Looking for new system advice

[Markd2100]

Hi, any help/comments would be appreciated.

I am looking to build a new system. My usage is split between the following applications (in order of use):

1. MS office 2007, mostly Outlook (with LARGE data files >9gb's), some WORD, some Excel (NOT Excel power use, just basic).
2. I am moving toward doing more daytrading, which will take the place of #1 usage above within 6 months. Big memory/cpu hog as many charts are updated min of once per second.
3. Game - MS Flight Sim X (infrequent use, but when I use it I can't have the system dragging at low fps, no fun!).

I always have several applications running (like most everyone else...).

I have 2, 32" LCD's currently that I would like to keep.

MUST have's (in no particular order):
1. Raid 1, redundancy, likely 2 SATA - 750 gb drives (with at least 2 SATA ports unused to allow for future expansion).
2. eSata port accessible either front or back of case
3. NO JUNK, but no need for top shelf, reliability and stability are paramount. No desire to OC at all.
4. Currently have 2 - 32" LCD's, however as I move into more daytrading I will need to add another 3 - 32" monitors, totaling 5 monitors. Current monitors are driven using DVI connector. Would prefer not having "hobbled" PCIx16 slots - in other words want full bandwidth on all x16 slots when more than 1 card is installed.
5. Performance - lost time waiting for system to keep up won't work. However, have no need to go wild overboard.
6. I replace my system every 3-3.5 years, so this new one must hold up from the quality side as well as technology figuring replacement in about 3 years. I don't need absolute state of the art (read I don't want to pay premium for little gain).
7. Would expect to be running Vista Ultimate 64 bit.
8. Gigabit lan.

Frankly I am lost on the graphic card side of things (what chipset is best working with what card). The reviews that I have seen SEEM to show that the Intel ICH8 chipset performs well. In other words Crossfire, CrossfireX, PCIe 2.0, SLI, etc. is all Greek to me since I am not clear on what works with what and which will take into account the particular usage I have.

Energy savings is a plus. Many times as I have several apps running I am hesitant to allow into hibernation since it is a crap shoot as to whether the system will wake up intact, at least in my experience.

I am not sold that DDR3 is worth the expense at this point. X48 with DDR2 would seem to be OK but nothing is set in stone.

Budget is as needed to accomplish the above, however no need for overkill. Not going to spend $$ for the sake of spending $$. Nothing "flashy" needed.

Specifics would be helpful, i.e. which fan for cpu, etc etc.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Mark

[farlex85]

Well, thats quite specific. Are you in the US?

[Markd2100]

Thanks. Yes, in the U.S.

[farlex85]

Well, I would go w/ this cpu: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115017
seems like you could benifit from a quad.

A couple of these hdds: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136218

The rest I am having trouble with because of your saying that you are going to be using 5 monitors. Now, fsx can be a graphics hog, and you will probably need a good card to run it normally. To run 5 monitors makes me feel like you will need lots of vram, although I could be wrong. I could suggest sli or cf, thing is, they don't generally work that well. Since your not oc, I might reccomend something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131232

with perhaps two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130337


That will give you solid performance in anything, although I'm not sure about 5 monitors.....

[phanbuey]

Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP Sneak Peek >> http://www.hothardware.com/News/Asus...OP_Sneak_Peek/

2 of these will power 8 monitors...

erm hold on let me find one on sale...

farlex, let me know what u think ab this card.

[farlex85]

Thats a solid card too, and you could pair that w/ an x38/x48. I don't know though, b/c from what I've seen 2 x2s don't really work that well together, in other words one is almost dead weight. I think ati and nvidia still have some work to do figuring out how to scale quad-gpu's properly. And 2 gts(g92) will beat a single x2, I'm thinking at least in speed the 2 gts(g92) will be better than 2 x2s. However, w/ multiple monitors the 2gb of vram may be the ticket, and eventually quad-gpu should function correctly so......

[phanbuey]

HD3870 trifire?

yeah about the duals in cf ive read the same thing... the drivers are a bit immature... not to mention the 800 bucks needed to get it

[Braveheart]

i can help a little:

yes you are correct DDR3 is overkill and lame, DDR2 is what you should get.

as for graphics cards, PCI 2.0 is the new graphics card interface, it allows the graphics card to stream faster. motherboards with a PCI16 slot will work with all PCI2.0 cards, but there are new PCI2.0 motherboards that will allow you to get more speed out of your graphics card check this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express out for more info.

i wish i could help more but i have to go, I'll make a list of items you should look at later.

[phanbuey]

for a 3-3.5 year upgrade path... i would seriously splurge on a 3 GHZ quad.

The Q6600 non overclocked is low end, and you would start feeling its age (in terms of other machines) in 6-8 months. If you dont OC, and are not going to be upgrading Q6600 is a bit too conservative i think.

EDIT: Mark, are you building this machine yourself, or is someone going to build it for you?

[farlex85]

This is true, although a q6600 could probably handle most anything he's going to do, it will become outdated quicker. Its tough to land those new quads though, here's one of em, who knows when it will be in stock though and it isn't 3ghz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115039

[phanbuey]

OK maybe not 3Ghz but this:

CPU - 2.66GHz w/ 12MB cache (bit better than the Q6600, more cache etc)...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115039, = $379.99 when in stock

EDIT: lol same cpu, holy crap. ahaha... posted at the same time. well i gotta go for now, but ill try to figure out the graphics card... (>9GB's in outlook!?!?!) are they emailing the bloomberg terminal? lol.

erm what program are you using for your graphs?

[Markd2100]

Thank you all for your great ideas.

I am digesting them all!

Phanbuey - yes, I am building this myself.

[phanbuey]

one last stupid question before i go... what is the resolution on the 32" LCD's? is it more than 2650X1600?

[DaedalusHelios]

you mean 2560x1600? LOL

[Markd2100]

Phanbuey - each 32" LCD is 1366 x 768. Does that change your or others thoughts? Thanks!

[DaedalusHelios]

You should do fine with those graphics cards. I think those graphics cards would be way overkill. Two 3870's should do the trick because you won't need more than four displays right?

What you need to focus on is CPU power and lots of memory(RAM). A bunch of DDR2 1066Mhz RAM, like 8gb's with 64bit vista. The graphics cards they mentioned are for extreme gaming which would miss the point. You are a day trader not a tournament gamer.

Your graphs are CPU intensive not GPU intensive. And they would be memory hogs. Will you be Overclocking?

I wish you lived near me (NC) because I would take a day off from work and do the OC for you. You could use a Xeon quad OC'ed for best performance.

[phanbuey]

Originally Posted by DaedalusHelios

you mean 2560x1600? LOL

yeah i mean 2560X1600... like i said it was a stupid question, just making sure since most cards dont support a resolution higher than that, and most 30" high-end monotors run at that...

thought it would be good to double check, to avoid worst case if you had 32" monster/industrial monitors is you get gfx cards that couldnt run it at native resolution. But thats not a problem at all in ur case

[phanbuey]

he needs up to 5 monitors, no OC, read the thread.

[Markd2100]

Thanks Phanbuey.

Daedalus - to answer your questions - 1. No OC desired, stability and data integrity is top of the list.

2. Re the # of monitors, I actually was looking at a total of 5, 32" LCD's. If 4 is the max, I will then just go with the 2, 32" LCD I currently use, and then add 2 more 42" LCD's.

Does anyone see #2 above being a problem? Thanks!

[phanbuey]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186134
>> motherboard closes i could find to spec... DDR2 // X38A 3 PCI-X slots 8GB maximum for DDR2 w/ good reviews. RAID compatible...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103051
3 of these in trifire: silent, power-friendly, up to 6 monitors... will play any current game on the market in a 3X configuration... will be future proof for while to come... DX10.1

Just GFX and mobo suggestion, this will cost you $674.96...

[DaedalusHelios]

If you are looking for stability in 5 displays you could get one 3870 X2 and one 3870 regular.

It should be done on an X38 Intel Chipset board aswell. They are the most stable at this point.

The new Xeon Quads would be your best bet. They are better binned and workstation ready.

[Markd2100]

DaedalusHelios - thank you for the info, and especially for the thought re taking the day off to OC (I am in Florida). Now THAT's overkill!

Phanbuey - Great info, I will have a detailed looked later on tonight.

I think between everyone on this forum that was kind enough to respond to my thread, I am now pointed in the right direction.

This is superb forum, I am really surprised at the fast and super responses from all, especially considering I just today joined the forum!

[phanbuey]

that's right ... Welcome to TPU! (always wanted to say that)