New Rig

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:09 pm

I've learned that lesson too. I try to run spare cables to strategic places in the case for later upgrades/changes while I'm doing the initial setup. I don't mind the occasional connector unconnected, but secured away. Eventually, I'm gonna make a molex/SATA power hub thing behind the drive cage to where if I need a connector, I'll plug a new one in (sorta like the detachable cables on a power supply, but remote which makes it easier to move to where most of the connections actually are).

NubyCanuby_OFC · Post by **NubyCanuby_OFC** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:08 pm

Here's FlyingPenguin's new rig:

Not!! Those Ostendo CRVDs are $6500 each.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:16 am

Wow, only $20,000 & I'm there. Eyeballing the equity in my house!

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:10 am

Well I am fully operational on the new rig after 6 days of setup. Everything is working fine except that Win7's fax app can't find my fax cover pages. Not sure what's going on there because it was working fine earlier in the week so somewhere along the way something got broken.

I wound up uninstalling all the Asus utilites. Didn't need the TurboV overclocking app (don't overclock). The power management software really wasn't doing anything better than Win7's native power management wasn;t doing (and I've read about some issues with it underclocking the CPU in games). I disabled the HD Audio Deck software because it kept nagging me with a popup whenever I plugged the headphones into the front panel. Software not needed anyway as Win7 manages the mic & headphone jack switching just fine on it's own.

I must say that every time I go back to an ATI video card I am surprised how nice the textures look compared to NVidia.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:09 am

Can't recall the last time I've installed a motherboards software. It all seems redundant as mentioned. Overclocking within windows scares me as well.

I must say that every time I go back to an ATI video card I am surprised how nice the textures look compared to NVidia.

Amen to that. I don't know what they do, but it is noticeable. Even 2D stuff looks better IMO. This from a guy who's last 3 main cards have been Nvidia (ATI is always in such high demand when I go looking that it's usually more economical to go with Nvidia). Soon, well eventually anyway, I'll posses a 5850 all my own.

theophilusmousse · Post by **theophilusmousse** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:31 pm

Nice system, congratulations on the new "baby". I am planing on an upgrade in the next couple months too, problem is I am having a hard time justifying the extra cash it will take to switch from and AM2+ platform to an i7
... either just upgrade my dual core to a quad core phenom II
... or upgrade pretty much the whole thing going with intel and spend almost 3X more

... but the i7's are just so shiny
what to do, what to do

and yeah, I'm drooling over the 5850's too, but my 4750x2 will just have to "make due" lol

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:45 pm

Work with reason. If your mobo supports the higher end Pheonoms, there's no reason to go I7. Sure, they are superior, but the top end I7 isn't so much more powerful over a Phenom II x4 955/965. Now consider that & then throw in gaming if that's your intent. Really, the processor doesn't make as large a difference as the video card. Save the massive overhaul money to put towards a video card instead. Or, if your current one is doing fine, then up your RAM. Life is bliss running 8gb of ram.

theophilusmousse · Post by **theophilusmousse** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:01 pm

I was looking through toms hardware not too long ago and ran across this review. It is probably the best comparison review I have seen to date. They compare several GPUs alongside several CPUs from AMD and also Intel. What their charts allow you to see is the point at which various GPUs reach their limit, and where increasing CPU power will continue to increase the GPU performance. It is really interesting, and according to what their charts show... and assuming that other benchmarks are correct in that my 4850x2 is roughly equivalent to an nvidia 280, I will still get performance gains by upgrading from my amd dual core 60.
it also surprised me in that the i7 920 does not seem to be able to allow the gtx 295 or the 4870x2 to reach their limit.

Part 1
Part 2

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bui ... ,2469.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bal ... ,2477.html

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 1:52 pm

LOL, I though you had two 4750's from the previous post. Yeah, the 4850x2 is still a monster of a performer.

I'm surprised I didn't see that article. I had, however, seen a similar article at the TechReport. Pay close attention to the resolutions being used. At low resolutions (1280x1024), the CPU makes a large impact, but after 1920x1200 that it barely makes a difference in many games. So if you're playing at these resolutions, then a CPU upgrade makes sense. However, if you're playing higher resolutions, don't expect more than a few frames increase (some of the charts scaled differently & appear to be large increases when really only about 5-8). Which requires not only a CPU upgrade, but also a motherboard, RAM, & cooler (if you go I7). That's a lot of dough for a few fames per second. Now, a top end Phenom II x4, that makes sense. Just slap it in & sell the old one & done! Near I7 performance for hundreds less.

I was surprised at how poorly the GTX285 did with lower end processors, that's a shamethough.

theophilusmousse · Post by **theophilusmousse** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:20 pm

yeah, that 4750 was either a typo or a brain-fart. I am very happy with the sapphire 4850x2. And even looking at some of the high end cards getting a performance boost from the i7, I agree with you. The extra cost of upgrading to more expensive ram and a more expensive motherboard, and a much more expensive CPU, no where near cost effective. I will just get the top of the line Phenom II x4 (like the 965)... and spend less than I would on a halfway decent intel motherboard.