Please check my i7 build

I think i will just get 2 gtx 260's and run them sli. Look at this. Its getting higher frame rates than the gtx 295! that being said, I think this sli will out-perform a single GTX 285.
 
istrike said:
I think i will just get 2 gtx 260's and run them sli. Look at this. Its getting higher frame rates than the gtx 295! that being said, I think this sli will out-perform a single GTX 285.
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It's your call, but I always prefer a single-card setup. Less of a hassle and less (potential) issues to deal with.
 
PC_User said:
It's your call, but I always prefer a single-card setup. Less of a hassle and less (potential) issues to deal with.
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Or I was thinking, since I want this computer to last a long time, I can get one gtx 285 and then later I can get another one and run them, SLI when they get ultra cheap. But I am still not sure whether to get the gtx 275 with 1792MB or memory of the gtx 285 with 1GB or memory for the same price.
 
That's the wrong mindset to have.

Again, the high-end refreshes itself with newer, better cards around every 12-18 months; it would be more practical to get a brand new high-end card and sell your older card to recoup some of the costs.

As Danny mentioned earlier, the performance of the GTX 285 isn't high enough to justify spending more money on it over the GTX 280 (or HD4890).
 
tiraides said:
As Danny mentioned earlier, the performance of the GTX 285 isn't high enough to justify spending more money on it over the GTX 280 (or HD4890).
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True. 4890 is the best price/performance ratio card out there.

Unless the OP is paying close to what I paid for my GTX 285...then it's a no-brainer. ;)
 
istrike said:
Or I was thinking, since I want this computer to last a long time, I can get one gtx 285 and then later I can get another one and run them, SLI when they get ultra cheap. But I am still not sure whether to get the gtx 275 with 1792MB or memory of the gtx 285 with 1GB or memory for the same price.
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More VRAM will simply help with higher detail settings. If you don't mind having to lower your detail settings in some games, then the extra VRAM isn't typically needed. Someone should correct me if this has changed with the newer cards. ;)

Define stuff like: "long time", "later", and "ultra cheap". You'll typically get better performance from a single, newer gen card than from last gen cards in SLI/CF.
 
enginurd said:
More VRAM will simply help with higher detail settings. If you don't mind having to lower your detail settings in some games, then the extra VRAM isn't typically needed. Someone should correct me if this has changed with the newer cards. ;)

Define stuff like: "long time", "later", and "ultra cheap". You'll typically get better performance from a single, newer gen card than from last gen cards in SLI/CF.
Click to expand...

Well I was just thinking, why don't I get one gtx 285 now, and then say in 3-4 years, the same card will be $100 and I can run them SLI and probably still be able to keep up with the games at that time. If I am correct I think the gtx 285 will only give you like 7 more frames per second than the gtx 280, which is why people don't recommend the extra money. But here is a perfect example of what i am trying to explain. Two semi-obsolete cards (gtx260) are betting the single best card on the planet (gtx 295). I am just trying to think ahead. Or maybe I should just get dual gtx 260s now, but then they will just become obsolete faster. They make these cars so confusing.
 
istrike said:
Well I was just thinking, why don't I get one gtx 285 now, and then say in 3-4 years, the same card will be $100 and I can run them SLI and probably still be able to keep up with the games at that time. If I am correct I think the gtx 285 will only give you like 7 more frames per second than the gtx 280, which is why people don't recommend the extra money. But here is a perfect example of what i am trying to explain. Two semi-obsolete cards (gtx260) are betting the single best card on the planet (gtx 295). I am just trying to think ahead. Or maybe I should just get dual gtx 260s now, but then they will just become obsolete faster. They make these cars so confusing.
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That's rarely a good idea. By then, there might be a $100 card that can outperform the GTX 285 SLI you plan on getting. My exact thoughts on SLI:
Markyip1 said:
Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.
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So basically SLI is not meant to keep a system running longer. SLI is mainly meant for those who need the absolute highest performance at whatever cost at that point in time.
 
I see. Well I think the highest resolution that monitor (the 24 inch Asus one in my build) can support is 1920 x 1080. So I will be gaming on that resolution. that being siad, and knowing nothing about video cards, idk if I should stick with the gtx 280 with 896Mb vram or get the gtx 275 with 1792MB for the same price. But I guess you guys have persuaded me to stick with a single card, unless you think I should SLI gtx 260's right now.

Its also an option that i could get the Radeon HD 4850 X2, but I really don't like ATI cards. But is does outperform the gtx 280 and 285.
 
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Ya I read those reviews, I think I will either get one gtx 280 or two gtx 260's but I don;t know if i will have enough power for the 260's. I need to best card for 1920x1050 resolution. I was reading on newegg and it seemed like every third person had a dead pixel in theirs. That made me worry a little bit.
 
People are more likely to write a review if there's a problem with theirs. With LCD manufacturing being so mature, I'd doubt there were still a large percentage of brand new panels out there with dead pixels -- and at that res, you probably won't even notice it, if you had one, without deadpixelbuddy. ;)
 
istrike said:
Ya I read those reviews, I think I will either get one gtx 280 or two gtx 260's but I don;t know if i will have enough power for the 260's..
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For GTX 260 SLI, you'll need a PSU with at least 70A on the +12V rail. Something like the Corsair 850TX or Corsair 850HX is a good choice for GTX 260 SLI.
 
Danny Bui said:
For GTX 260 SLI, you'll need a PSU with at least 70A on the +12V rail. Something like the Corsair 850TX or Corsair 850HX is a good choice for GTX 260 SLI.
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That sounds like its going to cost too much to do. You think i better just stick with one gtx 280. I think that sounds good. People in here were saying to get the HD 4890, but the gtx 275 outperformed it, so I think the gtx 280 will be fine. Cause gtx 260 will be about $325 + I would need to update the power supply. Cards get updated so frequently i think that would be a waste.
 
istrike said:
That sounds like its going to cost too much to do. You think i better just stick with one gtx 280. I think that sounds good. People in here were saying to get the HD 4890, but the gtx 275 outperformed it, so I think the gtx 280 will be fine. Cause gtx 260 will be about $325 + I would need to update the power supply. Cards get updated so frequently i think that would be a waste.
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Well the Corsair 850TX is only $15 more than the Corsair 750TX:
$140 - Corsair 850TX 850W PSU

The reviews I've seen show the HD4890 being just a bit better than the GTX 275, not the other way around. But yes cards do get updated frequently.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well the Corsair 850TX is only $15 more than the Corsair 750TX:
$140 - Corsair 850TX 850W PSU

The reviews I've seen show the HD4890 being just a bit better than the GTX 275, not the other way around. But yes cards do get updated frequently.
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I guess you could say that but the HD 4890 works better on some games than others. the gtx 275 seems to be pretty consistent.

Edit: So since it comes out to the exact same price should I SLI two gtx 260s or one gtx 285. I think I will choose one of those to go in my build. I will either do one of the two.
 
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single card setup... less complicated, less points of potential failure.
 
istrike said:
Well I just thought for the same price, the sli should offer more performance.
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Oh it does. It's just that more performance comes with an increase in complication, points of failure, heat and the possibility that games might not scale well with SLI/CF.

Do the research yourself in the pros and cons of SLI.
 
Danny Bui said:
Oh it does. It's just that more performance comes with an increase in complication, points of failure, heat and the possibility that games might not scale well with SLI/CF.

Do the research yourself in the pros and cons of SLI.
Click to expand...

Ya I could see that, but I don't think heat would be an issue with the way this computer will be set up. But ya, I don't know much about video cards, so you could se how this could be one of the hardest things to decide lol. :D
 
Danny Bui said:
Oh it does. It's just that more performance comes with an increase in complication, points of failure, heat and the possibility that games might not scale well with SLI/CF.

Do the research yourself in the pros and cons of SLI.
Click to expand...

QFT. I've always wondered if people really notice the difference between 80fps and 100fps.
 
So I guess the i7 can't support 12 gigs of memory at 1600 Mhz so should I get 12 gigs and run them at 1333 or 6 gigs and run it at 1600Mhz?
 
istrike said:
So I guess the i7 can't support 12 gigs of memory at 1600 Mhz so should I get 12 gigs and run them at 1333 or 6 gigs and run it at 1600Mhz?
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The i7 can support 12GB of RAM at 1533 (close to 1600Mhz) AFAIK. Haven't seen any evidence otherwise. With that said, you won't see a difference between 12GB of DDR3 1333mhz and 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz in games. So go for more RAM.
 
Danny Bui said:
The i7 can support 12GB of RAM at 1533 (close to 1600Mhz) AFAIK. Haven't seen any evidence otherwise. With that said, you won't see a difference between 12GB of DDR3 1333mhz and 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz in games. So go for more RAM.
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I think you can even run faster. Check this review.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/879/4/

If I ran 12GB, do you think i should get the platinum series OCZ for the same price?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

I don't know if it will be able to run at those timings though.
 
You wouldn't honestly notice a difference between that OCZ RAM and its 7-7-7-24 and the Corsair RAM that Enginurd recommended at 9-9-9-24 in any real world apps and games. Personally, I like Corsair better (Mainly due to their PSUs :)) so I would go with the Cosair set that Enginurd recommended. But if you want the lower timings, then go with the OCZ. Nothing wrong with OCZ per se.
 
Danny Bui said:
You wouldn't honestly notice a difference between that OCZ RAM and its 7-7-7-24 and the Corsair RAM that Enginurd recommended at 9-9-9-24 in any real world apps and games. Personally, I like Corsair better (Mainly due to their PSUs :)) so I would go with the Cosair set that Enginurd recommended. But if you want the lower timings, then go with the OCZ. Nothing wrong with OCZ per se.
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Well, the Corsair is much more money and more than i would like to spend, so why not get the cheaper OCZ that is faster right?
 
istrike said:
Well, the Corsair is much more money and more than i would like to spend, so why not get the cheaper OCZ that is faster right?
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How much is the OCZ set without the rebate?

But generally, yes get the OCZ if its that much cheaper.
 
istrike said:
The OCZ platinum is the same price as gold with faster timings and they are both $100 without the rebate, $80 with.

Here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
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Don't forget tax... $110 shipped... the Corsairs were from amazon, so no tax, so they're $104 shipped. $5 difference, no biggie, and if the rebate comes, thats a bonus, so either kit would be fine. Personally, I like lower voltage sticks, since the RAM controller's max is 1.65v; so, I try to get sticks with the standard 1.5v for stock speeds.
 
I see. Well it seems to me the only reson to get Corsair would be to buy their dominator series RAM. What does he mean by this statement
Personally, I like lower voltage sticks, since the RAM controller's max is 1.65v; so, I try to get sticks with the standard 1.5v for stock speeds.
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because both sets run at 1.5v. Is it because the memory controller can'[t habdle anything above 1.5v?
 
That entire build was amazon, so no tax/shipping.

My bad, I thought the OCZ plats ran at 1.65v stock. :eek: Max voltage for the integrated memory controller is 1.65v, yes. Intel warns that going higher will kill your CPU. Yes, your CPU.

edit: wait, the plats/golds do run at 1.65v stock. :eek: The Corsairs are 1.5v stock, so they're a safer bet, IMO. While the OCZ's should run fine, like I said, its just a personal preference of mine.
 
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enginurd said:
That entire build was amazon, so no tax/shipping.

My bad, I thought the OCZ's ran at 1.65v stock. :eek: Max voltage for the integrated memory controller is 1.65v, yes.
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They do don't they?

Edit: Ok ya, good. What RAM runs above 1.5v anyway?
 
istrike said:
I see. Well it seems to me the only reson to get Corsair would be to buy their dominator series RAM. What does he mean by this statement because both sets run at 1.5v. Is it because the memory controller can't habdle anything above 1.5v?
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Their Dominator RAM are never ever worth the extra cash. Never.

Well, see the memory controller is integrated directly on the Core i7 CPU itself. Meaning that whatever voltage of the RAM is, that'll go back to the CPU. So far, it's been shown that 1.65V is the max for Core i7 CPUs. However, the lower the voltage, supposedly the lesser the heat incurred by the CPU as well as decreasing the chance of the CPU dying from too much voltage. Hence why Enginurd prefers 1.5V DDR3 RAM: For cooling and longevity reasons.
 
Yes, the OCZ's do run at 1.65v. What DDR3 RAM runs above 1.5v? OCZ's, typically. :p The higher end sticks tend to run at higher voltages. Since theres no real need for OC'ing RAM these days, for most people, I don't see the need for high end enthusiast RAM (OCZ Reapers, Corsair Dominators, etc).
 
enginurd said:
Yes, the OCZ's do run at 1.65v. What DDR3 RAM runs above 1.5v? OCZ's, typically. :p The higher end sticks tend to run at higher voltages. Since theres no real need for OC'ing RAM these days, for most people, I don't see the need for high end enthusiast RAM (OCZ Reapers, Corsair Dominators, etc).
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Ok now i know why i was confused. We were talking about two different Corsair sticks.

The ones you are talking about that run at 1.5 v are here

The one you listed in your build a while back run at 1.65 v and on amazon here

Wait you guys said 12 gigs of ram wouldnt work with the i7, but people are doing it. How? Alot of them say they have the ASUS P6T board, but even my EVGA board says it can run 12 gigs at 1600 mHz. Read the review and the people are saying 12 gigs runs fine.

12 gigs 1600 OCZ
12 gigs 1600 Corsair
 
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istrike said:
Ok now i know why i was confused. We were talking about two different Corsair sticks.

The ones you are talking about that run at 1.5 v are here

The one you listed in your build a while back run at 1.65 v and on amazon here
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Hehe, my bad, you're right, I was looking at the wrong sticks. In any case, I'd go for some 1.5v sticks at DDR3 1600. Amazon's A9 isn't conducive to searching for such detailed computer parts, lol.

istrike said:
Wait you guys said 12 gigs of ram wouldnt work with the i7...
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Where'd I say that? :confused:
 
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