New computer - Help Requested
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 09:49
Hi all,
I'm planning to put together a machine to replace my existing desktop which is about 4 years old.
So far I'm thinking of:
ASUS P5N-D SLI nVidia 750i
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket LGA775, 3 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm
Corsair HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX Triple Power Supply
4 gig of probably OCZ DDR2 800Mhz memory
Windows XP
And of course, some sort of 8800 series graphics card. There are so many choices, but I do know that I want something that runs reasonably quietly.
Any suggestions are welcome. Primary use will be SL, Photoshop, and Blender.
Is this overkill? Underkill?
I considered the Q6600 processor, but I wonder about growing pains at this stage. Certainly SL isn't going to benefit from another 2 cores.
Thanks in advance for any help and patience at another hardware thread.
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Trout Recreant
Public Enemy No. 1
Join date: 24 Jul 2007
Posts: 4,873
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03-11-2008 09:56
Sl ought to run fine with that setup. I don't know as much about Photoshop or blender. Personally, I think you ought to go for overkill if you can, or at least as much overkill as your budget allows. You might not need it now, but computers are almost instantly outdated. You buy one and immediately start the process of upgrading to try to keep up with the technology. If you go for as advanced a stup as you can swing now, it might pay off in the future. Just an opinion, though.
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 10:01
From: Trout Recreant Sl ought to run fine with that setup. I don't know as much about Photoshop or blender. Personally, I think you ought to go for overkill if you can, or at least as much overkill as your budget allows. You might not need it now, but computers are almost instantly outdated. You buy one and immediately start the process of upgrading to try to keep up with the technology. If you go for as advanced a stup as you can swing now, it might pay off in the future. Just an opinion, though. I tend to agree. My 4 year old desktop was fairly overkill at the time, and it lasted, well, 4 years.  |
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Derbor Torok
Lost soul
Join date: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1,016
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03-11-2008 10:03
Overkill is always better... I would bump up the power supply to an 800W PSU IF you are going to run an SLI set up or have more than one HD. Those gfx cards suck a lot of power... better be safe than sorry. I had to troubleshoot PSU problems and I swear it was as much fun as being tied up to a rock, naked, with a certain someone poking me with a stick. .d |
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 10:04
From: Derbor Torok I had to troubleshoot PSU problems and I swear it was as much fun as being tied up to a rock, naked, with a certain someone poking me with a stick. Wait! So it was fun? Or it wasn't? I'm confused now. |
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Derbor Torok
Lost soul
Join date: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1,016
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03-11-2008 10:21
From: Love Hastings Wait! So it was fun? Or it wasn't? I'm confused now. *Laughs* I guess it was a bad analogy - huh? - Leave it to you to point that out.. .d |
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Ee Maculate
Owner of Fourmile Castle
Join date: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 919
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03-11-2008 10:26
From: Love Hastings Hi all,
I'm planning to put together a machine to replace my existing desktop which is about 4 years old.
So far I'm thinking of:
ASUS P5N-D SLI nVidia 750i
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket LGA775, 3 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm
Corsair HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX Triple Power Supply
4 gig of probably OCZ DDR2 800Mhz memory
Windows XP
And of course, some sort of 8800 series graphics card. There are so many choices, but I do know that I want something that runs reasonably quietly.
Any suggestions are welcome. Primary use will be SL, Photoshop, and Blender.
Is this overkill? Underkill?
I considered the Q6600 processor, but I wonder about growing pains at this stage. Certainly SL isn't going to benefit from another 2 cores.
Thanks in advance for any help and patience at another hardware thread. I've got exactly the same setup at home, with two 8600s linked with SLI rather than an 8800... SL works like a dream. |
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 10:29
From: Ee Maculate I've got exactly the same setup at home, with two 8600s linked with SLI rather than an 8800... SL works like a dream. Oh, I'm very interested in this. Which 8600 cards in particular? And how dreamy is it? Can you max the windlight settings out? What sort of framerates do you get? Thanks! |
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Rebecca Proudhon
(TM)
Join date: 3 May 2006
Posts: 1,686
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03-11-2008 10:29
Might as well go with Vista for this setup. It can take advantage of things XP can't, although the catch-up game is still in progress, it's pretty solid and the software companies are focusing on it more then XP.
The Vista SP1 in beta still has bugs, but that will change. I have quad core and although it doesn't help SL, eventually it probably will.
Only other thing I would say is I prefer EVGA to Asus.
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 12:15
Considering two of these:
ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M nVidia 8600GT Chipset (540Mhz) 512MB (1.4Ghz) DDR3 Dual DVI Display Graphics Card
No fan has a huge appeal for me.
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Caledric Axon
I mkae poast now?
Join date: 9 Nov 2005
Posts: 200
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03-11-2008 12:17
From: Love Hastings Hi all,
I'm planning to put together a machine to replace my existing desktop which is about 4 years old.
So far I'm thinking of:
ASUS P5N-D SLI nVidia 750i
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket LGA775, 3 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm
Corsair HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX Triple Power Supply
4 gig of probably OCZ DDR2 800Mhz memory
Windows XP
And of course, some sort of 8800 series graphics card. There are so many choices, but I do know that I want something that runs reasonably quietly.
Any suggestions are welcome. Primary use will be SL, Photoshop, and Blender.
Is this overkill? Underkill?
I considered the Q6600 processor, but I wonder about growing pains at this stage. Certainly SL isn't going to benefit from another 2 cores.
Thanks in advance for any help and patience at another hardware thread. Give me a price range and list out what your current computer consists of (assuming your upgrading and not building a 2nd rig) and I'll build you a dirt cheap top of the line computer  |
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Caledric Axon
I mkae poast now?
Join date: 9 Nov 2005
Posts: 200
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03-11-2008 12:19
btw... a little underground tip for you. Nvidia 9xxx series. Its cheaper then the 8800 and more powerful.
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Love Hastings
#66666
Join date: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 4,094
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03-11-2008 12:32
From: Caledric Axon btw... a little underground tip for you. Nvidia 9xxx series. Its cheaper then the 8800 and more powerful. Thanks! If I can track down a passively cooled card, I'll get that instead. |
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Rebecca Proudhon
(TM)
Join date: 3 May 2006
Posts: 1,686
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03-11-2008 16:45
From: Love Hastings Thanks! If I can track down a passively cooled card, I'll get that instead. I have dual 8800s and four fans and liquid cooling inside, but I have acoustic soundproofing material lining the inside the box and it is very silent. These cards really need good cooling. |
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SuezanneC Baskerville
Forums Rock!
Join date: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 14,229
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03-11-2008 17:39
I'm having trouble finding any 9xxx other than the 9600 .
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Yumi Murakami
DoIt!AttachTheEarOfACat!
Join date: 27 Sep 2005
Posts: 6,860
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03-11-2008 18:02
Just one word of warning.. don't always go "overkill" for future proofing.. I think it was at one point the case for PCs, but the problem with this is that you tend to get "bleeding edge" effect on features and quality, as well. For example, a fast processor that needs huge numbers of fans to cool it, and the fans break within 2 years..
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