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Help me spec a new PC... bitches

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:10
by Wiggy
Thinking of the following:

New things
Asus P6T Mobo
Intel i7 920 D0 CPU
2 x Corsair 6GB triple channel RAM :P
New CPU cooler
Another graphics card to SLI with the one I already have

Plus some hard drives, sound card, case etc that I already have.

Reckon it may cost £725 in all.

Thoughts?

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:23
by Dr. kitteny berk
That'll do.

what's your PSU like?

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:29
by friznit
12 Gb RAM is really kicking the arse out of it :P

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:39
by Wiggy
PSU is a Corsair HX620W. Enough or not?

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:42
by Dr. kitteny berk
Wiggy wrote:PSU is a Corsair HX620W. Enough or not?
Possibly. it made me pull a face.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:43
by deject
What GPU do you have? It may be better to just replace it and/or relegate it to PhysX duty.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:44
by Dr. kitteny berk
deject wrote:What GPU do you have? It may be better to just replace it and/or relegate it to PhysX duty.
Wiggy wrote:Another graphics card to SLI with the one I already have
:facepalm:

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:47
by deject
oh, it was a link, I fail. Actually, I don't think you even need to buy a second one for SLI, a single one can still pump out enough FPS for any game out there unless you're running at more than 1920x1280 or whatever.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 17:59
by Wiggy
deject wrote:oh, it was a link, I fail. Actually, I don't think you even need to buy a second one for SLI, a single one can still pump out enough FPS for any game out there unless you're running at more than 1920x1280 or whatever.
Yeah, was thinking that, but just wanted a monster machine :)

I reckon if I'm upgrading CPU and RAM etc, I'll leave the GPU till later. It'll save me £150 now, and I can always get another one later if needed.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 18:13
by deject
You will see a rather large boost going to the i7 I would think.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 20:02
by HereComesPete
I'd leave the SLI for now, it's not necessary given the quality of the 260 as it is.

May well need more beef on that psu if you look to SLi.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 20:24
by Lee
Zalman coolers are generally terrible, get one of these instead: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165572

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 20:33
by HereComesPete
Good call :above: noctua whilst utilising somewhat shitty colours have powerful and whisper quiet fans and very high build quality.

I wouldn't say zalman are terrible though, just that noctua are better.

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 20:44
by deject
HereComesPete wrote:I wouldn't say zalman are terrible though, just that noctua are better.
:above: Zalman make good packages (i.e.: mounting kits and such), it's just that their coolers aren't quite as effective as Thermalright and such. They do look nicer in my opinion though.

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 12:30
by TezzRexx
What kind of wattage would be ideal? Last time I looked at SLi it was around 900-1000w I believe.

Although, Corsair are made of magic and Super-science™.

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 13:01
by Lee
It'll probably draw 400-500 watts maximum and I'd usually recommend getting something twice as powerful as you need, PSUs are usually most efficient around 50% and are less likely to die if you're only half loading it.

I'd say 800w minimum for that set-up even though that 620w PSU would probably be fine.

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 16:55
by Dr. kitteny berk
PSU efficiency is weird, but now days if you get an 80 plus certified one, they'll be pretty efficient at almost all loads they're likely to see (20%, 50% and 100%) and usually a decent PSU will be within a few percent efficiency at all of those loads.

So I'd be more inclined to run a decent lower wattage PSU now, than spending more on a massive one, as you'll only see *very* small efficiency gains, most likely not enough to cover your initial outlay.

I've had the Gonk running on a 650w PSU in the past with no problems (I wasn't comfortable with it, but nothing asploded)

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine is worth a look to work out your PSU needs, it's pretty accurate, but I'd always buy a slightly higher model than suggested to allow for upgrades.