New gaming computer

Technology and Gaming Help and Support
#1

Hey everyone,

So its finally time to get rid of my old iMac, and I’ve been wondering what I should get. I’ll be using the computer predominantly for gaming, audio production, some usage of photoshop and GIMP amongst various other general usage.

Heres what I have in mind so far:

I’ll be using it predominantly for gaming, music production, some art production, and watching films and other general usage.

Heres what I have so far:

Asus Crosshair IV Formula AMD 890FX AM3 Motherboard
AMD CPU Phenom II 1090T Black Edition Six Core Processor
Sapphire HD 6850 Toxic ATI - AMD Radeon Graphics Card - 1GB
Corsair Memory XMS3 Classic 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP Dual Channel Desktop
2TB Hitachi 0F12115 DeskStar 7K3000 3.5" SATA 6Gbps 7200rpm 64MB Cache
Coolermaster HAF 922 Black Mid Tower Computer Chassis
Edimax EW-7728IN / PCI Wireless N WiFi Card / 300mbps / 802.11n
LG DVD Writer, GH22NS50, SATA, Black, OEM

So far this comes up to around 740 GBP, or 1189 USD.

However, I still don’t know what PSU I should use, as its my first build and I’m not entirely sure as to how I should calculate the correct voltage/watts.

Advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers :slight_smile:

#2

Do you really need a 2TB HD?

And if you’re going with AMD on CPU’s I’d go for an X4 955 or 965 Black Edition, here’s the 965.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=amd_phenom_ii_x4--19-103-727--Product

X4 > X6 for gaming, if you’re willing to pay more though, Intel is higher quality (not by a ton imo, I like AMD more because of their prices, but if you have the money I suppose go Intel)

#3

Well, the 2TB HD is pretty optional. I can always go with a 1TB, but theres always the golden rule that whatever the size of the hard drive, it will someday become full. Especially if I save a lot of high quality music on there.

As for the CPU, I’m not entirely sure. I’ve always thought that the X6 was better overall, simply because of the extra cores. Not entirely sure how less cores would mean a better gaming experience? Also, its not only gaming, but I’ll be doing a lot of audio work as well.

#4

https://www.tomshardware.com/forum/287075-28-phenom

#5

I’m actually interested in this too. i’m working on a new gaming rig and this will be my first custom build. From what i see the parts youv’e listed are pretty similar to what ive looked at if not exactly the same.

my thought was the same on the number of processor cores, going between 4 and 6… from what i understand (and i could be wrong) the programs themselves have to be essentially designed to take advantage of X number of cores. so with them being designed for 4 as that seems to be the average standard for the moment i guess that would make sense with them running better? but at the same time my thought for going to 6 was, the games will still run smoothly yes? and with 6 core processors being more common future games will start being designed to take advantage of all 6 yes? or do i just not know what i’m talking about… (entirely possible)

Edit: gotcha thanks for the link Fuskox

#6

Interesting thread, thanks.

I’ll give it a think through. While I will be doing a lot of gaming, audio production might give the X4 a hell of a beating, and rendering art even more.

Also I’m thinking about overclocking at some point in the future, and apparently the X6 is excellent for that. I’d need to buy more cooling first though.

Anyone have any advice about a possible PSU?

Edit:

Thats something I was thinking of too. In the next few years, I guess that games will be written to take advantage of extra cores. Doesn’t BC2 support scaling over 8 cores at the minute?

#7

The 6850 uses less power than a 5870, but this is a pretty good guideline for you on your PSU

https://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5870-review-test/13

Also, XFX and Sapphire list the minimum PSU for a 6850 as 500W

#8

Ok thanks. I’ll start taking a look at PSUs, see what seems best.

Edit:

I’ve found this… Its a 750watt Corsair PSU. Its got plenty of extra wattage to be on the save side with all of my parts, and according to your guide its even enough if I were to eventually add an extra card in crossfire.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-corsair-enthusiast-750txv2uk-tx-v2-series-85-eff-sli-eps-12v-80-plus-bronze-140mm-fan

Thoughts?

#9

If you want a 750W PSU, like the Antec TP750W

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025&cm_re=antec_tp-750--17-371-025--Product

By the way, you should use Newegg when you search for you computer gear. I don’t really know much about PSU’s, I just got the Antec TP750W in my comp so I suggested it lol, look up the Corsair Enthusiast on Newegg and see what people say about it. Look around and think before you choose things for your computer, don’t just get stuff because other people say so.

#10

I suggest you get 2 hard drives. One smaller one for Windows to run on and a larger one for your games and files and such.

#11

Very good idea there^^

#12

Well, I’ve had a look around, and my favourite PSU so far is this one: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-010&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Anyway, bobbo, do you mean an SSD? Aren’t those very expensive? If its boot time, I’m not really concerned about that, seeing as my routine is to hit the power button, then go downstairs for a few minutes and make myself a coffee. :stuck_out_tongue:

Also I actually do have another HDD… Well an external. I’m running most of my steam games off a 1TB external via symlinks at the moment, as this iMac’s HD is pretty small.

#13

i second this. its what i’m doing on my laptop right now and its working out quite nicely

#14

Unless you spend a fortune on a 2TB drive they are usually slower than a 1TB drive running at 5400rpm instead of 7200rpm. A lot of people will say the difference isn’t noticeable but I’ve had both speeds and I can notice the difference.

750w for a single GPU setup is overkill by a long way. 500-600w will be plenty from a good brand such as Corsair, Antec, Coolermaster or OCZ (there are others),

CPU and mobo wise there is little point now going for anything other than the Sandybridge range especially considering your budget. The i5-2500k with a P67 motherboard will kick the shit out of anything AMD at the moment especially if you overclock. Make sure your RAM will run at 1.5v as 1.65v is out of spec according to intel.

If you really want to buy AMD I suggest waiting until the Summer as they are due to bring out their new Bulldozer APU’s for performance desktops. Until then unless you are looking for a low budget build it’s just not sensible to go AMD.

#15

Imo, putting this much money in the PC. Add a solid state drive (or add other drives to go raid). The SSD REALLY speeds up the computer while in the windows format, and makes your life so much easier :slight_smile:

Also, people wondering about his choice of 2TB, the price / GByte is very low, and totally worth it. Like he said, eventually he will run out of space anyway.

#16

Yes, I also recommend an SSD drive for Windows. SSD rocks! :smiley:
I will also get a new computer soon. This will be my new setup:

  • Asus P8P67 motherboard
  • Core i7-2600 processor
  • Asus HD 6850 graphics card
  • Kingston HyperX 8Gb DDR3 @ 1600 MHz
  • 2x Corsair Nova 32 Gb SSD in RAID0 (read speed about 380 mb/s :rolleyes: )
  • 2x WD 2TB HDD in RAID1 + my old 1 TB drive for storage
  • Nexus Prominent 5 case
  • Nexus 850W PSU
  • DVDRW
#17

Lol, 2 SSD’s in RAID0, that’s insane!

The only thing sticking out in that spec is the GPU, kind of underpowered when compared to the rest of the build. I would say a 6950 or 560 would be a better idea.

PSU is overkill too, 650w should be plenty.

#18

Thanks! I heard that the 6850 was easy to overclock and I thought about maybe adding another later on, in CrossFire. But maybe I’ll go for a smaller PSU. :slight_smile:

#19

Thanks for the advice all.

As regards to the 750w PSU, I was going for that in case I ever decided to grab another GPU later on in the future, in Crossfire.

Also, I’ll look into SSDs, see how much they are. I assume I’d just have windows booting on the SSD, and all the files on the HDD (with the exception of a game or two I guess)?

I’ve heard mixed reviews about the SandyBridge range. They look alright, but I’ve also heard that they have various issues with a lot of hardware and software? Also the 1090t is meant to be insanely good at overclocking as well.

Edit: Looked some more into them, and they’re looking like a much more attractive choice. Very similar price ranges as well for the i5-2500k. Only thing I’m worried about is:

“Please note: Intel Sandybridge SATA Issue on P67 and H67 Motherboards.
There is NO Issue with Sandybridge Processors (CPU’s). Only Motherboards are potentially affected.
Devices connected to SATA Ports 0 & 1 or Using the SATAIII (6Gb/s) Ports are not affected.”

#20

“I’ll be using the computer predominantly for gaming, audio production, some usage of photoshop and GIMP amongst various other general usage.”

In light of this, 'tis better to have 6 true cores than 4 cores with virtualization. For folks that use programs capable of proper multithreading, such as Photoshop, CAD, etc, the AMD X6’s are generally a better bet. If you’re just gaming, fine, go with an i5 or i7, but with both budget and multithreading in mind, go with AMD.

Also, I second the Corsair 750 HX or TX (depends if you want modular cables). 750 isn’t really overkill - for the price/watt ratio, and the safety of headroom (don’t forget about wattage spikes) it’s fine to get a 750 instead of 600. Especially if you add a second GPU or overclock.

In short - AMD should be fine, the Corsair 750 is the way to go, and having a SSD boot drive (even if you get say, a 60GB ) makes a BIG difference. My machine boots to Windows in ~7 seconds (no, that’s not a BM: S “when it’s done” 7, but a true 7 :smiley: ). And file transfers are sooo fast, I usually get 175-200MB/s (Corsair F-series 120).

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