PC UPGRADE

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 25 Nov 2009, 08:33

So, I'm looking at doing a hardware upgrade to the PC. I have been waiting to do this until Win7 came out and it seems like a good time to do it.

I'm looking at the following:
Intel Core i7-860 2.8 GHz

EVGA 141-BL-E757-X58 Triple SLI MoBo

2-Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives ( I already have 1 TB HD sitting in a box next to the PC...have not got around to installing yet)

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (to mount the OS on)

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (Didnt think I needed more than 6 gigs here, been rolling on 2 gigs for so long now.....)

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (this is the same card I already have 2 of so now I can go 3X SLI or go normal SLI on the main screen and use the other for a 2nd screen. You cant do SLI and multi screens (like 1 game screen, and one desktop screen) but you can if you have 3 cards =) )

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 V10 Hybrid TEC RR-B2P-UV10-GP 120mm CPU Cooler (I'm just not ready to go water cooling yet, BTW...this thing is HUGE! and it also covers the RAM so its a dual cooler)

The above plus the OS for around $1500

So thats the hardware.....now what flavor or Win7?

Pro or Ulti? 32 or 64? I need opinions on the OS........

Fire at will!

Hudson · Post by **Hudson** » 25 Nov 2009, 09:20

64 bit, because you bought 6GB of RAM and what's the point of wasting the money on the hardware if you can't use it:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... _windows_7

Besides, a few of us are running 64 bit now with a plethora of games between us, and no issues because of it that I've heard; some minor problems with needing to upgrade versions of this or that, but that's about it. The drivers for almost everything are there now. Probably won't be an issue at this time.

Home Premium because you probably don't need anything in Pro or Ultimate; but only you know that for sure... Remote Desktop could be one thing you want that would push you over the edge as an example...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

So, I'd say go for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116754

I have a computer I wanted to do an in place upgrade of running vista ultimate, which meant my only option was 7 ultimate; trust me I can all but tell the difference; my wallet noticed the difference more than anything; the remote desktop was the only thing I was glad to have and I could have used VNC or something else instead for free if I didn't have it...

That's my (ir)rational argument...

Gator · Post by **Gator** » 25 Nov 2009, 10:11

Buff,

Double check the mobo/cpu compatibility. I believe the Core i7 860 is LGA1156 and the X58 is LGA1366. They have different cpu sockets and wouldn't be combatible.

I don't know all the details on that board, but you should probably double check the sockets to make sure so you don't get disappointed when you can't finish the build until you return the board.

VEGETA · Post by **VEGETA** » 25 Nov 2009, 10:31

I will go voer in detail but for os go 64 bit trust me for anythign over 4 gig ram you need to have it to use it.

As for pro or untra da da da lets face it home premium gets you every option you need. There is very minor differences to the point I got home premium. Don't see a nead to go for the higher ones.

Take a good look at the differences on below link. I don't see nayhting screaming get the ultra or professional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

Softball · Post by **Softball** » 25 Nov 2009, 11:09

I remember Gator telling me something about the WD Caviar Black series having some issues. If the drive you already have is a Caviar Black, then I guess you should stick with it if you are planning some kind of RAID configuration. If not, then you should consider the WD RE3 series hard drive. They are a bit more expensive, but I believe a better HD.

I am running 64-bit Windows 7 Pro, no problems to report. I am only running Pro because I had the option to get it for $29 through my school, so I figured why not?I had an issue with one game, but I fixed the problem with a game patch. Everything is blazing fast, and I'm lovin it! I still need to figure out how to change the desktop icon size in Windows 7, I have my desktop resolution at 1920x1200 but the icons are too big for my taste.

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 25 Nov 2009, 11:53

good catch Gator....adjusted to a i7-920 2/66 GHz.

PanzerMeyer · Post by **PanzerMeyer** » 25 Nov 2009, 12:53

So does this impending pc upgrade mean that you'll actually be back online to do some gaming with us?

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 25 Nov 2009, 13:13

sure....unless its AMRA

PanzerMeyer · Post by **PanzerMeyer** » 25 Nov 2009, 14:22

Buffalo Six wrote:sure....unless its AMRA

We'll have to get back into IL-2 then!

Softball · Post by **Softball** » 25 Nov 2009, 14:29

AH! IL-2, I still need to re-install it...

VEGETA · Post by **VEGETA** » 25 Nov 2009, 15:56

god remind sme my pc is 1 1/2 years old alredy dam lol

Nemisis · Post by **Nemisis** » 25 Nov 2009, 16:06

Vegeta

I remember you spending a lot of time choosing what parts you were going to buy for it and i also remember you spent a lot of Money on it as well. And now it out of date. Isn't owning a PC great.

My turn next Year though, my old AMD X2 4200 is really showing it's age. That or my PC is just running like a slug due to too much crap on it. Might do a Re-install just to see.

Gator · Post by **Gator** » 25 Nov 2009, 16:54

Buff-
The 920 is a great part. I hear they overclock like a mofo. You should be able to get it up to more than 3.5GHz if your RAM can handle it.

Ghost · Post by **Ghost** » 25 Nov 2009, 17:06

Hey Buff- can you buy me one too.

Hudson · Post by **Hudson** » 25 Nov 2009, 17:51

His might be out of date, but at least he didn't spend a lot of money on it and pour coffee in it like I did... I'm looking at $600 so far to repair; and who knows I could still cook something else before I get the sad PoS back together...

I'm about to demote myself an etch a sketch

as for the i920 I have one and I can't even imagine the need to overclock; I've run WoW and L4D at the same time, along with TV in windows media center and a Linux VM using 2GB - couldn't use up all the RAM and it sped on without a glitch... hell if you overclock it with success power to ya, but it's blazing the way it is.

Hammer · Post by **Hammer** » 25 Nov 2009, 18:26

Buff,
you might consider a 275 instead of a 260. i think you might get a lot more bang for only a little more buck.

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 25 Nov 2009, 22:53

Hammer, in my box right now I have 2-260s running in SLI. But I want to use 2 screens, and you cant do that with SLI, well at least have one screen the game and one something else, so what i do is some games I run in SLI and some I dont, like IL2 so I can see TS and my channel changer presets on my keyboard stuff (when I fly with the 352nd we have a crap load of channels for approach, taxi, fighter, bomber, command etc...hell I need a cheat sheet). But if you can run 3 cards, 2 can be in SLI, and the 3rd can be showing or running something else. I can handle 3 cards power wise, I have a 1000w PSU.

Hammer · Post by **Hammer** » 26 Nov 2009, 10:07

makes sense then. you do not need a high power a card for the 3rd monitor, but to have another of the same as a backup works too.

Gator · Post by **Gator** » 26 Nov 2009, 17:27

Buff,
I'm not sure that's still true. I had been running a pair of 8800s in SLI and I believe I did run two monitors. I always run the game on my nicer screen and have comms, etc on the second monitor. I believe there were issues with the nvidia drivers and sli with multi-monitors a few years ago, but I don't believe that is still an issue.

You should also check the new ati cards. Their new ones are pretty nice at a very very nice price. Read the reviews. Radeon 5870 ($380) is the one I'm running. I'm not sure about their sli (crossfire?) support for multi-monitors, tho, since the one i'm running feels like it's faster than my 295.

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 30 Nov 2009, 08:34

Hmmm...I seem to have screwed that up..........

From Nivida's SLI FAQ........

How many monitors are supported when running in SLI mode?
With GeForce R180 drivers (or later), standard SLI configurations for 2-way, 3-Way, and quad SLI support a maximum of two monitors. Additional monitors (up to 6 monitors total enabled) may be enabled by using either a motherboard GPU and/or a PhysX capable graphics card (GeForce 8 series or higher with at least 256MB of memory) that does not have the same GPU as those that are SLI enabled. More information regarding multi-monitor in SLI can be found here.

Can I use SLI multi-monitor in all SLI configurations?
Yes. SLI Multi-monitor is supported in 2-way, 3-way, and Quad SLI configurations and is enabled automatically when SLI technology is enabled in the 'NVIDIA Control Panelâ€™ (right-click on your desktop to open).

Can I add a 3rd graphics card in my 2-way SLI enabled PC to connect more monitors?
Yes, you can add an additional graphics card to your PC to connect two additional monitors. The additional graphics card must have a GPU that is different from your SLI GPUs and must be NVIDIA PhysX capable (GeForce 8 series and higher with at least 256MB of memory). For example, two GeForce GTX 2XX GPUs in SLI and a GeForce 9XXX GT is a supported configuration.

So looks like I can save some money here.....or go triple SLI =)

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