advice needed.

[Al.Neri]

ok, so I am hoping to order a new gaming PC in the very near future, and I would like some feedback.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 932 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE (£115) **SPECIAL**

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-960 (3.20GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D PREMIUM: DDR3, USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI

Memory (RAM)
12GB CORSAIR XMS3 TRI-DDR3 1600MHz (6 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
2GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5970 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

2nd Graphics Card
NONE

3rd Graphics Card
NONE

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk
NONE

RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
NONE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£40)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Power Supply & Case Cooling
1500W THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER MODULAR PSU (£195)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62)

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium PCI Express (£69)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Floppy Disk Drive
NONE

Firewire & Video Editing
1 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD

TV Card
NONE

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£110)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NORTON 360 SUITE - 1 Year Licence for upto 3 PCs (£55)

Monitor
NONE

2nd Monitor
NONE

DVI Cable
1 x 2 Metre DVI Cable (£5)

GeForce 3D Vision
NONE

Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£8)

Mouse
Black Logitech® Optical Wheel Mouse USB (£5)

Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£7)

I understand that a lot of the components are probably a little overkill for todays gaming, but I've been saving for a rainy day and now want to treat myself and buy as powerful gaming pc as I can afford. I don't plan on buying another for a long time, so I'm thinking the more top end I buy now, it will save me upgrading sooner rather than later.

I just want some comments regarding issues that may arise with this setup, such as cost of running, compatibility etc. I'm always open to suggestions about alternative setups too.

I know I have a 1500W psu and that is more than I need, but I may plan on adding more components at some point, such as a second graphics card, so in the long run it might work out cheaper buying the higher capacity psu instead of buying a lower capacity only to then buy the higher one at a later date.

thanks.

[Gorman]

Hello and Welcome! ;)

Nice high end rig there.

There are no compatability issues there, it will be expensive to run. Theres no avoiding that. If the PSU gets anywhere near capacity then your talking boiling kettle usage there. But if your like me that will just make you giggle.

Now about that PSU, unless you are planning to put another 5970 in there, you dont need 1500W. You could easily get away with the 1000w Corsair.

[Al.Neri]

Hello and Welcome! ;)

Nice high end rig there.

There are no compatability issues there, it will be expensive to run. Theres no avoiding that. If the PSU gets anywhere near capacity then your talking boiling kettle usage there. But if your like me that will just make you giggle.

Now about that PSU, unless you are planning to put another 5970 in there, you dont need 1500W. You could easily get away with the 1000w Corsair.

thanks for the welcome.

not sure about how much it costs to boil the kettle, I just pay the bill at the end. what would that equate to for an hour, both gaming at full speed so to speak, and idling at general pc usage (online browsing, using your typical programs, msn, outlook etc)?

I did actually have a second 5970 in mind, but only somewhere down the line, not for a while though.

[Meds]

Hey, welcome to the forums.

Gorman has pretty much hit the nail on the head in regards to compatibility, PSU etc however Intel are due to launch their new i7 CPU on Monday which has excelled on our test beds over the past couple of days. We cannot release any info on confirmed specs etc until Monday but should you have an extra couple hundred pounds available in your budget, it may be worth taking the plunge. Again, I'm not taking anything away from the current quote, just a suggestion for you to consider.

[Gorman]

thanks for the welcome.

not sure about how much it costs to boil the kettle, I just pay the bill at the end. what would that equate to for an hour, both gaming at full speed so to speak, and idling at general pc usage (online browsing, using your typical programs, msn, outlook etc)?

I did actually have a second 5970 in mind, but only somewhere down the line, not for a while though.

Very difficult to work out as it varies on usage. Lets go for worst case scenario = full load


(DeviceWattage ÷ 1000) × HoursRan = kWh used

kWh × CostPerkWh = Cost

So for arguments sake lets say BG charged 7.2p per kwh in 2008. so full load 1500w psu =


1500 / 1000 (1.5) * 1 Hour = 1.5kWh used

1.5kWh * 7.2p = 10.8p per hour

It all depends on your rate i guess.

[PCS]

1500 / 1000 (1.5) * 1 Hour = 1.5kWh used

1.5kWh * 7.2p = 10.8p per hour

Just to add that this would be worst case scenario, assuming 1500W was constantly being used. Don't quote me exactly, but generally the idle/general consumption would be much lower, perhaps as low as 300-400W, so might only cost 2-3 pence an hour to run.

[Al.Neri]

ah right, thanks. I guess I'll stay with the single 5970 then

[Gorman]

1500 / 1000 (1.5) * 1 Hour = 1.5kWh used

1.5kWh * 7.2p = 10.8p per hour

Just to add that this would be worst case scenario, assuming 1500W was constantly being used. Don't quote me exactly, but generally the idle/general consumption would be much lower, perhaps as low as 300-400W, so might only cost 2-3 pence an hour to run.

Like i said that is worst case full load scenario and using a rate plucked out of thin air. Your results may vary.

[Al.Neri]

Like i said that is worst case full load scenario and using a rate plucked out of thin air. Your results may vary.

thanks for the info.

another question that has just popped into my head. I don't think I'll be buying a monitor straight away, so I'll be connecting it to my tv. I assume I'll be needing a HDMI cable & a DVI>HDMI adaptor? or do I need anything else along with these things?

[Gorman]

thanks for the info.

another question that has just popped into my head. I don't think I'll be buying a monitor straight away, so I'll be connecting it to my tv. I assume I'll be needing a HDMI cable & a DVI>HDMI adaptor? or do I need anything else along with these things?

Yes thats exactly right. I believe the adaptor comes with the card.

[Al.Neri]

Yes thats exactly right. I believe the adaptor comes with the card.

ah right, that's nice to hear. saves me a couple of quid buying one off amazon. :)

[PaulH]

Even 2 x 5970s youll be fine with the HX1000 Corsair, more than enough, those things (as Gorman will tell you, he has one) are BEASTS!

[Al.Neri]

ok, I'm getting towards the end of saving the extra up for the i7-970, and I have been reading through the posts on these forums. I have been taking on board what other people have been saying, and I have tweaked my original config somewhat.

this is the setup I am considering:


Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE (£149)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-970 (3.20GHz) 6.4GTs/12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® RAMPAGE III EXTREME: 3-Way SLI & CrossFireX, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (6 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5970 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
80GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 70MB/sW)***SPECIAL***
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£89)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 1200W MODULAR PSU (AX1200) PRO SERIES 80+ GOLD (£219)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO C240 A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£102)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium PCI Express (£66)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Firewire & Video Editing
1 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£108)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NORTON 360 SUITE - 1 Year Licence for upto 3 PCs (£52)
DVI Cable
1 x 2 Metre DVI Cable (£5)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® G19 Gaming Keyboard with Gamepanel LCD Display (£135)
Mouse
Logitech® G9x Laser Gaming Mouse (£59)
Speakers
LOGITECH X-540 5.1 Surround sound effect with full range and deep bass (£75)
Surge Protection
Belkin 8-Socket 2M SurgeMaster with £175,000 Protection Warranty! (£18)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)

any final comments & suggestions would be appreciated.

I would like some clarification on the PSU as well. I know I have picked one that exceeds my requirements, but as I stated previously, I plan on purchasing a second 5970 at some point, as well as maybe some other things, so I want to give the thing a bit of leg room in the power department. what are the differences (apart from the price) between the 2 1200W PSU's?

also, would it be advantageous to add a pci network card? do the wireless ones also have wired capabilities that allows you to choose between the 2 options, or are they purely wireless? or will the wired option still be part of the package as an onboard feature?

[Sleinous]

Just wanted to point out that the 1000W PSu would be enough for that gpu, as you cant put two of those in Xfire from what I remember, and 1000W is enough to power 2x GTX 480s with still plenty of margin.

Also with the ASUS Rampage 3 mobo, you only get one internal USB header, so only 2 out of 4 front USBs will work, until you purchase a little chip that goes by the name of NZXT IU01, KustomPCs sell them, only 3 left in stock though :(

This is because the Rampage only has one header on the board, and the other 2 mobos have 2, sitll not much. I notice you have no card reader in there, if you had, you wouldnt have any front USBs working :)

Just thought id throw that out there.

[Al.Neri]

Just wanted to point out that the 1000W PSu would be enough for that gpu, as you cant put two of those in Xfire from what I remember, and 1000W is enough to power 2x GTX 480s with still plenty of margin.

Also with the ASUS Rampage 3 mobo, you only get one internal USB header, so only 2 out of 4 front USBs will work, until you purchase a little chip that goes by the name of NZXT IU01, KustomPCs sell them, only 3 left in stock though :(

This is because the Rampage only has one header on the board, and the other 2 mobos have 2, sitll not much. I notice you have no card reader in there, if you had, you wouldnt have any front USBs working :)

Just thought id throw that out there.



I've seen videos on youtube of 2 5970's crossfired and have read a few people on a few websites doing it. some have said they got error messages, but from what I have seen on my rounds, people have said they have done it successfully.

I wasn't aware of the motherboard issue, thanks for bringing it to my attention, I might swap it out for the P6X58D.

I didn't select a card reader because apparently, the HAF-X isn't compatible with internal card readers.

[Sleinous]

The rampage is a nice board tbh, more expandability compareed to p6t especially as most gpus are becoming dual thickness which limits the spaces they will fit in. also even the p6t only has 2 headers, so u cant fit the rear usb plate that comes with. but can fit all 4 frontal. tbh the nzxt iu01 expander is dirt cheap anyway

[Al.Neri]

The rampage is a nice board tbh, more expandability compareed to p6t especially as most gpus are becoming dual thickness which limits the spaces they will fit in. also even the p6t only has 2 headers, so u cant fit the rear usb plate that comes with. but can fit all 4 frontal. tbh the nzxt iu01 expander is dirt cheap anyway

would that be something that PCS would be able to sort when they are building it? I'm not clued up on such things personally.

[Sleinous]

Yes theyll just place the backplate that u cant fit, in ur welcome box or something. As for the nzxt, search for it in here, i posted a YT vid on how to set it up

[Al.Neri]

I just searched for it but I couldn't find anything.

[Al.Neri]

still can't find the video, have you got a direct link for it?

[Sleinous]

ill link u in a sec, on iphone atm though
EDIT: Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyOPM4D5lxg

[Al.Neri]

ah right, thanks.

I think I got the idea of what you need to do. just unplug whatever was hooked up to the MB, attach the expansion into the MB instead, then hook what was originally connected to the MB into the expansion, along with anything else necessary, then add power?

[Sleinous]

yes thats exactly it :D Simples aye? :-)

[Al.Neri]

yes, very

so is there anyone from PCS that can clear up the Xfire thing? I have read & been told the 5970 cannot be crossfired, yet I have seen elsewhere on pc sites and have viewed videos on youtube that states it can. if it can, what power supply would be needed? if it can't, why not?

[Phoenix]

Well the guy in this youtube video has two 5970's in crossfire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrcK0COx4I
and you can create a pc with two 5970's in the build your desktop section so I don't see why not.

Edit: This compatability chart also indicates that it's possible 41

[Sleinous]

Apparently it is, but some say you get a multitude of errors whilst doing it.

Personally, at this stage, i'd wait a bit as these cards are now pretty old hat, and the newer ones should be released soonish. Whether AMD or Nvidia, i'm sure they both have tricks up their sleeves :)