new rig time

M

mtasquared

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
86
Well my old computer just died due to marital discord and resultant violent blows from spouse. (story at another time).

Time for a new build.

I play games and want to easily handle Crysis, COD4, Guitar Hero (ha), use Photoshop and Reason. Sometimes mess with 3D modelling. Not a video editing maven yet. Want to know if you guys think one of the following combinations is better than the other:

1) Intel i750, ATI 5870, 120 gb SSD and 1.5 TB HD

2) Intel i720, ATI 5970, 160 gb SSD

Thanks for any opinions....
 
Answer questions on sticky

What is an i750 and i720 do you mean i5 750 and an i7 920?
 
thanks for writing back!

to clarify, I meant i7 920 versus i7 950

and to answer the standard questions:
1) will be playing newest 3D games, using Photoshop, Reason, may be some 3D modeling software, browsing net and a lot of word processing
2) my budget for these three parts (CPU, GPU, HD/SSD) is about $1300
3) live in NJ
4) have all other parts of the computer already
5) will resuse 540 watt power supply (Rocketfish)
6) No overclocking.
7) have 40” 1920 x 1200 pixel hdtv for use as monitor
8) will be looking to buy in June
9) need mobo to support usb3, ddr3
10) need to buy OS (thinking windows 7 64 bit)

Thanks again for any ideas...
 
You're gonna have to replace the PSU as it is of too low quality to even power the HD 5770 let alone the higher power models. Even if the Rocketfish was good quality, it still wouldn't be enough for a HD 5970.

In addition four months is too early to start planning a build as most parts recommended today will either be out of stock, outperformed, overpriced, or outdated. Start planning a build about a month in advance.
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Danny Bui said:
You're gonna have to replace the PSU as it is of too low quality to even power the HD 5770.
Click to expand...

I don't wanna call you a liar but that is just not true. 5770 has about the same power draw as a 9800 and I ran a 9800GTX+ on a 460Watt CoolerMaster PSU without a problem.

Edit: To clarify though, a low-cost 540Watt unit will be on the edge with such a high power system, and with a 1300 dollar budget there is no need to re-use a crappy old PSU.
 
NoForgiveness said:
I don't wanna call you a liar but that is just not true. 5770 has about the same power draw as a 9800 and I ran a 9800GTX+ on a 460Watt CoolerMaster PSU without a problem.
Click to expand...

That Coolermaster was a decent 430W PSU. That Rocketfish 540W is more than likely a so-so300W to 350W PSU judging from the performance of other Rocketfish PSUs. I would not recommend a HD 5770 on a so-so 350W PSU.
 
Danny Bui said:
That Coolermaster was a decent 430W PSU. That Rocketfish 540W is more than likely a so-so300W to 350W PSU judging from the performance of other Rocketfish PSUs. I would not recommend a HD 5770 on a so-so 350W PSU.
Click to expand...

Well don't get me wrong I don't know the specs of the rocketfish so I can't see what it pushes on the 12v but I figured at over 500W it has to have dual 14amp rails at minimum.

But I have to agree with the upgrade path either way. Especially with the 1300 dollar budget. A 650 or 750 watt Corsair unit can comfortably fit into that budget.
 
I am going to compile a monster 1300 dollar build for you. What about the case though? To me it looks like you need: Case (maybe Lancool K62--go look at pics of it), PSU (Corsair 650TX), CPU: i7 920, Mobo: (Not sure yet, probably an ASUS or Gigabyte board), RAM: 6GB DDR3, GPU: Radeon 5850, a 128GB SSD for OS/Apps/Games and a big (1TB) HD for data and Windows 7. I think this can be done for 1300ish...
 
Now that the i7 930 is out, I'd go for that CPU over the i7 920 and i7 950 instead.
 
I didn't know the PSU was not powerful enough. Will have to budget that in.

i930? will have to look into that.

6Gb ram...I am envisioning virtual machines and widgets floating all over the place.

Thanks for all suggestions!!!
 
Yep I went for the 930. I built your system. Unfortunately you can not get a serious performance machine as well as a spacious SSD for 1300, so there is no SSD (I left it with a single 1TB Caviar Black). But it will give you a great idea of what you should be looking for: http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/990/1300ish.png

Edit: Woops forgot the DVD-RW. Well, decent ones are all $30 so take your pick.
 
At this point you are better off with more ram and a 5870 if you are doing photoshop and 3D modeling.
 
if you're near a microcenter, i'd get the 920 for $200 instead. :p

NoForgiveness said:
Well don't get me wrong I don't know the specs of the rocketfish so I can't see what it pushes on the 12v but I figured at over 500W it has to have dual 14amp rails at minimum. ...
Click to expand...

Even if you see the label, just because it says it can provide a certain amount of power doesn't mean it actually will. :p Even Cooler Master has some models out there that can't live up to their label. ;) Not all 500W PSUs are made equal.
 
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