custom PC

[tehrilez]

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not great with computers, but I know enough on what to buy and how to put one together (I do not know how to over clock or anything like that)

Heres what I plan on getting, if I can.

Two Intel Xeons (thats 8 cores I believe?):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819117111

Four kingston memory cards, 1 GB each :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820134085

An intel workstation motherboard, for the two xeons and the memory cards (I can't find it on newegg anywhere, what the hell..) :

http://www.provantage.com/intel-s5000xv ... TSP0EK.htm

(I believe you can see all of that in this picture here, not mine)



A rosewill power supply :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817182096

An antec case :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129021

and an XFX 8800 nvidia GTX :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 14-150-232

The main reason I'm posting this is because I want to make sure everything is compatible with everything I've picked out, or any cooling recommendations you can give me (The case comes with two big fans, which are quiet I think.. but I've heard the Xeon's default fans are really loud..) If you are going to tell me to get something else because it over clocks better, forget it. Two Xeon's run considerably better than their extreme, out of the box. And besides, I don't want to break anything (and I probably will if I try anything like that)

So yeah, if everything is alright, thats the setup I want, but I need to know if everything works with that setup and if there is anything else I should consider (keyboards and whatever I will worry about later)

 

[Jon]

well I knows you has money

You might wanna buy a sound card while your at it. Good sound makes games loads better.

 

[Thothie]

I'd double check the memory compatibility, as the Intel boards are notoriously picky about voltage requirements and stepping.

Might want something with more elaborate cooling features than that Antec case, even with the passive processors, especially when coupled with the gfx card. You'll want a full tower with some room to breath, and for a heat sink stack of one sort or another.

...and yeah, the internal sound card on that mobo is the sux. The 5000X chipset may also be missing some key graphic proc functions that the XFX8800 might be expecting to find, but at worst, that'll just slow it some. (Don't quote me on that.)

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

Maybe this guy can help you:

 

[Jon]

Not so sure about cooling...but if thothie says so then it must be :]

I think this case could handle your cooling needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133021

1x 250mm Side Fan (Big One)
2x 120mm Front and Rear Fans
1x 90mm Rear Fan
1x 90mm Top Fan! ( Probably works really well since heat rises)

 

[Thothie]

Maybe this guy can help you:

That man is far too l337 to waste his time dealing with a pathetically n00b'ish system such as this.

 

[tehrilez]

Not so sure about cooling...but if thothie says so then it must be :]

I think this case could handle your cooling needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133021

1x 250mm Side Fan (Big One)
2x 120mm Front and Rear Fans
1x 90mm Rear Fan
1x 90mm Top Fan! ( Probably works really well since heat rises)

Yeah, I was looking at that one too. But some of the reviews said it was pretty big, and heavy. But quiet... hmm.

As for the price.. depending on what cooling and accessories I get, it will probably be around 3000$, plus a bit.

And to thothie, I saw someone use the same memory sticks with the workstation, so unless they did something wrong, I would say the memory sticks should work with the mobo. Don't quote me on that, either. >.>

So my only concern is the cooling and the GPU? If the speed of the GPU doesn't make that big of a difference then I could probably find some cooling to work in.

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

Maybe this guy can help you:

That man is far too l337 to waste his time dealing with a pathetically n00b'ish system such as this.

Why, I think you're right!

 

[tehrilez]

Maybe this guy can help you:

yo that kid be out yo check this shit man i got all the latest, shit man, check it out yo i got me 95 beotch check out that damn parrot IM FUCK ING BITCHING that kid is prob running ME what a fucking busta

and dayum whats up with that dayum bear man, what is that a chain on that G? shiiiiiiiiyt. man that kid think he gangsta? shiyt man, SHIYTT!!!!!1!

 

[Sabre]

Maybe this guy can help you:

yo that kid be out yo check this **** man i got all the latest, **** man, check it out yo i got me 95 beotch check out that damn parrot IM **** ING **** that kid is prob running ME what a **** busta

Even so...

 

[tehrilez]

Even so...

He has a picture of himself on a desk, get over it.

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

In before

 

[Fadda]

I see your

,
and raise you one

 

[Shurik3n]

Ok ok, we all know CMD was the first to post that hilarious picture lets try not to steal the credit from him by posting it for ourselves.

Btw, nice find CMD .

 

[Fadda]

But his presence in topics makes the forum sexiness go +1

 

[Sabre]

But his presence in topics makes the forum sexiness go +1

And his post count, too.

 

[Belmont]

Okay, your going to waste money doing that, just don't.

Drop the Xeons, go for the new AMD's Phewhatever or a Q6600 (intel's quad, currently for $250) (please, don't disagree on this, not even duals are used at full power, much less quads cores, and with 8 cores you will get a lot of instability and BSOD'S)(The new AMD's phewhatever it was, have 3 normal cores and 1 for physics)

The RAM is a good pick - people recommend other more expensive but I find that Kingston RAM is good enough. (But if your going to spend more money for RAM, get OCZ reapers)

Drop the GTX, too. Go for the 8800GT, the GTX is at best, 10 FPS more than the GT. (I recommend the EVGA 700MHZ overclocked version) (ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, BUY A VGA COOLER FOR THE GT!! This will reduce heat in your GT by 10-20 celcius, sometimes even 30) (The GTX doesn't need a VGA cooler, but VGA coolers are barely over $30 these days)

Rosewill is bad for powersupplys, I recommend you this one; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341002

I didn't check what case your getting, but for an Antec case I recommend you this one;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... tec%2bnine

And finally for a mobo, I could recommend you MANY, but for a very good one non sli, get the GA-G33-DS3R from Gigabyte.

But to use your 8800GT to the maximun power, consider getting a PCI-e 2.0 mobo.



EDIT: DO NOT BUY FROM XFX !! They cards have a LOT of problems. Get EVGA if you can.

 

[tehrilez]

I didn't check what case your getting, but for an Antec case I recommend you this one;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... tec%2bnine

Thats exactly the case I had picked out.

Also, this is what I would want for, the ULTIMATE PC. I know I probably won't use all 8 cores, but from what I've heard, using the workstation the V8 (as intel calls it) is pretty stable (why else would they release a mobo just for that purpose?) It's also 33% faster than the new AMD and 10-15% faster than the quad. I'll look more into it later and if I see any problems with the V8 anywhere I'll drop down to a quad.

Wasn't really paying attention to the GPU, I'll look for an EVGA on there.

I picked out the rose will because it was 100$ off with the Antec case but I'll look into the OCZ.

Thanks for the cooling tips as I really didn't know whether the GPU needed any cooling or not. I think I'll stick with the GTX for NOW because I really want to see that 10 FPS boost, as well as the stuff I'll be able to pull off in other games (10x AA in GTA:SA? 10x AA in PS2 games?) The GT might be able to do it but I want it as fast as possible so the extra money should be worth it (I'm not getting two.) Also if I ever get crysis the GTX will probably help as well as any future resource intensive games I'm sure the GTX will help a lot.

Thanks for the helpful post, belmont.

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

 

[Belmont]

Well, the reason I'm not recommending doing the dual xenon is because no game will use it, games barely use up to two cores at full power these days.

But if you think it's worth it - go for it.

And to help you decide for the GTX or the GT, look at these charts;

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

Also, the good thing about EVGA, you get the step up program, for 30 days or was it 90? you can decide to pay the diff from the other model and change to it, like if you don't like the GT's power, you pay the difference from the GT and the GTX and they send you the GTX (of course, you gotta send your GT too)

But the cooler for VGA is only needed almost 100% for the GT, since it has a smaller fan than the GTX and Ultra (but it always helps to have one)

 

[Thothie]

I don’t see any reason why the multi-core setup would be unstable. I think ye are on the crack there, but…

For games, it’s true, the CPU’s are pointless.

Truth is, most games don’t even use dual cores (or even threading for that matter). None of the Source games do. Games just aren’t that CPU dependant, client side. It’s all about the GFX and the memory.

You’ll find the lowest end Dual Core CPU, and the very highest end DC CPU, have almost exactly the same performance in games, if they are using the same memory and graphics card, and aren’t running additional apps.

The multi-core, multi-CPU, bit however, lets you do more things while the game is going. (eg. Hosting games, compiling code, encoding DVD’s, etc. etc.)

So, in all likelihood, it’s a waste of money, but that’s generally the point with this sort of system. (I’ve worked with enough $12,000 systems to know this philosophy – sadly none of them my own.) >_> It's about having a l337 rig - rather than practicality.

PS. Avoid EVGA, stick with the XFX – EVGA sucks ass for compatibility and they use the raw nVidia BIOS (which is always beta, and buggy, tis why the good guys, like XFX and BFG, write their own). In addition they have several scams with their step-up program and warranties that they are downright notorious for (involving everything from easily damaged warranty stickers to unverifiable inventory sources)

 

[J-M v2.5.5]

I agree with what Thothie said about XFX > eVGA. I'm happy with my XFX card and I've heard from multiple friends of mine that eVGA blows compared to XFX.

Also, if you're dishing out this much cash for a computer, why not do it right and buy an XFX 8800 Ultra instead of an XFX 8800 GTX?

 

[Sabre]

I get the feeling he's not the one coughing up the cash for such a computer.

 

[Blasto121]

EVGA can produce quality cards once in a while, I have an EVGA 8800GT (though I would have had an MSI) it performs quite nicely and takes to over clocking very well. I do however need a VGA cooler for it, I peaked at 82 degrees Celsius while playing crysis, to be fair though I did over clock it by a bit.

 

[Belmont]

I don’t see any reason why the multi-core setup would be unstable. I think ye are on the crack there, but…

Oh shi-

What was I thinking when typing that...

I wanted to say that the heat from the Graphic card and two quad cores would be quite insane and without proper cooling it could drive to component damage/system instability >_<.

EDIT: BTW, I wasn't saying that XFX sucks, it's just I've heard horrible experiences with them so far.