Finally! Permission to build!

[Fleck]

Nvm, I was thinking of SLI, which it is true for SLI and nVidia cards with 2GPUs that SLI is better than 2 GPUs.

 

[Bokteelo]

What?

I'm at a lost. So I should just go with the X2? I'm quite confused, been getting a lot of different replies so... Can I have a list of pros and cons of each?

 

[Fleck]

I'm at a lost. So I should just go with the X2? I'm quite confused, been getting a lot of different replies so... Can I have a list of pros and cons of each?

Getting an X2 will be as fast as Crossfire and later on when you want to expand you can add another X2 and Crossfire giving you 4 total GPUs.

 

[Wile E]

Getting an X2 will be as fast as Crossfire and later on when you want to expand you can add another X2 and Crossfire giving you 4 total GPUs.

What he said. lol.

You can even go a step down from that, and just add another 4870 1GB for 3 gpus to save a little cash.

 

[Bokteelo]

His chosen board does 16 + 16 + 8 in 3 slots. My board does 16 + 16 with 2 slots.
And the 4870X2 and 2 4870s show no credible difference in a 16 + 16 board. In fact, the X2 is ahead in many tests.

What exactly does this mean? 16/16/8 in 3 slots as opposed to 16/16 in 2?

Question 1: Should I downgrade to the Antec 900? Honestly, I'm not a fan of full towers. (As long as it can hold 2 4870 x2s, and a large CPU cooler.)

Question 2: Is the Thermalright 120 Extreme necessary? I'm no longer seeking 4.0 on my i7, 3.8 is fine with me. I feel like I'm overpaying for the CPU cooler, $100 for the 120 compared to $50 for the 1284. (Might consider the 1283.)

Question 3: Could someone link me to a good 4870x2 2GB? I can't seem to find anything other than a Sapphire 4870x2. (On Newegg of course.)

Question 4: Is my PSU powerful enough?

 

[PaulieG]

The 900 is fine. However, it will collect alot of dust, and you will not be able to fit a 240mm rad in it, if you decide to water cool. Be ready to use canned air once per week. The TRUE is not necessary for 3.8ghz, though you can easily clock to 4.0 if you chose the TRUE. Your PSU choice is very good. I had that exact PSU. It is beefy, and will certainly handle a 4870x2.

 

[Bokteelo]

Alright, if I can touch 4.0 with the TRUE then I'll go with it.

Do both the 900 and the 1200 collect a lot of dust? Or is it just the 900? (Are they easily maintained?)

 

[KBD]

What brands should I be looking at for the 4870's?

No matter what brand you choose i'd go with a reference model and also a factory overclocked edition. Reference is a good choice because all the voltmods mods (soft and hard) work only on them and if you want to really push your card hard you will want to do that eventually. As for overclocked editions cards, some may disagree, but in my experience of owning 3 high-end GPUs in the past 2 years the 2 of the 3 cards were overclocked editions and were pretty good overcklockers while the 1 stock card wouldnt even clock up 5mhz. These kind of cards are cherry picked by the manufacturers and sold as overclocked editions preceseily because they overclock better. There are no gurantees, of course, but you have a much better chance of getting a good overclock out of an overclocked edition card. They usually cost a little more but i think its worth it. The only non-refence model 4870 i can recomend is the Asus Matrix.

I still think that 2 4870 1GB is better vs 1 X2. Whats good about the single cards is that you can mount aftermarket cooling on them to keep them cooler and overclock higher, there is no such option for the 4870X2 aside from water.

Do both the 900 and the 1200 collect a lot of dust? Or is it just the 900? (Are they easily maintained?)

In regards to the cases, first off i urge you to get a full tower if you want to be future proof, it will give you plenty of room for everything. Both Antec 900 & 1200 and Coolermaster HAF 932 are dusty but i still recomend the HAF as its a great case. Paulie had that case and he speaks from experience when he suggested, its awesome for a water cooling upgrade as you can potentially mount 3 240mm rads on the inside and 1 240 or 360 on the outside via radbox. I also recomend that if you get it make your own custom filters to block the dust.

 

[phanbuey]

HAF 932 if you even think of watercooling... its a brutal case even though I dont agree with the aesthetics...

But if you're gonna go for the TRUE then you shouldn't be thinking about water especially considering good water setups run $200+, so pick whatever case you would want to have for the next 5 years.

 

[Fleck]

I thought the cases only collect dust if you don't set up the fans to build positive air pressure?

 

[Binge]

To the OP. If you want to have the full range of options while overclocking a 4870 you should look into the ASUS Matrix edition. It is an impressive card. Also the 4890 should be out in the foreseeable future. The HAF 932 is a great option for air or water cooling, so I think that is really the winner here. Correct water cooling for the i7 is more of a $300+ venture. A Thermalright TRUE or a Prolimatech Megalems would be the best for AIR cooling and you can still get impressive OCs, but they can't be 24/7 overclocks.

HAF 932 if you even think of watercooling... its a brutal case even though I dont agree with the aesthetics...

But if you're gonna go for the TRUE then you shouldn't be thinking about water especially considering good water setups run $200+, so pick whatever case you would want to have for the next 5 years.

+1 Watercooling is a huge investment, but it does the job.

I thought the cases only collect dust if you don't set up the fans to build positive air pressure?

Everything collects dust and really in the home it's mostly dead skin and dander. Most likely you're to blame and you should clean your equipment as an apology.

 

[Bokteelo]

@KBD: As for the CM HAF... is it possible to remove the red front fan and replace it with a blue LED fan? If so, that's going to me my case!

What exactly are examples of factory overclocked editions?

Fine, it's a little pricier but if it can OC better, it's mine! Can you link me to a well known, trustworthy site where I can get them? It's my first time ordering parts and etc, so right now the only sites I know of are Newegg and Sidewinder.

@phanbuey: Water cooling... well I'm already paying $107 for the TRUE, + $20 for extra case fans, + the 1200 is $30 more than the HAF. If you add all that up, it's almost $200. Why not go all the way and go H2O if it will lower my temperatures and keep my system safer?

Can you or anybody recommend me a good WC setup? (I'm not going to jump on it, I'll still have to consider the price and difficulty to setup.)

@Binge: I can't seem to find the ASUS Matrix X2 or 1GB cards on Newegg. (X2 or 2 of them for CrossfireX.)

 

[Binge]

They only come in 512MB. That's not an issue. 1gb does not perform that much better than 512. I'd rather have a 512mb matrix than a 1gb without the ability to control voltages.

 

[kid41212003]

So, did you have your final list? Maybe you should update the first post, just to let people know?

 

[Bokteelo]

So, did you have your final list? Maybe you should update the first post, just to let people know?

Sorry, I'm close, but not yet.

I'm stuck between air and water now, but I have to factor in the price and difficulty of setup.

And I'll think about the ASUS Matrix edition, I need to do some research on 512 vs 1GB. (And I can't get an X2... so BOO!)

 

[KBD]

@KBD: As for the CM HAF... is it possible to remove the red front fan and replace it with a blue LED fan? If so, that's going to me my case!

What exactly are examples of factory overclocked editions?

Fine, it's a little pricier but if it can OC better, it's mine! Can you link me to a well known, trustworthy site where I can get them? It's my first time ordering parts and etc, so right now the only sites I know of are Newegg and Sidewinder.

To answer your fiest question yes, the 230mm fan on the CM HAF 932 can be replaced. Coolermaster finally released it in blue as well (though no green yet, arggh!) so you can pick one up from a place like frozencpu: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8...ue_LED_A23030-10CB-3DL-L1.html?tl=g36c331s857

An overclocked edition card is simply overclocked from the factory with a BIOS programmed with higher clocks. For example, my 4870 OC comes with clocks of 780/900 while a stock non-overclocked card runs at 750/900. There are various overclocked editions some with very high clocks. Newegg is a good place to get video cards, sometimes i buy from other places as well if the price is right. Asus Matrix would be good example of a card overclocked from factory. And as Binge and I said it's the best non-refence choice.

 

[Bokteelo]

Jeez... So I sacrifice the Antec 1200 for the HAF and replace the LED fan. They cost pretty much the same BUT the HAF offers water cooling potential.

I'm not sure when I'll be going H2O... but I do want to.

And as for the OCed edition, I think I've seen a few at 780MHz. I'll look around.

Edit: Okay! I've decided to go with air cooling using the Thermalright TRUE. And I'm sticking with the Antec 1200. I'll figure out how to shove some tubes in there if I need water cooling. The most important thing I want to know as of now: Can I turn off the blue lights on the fan?

 

[Wile E]

They only come in 512MB. That's not an issue. 1gb does not perform that much better than 512. I'd rather have a 512mb matrix than a 1gb without the ability to control voltages.

It's an issue for those that want longevity. 1GB is far better for the long term. Hell, in games like GTA4, the 512 is already useless.

And there's voltage control on all reference 4870/4870X2's, as long as they are using the Voltera regulators.

I still think that 2 4870 1GB is better vs 1 X2. Whats good about the single cards is that you can mount aftermarket cooling on them to keep them cooler and overclock higher, there is no such option for the 4870X2 aside from water.

http://www.artic-cooling.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_&mID=244

@Bokteelo - Just go ahead and stick with air for now, while you are still learning the nuances of overclocking. Go water at a later date when you are a little more familiar and comfortable with everything. I also highly recommend you stick with a full tower case. Once the upgrade bug bites, a mid tower will be overstuffed before you know it, and you'll have to upgrade anyway.

 

[Bokteelo]

Thanks Wile E. I'm basically finished picking out the parts, down to the one item, the DVD drive!

One more question! Can the lights on the case fans be turned off?

 

[Wile E]

Thanks Wile E. I'm basically finished picking out the parts, down to the one item, the DVD drive!

One more question! Can the lights on the case fans be turned off?

Not usually. I got rid of the LED fan that came in my case, because it became far too annoying.

EDIT: Did you post the final parts list yet?

 

[Bokteelo]

Not yet, I'll get to that shortly. How much are fan replacements? (I've got 7... and I want to replace them with quiet functional fans if I do decide to replace them.)

Can my PSU handle 2 4870 X2 cards if I add another one in the future? And can I add a SINGLE 4870 1GB from a different brand + clock speed onto it in the future?

 

[Wile E]

Very solid build. You sure you don't want to step to a 21.5 Samsung monitor that does 1920x1080 resolution instead? Same price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001308

 

[Bokteelo]

Ooh, 1080P! (Don't know what that is, but I know it's good!) And it supports 1920x1080... I'll think about it!

(I'm more into the versatility of the stand on the monitor I chose, because I tend to watch videos from my bed.)

 

[Wile E]

Ooh, 1080P! (Don't know what that is, but I know it's good!) And it supports 1920x1080... I'll think about it!

(I'm more into the versatility of the stand on the monitor I chose, because I tend to watch videos from my bed.)

1080p just means it has 1080 lines of horizontal resolution. The P means it's progressive scan. All lcds are progressive anyway.

1080p is also the resolution used in BluRay discs.

Which leads me to my next thought, why not grab at least a Blu Ray reader for it, that way you can watch some nice HD movies on it with the nice 1080p monitor. lol. Hell the readers are down to $80: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106273

 

[Bokteelo]

I did consider a BluRay DVD drive+burner combo. Actually, I might go for it. (Not the one you linked me to though, another LG or Samsung one. I'll find it and post it.)

Here! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133 (This thing can play regular CDs/DVDs too right? Like, if I shove a CD-ROM in there with software.)

Still thinking about the monitor though, I think the lovely stand on mine sold me!

Do I HAVE to get the 1080P for optimum results? (I think your monitor is actually wider than mine, I looked at the specs, maybe I mixed them up.)

Shit I think your monitor IS wider than mine!

21.5'' - 20.4'' x 15.4'' x 8.2''
22'' - 19.9'' x 14.78'' x 7.87''

But the stand! Oh the stand! =[ If only your 21.5'' had a more flexible stand... ugh I'm still thinking.