Specs for New 3D Vision Looking for some opinions on the component choices...
I tried to keep this brief - but evidently its not. My apologies to those with ADD.
I have a 1st Gen Mac Pro w/Radeon X1900 512MB & 23" WS LCD - Now. I play predominately World of Warcraft - its playable now - but slow - and when Cataclysm hits, it will be no doubt unplayable.
Before I went Mac, I used to always get ATI - its time I went nVidia. I want to try nVidia's 3D Vision system. I also won't be coming into this kind of money again for at least 4 yrs - so I wanted to get something I can upgrade.
If people can take a look at what I have now, and offer opinions such as what I should beef up, what is overkill, what has better alternatives ... I'd appreciate it. The only component I'm not tickled pink with is the case .. but to be fair - I didn't like any case I could find except the Level10 - and I'm not paying the price for that.
Here is my component list, followed by comments:
----------------------
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
MEM Kingston KVR1333D3N9/2G 2GB 1X2GB DDR3-1333 NON-ECC CL9 240PIN DIMM Memory Module x 3CASE Lian Li Armorsuit PC-P80 Black Aluminum EATX Case 12X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS W/ Blue LED Fans
PSU Antec Truepower New 750W Modular Power Supply ATX Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready Blue 120MM PWM Fan
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM
SOUND Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY Champion PCI-E 1X 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 Optical
GRFX EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 285 648MHZ 1024MB 2.484GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 80000:1DC 2MS DVI HDMI
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
----------------------
I chose the CPU because of the LGA1366 socket. The 775 was around for a few years .. Everything I read says that the i7 1366 socket will be the new socket type for the next little bit.
I originally went with an ASUS P6T mainboard but I started reading some not-so-nice reviews on it .. and I didn't like the air flow design. I went with the Intel DX58SO because of good reviews, and the ram / sockets are all positioned properly to offer the "thermal tunnel" type air flow I desire .. Air should move in, flow freely past hot components, and out .. not reflect, and circulate inside the case. I've been recommended Gigabyte boards .. I've had two very negative experiences with Gigabyte before .. so I'd rather not go there.
Also - I am coming from a Mac Pro (Dual Xeon 2.0) with ECC memory and all .. my game has crashed a total of four times in the past four years .. each time being an indicator that I had too much dust in my GPU heatsink... Incredibly stable. I wouldn't want to go to anything less stable .. Should I even look at Xeon, or just simply steer clear of overclocking the i7?
Went with an SSD hard drive purely because of the speed. I don't plan on having more than two-three games installed at any given time .. so I am not worried about speed. I have a RAID File Server on my home network for Photos, Music, etc.. so space requirements for those are non-issue.
I selected the DDR3-1333 memory because when I checked for recommended memory, the faster DDR3 had (O.C.) next to it. I do not overclock my systems .. I'd rather get a system with a bit more horsepower and underclock it for increased stability, rather than overclock it with the occasional crash. I mean seriously.. Right now I have a Dual Processor Xeon with 8GB of ECC memory .. I love stability. I went with 6GB just because the cost to get more is negligible and windows 7 no doubt would be happier with more than 2GB.
Lian-Li's cases are some of the few simple/innovative, yet functional, types that I like... this case was listed on nVidia's site as being SLI certified.. and the case layout and fan design supports back-to-front thermal tunneling air flow.
PSU. I have had good experience, with past PC builds, with Antec. (should be noted that my last PC build was an AMD Athlon XP system .. switched to Mac after that .. so its been awhile). I originally put down a 1000W power supply .. but I was reading other people's posts on this site that said that's overkill for a single GTX 285 ... So I bumped it down to a 750W. It has 4x12v Rails too .. I have no idea what a rail is .. nor why I'd need four of them .. but having 2 or more was also indicated on this site as being 'good'.
I chose the CPU fan because the fan is a back-to-front design, as opposed to a radiating design. I do not want to interfere with internal case airflow on this build .. so this heatsink / fan seemed like the perfect choice.
I went with Soundblaster mostly because I always put a soundblaster into my systems... I have a pair of Tritton AXPro headphones .. with an Optical connection between the computer and its Dolby Processor .. probably this card would complement that quite nicely. I also like the front controls on this SB.
The Graphics Card is the biggest contention point. I threw up a post on Tom's Hardware and the responses seemed to all say not to get nVidia (right now) and forget the 3D Vision. While I respect their opinion - I am kind of in love with the whole nVidia / 3D option .. since I've never gone nVidia before but have always liked their offerings .. and since I look forward to playing games in 3D and having the ability to watch Blu-Rays in 3D when they come out. I originally set out to put a GTX 295 in my system .. but I couldn't source one. For that reason I settled on the GTX 285.
Monitor .. I have a 22" LCD .. I really wanted to go up to a 27" ... or at least a 24" .. but there are no available 24" 120Hz LCD Monitors on the market right now. I originally was going to jump on the Acer GD245HQ .. but that is clearly unavailable at the moment. My choices boiled down to a Samsung, Viewsonic, or the Acer. I've had both Samsung and Viewsonic LCDs before .. albeit early LCD models .. the Samsung was not bright .. so I got a Viewsonic vp191 .. and it had horrible response time .. I know things have improved over time .. but I figured I'd go with Acer this time .. I liked the red base too
Keyboard / Mouse - Just picked some things I thought I'd like. Right now I use the full-size Apple keyboard with a Microsoft Intellimouse 5-button Optical. If I could still buy those original Intellimice I would .. I love them ..but alas .. My buttons are failing on mine after 5 years of Warcraft mashing ... so I think I should get a new one. I use all 5 buttons when playing too - so I figured I should get a good gaming mouse. I am NOT a fan of the big fancy over-sized gaming keyboards .. I want a plain ole 104 Key keyboard with the keys all in the proper spots. This keyboard looked nice .. resembled what I'm after .. and has a few extra features that I can ease into ..
Optical - I have DVD Burners, Readers / Writers throughout my house on all my other computers - not too worried about burning capability on this computer. What I am worried about is Blu-Ray capability. I want to be able to watch Blu-Ray movies .. and when they start pumping out 3D BluRay movies .. I want to be able to get first-peeks using my setup.
Went with Windows 7 because its latest and its not Vista. Do not want XP. I went with Pro over Ultimate because I don't need all the extra settings.
I look forward to people's opinions and suggestions. I ask that you keep in mind my needs. I am a World of Warcraft Player that wants his game to be comfortably playable in four years .. in 3d ... not much more.
I tried to keep this brief - but evidently its not. My apologies to those with ADD.
I have a 1st Gen Mac Pro w/Radeon X1900 512MB & 23" WS LCD - Now. I play predominately World of Warcraft - its playable now - but slow - and when Cataclysm hits, it will be no doubt unplayable.
Before I went Mac, I used to always get ATI - its time I went nVidia. I want to try nVidia's 3D Vision system. I also won't be coming into this kind of money again for at least 4 yrs - so I wanted to get something I can upgrade.
If people can take a look at what I have now, and offer opinions such as what I should beef up, what is overkill, what has better alternatives ... I'd appreciate it. The only component I'm not tickled pink with is the case .. but to be fair - I didn't like any case I could find except the Level10 - and I'm not paying the price for that.
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
MEM Kingston KVR1333D3N9/2G 2GB 1X2GB DDR3-1333 NON-ECC CL9 240PIN DIMM Memory Module x 3CASE Lian Li Armorsuit PC-P80 Black Aluminum EATX Case 12X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS W/ Blue LED Fans
PSU Antec Truepower New 750W Modular Power Supply ATX Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready Blue 120MM PWM Fan
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM
GRFX EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 285 648MHZ 1024MB 2.484GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 80000:1DC 2MS DVI HDMI
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
----------------------
I chose the CPU because of the LGA1366 socket. The 775 was around for a few years .. Everything I read says that the i7 1366 socket will be the new socket type for the next little bit.
I originally went with an ASUS P6T mainboard but I started reading some not-so-nice reviews on it .. and I didn't like the air flow design. I went with the Intel DX58SO because of good reviews, and the ram / sockets are all positioned properly to offer the "thermal tunnel" type air flow I desire .. Air should move in, flow freely past hot components, and out .. not reflect, and circulate inside the case. I've been recommended Gigabyte boards .. I've had two very negative experiences with Gigabyte before .. so I'd rather not go there.
Also - I am coming from a Mac Pro (Dual Xeon 2.0) with ECC memory and all .. my game has crashed a total of four times in the past four years .. each time being an indicator that I had too much dust in my GPU heatsink... Incredibly stable. I wouldn't want to go to anything less stable .. Should I even look at Xeon, or just simply steer clear of overclocking the i7?
Went with an SSD hard drive purely because of the speed. I don't plan on having more than two-three games installed at any given time .. so I am not worried about speed. I have a RAID File Server on my home network for Photos, Music, etc.. so space requirements for those are non-issue.
I selected the DDR3-1333 memory because when I checked for recommended memory, the faster DDR3 had (O.C.) next to it. I do not overclock my systems .. I'd rather get a system with a bit more horsepower and underclock it for increased stability, rather than overclock it with the occasional crash. I mean seriously.. Right now I have a Dual Processor Xeon with 8GB of ECC memory .. I love stability. I went with 6GB just because the cost to get more is negligible and windows 7 no doubt would be happier with more than 2GB.
Lian-Li's cases are some of the few simple/innovative, yet functional, types that I like... this case was listed on nVidia's site as being SLI certified.. and the case layout and fan design supports back-to-front thermal tunneling air flow.
PSU. I have had good experience, with past PC builds, with Antec. (should be noted that my last PC build was an AMD Athlon XP system .. switched to Mac after that .. so its been awhile). I originally put down a 1000W power supply .. but I was reading other people's posts on this site that said that's overkill for a single GTX 285 ... So I bumped it down to a 750W. It has 4x12v Rails too .. I have no idea what a rail is .. nor why I'd need four of them .. but having 2 or more was also indicated on this site as being 'good'.
I chose the CPU fan because the fan is a back-to-front design, as opposed to a radiating design. I do not want to interfere with internal case airflow on this build .. so this heatsink / fan seemed like the perfect choice.
I went with Soundblaster mostly because I always put a soundblaster into my systems... I have a pair of Tritton AXPro headphones .. with an Optical connection between the computer and its Dolby Processor .. probably this card would complement that quite nicely. I also like the front controls on this SB.
The Graphics Card is the biggest contention point. I threw up a post on Tom's Hardware and the responses seemed to all say not to get nVidia (right now) and forget the 3D Vision. While I respect their opinion - I am kind of in love with the whole nVidia / 3D option .. since I've never gone nVidia before but have always liked their offerings .. and since I look forward to playing games in 3D and having the ability to watch Blu-Rays in 3D when they come out. I originally set out to put a GTX 295 in my system .. but I couldn't source one. For that reason I settled on the GTX 285.
Monitor .. I have a 22" LCD .. I really wanted to go up to a 27" ... or at least a 24" .. but there are no available 24" 120Hz LCD Monitors on the market right now. I originally was going to jump on the Acer GD245HQ .. but that is clearly unavailable at the moment. My choices boiled down to a Samsung, Viewsonic, or the Acer. I've had both Samsung and Viewsonic LCDs before .. albeit early LCD models .. the Samsung was not bright .. so I got a Viewsonic vp191 .. and it had horrible response time .. I know things have improved over time .. but I figured I'd go with Acer this time .. I liked the red base too
Keyboard / Mouse - Just picked some things I thought I'd like. Right now I use the full-size Apple keyboard with a Microsoft Intellimouse 5-button Optical. If I could still buy those original Intellimice I would .. I love them ..but alas .. My buttons are failing on mine after 5 years of Warcraft mashing ... so I think I should get a new one. I use all 5 buttons when playing too - so I figured I should get a good gaming mouse. I am NOT a fan of the big fancy over-sized gaming keyboards .. I want a plain ole 104 Key keyboard with the keys all in the proper spots. This keyboard looked nice .. resembled what I'm after .. and has a few extra features that I can ease into ..
Optical - I have DVD Burners, Readers / Writers throughout my house on all my other computers - not too worried about burning capability on this computer. What I am worried about is Blu-Ray capability. I want to be able to watch Blu-Ray movies .. and when they start pumping out 3D BluRay movies .. I want to be able to get first-peeks using my setup.
Went with Windows 7 because its latest and its not Vista. Do not want XP. I went with Pro over Ultimate because I don't need all the extra settings.
I look forward to people's opinions and suggestions. I ask that you keep in mind my needs. I am a World of Warcraft Player that wants his game to be comfortably playable in four years .. in 3d ... not much more.
I'm personally not a fan of Intel motherboards, but I've heard the DX58SO isn't as bad as they used to be. I'd still recommend the Asus P6T or EVGA X58 over it, though.
Also, you should really go with DDR3 1600; 1333 is limiting because of the way the i7 overclocks. 1600 will give you much better headroom for overclocking. And yes, you should definitely plan to oc the i7 -- using it at stock speed would be a waste, you'd be better off in that case going with a much cheaper i5. The i7 really shines around 4Ghz
Welcome to the 3dV (and i7) club, you're gonna love it. :D
I'm personally not a fan of Intel motherboards, but I've heard the DX58SO isn't as bad as they used to be. I'd still recommend the Asus P6T or EVGA X58 over it, though.
Also, you should really go with DDR3 1600; 1333 is limiting because of the way the i7 overclocks. 1600 will give you much better headroom for overclocking. And yes, you should definitely plan to oc the i7 -- using it at stock speed would be a waste, you'd be better off in that case going with a much cheaper i5. The i7 really shines around 4Ghz
Welcome to the 3dV (and i7) club, you're gonna love it. :D
Everything looks pretty good IMO. A few suggestions though....
Get a slightly bigger PSU so if you decide to get a 2nd GTX285 later on you can. Using 3D veision impacts on your framerates, so it is something you may look at overtime. I would look at a good 850W as a minimum, by a reputable manufacturer.... Corsair, Thermalttake, PCP&C etc etc.
Why the fear of overclocking??? Overclocking doesn't automatically equal instability. 1600mhz is seen as the "norm" for i7 based systems. Go with it. CPU overclocking also isn't hard. You will find many people willing to help you to get a good performance boost. You will need it for WoW!!!
Just also bear in mind the new nvidia videocards are being released very soon, so it may be worth it for you to wait for those and then make your decision then. GTX285 is about to become an "old" model.
Everything looks pretty good IMO. A few suggestions though....
Get a slightly bigger PSU so if you decide to get a 2nd GTX285 later on you can. Using 3D veision impacts on your framerates, so it is something you may look at overtime. I would look at a good 850W as a minimum, by a reputable manufacturer.... Corsair, Thermalttake, PCP&C etc etc.
Why the fear of overclocking??? Overclocking doesn't automatically equal instability. 1600mhz is seen as the "norm" for i7 based systems. Go with it. CPU overclocking also isn't hard. You will find many people willing to help you to get a good performance boost. You will need it for WoW!!!
Just also bear in mind the new nvidia videocards are being released very soon, so it may be worth it for you to wait for those and then make your decision then. GTX285 is about to become an "old" model.
Good luck.
-Marv
MY RIG
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4H
i5 2500K @ 4.6Ghz
8GB Kingston HyperX 1600mhz
2x Gigabyte GTX670 OC Windforce Version SLI
Corsair H100 Cooler
Corsair HX1050W
Corsair Force Series 3 120GB (OS)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (Storage, games etc)
X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
Corsair 600T Graphite - White
3x Samsung Syncmaster 2433BW+ In Surround
I've read the reviews on that Intel board - they've all been positive. Is it a matter of Intel not being reliable? Failing Early? Or simply not as many features for gaming as some of the other boards?
I'm not against Overclocking. What I usually do however is I start at stock speeds ... and use that. If I'm happy with the performance .. I don't overclock. If I find I could use a bit more juice - I will overclock ... as long as its not voiding warranties or anything.
If I picked up the 1600 ram .. and left the CPU at its stock speed - would the ram downclock just fine? If it would - then I think I'll do that .. giving me an easy way to scale up my performance if and when I need it.
The GTX 285 is an old card .. but that would make my X1900 an antique :) Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
I've read the reviews on that Intel board - they've all been positive. Is it a matter of Intel not being reliable? Failing Early? Or simply not as many features for gaming as some of the other boards?
I'm not against Overclocking. What I usually do however is I start at stock speeds ... and use that. If I'm happy with the performance .. I don't overclock. If I find I could use a bit more juice - I will overclock ... as long as its not voiding warranties or anything.
If I picked up the 1600 ram .. and left the CPU at its stock speed - would the ram downclock just fine? If it would - then I think I'll do that .. giving me an easy way to scale up my performance if and when I need it.
The GTX 285 is an old card .. but that would make my X1900 an antique :) Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
Overclocking with quad cores is not always as easy as it was with single and dual cores, the Intel QC seem to be quite picky. It's good to buy a system expecting it will do what it is advertised to do. Any overclock success you may have is a nice bonus, but it requires time, tweaking and could cause instability.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
Overclocking with quad cores is not always as easy as it was with single and dual cores, the Intel QC seem to be quite picky. It's good to buy a system expecting it will do what it is advertised to do. Any overclock success you may have is a nice bonus, but it requires time, tweaking and could cause instability.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
[quote name='Appelsap' post='1012646' date='Mar 4 2010, 03:45 PM']Overclocking with quad cores is not always as easy as it was with single and dual cores, the Intel QC seem to be quite picky. It's good to buy a system expecting it will do what it is advertised to do. Any overclock success you may have is a nice bonus, but it requires time, tweaking and could cause instability.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.[/quote]
Thanks for the info.
So essentially...
Look into boards more... still havent' seen any specific reasons against that Intel.... but have seen a lot of people say to get away from it.
Up the Ram Speed,
Picking up a GTS 250 - that way I can use the 3D Vision ... and I can move it over to an older machine that has PCI-E 16 slot.
When Fermi becomes available .. buy that.
I really don't think I'll be going into an SLI configuration .. at least not until the fall. If and when I decide to do that - I will investigate whether I need another PSU. Even with 2xGTX 285s 750W should be enough. Having 2xFermis ... that's a diff issue.
[quote name='Appelsap' post='1012646' date='Mar 4 2010, 03:45 PM']Overclocking with quad cores is not always as easy as it was with single and dual cores, the Intel QC seem to be quite picky. It's good to buy a system expecting it will do what it is advertised to do. Any overclock success you may have is a nice bonus, but it requires time, tweaking and could cause instability.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
Thanks for the info.
So essentially...
Look into boards more... still havent' seen any specific reasons against that Intel.... but have seen a lot of people say to get away from it.
Up the Ram Speed,
Picking up a GTS 250 - that way I can use the 3D Vision ... and I can move it over to an older machine that has PCI-E 16 slot.
When Fermi becomes available .. buy that.
I really don't think I'll be going into an SLI configuration .. at least not until the fall. If and when I decide to do that - I will investigate whether I need another PSU. Even with 2xGTX 285s 750W should be enough. Having 2xFermis ... that's a diff issue.
[quote name='Yesurbius' post='1012632' date='Mar 4 2010, 05:20 PM']Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?[/quote]
If you go that route I'd recommend EVGA, their step-up program *may* allow you to step up to Fermi within 90 days (depending if there's enough stock). No reliable word yet on how much the first run is going to be and when we'll actually see them for sale -- just keep your eyes on newegg and hope for the best, I guess.
Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.
[quote name='Yesurbius' post='1012632' date='Mar 4 2010, 05:20 PM']Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
If you go that route I'd recommend EVGA, their step-up program *may* allow you to step up to Fermi within 90 days (depending if there's enough stock). No reliable word yet on how much the first run is going to be and when we'll actually see them for sale -- just keep your eyes on newegg and hope for the best, I guess.
Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.
totally agree with most said here, Intel are OK when used at stock settings, Asus however rules when it comes to OC, gives you all the neccessary knobs and screws. A tad on the expensive side but definately worth it, and money doesn't seem to be that much of an issue for you....
Talking about money: Dell has a 24" 120Hz monitor available which apparently uses the same panel as the Acer. Reading through the threads in this very forum and the ACER review [url="http://3dvision-blog.com/acer-aspire-gd245hq-120hz-3d-vision-ready-monitor-review/#more-1317"]on S3D blog[/url] w comparison shots to the Viewsonic would put the Samsung and Viewsonic out of choice for me.
The GTX 285, allthough oldish is not a bad card at all but if you ask me completely overprized at the moment. If you just do WoW a GTX 275 should probably suffice you anyway.
If you, however, have laid your eyes on Fermi but just cannot hold on until it finally hits the shelves suposedly late May and must have 3dVision [b]now[/b] on a budget, a GTS250 or maybe GTX260 is the better plan.
totally agree with most said here, Intel are OK when used at stock settings, Asus however rules when it comes to OC, gives you all the neccessary knobs and screws. A tad on the expensive side but definately worth it, and money doesn't seem to be that much of an issue for you....
Talking about money: Dell has a 24" 120Hz monitor available which apparently uses the same panel as the Acer. Reading through the threads in this very forum and the ACER review on S3D blog w comparison shots to the Viewsonic would put the Samsung and Viewsonic out of choice for me.
The GTX 285, allthough oldish is not a bad card at all but if you ask me completely overprized at the moment. If you just do WoW a GTX 275 should probably suffice you anyway.
If you, however, have laid your eyes on Fermi but just cannot hold on until it finally hits the shelves suposedly late May and must have 3dVision now on a budget, a GTS250 or maybe GTX260 is the better plan.
[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='1012848' date='Mar 4 2010, 09:59 PM']Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.[/quote]
I spent my first 2 grand last night - picked up the Intel board .. so I guess I'm all in now. I'm not a big overclocker, so if that is the only thing wrong with it - It won't affect me at all. On that note however - the salesman volunteered that this board has an intel tool that you can download that will let you tweak virtually every setting on the board. If that's the case - that should allow a greater degree of flexibility down the line, if I so choose.
As for the trade-up program. I double checked my 3-4 year old Dell Cadd workstation at home (picked it up for $70 from a workplace computer auction) and to my amazement does it not only have a single 16 lane PCI-E slot .. but it has a 650 Watt Power Supply. Which means I can probably migrate the GTS 250 over to that machine without ANY difficulty.
Just got 15 minutes here at work then I'll go down and spend my last 2 grand picking up the rest. I was quite lucky - I've been able to source everything locally so far - they've been price matching online sites .. which is great because I save on shipping / insurance.
[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='1012848' date='Mar 4 2010, 09:59 PM']Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.
I spent my first 2 grand last night - picked up the Intel board .. so I guess I'm all in now. I'm not a big overclocker, so if that is the only thing wrong with it - It won't affect me at all. On that note however - the salesman volunteered that this board has an intel tool that you can download that will let you tweak virtually every setting on the board. If that's the case - that should allow a greater degree of flexibility down the line, if I so choose.
As for the trade-up program. I double checked my 3-4 year old Dell Cadd workstation at home (picked it up for $70 from a workplace computer auction) and to my amazement does it not only have a single 16 lane PCI-E slot .. but it has a 650 Watt Power Supply. Which means I can probably migrate the GTS 250 over to that machine without ANY difficulty.
Just got 15 minutes here at work then I'll go down and spend my last 2 grand picking up the rest. I was quite lucky - I've been able to source everything locally so far - they've been price matching online sites .. which is great because I save on shipping / insurance.
Hey Yesurbius im running 2x gtx 260 on a 750w psu. I skipped getting 2x 285's saveing cash for a fermi (or two) but i outperform any 285 with my 2x 260 in sli and it only cost me around £240 ($363.8) for both... u can pick up 260's realy cheep now if ur saving for a fermi go this way more bang for your buck. On the overclocking issue.. im running a i7 920 @ 4.2ghz its stock is 2.6 and im running this on air, its a good air cooler granted but its been like this for 7 months now never had any issues with it my pc is stable on 20 hours a day. its the best decition i made.. these i7's are insane. I get 22251 3D mark vantage score. havent met a game except crysis i cant play on full under 30 fps. I also use the Acer GD245HQ 3d monitor at 1080p 3d thats a demand on any system.. and my 2x 260's handle it quite well. think about sli most times ull get alot better performance then a single 285 heck even go 2x 275 proably cheeper then a 295 for the exsact same performance. hope this helped. :)
Hey Yesurbius im running 2x gtx 260 on a 750w psu. I skipped getting 2x 285's saveing cash for a fermi (or two) but i outperform any 285 with my 2x 260 in sli and it only cost me around £240 ($363.8) for both... u can pick up 260's realy cheep now if ur saving for a fermi go this way more bang for your buck. On the overclocking issue.. im running a i7 920 @ 4.2ghz its stock is 2.6 and im running this on air, its a good air cooler granted but its been like this for 7 months now never had any issues with it my pc is stable on 20 hours a day. its the best decition i made.. these i7's are insane. I get 22251 3D mark vantage score. havent met a game except crysis i cant play on full under 30 fps. I also use the Acer GD245HQ 3d monitor at 1080p 3d thats a demand on any system.. and my 2x 260's handle it quite well. think about sli most times ull get alot better performance then a single 285 heck even go 2x 275 proably cheeper then a 295 for the exsact same performance. hope this helped. :)
Just thought I'd do a final followup to this thread.
In the end I purchased:
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTS 250 738MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E HDMI DVI-I VGA Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 2MS DVI HDMI
Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Core i7 Memory Kit
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
Coolermaster Cosmos S Black E-ATX Aluminum Case 7X5.25 4X3.5INT Front USB & Sound
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
Set it up on Saturday. My CPU voltage levels were dropping a tad bit below the 1v mark. - ran Intel's Auto-Tuning app .. which bumped up speed multiplier a bit thus stabilizing the voltage levels. Installed all of the drivers and updated the software. No real issues. I had all the Warcraft patches from WotLK Release to present on Memory stick. Installing them on the SSD was almost funny .. it was instant. Got in game .. maxxed all the settings .. frame rates were at cap the whole time in Dalaran .. all good ... I enabled 3D Vision (which looks dynamite in Warcraft btw) .. and my FPS dropped to about 30-40 .. but I didn't notice it too much due to the whole stereographic effect.
I should note .. that compared to my X1900 I had previously in my Mac Pro .. this card is a million times faster .. wow. Hard to believe the card is already outdated.
So when all was said and done - I was quite happy. I think I'll pick up the most current Fermi card when Cataclysm launches .. and I should be set.
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
Coolermaster Cosmos S Black E-ATX Aluminum Case 7X5.25 4X3.5INT Front USB & Sound
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
Set it up on Saturday. My CPU voltage levels were dropping a tad bit below the 1v mark. - ran Intel's Auto-Tuning app .. which bumped up speed multiplier a bit thus stabilizing the voltage levels. Installed all of the drivers and updated the software. No real issues. I had all the Warcraft patches from WotLK Release to present on Memory stick. Installing them on the SSD was almost funny .. it was instant. Got in game .. maxxed all the settings .. frame rates were at cap the whole time in Dalaran .. all good ... I enabled 3D Vision (which looks dynamite in Warcraft btw) .. and my FPS dropped to about 30-40 .. but I didn't notice it too much due to the whole stereographic effect.
I should note .. that compared to my X1900 I had previously in my Mac Pro .. this card is a million times faster .. wow. Hard to believe the card is already outdated.
So when all was said and done - I was quite happy. I think I'll pick up the most current Fermi card when Cataclysm launches .. and I should be set.
Good stuff, and nice follow up! /thumbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup:' />
Also, I'm sure you already know this, but WoW is very cpu-dependent. There are various cfg "tweaks" you can do to improve multi-core processor function with WoW, and oc'ing your cpu will improve game performance, too.
Good stuff, and nice follow up! /thumbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup:' />
Also, I'm sure you already know this, but WoW is very cpu-dependent. There are various cfg "tweaks" you can do to improve multi-core processor function with WoW, and oc'ing your cpu will improve game performance, too.
I have a 1st Gen Mac Pro w/Radeon X1900 512MB & 23" WS LCD - Now. I play predominately World of Warcraft - its playable now - but slow - and when Cataclysm hits, it will be no doubt unplayable.
Before I went Mac, I used to always get ATI - its time I went nVidia. I want to try nVidia's 3D Vision system. I also won't be coming into this kind of money again for at least 4 yrs - so I wanted to get something I can upgrade.
If people can take a look at what I have now, and offer opinions such as what I should beef up, what is overkill, what has better alternatives ... I'd appreciate it. The only component I'm not tickled pink with is the case .. but to be fair - I didn't like any case I could find except the Level10 - and I'm not paying the price for that.
Here is my component list, followed by comments:
----------------------
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
MEM Kingston KVR1333D3N9/2G 2GB 1X2GB DDR3-1333 NON-ECC CL9 240PIN DIMM Memory Module x 3CASE Lian Li Armorsuit PC-P80 Black Aluminum EATX Case 12X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS W/ Blue LED Fans
PSU Antec Truepower New 750W Modular Power Supply ATX Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready Blue 120MM PWM Fan
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM
SOUND Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY Champion PCI-E 1X 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 Optical
GRFX EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 285 648MHZ 1024MB 2.484GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 80000:1DC 2MS DVI HDMI
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
----------------------
I chose the CPU because of the LGA1366 socket. The 775 was around for a few years .. Everything I read says that the i7 1366 socket will be the new socket type for the next little bit.
I originally went with an ASUS P6T mainboard but I started reading some not-so-nice reviews on it .. and I didn't like the air flow design. I went with the Intel DX58SO because of good reviews, and the ram / sockets are all positioned properly to offer the "thermal tunnel" type air flow I desire .. Air should move in, flow freely past hot components, and out .. not reflect, and circulate inside the case. I've been recommended Gigabyte boards .. I've had two very negative experiences with Gigabyte before .. so I'd rather not go there.
Also - I am coming from a Mac Pro (Dual Xeon 2.0) with ECC memory and all .. my game has crashed a total of four times in the past four years .. each time being an indicator that I had too much dust in my GPU heatsink... Incredibly stable. I wouldn't want to go to anything less stable .. Should I even look at Xeon, or just simply steer clear of overclocking the i7?
Went with an SSD hard drive purely because of the speed. I don't plan on having more than two-three games installed at any given time .. so I am not worried about speed. I have a RAID File Server on my home network for Photos, Music, etc.. so space requirements for those are non-issue.
I selected the DDR3-1333 memory because when I checked for recommended memory, the faster DDR3 had (O.C.) next to it. I do not overclock my systems .. I'd rather get a system with a bit more horsepower and underclock it for increased stability, rather than overclock it with the occasional crash. I mean seriously.. Right now I have a Dual Processor Xeon with 8GB of ECC memory .. I love stability. I went with 6GB just because the cost to get more is negligible and windows 7 no doubt would be happier with more than 2GB.
Lian-Li's cases are some of the few simple/innovative, yet functional, types that I like... this case was listed on nVidia's site as being SLI certified.. and the case layout and fan design supports back-to-front thermal tunneling air flow.
PSU. I have had good experience, with past PC builds, with Antec. (should be noted that my last PC build was an AMD Athlon XP system .. switched to Mac after that .. so its been awhile). I originally put down a 1000W power supply .. but I was reading other people's posts on this site that said that's overkill for a single GTX 285 ... So I bumped it down to a 750W. It has 4x12v Rails too .. I have no idea what a rail is .. nor why I'd need four of them .. but having 2 or more was also indicated on this site as being 'good'.
I chose the CPU fan because the fan is a back-to-front design, as opposed to a radiating design. I do not want to interfere with internal case airflow on this build .. so this heatsink / fan seemed like the perfect choice.
I went with Soundblaster mostly because I always put a soundblaster into my systems... I have a pair of Tritton AXPro headphones .. with an Optical connection between the computer and its Dolby Processor .. probably this card would complement that quite nicely. I also like the front controls on this SB.
The Graphics Card is the biggest contention point. I threw up a post on Tom's Hardware and the responses seemed to all say not to get nVidia (right now) and forget the 3D Vision. While I respect their opinion - I am kind of in love with the whole nVidia / 3D option .. since I've never gone nVidia before but have always liked their offerings .. and since I look forward to playing games in 3D and having the ability to watch Blu-Rays in 3D when they come out. I originally set out to put a GTX 295 in my system .. but I couldn't source one. For that reason I settled on the GTX 285.
Monitor .. I have a 22" LCD .. I really wanted to go up to a 27" ... or at least a 24" .. but there are no available 24" 120Hz LCD Monitors on the market right now. I originally was going to jump on the Acer GD245HQ .. but that is clearly unavailable at the moment. My choices boiled down to a Samsung, Viewsonic, or the Acer. I've had both Samsung and Viewsonic LCDs before .. albeit early LCD models .. the Samsung was not bright .. so I got a Viewsonic vp191 .. and it had horrible response time .. I know things have improved over time .. but I figured I'd go with Acer this time .. I liked the red base too
Keyboard / Mouse - Just picked some things I thought I'd like. Right now I use the full-size Apple keyboard with a Microsoft Intellimouse 5-button Optical. If I could still buy those original Intellimice I would .. I love them ..but alas .. My buttons are failing on mine after 5 years of Warcraft mashing ... so I think I should get a new one. I use all 5 buttons when playing too - so I figured I should get a good gaming mouse. I am NOT a fan of the big fancy over-sized gaming keyboards .. I want a plain ole 104 Key keyboard with the keys all in the proper spots. This keyboard looked nice .. resembled what I'm after .. and has a few extra features that I can ease into ..
Optical - I have DVD Burners, Readers / Writers throughout my house on all my other computers - not too worried about burning capability on this computer. What I am worried about is Blu-Ray capability. I want to be able to watch Blu-Ray movies .. and when they start pumping out 3D BluRay movies .. I want to be able to get first-peeks using my setup.
Went with Windows 7 because its latest and its not Vista. Do not want XP. I went with Pro over Ultimate because I don't need all the extra settings.
I look forward to people's opinions and suggestions. I ask that you keep in mind my needs. I am a World of Warcraft Player that wants his game to be comfortably playable in four years .. in 3d ... not much more.
Thanks.
I have a 1st Gen Mac Pro w/Radeon X1900 512MB & 23" WS LCD - Now. I play predominately World of Warcraft - its playable now - but slow - and when Cataclysm hits, it will be no doubt unplayable.
Before I went Mac, I used to always get ATI - its time I went nVidia. I want to try nVidia's 3D Vision system. I also won't be coming into this kind of money again for at least 4 yrs - so I wanted to get something I can upgrade.
If people can take a look at what I have now, and offer opinions such as what I should beef up, what is overkill, what has better alternatives ... I'd appreciate it. The only component I'm not tickled pink with is the case .. but to be fair - I didn't like any case I could find except the Level10 - and I'm not paying the price for that.
Here is my component list, followed by comments:
----------------------
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
MEM Kingston KVR1333D3N9/2G 2GB 1X2GB DDR3-1333 NON-ECC CL9 240PIN DIMM Memory Module x 3CASE Lian Li Armorsuit PC-P80 Black Aluminum EATX Case 12X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS W/ Blue LED Fans
PSU Antec Truepower New 750W Modular Power Supply ATX Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready Blue 120MM PWM Fan
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM
SOUND Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY Champion PCI-E 1X 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 Optical
GRFX EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 285 648MHZ 1024MB 2.484GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 80000:1DC 2MS DVI HDMI
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
----------------------
I chose the CPU because of the LGA1366 socket. The 775 was around for a few years .. Everything I read says that the i7 1366 socket will be the new socket type for the next little bit.
I originally went with an ASUS P6T mainboard but I started reading some not-so-nice reviews on it .. and I didn't like the air flow design. I went with the Intel DX58SO because of good reviews, and the ram / sockets are all positioned properly to offer the "thermal tunnel" type air flow I desire .. Air should move in, flow freely past hot components, and out .. not reflect, and circulate inside the case. I've been recommended Gigabyte boards .. I've had two very negative experiences with Gigabyte before .. so I'd rather not go there.
Also - I am coming from a Mac Pro (Dual Xeon 2.0) with ECC memory and all .. my game has crashed a total of four times in the past four years .. each time being an indicator that I had too much dust in my GPU heatsink... Incredibly stable. I wouldn't want to go to anything less stable .. Should I even look at Xeon, or just simply steer clear of overclocking the i7?
Went with an SSD hard drive purely because of the speed. I don't plan on having more than two-three games installed at any given time .. so I am not worried about speed. I have a RAID File Server on my home network for Photos, Music, etc.. so space requirements for those are non-issue.
I selected the DDR3-1333 memory because when I checked for recommended memory, the faster DDR3 had (O.C.) next to it. I do not overclock my systems .. I'd rather get a system with a bit more horsepower and underclock it for increased stability, rather than overclock it with the occasional crash. I mean seriously.. Right now I have a Dual Processor Xeon with 8GB of ECC memory .. I love stability. I went with 6GB just because the cost to get more is negligible and windows 7 no doubt would be happier with more than 2GB.
Lian-Li's cases are some of the few simple/innovative, yet functional, types that I like... this case was listed on nVidia's site as being SLI certified.. and the case layout and fan design supports back-to-front thermal tunneling air flow.
PSU. I have had good experience, with past PC builds, with Antec. (should be noted that my last PC build was an AMD Athlon XP system .. switched to Mac after that .. so its been awhile). I originally put down a 1000W power supply .. but I was reading other people's posts on this site that said that's overkill for a single GTX 285 ... So I bumped it down to a 750W. It has 4x12v Rails too .. I have no idea what a rail is .. nor why I'd need four of them .. but having 2 or more was also indicated on this site as being 'good'.
I chose the CPU fan because the fan is a back-to-front design, as opposed to a radiating design. I do not want to interfere with internal case airflow on this build .. so this heatsink / fan seemed like the perfect choice.
I went with Soundblaster mostly because I always put a soundblaster into my systems... I have a pair of Tritton AXPro headphones .. with an Optical connection between the computer and its Dolby Processor .. probably this card would complement that quite nicely. I also like the front controls on this SB.
The Graphics Card is the biggest contention point. I threw up a post on Tom's Hardware and the responses seemed to all say not to get nVidia (right now) and forget the 3D Vision. While I respect their opinion - I am kind of in love with the whole nVidia / 3D option .. since I've never gone nVidia before but have always liked their offerings .. and since I look forward to playing games in 3D and having the ability to watch Blu-Rays in 3D when they come out. I originally set out to put a GTX 295 in my system .. but I couldn't source one. For that reason I settled on the GTX 285.
Monitor .. I have a 22" LCD .. I really wanted to go up to a 27" ... or at least a 24" .. but there are no available 24" 120Hz LCD Monitors on the market right now. I originally was going to jump on the Acer GD245HQ .. but that is clearly unavailable at the moment. My choices boiled down to a Samsung, Viewsonic, or the Acer. I've had both Samsung and Viewsonic LCDs before .. albeit early LCD models .. the Samsung was not bright .. so I got a Viewsonic vp191 .. and it had horrible response time .. I know things have improved over time .. but I figured I'd go with Acer this time .. I liked the red base too
Keyboard / Mouse - Just picked some things I thought I'd like. Right now I use the full-size Apple keyboard with a Microsoft Intellimouse 5-button Optical. If I could still buy those original Intellimice I would .. I love them ..but alas .. My buttons are failing on mine after 5 years of Warcraft mashing ... so I think I should get a new one. I use all 5 buttons when playing too - so I figured I should get a good gaming mouse. I am NOT a fan of the big fancy over-sized gaming keyboards .. I want a plain ole 104 Key keyboard with the keys all in the proper spots. This keyboard looked nice .. resembled what I'm after .. and has a few extra features that I can ease into ..
Optical - I have DVD Burners, Readers / Writers throughout my house on all my other computers - not too worried about burning capability on this computer. What I am worried about is Blu-Ray capability. I want to be able to watch Blu-Ray movies .. and when they start pumping out 3D BluRay movies .. I want to be able to get first-peeks using my setup.
Went with Windows 7 because its latest and its not Vista. Do not want XP. I went with Pro over Ultimate because I don't need all the extra settings.
I look forward to people's opinions and suggestions. I ask that you keep in mind my needs. I am a World of Warcraft Player that wants his game to be comfortably playable in four years .. in 3d ... not much more.
Thanks.
I'm personally not a fan of Intel motherboards, but I've heard the DX58SO isn't as bad as they used to be. I'd still recommend the Asus P6T or EVGA X58 over it, though.
Also, you should really go with DDR3 1600; 1333 is limiting because of the way the i7 overclocks. 1600 will give you much better headroom for overclocking. And yes, you should definitely plan to oc the i7 -- using it at stock speed would be a waste, you'd be better off in that case going with a much cheaper i5. The i7 really shines around 4Ghz
Welcome to the 3dV (and i7) club, you're gonna love it. :D
I'm personally not a fan of Intel motherboards, but I've heard the DX58SO isn't as bad as they used to be. I'd still recommend the Asus P6T or EVGA X58 over it, though.
Also, you should really go with DDR3 1600; 1333 is limiting because of the way the i7 overclocks. 1600 will give you much better headroom for overclocking. And yes, you should definitely plan to oc the i7 -- using it at stock speed would be a waste, you'd be better off in that case going with a much cheaper i5. The i7 really shines around 4Ghz
Welcome to the 3dV (and i7) club, you're gonna love it. :D
Asus RIVBE • i7 4930K @ 4.7ghz • 8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 C8
2xSLI EVGA GTX 770 SC • Creative X-Fi Titanium • 2x 840 SSD + 1TB Seagate Hybrid
EVGA Supernova 1300W• Asus VG278H & nVidia 3d Vision
Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/ custom watercooling:
XSPC Raystorm (cpu & gpu), XSPC Photon 170, Swiftech D5 vario
Alphacool Monsta 360mm +6x NB e-loop, XT45 360mm +6x Corsair SP120
Get a slightly bigger PSU so if you decide to get a 2nd GTX285 later on you can. Using 3D veision impacts on your framerates, so it is something you may look at overtime. I would look at a good 850W as a minimum, by a reputable manufacturer.... Corsair, Thermalttake, PCP&C etc etc.
Why the fear of overclocking??? Overclocking doesn't automatically equal instability. 1600mhz is seen as the "norm" for i7 based systems. Go with it. CPU overclocking also isn't hard. You will find many people willing to help you to get a good performance boost. You will need it for WoW!!!
Just also bear in mind the new nvidia videocards are being released very soon, so it may be worth it for you to wait for those and then make your decision then. GTX285 is about to become an "old" model.
Good luck.
-Marv
Get a slightly bigger PSU so if you decide to get a 2nd GTX285 later on you can. Using 3D veision impacts on your framerates, so it is something you may look at overtime. I would look at a good 850W as a minimum, by a reputable manufacturer.... Corsair, Thermalttake, PCP&C etc etc.
Why the fear of overclocking??? Overclocking doesn't automatically equal instability. 1600mhz is seen as the "norm" for i7 based systems. Go with it. CPU overclocking also isn't hard. You will find many people willing to help you to get a good performance boost. You will need it for WoW!!!
Just also bear in mind the new nvidia videocards are being released very soon, so it may be worth it for you to wait for those and then make your decision then. GTX285 is about to become an "old" model.
Good luck.
-Marv
MY RIG
i5 2500K @ 4.6Ghz
8GB Kingston HyperX 1600mhz
2x Gigabyte GTX670 OC Windforce Version SLI
Corsair H100 Cooler
Corsair HX1050W
Corsair Force Series 3 120GB (OS)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (Storage, games etc)
X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
Corsair 600T Graphite - White
3x Samsung Syncmaster 2433BW+ In Surround
I've read the reviews on that Intel board - they've all been positive. Is it a matter of Intel not being reliable? Failing Early? Or simply not as many features for gaming as some of the other boards?
I'm not against Overclocking. What I usually do however is I start at stock speeds ... and use that. If I'm happy with the performance .. I don't overclock. If I find I could use a bit more juice - I will overclock ... as long as its not voiding warranties or anything.
If I picked up the 1600 ram .. and left the CPU at its stock speed - would the ram downclock just fine? If it would - then I think I'll do that .. giving me an easy way to scale up my performance if and when I need it.
The GTX 285 is an old card .. but that would make my X1900 an antique :) Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
Again, thx for the input.
I've read the reviews on that Intel board - they've all been positive. Is it a matter of Intel not being reliable? Failing Early? Or simply not as many features for gaming as some of the other boards?
I'm not against Overclocking. What I usually do however is I start at stock speeds ... and use that. If I'm happy with the performance .. I don't overclock. If I find I could use a bit more juice - I will overclock ... as long as its not voiding warranties or anything.
If I picked up the 1600 ram .. and left the CPU at its stock speed - would the ram downclock just fine? If it would - then I think I'll do that .. giving me an easy way to scale up my performance if and when I need it.
The GTX 285 is an old card .. but that would make my X1900 an antique :) Maybe I will pick up a cheaper GTS 250 or something .. then upgrade when the Fermi series comes out.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
Again, thx for the input.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.[/quote]
Thanks for the info.
So essentially...
Look into boards more... still havent' seen any specific reasons against that Intel.... but have seen a lot of people say to get away from it.
Up the Ram Speed,
Picking up a GTS 250 - that way I can use the 3D Vision ... and I can move it over to an older machine that has PCI-E 16 slot.
When Fermi becomes available .. buy that.
I really don't think I'll be going into an SLI configuration .. at least not until the fall. If and when I decide to do that - I will investigate whether I need another PSU. Even with 2xGTX 285s 750W should be enough. Having 2xFermis ... that's a diff issue.
Anyway, the specs seem fine, I agree with most Chris and Marv already said. Mostly I would also invest in a bigger n better PSU. Once you've gone to nVidia, you will probably never look back - I've had both Ati and nVidia, and the last were always my best. Underclocking the RAM will not be a problem.
If you can hold out till the Fermi's hit the shops, that'd be a good bet I guess, but then again, that might still be a long time to wait.
Thanks for the info.
So essentially...
Look into boards more... still havent' seen any specific reasons against that Intel.... but have seen a lot of people say to get away from it.
Up the Ram Speed,
Picking up a GTS 250 - that way I can use the 3D Vision ... and I can move it over to an older machine that has PCI-E 16 slot.
When Fermi becomes available .. buy that.
I really don't think I'll be going into an SLI configuration .. at least not until the fall. If and when I decide to do that - I will investigate whether I need another PSU. Even with 2xGTX 285s 750W should be enough. Having 2xFermis ... that's a diff issue.
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?[/quote]
If you go that route I'd recommend EVGA, their step-up program *may* allow you to step up to Fermi within 90 days (depending if there's enough stock). No reliable word yet on how much the first run is going to be and when we'll actually see them for sale -- just keep your eyes on newegg and hope for the best, I guess.
Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.
p.s. definitely go with the 1600 speed ram. :)
If nVidia releases them at the end of march - what is the usual turn around time before we can start ordering them in from mainstream retailers (eggHead, NCIX, etc)?
If you go that route I'd recommend EVGA, their step-up program *may* allow you to step up to Fermi within 90 days (depending if there's enough stock). No reliable word yet on how much the first run is going to be and when we'll actually see them for sale -- just keep your eyes on newegg and hope for the best, I guess.
Also, I'm just not a fan of Intel mobo's b/c I've had many of them in the past and always had trouble with them. They keep their bios and hardware on lockdown so it's virtually impossible to overclock. I'm told the new gen is more oc-friendly, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine if that's the way you decide to go.
p.s. definitely go with the 1600 speed ram. :)
Asus RIVBE • i7 4930K @ 4.7ghz • 8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 C8
2xSLI EVGA GTX 770 SC • Creative X-Fi Titanium • 2x 840 SSD + 1TB Seagate Hybrid
EVGA Supernova 1300W• Asus VG278H & nVidia 3d Vision
Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/ custom watercooling:
XSPC Raystorm (cpu & gpu), XSPC Photon 170, Swiftech D5 vario
Alphacool Monsta 360mm +6x NB e-loop, XT45 360mm +6x Corsair SP120
Talking about money: Dell has a 24" 120Hz monitor available which apparently uses the same panel as the Acer. Reading through the threads in this very forum and the ACER review [url="http://3dvision-blog.com/acer-aspire-gd245hq-120hz-3d-vision-ready-monitor-review/#more-1317"]on S3D blog[/url] w comparison shots to the Viewsonic would put the Samsung and Viewsonic out of choice for me.
The GTX 285, allthough oldish is not a bad card at all but if you ask me completely overprized at the moment. If you just do WoW a GTX 275 should probably suffice you anyway.
If you, however, have laid your eyes on Fermi but just cannot hold on until it finally hits the shelves suposedly late May and must have 3dVision [b]now[/b] on a budget, a GTS250 or maybe GTX260 is the better plan.
Talking about money: Dell has a 24" 120Hz monitor available which apparently uses the same panel as the Acer. Reading through the threads in this very forum and the ACER review on S3D blog w comparison shots to the Viewsonic would put the Samsung and Viewsonic out of choice for me.
The GTX 285, allthough oldish is not a bad card at all but if you ask me completely overprized at the moment. If you just do WoW a GTX 275 should probably suffice you anyway.
If you, however, have laid your eyes on Fermi but just cannot hold on until it finally hits the shelves suposedly late May and must have 3dVision now on a budget, a GTS250 or maybe GTX260 is the better plan.
I spent my first 2 grand last night - picked up the Intel board .. so I guess I'm all in now. I'm not a big overclocker, so if that is the only thing wrong with it - It won't affect me at all. On that note however - the salesman volunteered that this board has an intel tool that you can download that will let you tweak virtually every setting on the board. If that's the case - that should allow a greater degree of flexibility down the line, if I so choose.
As for the trade-up program. I double checked my 3-4 year old Dell Cadd workstation at home (picked it up for $70 from a workplace computer auction) and to my amazement does it not only have a single 16 lane PCI-E slot .. but it has a 650 Watt Power Supply. Which means I can probably migrate the GTS 250 over to that machine without ANY difficulty.
Just got 15 minutes here at work then I'll go down and spend my last 2 grand picking up the rest. I was quite lucky - I've been able to source everything locally so far - they've been price matching online sites .. which is great because I save on shipping / insurance.
I spent my first 2 grand last night - picked up the Intel board .. so I guess I'm all in now. I'm not a big overclocker, so if that is the only thing wrong with it - It won't affect me at all. On that note however - the salesman volunteered that this board has an intel tool that you can download that will let you tweak virtually every setting on the board. If that's the case - that should allow a greater degree of flexibility down the line, if I so choose.
As for the trade-up program. I double checked my 3-4 year old Dell Cadd workstation at home (picked it up for $70 from a workplace computer auction) and to my amazement does it not only have a single 16 lane PCI-E slot .. but it has a 650 Watt Power Supply. Which means I can probably migrate the GTS 250 over to that machine without ANY difficulty.
Just got 15 minutes here at work then I'll go down and spend my last 2 grand picking up the rest. I was quite lucky - I've been able to source everything locally so far - they've been price matching online sites .. which is great because I save on shipping / insurance.
2x gtx480 sli
gigabyte ex58-UD5
i7 920 @4.2ghz on air
6gb ocz reaper 1866mhz
2x Vertex 2 50gb SSD's raid 0
1500w Xigmatek Psu
Acer GD24HQ 24" 1080p 120hz 3D.
3D Vision
In the end I purchased:
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTS 250 738MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E HDMI DVI-I VGA Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 2MS DVI HDMI
Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Core i7 Memory Kit
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
Coolermaster Cosmos S Black E-ATX Aluminum Case 7X5.25 4X3.5INT Front USB & Sound
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
Set it up on Saturday. My CPU voltage levels were dropping a tad bit below the 1v mark. - ran Intel's Auto-Tuning app .. which bumped up speed multiplier a bit thus stabilizing the voltage levels. Installed all of the drivers and updated the software. No real issues. I had all the Warcraft patches from WotLK Release to present on Memory stick. Installing them on the SSD was almost funny .. it was instant. Got in game .. maxxed all the settings .. frame rates were at cap the whole time in Dalaran .. all good ... I enabled 3D Vision (which looks dynamite in Warcraft btw) .. and my FPS dropped to about 30-40 .. but I didn't notice it too much due to the whole stereographic effect.
I should note .. that compared to my X1900 I had previously in my Mac Pro .. this card is a million times faster .. wow. Hard to believe the card is already outdated.
So when all was said and done - I was quite happy. I think I'll pick up the most current Fermi card when Cataclysm launches .. and I should be set.
Thx for the advice guys.
In the end I purchased:
CPU Intel Core i7 930 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.8GHZ 8MB L3 Cache 130W 45NM Retail Box
MB Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTS 250 738MHZ 512MB 2.2GHZ DDR3 PCI-E HDMI DVI-I VGA Video Card
MONITOR Acer GD235HZ Bid 23.6IN 3D Ready 120HZ Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 2MS DVI HDMI
Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Core i7 Memory Kit
ADDON NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision Stereoscopic 3D Shutter Glasses Kit USB
Coolermaster Cosmos S Black E-ATX Aluminum Case 7X5.25 4X3.5INT Front USB & Sound
HDD Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
OPTICAL Liteon IHOS104 4X BLU-RAY Reader BD-ROM Drive SATA Black Retail Box
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
MOUSE Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse USB 2000 DPI BLACK/BLUE Powered by Razer
KEYBD Razer Lycosa Gaming Ultrapolling Keyboard Black USB Programmable Blue Backlight NON-SLIP Keys
Set it up on Saturday. My CPU voltage levels were dropping a tad bit below the 1v mark. - ran Intel's Auto-Tuning app .. which bumped up speed multiplier a bit thus stabilizing the voltage levels. Installed all of the drivers and updated the software. No real issues. I had all the Warcraft patches from WotLK Release to present on Memory stick. Installing them on the SSD was almost funny .. it was instant. Got in game .. maxxed all the settings .. frame rates were at cap the whole time in Dalaran .. all good ... I enabled 3D Vision (which looks dynamite in Warcraft btw) .. and my FPS dropped to about 30-40 .. but I didn't notice it too much due to the whole stereographic effect.
I should note .. that compared to my X1900 I had previously in my Mac Pro .. this card is a million times faster .. wow. Hard to believe the card is already outdated.
So when all was said and done - I was quite happy. I think I'll pick up the most current Fermi card when Cataclysm launches .. and I should be set.
Thx for the advice guys.
Also, I'm sure you already know this, but WoW is very cpu-dependent. There are various cfg "tweaks" you can do to improve multi-core processor function with WoW, and oc'ing your cpu will improve game performance, too.
Happy gaming!
Also, I'm sure you already know this, but WoW is very cpu-dependent. There are various cfg "tweaks" you can do to improve multi-core processor function with WoW, and oc'ing your cpu will improve game performance, too.
Happy gaming!
Asus RIVBE • i7 4930K @ 4.7ghz • 8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 C8
2xSLI EVGA GTX 770 SC • Creative X-Fi Titanium • 2x 840 SSD + 1TB Seagate Hybrid
EVGA Supernova 1300W• Asus VG278H & nVidia 3d Vision
Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/ custom watercooling:
XSPC Raystorm (cpu & gpu), XSPC Photon 170, Swiftech D5 vario
Alphacool Monsta 360mm +6x NB e-loop, XT45 360mm +6x Corsair SP120