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bp9801

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Apr 8, 2009
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Ok, so I have a C2D E6600 @ 2.85ghz, 4GB DDR2 and an 8800GTX. I've been running into some limitations on certain games, mostly Far Cry 2 and definitely Crysis. Other games I do just fine in or can get it into high settings with some AA and AF. Now, I've been adding parts to my wishlist on Newegg and I've assembled something that should work just fine for games. But I'm also getting into more Photoshop and 3D work because I want to make video games or something to get into the field. Money shouldn't be that much of an issue but I'd like to keep it at or under 2,000 USD.

Should I be cost effective and get the Phenom IIs or just stick with the Core i7s for all the design work and file formatting and everything that goes with it? What motherboards would work for them? I'm partial to EVGA but ASUS and Gigabyte boards get great reviews too; my buddy even swears by the Gigabyte boards. I've really only been looking at the Core i7s and the X58 boards and just everything that goes with them, so what would work for a Phenom II if I should go that route? My video card will either be an HD 4890, GTX 275 or GTX 285, just depending on which I can get the money for.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Please answer the questions in the sticky titled "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST" so that we can help you better. You've answered some of them but please answer them again for completeness sake
 
lowteckh said:
Tone down that PSU. Single card thar.
Click to expand...

Yes, a TX750 at $90 AR is plenty for this setup.

Swap the P182 for a Three Hundred. $100 saved right there. Plenty of space and cooling in a $50-60 case for most.

Also get one of the cheaper Gigabyte X58s, unless you're actually going to make use of the UD5's featureset... which I rather doubt. Can save another $75-100 there with no real effect.

You're down to just a little over $1000 AR before shipping for effectively the same box.
 
Didn't see that question thing first haha, oops.

Anyways, I have a 24" monitor now so I'll be sticking with it. It hasn't given me any problems and I plan on keeping it until it dies on me. Like I said, I game but not as heavy as I use to so it'll be seeing a lot of Photoshop, 3DSM, Maya, ZBrush work and possibly some more programs once I get out of school. I plan on getting a 250-320 GB drive for the system and certain files but a 1TB for storage of games and design work. Budget, well, under 2 grand preferred.

It will be an entirely new build that I plan on using for a long time and just upgrading parts as I need to, so I'd want SLI/Crossfire support and room for more storage drives if I need them. I'm in the US, so tax and shipping will factor in but I usually just buy from Newegg. I have Vista Ultimate right now, and depending on when I do it, I'll install the 64 bit of that on the new build or more than likely, just install Windows 7 on it.

For a power supply, I have the Thermaltake Toughpower 850watt in my current system. I'd want something just as good and maybe with more power to handle SLI/Crossfire and any extra hard drives I add in. I'm also planning on getting a DVD burner and a BD drive, or just dual DVD burners if money is tight.

I hope that covers it all.
 
If you can get one, the BFG EX 1200 is basically the best PSU on earth, and it's $250. It's just OOS everywhere. Everywhere being Newegg that is, which is the only place that has carried it so far. I've seriously considered contacting BFG and getting on some kind of waiting list...

The thing is amazing. Super tight voltage control, almost no ripple, and 80+% efficient from 120w load to 1200w load. 10%-100%. It's using the same conversion tech they used in the ES-800.

It's a lot up front, but less than almost any of the competition, and unlike the competition you could start out with a single core and a PCI card and keep it for an i7 Quad SLI build. Crazy.
 
CrossFire and SLI are best viewed as all-or-nothing propositions; if you aren't willing to make the full investment right away, they won't be worth the money over the long run. Though the 1920x1200 that your monitor uses would benefit from SLI/CrossFire, you could get away with using a GTX 260/275 or an HD4870/HD4890 if you're not a serious gamer. What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe that you need SLI or CrossFire, nor should you consider pursuing it.

Is your copy of Vista Ultimate a retail or an OEM version? The license key to the OEM version only works with the system that it's activated on and it's illegal to transfer it onto a new system. (You can transfer the retail license from one computer to the next as long as it's only active on the one computer that you intend to use.)

The Toughpower 850W PSU would be enough for your new system, and, if it's less than a couple of years old, it could also be carried over (along with your optical drives). I personally believe that a BD drive is not worth it at this point in time, and unless you perform a lot of disc-to-disc copying, neither is having multiple DVD burners.

You never answered whether or not you plan on overclocking your system. Well, are you?
 
And FYI, those cards tiraides mentioned will run perfectly fine on most games (minus the usual "I'm so special nothing can run on me" games) without a twin at 1920*1200.
 
I plan on doing a mild overclock, nothing major. Right now my system is only overclocked 400 mhz, so I'll probably get the i7 920 to 3.2ghz or so.

I want to be able to run nearly any game at 1920x1200 with everything maxed out, including AA and AF. My copy of Vista Ultimate is retail, but if Windows 7 is out by the time I build the new system, I'll just use 7.
 
Crysis is a horrible barometer for games -- it's one of the "special" games that lowteckh was referring to earlier. A dual-GPU video card (namely, the HD4850X2, the HD4870X2, or the GTX 295) or a CF/SLI setup would give you what you want. To me, a dual-GPU card is the same as a(n) CF/SLI setup -- it's an all-or-nothing proposition.

Throw out the max-everything requirement, though, and you could get away with one GTX 280/285.

I recommend an aftermarket CPU cooler for overclocking the Core i7. The good choices are the Xigmatek HDT-S1283V, the Cooler Master V8, the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366, and the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE) 1366RT.
 
bp9801 said:
I want to be able to run nearly any game at 1920x1200 with everything maxed out, including AA and AF. My copy of Vista Ultimate is retail, but if Windows 7 is out by the time I build the new system, I'll just use 7.
Click to expand...

Windows 7 isn't coming out until the end of this year.
 
tiraides said:
Throw out the max-everything requirement, though, and you could get away with one GTX 280/285.
Click to expand...

And that max everything requirement can be achieved by those cards in most of every game other than the "i'm so special my developers thought to code me horribly" games.

Since FC2 was mentioned, [H] says 1 card is enough (they did 2560*1600 resolution as well)
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTYzNiw1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

As for Crysis.. well if you live on that game, play it everyday, need max settings (we could never be friends), you're looking at QuadSLI/Fire/TriSLI for that to work.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTYyMyw0LCwxNjA=
 
I own Crysis but that doesn't mean its installed. I'm mostly playing Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Company of Heroes, Dawn of War II and the occasional Oblivion or CoD4. As long as I can run those on max or close to it, I should be fine. I'd more than likely just leave it at the single card but would like the option to SLI/Crossfire it.
 
Most X58 boards will SLI, all will Crossfire. Start with 1 4890 for ~$216 at Superbiiz/Ewiz, and if you get pissed off that that extra ounce of AA or whatever can't be turned on, get another. If you fold, jump on a GTX whatever.
 
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