wait for reviews.

@Cmustang87: Whats your problem?
 
I put delete in there for my post, not yours... lol I posted something then realized what I said was going to sidetrack the thread. So I'm just asking for an admin to delete the post :p

Sorry if it looked like I was bashing your first post heh.
 
My suggestion: Wait until the Core i7 parts arrive (some time within the next quarter), and then revisit this thread.

Since there's nothing out right now (specifically, processors and motherboards), I think you're jumping the gun a bit early on the planning of this build.
 
my suggestion is..... COme back when you are ready to build. This thread is useless till the stuff comes out and you are ready to buy.... Thats all.
 
Brashen said:
Well yes I'm very well aware that Ill probably be spending an insane amount of cash but I'm also not stupid. That's why I'm going to wait for reviews.
Click to expand...

Historically, Intel's Extreme Edition line of processors have always been bad, overpriced choices. While their main appeals are Hyper Threading and an unlocked multiplier, most of the processors from the same product line could reach the same thresholds. And, in time (usually 6-12 months later), there will be newer, cheaper processors that would beat out the Extreme Edition processors.

However, I've heard that Intel was reportedly going to limit the overclocking potential of all of the (non-EE) Core i7 processors. But until they arrive, and reviews are done on them, I can't be 100% certain.
 
As others have said, you won't get any good advice until the parts have landed. Put this dream machine on hold and then revisit once Core i7 and the first batch of X58 boards have been thoroughly reviewed.

Also, as Tiraides alluded to, OCing a Core i7 may well be a whole new ballgame. The new architecture basically does away with the FSB, which is what so many have relied upon to get non Core 2 EE chips up to such great heights. Even if the non-EE Core i7 chips have potential, we won't know how much, or even what it will take to utilize that potential (i.e. what the math will look like) until the chip is here and in the hands of enthusiasts.
 
Thank you guys for the great advice. Like I said before this will be updated as parts start showing up reviewed, accepted, and bought (With all your blessings of course!!)

@Cmustang87: Ahh no worries mate i thought I was in the wrong for a moment there!!

@tiraides: You will have to forgive me for jumping to quick on this thread. I'm just really excited is all!! But thank you for the sound advice!!

@Rydawg5143: You're absolutely right mate, that's what I was planning to do but I love to plan ahead on purchases and since this would be the first time I'm going all out on a PC I'm doubly excited.

@Markyip1: Thanks dude I am going to wait obviously and I wont jump the gun on any purchases until everything is thoroughly studied!! But I do hope that Intel surprises us all with these cpus!!
 
I have actually had experience with the Core i7 and an X58 motherboard. Here are my suggestions for you.

Mobo: Currently the Asus, Gigabyte, and eVGA mobos all look like winners. They all look like top overclockers and the Asus model is even available now for sale. Prices of the other two are uncertain at this time.

Processor: I have used the EE Core i7, and overclocking is different. The new base frequency is now 133 MHz and the stock multiplier is around 24-25. You can set the mutliplier based on how many cores are used (1 core 30x, 2 cores 28x, 3 cores 27x, 4 cores 26x). I was only able to acheive an OC of 3.7 GHz, but I was limited by the stock heatsink. No aftermarket ones were available.

Memory: Wait to purchase this. You will need memory that can run at 1.65 V and below. I think my limitation of OC was due to the normal DDR3 memory I was using. However, memory speeds are as high as 18,000 MB/s. That is about double to triple what normally happens with DDR2 and DDR3. Finally DDR3 memory can be fully utilized.

Cooling: Noctua currently offers a special where if you buy their CPU cooler and an X58 board or Core i7 processor, they will ship you a 1360 mounting kit for free. The case will probably prevent this, but if you do liquid, here is a great company for 1360 mounting waterblocks. http://www.aqua-computer.de/e_index.htm

They are currently the first to offer Core i7 cpu waterblocks and they look sexy too.

Currently, all the motherboards I listed above support both CrossFire and SLI.

In 3DMark 06 using 2x 4870X2s, I was able to reach around 24,500. That was at 3.7 GHz and stock VGA. A system next to me with a QX9770 at 4.5 GHz and same VGA setup was able to reach 26,500.

I think in 3DMark vantage, the HT would have made a difference and would have beaten the Core system. However, there is almost no gain in in gaming performance between Core 2 Quad and Core i7. The differences in performance lies in apps, mutli-tasking, and CPU intensive enviroments.
 
Hey antecuser,

Thank you very much for the advice I will definitely put it to good use.
For the Mobo I might be going with Asus (either the the P6 or the Rampage II) MSI looks like another winner if you haven't seen their previews yet.

I'm choosing the processor due to the programs I'm using. PS, ZBrush, 3Ds Max.....Games will be taking second priority for me but are an important factor in my equation.

As you say I will wait for some reviews on the memory.

Yes I read the review of their latest on bit-tech. Tho that thing is huge. We'll see what the other companies will bring. As for water cooling i don't know yet if i want to take that rout. The PC-X2000 wont fit any substantial internal radiators so if i do opt for WC I'll have to go for an external setup. Unless I mod the internal and Take out the front fans.....but that is very unlikely.

As for the Graphics Card I'm only getting one because I intend to upgrade to either Sli or Crossfire come July. I'm hoping by that time a certain company will unleash a certain card that will allow for 100% linear performance with multiple card setups.

Thanks again mate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top