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Need advice for new build

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Greetings to you all, my fellow hardware enthusiasts!

I'm planning to get myself a new system in the near future (max 1 month) and I need some advice. The old Opty 165, 2GB DDR400 (yeah, DDR1 :p) and 3870 are giving they last breath now with GTA4 running on it a few hours each day. Not to mention I really need tons of RAM and a quadcore for my Maya projects (I use this as an excuse to buy a new system each year :p)

I've been putting together two systems, one Intel, one AMD. I can say from the get-go that I'm inclined to buying the AMD. Phenom II is right around the corner, so I might wait for that if it's worth it!

AMD sytem: http://www.pcgarage.ro/vizualizare-wishlist/83844/
Intel system: http://www.pcgarage.ro/vizualizare-wishlist/83846/

Notes: - don't mind the PSU! I'll use my Current Corsair 520HX if possible.
- I'll definitely use ATi for video, recently they had far less problems in Maya than with nVidia's cards, which is weird, because most 3d "pros" say "Maya!? Oh, use nVidia, it's much better in OpenGL!". Well, I can say this: NO it's not! In a 64bit environment, I never had problems with my 3870 at home, but I get tons of bugs on the 9800GT at work...

Questions:
1. Do you think my current Corsair 520HX would be enough to power any of the above systems?
2. I'm not quite sure about the memory, could you recommend a decently priced 4GB DDR2 CL4 kit that can overclock a bit if needed?

Any other ideas, pieces of advice and constructive criticism are very welcome!

Thank you!
 

mos187

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Ok ShinyG, about the PSU, the Corsair 520HX should do just fine for the above mentioned setups, im using one my self except its HX620 and its really great.
now about the memory, i would suggest the OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2X2GB), great ram very overclockable yet very affordable, here's the link..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267
 
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Corsair 520HX is plenty of power
as far as mem go with either Corsair or Crucial

AKASA VORTEXX Neo isnt a very good cooler go with either Arctic Cooling, Thermalright, or a Zalman
 

King Wookie

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ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Thanks for the answers guys!
I guess I'll keep the 520HX to keep costs down for now.
The Akasa cooler is there because I need something that is quieter and more efficient than the stock cooler and also blows hot air out of the case. Not many VGA coolers that blow air out of the case and can handle 4850 on the market today unfortunately :(
I could also go for a HIS HD4850 IceQ 4 instead...

Let me raise another question to keep this thread alive a bit more :p
What case in the same price range as the Antec 300 would you guys recommend?
I heard the Cooler Master CM 590 and 690 are quite interesting.
 

WarEagleAU

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On your AMD build, if you go AMD , go with the 790FX variant.
 

spearman914

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Benchmark Scores Not Wasting Time!
And if you go intel, you can get a p5q pro, cheaper and oc better.
 

King Wookie

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Last edited:
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if you get the p5q pro

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=1098185#post1098185

gogogo, I just got it, and you have limited time

EDIT* WHOOPS you live in Romania

id say wait, it might do you some good, but if you want to get some gaming in on the holidays then buy now

also get a seagate barracuda 500gb, ive heard its better, I also have one and I think on that site you gave, it is 220 000 for the seagate instead of the 269 000 that the Western Digital is

ah the seagate is not instock - get it from another website if you can, or from a local comp store, if not then go Western Digital
 
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ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Ok, I'll put the Asus p5q pro on the list if I decide to go Intel.
Same thing about the 790FX from DFI, seems to be a pretty good deal, as it's not that more expensive and uses SB750 so I get ACC :)

Moving on to the HDDs, I already bought one WD RE3 500GB and I plan to get the second one when I buy the system. It's a fast and decently quiet drive, slightly faster and much quieter than my current RAID 0 matrix cumposed of two 160GB Hitachis...
Last but not least, that 690 seems to be a very nice case.
@King Wookie: how many fans did it have as standard?

I'm going to continue to stress you with one more question:
Video:
I narrowed my search to these:
HIS HD4850 IceQ 4 Turbo 512MB
HIS HD4850 IceQ 4 1GB
I wanted to get the TurboX, but that's nowhere to be found in stock in Romania :(
My question is, would the 1Gb versionbe worth it? Anyone had positive OC experience with a 1GB 4850?
 

King Wookie

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Mine came with 3, but I got the optional windowed side panel that comes with a fan.
Adding some fans is easy enough. Just run off a fan controller, and you can have the best of both worlds.

And the 4850 1G would be a good buy.

Edit: the 690 comes with 3 fans installed.
 

HolyCow02

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Get the 1GB 4850. You will be able to play with AA and AF on and games will runs smoother.
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Yeah, you're right, the 1GB version makes more sense :)
@King Wookie: Thanks man, I almost forgot to add a fan controller to my configuration! I plan to keep my current Antec 900 (modded for cable management), but a fan controller would come definitely come in handy.
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Bad news keep pouring in :(
First, nobody seems to have the DFI 790FX in stock until early next year so I'll have to settle for a 790GX.
Secondly, I'll have to give up on the Xigmatek S1284 if it turns out to be mountable only one way on AM2 sockets. I contacted their tech support regarding this matter.
If indeed it's not rotate-able, I'll switch to a Scythe Ninja 2, which seams to be rotate-able. But would the Ninja 2 cope with a 3Ghz OCed Phenom? If not, any of you has any idea of what tower styled CPU rotate-able cooler I could use?
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Damn it, even more bad news :(
I like the Reaper modules mos187 recommended, unfortunately the combination of either 790FX or 790GX from DFI with a big air cooler like the Ninja 2 or Tuniq Tower means I cannot install modules that are as tall as the Reapers :(
Any other specific suggestions for RAM?
I found these as alternatives:
http://www.pcgarage.ro/memorii/mushkin/4gb-ddr2-800mhz-cl4-xp2-6400-dual-channel-kit-redline/ (haven't found them on the Muskin website...)
http://www.pcgarage.ro/memorii/mushkin/4gb-ddr2-1000mhz-cl5-xp2-8000-dual-channel-kit/
http://www.pcgarage.ro/memorii/patriot/extreme-performance-4gb-800mhz-ddr2-cl4-dual-channel-kit/
http://www.pcgarage.ro/memorii/mush...p2-6400-dual-channel-kit-extreme-performance/
 
Last edited:

TheMailMan78

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There is nothing wrong with the 790GX. In some cases its better.
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
After tons of clicks, I found out that the Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer mounts at a 90deg angle compared to most of the other high-end AM2 heatsinks. So I decided to get that!
For the memory, I chose a Mushkin 1000Mhz set, which seems to work quite well. The price is very good also.
Here's the latest iteration of the system:

http://www.pcgarage.ro/vizualizare-wishlist/83844/

I'll probably set the order on Monday, so there's plenty of time for any last minute tips ;)
 
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You can bump down to the 9850 over the 9950 cpu and wouldnt notice a difference performance wise I'm willing to bet, and save a few dollars.

If going with the 9850 would allow you to bump your video card up to a 4870, I would definently recommend doing that.
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Well, BarbaricSoul made his point.
I guess the extra 20%-25% in price is worth the price difference.
I first wanted to get the Palit Dual Sonic 4870 but after reading a lot of reviews saying that one fan is not temperature controlled and the card is very noisy, I looked for an alternative. (Thanks TPU for the review, it helped a lot!)
Looks like the Gainward variation of the same card uses a slightly modified cooler which has both fans temperature controlled. :)
Without further ado, here's the final configuration.
http://www.pcgarage.ro/editare-wishlist/83844/

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll post pictures of the system in the gallery as soon as it's ready :)
 

ShinyG

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Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
Well, I eventually got my system, put it together and decided to way for Christmas Day to play some Fallot 3 with maxed out details!
I all worked like a charm for a couple of hours until the goddamn video card fired! There was a poof, the computer rebooted and there was fried electronics smell coming out of the case. :((
It seems the "mighty" Gainward HD4870 "Golden Sample" decided to crap out on me. The power circuits gave up and fried, they have that lovely smell to them now!
I'll have to wait until after the holidays to get it replaced. On the bright side, I still have my old 3870 lying around until then :)

Now, my question is this: is the video card to blame or could it be something else that caused the malfunction? Like the PSU? My paranoia is wispering that maybe the HX520 isn't enough for my current syste (see sig!)
 

King Wookie

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You oc'ing at the moment?
 

spearman914

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Benchmark Scores Not Wasting Time!
Well, I eventually got my system, put it together and decided to way for Christmas Day to play some Fallot 3 with maxed out details!
I all worked like a charm for a couple of hours until the goddamn video card fired! There was a poof, the computer rebooted and there was fried electronics smell coming out of the case. :((
It seems the "mighty" Gainward HD4870 "Golden Sample" decided to crap out on me. The power circuits gave up and fried, they have that lovely smell to them now!
I'll have to wait until after the holidays to get it replaced. On the bright side, I still have my old 3870 lying around until then :)

Now, my question is this: is the video card to blame or could it be something else that caused the malfunction? Like the PSU? My paranoia is wispering that maybe the HX520 isn't enough for my current syste (see sig!)

The only ATI cards that Gainwawrd created was the 4xxx series. That's why maybe their ATI cards suck.
 

r9

Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
3,300 (0.58/day)
System Name Primary|Secondary|Poweredge r410|Dell XPS|SteamDeck
Processor i7 11700k|i7 9700k|2 x E5620 |i5 5500U|Zen 2 4c/8t
Memory 32GB DDR4|16GB DDR4|16GB DDR4|32GB ECC DDR3|8GB DDR4|16GB LPDDR5
Video Card(s) RX 7800xt|RX 6700xt |On-Board|On-Board|8 RDNA 2 CUs
Storage 2TB m.2|512GB SSD+1TB SSD|2x256GBSSD 2x2TBGB|256GB sata|512GB nvme
Display(s) 50" 4k TV | Dell 27" |22" |3.3"|7"
VR HMD Samsung Odyssey+ | Oculus Quest 2
Software Windows 11 Pro|Windows 10 Pro|Windows 10 Home| Server 2012 r2|Windows 10 Pro
Great choice of components if I was planing of refreshing my computer soon a would copy paste yours parts selection :D.
 

ShinyG

New Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Messages
185 (0.03/day)
Location
Romania
System Name My Computer
Processor Intel 2600K@4.4Ghz
Motherboard ASUS Z68
Cooling Scythe Mugen
Memory 2x4Gb
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD7850
Storage 1xA-Datat SSD 64GB; 1x WD RE3 500GB; 1x Maxtor 750GB
Display(s) Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW
Case Antec 900 + cable management + Zalman fan ctrl
Audio Device(s) Asus XONAR DS
Power Supply Corsair 520HX
Software Win 7 Pro
Benchmark Scores I've fried plenty o' parts when not OCing. Need to start doing it again to avoid problems...
You oc'ing at the moment?

Nope, no OC.

Later edit: actuall, the "bios" switch on the card was set to "Turbo" instead of "Normal" which means a mild overclock. Turbo is still covered by warranty so I don't think that alone would be the problem...
 
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