XFX 790i Build Question

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Fidler

n00b
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May 18, 2008
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Hi Folks,

New to the Hard Forum. I need some advice: I've purchased an XFX 790i Ultra mb, a Xeon X3360 processor and a ABS 900w power supply. I plan to couple this with 4 GB of ram, a XFX 9800 GTX vido card (may go to SLI in future) and expect to run Vista Ultimate 64 bit OS. The case is a coolermaster 690 with 6 fans and Scythe fan controller - I already have a Gateway 20in Widescreen that I really like. I've been building computers for some time now but not the current vintage. Main purpose is gaming but it will be used for general computing as well.

The questions I have, for those more experienced, are:

1. Has anyone successfully built a similar rig yet?
2. What ram would you recommend - I've been looking at Corsair XMS3 DHX 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)?
3. What do you think of the build in general?

Best Regards,
Fidler :p
 
I haven't built a rig like that yet but.....

That RAM sounds good and corsair makes great RAM.

As far as my opinion on your build.... I might actually recommend a better PSU
and OC that Xeon you will need too to prevent a bottleneck when you go SLI.

GL and welcome to the forums!!
 
6foot4geek, thanks for the welcome.

Re: the powersupply - do you think the issue is with the wattage rating or the build quality? I'm a little concerned because my only experience with OCing was with a video card. I blew the ram, MB and video card because the power supply was too anemic and failed.

The Xeon, I purchase because budget constraints wouldn't allow an Extreme quad core and the Xeon became available on Newegg whereas my second choice, the Q9550 or other Yorkfield quad cores, were nowhere to be had. Given the low level of experience, OCing should be fun.
 
wattage, it might not be a big deal with one 9800gtx but with 2 I think you will run into issues. A 1200w should have you covered just fine!
 
I just built the sig rig about a month ago. No real problems, just setting voltages for RAM, NB, SB and CPU and setting loadline calibration are the only things I've had to touch in the BIOS. I'm using a Xigmatek RS1284 and its working well. Prime 95 stable for 3 12+ hour runs since updating my BIOS last week and installing the RS1283. All my games and apps are solid. I need to setup my TV tuners and that will be the end of this build and testing I hope!

Corsair memory seems to be better liked by the 790. My OCZ is fine at stock speeds however once I set the voltages manually, am only doing FSB overclocking.

I really like S2E and the QX9650, however, many in the forum question the cost effectiveness of this technology and overall I agree with them. I tend to alternate between bang for the buck and beast rigs, this one was meant to be a beast. I plan on paring it with one or two GTX 280's next month, so cost wasn't an issue with this rig. Everything is solid and working and fast and I'm happy.

So my point is that you could go with a 750 and DDR2 RAM and have the same performance for less, but maybe that's not that important to you, just mentioning it.
 
Good comments all. I'm a little concerned about the PS now and will look more in depth re: whether I need to change it out or not. Since I'm working with a budget, I'm trying to get the most bang for the bucks but still have an eye to the future.

Anyone else want to weigh in on the MB/RAM/CPU combo?
 
If you're going for bang for buck, return the motherboard ASAP and get a EVGA 750i FTW instead. Then you can get some $100 DDR2-1066 (4GB kit) and it'll perform /exactly the same/.

DDR3 offers zero performance benefit over DDR2 at this point in time.

The next round of CPU upgrades will require a new motherboard and socket -- Nehalem will not use LGA775, but it will use DDR3, and if the current roadmaps from Intel are to be believed this round is the last for LGA775.

DDR3 is immature now, so you should be able to get better DDR3 at that point for $200 or less than you can get for $500 now. Simply put, it makes no sense to build a machine using DDR3 at this point in time.
 
silent-circuit said:
If you're going for bang for buck, return the motherboard ASAP and get a EVGA 750i FTW instead. Then you can get some $100 DDR2-1066 (4GB kit) and it'll perform /exactly the same/.

DDR3 offers zero performance benefit over DDR2 at this point in time.

The next round of CPU upgrades will require a new motherboard and socket -- Nehalem will not use LGA775, but it will use DDR3, and if the current roadmaps from Intel are to be believed this round is the last for LGA775.

DDR3 is immature now, so you should be able to get better DDR3 at that point for $200 or less than you can get for $500 now. Simply put, it makes no sense to build a machine using DDR3 at this point in time.
Click to expand...

I'd already made the point that this isn't a cost effective solution. But its far form bad one. We are not all trying to build the fastest machine for the lowest cost. Sometimes we build machines with the idea of that we want the some of the latest and greatest technology to learn, for fun, for pride, for bragging rights, etc.

At any rate, building this rig and getting overclocked and stable was so simple and trouble free that while I can't recommend it at one level, at another this technology is really solid, and if you're not concerned about cost, the 790 platform is really very good.
 
Fidler said:
Hi Folks,

New to the Hard Forum. I need some advice: I've purchased an XFX 790i Ultra mb, a Xeon X3360 processor and a ABS 900w power supply. I plan to couple this with 4 GB of ram, a XFX 9800 GTX vido card (may go to SLI in future) and expect to run Vista Ultimate 64 bit OS. The case is a coolermaster 690 with 6 fans and Scythe fan controller - I already have a Gateway 20in Widescreen that I really like. I've been building computers for some time now but not the current vintage. Main purpose is gaming but it will be used for general computing as well.

The questions I have, for those more experienced, are:

1. Has anyone successfully built a similar rig yet?
2. What ram would you recommend - I've been looking at Corsair XMS3 DHX 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)?
3. What do you think of the build in general?

Best Regards,
Fidler :p
Click to expand...

Since you only have a 20" LCD I'd suggest forgetting about SLI. A single 9800GTX will handle everything out there right now and should do so for the foreseeable future. I'd probably have gone with a different brand of PSU and an Intel chipset based board but the 790i Ultra SLI always worked well for me. On the PSU I've got brands I trust more than ABS and I've had no practical experience with ABS either. Otherwise everything else seems fine.
 
Thanks for the input guys. This tread has taken an interesting turn. Silent-circuit: I appreciate and understand your comments. I probably shouldn't have brought up the concept of "bang for bucks". Sorry. I did want more up-to-date components and to stay current with the technology, as Heatlessen indicated.

I'm still somewhat concerned regarding the ram. The XMS3 DHX 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) is not listed in the XFX tested ram modules data sheet. So, I'm worried that this ram won't play nice with the 790i MB/Xeon combo. Does anyone have experience such a setup?

Dan D., thanks for your comments. I was thinking of changing the display to a 24" Dell in the future. Would I need SLI with that monitor? The ABS has had some good reviews but it was a compromise choice based on cost/performance I'm sorry to say. What would you recommend for a modular unit with the proposed rig?
 
if you only go with one card, you could even just go with a corsair HX620, no?

ther is also the option of the HX1000, which is supposed to be ok, but i have had no experience with it, so i dunno...
 
Fidler said:
I'm still somewhat concerned regarding the ram. The XMS3 DHX 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) is not listed in the XFX tested ram modules data sheet. So, I'm worried that this ram won't play nice with the 790i MB/Xeon combo. Does anyone have experience such a setup?
Click to expand...

Again I wouldn't worry about the approved RAM list for the motherboard. As long as the RAM is good quality you should be ok. A good place to double check that RAM is on Corsair's own forums. There you can see what kind of experiences people are having with that board and memory. As for the processor it has no effect on RAM compatibility or vice versa.

Fidler said:
Dan D., thanks for your comments. I was thinking of changing the display to a 24" Dell in the future. Would I need SLI with that monitor? The ABS has had some good reviews but it was a compromise choice based on cost/performance I'm sorry to say. What would you recommend for a modular unit with the proposed rig?
Click to expand...

I'd go with a Thermaltake Toughpower 750 or a Corsair PSU of some kind. PC Power & Cooling is also an excellent choice. As another poster already said, with one video card you can drop your PSU wattage and get a quality PSU with less wattage for a reasonable price from a better manufacturer.

As for the monitor you won't need SLI for that either. Most games can be run on that monitor with everything maxed at its' native resolution on a single 8800GTX/Ultra or 9800GTX/Ultra. The only thing you'd probably ever have to do is back down the AA and AF on some more recent titles if you had to lower any settings at all.
 
Once you drop SLI you drop the only even borderline compelling reason to get a 790i in the first place. Get a P35 board instead (or X38 if you have a use for the second PCIe 16x slot), even with DDR3 support if for some inexplicable reason you must, but avoid Nvidia chipsets. No reason to subject yourself to the potential headaches unless you absolutely must have SLI support.
 
:DOk, thanks for all the input guys. It is very much appreciated. I got on the Corsair boards last night and was able to confirmed that there was no issue with the indicated ram. I suspect that there will be problems with the Nvida chip set, but I decided to try it anyway. Don't know - it may be a waste of money. However, I have a friend who is also building a computer and I'll share your comments with him. I tend to agree with you that the Intel chip sets will have fewer problems and will suite him better. He's somewhat new at this but he's an extremely fast learner. Again, thanks for all your efforts. They were very helpfull.

Best Regards,
Fidler
 
Fidler said:
:DOk, thanks for all the input guys. It is very much appreciated. I got on the Corsair boards last night and was able to confirmed that there was no issue with the indicated ram. I suspect that there will be problems with the Nvida chip set, but I decided to try it anyway. Don't know - it may be a waste of money. However, I have a friend who is also building a computer and I'll share your comments with him. I tend to agree with you that the Intel chip sets will have fewer problems and will suite him better. He's somewhat new at this but he's an extremely fast learner. Again, thanks for all your efforts. They were very helpfull.

Best Regards,
Fidler
Click to expand...

You're clearly some kind of digital masochist.
 
Ha- you know, your right! Thanks for your help Silent-Circuit.

Best Regards,
Fidler
 
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