New Rig Advise

K

Kawlos Ghroomez

New Member
Hey Guys,

New around here and plan to stick around as I will more than likely require help in the near future with my new 'project'.

I build my last computer approximately 6 years ago at the age of 16 and still have it - Guess I did something right! But now I'm looking at building a new and up to date computer as I'm progressing through CAD courses and know that the extra power will help in the future. I'm also an Ex-Hardcore Gamer on the PC and would like to spend a little time pushing back into it all again!

So, my current build is something like this:

850/900W PSU (I think)
ASUS P5W DH Delux
Intel Core2Duo 3.6
O.Z 2GB Ram 1666MHz
Nvidia GTX260 512MB
Some Soundblaster sound card which I love.. Can't remember the name but set me back about £80 - £120 in the day
Currently running Windows XP as I downgraded Vista to play Diablo 3

Nothing much more to add really. It's served me very well, but it's just that time to upgrade. I haven't been on the computer scene for years now, so as much help is appreciated. Here is what I am looking at ordering on Monday:


AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+)
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (4x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit
Annddddddd Windows 7 (64-Bit) due to compatibility issues and what not.

All of the above is to start off with. I'll get a better graphics card when I get a little more money. I remember having an AMD in the past with an MSI and it was a very good computer at the time (maybe 1998...). But I want to get off Intel/Nvidia and explore the AMD/Radeon market again. I've never owned a Gigabyte Motherboard, but hear numerous good things about them.

Anyways, the only thing is concerning me is that the Gigabyte specs doesn't state that it will run 2400MHz ram.. Therefore should I just buy different ram, could I overclock it.. What are my options?

If anyone has any suggestions in swapping better components, please let me know, but I'm more than happy that the above is a good enough rig, but meh. All comments welcome :).

Thanks.
Karl
 
wbt50

wbt50

New Member
To be honest, I would just get a regular 8GB 1600MHz RAM as it's all you will need, you could allocate the £70 saved to GPU or an SSD, unless the RAM your planning to buy is super cheap. I recently tried a system using 2400MHz RAM and I honestly saw no difference at all between the 2400MHz and my RAM running at 1333.
 
Last edited:
turbobooster

turbobooster

Member
depending on what you do with it, you will see differents in the memory, 1333 vs 2400mhz.
but you could also go for 2133 or 1866mhz.
thats the diggerents that you not are going to notice.
but the mobo and cpu are good.
 
K

Kawlos Ghroomez

New Member
Well with the bang for buck, it seems to be some of the best stuff out there unless I'm reading all of the stats incorrectly.. The next load I was looking at is the following:

Corsair Dominator 16GB (4x4GB) PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit
1866MHz RAM Speed, CAS 9-10-9-27 Timings, 1.50-1.60v VDIMM, Lifetime Warranty with Corsair.

The Kingston was:

Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (4x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit
2400MHz RAM Speed, CAS 11-13-13-31 Timings, 1.55-1.65v VDIMM, Lifetime Warranty with Kingston.

The Kingston is £20 cheaper.

Is it down the to fact that the RAM won't actually run in the Mobo, or it just that it won't be able to run its full potential? If it's the latter, I'm not too fussed in buying it of course..
 
Last edited:
Benny Boy

Benny Boy

Active Member
FX 8320 over 8350 because it clocks about the same and doesn't cost as much. Get a good aftermarket cooler.

FX supports 1866 by defualt. With the board's spec @ 2000 it might max at 19xx. Get at least 1866. I'd get 2133 for over/under clocking, timing tightening headroom. 2x8GB=16 total while keeping option open to add more if needed/less power. 4GB Dimms might overclock better tho, if that's your plan. Kingstone makes good memory. So do some other brands such as GSkill, Corsair, Mushkin, Patriot and others, that usually cost less.

Depending on when you're building, Steamroller is scheduled for this year.
 
K

Kawlos Ghroomez

New Member
Sorry, looking ahead to graphics cards now.. Would 2 x MSI R7870 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC be any good with the above parts? Again, they seem to have a good bang for buck!
 
wbt50

wbt50

New Member
Kawlos Ghroomez said:
Sorry, looking ahead to graphics cards now.. Would 2 x MSI R7870 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC be any good with the above parts? Again, they seem to have a good bang for buck!
Click to expand...

I'd suggest going for a 7950 over 2 7870's. That way you save room for future upgrades when it is necessary and a single 7950 will use much less electricity than 2 cards.

Or if your budget allows it go for a GTX 670, Awesome card.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
If you've got the money for 2 7870s, why not just get one 7970? Should cost about the same (or maybe a tiny bit more or less), will consume less power than 2 7870s and it will produce less heat. You could always add another 7970 a couple of years down the line if you wanted and have far superior performance to 2 7870s.

If you can't afford a single 7970, then yeah, as said above, a single 7950 or 670 would be great. It's best practice to use one powerful card for a new build over two weaker cards.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
The only difference is the cooling most probably, but Sapphire is a great brand to go for. :good:
 
K

Kawlos Ghroomez

New Member
Nice, cheers for the advise. Had a really nice sapphire before, but wasn't compatible with mt board and dads mate swapped with his.. Mine was probably better, but meh.

Oh well, thanks. Looking forward to the new build!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top