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[Lydia Tishal]

Doing a little more digging here. . .and I can't find the power requirements for that MSI card. It's been a while since I went looking, but that's a little odd, isn't it?

Here's a link to an eVGA card with the power requirements listed under the details tab.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587

For reference, that card wants "Minimum of a 600 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.) " Good luck getting 42 amps on a 12 V rail on a run-of-the-mill 600 W supply. You really have to be careful, the wattage rating is just an average across all three (or four) rails, and doesn't adequately reflect what's going on in the supply. 42 amps, good God I thought 30 was bad. And that's just one card!

The thing with power supplies, is that when they die they die messy. We hooked a Geforce 8800 GTX card up to a supply that exceeded the recommended wattage rating at my house, but we didn't know to check the rails. It worked for about a year. Then one day, FFFZZZZZZZTT, the machine green screened and the internal speaker on the mainboard started screaming. Blew out the supply and the onboard network chip. We got lucky nothing else burned out. But sometimes this doesn't happen-- sometimes things just start to get weird as the supply gets overworked and silently starts damaging random components.

I would recommend something like the following-- at least look at the output ratings on the details tab to see what I'm talking about. I have a feeling that MSI card isn't *too* bad on power, but if you think you might go crazy and buy a pair of monster cards at some point in the future, you might even look at one of the 1200 watt models.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153118

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153053

(And if someone can remind me how to embed links into text, I'd appreciate it.  )

[Ken]

Doing a little more digging here. . .and I can't find the power requirements for that MSI card. It's been a while since I went looking, but that's a little odd, isn't it?

...

I would recommend something like the following-- at least look at the output ratings on the details tab to see what I'm talking about. I have a feeling that MSI card isn't *too* bad on power, but if you think you might go crazy and buy a pair of monster cards at some point in the future, you might even look at one of the 1200 watt models.

Below I've linked a review of that card that gives a "subjective obtained GPU power consumption" of 170W.

Okay, looking at something a bit higher up the ladder now.  Should have plenty of oomph for upgrading to bigger GPUs down the line.  This is where I'm at on my loadout:

Case: NZXT Phantom
PSU: Antec High Current Pro 1200W
Board: EVGA X58 FTW3 Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz w/ ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm CPU Cooler
GPU: 2x MSI N460GTX CYCLONE GeForce GTX 460 - Review
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB DDR3 1600
HDD: 2x Western Digital RE4 500GB 7200 RPM

So, any experience with triple monitor setups?  I don't think I'd have any issues running three screens on two of these GTX460s.

[Z.Sinraali]

GPU is primary.

POINT!

[Lyn Farel]

GPU is primary.

POINT!

duh 

WEB HIM WEB THE FUCKER DAMNIT HE IS GONNA ESCAPE

[Mizhara]

* Mizhara points and webs the gate.

This is important...
...
Seriously, can't have the gate suddenly rush off.

[Svenjabi Xiang]

If it's of value, and mostly because I'm fairly ecstatic about it, the build I've just finished with yesterday looks like this:

Gigabyte G1.Guerrilla Intel X58 LGA1366 MB 
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64Bit DVD OEM
Intel Core i7-960 3.2Ghz 8M LGA1366 CPU   
Corsair Vengeance 24GB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz 6x4GB 
EVGA GeForce GTX 580 FTW Hydro Copper2 1536MB   
Cooler Master Silent Pro M1000 1000w Power Supply
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case

Cooled with:
EK Supreme HF Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block w/ Easy Mount Kit - Rev 2 - Full Copper
Swiftech MCP655™ 12v Water Pump w/ Speed Control
Feser Tube Active UV Hose - 1/2" ID (3/4"OD) Anti-Kink Tubing (Acid Green)
Black Ice GTX Xtreme 240 Radiator - Black
EK Dual Bay SPIN Reservoir w/ Flow Meter - Acetal
Primochill 1/2" UV Reactive Leakproof T Fitting - UV Brite Green
PrimoChill Anti-Kink Coils - 3/4 OD" Tubing - UV Brite Green
SilenX 120x120x38mm - 14dBA - 60CFM iXtrema Pro Fan (IXP-76-14)

Monitored by:
Aquacomputer Aquaero 5 XT USB Fan Controller / Touch Screen / Graghic LCD / Liquid System Controller



This is not the overkill you were seeking.

[Ken]

 

My god... it's full of toobs.

[Crucifire]

Blech you smoke Pall Malls Belmonts ftw.

Nice looking rig though, that's a beauty of a mobo.

[Myrhial Arkenath]

Ok, thanks for the replies people. I'll go and prepare stuff for an upgrade to Windows 7.

I was a little worried about the upgrading RAM thing, but then I saw that there are sticks of 2 GB each, am I right in thinking that with four slots buying 3 sticks now for 6GB and then later on putting in another for 8GB is a good plan? May go 8 right away if I see a good deal somewhere though.

As for GPU, afaik these were some of the last ones before they switched to the new version numbering. Will need to do some homework here, I don't like to buy something now then two weeks later see the price drop by a lot because something new just released and I didn't know about it. I'm still not sure if I am fully happy with SLI, but then again driver support seems to have gotten better there. It just really sucked in the past when a game didn't support SLI and would happily just run on one card (looking at you there WoW). But it seems those days are mostly over now and SLI works fine and dandy?

For the motherboard, is there generally a way to know if I put on new RAM / GPU that it will not hold back performance because it may not be able to go as fast, somehow? And do chipset upgrades really give better performance by themselves? I mean bigger / faster IO, I can see it being an upgrade, but then again I also think I recall learning in school that these days the difference is very small? Or am I thinking of something else now.

Windows Search was already nuked, Superfetch however wasn't. Will have to remember to do this all again on Windows 7, heh.

Links are in Google Reader, I'm also going to have to freshen up my basic hardware knowledge again before I go and tinker with new parts. I'm sure it will come back to me again, just so out of practice /o\

[Svenjabi Xiang]

A 1366 board will use ram sticks in 3's.  1156 uses sticks in pairs.  Given that you've said there are four slots, I'm assuming an 1156-based board.  On a personal level, I'd likely put in two sticks of four and see how 8 travels with you, unless you simply want to fill the board slots in one go.  I'm told that 12gb is fairly sufficient for any use as the Win7 image unpacks into about 3gb running.  I'm seeing 4 personally, but I've not bothered with optimizing at all at present.

RAM/GPU, and this goes for anything that needs to traverse a physical interface, will always slow down processing when compared with something inside the CPU.  It's just a question of how much.  PCI-e describes the interface speed so nothing to fret over there.  Memory can be a slow-down issue but I've tended to find that it's more a question of amount of ram, as compared to speed of ram.  (more ram = more cache = less paging).

580 is the current top-end (590 is a factory overclocked 580 afaik) and is the natural pair for the 58X motherboard.  Pricey though currently (bleeding edge describes your wallet, not performance).  If you want a bit of upgrade insurance though, it's the way to go.  480s/580s in SLI is fairly heat-intensive though, so make sure to get a nice case with good flow, or water-cool.  (I mention this to frighten you, not to encourage you to go through the two-week headache I just did).  Water-cooling is expensive and a royal pain to do. 

Chipset upgrades these days have more to do with micro-code optimizations between procedures handled by the cpu and those handled by the GPU, performance gains are marginal, meaning that the bigger the margin of upgrade, the bigger the performance boost you'll notice.  By way of personal example, my upgrade was from Pentium D-based to i7.  I noticed it a lot.  If I'd had a dual core, I may not have noticed it to the same level.

On the whole, if you're playing something that really dogs your hardware (like Crysis 2, for instance), you'll notice underpowered hardware lags and poor quality in video.  If you're just playing Eve, you'll be able to turn on all the shiney graphics and still be locked into 60 fps (unless you un-restrain the wait intervals)

[Ken]

Case: NZXT Phantom
PSU: Antec High Current Pro 1200W
Board: EVGA X58 FTW3 Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz w/ ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm CPU Cooler
GPU: 2x MSI N460GTX CYCLONE GeForce GTX 460 - Review
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB DDR3 1600
HDD: 2x Western Digital RE4 500GB 7200 RPM

Assembled this last night.  Probably took forever compared to a more experienced builder, but everything came up and the system simply rocks.  My anecdotal benchmark is blowing the shit out of several large structures in Red Faction: Guerrilla, and this thing handled it at max effects settings and 1920x1080 resolution without dipping below 30 fps.  On top of that it's rather quiet.  My only issue for the build was the stock placement of two fans in the NZXT case on the side (the rear and top fans are fine).  Where they sit, they basically rub right next to the HDD slots and it requires either godlike cable management (I'm not there yet) or relocating the fans.  They're modular, however, and I'll probably move one to the front and leave the other off.

[Casiella]

Out of curiosity, any issues with EVE CQ?

[Ken]

Out of curiosity, any issues with EVE CQ?

That would require me to install the client... >.>

[spoiler]No, no fan speed spikes or insane heat, but I was only in the CQ for ~20-30 seconds.[/spoiler]

[Ghost Hunter]

Case: NZXT Phantom
PSU: Antec High Current Pro 1200W
Board: EVGA X58 FTW3 Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz w/ ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm CPU Cooler
GPU: 2x MSI N460GTX CYCLONE GeForce GTX 460 - Review
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB DDR3 1600
HDD: 2x Western Digital RE4 500GB 7200 RPM

Assembled this last night.  Probably took forever compared to a more experienced builder, but everything came up and the system simply rocks.  My anecdotal benchmark is blowing the shit out of several large structures in Red Faction: Guerrilla, and this thing handled it at max effects settings and 1920x1080 resolution without dipping below 30 fps.  On top of that it's rather quiet.  My only issue for the build was the stock placement of two fans in the NZXT case on the side (the rear and top fans are fine).  Where they sit, they basically rub right next to the HDD slots and it requires either godlike cable management (I'm not there yet) or relocating the fans.  They're modular, however, and I'll probably move one to the front and leave the other off.

[spoiler]If you can, please try going into a LADAR site with gas clouds, or any mission deadspace that has a lot of dense clouds. I noticed that my in-space performance is generally the same, but clouds now absolutely crash my framerate through the floor. I'm curious to see how yours handles up.[/spoiler]

[Lyn Farel]

Took forever you say ? Well even if I am used to it, building a rig from scratch usually takes me more than 4 hours. Even more sometimes.

Eve particules systems like clouds are crap (plus they are ugly), I experience the same severe FPS drop even with my new GPU. Happens with high resolutions (1920x1200).