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10-27-2009, 08:30 PM
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#1 |
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higher power system...
I'm building a system mostly for video and photo editing, but with some gaming mixed in. I'm willing to spend the money if the parts are worth it, but I'm also happy to be told that something else will be effectively equivalent and cheaper. Like many people I'll pay for quality, but who likes to waste their money when it doesn't make a different?
 I'm skipping the discussion of external enclosures and possible caching RAID cards, as I'll add that later (and ask about it in the Drives and Storage area.) I'll be installing Windows 7 64-bit on the system. I have a decent idea of most parts, but some questions are listed at the bottom. Any and all comments are welcome, of course! CPU - Intel i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115213 One step up is just too damn expensive for the extra power. MB - ASUS P7P55D Deluxe LGA 1156 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131400 This seems to be teh popular choice around here - and I like Asus's MBs. Case - Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129061 I've the P182 and love it. Any reason not to get this one? Video - ASUS EAH5850/G/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121349 I'm seeing an increase in unhappy reviews on this card on newegg. Any other ideas? I'd like to get a DX11 card, which does limit my choices. Historically I've used nVidia, but they're DX11 chip isn't out, their future looks a little in doubt, and I thought Photoshop & Lightroom took better advantage of ATI cards. HDD - boot drive Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=WD3000HLFS Not the absolute fastest drive, but very, very fast. HDD - Data Drive Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=WD1001FALS www.storagereview.com rates both those drives very highly. And I've had good luck with WD in general. I've 2 other SATA drives I'll be bringing over as well. No DVD, I've got 2 SATA lite-on that I'm going to reuse. Questions: PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-004-_-Product This one is out of stock and sounds like it won't be in any time soon. Any suggestions? Is this enough power? I love the last one of theirs I used. RAM suggestions? I want 8G. Is DDR3 2200 beneficial over 1600 if you're not over clocking? Looking at the QVL for that MB and I wasn't thrilled with what I saw at 2200. The only 1600 with 7-7-7-20 (or better) timing that I recognize is OCZ and I've never used them before. I'm generally a Crucial or Corsair man. But does that timing really make a difference? In theory, ya... but in practice? I'm limiting my choices greatly 'cause of it. Something like this: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996657 - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...871&Tpk=996657 Is certainly appealing based on price ($99) and that it's rated at 7-7-7-20. but I've never used them and don't know someone who has. Thanks for any help you can give! |
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10-27-2009, 10:29 PM
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#2 |
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I think you are placing way too much importance in getting the last little bit of speed, and it's jacking your budget WAY up.
What I personally would use is as follows: i7-860. Base model P7P55D. WD Black boot drive, WD Green data drive. DDR3-1333 ram if you are not overclocking, DDR3-1600 if the price is close to the same. ANY Corsair PSU is fine. I prefer the HX-series modulars, they make for a lot neater wiring job. Get a HD5750 for now if you MUST have DX11. I always buy at the sweet spot, not the cutting edge. It's a LOT easier on the wallet and the performance difference just isn't that great. |
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10-28-2009, 01:44 PM
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#3 |
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Maybe I'm over reacting to the fact that I bring my core 2 duo E6600 to its knees on a regular basis (pegging both cores.) So I'd like to get something that will last awhile. Combine that with the fact I'm going to double my camera's MP early next year, and I'll be doing the same work with a lot more data - which will require more power again.
I'll look at the differences between those MBs. I had picked that more based on several recommendations here for the Delux. I'll look at the green drives, from what I can see in performance tests they are quite a bit slower than even that Black - 1/2 the throughput in some cases. But that still begs the question of how much diff I'll actually see. My drives sit idle for blocks of time, and I beat the crap out of them at other times. The PSU that I had before was an HX, I'll look at those. With 4 drives and a 5750, how much power do you think I'll need? 520? 620? I assume they'll come with the correct cables/connectors to power that MB. I had a feeling that 2200 RAM wasn't necessary, just thought I'd check. I'll spec the something of those speeds and post links. Thanks for the advice |
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10-28-2009, 06:14 PM
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#4 |
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10-28-2009, 07:37 PM
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#5 |
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Choose the version of the P7P55D for features. If the basic board has all the features you need, no need to go higher. If you need more features, then do it. Go ahead and use Blacks across the board if you want, I was primarily saying the Raptors are not worth it. The 650HX is the way to go now - it has the beefy single rail design.
Processor - double the cost for an extra 0.13 GHz is not cost effective to me - other than the clock speed, the 2 processors are identical. It will leave your E6600 in the dust, it's got 4 hyperthreaded cores. |
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10-31-2009, 03:08 PM
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#6 |
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Damn, looks like my last post disappeared. Lets try this again.
I wanted to thank you for setting me straight. I made a few (what now seem obvious) mistakes. I thought that the 870 was a Lynnfield, but once I read what you said I double checked and (no surprise) you were right. I've also read more about the new ATI chips and read some on other cards recommended here and have decided to drop DX11 support from my list - which clearly puts me in line for a 4870 (price vs. performance.) The most frustrating part was trying to find RAM which was certified to work (via the QVL.) But they either listed 3-stick kits, which I don't need, or I couldn't find them on newegg. Instead I opted for memory that Crucial says will work (and will replace if it doesn't.) This is what I'm looking at now: CPU: Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115214 MB: ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131404 Case Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=Antec%20P183 PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9012&Tpk=650HX RAM: 4GB kit (2GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartsp...06F9A5A5CA7304 (Not on the QVL but Crucial Guarantees that they are compatible with this MB.) Video POWERCOLOR AX4870 1GBD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131148 I've seen this recommended here & user reviews on newegg like it. But I don't know the brand at all. Any worries? Do I get drivers direct from AMD/ATI so their ability to write a driver doesn't matter? (I've been an nVidia via Asus guy for years.) HDD Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=WD3000HLFS Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284 The 2T drive is just too damn expensive, even if the reviewer's love it (triple the price, double the size, but faster.) Any thoughts before I order tomorrow? |
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10-31-2009, 05:16 PM
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#7 | |
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Quote:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145265 You could even go cheaper, with a bit higher timings, and not notice any difference (see below link): $86 w/ Free Shipping As for Raptors, they're not what they used to be to be honest. If you want a fast drive, pick up the 640 Western Digital Caviar Black for $75 dollars, its much cheaper, and its been proven to be just as fast, if not faster than the Raptors. I own two Raptor drives, and a 640 Black, and I can't tell the difference, even though I never actually tested the two. I'm sure you can Google it, and find benchmarks with them. 640 WD Cavliar Black, free shipping too. The Radeon 4870 is a great card, but you may want to look into the 5770, it falls between the 4850 and 4870 in performance, and better than a single 5870 in CrossfireX if you ever need more power for a cheaper price. You said you're not too interested in gaming, and I'm sure that the 5770 will be more than enough power, at a cheaper price. The five-thousand series cards offer Direct-X 11, so its a bit future proof, and will probably be providing better driver support as well as time goes on. I own two of them, and I have no complaints.  Any brand works, since the cards are exactly the same, and each manufacture just puts their sticker on them. It's up to you to choose depending on customer support, warranty, etc. I own this model: 5770 The power supply is a great choice, Corsair and Antec are the only two brands I trust in this department, and I own both brands - loving my Corsair HX850W. If you do choose to go with the 5770, I think there are great combo deals with the Corsair PSU's, thats how I got mine (saved $50 bucks!). The i7-860 is a great choice if you're on a budget and need Hyperthreading. Spending over $200 more for the very little GHz increase never made sense to me since you can easily overclock the CPU that tiny bit without any hassle what so ever (even on the stock cooler). Other than that, the build looks great man. I suggest checking out each part for combo deals right before you order, I got most of my parts combined with stuff I was going to buy anyways, for a cheaper price  .
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< Antec 1200 | ASUS Rampage III Extreme | Intel Core i7-920 w/ Noctua cooler @ 3.1 GHz | Corsair Dominator's 6GB| (2) Sapphire HD 5770's in CrossfireX | WD Raptor 74GB | WD Caviar Black 1TB | Corsair HX850W > Last edited by barch 88; 10-31-2009 at 05:29 PM. |
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10-31-2009, 06:32 PM
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#8 |
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104141
This stuff will run at 1600 and CAS 8 in that board. |
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11-01-2009, 10:16 AM
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#9 |
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Ah, I didn't realize that about the QVL. That does make things a bit easier. I've use Crucial memory before, but I'm a fan of Corsair as well. I'll have to think about that ram difference - $45 is nothing to sneeze at.
Interesting comments about the Raptors. I've read a few reviews that spec them as quite a bit faster than the Blacks. Now, maybe the reviews are wrong.... or maybe you just don't see it in the real world. I'm not actually looking for a lot of space on my boot drive - I'm looking for speed without paying SSD prices. I've got a 500G I'll be reusing for applications and the 1T will go for photos & video.(along with a few other drives internal and external too.) I'll dig some more, but I'm hoping to buy later tonight - need it running by the 14th or so. The same kinda thing on the video card. Anandtech and tom's hardware both say the 4870 is faster than 5750 or 5770, at roughly the same price. Damn, that video card is sold out. user reviews seem to love it, though. I'll have to think on this one. I fully agree with you on the PSU and case. I used them last time and was extremely happy - can't say enough good things about them. Thanks again for the advice! |
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11-01-2009, 04:17 PM
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#10 |
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11-01-2009, 08:16 PM
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#11 |
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Those are triple channel kits, jdeb.
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11-01-2009, 10:54 PM
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#12 |
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This is the much more interesting review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/pictures...ling-ddr3.html comparing the change in speed between: " DDR3-1600 performance with quick CL8 timings normalized to DDR3-1066" scale (100% = DDR3-1066) basically shows you that there is minimal improvement in real world tests and even when you look for it and pick just the right tests there still isn't that much of an improvement. Very interesting indeed. Still trying to figure out what to do about the video card. I might just end up having to get it elsewhere. I don't really want to go to Tiger Direct... but they do have it in stock. Eric |
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11-02-2009, 01:42 AM
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#13 | |
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Quote:
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11-02-2009, 06:48 AM
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#14 |
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The Powercolor is now out of stock too. Being that the 5000 series was JUST introduced, why don't you wait a few weeks till production catches up? That way you could probably get an Asus or other top brand. I just don't care for MSI's or XFX's support.
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11-02-2009, 07:12 AM
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#15 |
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Last edited by jdeb; 11-02-2009 at 07:17 AM. |
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11-02-2009, 09:16 AM
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#16 |
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Sapphires are good cards, BUT their end user support is terrible if you need it.
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