The (new) Official PC building thread!

LOLZ!!!!!

OK lemme clarify....

I didn't mean that you loved ALUMINUM cases.... I was just saying the ROCKS stuff cause when you like something you always say that. lol. I did/do like how you covered all bases tho against an aluminum case. hehehe. To each his own as they say!!!

....gm

 

ukers:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-099-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=877

XFX GeForce 8800 GTX Extreme 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (PV-T80F-SHE9)

£176.24 inc VAT

and sam:

http://www.dailytech.com/Foxconn+Enters+Graphic+Card+Business/article1244.htm

 

I tend not to recommend the GameXStreams, because their power output is unstable and fluctuates a lot, and they're unnecessarily expensive. Get this one instead:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx-650w-atx12v-power-supply/q/loc/101/206178324.html
Much cheaper, and much better.

Abuzar: You can't, it just isn't possible yet unless you use a low resolution like 1280x1024, in which case it can be done with a pair of 9800GX2s or three 8800 Ultras.
As far as I'm concerned, getting crysis running smoothly at max detail is just bragging rights. It's ludicrously expensive to achieve, and the game's not even that great anyway.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn
Foxconn make pretty much everything. Didn't realise their effect was so widespread. Technically this means it isn't actually nvidia that makes the cards though is it?

 

nvidia give the chips, and the reference design to foxconn and foxcon makes and sells them off. most manufacturers buy from them.

as for the PSU situation the new BZ sereis from tagan hav been getting some very rave reviews, so have the EXTREMELY quite new beQuiet: Dark Power PRO series.

the OCZ are made by one of the best PSU manufacturers PC Power& Cooling, (well any ones made this and half of last year, since OCZ bought thme) so im sure the are fine.

 

Well what would be better overall? 2 3870s or 2 8800GTs?

 

Amazingly, probably the pair of 3870s in some setups. The SLI setup might have a bit of an edge in Crysis (see here http://techreport.com/articles.x/14284/7) but in other games, crossfire's doing quite well with recent drivers. (see here http://techreport.com/articles.x/14284/5 - note that at low resolutions the 8800GTs are on top but the 3870s pull away massively when the game is turned right up)

 

Yeah I'm doing this for somebody. I don't have enough money to throw around for something like this.

Ok so at first I suggested this:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
Asus Stiker Extreme 680I Chipset board
4GB Memory DDR2-1066
2x 8800GT
150GB Raptor HDD
Seagate 500GB 32MB SATAII
Samsung DVD Burner
Thermaltake Armor Full Tower Case
PC Power and Cooling 750W PSU

But then I though, why not change that a bit and lower the price?

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
Asus Rampage Formula X48
4GB Memory DDR2-1066
9800 GTX
150GB Raptor HDD
Seagate 500GB 32MB SATAII
Samsung DVD Burner
Thermaltake Armor Full Tower Case
PC Power and Cooling 750W PSU

The way I see it, the one 9800GTX will perform close to the 8800GTs. Plus it has an edge in higher res. So I might build the second one. I hope this works out. I can't wait to get some benchmarks on that things before selling it.

 

Er no, a 9800GTX will perform almost the same as ONE 8800GT. It's the 9800GX2 you need, and they cost as much as three 8800GTs, so I wouldn't bother.

 

Actually I was reading around and many people were comparing a single 9800GTX vs 8800GT SLI and they were saying that the 9800GTX is close. Also it depends on how well SLI scales in games doesn't it?

Have you seen any benchmarks comparing them? I honestly haven't. Just stuff I've read on forums.

 

They're talking rubbish. I've seen quite a few benchmarks of the 9800GTX and it's an overclocked 8800GTS 512MB - same card, different clock speeds, that's all it is. As such it sits between the 8800GTX and 8800 Ultra in level of performance. When SLI's running right, a pair of 8800GTs will be miles faster than a 9800GTX. I'll find some examples.

 

boozer why don't you look at one of the 32MB cache HDD's instead of the Raptor?? I think that there is some evidence that the 150GB Raptor is less than dependable and noisy to boot.

I like the looks of the build you're considering, BUT what/who is it for?? It seems that your building a GAMERS rig... hmmmmmmmmmmm....

I still don't see the TRUE benefits of going SLi. It doesn't give you DOUBLE the performance and there are a few single video cards that give danged good performance. lol. Of course I don't know anything about video cards so sammy can have it from here.

I would also consider an LG DVDRW for write quality. Of course you want one with a Renesas chip. H62N is one model....

good luck with the build!!

...gm

 

Indeed, the 150GB Raptors have an alarmingly high failure rate - avoid at all costs. As Gm says, transfer rate-wise normal drives aren't that far off the raptor. If you want blazing fast OS performance, get a 74GB Raptor instead. They're expensive for what they are, but they work wonders.

As for SLI Gm, believe it or not Crossfire is now pulling 100% gains in a reasonable number of titles, you just have to turn the details right up to see them (and not necessarily to an unplayable level) to avoid the CPU limit, and if single cards were that fast, they'd be subject to the same. Given the stagnant nature of the graphics card market (a genuine single card to beat the 8800 ultra still hasn't come along and all the Ultra is is an overclocked GTX), dual graphics are starting to become increasingly useful, but ONLY IF you have lots to spend. The frame rate per pound/dollar is still greatest with a single fast card like an 8800GT or single HD3870, but you'd be surprised how effective dual graphics systems are starting to become.

 

the only good SLI cards to go for are the 9600GTs as two of them are giving near GX2 performance (about 75%-80%)

and two 320GBF1s in raid 0 are giving the performace of the raptor150 (which is much faster than the 74).

infact the F1 1TB drives are as good as rapotr when loading games, but not in loading the OS. but they are the best around.

 

I think Foxconn make that bracket at least, I'm sure I've seen that for my Asus board as well. Truth be known though, Foxconn might make the socket itself as well.

Shaff: A pair of 3870s get 100% gains in a few games, let's not discount that lol. I think I saw 100% from the 9600s in a couple of apps in a benchmark somewhere, too.
Your statement about the RAID0 is misleading. The transfer rate will be high, but the access time will be very poor, considering, and for an OS drive, that's really what you need. RAID0 is significantly slower at booting windows than a raptor. Still, 36 or 74GB, don't bother with the 150.

 

LOCOENG,

Foxconn almost ate up GigaByte last year, which was what caused the GigaByte/Asus connection in the first place, even though it was only to prevent Foxconn from getting GigaByte to begin with. Fortunately GigaByte took the bit between their teeth and put out some outstanding price/performance motherboards with the 965P and then the P35 and P38 chipsets

Foxconn is the largest company of it's type in the world. They manufacture everything from motherboards to the components that go on motherboards. CPU Sockets, memory sockets PCI and PCIe sockets and so on. In terms of money, Foxconn has more than all the other motherboard companies combined!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

im pretty sure last yea asus sold 60mil, foxcom 40~ and gigabyte 30, with 95% of foxcons being OEM :O

yeah i didnt discount the 3870, but it cant do SLI i said in SLI.

and as i said, loading games it was faster, writign it was faster but OS laoding was not. it was a few seconds (7-8 IICR slwer at OS loading) but this is versus one 150. (although you get 640GB storage)

the 36 are very slow (vs any new good 7200RPM), the 74s beter (but with only 8mb cache, not gr8) and the best for performace are 150s, but with price in minds tw raid o WD or 7200.11 or F1s woudl beat them.

 

What's your point? You can do Crossfire with a standard Intel Chipset - with SLI you need an nvidia chipset board.

The 36GB drive is just as fast as the best 7200rpm drive for transfer rate, it just isn't any better (I own one). They're still blazing fast drives. As for the 640GB storage argument, you'd be better off using two normal drives, no half-redundancy woes, and better access times.

 

i was jsut talkign abtou nvidia cards and SLI, i wasnt countign xfire and ati cards.

thast my point.

 

I'm doing this build for another person. I'm making about 150 in the process so that's good! Ok so here is what I've come up with so far. I just need a good suggestion on a SLI motherboard. A GOOD one.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
4GB Memory DDR2-800
2x 8800GT 1GB
Seagate 500GB 32MB SATAII
Samsung DVD Burner
Thermaltake Armor Full Tower Case
PC Power and Cooling 750W PSU
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

Is the MSI P6N Diamond good for OCing? Or should i go with this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188012