Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer
Vonhitz wrote:Welcome to the Tech Report!I've always wanted to build my own PC and make it a beast.
Vonhitz wrote:Unless you know what applications that you're going to run that need more than 4 cores / 8 threads and 32GiB of memory, you might get better results for less money with Haswell (Core i7-4770K), than with Sandy-Bridge-E. Good LGA1150 motherboards with Z87 are priced better than LGA2011 X79 motherboards, too.Intel Core i7-3930K
Vonhitz wrote:That memory has CAS latency of 10 cycles. Look for 8 GiB DIMMs of PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600) or faster that run with CAS 9 or less at 1.5V or less. Start with two DIMMs for LGA1150 or four DIMMs for LGA2011. 2x8 GiB = 16 GiB total for LGA1150 with two slots free to double it in the future. 4x8 GiB = 32 GiB total for LGA2011 with four slots free to double it in the future. Note that the "Home" version of Windows 7 or 8 has a 16 GiB limit, so you want the "Professional" version of the operating system.G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10Q2-64GBZL
Vonhitz wrote:Check out the 3.0 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 drives for storing big stuff while using an SSD for your operating system and most performance-sensitive applications.I've seen alot of "Oh hey, use 2 3TB or 4TB HD's as a RAID 1 or whatnot. I've been reading up on RAID 1, apparently I'd need two hard drives along with my SSD. Is it worth looking into? Suggestions?
Vonhitz wrote:Check out the SoundBlaster Z, too.Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion (70SB135400000)
Vonhitz wrote:So-called "surround" headsets are a gimmick. Get a good set of stereo audio headphones.Astro Gaming A40 Quick Disconnect Connector Circumaural Wired Headset
Vonhitz wrote:Consider a Gold or Platinum efficiency PSU.CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M
Vonhitz wrote:I'd rather have an IPS 3840x2080, 2560x1600 or 2560x1440 display instead of a TN 1920x1080 display, but if you want to do stereoscopic 3D at a reasonable refresh rate, 120 Hz is warranted.x2 ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz
Unless you know what applications that you're going to run that need more than 4 cores / 8 threads and 32GiB of memory, you might get better results for less money with Haswell (Core i7-4770K), than with Sandy-Bridge-E. Good LGA1150 motherboards with Z87 are priced better than LGA2011 x79 boards, too.
That memory has CAS latency of 10 cycles. Look for 8 GiB DIMMs of PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600) or faster that run with CAS 9 or less at 1.5V or less. Start with two DIMMs for LGA1150 or four DIMMs for LGA2011.
So-called "surround" headsets are a gimmick. Get a good set of stereo audio headphones.
I'd rather have an IPS 3840x2080, 2560x1600 or 2560x1440 display, but if you want to do stereoscopic 3D at a reasonable refresh rate, 120 Hz is warranted.
Check out the 3TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 drives.
Vonhitz wrote:Updated First post to reflect Secondary Considerations & added questions/comments in "notes" section.
Graphics card- Wait. The only 'safe bet' for graphics cards right now is Nvidia's Titan. It's the only card with great performance and 6GB of RAM, that you can guarantee will run multiple monitors with multiple cards without significant issues. And it's $1000 a pop, though you'd only need one. Why not the HD7990? Well, even though it has 6GB of RAM installed, that's split between two GPUs- and they don't share. It's effectively the performance level of a pair of HD7590 3GB cards. Now, there are HD7970's with 6GB, but they're rare, and they don't have the kind of cooler you'd actually want to use if you were going to put two cards in a system. The 'perfect' solution would actually be the GTX780's with the Titan cooler, if they made a version with 6GB of RAM; but Nvidia nixed that just like they nixed 8GB GTX690's (only 4GB cards were shipped, so 2GB per GPU). An HD7990 with 12GB (so 6GB per GPU) would be decent but they don't exist, and the jury's still out on AMD's driver team in addressing multi-card setups.
Check out the 3.0 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 drives for storing big stuff while using an SSD for your operating system and most performance-sensitive applications.
Vonhitz wrote:I'm not sure what the (PC3 14900) stands for, could someone explain.
Airmantharp wrote:With GPU's- there's a new generation coming
Vonhitz wrote:You want your operating system and your most-used programs to be installed on the SSD. Files that aren't as latency-sensitive can be stored on a hard-drive. RAID doesn't make much sense for your SSD. I'd suggest buying an external hard-drive or dock or setting up a NAS unit for backup.SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD512BW 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo
$489.99
Notes: So I read somewhere that for gaming, that it would be better for two SSD's setup as RAID 1, than 1 SSD with two 3TB HD's setup at RAID1 supporting the 1 SSD. Can anyone sorta alleviate my possible misunderstand on this subject?
Vonhitz wrote:It's pricier than the SoundBlaster Z, but if you need the audiophile-level amps and recording abilities of the ZXR, the reviewers seem to like it.Creative Sound Blaster Z Series ZXR (70SB151000000) PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102050
-$209.99
Notes: Opinions?
Vonhitz wrote:80+ Platinum:Gold or Platinum efficiency PSU?? - Still looking into this. Might need a little more info.
Vonhitz wrote:You would probably end up disappointed in one or the other. However, if you'd like to try a 144 Hz TN LCD monitor at 1920x1080 next to one of those Korean 2560x1440 IPS LCD monitors, you could form your own opinion on which feature provides the best gaming experience.I've read IPS is better for RPG games, while 144hz monitors is better for games like Battlefield. Since I'm leaning towards a build geared to games like Battlefield, I've decided to go with a 144hz Monitor. I would however like a 2 screen setup. Maybe 1 144hz and a second 24" IPS monitor? Would that work?
Vonhitz wrote:Is the Logitech G710+ any good? How about the CoolerMaster Storm QuickFire Pro for $110 -35 code "EMCXMXP66" -15MIR?I'm taking suggestions on keyboards.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Vonhitz wrote:You want your operating system and your most-used programs to be installed on the SSD. Files that aren't as latency-sensitive can be stored on a hard-drive. RAID doesn't make much sense for your SSD. I'd suggest buying an external hard-drive or dock or setting up a NAS unit for backup.SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD512BW 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo
$489.99
Notes: So I read somewhere that for gaming, that it would be better for two SSD's setup as RAID 1, than 1 SSD with two 3TB HD's setup at RAID1 supporting the 1 SSD. Can anyone sorta alleviate my possible misunderstand on this subject?
End User wrote:[I highly recommend that Vonhitz go with a 1TB SSD. There are two 1TB SSD options (that I know of) on the market today - Samsung EVO 1TB and the Crucial M500 960GB. I bought the M500 960GB for my gaming rig and I absolutely love it. Everything else is stored on my Synology DS1512+.
The other option is to buy a motherboard that supports SSD caching. Pair up a fast SSD with a big HDD and your most used apps/files will be read from the SSD.
Vonhitz wrote:I've read IPS is better for RPG games, while 144hz monitors is better for games like Battlefield.
Vonhitz wrote:keyboards
Airmantharp wrote:if you like them, and find you like a particular type of switch (I love the Browns, hate the Blues, personally), we can then find a keyboard that would suit your taste.
kumori wrote:Airmantharp wrote:if you like them, and find you like a particular type of switch (I love the Browns, hate the Blues, personally), we can then find a keyboard that would suit your taste.
Blue is best for typing (and very loud). Red is best for gaming. Brown is good for both.
Airmantharp wrote:End User wrote:[I highly recommend that Vonhitz go with a 1TB SSD. There are two 1TB SSD options (that I know of) on the market today - Samsung EVO 1TB and the Crucial M500 960GB. I bought the M500 960GB for my gaming rig and I absolutely love it. Everything else is stored on my Synology DS1512+.
The other option is to buy a motherboard that supports SSD caching. Pair up a fast SSD with a big HDD and your most used apps/files will be read from the SSD.
Not sure how you can recommend such an expense; I mean, seriously, what is he going to store on there? You can map all of your personal folders (everything under users) to the hard drive, so that even dumping something on your desktop, or downloading something in a browser, doesn't arbitrarily fill up the drive.
Reality is, you're going to want a spinner anyway. What if he has more than 1TB of stuff? Seriously, that's not going to be enough for *everything*, hence multiple drives. Might as well get a reasonable SSD and HDD, and put money elsewhere, especially for a system that needs to last awhile without major upgrades.
End User wrote:We are talking about a $3,600 cash no object dream build. My 1TB SSD suggestion only adds $300 to the tally.
[...clipped out...]
- 1TB SSD boot/apps/games drive
- big HDD + SSD(cache) for storage
Now you can have it all. A dedicated boot/apps/games SSD and secondary storage handled by a big HDD with SSD caching to keep it nice and fast. Brilliant!
Airmantharp wrote:as long as the other priorities are taken care of first .
Airmantharp wrote:But I'd consider the baseline to be a ~250GB SSD and a 3TB+ HDD.
Airmantharp wrote:Hell, I still run every game except Battlefield 3 off of my 2TB WD Green drive
End User wrote:Airmantharp wrote:as long as the other priorities are taken care of first .
They are in this build.Airmantharp wrote:But I'd consider the baseline to be a ~250GB SSD and a 3TB+ HDD.
This is not a baseline build.Airmantharp wrote:Hell, I still run every game except Battlefield 3 off of my 2TB WD Green drive
Why not tell me there is no point in getting an L lens as well. Any old lens will do just fine.
confusedpenguin wrote:giving Linux a better future for gaming