After a few days of non-stop reading on AT and a few other review sites i have come to the following conclusions...
Which leads me to this post. I really do not want to make the same mistake i made 5 years ago, which was roughly ~$1200 worth of newegg goodness. I bought an ASROCK 4-COREDUAL-VSTA because i was under the impression that i could start with a Pent D 805 2.66GHz/533 FSB and when CPU/Memory prices came down some in a yr or two, upgrade the layout to a Q6600 and 4GB memory setup.. According to a recent call to Mushkin support on which sticks would best fit this new configuration, i was told that the FSB would be handicapped to 667 MHz on this particular mobo. So ive been reading up on the i5, i7 920, 1156 & 1366 sockets and i think ive assembled a list that will allow me to do what i want with the new setup, but i would like some input from the guys who know the technologies involved more intimately.
Current RIG:
Antec P182SE, Coolermaster 500W SLI ready, ASROCK 4-COREDUAL-VSTA, Pentium D 805 2.66/533FSB @ 3.06/600 QPI FSB (ASUS Silent Square cooler) According to CPU-z, 2 sticks 1GB Mushkin EM2 4200 DDR2, BFG-Tech 8800 Ultra, 2x Seagate 160GB Sata platters in RAID mirror (BIOS reports one as failed to duplicate the past few weeks - not surprised after newegging/googling for reviews recently), Linksys PCI-wifi 802a/b, Soundblaster Audigy PCI 7.1, Xp Pro SP3/Ubutnu 8.10 dual boot via Acronis disk director suite.. Misc bits:Deathadder/Lycosa, M-Audio LX4 5.1 Studiophile monitor setup, LG 22" W2252TQ
I originally built this rig for audio recording/editing (a studio PC/general use). The outlook has changed and im reconfiguring it aimed at 3D rendering/serious CAD use/Spice simulation/moderate gaming/general use. I like the idea of 3D vision, as it's implementation within CAD might be a selling point for me, but confused with ATI's 5850 that sports some impressive figures. Am also taking stock tech as far as i can while saving as much power as possible for a "gaming" rig. Frame rates mean less than rendering 3D motion of photo quality CAD, Fluid dynamics, and SPICE simulation quickly right now. Not really interested in MMO's, maybe one or two FPS/Racing titles. Looking for a good bang for the buck deal while achieving the goals herin.. So heres the list i have saved in neweegg..
Core items
Power supply: Corsair 850W 80gold
Case : same P182SE
Motherboard : Gigabyte P55-UD6 or a sub $200 version.. (UD6 may be just a waste in my hands and i'm not convinced with Newegg user reviews on pretty much any other top-tier manufacture for boards of this caliber)
CPU : i5-750 1156 socket
Heatsink/fan for the CPU : stock until H20 solution is possible
Memory : OCZ Patriot Viper Sector II 8GB DDR3-2000 (as in the P55 vs FSX blog), Mushkin never gave me grief though so i may look for an equivalent in their lineup
Primary hard drive : SSD 80 GB
Primary optical drive : Same BenQ Lightscribe DVDRW
Video card : Unless i can find a good 3D solution for a 5850 (likely crossfired down the road some), 2x GTS 250 1GB in SLI for a starting point (XFX/ASUS)
Monitor: Same for now 1650 x 1050 x 32bit 60/70Hz
Mouse/keyboard: same
Operating System: Vista 64bit/7 64bit
Snacks: ?!
Optional stuff
Additional hard drive(s): WD black Terrabyte, no raid
External hard drive: Will convert my ASROCK/STONE to 45nm (for use as a FreeNAS/unNAS box as per Tekzilla)
USB flash drive: same Cruzer 16GB
Audio card: same
Speakers: same
Headphones: maybe some *phile grade cans
Graphics tablet: nice idea... posssibly, but not really artsy
Uninterruptible Power Supply and/or surge supressor : Yes, will purchase a geeksquad ver & mod with an Optima Blue top
Pizza: Sure!! sausage peppers & onion plz
I know the picked parts will be a light-year jump compared to what i have now, my big question is will these parts work well for an upgrade to i7 920 (1156) in a year or so with better video cards. The ATI 5800's are attractive, but lack 3D vision, otherwise id be all over these. If any of you have a better combo idea for me PLEASE point me in the right direction. I'm trying to keep it under $1000 (actually under $800 if i can help it.
- I have some idea on how to overclock, which gives me just enough knowledge on the subject to be dangerous when overclocking is concerned.
- I dont need bleeding edge performance (but close is nice), or the associated electric bill of having a desktop supercomputer sitting idle 70% of the time.
- I'll attempt to purchase parts that OC together to give a bump in the bang-for-buck computing power category
- Ive read about numerous OC rig setups (mobo/cpu/ram/HDD and SSD/video card setups) yet the exact settings are still a bit confusing to me ATM..
- A Strong desire to not repeat my own sad recent history by just "winging it" when choosing parts..
- Ask someone who knows about the limitations of motherboards BEFORE purchasing one thinking a 2X(or more) increase in speed is possible because the side of the box says it'll support a D 805 to a Kentsfield Q6600.
Which leads me to this post. I really do not want to make the same mistake i made 5 years ago, which was roughly ~$1200 worth of newegg goodness. I bought an ASROCK 4-COREDUAL-VSTA because i was under the impression that i could start with a Pent D 805 2.66GHz/533 FSB and when CPU/Memory prices came down some in a yr or two, upgrade the layout to a Q6600 and 4GB memory setup.. According to a recent call to Mushkin support on which sticks would best fit this new configuration, i was told that the FSB would be handicapped to 667 MHz on this particular mobo. So ive been reading up on the i5, i7 920, 1156 & 1366 sockets and i think ive assembled a list that will allow me to do what i want with the new setup, but i would like some input from the guys who know the technologies involved more intimately.
Current RIG:
Antec P182SE, Coolermaster 500W SLI ready, ASROCK 4-COREDUAL-VSTA, Pentium D 805 2.66/533FSB @ 3.06/600 QPI FSB (ASUS Silent Square cooler) According to CPU-z, 2 sticks 1GB Mushkin EM2 4200 DDR2, BFG-Tech 8800 Ultra, 2x Seagate 160GB Sata platters in RAID mirror (BIOS reports one as failed to duplicate the past few weeks - not surprised after newegging/googling for reviews recently), Linksys PCI-wifi 802a/b, Soundblaster Audigy PCI 7.1, Xp Pro SP3/Ubutnu 8.10 dual boot via Acronis disk director suite.. Misc bits:Deathadder/Lycosa, M-Audio LX4 5.1 Studiophile monitor setup, LG 22" W2252TQ
I originally built this rig for audio recording/editing (a studio PC/general use). The outlook has changed and im reconfiguring it aimed at 3D rendering/serious CAD use/Spice simulation/moderate gaming/general use. I like the idea of 3D vision, as it's implementation within CAD might be a selling point for me, but confused with ATI's 5850 that sports some impressive figures. Am also taking stock tech as far as i can while saving as much power as possible for a "gaming" rig. Frame rates mean less than rendering 3D motion of photo quality CAD, Fluid dynamics, and SPICE simulation quickly right now. Not really interested in MMO's, maybe one or two FPS/Racing titles. Looking for a good bang for the buck deal while achieving the goals herin.. So heres the list i have saved in neweegg..
Core items
Power supply: Corsair 850W 80gold
Case : same P182SE
Motherboard : Gigabyte P55-UD6 or a sub $200 version.. (UD6 may be just a waste in my hands and i'm not convinced with Newegg user reviews on pretty much any other top-tier manufacture for boards of this caliber)
CPU : i5-750 1156 socket
Heatsink/fan for the CPU : stock until H20 solution is possible
Memory : OCZ Patriot Viper Sector II 8GB DDR3-2000 (as in the P55 vs FSX blog), Mushkin never gave me grief though so i may look for an equivalent in their lineup
Primary hard drive : SSD 80 GB
Primary optical drive : Same BenQ Lightscribe DVDRW
Video card : Unless i can find a good 3D solution for a 5850 (likely crossfired down the road some), 2x GTS 250 1GB in SLI for a starting point (XFX/ASUS)
Monitor: Same for now 1650 x 1050 x 32bit 60/70Hz
Mouse/keyboard: same
Operating System: Vista 64bit/7 64bit
Snacks: ?!
Optional stuff
Additional hard drive(s): WD black Terrabyte, no raid
External hard drive: Will convert my ASROCK/STONE to 45nm (for use as a FreeNAS/unNAS box as per Tekzilla)
USB flash drive: same Cruzer 16GB
Audio card: same
Speakers: same
Headphones: maybe some *phile grade cans
Graphics tablet: nice idea... posssibly, but not really artsy
Uninterruptible Power Supply and/or surge supressor : Yes, will purchase a geeksquad ver & mod with an Optima Blue top
Pizza: Sure!! sausage peppers & onion plz
I know the picked parts will be a light-year jump compared to what i have now, my big question is will these parts work well for an upgrade to i7 920 (1156) in a year or so with better video cards. The ATI 5800's are attractive, but lack 3D vision, otherwise id be all over these. If any of you have a better combo idea for me PLEASE point me in the right direction. I'm trying to keep it under $1000 (actually under $800 if i can help it.