New Build Opinions

[skd_mrk]

I'm going to start on a new pc build shortly and I wanted some opinions. I haven't kept up on the hardware side of things during the past year and a half. I'd like people's opinions on the following:

1) Is it worth going for the i7 series from Intel just to get the higher FSB? Quad core isn't going to do crap for performance for most of what I do. If I look at the i5 series which core is better wolfdale or clarkdale? I kind of want to buy DDR3 ram...

2) Lifetime on SS drives make going that route feasible (I remember reading some articles that their lifespan was pretty short)? Worth putting them in as RAID 0?

3) Video cards. I know ATI is in the lead technologically on the high end, but lets say I wanted to stay within the $200 (USD) price range on that component. Nvidia or ATI? I know the newer Nvidia cards are repackaged versions of their older cards so not worth that expense.

4) Motherboards- historically I've stuck with ASUS or GIGABYTE. Still the smart route?

5) Not related to build, but those of you who use windows 7 do you use the 64bit version and do you use xp compatibility mode when playing CS?

I appreciate all opinions.

 

[Fork Included]

1. you can save some cash and go with the i5 (edit, forgot that with the i7 you can rock 6 ram sockets) so its up to you.

2. if you pick up a nice power supply unit, you can do raid with single disk 7200 RPM drives in the 500gb range, those go for about 50-60 bucks each nowdays, if you're just after speed then these will still outperform whatever you spend on SSD

3. no comment, i get my vdieo cards second hand from a friend.. he tells me they are "good", haha

4. asus has always worked for me, go for the basic ones with 2 pci slots and 6 ram slots, anything more is overkill if you dont actually use it or overclock crap

5. you dont need xp compatability mode.. i just play, and yes get the 64 bit version otherwise that 12 gigs of ram is not going to work for you

(yes, get 6 sticks @ 2gb for ram..)

 

[dead mike]

1. I believe if you are wanting to go i7 what you want is a motherboard with the 1366 pin socket (x58), this is for i7-920 quad core, 1366 also offers triple channel DDR3 ram and the processor has hyper threading. I5 is a quadcore and really fast, I would recommend i5-750 its the best value i think around as good as a Q9550 it uses DDR3 but only dual channel and no hyper threading.... . or go hard and get a 920 system. wolfdale is old Core2Duo i dont know what clarkdale is. get a quad core anyways, dual core is for netbooks now. if you ever think you are gonna like having 24GB of ram i would get i7-920.

oh yeah i5-750 is 1156 socket, some i7s come on this socket as well, dont be fooled and get one of those, my point is you should make sure it's 1366(x58) if your getting i7 anything

2. SSD ure on your own, i would raid 0 a couple 7200rpm drives if anything for now or get the cheapest intel ssd for the operating system run it by itelf, they are supposedly more reliable then hard drives, u don't need to raid that shit.

3. what card do you have now? recycle if you can, gtx 260 i think is still good to go. or go and get a 5850 i think they are comparable to a gtx 285 wen they are overclocked.

4. they all the same.... i have had good luck with MSI motherboards. bad luck with asus..

5. windows for games

 

[td|35mm]

Whatever you use ... put everything inside a nice modified MAC case. And while you are at it, write by hand under the MAC sign "Powered by Microsoft!" and "Made in a basement!" :).
And I can design a sticker for your with a windows serial number that sais "Donated by Internoobs" :).

That should piss of some people .

 

[Cock]

If your interested in 35's idea I might be able to get you a Mac G5 case which is the most simple to mod

 

[td|35mm]

I have an old MAC case somwhere too . Mint* .

 

[Steve]

[quote1267811619=skd_mrk]


2) Lifetime on SS drives make going that route feasible (I remember reading some articles that their lifespan was pretty short)? Worth putting them in as RAID 0?

I appreciate all opinions.
[/quote1267811619]


SS drives are notorious for their high failure rate, and short life spans. If you are willing to put up with having to RMA your shit once or twice a year, I would go for it. They are worth the money if you can tolerate the head ache(and it can be one, my friends SSD's have failed twice since he got it 6 months ago), and get a life time warrenty. You will want a secondary HDD for sure though.


I didn't read all the comments in this thread, but this shit about Mac cases is gay ass hell(like all macs, and mac users).

Get this case when it goes on sale:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=932-_-11-119-160-_-Product

I was able to pick it up for $99.99 USD w/free shipping. This case is ready for anything you want to do, and handles heat very well. The huge fans are sexy too.

 

[47]

i5 = no HT
17 = HT .. mad win

 

[skd_mrk]

[quote1267813250=47]
i5 = no HT
17 = HT .. mad win
[/quote1267813250]
i5 series has HyperThreading support...just not the cores without integrated graphics.

 

[OG buckshot jr]

[quote1285482242=skd_mrk]
1) Is it worth going for the i7 series from Intel...[/quote1285482242]

Without being biased, no, totally not worth it. They don't have a higher FSB, in fact, they don't have any FSB. Pretty much, the only difference between Q-series and I-series is (for I-series ->) no FSB, and on-chip memory controller (while Q-series' memory controller lies in the North Bridge chip). Advantage? I don't see any, EXCEPT for HT (Hyper threading), which 99% of applications don't use anyway, because it's a 13 year old technology that Intel already gave up on - that's another story. If HT is something you value, and could use, then go for it. If all you need is bang for buck speed, get quad.

One more thing, without going into an essay:

i7 = quad-core, typically 8MB cache with HT technology (a 13 year old technology, by the way, cough cough...).

i5 = DUO-CORE (yes, ONLY TWO CORES), 5MB cache, but it's got HT, so salesman love to tell you it's quad-core, but if you can use google, you know better than that.

i3 = duo-core, like i5, just 3MB cache, also with HT.


*****************************************************NOTE*********************************************************

CHOOSE WISELY -> Why? Your processor determines the type of motherboard, which determines the type of RAM necessary to run.


"Price Flow"
CPU -> Motherboard -> RAM

Everything is WAY more expensive with I-series than it is for Q-series, and for not that much more speed. Again, I realise there's many factors such as Hard drives, overclocking etc. - that's your choice.

[quote1285482242=skd_mrk]
2) Lifetime on SS drives make going that route feasible...[/quote1285482242]

So far, I hear they're finally getting better, what with using better quality NAND chips etc yadda yadda. Just keep backups, and have warranty on 'em.

[quote1285482242=skd_mrk]
3) Video cards. I know ATI is in the lead technologically...[/quote1285482242]

Without ATI fanboys getting mad at me here, again, unbiased, they don't have an edge. ATI has finally (still not in extreme high end) caught up with Nvidia, and they are using pretty much the same shit. Most of the competition now lies in software, more than hardware. ATI's got EyeFinity, while Nvidia's got CUDA technology. Have a quick read into it, and see what suites you better. Remember two things: 1 ) ATI's drivers are fuckin garbage - bottom barrel, lots of problems with games etc; 2 ) Depending on what line you go for, ATI's almost always cheaper, for a reason...

[quote1285482242=skd_mrk]
4) Motherboards- historically I've stuck with ASUS or GIGABYTE. Still the smart route?[/quote1285482242]

Yup, 100%.

[quote1285482242=skd_mrk]
5) Not related to build, but those of you who use windows 7...[/quote1285482242]

I use Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit. I can, but it's completely unnecessary. I've not encounted one program that lacks compatability or performance, dating back to the late 90's "Super Video Converter", all the way to CS:S, Vent, Office 2000 (I now have 2010), old old OLD Call of Duty games etc etc. I will be shocked when (if) I find a program that requires XP mode.