I ordered up a 1055T, I have extra ram lying around, so I need a mb. From the suggestions above I should get one with at least a couple pice slots for the gpu crunching. Suggestions for mb are welcome?
first of all, from a "strictly CPU crunching" point of view, i would stick with a mobo that uses an AMD chipset simply b/c bandwidth and overall performance favors mobos w/ AMD chipsets when it comes to using AMD CPUs (the difference may be minimal, but it adds up over time...besides, the price differences are negligible). if we bring GPUs into the picture, then your choice of mobo
could become slightly more complicated...
Discrete & Integrated AMD GPUs
lets assume the project that is of most importance to you is significantly more efficient using an AMD GPU than it is using an nVidia GPU. and lets also assume that while you'd like to engage in GPU crunching, you don't want it to slow down your GUI much (or at all if possible). the nice thing about having a mobo that utilizes an AMD chipset
AND has integrated graphics is that the onboard GPU can function as a full-time dedicated display GPU, while your discrete AMD GPU can be dedicated full-time to crunching, and you'll never have GUI lag b/c the GPU that is crunching is not at all responsible for running your display. in addition, there's a very good chance that both the integrated and the discrete GPU can share the same driver files (so no worries about installing multiple sets of video drivers on one machine). if this is the route you want to take, i'd consider a mobo that utilizes either the
880G chipset or the
890GX chipset.
Discrete & Integrated nVidia GPUs
the same can be said for nVidia GPUs. now lets assume this time that the project that is of most importance to you is significantly more efficient using an nVidia GPU than it is using an AMD GPU. if you're considering eliminating GUI lag altogether, then your best bet would again be a mobo w/ integrated graphics that can be dedicated full-time to running the display. and if your discrete GPU is going to be nVidia, then so should your onboard GPU. that way both GPUs can share common driver files (again avoiding having to install multiple sets of drivers on one machine). if this is the route you want to take, i'd consider a mobo that utilizes either the
nForce4 chipset or the
GeForce 7000 chipset.
Discrete AMD GPUs only
now you
can crunch on the same GPU that you use to run the display, and some DC projects do have parameters built into their GPU applications that help improve GUI lag if you happen to crunch on the same GPU that you use to run the display. i just happen to be really anal about GUI lag, and so i refuse to crunch with the same GPU that i use to run the display. that being said, mobos without integrated graphics have all of their PCIe lanes dedicated to physical PCIe slots, and therefore tend to have more PCIe slots and more possible GPU configurations. you may want a powerful AMD GPU to crunch with, and a minimalist GPU to run the display (to avoid GUI lag altogether), or perhaps you'll want to run 2 or more powerful GPUs, and just allow one of them to split crunching and display duties. if this is the route you want to take, i'd consider a mobo that utilizes either the
890FX chipset or the
990FX chipset.
Discrete nVidia GPUs only
i would stick with the same choice for this scenario as i would for the above "discrete AMD GPUs only" scenario.
I am thinking a 650watt psu from cosair/antec will be fine for this?
650W is far in excess of what you'll need for a CPU-only cruncher. add a single powerful (but not top-of-the-line) GPU, and you'll still have plenty of headroom w/ 650W. add a 2nd GPU that is similarly spec'ed as the first, and you should be ok, but you'll be cutting it close...you may be better off w/ a 750W PSU if you're thinking about putting 2 discrete GPUs in one box (regardless of whether you do it right away, get one GPU now and add another later). just be sure that the PSU you choose has an adequate number of PCIe connectors for multiple video cards.
SeaSonic:
S12II 520,
X650,
X750
Corsair:
HX650,
HX750
Antec:
Neo ECO 520C,
Neo ECO 620C,
EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN,
EarthWatts EA-750 Green
Newegg has a "15% off Corsair PSUs" promo going on right now...i posted about it
HERE in the hot deals forum.