"Rate my Rig" thread

[General Zod]

The new toy I just ordered. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... &CatId=114

Not exactly a top of the line machine but it has way more power than my current laptop with plenty of room to upgrade. I was a bit on the edge about ordering but since I was having trouble running certain CAD apps, so the extra power should help immensely.

Well, never mind. Tigerdirect took a fucking week and they couldn't even get the order to me because it had to go through a third party. So I just wasted a lot of fucking time waiting for them to try and show some degree of competency. Looks like I'll be shopping somewhere else. Fuck Tigerdirect. Right in the ass without lube.

[General Zod]

And now that I'm done with TigerDirect, the shiny new box I ordered from Fry's.

http://www.frys.com/product/6410562?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG

[The Grim Squeaker]

With all the hooplah over Sandy Bridge, I decided that I want to upgrade my home gaming rig sometime this year.
I live in Israel, so Tigerdirect and Newegg aren't really an option, but I can probably get parts shipped as part of a larger order by a supplier I know.

I was planning to wait for Ivy bridge(the 22nm refresh) and the Z68 chipset halfway through the year, as I understand it, Ivy lake should bring about a 20% improvement even beyond that of Sandy Bridge, and the Z68 chipset will natively support hybridized Solid state and normal Hard drives..
Makes sense?

My current gaming rig is a Q6600 Quad core, and a 8800GT. It runs most games well (unlike my far newer but lighter U35 Laptop with it's 310M), but It's getting a bit old in the tooth, and i'd like something that can run the newer games with all the bells and whistles turned on.
It's primary use is for heavy duty gaming (relatively speaking), and primary storage (photography, etc').
EDIT: 22 nm.

[phongn]

Ivy Bridge isn't likely to hit the market until next year. If you can afford an SSD you probably don't need to do the caching thing that Z68 will provide.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Ivy Bridge isn't likely to hit the market until next year. If you can afford an SSD you probably don't need to do the caching thing that Z68 will provide.

I can't afford a SSD as the prices currently stand, though I do intend to buy a Hybrid (Like the Momentus XT) then. As I understand it, the chipset would let me put in even a cheapo 32 or 64 gb flash drive, resulting in massive performance gains..? (Obviously it's still quite theoretical)

I thought it was coming out by the end of this year? Well, I'll still wait I think, My birthday (AKA 10-20% subsidy) isn't until October anyway .

Thanks!

[Vympel]

Ok, about to get a new computer, how does this look:-

CPU: i7 2600k
MB: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
Graphics: Nvidia GTX570
RAM: 2x 4GB Corsair Vengenace 1600mhz
PSU: Silverstone Strider 850W
Soundcard: will probably just stick with MB sound, what do you reckon?
HDD: OCZ Vertex IIE 120GB SSD (OS & other high-use programs to run from here) & 2x Caviar Green 2TB (everything else)

Thoughts? Total cost is around $2,100 - $2,200

[Mr Bean]

That's Ausy dollars right?
Everything looks fine except I'd still advise against the SSD because I don't think the Tech is there yet and how much of the cost it is. Also you can get a superior ATI Radeon for the same price as a GTX 570. This generation Nvidia's cards have been over priced by 150$ and Nvidia has done nothing to counter it.

[Vympel]

Yeah, Aussie.

Video cards is a tough issue. My friend tells me that they're really close - Nvidia has better antialiasing but ATI is better at higher resolutions due to more RAM, reviews are split evenly - but Nvidia has physX and the difference is only a couple of frames ... I dunno. Here the prices are the same.

How big of a PSU will I need for all that?

[phongn]

Your PSU is more than sufficient. If you really want to know, figure out how many amps all your components will draw, and then ensure that your chosen PSU can deliver that at ~70-80% load (add in additional overhead if you wish to expand in the future).

I generally prefer Intel's SSDs (even if they are no longer fastest on the market) due to general maturity.

[Mr Bean]

850 Watt's is suffice for with that setup, your "peak" is going to be no more than 540 Watts which puts you at the 63% mark well below the 80% mark max your shooting for. And that's peak so your average use is going to be in the 45% range.

[Xon]

You can probably get away with cheaper 4gb sticks too. "performance" ram just isn't worth it. As an aussie, make sure you are using staticice to find the cheapest store locally (ie state:nsw). It's only a very recent thing that it's worth buying an ssd in Australia rather than importing it from international despite paying for shipping. ie when the intel x-25 160gb ws +$350 USD, it would be $600-$700 AUD even when the exchange rate was 90c to the US dollar.

As for a PSU, you would be good on a 750watt, and a very high change it would be perfectly fine on a good 650watt psu. I tend to prefer Corsair as they are solid PSU and get awesome reviews for stability, especially in hot conditions.

[starslayer]

If the resolution you game at is higher than 1920x1200, you would be well served by the extra VRAM in the current 6900 Radeons. If not, it's a wash, and you should buy based on the best price/personal preference.

Do you plan on overclocking? If not, you can save money by getting the non-k version of the i7. The only difference between the two is that the k version has an unlocked CPU multiplier.

You should also get a smaller PSU. A 750W would be just fine, really. The Seasonic X-Series are very, very good (80 Plus Gold efficiency, 5-year warranty, etc.), if expensive.

Sound is ultimately dependent on how important that component is to you, honestly. If you play the audio through an AV receiver, its DAC will be superior or equal to any dedicated soundcard; just run an optical or coaxial cable from the mobo's port to the receiver. If you don't use a receiver with the computer, I still find that just about any dedicated card sounds better than onboard, when using their analog outs.

[Vympel]

Thanks guys. I've made some changes, got the parts, will have the PC by Sunday

[TC27]

Im currently running an overclocked Q6600 at 3.2ghz but have got the upgrade bug with the new Sandybridges out (mainly a gamer so its the I5 that tempts me).

I already bought an 560ti so can couple this with a I5 2500k clocked in the upper 4ghzs - later on I reckon I could slap another 560ti for some SLI goodness which should see me good for the next few years.

[Qwerty 42]

I'm looking at building my own computer sometime this summer, and I'd like to have a lot of storage space, something on the order of 2TB. This is my first time building my own, so I'm not sure what direction to look in to find a good hard disc. Most of the reviews I see on NewEgg are making me a little wary, although I understand that a lot of the people who would review a hard drive would be the ones who had problems.

So I figure I'll ask you guys, since you seem to know what you're talking about: what's a good hard drive? If you need any more information from me, I'll be happy to provide it to the extent of my knowledge.

[Xon]

a lot of storage space, something on the order of 2TB

2TB is a single harddrive, it stopped being "a lot" a while ago now. It's quite trivial to fill this slot.


So the question comes down to; are you intending to installing applications/windows/games on it or stream videos & music off it? Because you do not need perfromance for the last one just a cheap drive. But actually running applications off it is another matter as the 'green' drives are honestly less than stellar if you start trying todo more than one thing at once due to the horrible seek speeds.

[Qwerty 42]

a lot of storage space, something on the order of 2TB

2TB is a single harddrive, it stopped being "a lot" a while ago now. It's quite trivial to fill this slot.

Alright. I suppose I'm dating myself, I still marvel at my 1 TB external

So the question comes down to; are you intending to installing applications/windows/games on it or stream videos & music off it? Because you do not need perfromance for the last one just a cheap drive. But actually running applications off it is another matter as the 'green' drives are honestly less than stellar if you start trying todo more than one thing at once due to the horrible seek speeds.

I do intend to run a lot of applications off it, so I imagine seek speeds would be a definite factor in that decision.

[ShakeyJake]

Then try either a Samsung F3 or WD Black.

[StarSword]

I dubbed my rig "Aegis" after a starship I designed, the Aegis-class command ship from my EV Nova mod.

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
MSI G43-H55 mobo
Intel i5-760 processor (2.8GHz quad-core)
4GB RAM
PNY Verto GeForce 9600GT video card (leftover from my previous box)

My eventual plan is to swap out my current outdated video card for twin late-model nVidias. This is mainly in preparation for the releases of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and X: Rebirth this fall.

[Tritio]

My Acer desktop died recently and I need a replacement. How does this look?

CPU: Intel i7 2600 - $619 inclu. Mobo
Mobo: Asus P8P67 (Need help with a recommendation on which model)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866CL9 - $249
Video Card: Asus GTX570 1280MB DDR5 OC - $499
HDD: Intel 510 Series 120GB SSD: $379
PSU: Corsair HX750W Modular - $189
Casing + Heatsink: $150
Surge Protector: $50
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (OEM) - $115

Total: SGD$2277
Currency Coversion Rate: 1.2SGD/1USD

Any thoughts/opinions? I am especially interested in finding out if there are any incompatabilities or bottlenecks.

[Mr Bean]

Wow that's overpriced, in American that's 1800$ roughly, pricing that on New egg comes to 1500 and that's with overspending on lots of parts, trimming things up I could get that configuration for 1300$ here.

The best overpriced areas you have are in the Corsair power supply (You spending an extra 100$ on name brand not quality) and that memory price is insane.

[phongn]

Wow that's overpriced, in American that's 1800$ roughly, pricing that on New egg comes to 1500 and that's with overspending on lots of parts, trimming things up I could get that configuration for 1300$ here.

Yeah, but what about in Singapore? Might want to check their local pricing.

The best overpriced areas you have are in the Corsair power supply (You spending an extra 100$ on name brand not quality) and that memory price is insane.

Uh, Corsair PSUs are very well regarded and certainly worth the money.

[Mr Bean]

Wow that's overpriced, in American that's 1800$ roughly, pricing that on New egg comes to 1500 and that's with overspending on lots of parts, trimming things up I could get that configuration for 1300$ here.

Yeah, but what about in Singapore? Might want to check their local pricing.

I know Singapore might be higher but I've lived in Singapore and I don't remember prices being THAT bad so I'm wondering where theses quotes are coming from it's just exchange rate wonkyness.

The best overpriced areas you have are in the Corsair power supply (You spending an extra 100$ on name brand not quality) and that memory price is insane.

Uh, Corsair PSUs are very well regarded and certainly worth the money.

There are Gamer, Enthusiast and the Professional lines for Corsair, the Gamer is pure name brand it's no better built than your average Coolmaster (But certainty better built than an E-Power or Lepa) which the Cool master will be cheaper and have more features. The Enthusiast line is good but little better than the Gamer line build wise but have extra features (Like modular connectors)
The Professional line is very nice and build construction is excellent. However there are some in the Professional Line like the HX-750 which get the label and maybe the build. But there are even better options if you want Corsair The AX-750W is Gold 80 standard instead of Bronze 80 Standard and they cost the same.

*Edit
They cost the same... In America

[Tritio]

Thanks for the replies. I'll reconsider the PSU if a Coolmaster is decent enough.
Is it a good idea to downgrade the RAM? The Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 CL9 is priced at $185 (compared to $249 for the 1866 CL9).
Any recommendations for the Motherboard?

I got the price lists in Sim Lim Square (the most well known electronics place in Singapore) from the following website:
http://pricewatch.vr-zone.com/previewpricelist.php
Sample of price list I used (400KB .pdf):
http://pricewatch.vr-zone.com/cms/price ... %20aug.pdf

PS: @ Mr Bean, ooh, you lived in Singapore? How long and when?

[Mr Bean]

PS: @ Mr Bean, ooh, you lived in Singapore? How long and when?

Just over a month which some might call just a really long vacation due to some fun weather on Diego, it was eight long weeks of being stuck in the same Hotel having to muster every morning bright and early to punish those of us who got drunk the night before then having oh ten hours each day to ourselves which we had to amuses ourselves being told that any day now we'd get our connecting flight the next day so the four of us wandered the streets tried to (And in my case failed miserably) to learn the language and see what was within walking distance of our Hotel. We were in the middle of downtown as I recall I can't remember the exact name (It's in my files somewhere) but I remember lots of walking combined with wandering through skyscrappers where the first one to four stories were shops with the fifth floor being bars while the rest were offices. I had taken a thousand plus photos but lost them all on the trip back when my HD I had backed them up onto died and I had deleted the memory card clean the week before.