 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
I got me some money burning a hole in my pocket, and I'm thinking about
upgrading again, especially as the POV beta begins to mature.
Shortly after I won the IRTC (and subsequently never entered again [why?])
in 2003, I decided I needed a faster computer with which to
render/game/whatever. I bought an AMD Athlon 3200+. This is still my
computer, although I've upgraded the RAM (1.5GB) and HD. 7 years is getting
pretty ancient, but it still works pretty well for anything that's not too
demanding.
A month ago, I knew almost nothing about the state of affairs regarding the
new crop of processors and such, but now I've familiarized myself quite a
bit with what is out there. Bang for the buck, this would probably be the
best system I could build, especially if overclocked:
Intel Core i7-860 (2.8GHz, very overclockable)
A case and PSU (600W - 700W)
1156, P55 chipset mobo (haven't decided which brand/model)
Western Digital 1TB hard drive.
4GB RAM
Windows 7 Home
Nvidia G-Force GTS 250 video card
(I'll use my current DVD drive)
I'm also looking to buy the Prolimatech Megahalems (Rev. B) cpu-cooler
($70). I read a few reviews and benchmarks, and it sounds like that cooler
does almost as good as liquid cooling. And a wireless mouse and keyboard
would be cool ($35).
Yep, it would be a pretty expensive build (about $1,100-$1,200 USD), but I'm
also hoping that it would keep me happy for another few years. I plan to
overclock, and it sounds like the 860's normally OC to at least 3.6GHz with
decent cooling. Regardless, this should be a brazillion times faster than
my old Athlon system. And I could run all of the newer games, although I
don't play computer games as much as I used to.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
> A month ago, I knew almost nothing about the state of affairs regarding the
> new crop of processors and such, but now I've familiarized myself quite a
> bit with what is out there. Bang for the buck, this would probably be the
> best system I could build, especially if overclocked:
>
> Intel Core i7-860 (2.8GHz, very overclockable)
> A case and PSU (600W - 700W)
> 1156, P55 chipset mobo (haven't decided which brand/model)
> Western Digital 1TB hard drive.
> 4GB RAM
> Windows 7 Home
> Nvidia G-Force GTS 250 video card
> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
>
> I'm also looking to buy the Prolimatech Megahalems (Rev. B) cpu-cooler
> ($70). I read a few reviews and benchmarks, and it sounds like that cooler
> does almost as good as liquid cooling. And a wireless mouse and keyboard
> would be cool ($35).
>
> Yep, it would be a pretty expensive build (about $1,100-$1,200 USD), but I'm
> also hoping that it would keep me happy for another few years. I plan to
> overclock, and it sounds like the 860's normally OC to at least 3.6GHz with
> decent cooling. Regardless, this should be a brazillion times faster than
> my old Athlon system. And I could run all of the newer games, although I
> don't play computer games as much as I used to.
Interestingly enough, I myself am in the market for a new desktop. I
priced out parts and (since I'm not a heavy gamer and can wait on a
video card until March when the new crop is released and bumps down the
prices on everything else a notch, and can use onboard video) figured
the following:
$ 400 i7-940
$ 110 motherboard
$ 280 8 GB DDR3-1333
$ 140 2x 1 TB HD
$ 200 PSU (700W, iirc)
$ 50 case (probably a high estimate)
$ 20 DVD/CD drive
-----
$1200
...hadn't figured in the price for Win 7 or cooling tho. Already have
keyboard/mouse and monitor. The 4 GB DDR3 modules are still pretty
uncommon and expensive as heck, and I can probably squeeze some money
out of that here and there depending...original budget was $1500 (was
planning on getting this back at Thanksgiving), and the monitor I got
then was $220, so I'm only under budget now if I don't pay for the OS.
*coughcough*
But even then, that's not all that bad a price for such a system. $1500
is not 'an expensive build'. $3000-$5000 is an expensive build. Just
put in an i7-975 (nearly $1000) and 16 GB RAM ($540) and a high-end
video card ($500+?)...
--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
> I got me some money burning a hole in my pocket, and I'm thinking about
> upgrading again, especially as the POV beta begins to mature.
>
> Shortly after I won the IRTC (and subsequently never entered again [why?])
> in 2003, I decided I needed a faster computer with which to
> render/game/whatever. I bought an AMD Athlon 3200+. This is still my
> computer, although I've upgraded the RAM (1.5GB) and HD. 7 years is getting
> pretty ancient, but it still works pretty well for anything that's not too
> demanding.
>
> A month ago, I knew almost nothing about the state of affairs regarding the
> new crop of processors and such, but now I've familiarized myself quite a
> bit with what is out there. Bang for the buck, this would probably be the
> best system I could build, especially if overclocked:
>
> Intel Core i7-860 (2.8GHz, very overclockable)
> A case and PSU (600W - 700W)
> 1156, P55 chipset mobo (haven't decided which brand/model)
> Western Digital 1TB hard drive.
> 4GB RAM
> Windows 7 Home
> Nvidia G-Force GTS 250 video card
> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
>
> I'm also looking to buy the Prolimatech Megahalems (Rev. B) cpu-cooler
> ($70). I read a few reviews and benchmarks, and it sounds like that cooler
> does almost as good as liquid cooling. And a wireless mouse and keyboard
> would be cool ($35).
>
> Yep, it would be a pretty expensive build (about $1,100-$1,200 USD), but I'm
> also hoping that it would keep me happy for another few years. I plan to
> overclock, and it sounds like the 860's normally OC to at least 3.6GHz with
> decent cooling. Regardless, this should be a brazillion times faster than
> my old Athlon system. And I could run all of the newer games, although I
> don't play computer games as much as I used to.
>
>
>
That is pretty much the system I just bought, and pretty much the system
I replaced, in pretty much the same time frame. (I bought that 3200+
also around early '03, just after I lost my job, knowing that I would
not be able to rationalize buying a system for a long while hence.)
I put in an additional 4Gb Ram, bought separately, for a total of 8Gb
Put in the GeForce 9500 w 512Ram
Asus P55 LE version
Lighter hd because I like to have everything external now.
Got a full- instead of mini- tower. Trade-offs there are as expected.
My fam-dambly mocks the size, and it is less convenient for propping my
feet up, but with all the space, and liquid cooling, the perpetual
overheating problems I had with my old Athlon 3200+ minitower, seem to
have vanished. And I love the bank of USB on the front.
Also put in Windows 7 64bit which I purchased separately. The W7
performance rating scores the computer 5.4/7.9 The low score, 5.4, was
for "Desktop performance for Windows Aero." The next lowest score, 5.9,
is for "disk data transfer rate." 6.4 for "business and gaming
graphics," Processor and Memory get a 7.5 each.
When the multi-threading comes into play, on renders with the new POV
beta, it rocks. As advertised, with 8 threads in play, render time is
about 1/8 of what it is on the single thread version.
I like the look and feel of W7. I still feel that it is not working to
full potential on my machine though. Some operations are lightning
fast, some take extraordinarily long. Not sure where the difficulties
lie. And of course with the multiple cores, having a AVG scan start up
is no longer an issue.
-Jim
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
On 01/23/10 08:07, Jim Charter wrote:
> That is pretty much the system I just bought, and pretty much the system
> I replaced, in pretty much the same time frame. (I bought that 3200+
> also around early '03, just after I lost my job, knowing that I would
> not be able to rationalize buying a system for a long while hence.)
Wow. I also bought my system in 2003 (February), and will replace it in
the next few months. Unlike you guys, I have no idea what I'll replace
it with - I need to learn what all these different chips do...
--
Success is relative. The more the success, the more the relatives.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Neeum Zawan wrote:
> Wow. I also bought my system in 2003 (February), and will replace it in
> the next few months. Unlike you guys, I have no idea what I'll replace
> it with - I need to learn what all these different chips do...
http://new.haveland.com/povbench/graph.php
^ all you need to know
XD
--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
>
> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
>
Just a reminder: your current drive most probably is an IDE-drive. You
should check that the mobo you'll buy has IDE-bus available or upgrade
the drive to SATA. New drive costs something like 20€, but the waiting
for the last part is annoying (especially for something that cheap).
In my experience, Gigabyte is the mobo to go. I've already bought my
last (at least for some years) Asus (they seem to fail APIC), MSI
(attached a very sticky label to processor socket), Abit (fail, fail,
fail and eventually broke down) and even Intel (needed to patch the BIOS
to make the thing boot other than with extreme luck in the first place,
still staying a slightly unstable booter) - currently running 2
Gigabytes (both with AMD processors) without a single problem. I know
that's a small amount of pieces of electronics, but the first impression
is always the one that counts most.
-Aero
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
> Shortly after I won the IRTC (and subsequently never entered again [why?])
> in 2003, I decided I needed a faster computer with which to
> render/game/whatever. I bought an AMD Athlon 3200+. This is still my
> computer, although I've upgraded the RAM (1.5GB) and HD. 7 years is getting
> pretty ancient, but it still works pretty well for anything that's not too
> demanding.
I'm currently sitting here with my dual-core 4200+. It's a socket 939
motherboard though, so...
> A month ago, I knew almost nothing about the state of affairs regarding the
> new crop of processors and such, but now I've familiarized myself quite a
> bit with what is out there.
I always find this to be quite difficult. Places like Tom's Hardware
will tell you the very latest up-to-the-minute news, but what if you
haven't really been paying attention for the last 3 years? How do you
get back up to speed?
> Bang for the buck, this would probably be the
> best system I could build, especially if overclocked:
>
> Intel Core i7-860 (2.8GHz, very overclockable)
> A case and PSU (600W - 700W)
> 1156, P55 chipset mobo (haven't decided which brand/model)
> Western Digital 1TB hard drive.
> 4GB RAM
> Windows 7 Home
> Nvidia G-Force GTS 250 video card
> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
My bill will be cheaper. I'm going to keep my graphics card, PSU, case
and HDs. I just need a new motherboard, processor and RAM...
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
"Eero Ahonen" <aer### [at] removethis zbxtnetinvalid> wrote in message
news:4b5b8234@news.povray.org...
> Jeremy "UncleHoot" Praay wrote:
>>
>> (I'll use my current DVD drive)
>>
>
> Just a reminder: your current drive most probably is an IDE-drive. You
> should check that the mobo you'll buy has IDE-bus available or upgrade
> the drive to SATA. New drive costs something like 20?, but the waiting
> for the last part is annoying (especially for something that cheap).
Yeah, I've been out of the loop so long that I didn't even realize that IDE
was gone from many of the newer mobos. Maybe I'll buy a new DVD drive, if
the mobo that I like doesn't have IDE.
> In my experience, Gigabyte is the mobo to go. I've already bought my
> last (at least for some years) Asus (they seem to fail APIC), MSI
> (attached a very sticky label to processor socket), Abit (fail, fail,
> fail and eventually broke down) and even Intel (needed to patch the BIOS
> to make the thing boot other than with extreme luck in the first place,
> still staying a slightly unstable booter) - currently running 2
> Gigabytes (both with AMD processors) without a single problem. I know
> that's a small amount of pieces of electronics, but the first impression
> is always the one that counts most.
>
I have a Gigabyte in my current system. I've probably owned around 3 or 4
of their mobos. The only problem I've ever had is with the LAN.
Eventually, the LAN ports quit working. Not a big deal, though, and perhaps
it was caused by an electrical storm.
One of the current manufacturers that I've got my eye on is EVGA. They seem
to produce quality electronics, at least from reading the reviews. Asus
used to be the cadillac of mobo's, but (like Seagate) they may be going
downhill now.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote in message
news:4b5b1ea6$1@news.povray.org...
> That is pretty much the system I just bought, and pretty much the system I
> replaced, in pretty much the same time frame. (I bought that 3200+ also
> around early '03, just after I lost my job, knowing that I would not be
> able to rationalize buying a system for a long while hence.)
Being able to "afford" is not the issue. There are always credit cards,
loans, etc. It's the ability to rationalize or justify the purchase that
allows me to finally make the decision. But, it's certainly easier to
justify if you have some money set aside.
> I put in an additional 4Gb Ram, bought separately, for a total of 8Gb
>
> Put in the GeForce 9500 w 512Ram
> Asus P55 LE version
> Lighter hd because I like to have everything external now.
The 9800 card (now it's a 250) is often cited as the most bang for the buck,
at least from what I had read. I'm still not sure if I'm going to be doing
that much gaming, though, other than Flight Simulator. I guess I just
figure that for a few more bucks, why not? Similarly with the i7-860 over
the i5-750 (no hyper-threading). Or I may opt for the i7-920, but the
mobo's are more expensive, so the 860 seemed like the sweet spot there.
> Got a full- instead of mini- tower. Trade-offs there are as expected. My
> fam-dambly mocks the size, and it is less convenient for propping my feet
> up, but with all the space, and liquid cooling, the perpetual overheating
> problems I had with my old Athlon 3200+ minitower, seem to have vanished.
> And I love the bank of USB on the front.
Liquid cooling? *drool*
On a side note. My 3200+ had been running at 60C when idle. It was
approaching 70 under load. I knew that was hotter than it used to be, and
it had been getting warmer and warmer over the years. I figured the
heatsink was clogged, but I just kept turning up my fan speed. Last
weekend, I finally decided to clean it out. It's now running at 45 C idle,
with the fan turned all the way down. I felt both happy and stupid at the
same time, because it was so easy to do. I had forgotten that it would run
with a temp that low.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Jeremy M. Praay wrote:
> On a side note. My 3200+ had been running at 60C when idle. It was
> approaching 70 under load. I knew that was hotter than it used to be, and
> it had been getting warmer and warmer over the years. I figured the
> heatsink was clogged, but I just kept turning up my fan speed. Last
> weekend, I finally decided to clean it out. It's now running at 45 C idle,
> with the fan turned all the way down. I felt both happy and stupid at the
> same time, because it was so easy to do. I had forgotten that it would run
> with a temp that low.
>
>
Yeah, but that wasn't it with mine. I cleaned that sucker routinely.
Even played with attaching rolled tubes of paper to the dust-buster and
had a special hogs hair bush that I kept by the computer for the
purpose. (A Manhattan tenement apartment is a fairly dusty place) I
routinely ran the thing with the case open and a 21" room fan pointed
directly into it. Now the room fan sits, purposeless, in the corner of
the room.
Post a reply to this message
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
