need help with pc setup.. :)

[naughtika]

thanks for the information fellas..

I need the 40" screens so i can watch videos properly.. simple as that.. Im using work as an excuse so I can get 2x 40" and I need a video card that will do a good job.. it doesn't have to be in SLi, i think its just too much..

16gb.. why not? i know its too much, but Im at it already so why not just get it over and done with

 

[Slinz]

16gb really is an insane amount of RAM for anyone unless they are a pro-level video/image editor. No games will require even half of that, and I daresay thanks to console gaming being so lucrative nobody will develop anything that'll need that much RAM for the foreseeable future. Having said that, if your work is paying for this machine then hey why not eh!

 

[BuzzPuppy]

If you're going dual displays, save the cash on 8GB of RAM and put more into the graphics card...

or an SSD (128GB for C: (operating systems, apps, games) and RAID 1 setup for D: (move your user profile/docs) using HDDs for redundancy) for a big boost in performance and day-to-day multitasking.

Remember, if you put stuff on a 1TB or 2TB hard disk, that's also 1TB-2TB that you stand to lose at any time. For example, 20 seconds from now...

 

[Poita]

Pretty much what everyone else has said.
2 HDDs... One for OS and another for data.

You won't need anymore than 4-6G of RAM. I run Win7 64bit Enterprise and do a fair bit of 3D stuff and mathematics and to be honest 4G is plenty.

750W PSU is overkill. 500W is more than enough for what you want, just spend the cash on a good quality one.

I guess what I am trying to say is that buy the best quality that you can, dont just get the biggest. But if your budget is huge, go for gold

 

[Slinz]

^ I don't think 4gb is very future-proof on a 64 bit system, but agreed that the quality of the PSU is as important as the listed wattage.

 

[Poita]

Depends on what the 64bit system is being used for. Most people I know with it will never ever come close to using its capabilities. 32bit would be fine for most people.

 

[bradc]

With the price of ram at the moment I would buy a pair of 4gb sticks, over here I can get 2x 4gb sticks for less than $100. Hynix chips too, so not a no-name brand.

 

[king_panther]

Appologies if I'm hijacking this thread, but I'm in the same boat too.

Looking to building a new PC, but I'm so out of date with specs thesedays it's shocking.

I'm looking at an AMD setup, with an AM3+ FX8120 8-Core Black Edition (3.1Ghz-4Ghz Turbo) as the CPU.
Motherboard-wise, I'm assuming I need an AM3+ compatible motherboard. I'm happy with onboard video & sound for the time being, but I'd like as many internal slots as I can get my hands on.

So, can I suggestions on what would be the best;

* Motherboard
* Case
* RAM (how much, what type etc)
* HDD options (looking at SSD for OS, as big as possible for data)
* Cooling?

Fire away fellas.

 

[Interloper]

not sure why you would go the AMD CPU atm
Intels option is currently better at every price point imo
if you are not overclocking then stock cooler is fine

here's a bargain;
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Intel-Co...185782?pt=AU_comp_dekstop&hash=item35b0d797b6
and you can modify to include diff case, SSD or other favoured bits eg graphics card if you need/want
also 2 year warranty..

 

[king_panther]

^ That's a Quad core though. The more cores the better, as I'm doing a lot of video encoding & the software takes advantage of the extra cores & speed.

If I were going Intel, I'd want at least an i7 CPU anyways, but they get damn expensive.

 

[Interloper]

right you are....

* Motherboard
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Pro OR
Asus CrossHair V Formula

* Case
Thermaltake Chaser MK-I
Antec1200

* RAM (how much, what type etc)
8G Kit 2133 G.Skill Ripjaws-X

* HDD options (looking at SSD for OS, as big as possible for data)
Corsair, Silicon Power or Crucial 128MB
WD Black SATA3 2TB or better several in RAID5

* Cooling?
Corsair H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

 

[king_panther]

Cheers. Also looking at the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 AM3 990FX DDR3 motherboard, though I can't find any higher-spec boards that have onboard VGA. Guess I'll have to fork out for a graphics card.
Going against an SSD now, rather have the drive space, not so concerned about lightning speed. Do they have good write speeds nowadays? The ones I used to deal with were just horrible.

 

[Slinz]

I've got a Samsung Spinpoint HDD that I bought instead of an SSD for the same reasons, and it is a good deal quicker through most things than my old computer's HDD and the WD Green drive it replaced.

You won't find on-board graphics on a high-end board because all the geeks with high-end boards also want shiny GPU's
I'm sure you know, there are pretty good ones for pocket change, e.g. http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1231&products_id=16359

 

[king_panther]

Yea if I've got to go a discreet graphics card, I'll get something from the NVidia range as the software I'm using to re-encode video can also utilise the NVidia GPUs for processing.
Was just hoping to not have to shell out extra.

 

[VOLK]

I'd consider a hybrid for speed and space if I was gonna do another build.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1205&products_id=14722

 

[king_panther]

^ Are these still made?

 

[jonesyVR4]

Brad

Looked @ building a new machine a while ago

MSY has a new online setup

Theres a list on the LHS of the page

You can just work your way down & "assemble" the parts you need
I was @ about $600 odd for a pretty reasonable machine which I can use for large video editing, ie 25gb files to RIP & render
Even if you dont buy from there its a good place to go through & get an idea of cost & specs.

 

[king_panther]

LOL am already pricing my gear based on what I can get my hands on at MSY (my brother goes there).

I'll wait until more of the AM3+ CPUs come onshore here. Looking at the 8170 now.

 

[Slinz]

AFAIK the hybrid drives are still around... I watched a neat youtube vid a while back comparing them to SSD's and two different speeds of HDD.

Here it is -

Granted, it's run by Seagate and the SSD they chose is by no means at the fast end of the spectrum, but compared to the 10k RPM and 7.2k RPM drives it is a vast improvement.

I assume you've already checked out the build suggestions on Whirlpool forums Brad? Those dudes are the absolute kings of nerds, it's always my first stop for tech stuff.

 

[king_panther]

Nah, haven't touched Whirlpool for yonks, neither OCA. I figured there were enough lovely geeks here to help me out first

On a related note, my ATI 256MB AGP Radeon 9800 Pro arrived in the mail the other day. Time to fire up the home PC again!