Need advice on a home workstation/gaming rig

[Altamira]

Hi everyone,

So i think its time to change pace. These last 2 months i've working with a lot of apps for my master thesis and i've been noticing some moderate lag when working with them (not to say when working with them at the same time). Im not an expert in putting up a nice DIY rig even if i have done it 2 times before (last time around 3 years ago . So i hope you can help me. Ok so right now this is what i have:

- MONITOR - Dell LCD U2311H 23" 1920x1080 (bought three months ago after a 12 year period with my old school Nokia 17" CRT hehehe). I have to be honest when i've made this change i really noticed the hardware loose working capacity pretty fast. Changing native resolution made a big difference.
- PSU - Corsair HX520w (by the way a stupendous and reliable psu)
- MOTHERBOARD - Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS5 (Socket 775)
- RAM - Gskill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK (2Gx2) DDR2
- CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
- GPU - XFX 9800 GTX
- HD - ATA SAMSUNG 750GB

So this is it. I have to say so far none of these components gave me problems and have been reliable, exept HD (with time they become less responsive and somehow reliable and that scares me cause im working with critical data). I work with an ecletic pletora of apps depending on the type of work. to resume: 3D rendering/design (mostly Blender), GIS (both GRASS and QGIS), some Photoshop and also de fun part, gaming. I might use others but these are the most common. I use both Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows (Vista). To be honest i find Ubuntu to be more reliable, articulated and faster response (at least it frees more resources to be able to work faster). Now the money. Well i intend to spend around 600-700 Euros (that means 800-900 USD). I think i will update between mid/end January. So this is my story . Any help and suggestions with the new rig will be great. Please ask any questions.

Best Regards

Nuno

PS: I have to say that the new rig is not for professional/commercial use, only for academic/personal use.

 

[MisterDonut]

you definitely want to go for a new cpu platform, so i'd hold out the few days to buy Sandybridge. As far as your GPU goes, the 9800 is old news . Look around for a GTX460 1GB. Grab an SSD! You should go for a 120GB SF-1200 controlled one by ICZ, G.SKill, Corsair, etc. I haven't fully read Anands review on the C400 but the speeds and cost per GB look ok. Grab a couple of 1TB Samsung F3's, and you can probably reuse the rest of your rig.

 

[Altamira]

thank you. Yes it is a good option to wait for the Sandy Bridge (maybe the 2500). Do you think i should go for the GTX 570 and DDR3 RAM? Im not sure how the prices will be here since the VAT went from 21% to 23%. The GTX 570 still is in short supply and not many shops are selling it at least in stock ready to deliver. Maybe the Sandy bridge release will make the all package (costs) more calculable. About the PSU do you think i can maintain it?

 

[mnewsham]

thank you. Yes it is a good option to wait for the Sandy Bridge (maybe the 2500). Do you think i should go for the GTX 570 and DDR3 RAM? Im not sure how the prices will be here since the VAT went from 21% to 23%. The GTX 570 still is in short supply and not many shops are selling it at least in stock ready to deliver. Maybe the Sandy bridge release will make the all package (costs) more calculable. About the PSU do you think i can maintain it?

well i would say sandy bridge + mobo = ~350-400
then a better psu 650 watt for ~100
then some RAM ~80
and a gpu GTX560? or 570 maybe depending on what's left over.

 

[MisterDonut]

Ah I forgot to mention RAM. Yeah DDR3-1333 1.5v should be sufficient. You probably want 8GB from G.Skill in this category. If you plan to OC the system, 1600 RAM should help, but not absolutely necessary. It doesn't sound like you use this system too much for gaming, and a GTX460 should play most modern games @ 1080p with no problem. Getting a 460 lets you keep your current PSU. Of course, if you do heavy gaming, then yeah, look for a better GPU. I've seen the 5870 drop as low as $200, and at that price, it's a hell of a steal. Way better than anything close to its price range.

 

[mfenn]

Ah I forgot to mention RAM. Yeah DDR3-1333 1.5v should be sufficient. You probably want 8GB from G.Skill in this category. If you plan to OC the system, 1600 RAM should help, but not absolutely necessary. It doesn't sound like you use this system too much for gaming, and a GTX460 should play most modern games @ 1080p with no problem. Getting a 460 lets you keep your current PSU. Of course, if you do heavy gaming, then yeah, look for a better GPU. I've seen the 5870 drop as low as $200, and at that price, it's a hell of a steal. Way better than anything close to its price range.

This is pretty much right on except for the bolded with regard to Sandy Bridge. Since the BCLK is locked, you can only overclock via raising the multiplier, which of course doesn't affect the memory.

 

[MisterDonut]

Oh, cool thing to know 8D.

 

[Altamira]

Assuming i play games a decent amount of my spare time (of course i have others things to attend , work with the previous apps i mentioned, don't do overclocking or Sli configuration, do you think it would be wise investing in the follow setup:

MOTHERBOARD - Can i save some money and go for the H67 or i will loose performance against the mainstream P67? (im inclined to opt for a Gigabyte motherboard be it one or another)
RAM - Well im not totally sure if i should opt for 8GB (i sometimes feel like apps like 3D rendering consume a fair amount of memory). Anyway im inclined to Gskill DDR3 1600 (myaybe the new ripjaws-x)
CPU - Intel Sandy Bridge 2500 (i think there is no necessity of paying more for the K version right?)
GPU - Any brand 570 GTX (I hope im not stretching to much considering this is a moderate priced card, i have to see how it behaves with the VAT raise these next two weeks)
PSU - Now this is the problem. Can my corsair 520W keep up with the 570. Nvidia says no (minimum 550W), what you all think?
SSD/HD - SSD still are a bit expensive and im not aware of the real advantages here. So i have three options: invest in another HD (fresh one), keep the one i have and see how it goes or when im sure what the total price will be (suming all other components) see if it fits in the bill.

I hope i could be more useful anyway feel free to help me out and give suggestions. Im gathering the much info i can so i can decide the next weeks.

 

[mnewsham]

Seems like a good build the H67 will be fine for you. 1333 RAM would also be fine, and if unsure 8gb can't hurt. I personally would get a 600 watt at last psu. And finally ssd would speed up many of your applications (and games) if you have them stored on the ssd.

 

[BoozeCompany]

MOBO - Gigabyte P67 Mobo --> no pricing yet (as far as i know)

CPU - Intel I5 2500K -> $216 per 1Ku --> $220/230 depending on where you buy it (Do you do a lot of heavy rendering? If yes than you could better go for a I7 2600K = $317 per 1Ku so $320/330) you really need to buy a K version since thats the only version which is overclockable and overclocking is always a nice thing

RAM - Corsair 8GB Vengeance series --> good quality, high performance and reliability --> can be bought for 100 euros

GPU - GTX470 --> good performance, currently low price --> can be bought for around 200 euros

HDD/SSD - Seagate momentus XT 500GB --> its a hybrid drive, that means its a hdd combined with a ssd. The hdd is used for massive storage of files you do not use often. The ssd is used for caching files that you do use often. ---> can be bought for around 110 euros. Put it in raid with your 750 GB samsung hdd

PSU - keep your current corsair 520W psu. you can easly draw more than 520W from it and since its a corsair it wont break soon


Hope this post is usefull

 

[mfenn]

MOTHERBOARD - Can i save some money and go for the H67 or i will loose performance against the mainstream P67? (im inclined to opt for a Gigabyte motherboard be it one or another)

H67 would probably work fine, but keep in mind that you won't be able to use the IGP with your GPU.

RAM - Well im not totally sure if i should opt for 8GB (i sometimes feel like apps like 3D rendering consume a fair amount of memory). Anyway im inclined to Gskill DDR3 1600 (myaybe the new ripjaws-x)

Fancy RAM is even more of a waste of money with Sandy Bridge. Just get the cheapest 1.5V 8GB DDR3 1333 kit from a reputable manufacturer. You will want 8GB considering the apps that you are running.

CPU - Intel Sandy Bridge 2500 (i think there is no necessity of paying more for the K version right?)

Fair enough.

GPU - Any brand 570 GTX (I hope im not stretching to much considering this is a moderate priced card, i have to see how it behaves with the VAT raise these next two weeks)

Looks good.

PSU - Now this is the problem. Can my corsair 520W keep up with the 570. Nvidia says no (minimum 550W), what you all think?

NVidia's ratings are inflated to account for people with absolutely trashy PSUs. I would say that a brand new 520W would be fine, but since you pretty much have Corsair's oldest model of PSU, I would say that it is marginal.

SSD/HD - SSD still are a bit expensive and im not aware of the real advantages here. So i have three options: invest in another HD (fresh one), keep the one i have and see how it goes or when im sure what the total price will be (suming all other components) see if it fits in the bill.

Aaaaaand here's where the wheels fall off. An SSD is the single biggest upgrade that you can make compared to your current PC. Nothing else even comes close. I shudder at the thought of using an Adobe product without an SSD.

 

[Altamira]

I've been gathering some info about the H67 chipset but maybe you cold help me with some doubts:

- I've read that it supports 1333 DDR3 RAM (max.). That means anything above is out of question? Since im inclined to 8GB 1333 RAM that should be fine? What is your opinion concerning clock frequencies (1333, 1600,etc...) vs Latency. Should i opt for lower latencies (like Cas7) or higher is fine (like Cas9)? Does higher frequencies like 1600 and up really benefits my system (and apps in general) or it depends on the overall components and their synchrony response?
- H67 does not support overclocking, but it supports turbo boost from sandy bridge 2500 Cpu?
- Would the H67 chipset support an SSD and my old HDD 750GB (i mean in terms of conectivity)

So far im really inclined to the H67 chipset since i wanna pay less for what i really need. I do not find major improvements in the P67 platform in terms of preformance (concidering im not interested in overclocking or SLI), but maybe you could enlighten me more about this?
I hope i can maintain my Corsair 520W and save some money for the 570 GTX and an SSD drive.

Thank you so far

PS: ho by the way i have read somewhere that the SSD drives have a shorter lifetime that conventional HDD. Is that true?

 

[mnewsham]

I've been gathering some info about the H67 chipset but maybe you cold help me with some doubts:

- I've read that it supports 1333 DDR3 RAM (max.). That means anything above is out of question? Since im inclined to 8GB 1333 RAM that should be fine? What is your opinion concerning clock frequencies (1333, 1600,etc...) vs Latency. Should i opt for lower latencies (like Cas7) or higher is fine (like Cas9)? Does higher frequencies like 1600 and up really benefits my system (and apps in general) or it depends on the overall components and their synchrony response?
- H67 does not support overclocking, but it supports turbo boost from sandy bridge 2500 Cpu?
- Would the H67 chipset support an SSD and my old HDD 750GB (i mean in terms of conectivity)

So far im really inclined to the H67 chipset since i wanna pay less for what i really need. I do not find major improvements in the P67 platform in terms of preformance (concidering im not interested in overclocking or SLI), but maybe you could enlighten me more about this?
I hope i can maintain my Corsair 520W and save some money for the 570 GTX and an SSD drive.

Thank you so far

PS: ho by the way i have read somewhere that the SSD drives have a shorter lifetime that conventional HDD. Is that true?

You won't notice a difference with most programs with 1333 vs. 1600 or cl9 vs. cl7 with that said however, faster IS faster whether you notice or not is depending on programs. You will get turbo boost, you will not lose any connectivity. You will not have sli/crossfire in most cases. Finally SSD's DO degrade, and thus depending on your usage CAN have a shorter life span, but unlike with HDD's it will be from too many read/write cycles, not hardware failure. This effect will be lessened by TRIM which most new drives support standard.

 

[Altamira]

Ok thank you. Im almost there, hehehe.

- H67 motherboard ( im not sure about the brand or model, my gigabyte 775 have been a tremendous and reliable piece of hardware so maybe i go with the same brand. Any suggestions would be great anyway)
- 4x2 (8GB) 1333 DDR 3 (there are a tremendous amount of options here, from Corsair, Gskill,... I've been using Gskill for 3 years with very reliable results. I've heard about the new Ripjaws-x series maybe is a nice option. Ho by the way sometimes i read about RAM channels (like dual, triple,...) what effect this have? Any way please be free to suggest any brand/model you know for experience is good and reliable.
- GPU - For now i will try to maintain my 570 GTX option
- Intel Sandy Bridge 2500 (non-K)
- SSD - Well here you have to help me out in terms of best brands (reliability), storage capacity and most important price. I though about an SSD around 60GB. Above this they really seem to get very expensive. Anyway and once more give any suggestions for a nice value/preformance SSD drive. My only problem here is that i use 2 OS, Windows Vista and Linux Ubuntu. I dont know how partitions work in SSD format but i see some problems no? Unless im able to boot linux, some linux apps (the ones i use frequently like GIS with files/folders associated with it, 3D rendering,etc...) and reserve some space (a folder for exemple) for games i play through Windows. This means i will still boot Windows through my actual HDD and use this same disk for general/massive storage. Well sorry but im not sure how SSD fucntion in reality. In any case if the bill gets a bit higher could/should i opt alternatively for a Western Digital Caviar Black, Seagate Barracuda or Samsung spinpoint? I know it will not give me same preformance as SSD but it could be a fresh start since my actual HDD is a nit old no ?
- Once more im expecting my 520W Corsair deals with all this

 

[mfenn]

Ok thank you. Im almost there, hehehe.

- H67 motherboard ( im not sure about the brand or model, my gigabyte 775 have been a tremendous and reliable piece of hardware so maybe i go with the same brand. Any suggestions would be great anyway)
- 4x2 (8GB) 1333 DDR 3 (there are a tremendous amount of options here, from Corsair, Gskill,... I've been using Gskill for 3 years with very reliable results. I've heard about the new Ripjaws-x series maybe is a nice option. Ho by the way sometimes i read about RAM channels (like dual, triple,...) what effect this have? Any way please be free to suggest any brand/model you know for experience is good and reliable.
- GPU - For now i will try to maintain my 570 GTX option
- Intel Sandy Bridge 2500 (non-K)
- SSD - Well here you have to help me out in terms of best brands (reliability), storage capacity and most important price. I though about an SSD around 60GB. Above this they really seem to get very expensive. Anyway and once more give any suggestions for a nice value/preformance SSD drive. My only problem here is that i use 2 OS, Windows Vista and Linux Ubuntu. I dont know how partitions work in SSD format but i see some problems no? Unless im able to boot linux, some linux apps (the ones i use frequently like GIS with files/folders associated with it, 3D rendering,etc...) and reserve some space (a folder for exemple) for games i play through Windows. This means i will still boot Windows through my actual HDD and use this same disk for general/massive storage. Well sorry but im not sure how SSD fucntion in reality. In any case if the bill gets a bit higher could/should i opt alternatively for a Western Digital Caviar Black, Seagate Barracuda or Samsung spinpoint? I know it will not give me same preformance as SSD but it could be a fresh start since my actual HDD is a nit old no ?
- Once more im expecting my 520W Corsair deals with all this

Here's a list:
i5 2500 + Intel BOXDH67BL $290
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $80 - DDR3 1600 would work, but there's no point
GTX 570 $330 AR
OCZ Agility 2 60GB $100 AR

Like I said before, a brand new ~550W would be fine, but your Corsair may be marginal after all these years.

As for the SSD partitioning, it works the same as an HDD. Here's what I would propose for you:
SSD
Primary 1: Linux / 10GB for core system
Primary 2: Linux /home 20GB for homedir
Primary 3: Windows C: 30GB

HDD:
Primary 1: Linux /opt for big programs
Primary 2: NTFS drive for bulk storage, can be read by Windows and Linux, mount in /media/bulk on Linux and D: on Windows