Build Advice

[PhantomShadow]

Alright so here's the deal. Currently my computer is having some issues. Got Diablo 3 at midnight, went home to play, tried for an hour and a half to get into the game, and when I finally did my computer blue screens at the character selection screen >> If you'd like to help me figure out what exactly is going wrong I've started another thread here. I feel as though it is the GPU, but that is just a guess.

Current GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

So I was planning on upgrading the PC after I graduate which is about 7 months away now, but with these current issues I feel maybe I should just get it over with.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Big multitasker, dabble in Photoshop, and once I'm done with school I'll be going back to gaming. Currently I am wanting to play Diablo 3, and I want my PC to plow through it without a hitch.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
The most I'd like to spend is $1400 I have included a build I am contemplating, but really want to get some opinions and maybe cheaper alternatives. Getting things around $1100 would be fine by me.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US - Idaho

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, Mobo, GPU, PSU, and an SSD

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case - Cosmos 1000 Black Label Edition
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

This is what else I potentially have to work with, assuming my current GPU is the issue.
CPU - http://ark.intel.com/products/37147...ocessor-(8M-Cache-2_66-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI)
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049R
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171032

6) Will you be overclocking?
I hope to in the future, but I wouldn't be able to give it my all until January :/

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Two 24" monitors at 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Really I just want something solid. I'm sure it'll have what I need, but I will NOT be needing any sort of onboard video.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 64bit

Here are the items I am considering. I realize that a lot of this may be overkill, but I'm kind of a go big or go home type. I can be reasoned with, and just need someone to show me REALISTICALLY what I need. The biggest thing I want is to not have to worry about what I am doing graphically. I want to have D3 running on one screen, and have enough power to destroy it while having a 1080p MKV running on the other monitor, or YouTube, or whatever.

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229&Tpk=3820+Sandy+I7
Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157289
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130751
PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121068
SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...233205&RandomID=45213134502208620120516015126

Let me know if I left anything out, and don't be afraid to call me out on being a noob

 

[Dangman]

Honestly, your current setup is solid enough (except for the RAM) where a new platform really wouldn't provide enough of a performance increase to justify the price. Especially considering that you're not overclocking. I'd keep on troubleshooting that PC.

Besides, even if you were planning on a new build, you wouldn't be able to reuse that RAM since it's rated at 1.65V, well above the max recommended RAM voltage of 1.5V for the newer Intel CPUs. In fact, there were some cases were Intel denied warranty on the i7 920s that were used with 1.65V RAM because, according to Intel, the RAM was damaging the CPU.

 

[PhantomShadow]

Yeah, in my other thread someone pointed me in the direction of the RAM. I'm going to be testing it and see what I come up with. If it does end up being the issue, what would you suggest as a replacement in my old build? Also, any suggestions for a decent Quad Channel set to go with the new build? Not to toss what you said aside. Just want to explore both options still, but if I can do a cheap enough fix now I'll go back to waiting until January to rebuild the whole thing.

 

[Dangman]

Yeah, in my other thread someone pointed me in the direction of the RAM..

That someone was me

I'm going to be testing it and see what I come up with. If it does end up being the issue, what would you suggest as a replacement in my old build? Also, any suggestions for a decent Quad Channel set to go with the new build? Not to toss what you said aside. Just want to explore both options still, but if I can do a cheap enough fix now I'll go back to waiting until January to rebuild the whole thing.

A socket 2011 setup would not be a good choice at all since that CPU performs the same as the i7 2600K or i7 3770K. Not to mention that you would need RAM rated at 1.35V. There's only one 8GB stick rated at 1.35V but it's from an unknown company. As such, you would be limited to 4GB sticks of RAM. So you would basically have the same RAM limitation as socket LGA 1155: 32GB of RAM. So from a RAM and CPU standpoint, no point in going for socket 2011, especially considering the high price of solid socket 2011 motherboards.

For your planned usage, you'll be fine with either Core i5 3570K (if overclocking) or Core i5 3450 (if not overclocking). Motherboard wise, you should be fine with ANY of the following motherboards:
$150 - MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard
$145 - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard
$160 - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard
$173 - MSI Z77A-GD55 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

RAM wise, I recommend this RAM:
$93 - G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9Q-16GBSR 4 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Also, the GTX 580 is an outdated card these days. You're better off with the Nvidia GTX 670. The SSD isn't that great of a choice when a larger and better quality SSD costs $8 more:
$128 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SSD w/ USB to SATA Adapter and Drive Cloning software

Your current PSU, assuming that it isn't at fault, is still enough for your planned setup. No need to get that 1000W PSU unless you're planning triple-SLI/Crossfire.

 

[PhantomShadow]

You are a champion among men my friend

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the SSD, now if I find that the RAM is the culprit I may just go for new RAM and upgrade to an SSD. What RAM would you suggest for my current Mobo?

 

[Dangman]

What RAM would you suggest for my current Mobo?

Probably this:
$65 - Model 999002 3 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

 

[PhantomShadow]

So in your opinion, if I have the 4850 X2 in XFire, switched to that RAM, and upgraded to the SSD do you see any reason I couldn't expect top notch performance from Diablo 3? Because at that point I would really only be out the money for the RAM down the road, and I could hopefully get at least another 8-12 months out of my current set up.

 

[PhantomShadow]

I should possibly clarify that by "top notch" I don't mean every setting set to the max, but decently high settings with little to no worry of things getting choppy.

 

[Dangman]

So in your opinion, if I have the 4850 X2 in XFire, switched to that RAM, and upgraded to the SSD do you see any reason I couldn't expect top notch performance from Diablo 3?

I can see two possible reasons for you to not expect top-notch performance with D3:
1) If your 4850s are the 512MB versions. That's very limited VRAM these days.
2) If AMD's Crossfire drivers for D3 sucks. Or D3's Crossfire support sucks.

If you have the HD 4850 1GB versions and if AMD or Blizzard didn't screw up Crossfire support, you should be ok I think. However I'm not 100% sure as GPU reviews of D3 have not been released yet.

Because at that point I would really only be out the money for the RAM down the road, and I could hopefully get at least another 8-12 months out of my current set up.

Considering that RAM prices have been going a bit over the past few months, I'd recommend maxing out the RAM now while it's still relatively cheap. So two sets of the Mushkin RAM I listed should do the trick.

 

[PhantomShadow]

I have the 2GB version of the 4850 X2 so hopefully drivers will be up for the job.

Now I am asking this because honestly I am 100% clueless at this moment. Is 24 GB of RAM really necessary? I mean it's cheap enough that it doesn't necessarily matter but what kind of performance difference can I expect between 12 GB and 24 GB? Also, what kind of effect does RAM have on gaming performance? (not saying there isn't any, just wondering what kind of significance it has compared to say the CPU or GPU)

 

[Dangman]

I have the 2GB version of the 4850 X2 so hopefully drivers will be up for the job.

Wait, I thought you meant two HD 4850 cards in Crossfire. So you have the dual GPU HD 4850 X2 from Sapphire? And do you have two of them? If so, two things:
- Really hope that AMD is still supporting that card as IIRC, only Sapphire made that card
- Actually that 2GB of VRAM is split among the two GPUs. As such, you basically have two HD 4850 1GB in crossfire.

Now I am asking this because honestly I am 100% clueless at this moment. Is 24 GB of RAM really necessary? I mean it's cheap enough that it doesn't necessarily matter but what kind of performance difference can I expect between 12 GB and 24 GB? Also, what kind of effect does RAM have on gaming performance? (not saying there isn't any, just wondering what kind of significance it has compared to say the CPU or GPU)

To be honest, you would be fine with 8GB of RAM for a gaming setup. Anything more than that is pretty much unnecessary for a gaming PC unless you're doing a lot of Photoshop/3D/video editing/rendering work, Virtualization work, or running multiple MMORPG clients at the same time. However, RAM is so cheap, I'd say go for the extra RAM as extra RAM won't hurt. In addition, it'll definitely extend the life of your PC.

 

[PhantomShadow]

I just have one of the Dual GPU cards, which can or cannot be run in XFire but I went from having 3 to 2 monitors so running them in XFire is an option now.