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Considering a few options... need some input...
SomeOldBloke
Member UncommonPosts: 2,167
in Hardware
I throwing a few things around in my head and doing a bit of research on the various websites (ExtremeTech, Tom's, TR, etc..) so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys for some input... I mostly play MMO's, currently WoW but I'm going to try WAR, SGW and probably Earthrise when they appear...
- CPU: I'd thought about an AMD Phenom BE but the Intel's have better power. Should I stick with the E8500, go with a Q9450 or just wait it out for a Nehalem CPU.
- GPU: I'm thinking HD4870 but I have considered paying a bit more for the GTX 280. The main thing I was wondering is do any of these MMOs support multi GPU setups (Crossfire/SLI)?
- Mobo: Probably Gigabyte or MSI (don't like ASUS, too many bad experiences). Chipset will depend on CPU/GPU.
- RAM: As I'm going to get Vista 64bit I was going to get 8Gb of either OCZ or Corsair.
- HD: 2x WD Caviar 640Gb in RAID 0 (for speed baby).
- PSU: This is were I get confused, can anyone reccomend a good size/make... one that will allow me some expansion room for a second Video Card if I feel like it later.
Plus DVD, Case, etc. Budget of $2000 max. (Don't need keyboard, mouse or monitor).
Thanks for your input.
Comments
I recommend waiting until Nahelhiem releases before getting a new motherboard if you can stand the wait. The reason being that its a completely new architecture which requires a whole new motherboard design. You probably won't be able to fit it in a Socket 775 board. If you buy now chances are you won't have an upgrade future.
On GPUs, most mmos do not support crossfire/sli. However, in the future there are mmos coming based on the Unreal 3 and Crytek engine that does support multi-gpu setups. I recommend the HD4870 over the GTX 280. The performance difference isn't actually that different between the 2, however the HD4870 is much cheaper and draws less power on average. You probably would have a tough time SLIing 2 GTX280 without atleast a 1000watt PSU.
If your getting an Intel Mobo I suggest Gigabyte. The last slew of MSI intel boards have had issues.
Ram is incredibly cheap now. You can get 4 gigs (2x2GB) OCZ DDR2 with 4-4-4-17 timing at $60 after mail-in rebate.
In HD setup, I would get 3 HDD if you want the most speed. 1 80gig for OS, and 2 320GB in Raid 0 for apps. Maybe another 1 for storage. 750 gigs has started to become affordable with Samsung SP1, however, I think you will have a difficult time filling more then 100 gigs.
With the PSU you will need a pretty high wattage one if you want to crossfire the HD4870 or GTX 280, as well as more then 1 HDD. The HD4870 draws 285watts underload and the GTX 280 draws 310 watts underload. You are also looking at a 140watt CPU and probably around 300watts for other components. Thats around 1060 watt draw with SLI, around 1010 watt with crossfire. Getting a good quality PSU is also important. These cost around $300. For brands I suggest Thermaltake or Tagan's new ABS BZ series Piperock PSUs. I just got a new 800w Piperock PSU and it looks really cool.
On Optical Drives, you can probably get a Blu-Ray Drive. They have gone down considerably in price, and some Blu-Ray readable drives are selling in the $145 range. While Blu-Ray writable drives are in the $300 range.
On Cases, you probably should get a big case for cooling. I am personally impressed with Thermaltakes new Armor and Xaser VI cases as well as thier Mozart Cube Case. I also like the new Antec 1200 case. Then ofcourse there is Lain-li.
unable to fill 100gigs? What year is this? I've had my computer for less than a year and filled over three times that. Separating the os and applications is more likely going to cause problems than it is going to be beneficial.
The rest of the advice looks good except for possibly the blue-ray one. Unless you absolutely need one now it's a bad idea as they will only get better and cheaper in the future.
member of imminst.org
To start off, if you can, I would strongly recommend waiting for Intel to launch Nehalem. If the leached benchmarks are real then it has a solid performance increase over the current Intel CPU's. Furthermore, as mentioned above it is a completely new chip, and does use a new socket. So buying a motherboard now means you wont be able to upgrade your system in the future without getting many new components.
Next, dont buy the GTX280. The 4870 is more than enough for most mmo's, and you can buy 2 for crossfire for near the same price as 1 GTX280. Furthermore, ATI will be releasing the 4870X2 next week. So if you want to spend the extra cash, this card seems to beat the GTX280 straight up.
A heads up, if you do wait for Nehalem, you will need DDR3 ram, which is considerably more expensive than current DDR2 ram.
As per the power supply, the best brand hands down is PC Power and Cooling. No other company comes close to the quality they provide, however you do pay a premium for that superiority.
It was late when I wrote this, so I made it breaf. Any questions feel free to message me.
unable to fill 100gigs? What year is this? I've had my computer for less than a year and filled over three times that. Separating the os and applications is more likely going to cause problems than it is going to be beneficial.
The rest of the advice looks good except for possibly the blue-ray one. Unless you absolutely need one now it's a bad idea as they will only get better and cheaper in the future.
Why would having the OS seperate cause more problems?
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Originally posted by javac
well i'm 35 and have a PhD in science, and then 10 years experience in bioinformatics... you?
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/218865/page/8