First off, i didn't know where to put this, (the hardware forum is practically dead..)
I'm planning on buying a new computer (budget 1500$) for programing, modeling and gaming. Problem is, i know nothing about computers (Yes, i can see the irony). So i googled around and got these specs:
CPU: Intel i7-920 quad core (2.66GHz)
Graphics Card: Geforce gtx285 1GB
RAM: 4-8 GB DDR3 (Not sure how many i should get..)
OS: Windows 7 64bit home premium
Is this a good build? Please help :)
Edit: Oh and which computer part should i focus on more?
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Help with new desktop specs?
I'm pretty sure you want an i7-8xx, not 9xx. That will pair nicely with a P55 based motherboard.
Quote: Edit: Oh and which computer part should i focus on more?That depends on what you're doing with it.
I might recommend is a newer graphics card, as DirectX 11 is out now. The GTX285 only supports 10.1. The GTX 470 will out perform the 285 for about the same price. I would consider a faster CPU as well. 3.0ghz+. 4GB or ram would be fine, but the more you have, the less time you will spend waiting for your OS to dig things out of your hard drive. I only have win7 32bit, which means I'm stuck with only 3gb or ram...Alt+Tabbing out of Starcraft 2 makes me want to cry..lol
If you plan on getting the i7 and then overclocking it instead of getting a faster chip, make sure you get some kind of water cooling system, and a good mother board. I use the corsair hydro series cooler..the huge elaborate ones really aren't necessary unless you are trying to go past 4ghz..which is really just for show at this point IMO. Anyways, gl with it, and remember you can always google "xxxx review" to find performance testing of most computer products and see if they are good enough for what you plan to use them for.
If you plan on getting the i7 and then overclocking it instead of getting a faster chip, make sure you get some kind of water cooling system, and a good mother board. I use the corsair hydro series cooler..the huge elaborate ones really aren't necessary unless you are trying to go past 4ghz..which is really just for show at this point IMO. Anyways, gl with it, and remember you can always google "xxxx review" to find performance testing of most computer products and see if they are good enough for what you plan to use them for.
Author
Promit, really? the i7-920 has some really good reviews.
I mentioned that i'll be using it for programming, 3D Modeling and gaming.
CPPNick, i was actually thinking about getting the gtx460/470. But i thought it'd be much more expensive. Guess i was wrong :)
As for the cpu and cooling system, i read some guy's review saying he overclocked it to 3.8GHz easily with an air cooling system and it was very stable. He said you can overclock it to 4.2GHz too but you might need a water cooling system.
I'll look for a better one though.
Quote: That depends on what you're doing with it.
I mentioned that i'll be using it for programming, 3D Modeling and gaming.
CPPNick, i was actually thinking about getting the gtx460/470. But i thought it'd be much more expensive. Guess i was wrong :)
As for the cpu and cooling system, i read some guy's review saying he overclocked it to 3.8GHz easily with an air cooling system and it was very stable. He said you can overclock it to 4.2GHz too but you might need a water cooling system.
I'll look for a better one though.
Priorities:
Video card (speed, compatibility).
CPU (speed).
RAM (amount).
Motherboard (stability under high load, cooling).
I have the following and it works perfectly for every game I've tried:
Phenom II X3 720
GeForce GTX 275
G.Skill DDR2 8000 2GB x2 (4GB) // I've had 3 bad G.Skill sticks so I highly recommend AGAINST them. I got a working pair finally and am too content to replace them.
Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P
For compatibility, check the following:
- Motherboard power connectors required <= Power supply connectors provided.
- Motherboard CPU socket type == CPU socket type.
- Motherboard CPU technology type includes CPU technology type, for cases where the same (or compatible) socket is used for newer chips.
- Motherboard RAM compatibility includes the RAM sticks you want (this can vary per-stick, so make sure to search for the motherboard's RAM compatibility list).
- Motherboard RAM module count (pairs or triples) == number you were expecting to buy.
- Video card dimensions <= case dimensions (I had to get a different case to fit my GTX 275)
- CPU bus speed requirement <= Motherboard bus speed capability.
- CPU bus speed requirement <= RAM bus speed capability.
- Your power supply provides the correct power connector(s) for your GPU.
If you intend to overclock, check the following:
- Motherboard has adaquate cooling on chipset(s).
- The aftermarket fan(s) you intend to buy actually fit on your motherboard without running into your power supply, case, or video card, or obstruct any other connectors.
- Make sure the aftermarket fan(s) aren't so heavy that they break the motherboard from sheer weight.
- Your Motherboard and RAM are rated for whatever speed you intend to try.
- Your Motherboard actually supports overclocking.
- Your RAM is EXTREMELY WELL COOLED (RAM gets ricoculously hot when you overclock or if you fill all available RAM slots and could be why 3 of my G.Skill sticks were bad).
Video card (speed, compatibility).
CPU (speed).
RAM (amount).
Motherboard (stability under high load, cooling).
I have the following and it works perfectly for every game I've tried:
Phenom II X3 720
GeForce GTX 275
G.Skill DDR2 8000 2GB x2 (4GB) // I've had 3 bad G.Skill sticks so I highly recommend AGAINST them. I got a working pair finally and am too content to replace them.
Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P
For compatibility, check the following:
- Motherboard power connectors required <= Power supply connectors provided.
- Motherboard CPU socket type == CPU socket type.
- Motherboard CPU technology type includes CPU technology type, for cases where the same (or compatible) socket is used for newer chips.
- Motherboard RAM compatibility includes the RAM sticks you want (this can vary per-stick, so make sure to search for the motherboard's RAM compatibility list).
- Motherboard RAM module count (pairs or triples) == number you were expecting to buy.
- Video card dimensions <= case dimensions (I had to get a different case to fit my GTX 275)
- CPU bus speed requirement <= Motherboard bus speed capability.
- CPU bus speed requirement <= RAM bus speed capability.
- Your power supply provides the correct power connector(s) for your GPU.
If you intend to overclock, check the following:
- Motherboard has adaquate cooling on chipset(s).
- The aftermarket fan(s) you intend to buy actually fit on your motherboard without running into your power supply, case, or video card, or obstruct any other connectors.
- Make sure the aftermarket fan(s) aren't so heavy that they break the motherboard from sheer weight.
- Your Motherboard and RAM are rated for whatever speed you intend to try.
- Your Motherboard actually supports overclocking.
- Your RAM is EXTREMELY WELL COOLED (RAM gets ricoculously hot when you overclock or if you fill all available RAM slots and could be why 3 of my G.Skill sticks were bad).
Quote:
I mentioned that i'll be using it for programming, 3D Modeling and gaming.
What app are you using to model with? We had some interesting conflicts with Maya and some of the cheaper graphics cards at the office. Make sure the program you are using supports the card you are looking at.
CPU - your choice is ok. Though you could look at i7 8xx for eventually a better performance-price ratio.
Get a good MOBO - do not make a compromise with it.
RAM - i can't emphasize that enough...well I'll try - GET AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
For your purposes, not less than 8 GB. With Win7 64x you will feel great with 8gb ram and turned off swap file. Don't even think about less than 8gb. Modelling + programming, that could easily mean opening 2-3 hungry development environments + modeling programs and ram is always needed.
You haven't mentioned HDD but i advise you to get at least one very fast. WD Raptor or even SSD (though those are quite expensive yet) and put your OS and preferably your development environment on it and make sure when you program your compilation uses the fast HDD for target.
VGA - you don't really need that expensive 4xx junk from nVidia. Take a look at what AMD/ATI offer as well.
Also, don't throw money on water cooling and stuff like that now, invest them in better components for your needs.
Remember, that a system is often as fast as is it's slowest point. You don't need super CPU and VGA when your ram sucks or your HDD can't handle the IO requests and everything else is waiting for data to load.
Get a good MOBO - do not make a compromise with it.
RAM - i can't emphasize that enough...well I'll try - GET AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
For your purposes, not less than 8 GB. With Win7 64x you will feel great with 8gb ram and turned off swap file. Don't even think about less than 8gb. Modelling + programming, that could easily mean opening 2-3 hungry development environments + modeling programs and ram is always needed.
You haven't mentioned HDD but i advise you to get at least one very fast. WD Raptor or even SSD (though those are quite expensive yet) and put your OS and preferably your development environment on it and make sure when you program your compilation uses the fast HDD for target.
VGA - you don't really need that expensive 4xx junk from nVidia. Take a look at what AMD/ATI offer as well.
Also, don't throw money on water cooling and stuff like that now, invest them in better components for your needs.
Remember, that a system is often as fast as is it's slowest point. You don't need super CPU and VGA when your ram sucks or your HDD can't handle the IO requests and everything else is waiting for data to load.
Author
Crap. Did i mention that i know nothing about computers?
*Confused*
Ok, i'll do some research on the compatibility, motherboard and a better CPU.
EDIT: Back with info on i7 8xx
Seems like everyone is saying i7 860/870 is better than the 920 if you don't want to overclock it. For overclocking, they recommended the 920.
The discussion invloved a LOT of SLI, x16 and x8, P55, 1366 and a 3 channel RAM
Of course, i understood nothing.
As for price the 860 seems to cost $10 more than the 920.
So now i'm stuck between i7 920, 860 and 870...
EDIT 2:
For the power supply, people are recommending Corsair
Now for the watts, is 750W fine or do i need more/less?
As for the motherboard, still have no idea.
[Edited by - Waaayoff on August 12, 2010 3:19:19 AM]
*Confused*
Ok, i'll do some research on the compatibility, motherboard and a better CPU.
EDIT: Back with info on i7 8xx
Seems like everyone is saying i7 860/870 is better than the 920 if you don't want to overclock it. For overclocking, they recommended the 920.
The discussion invloved a LOT of SLI, x16 and x8, P55, 1366 and a 3 channel RAM
Of course, i understood nothing.
As for price the 860 seems to cost $10 more than the 920.
So now i'm stuck between i7 920, 860 and 870...
EDIT 2:
For the power supply, people are recommending Corsair
Now for the watts, is 750W fine or do i need more/less?
As for the motherboard, still have no idea.
[Edited by - Waaayoff on August 12, 2010 3:19:19 AM]
Quote: Original post by WaaayoffThe i7-860 next to me is running at 3.6 GHz, although it clocks down under prime95, as the cooler I put in can't handle that much heat. With more aggressive settings, I've read the chip can be pushed past 4 GHz, though you're probably looking at liquid cooling.
EDIT: Back with info on i7 8xx
Seems like everyone is saying i7 860/870 is better than the 920 if you don't want to overclock it. For overclocking, they recommended the 920.
Spec'ing parts can be intimidating at first, but there are some good guidelines I follow that work well and make things much easier.
Your CPU choice is fine. My rule for CPUs is to get something with a lot of cores (currently that means quad core, next summer it'll be all about 6 cores) with a good price/performance ratio.
For both CPUs and Graphics cards there is a point where they quickly transition from having a big performance gain per cost to having a huge cost for minimal performance increase. For both I recommend picking something just to the cheaper side of that transition. I think all the CPUs mentioned in this thread are about in that area -- the i7-920 is.
Most people dump most of their money on CPU/GFX card and it is a waste. Your CPU is not going to be your bottleneck and there are a lot more important things to put money in to.
Buy a nice motherboard. Don't cheap out. A year from now you can buy a better CPU or better graphics card for your PC, but only if you have a good enough motherboard, and you can't so easily swap out the motherboard.
Make sure to buy RAM that supports at least as high of speed as your CPU/Mobo combo supports for RAM. Buy a decent brand; it doesn't need to be a super high end enthusiast brand, but a major bottleneck is going to be RAM. I highly recommend buying enough to max out your motherboard and all at once of the same brand to make sure they are identical timings. You can't buy enough RAM; I currently run 8GB and it's starting to feel claustrophobic.
As for the parts to focus on most, they aren't even in your list. Here is what I recommend worrying about most:
A good monitor (or set of monitors). Try to buy something that has an IPS panel, or at least a VA panel. TN Film is cheap (and very common) and has a poor picture. I run dual 24" LCDs, both of which use IPS panels, and I will never buy a cheaper monitor again.
A decent desk. A good chair (you're going to be sitting in it a lot right?).
A good keyboard and a good mouse. Get a keyboard that works well and is comfortable to type on for long periods of time. Your mouse should be responsive and comfortable. You are going to spend far more time using the keyboard and mouse than you are going to be stressing the CPU.
Your CPU choice is fine. My rule for CPUs is to get something with a lot of cores (currently that means quad core, next summer it'll be all about 6 cores) with a good price/performance ratio.
For both CPUs and Graphics cards there is a point where they quickly transition from having a big performance gain per cost to having a huge cost for minimal performance increase. For both I recommend picking something just to the cheaper side of that transition. I think all the CPUs mentioned in this thread are about in that area -- the i7-920 is.
Most people dump most of their money on CPU/GFX card and it is a waste. Your CPU is not going to be your bottleneck and there are a lot more important things to put money in to.
Buy a nice motherboard. Don't cheap out. A year from now you can buy a better CPU or better graphics card for your PC, but only if you have a good enough motherboard, and you can't so easily swap out the motherboard.
Make sure to buy RAM that supports at least as high of speed as your CPU/Mobo combo supports for RAM. Buy a decent brand; it doesn't need to be a super high end enthusiast brand, but a major bottleneck is going to be RAM. I highly recommend buying enough to max out your motherboard and all at once of the same brand to make sure they are identical timings. You can't buy enough RAM; I currently run 8GB and it's starting to feel claustrophobic.
As for the parts to focus on most, they aren't even in your list. Here is what I recommend worrying about most:
A good monitor (or set of monitors). Try to buy something that has an IPS panel, or at least a VA panel. TN Film is cheap (and very common) and has a poor picture. I run dual 24" LCDs, both of which use IPS panels, and I will never buy a cheaper monitor again.
A decent desk. A good chair (you're going to be sitting in it a lot right?).
A good keyboard and a good mouse. Get a keyboard that works well and is comfortable to type on for long periods of time. Your mouse should be responsive and comfortable. You are going to spend far more time using the keyboard and mouse than you are going to be stressing the CPU.
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