Building for a friend.

[farlex85]

That's exactly the reason, my friend that the system I've posted is the best. You get micro stuttering? Fine then, just shut down SLI and use the second card for PhysX. How about that? One of those cards can play any game at any setting. A single 9600GT can't.Some people throw away double that amount in one second at a gambling table. Who are we to judge? If the guy wants a 1500$ PC let's just make sure he gets the best parts. Someone at this exact moment (probably) is buying a 5000$ Alienware system. And we argue over what?

Change your harddrive and it would be good. 260s don't sli so well yet. If I was his friend I wouldn't want to have to disable a card if it has problems. How about just get one if the other one is just going to sit there, how about that? I doubt there's someone buying alienware right now just attempting to play wow. Alienware works for some, that's fine, I'm gonna sure as hell suggest they re-think it though first.

 

[Ahhzz]

Well in that case... I dont suppose there is any chance of convincing him Intel is the far better option. With anyone asking for a new system spending a lot of money, I am recommending to wait for nehalem. And I would recommend it here too. But if there is no budging from AMD/nvidia...

Can't wait for the processor either need to get this one in the ground and buried this week.

 

[alexp999]

Can't wait for the processor either need to get this one in the ground and buried this week.

K well do you think there is anyway of convinving them that intel is the best option? Even if you want to spend the full $1500, spend it on and intel build.

 

[Katanai]

Change your harddrive and it would be good. 260s don't sli so well yet. If I was his friend I wouldn't want to have to disable a card if it has problems. How about just get one if the other one is just going to sit there, how about that? I doubt there's someone buying alienware right now just attempting to play wow. Alienware works for some, that's fine, I'm gonna sure as hell suggest they re-think it though first.

Well how about that the guy asked for a SLI system?



Is it that hard to comprehend? And you give me this BS: 260 don't sli so well yet. Probably a single 260 is faster than two 9600's in SLI and you say they don't scale well. lol They don't have to scale or do anything to beat a 9600SLI system.

Also most people in this discussion fail to think about the future. How about driver support? Yeah the 9 series is included in recent driver updates and is treated equally with the 200 series but how about in two years time? Do you think the 9600 has a better chance than the 260 to be fully supported by the Nvidia drivers? Do you think you will see FPS increase in 2010 on the 9600. Do you see that now with the 6 and 7 series from Nvidia? Bottom line being: Why buy old and underpowered tech when you can buy the newest cards out there? Over what? A sound card and a HDD? Do you really want me to get into Creative and their driver support now?

 

[Ahhzz]

K well do you think there is anyway of convinving them that intel is the best option? Even if you want to spend the full $1500, spend it on and intel build.

I'm preferable to the AMD house.... I've seen both sides of the disussion, but haven't looked recently (again, a rush build ). Has Intel done something spectacular to make brand loyalty less of an issue lately?

 

[Ahhzz]

I hate rushing into a build... *sigh* I do appreciate the input guys, even with the dissension. Just don't let my build get anyone wound up. It's just a computer

 

[alexp999]

I'm preferable to the AMD house.... I've seen both sides of the disussion, but haven't looked recently (again, a rush build ). Has Intel done something spectacular to make brand loyalty less of an issue lately?

Clock per clock, intel CPU's out perform AMD's. Havent done extensive research but I do know everyone (well most people) recommend intel. AMD CPU's just dont cut it atm.

 

[Ahhzz]

Shadow, I need to apologize. In reading the first responses to this thread, I missed that yours was the first recommendation. All I saw was an "Edit why two gpus for Wow", and then shortly after, a second "Why does he need 2 vid cards??". I just thought someone was coming in threadcrapping, and really didn't appreciate it. Thanks for the recommends.

My friend just wants to spend the money to make sure he can enjoy the game with NO problems, and I'm trying to make sure he gets the most mileage out of the money he wants to spend.

 

[Ahhzz]

Clock per clock, intel CPU's out perform AMD's. Havent done extensive research but I do know everyone (well most people) recommend intel. AMD CPU's just dont cut it atm.

Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?

 

[ktr]

Excellent post KTR. Thanks. So, you don't like the 900? I like mine, tons of airflow, altho I still have a mess of cables inside . So, why don't you like the 900, and what would you recommend instead?

I hate cases with bottom mount power supplies...as for one, the mobos are not designed for them (short cables mostly), and two...heat rises, and the psu serves as a case fan. It is ATX design to have the psu right about the cpu. Again, case is a personal choice, so get what ever you like.

 

[alexp999]

Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?

Well I would say to get a P45 mobo, but thats only really good for single card solutions.

If it was me doing this sort of build for this money. I would probably get a 4870X2 and an Asus P5Q -(whatever depending on features wanted) and then a Q9x50 Processor. For starters...

 

[farlex85]

Ok, I'll bite, and spend some time this afternoon checking it out. Got a comparable Intel mobo/proc you might recommend?

If he's still insisting on sli for some reason, this is a good sli mb, or this for a little cheaper. Main difference between the two is possible tri-sli on the former, and two extra sata ports, and a few other features. The 750i has shown in some reviews to be a better overclocker.

If you can convince him that sli really doesn't make any sense at all for his build, then I'd say something like this would do the trick nicely, as would any p45 if more bells and whistles are required for whatever reason. Will you be oc this for him?

For either of those the q6600 (quad) or e8500 (dual) would be solid. If, like I said you can convince him sli is silly, you can spend that extra money on a q9550, which imo would be much more worth bragging about than sli, especially if you can oc it well. Any of those procs are faster than the 9950 phenom in games, the e8500 would lose in a few multi-threaded apps, but will usually win in anything else. The q6600 is considerably faster in everything than the phenom, and the q9550 downright puts the it to shame. Good luck.

 

[Ahhzz]

Thanks all around for those who posted. I appreciate the input. System ordered today, about $1300, and Yes, overkill for WoW, but I know that he's covered for a while with a good system that should run anything on the market for at least a year or so without any major grief (except Crysis , but really...who CAN run Crysis at a decent level short of Liquid Nitro Cooling heheh).

Thanks again everyone. Should be in by friday, and I'll be piecing it together this weekend. I'll try to take a shot of the inside (went with a base case, so no plexi) and post it when done. (Don't expect anything spectacular heheh, but you all deserve to see the misshapen fruits of your labors )

My only worry is the Vid Card over the NB (room and heat), and the rifle cooler coming close to the outside panel of the case. But, the case at $50 means if it don't fit, I can always build it with the side off and make her run sweet while I get another case en route.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I agree with KTR,ditch the horible antec 900.They have nowere to hide the wires and having the psu at the bottom is a pain in the arse for the cpu power lead(i know i struggled with it,and it goes right across my mates mobo now) the wire managment is a nightmare in that case.

There are much better cases out ther considering your budget.If your building a $1500 pc you sure want it to look like a $1500 pc.

 

[Ahhzz]

Well, the box has come and gone. The rifle cooler was (as I was afraid) too high So, I threw an AC 64 pro on it, and was happy, until I tried to put the RAM in: 2 of the slots were completely blocked by the cooler *sigh* So, I had to use the stock cooling, but again, we weren't going for an OC monster here.

Vid cards went in great, routing on the cabling was not the best I've done, but without getting some extenders to route a little better, it was a nice job. Had a hiccup when he got it home: havnig never had a machine of this caliber, he had two connections on his new 19" monitor....had two built in connections on the motherboard (ignored the 4 below heheh), he decided to hook the two up from the monitor to the m/b Well, the machine went freaky, blew up the drivers, and I had to walk him thru connecting up properly, and resetting the drivers heheh but, otherwise a sweet machine, and he's well pleased with his purchase. Thanks again all for the input.