new build, nice budget. need overkill.

RoyalMarine

building a new rig soon, and i dont wanna have to upgrade anything for a few years until i finish college.
im planning on gaming to the extreme, overclocking, and general video editing and mucking around.

ive got a budget in or around 2000-2500 but id really like to have money left over to buy watercooling blocks etc for it.

ideally my goal is a build with
16gb ram,
128gb ssd,
2 x 1.5tb drives,
2 x gtx285 or 2 x gtx295's depending which gives more bang for buck.
not sure about these new i7 processor's so some help if possible!
also need a mobo that can take 16gb, i7, and will overclock nicely when watercooled.
im planning on color scheming here, and id like everything inside the case black, the blocks and fittings silver, and water being red.
its a theme build, black silver and red, so id like the motherboard to match!
id love to get a cosmos S type case, but dont know where to look.
ideally, its going to hold everything inside, have a nice window, and room for a few more harddrives and 2 dvd drives.
if possible, id also like to get a 26-28" HD monitor with it.

so, with this budget i think i can get some top quality gear.
so what do you suggest?
im going ahead with this after xmas, but need to source everything first.

Leman_Russ

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

building a new rig soon, and i dont wanna have to upgrade anything for a few years until i finish college.
im planning on gaming to the extreme, overclocking, and general video editing and mucking around.

ive got a budget in or around 2000-2500 but id really like to have money left over to buy watercooling blocks etc for it.

ideally my goal is a build with
16gb ram,

Whut?

I really hope you mean 6GB. You do NOT need 16GB of Ram.

RoyalMarine

Leman_Russ wrote: »

Whut?

I really hope you mean 6GB. You do NOT need 16GB of Ram.

i know i dont need, but i have 8 at the moment, and as i said, i dont wanna ever upgrade this for at least 4 - 5 years while im in college.

Leman_Russ

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

i know i dont need, but i have 8 at the moment, and as i said, i dont wanna ever upgrade this for at least 4 - 5 years while im in college.

Unless you plan on running 97 VMs or servers off your PC, you do not need more than 8GB of Ram. More != Better. 16 GB of ram will just be wasted.
The general rule of thumb is if you don't have a single program that you know you will need more than 8GB, you don't need it.

Like, Really, you do not.

Don't even TRY and "Future Proof" a PC. Whatever you buy now will be obsolete in 12 months. You just have to live with that. That being said, a Core i5 Build, IMO, will last a good 5 years before being needed to be upgraded (and that is pushing it for any tech tbh).

For that you are gonna want a Core i5 750, 8GB of 1333 or 1600 DDR3 Ram and a Gigabyte UD4 Motherboard. All the rest is not really that important. For a Graphics card, you'll be wanting a HD5850, but ATM they are as rare as hens teeth and subject to price gouging atm, so wait till after XMAS to get it.

death1234567

Leman_Russ wrote: »

Whatever you buy now will be obsolete in 12 months.

+1. There's little point spending a fortune on a PC and then not updating it for 4-5 years if you going to be gaming/overclocking etc. your better off buying a decent setup now and then upgrade it once a year or as needed. It'll work out cheaper in the long run.

Anti

285's 295's ??

I guess you lost touch with the most recent tech. Nvidia are dead in the water handing out handjobs to anyone willingto listen to their "OH noez teh die harvestz haz teh failed"

ATI all the way, and will be for quite a while longer. 6XXX series in Q2

RoyalMarine

ha guess i did loose touch.

aight, so if i went i5 build, 8gb 1333, i should be set.

i didnt know nvidia were that bad now.

anyone able to point my in a direction of a HD5850?

i was looking at this mobo but is it i7 only?
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26007&agid=1191

then this caught my eye
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28364&agid=1305

Anti

You should have a look at the thread i started in here about my build. I went with that mobo you stated. 8gig of 1600mhz ram, 2 x 5870, 128gb ssd. Originially a i5-750 then i went with the 860 as i assploded my 750

*edit*

link to thread:

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055739111

Cuddlesworth

Being a fan of fast machines myself and with good need for it what I could currently drop my money on would be four reasonably fast SSD drives and a good controller card for around 1k. That will last for five years and make you happy.

Anti

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Being a fan of fast machines myself and with good need for it what I could currently drop my money on would be four reasonably fast SSD drives and a good controller card for around 1k. That will last for five years and make you happy.

LOL?

RoyalMarine

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Being a fan of fast machines myself and with good need for it what I could currently drop my money on would be four reasonably fast SSD drives and a good controller card for around 1k. That will last for five years and make you happy.

i only want 1 ssd for my OS and most played games.
the rest can gladly sit on storage drives.

no way in hell am i spending 1k on SSD's when the performance gain isnt worth that much money.

Anti

Its not worth it at all to be honest. Yes you will notice the difference in booting into the OS and loading games, compared to your 1 year old hdd. But the difference between a fresh 1tb f3 aint that massive tbh.

1k on ssd and a controller card is just crazy. I know alot of graphic designers and they wouldn't even consider that.

Leman_Russ

Indeed. One SSD is more than enough. I know a guy who bricked 4 SSDs recently because his power supply assploded. Everything else was fine, just his SSDs I lol'd.

I have to say though, if you are getting the LGA 1156 i5 (P55 Chipset) stay the hell away from ASUS. Their P55 boards are (imo) Shoddy as hell, while Gigabyte and MSI are the to teir mobos for it.

Anti

The asus board is working awesome for me at the moment

Leman_Russ

Anti wrote: »

The asus board is working awesome for me at the moment

The thing that made me loose all faith is them publicly stating "Overclocking is Bad m'kay you shouldn't be overclocking you naughty peoples", despite 99% of their advertising being "ZOMFG OVERCLOCK LIKE A MOFO WIV OUR SHEETS!", whereas Gigabyte actually sponsor teams with their top tier/prototype supersecret haxx boards for OC comps.

swirlser

Leman_Russ wrote: »

Whatever you buy now will be obsolete in 12 months. You just have to live with that. That being said, a Core i5 Build, IMO, will last a good 5 years before being needed to be upgraded

Interesting statement. Obsolete in 1 year, but no need to upgrade for 5.

Anyway, OP, I only went with 6GB of ram on my recent i7 rig - you dont need to max out the ram, actually may even prove bothersome if you do.

Venom

Leman_Russ wrote: »

The thing that made me loose all faith is them publicly stating "Overclocking is Bad m'kay you shouldn't be overclocking you naughty peoples", despite 99% of their advertising being "ZOMFG OVERCLOCK LIKE A MOFO WIV OUR SHEETS!", whereas Gigabyte actually sponsor teams with their top tier/prototype supersecret haxx boards for OC comps.

100% spot on.

Asus going from "built for overclockers by overclockers" line until a dodgy issue with Foxconn sockets to a "we dont support overclocking out boards" standpoint is just bollocks.

Have used there products for years but will never have use never mind buy anything from Asus again.

Op going mental on a build now is just silly as the only things slightly future proof are a quality brand PSU (Corsair HX 850) and good quality harddrives. Everything will be useless in a year or two for a new build but that don't mean you will need to upgrade in a year or two.

Venom

swirlser wrote: »

Interesting statement. Obsolete in 1 year, but no need to upgrade for 5.

Anyway, OP, I only went with 6GB of ram on my recent i7 rig - you dont need to max out the ram, actually may even prove bothersome if you do.

Makes perfect sense to system builders. Uber item today is not goint to make uber item in a years time performance wise but will still be more than able to handle what you toss at it in a year.

swirlser

Venom wrote: »

Makes perfect sense to system builders. Uber item today is not goint to make uber item in a years time performance wise but will still be more than able to handle what you toss at it in a year.

More leaning on the actual definition of "obsolete"

I know well enough from experience how long you can hope to get out of a high end build

Few people if they had a triple HD 4870 solution sitting inside their machine would be thinking about changing about now.

the_syco

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

general video editing and mucking around.

What programs will you be using? We talking 3D Max, or what? What course will you be doing, and will you be using the PC for the course?

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

id love to get a cosmos S type case, but dont know where to look.

Komplett.ie and hardwareversand.de both have it, as well as others. Get the Cosmos S version, though. The layout of the stuff on top is better on the "S" design, as opposed to the "1000" design.

leninbenjamin

Leman_Russ wrote: »

That being said, a Core i5 Build, IMO, will last a good 5 years before being needed to be upgraded (and that is pushing it for any tech tbh).
.

For general office work yes. For multimedia development (i.e. video, music editing etc), debatable. Multimedia apps become heavier and more intensive all the time and while newer apps may still run on 5 year old hardware i can tell you from experience it's not happy experience. And for games, absolutely not possible unless you're willing to run at pitiful resolutions down the line. Heck even web browsing becomes more intensive all the time, a lot of older hardware will noticeably lag with modern javascript heavy websites.

marco_polo

Venom wrote: »

100% spot on.

Asus going from "built for overclockers by overclockers" line until a dodgy issue with Foxconn sockets to a "we dont support overclocking out boards" standpoint is just bollocks.

Have used there products for years but will never have use never mind buy anything from Asus again.

Op going mental on a build now is just silly as the only things slightly future proof are a quality brand PSU (Corsair HX 850) and good quality harddrives. Everything will be useless in a year or two for a new build but that don't mean you will need to upgrade in a year or two.

As annoying as it is you can see why they have such exceptions in place though. If they had to replace every component blown up by people who haven't a clue what they are doing, they would not be in business very long.

swirlser

leninbenjamin wrote: »

For general office work yes. For multimedia development (i.e. video, music editing etc), debatable. Multimedia apps become heavier and more intensive all the time and while newer apps may still run on 5 year old hardware i can tell you from experience it's not happy experience. And for games, absolutely not possible unless you're willing to run at pitiful resolutions down the line. Heck even web browsing becomes more intensive all the time, a lot of older hardware will noticeably lag with modern javascript heavy websites.

Agreed, but that wasnt my quote, ty

leninbenjamin

swirlser wrote: »

Agreed, but that wasnt my quote, ty

oopsies

Cuddlesworth

Anti wrote: »

LOL?

You have to agree though that even with the current leaps made in SSD tech it won't be obsolete after four years due to the limiations of onboard parts(raid controller/bandwidth limited etc..)

Ahh, one can dream....

Venom

marco_polo wrote: »

As annoying as it is you can see why they have such exceptions in place though. If they had to replace every component blown up by people who haven't a clue what they are doing, they would not be in business very long.

No I dont see how you can advertise to overclockers, give them vast amounts of tools to overclock but when a defective part on an item Asus makes goes boom its suddenly a case of we dont support the ideal of what our entire company is based around :eek:

Venom

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You have to agree though that even with the current leaps made in SSD tech it won't be obsolete after four years due to the limiations of onboard parts(raid controller/bandwidth limited etc..)

Ahh, one can dream....

Are SSDs even expected to last that long?

SSD are said not to have the longevity of normal HDs.

RoyalMarine

ok getting side tracked here. lol

right, i think ill go with the asus mobo seeing as anti gives it his thumbs up.
which cpu would you guys reccommend?
and if i put 8gb of ram im, is there any real difference between the makes?

swirlser

Venom wrote: »

No I dont see how you can advertise to overclockers, give them vast amounts of tools to overclock but when a defective part on an item Asus makes goes boom its suddenly a case of we dont support the ideal of what our entire company is based around :eek:

+1

With regards SSDs lifespan, I think its something which does scare some ppl off - simply because they have a number sitting in front of them in terms of amount of usage, but the reality is that those 10k writes per cell will likely last you just as long as your using the drive for. How many ppl have HD's over half a decade old? Ok Im sure some do, but most move on and with little hesitation, because obviously a lot does change in 5 years in terms of tech & requirements. Certainly the more recently revised SSDs with larger caches and smarter usage would likely translate to using it daily, quite a lot and it living to see a decade out.

All I can say is, its kind of funny that PCs use moving parts at all anymore. So heres hoping they do keep successfully improving the SSD.

(Sorry for the sidetrack, discussion happens )

Anti

Depends, if you have the cash to burn and will be multitasking i sugest the same as me with a i7-860 as all 8 4 extra threads are unlocked, on the 750 only 4 are there. the 750 is a great ship, but the 860 beats it like a ginger stepchild. go with soem 1600mhz ram like the corsair dominator.

Even get one of the corsair performance 64/128gigs for your os drive for some fast boostign and some gaming.

RoyalMarine

swirlser wrote: »

(Sorry for the sidetrack, discussion happens )

no sweat. its helping me catch up quickly

Anti wrote: »

Depends, if you have the cash to burn and will be multitasking i sugest the same as me with a i7-860 as all 8 4 extra threads are unlocked, on the 750 only 4 are there. the 750 is a great ship, but the 860 beats it like a ginger stepchild. go with soem 1600mhz ram like the corsair dominator.

Even get one of the corsair performance 64/128gigs for your os drive for some fast boostign and some gaming.

i do and i dont have it to burn. i wanna get a good rig, but obviously as cheap as possible. always other things to buy.

so if i got the

asus board (€271,88)
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26007&agid=1191


i7 860 cpu (€232)
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28357&agid=1300


and 8gb corsair dominator 1600mhz
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28056&agid=1193

2 x 5850 (€440)
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=28600&agid=1004&apop=1

Leman_Russ

Arrrrrrrrrgh my poor "good parts" gland...

1) Drop the Asus Board. Get a Gigabyte UD4 for £136 (€149.745016).

2) Unless you are running things that need the 8 Cores, don't bother and get a i5 750. Again, if you don't know if you need the 8 Cores, you don't need the 8 Cores.

3) Ok, the ram is good.

4) (Y_Y) I would NOT recomend getting two 5850s right now. Get one now (if you really must) and one later when the price gouging ends. Or even better, just get one 5850 and upgrade the GPU in 2 or 3 years. It will work out better value in the long run.

Apologies for my cranky old man tone. I am a cranky old man.

leninbenjamin

Leman_Russ wrote: »

Arrrrrrrrrgh my poor "good parts" gland...

1) Drop the Asus Board. Get a Gigabyte UD4 for £136 (€149.745016).

I'm going to be an even crankier man.

I've an Asus P6T and i find it great. I've read a good few review's of the p7 and they all seem to get good reviews. So (their backstabbing attitude to the OCing community aside) why exactly do you hate their p55 mobos so much? I see you badmouthing Asus's p55s all the time yet i've never seen you give a concrete reason for this... curious like.

Leman_Russ wrote: »

2) Unless you are running things that need the 8 Cores, don't bother and get a i5 750. Again, if you don't know if you need the 8 Cores, you don't need the 8 Cores.

The OP wants it future proofed, every dog and it's bone is into parallel programming these days, no harm sticking with the HT imo.

Leman_Russ wrote: »

4) (Y_Y) I would NOT recomend getting two 5850s right now. Get one now (if you really must) and one later when the price gouging ends. Or even better, just get one 5850 and upgrade the GPU in 2 or 3 years. It will work out better value in the long run.

better yet, skip this current gen of DX11 hardware (there aren't even 10 games confirmed for DX11 yet), get a 4890 to bide you over til Nvidia enter the DX11 craze and ATI's prices actually become competitive again (hopefully by April, should be June-July at the latest).

BeansBeans

leninbenjamin wrote: »

I'm going to be an even crankier man.


The OP wants it future proofed, every dog and it's bone is into parallel programming these days, no harm sticking with the HT imo.

That sounds rather scary is that something you may be likely to encounter in 3rd year or + in computer science degree? :P

Leman_Russ

Bah, humbug I say. He should get an i5 then buy an i7 if he wants later

Always good to have spare parts!

RoyalMarine

after reading up, im gonna go with the asus board, an i5 (but im gonna try source an i7 cheaper if possible).

still not decided on a case.
im also gonna get 1 5850.

should do what i need.

Anti

The Corsair 800D is a simply awesome case, if you can find one anywhere

I ordered one a month ago and still waiting. Awesome case, hot swappable drives, cable management to die for, and ready to hook up 3 x 360 rads from the go(some dremel work required)

And the best part, all black interior.

Venom

Anti wrote: »

The Corsair 800D is a simply awesome case, if you can find one anywhere

I ordered one a month ago and still waiting. Awesome case, hot swappable drives, cable management to die for, and ready to hook up 3 x 360 rads from the go(some dremel work required)

And the best part, all black interior.

You left out the part of the bad power coating and woeful cooling unless you add all new fans.

Blazer

Get a 256GB SSD...128gb is just too small.

You definitely won't regret it.
I'm happily editing away in photoshop cs4 while the mate with his mechanical drive is still waiting for it to open

swirlser

Surprised no one has pointed out the incompatibility of the mobo and cpu the OP picked out above there...

Leman_Russ

Venom wrote: »

woeful cooling unless you add all new fans.

People actually use stock fans in cases?

Anti

Venom wrote: »

You left out the part of the bad power coating and woeful cooling unless you add all new fans.

I've not seen one case, or even heard of the bad powder coating. And first thing im doing is replacing all fans and the spaces where extra fans will be going will be filled up too. Have tested out the akasa apache fans, 60cfm and whisper quiet on full whack.

I dont see why everyone is dissing this case into the ground, its pacticially a v1000/v2000 tj07/09 mixed into one, but better them them all.

Yes, its stock cooling is **** with just 2 fans installed in a huge case, but no one with any sence will keep those fans or not add more.

And that mobo is compatible with the 1156 i5/i7 cpu's. I should know, i have the board and have used the i5-750 and i7-860

Leman_Russ

Anti wrote: »

And that mobo is compatible with the 1156 i5/i7 cpu's. I should know, i have the board and have used the i5-750 and i7-860

I think he was talking about this link:
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26007&agid=1191

Thats a LGA 1336 board :pac:

Anti

Ah right, i thought RM was still going with the Formula III ?

marco_polo

Leman_Russ wrote: »

I think he was talking about this link:
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26007&agid=1191

Thats a LGA 1336 board :pac:

And he paired it with an i7-860 in the same post, so at the time everything was kosher.

RoyalMarine

sorry for the confusion, im going with the revolution and the i7.



anti, im in love with that case now. cable dream! just gotta find one too

Anti

Komplett have guaranteed stock of it mid next week

swirlser

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

so if i got the

asus board (€271,88)
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26007&agid=1191


i7 860 cpu (€232)
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=28357&agid=1300

Sry, didnt think Id hold anyones hand on this one.... ^ this. Dont combine them.

marco_polo

swirlser wrote: »

Sry, didnt think Id hold anyones hand on this one.... ^ this. Dont combine them.

Oh I see now, a 1156 i7

Anti

Crazy intel with their crazy platform madness !

marco_polo

Anti wrote: »

Crazy intel with their crazy platform madness !

I have the line "Seriously, how often do you look at a mans shoes" fron the Shawshank Redemption stuck in my head.