Gaming Rig Theorycrafting

Spicypixel

Spicypixel

New Member
Just to wade in in the Nvidia/ATI debate. Having used an 8800GTS through the Vista 32bit era I could have strangled any and all driver teams. It was atrocious - NVIDIA DRIVER HAS STOPPED WORKING etc.
In terms of CPU neither brand really has any strengths. When looking at the Bad Company 2 benches the difference between any of the CPUs from either camp over 3ghz was within the margin for error. I'd argue that most games are still GPU bound and if you can clock any CPU to 4ghz you're laughing.

So by that notion you'll probably get a more balanced system following the AMD/ATI route simply due to saving money on the CPU/mobo combo and being able to spend more on a GPU/RAM.

The lower end SB 2500k is also fine with a upper mid range nvidia card, such as the GTX 570 - assuming budget allows.

An option off hand: (couldn't find a pre built sandy bridge system under 700 with a gpu of value in)
OcUK Add a 6950
 
Haven

Haven

Administrator
Staff member
@Haven: Re: the point you made about single core/ multithreading performance. How many games these days use multicore processing? I know theres flags in the source engine now which is "enable multicore rendering" but have no idea how much of it ends up in multiple cores that way. Anyone know anything more on that sort of side of things?
Click to expand...
Three cores tops was the last thing I read (just before the tri-core phenom came out).
One for core game
One for AI/Event processing
One for Sound processing

But it also depends what else you're doing on your computer so add another for OS.

Its possible that newer gaming engines i.e. cryotek's latest may use more. PhysX is offloaded to the GPU otherwise that would possibly be a fourth. The three cores was being specifically sold based on the HL2 engine at the time.
 
Chuchurocket

Chuchurocket

In Cryo Sleep
OK, so after doing a bit of rooting around on the interwebs based on your guys suggestions, ive come up with a rough list of what ive been looking at. There shouldnt be compatibility issues with the bits but i may have missed something.


Case – Coolermaster HAF 912+ - Got some nice stylings on it considering its price, from reviews ive seen its of sturdy construction and it has a removable 3.5” caddy which would increase air flow.
Motherboard – Asus P8P67 – Bit-tech gave it a good review and apparently has great overclocking potential with the K versions of the intel chips. The only issue was fitting a CPU cooler with the heatsinks, not sure how thatll play out.
CPU – i5 2500 (Sandy Bridge) – After reading a disappointing comparitive review between the AMD offering and this I decided to go with Intel. Unsure whether to go for the K version of this or not.
RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB - Not much to say, good chunk of RAM at a good speed and a good brand.
CPU Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro – As far as I can tell compatible with the Intel Chipset and got great reviews. Just wondering about how it will fit with the motherboard heatsink issue.
Graphics Card – ATI Radeon HD 5850 – Good reviews from a few websites and quite well priced for its apparent power.
HDD – WD Caviar Green – Plenty of good reviews and a 64Mb Cache speed at a nice price.
Optical Drive - Sony AD-5260S-0B – Sony, cheap and good reviews.
PSU - OCZ StealthXStream 2 – Wasn’t sure if the 550w would be enough so opted for the next step up of these PSUs. Got good reviews but to be honest I have zero knowledge on PSUs :p


If bought all from Novatech comes out at 671.87, edging towards the upper of my budget. Im sure shopping around will shave that down a bit, or if theres ways to save (PSU might be a bit overkill). Feedback and thoughts would be absolutely awesome as i have learnt a bit more about the wonderful insides of a computer thanks to this thread :D
 
waterproofbob

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
Do you have an OS already, that may have already been said but I missed it.

As far as PSU go straight wattage isn't the most important factor Here is a handy calculator to give you an idea

As long as you have the wattage to cover the components under load the most important thing is that you have a quality PSU that is going to be efficient. It's often something that is overlooked that can cause all sorts of problems.

Otherwise I'd say the investigating you have done is more helpful than us telling you what to buy, overall you have a much better knowledge of your rig. You've got a pretty nice balance of components there and the HAF is a nice case. One of the benefits that you are seeing more and more on cases is the CPU retaining hole. Simply put it makes getting to the fiddly clips that you use to attach CPU cooler on the back of mobos readily accessible.


RE: the CPU you don't need the retail version as you are getting a after party cooler. Although having a look novatech don't do OEM chips so not a lot you can do there if you are set on buying from them. Difference being if you get an OEM chip you just get the chip and save a bit of money.

Otherwise you have a pretty good balance of components there.
 
Haven

Haven

Administrator
Staff member
Only thing I'd warn you about in that setup is that the western digital green drives make great storage drives but most of them run at a lower spindle speed so not ideal for a gaming rig.

Take a look at the Western Digital Caviar Black and Blue range as they may be more suitable for OS/Gaming use. If you're feeling very adventurous then check out the 2.5" WD Blue range - smaller drives means spindle is smaller and lower latencies as the heads have less distance to travel.

I'm quite interested in one of these in the not too distant future.
 
Chuchurocket

Chuchurocket

In Cryo Sleep
Calculated out with 446W, so should i look to getting a lower wattage one (ensuring its a quality one still ofc)

@Haven: So a Caviar Black would be a better choice? Just noticed its seek time is like half that of the green one, wootnessy!
 
waterproofbob

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
You are always going to pay a bit more for the blacks and blues as they are high performance drives.
I have One of them that does the job nicely, it may also be worth considering if you want lots of storage if your budget can stretch a little going for a 2 drive option. One smaller OS and major program drive and one that you have as storage.
 
Wol

Wol

In Cryo Sleep
thatbloke said:
Seek time is what it's all about for hard drives :)
Click to expand...

pipe down solid state boy :p

I dont know if its just me being dense, but how do you specify two graphics cards on that calculator? My current setup is about 366W it seems, so my new PSU is over double that rating, so hopefully ill be okay for a while!
 
Chuchurocket

Chuchurocket

In Cryo Sleep
In terms of guides for construction, ive seen a few ones on youtube that are helpful e.g. Computer Shopper(if a little dated) Is there any resources that people would recommend that gives a nice guide to building?

Some people seem to install the CPU and cooler before putting it in the case whereas some start with mounting the motherboard first. Just trying to get a a good understanding of the motions of the building process. Also how much of a bitch is the Windows and drivers installation?
 
Wol

Wol

In Cryo Sleep
Chuchurocket said:
In terms of guides for construction, ive seen a few ones on youtube that are helpful e.g. Computer Shopper(if a little dated) Is there any resources that people would recommend that gives a nice guide to building?
Click to expand...

I personally put mobo in first, and then put the other bits in (mobo > cpu > cooler > ram > gfx > hard drives). USually find its easier without the CPU heatsink in place to move the thing around in the first place. I also find it easier to push the ram into the slots when its mounted in the case, rather than pushing against whichever bit of plastic /cardboard packaging I Can find lying around at the time.
 
Chuchurocket

Chuchurocket

In Cryo Sleep
With regards to the thermal compound, a pea size amount then mount the cpu cooler on top? Seen quite a few ways of applications and i dont like the idea of smearing it around my moving the cpu cooler around. (Is thermal compound included with the SPU or should i buy some of that silver stuff?)

Im guessing wires-wise theyre all included and all i need to bring to the party are cable ties, philips head screwdriver, a mini torch, an ESD strap and patience?
 
Iron_fist

Iron_fist

Super Moderator
Staff member
i'm doing a build tomorrow so could possibly video something for you, i'll see how i'm feeling when i get in from work.
 
Chuchurocket

Chuchurocket

In Cryo Sleep
Wow thanks that would be awesome but only if your feeling up to it :D Feeling a bit more confident building vs premade now im a bit more clued in so i will indeed be building one as soon as a paycheck gets near me :P
 
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