newdesktop

A

allmondjoy87

New Member
hey guys i've read over some of the guides on here, as well as the ARS system guide and kinda mixed and matched to make a new computer. Budget ~1k. This will be my first build:o Any suggestions about what to add or change??

CPU: i7 920 @newegg
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R @newegg
GPU:Radeon HD 4870 @newegg
MEM: OCZ 3 x 2GB DDR3 @newegg
PSU: Corsair 550 VX @newegg
HDD: 2 x WD 640GB @newegg
CASE: Cooler Master Centurion 5 @newegg

i've got a DVD +-rw that i'll scrap from my current comp, as well as two monitors (1 dvi and 1 vga)

things i'm concerned about:
-will i need any sort of extra cooling fans? or even a heatsink for the cpu?
-i was looking for a middle range video card...how did i do?
-finding a decent PSU to support it all
-are all these parts compatible? (my research suggests yes but im not sure)

Right now i'm a little over 1k, but i'm open to suggested upgrades or downgrades! any help you guys could give me would be great.
 
Everything looks good

Would change the case though

If your stuck on Coolermaster I would get the Cent 5 with the side panel (looks much better)

If you want to Overclock the cpu then, get an aftermarket heatsink

Dont know much about intel so I cant recommend a good cooler (others can)

As for case fans I recommend getting a couple of CM R4's. They are great fans
 
Nice build :D

The mobo-cpu-ram are all gonna work fine together.

Nice pick on the videocard. what are you gonna use this rig for though?

I have the same PSU and it's been great, consider going higher if you want Crossfire capabilities in the future.

If you are gonna overclock, I would make sure you have a rear, front or side, and top fan (2 fans would be fine - one in, one out) - (also, bigger fans move more air at quieter levels, ie. large top exhaust fans kill ;))

I'm using Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (~$30) and it's fantastic. I know there are other comparable heatsinks too, but I don't have experience with them.

let us know what you're gonna be doing with the new rig so we can give better advice!

Do you have an OS?
 
not sure if this will have a negative effect but you will have 4Gb in Channel 1 and 2Gb in Channel 2. might wanna consider keeping the channels even for a smooth dual channel, 2 & 2, or 4 & 4 (you'll be fine with 4Gb depending on your intended use)

I don't have a lot of knowledge on this though, but I remember reading something to that effect when I was doing my build.

Can someone expand on this?
 
thanks for the speedy responses!

@vandassen
you may guess w/ 2 monitors i'm a big multi-tasker. I use photoshop/audition on the reg + programming + the usuals (browsing/media/chat/etc). moderate gaming although that will probably increase with this build. My intentions are to have a work horse that will support casual gaming, but be a powerful multi-tasker for as long as possible.

prob wont overclock in the near future, so i'll keep the heat sink in mind. I just didnt know if it was a good idea to have one because the cpu may run hot at stock or what. Thanks to school and msdnaa i get a copy of windows7 (64bit) for being an engineer :D

@g25r8cer
thanks i'll be sure to tack some r4's to the list. the case was a shot in the dark, i picked it off of recommendations. I'm not tied to coolermaster just something affordable that will last and not rattle. Do you have any other recommendations?

@everyone else
vand brings up a good point w/ the ram... anybody know if this will cause a problem?
 
allmondjoy87 said:
prob wont overclock in the near future, so i'll keep the heat sink in mind. I just didnt know if it was a good idea to have one because the cpu may run hot at stock or what.
Click to expand...

I think if you're gonna push the machine, even at stock, you'll want decent cooling. once you see the temps that the intel cooler has to offer you might want something beefier

;) that's what happened to me
 
allmondjoy87 said:
thanks i'll be sure to tack some r4's to the list. the case was a shot in the dark, i picked it off of recommendations. I'm not tied to coolermaster just something affordable that will last and not rattle. Do you have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...

definitely do yourself a favor and get yourself a case that comes recommended that is very quiet (I'll see if I can remember some that were told to me). nothing worse than hearing 3 or 4 or more fans whirling :(

side led fans and windows are for suckers ...suckers like me (very chilly though Antec, thanks!)
 
 
I think ASUS motherboards go better with Intel processors than GIGABYTEs....


And maybe change your GPU to something newer and what takes less power from PSU? HD4890?
 
allmondjoy87 said:
@everyone else
vand brings up a good point w/ the ram... anybody know if this will cause a problem?
Click to expand...

I was just reading on another thread that the guy had bought a 2 x 2gb set for his 3 channel board and people were making a fuss saying why buy 2 channel ram for 3 channel board...

I think your selection is the opposite of this, triple ch ram on a dual channel board.... but I still don't know the repercussions this could have... I think just out of sync timing between the sticks, more research is needed
 
The processor and motherboard support triple channel memory, so the 3x2gb memory is correct. I am not sure why Gigabyte put four slots on a triple channel board, but that is what they did.

Andrew
 
toolcrib said:
The processor and motherboard support triple channel memory, so the 3x2gb memory is correct. I am not sure why Gigabyte put four slots on a triple channel board, but that is what they did.

Andrew
Click to expand...

How embarrassing... haha I saw the 4 slots and ASSUMED... tsk tsk to me.
 
Analizer said:
I think ASUS motherboards go better with Intel processors than GIGABYTEs....


And maybe change your GPU to something newer and what takes less power from PSU? HD4890?
Click to expand...

would you guys suggest something like the Asus P6T se @newegg over the Gigabyte ud3r @newegg ?

it doesnt seem to have this wierd 4 memory slot issue, and i wouldn't mind shelling out another 20 bucks if its gonna save me time/last longer/support upgrades better.

you're right i think i will upgrade from the 4870 to the 4890
 
allmondjoy87 said:
would you guys suggest something like the Asus P6T se @newegg over the Gigabyte ud3r @newegg ?

it doesnt seem to have this wierd 4 memory slot issue, and i wouldn't mind shelling out another 20 bucks if its gonna save me time/last longer/support upgrades better.

you're right i think i will upgrade from the 4870 to the 4890
Click to expand...

Personally I haven't used either board, so I can't say for sure...

I'd say you'd be good to shell out an extra $20 for the P6T (if this stuff is important to you, of course):

PCIe x16 3 slots (16x 16x 4x) vs 2 (16x 16x)
DDR3 6 slots vs 4
DDR3 24 Gb max vs 16Gb
USB 2.0 gonna lose 2 slots at back panel (6 vs 8) but gain a header on the board (3 vs 2)
DDR3 2000(O.C.)*/1866(O.C.)*/1800(O.C.)*/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066
vs DDR3 2000+/1333/1066
I believe the LAN is 10/100/1000 on both...

check out the reviews!

"Excellent for overclocking -- I was able to overclock my i7-920 by over 1GHz on this motherboard without any trouble at all. It supports very fast memory and has a layout that worked well with my P183 case."
 
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toolcrib said:
The processor and motherboard support triple channel memory, so the 3x2gb memory is correct. I am not sure why Gigabyte put four slots on a triple channel board, but that is what they did.

Andrew
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't two sets of dual-channel RAM have more bandwidth than one set of triple-channel?
 
Drenlin said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't two sets of dual-channel RAM have more bandwidth than one set of triple-channel?
Click to expand...

The bandwidth will remain the same because the ram will still operate in 3 channel mode. (# of channels is limited by the memory controller on the processor) The total bandwidth is the product of the bandwidth of each memory stick and the number of channels. Adding a fourth memory stick will increase total memory size, but should not effect bandwidth.

Andrew

Edit: If I was choosing between those two boards, I would lean toward the ASUS simply because it has 6 memory slots. I tend to buy a computer fairly infrequently (see sig) and would want the ability to add more ram in the future. Also, if you latter add a second set of 3 memory sticks, the 3 channel memory mode will still be balanced.
 
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Drenlin said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't two sets of dual-channel RAM have more bandwidth than one set of triple-channel?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go ahead and take a guess (sorry, I looked into but couldn't find a reliable answer...)

assuming both test setups have 6Gb (for the sake of argument):

[2gb, 1gb] [2gb, 1gb]
vs
[2gb] [2gb] [2gb]

my assumption (based on speeds being same, etc.) 3 channels is gonna divvy up the work better (3 ways vs 2 ways) and get it done faster

also, it's been suggested that sticking to 1 slot per channel will show an increase in performance too.

I think these would be minimal differences that we won't be able to notice but benchmarks might prove me right (or wrong)

So is that indecisive enough for you? :D
 
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toolcrib said:
The total bandwidth is the product of the bandwidth of each memory stick and the number of channels. Adding a fourth memory stick will increase total memory size, but should not effect bandwidth.
Click to expand...

did you mean "total bandwidth is the product of the bandwidth of each CHANNEL and the number of channels"

if I understand what you're trying to say:

[2Gb @ 800Mhz] [2Gb @ 800Mhz] bandwidth = 1600 (adding a stick will NOT increase bandwidth here)
vs
[2Gb @ 800Mhz] [2Gb @ 800Mhz] [2Gb @ 800Mhz] bandwidth = 2400

these numbers are used just for example

toolcrib said:
The bandwidth will remain the same because the ram will still operate in 3 channel mode. (# of channels is limited by the memory controller on the processor)
Click to expand...

sorry, this didn't make sense to me... how will a dual channel kit "operate in 3 channel mode"?
 
so i think i'm done?

changes to the orig:

MOBO: Asus p6t @newegg
GPU: Radeon hd 4890 @newegg
Case: CM elite @newegg (only 30 after rebate zomg!)

total comes to just a hair over 1100 beans which is good enough for me!

let me know if anyone foresees any problems in my future :D

thanks for all of your help guys! i'll be sure to stick around and contribute as best i can... plus i'm sure i'll be back once all this stuff gets here:good:
 
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