Left 4 Dead system; what you think?

[Baelzar]

My friend is upgrading - mostly plays L4D 1&2 and has some extra money. He asked my opinion on his selections, I'm asking yours.

EDIT: My mistake. He actually means to buy 32GB of RAM (so 4 of the 8GB sticks, above) and says he needs to run 4 monitors and do some 3D rendering. Sorry to change the parameters so dramatically.

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10S-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231488

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Deneb 3.5GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBK4DGM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103893

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131644

Total price (with combo discount) $384.97. I bet he could do better, but I'm a noober.

 

[GoStumpy]

i5-2500k $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

MSI P67A-G43 (B3) Mobo $95 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583

Patriot 8GB DDR3-1600 Memory $36 + free gift:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

Total: $356, and would blow the doors off that combo

-edit-

You listed a single 8GB stick of ram... 2x4GB is faaar cheaper... And you listed an OEM CPU, which does not come with a heatsink/fan, and would need to be purchased separately.

-edit #2-

That is one hella expensive motherboard!

 

[gmaster456]

whats with the expensive outdated mobo?

 

[fralexandr]

if he REALLY wants an AMD CPU, he should go with the phenom II x6
the intel 2500k is much better overall though

 

[mfenn]

i5-2500k $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

MSI P67A-G43 (B3) Mobo $95 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583

Patriot 8GB DDR3-1600 Memory $36 + free gift:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

Total: $356, and would blow the doors off that combo

-edit-

You listed a single 8GB stick of ram... 2x4GB is faaar cheaper... And you listed an OEM CPU, which does not come with a heatsink/fan, and would need to be purchased separately.

-edit #2-

That is one hella expensive motherboard!

Yeah, this is a ton better that what the OP linked.

HOWEVER, it is probably overkill for the OP's friend. OP, what does your friend currently have? That'll help us figure out what needs replacing.

 

[Baelzar]

EDIT: My mistake. He actually means to buy 32GB of RAM (so 4 of the 8GB sticks, above) and says he needs to run 4 monitors and do some 3D rendering. Sorry to change the parameters so dramatically.

:thumbsup: Thanks for the input; here's his current setup according to siw.exe:

Motherboard:
Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model CROSSHAIR II FORMULA
Version 1.XX

CPU:
CPU #1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
CPU Name AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+
CPU Code Name Windsor

Memory: (4 sticks of this)
Manufacturer G.Skill
Part Number F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ
Capacity 2048 MBytes
Memory Type DDR2 (PC2-6400)
Speed 400 MHz (DDR2 800)

 

[fralexandr]

he might want to up his cpu to the core i7 2600 as the extra threads actually help 3d rendering significantly i don't think he'll be overclocking a 3d rendering machine either, although it is possible you'll have to be 100% sure it's not making any errors at all

 

[epilf]

L4D2 is more CPU heavy than it is GPU. With my 2500k and 560-448, there are spots where I see over 300fps with everything maxed @1080. Its enough to run in 3D @ a steady 60fps and in 2d at 120 (if you have a 120hz monitor).

 

[mfenn]

Can he actually demonstrate a use for 32GB of RAM? If not, it is probably a huge waste of money. Anyway, GoStumpy's build is still good (with the possible swap to i7 2600). If you really really think that he needs more RAM, start with 2x8GB, leaving 2 slots open for future upgrades.

 

[Baelzar]

Can he actually demonstrate a use for 32GB of RAM? If not, it is probably a huge waste of money. Anyway, GoStumpy's build is still good (with the possible swap to i7 2600). If you really really think that he needs more RAM, start with 2x8GB, leaving 2 slots open for future upgrades.

/shrug

What Windows OS can handle 32GB? Windows 7 64-bit?

 

[lehtv]

Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit can handle up to 16GB. Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate can handle up to 192GB physical RAM.

 

[Ken g6]

Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit can handle up to 16GB.

Huh. I wasn't aware of that. Good to know.

In any case, for less than he wanted to spend on 32GB, I'd recommend:

- 2xPatriot 8GB, $72 total
- a Crucial M4 128GB SSD, $170

Also, if he's not overclocking, I suggest the not-officially-supported, but anecdotally good, combo of a Xeon 1230 ($234) in an H67, P67, or Z68 board. (He has a discrete GPU too, right?)

 

[mfenn]

Huh. I wasn't aware of that. Good to know.

In any case, for less than he wanted to spend on 32GB, I'd recommend:

- 2xPatriot 8GB, $72 total
- a Crucial M4 128GB SSD, $170

Also, if he's not overclocking, I suggest the not-officially-supported, but anecdotally good, combo of a Xeon 1230 ($234) in an H67, P67, or Z68 board. (He has a discrete GPU too, right?)

:thumbsup: To this.

 

[mfenn]

Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit can handle up to 16GB. Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate can handle up to 192GB physical RAM.

Good point. Sometimes it's all to easy to forget MS's arbitrary restrictions.

 

[TheTrueScythe]

I think i just drolled a little... LOL

 

[acefightr]

Nice rig. Good luck with it.