New system maybe ?
By
Armsman,
Posted on: 2009-06-07 15:30 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
A quick aside. Cyberpowerpc is a decent middle-of-the-road PC builder and IMO not crap like some poster's might suggest.
That said, I would wager that the majority of people that may have a bad experience with Cyperpowerpc or any PC builder, has made the same mistakes that you are about to.
Never go with a "standard" Power Supply.
Picking "standard" basically tells them to put any ole thing in. If you are not knowledgeable enough to know which component brands are better to choose then IMO you shouldn't be building a computer in the first place. Here are my suggestions to add to that build.
[*]600 Watts Power Supplies (Thermaltake ToughPower 600 Watt Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready) [+117]
[*]CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent Operation at only 22dBA + Overclock Proof) [+58]
[*]Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard [+83]
I avoid MSI motherboards like the plague.
[*]NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) [u]and choose[u] EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+38]
This should be a no-brainer. Why choose a 9800 GT when for $38 more you get slightly better than a 9800 GTX+. If you plan on eventually running on a bigger monitor (around 24" and greater) then you would want the 1GB version.
In closing, do your research and keep doing what you are doing now... asking questions. 
.
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I dont keep up to date on computer components, thus why I'd ask here 
As for the motherboard switch you suggest - if the CPU speed is left the same and I get one that has 1600 FSB instead of the 1333, how much better would that be and which one would be good to get ?
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset LGA775 FSB1600 DDR2/800 Mainboard
vs
# Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
What is the difference between that and the one you suggested ? Would I be able to use the same CPU on either ?
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
Also I can get it with 2 HDs or 2 HDs with RAID-0, but what is the difference ?
I want one HD for the OS and the other for everything else.
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
[ QUOTE ]
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset LGA775 FSB1600 DDR2/800 Mainboard
vs
# Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
What is the difference between that and the one you suggested ? Would I be able to use the same CPU on either ?
[/ QUOTE ]
The main difference is FSB speed; and that one is designed to use ATI's Crossfire video architechture; and the second is designed to use Nvidia's SLI video architecture (and either is honestly a waste for MMOs - and I speak as one who is using an Nvidia SLI system ).
When the archtechture was first introduced, it did help in non-optimaized game engines, but as Devs across the spectrum have refined such engines better; the RTI is small - eg you buy TWO of the same card for a 10-12 FPS difference. Not a good investment - and there are other issues.
so going for the faster FSB would be fine even if I dont plan to use crossfire or SLI right ?
What about my HD configuration ?
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
Last I heard this game doesn't use crossfire.
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I'm not planning on using crossfire or SLI ...
I'm just questioning if I should get that MB for the faster FSB or if the 1333 FSB isn't that much of a performance difference.
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
[ QUOTE ]
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset LGA775 FSB1600 DDR2/800 Mainboard
vs
# Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
What is the difference between that and the one you suggested ? Would I be able to use the same CPU on either ?
[/ QUOTE ]
The main difference, besides the unofficial FSB top speed (the P45 is still only officially supports 1333MHz FSB in it's spec) is the brand of "multiple video cards working as one" it supports. The P5Q supports multiple ATI cards working together in Crossfire, the P5N-D supports multiple nVidia cards in SLi. Either motherboard will support a single card from either brand and I believe they can still use multiple video cards from either brand but only as independent cards to their own monitors. But if you are planning to use two nVidia or two ATI cards together to achieve higher framerates, the choice in motherboard is dependent on which brand of video card you are planning to use.
[ QUOTE ]
Also I can get it with 2 HDs or 2 HDs with RAID-0, but what is the difference ?
I want one HD for the OS and the other for everything else.
[/ QUOTE ]
RAID 0 (which is a misnomer because it's the opposite of Redundant, the R in RAID) spreads a file across both drives, which allows files to be read from and written to faster as each drive shares in the work. BUT, and this is a big and important BUT, if either drive fails, you lose everything, hence my statement about it NOT being Redundant.
In your case, wanting OS on one and data on the other, don't get RAID 0.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not planning on using crossfire or SLI ...
I'm just questioning if I should get that MB for the faster FSB or if the 1333 FSB isn't that much of a performance difference.
[/ QUOTE ]
Doesn't really matter if you aren't planning to overclock. If you are both have settings in their BIOS to allow you to push the FSB well beyond the 1333MHz "limit" of Core 2 CPUs (ignoring the QX9770). Both allow you to set the FSB well beyond 1600MHz even.
Actually upon further investigation, the reason is Asus has the BIOS in the P5Q Pro automatically recognize the QX9770 and set the FSB to 1600MHz. Again this isn't an official allowed setting for the Intel P45. Asus just made it easy for the handful of people who own the "ultimate" Core 2 based quad core. Don't know why they didn't provide the same automatic feature with the nVidia chipset.
One other thing, which probably doesn't matter. The P5Q Pro doesn't come with an old style 25-pin printer or 9-pin serial port. It's all USB baby.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
thanks for the info FatherXmas.
One more question : how much ram should I get 4 or 8 gb ? I plan to upgrade from xp home (which i'll get with the rig) to windows 7 once it comes out and works out the kinks there.
And since I'm going dual core, any thing I need to know to make those work properly with CoH ?
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.
[ QUOTE ]
One more question : how much ram should I get 4 or 8 gb ? I plan to upgrade from xp home (which i'll get with the rig) to windows 7 once it comes out and works out the kinks there.
[/ QUOTE ]
If you are going to use a 32-bit operating system, having more than 4 GB is a waste. If you expect to use Windows 7 x64 (I'm using the RC of this on a test machine and it's pretty good so far), you *can* take advantage of 8 GB, but you may or may not really *need* it.
If you plan on running two instances of CoH at the same time while running a lot of stuff in the background; OR if you are planning on running *more* than two instances of CoH at the same time; you may benefit from more than 4 GB of RAM. If not, don't bother.
I can run 2 instances of CoH (one live, one test; so they're not even sharing files), Excel, Firefox, and a text editor without *too* many problems under 32-bit XP with 4 GB (which is seeing closer to 3 GB usable due to the 32-bit limits), but it's clearly on the edge, and swapping somewhat when I alt-tab about. Depending on various factors, CoH can use up to around 2 GB per running copy if it's got the room to do so.
ETA: The above is for single or dual core. If you were getting a processor with 3+ cores and were actually planning on using all of them with a 64-bit OS, go with more memory.
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I'm thinking of getting a new system soon ish :
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saving/show.asp?id=1987074
is what I was looking at, but are there any better options for 1200 or less ?
Any new stuff coming out that would make buying now a bad idea ?
I am an ebil markeeter and will steal your moneiz ...correction stole your moneiz. I support keeping the poor down because it is impossible to make moneiz in this game.