Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: FBScud on January 06, 2014, 04:19:09 PM
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Here are specs quoted to me for a gaming system. FYI, the only game I play is AH and I want the system designed to stay current for a while. I'm particularly interested in comments on the PSU at 600W for this system:
Mid Tower case with (2) 3.5 bays and (3) 5.25 bays
600W psu
Intel core I7-4771 3rd generation quad core processor @ 3.5 ghz
Intel system board with 6 serial ATA, (6) USB 2.0 ports, (2) USB 3.0 ports, integrated sound, 10/100/1000 ethernet
16 GB 1600 mhz DDR3 RAM
500 GB Serial ATA solid state drive
DVD reader/writer
nVidia GTX 770 graphics card with 4 GB RAM
Windows 7 home premium 64 bit
I discussed sound options and the tech assured me that the integrated sound on the Intel board was fine for my purposes (I only ever use head phones, no speakers or surround). I also told him I wanted it stripped down on the software side. I'll tell him what programs I want from my existing hard drive (AH, Windows Office, etc. -- none of the hundreds of add-ons like Dell ships). The price quoted is well within my budget.
What's the verdict? And thanks in advance for the comments.
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cool stuff! Consider getting a Seagate SSHD instead of the large SSD, so you can get a nvidia 780 or a radeon 290X custom instead of the 770. You will loose on loading times but gain on graphics, you can get a SSD as an upgrade later on...
You didn't specify a PSU brand and I would suggest a Seasonic, the extra money is worth it!
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I forgot the say the seagate SSHD's are available in 2To format so you will be able to store lots of stuff as well. 500go is huge for a SSD but it still goes fast.
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that system will easily run AH...
is this a prebuilt or custom build?
prebuilt they will throw in the cheapest parts possible....
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This is a custom build. I told the tech to go long on video, RAM and processor. The outfit has an excellent local reputation. LOL...and no, I don't want to build it myself. I'm sure I could, but I don't need the potential frustration. I want to pick it up, bring it home and turn it on, after they've transferred the stuff I want (and ONLY the stuff I want) from my existing hard drive.
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I have the Fractal Design Arc Midi 2 and cannot be happier. 2 140's drawing in, 2 140's exhausting controlled by a Lampcool 4 fan controller. CPU cooler is a Corsair H80i.
The case is badass. Nothing in it's price point comes close.
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This is a custom build. I told the tech to go long on video, RAM and processor. The outfit has an excellent local reputation. LOL...and no, I don't want to build it myself. I'm sure I could, but I don't need the potential frustration. I want to pick it up, bring it home and turn it on, after they've transferred the stuff I want (and ONLY the stuff I want) from my existing hard drive.
cool beans.... :aok
sounds like you should be golden.....
Aces High is more CPU intensive....
you will never use the 16 gigs of ram if all you are doing is AH....8 g is more then enough...although over kill on ram is not a bad thing. :D
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I agree with Sirnuke. You really don't need a 500GB SSD. That is a huge chunk of change. Switch to a 120gb SSD for about $120 and add a 1TB HDD for storage ($80). You will be way under the price of a 500gb ssd so you could probably still upgrade the graphics card further with the money saved.
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I agree with Sirnuke. You really don't need a 500GB SSD. That is a huge chunk of change. Switch to a 120gb SSD for about $120 and add a 1TB HDD for storage ($80). You will be way under the price of a 500gb ssd so you could probably still upgrade the graphics card further with the money saved.
A 128Gb main drive is too small for most uses. If he has Steam for example, the Steam folder alone can go over 128Gb easily. Also the smaller SSDs are the slower and less reliable they usually are. A 256 or 512Gb model has much more space for load leveling that directly affects endurance.
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A 128Gb main drive is too small for most uses. If he has Steam for example, the Steam folder alone can go over 128Gb easily. Also the smaller SSDs are the slower and less reliable they usually are. A 256 or 512Gb model has much more space for load leveling that directly affects endurance.
He said all he does is AH. I have my OS, photoshop, lightroom, and several other programs for work that are several GB each and I still have over 50GB free space on my 128GB. I load steam on my 1tb HDD. I used a 64gb ssd for almost 3 years until it just started going out. For an average/light gamer 128Gb is more than enough for a main drive.
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nm
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cool stuff! Consider getting a Seagate SSHD instead of the large SSD, so you can get a nvidia 780 or a radeon 290X custom instead of the 770. You will loose on loading times but gain on graphics, you can get a SSD as an upgrade later on...
You didn't specify a PSU brand and I would suggest a Seasonic, the extra money is worth it!
^^
this! Especially if youre playing on 3 monitors.
Or an other option, if you are only planning that puter to run AH:
i5 K model
8 gigs of ram
gtx 770 or radeon 280x
hdd
This will run AH in full HD (one monitor) very well. Upgrading will be only necessery in the ddr4 era.
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^^
this! Especially if youre playing on 3 monitors.
Or an other option, if you are only planning that puter to run AH:
i5 K model
8 gigs of ram
gtx 770 or radeon 280x
hdd
This will run AH in full HD (one monitor) very well. Upgrading will be only necessery in the ddr4 era.
that is what I currently run for 3 screen. the 280X is awesome despite being a 7890 relabeled, but I have afterthoughts about getting the 290 instead which is a brand new design...
Concerning the case I have a Fractal Define R4, and it leaves nothing to be desired. It's so nice I even did the proper cabling in it :rock
Case before the 280X
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oDOxj-R3loI/Urw8FapQJkI/AAAAAAAAJ0s/KpGc6C8dmjk/w1059-h596-no/DSC_0213.JPG)
the 280X next to a 6870
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qLobig8SX0I/UsXf-3AqvzI/AAAAAAAAJ7o/Qr9dUoymS20/w508-h903-no/DSC_0237.JPG)
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He said all he does is AH. I have my OS, photoshop, lightroom, and several other programs for work that are several GB each and I still have over 50GB free space on my 128GB. I load steam on my 1tb HDD. I used a 64gb ssd for almost 3 years until it just started going out. For an average/light gamer 128Gb is more than enough for a main drive.
Windows alone can take 50 gigs after a few service packs and security updates. But I guess its fun to fiddle with 'low hd space' warnings every other day then :D
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A 128Gb main drive is too small for most uses. If he has Steam for example, the Steam folder alone can go over 128Gb easily. Also the smaller SSDs are the slower and less reliable they usually are. A 256 or 512Gb model has much more space for load leveling that directly affects endurance.
I use an 840 Pro 128gb and have no issues with space. The 1TB is used for 99% of things due to the SSD not really affecting a lot of things I do. I keep Windows 7 (up to date), Battlefield 4, DayZ, and all installed programs on it. With a 10% Over-Provisioning on top of that I still have 32gb free. Steam/Origin can install games to other directories than it's Root on C: so that's not an issue. The bulk of my games are installed on the 1TB since they do use well over 128gb...somewhere in the range of 500gb actually. :lol
128gb isn't really too small unless one tries to put everything on it, just gotta be smart about where things are stored is all. :)
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I use an 840 Pro 128gb and have no issues with space. The 1TB is used for 99% of things due to the SSD not really affecting a lot of things I do. I keep Windows 7 (up to date), Battlefield 4, DayZ, and all installed programs on it. With a 10% Over-Provisioning on top of that I still have 32gb free. Steam/Origin can install games to other directories than it's Root on C: so that's not an issue. The bulk of my games are installed on the 1TB since they do use well over 128gb...somewhere in the range of 500gb actually. :lol
128gb isn't really too small unless one tries to put everything on it, just gotta be smart about where things are stored is all. :)
Well in our houselhold we couldn't even fit all the games to the 128Gb let alone the OS with them. That 32Gb is going to be eaten up quickly if you keep your OS updated. Then you'll have extra fun running ccleaners etc. and having stale mode blocks 24/7 in the ssd :)
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Well in our houselhold we couldn't even fit all the games to the 128Gb let alone the OS with them. That 32Gb is going to be eaten up quickly if you keep your OS updated. Then you'll have extra fun running ccleaners etc. and having stale mode blocks 24/7 in the ssd :)
I was running my OS (always up to date)and other programs on my 64GB ssd for over 2 years without low space warnings. In fact, I still had 11GB free.
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Concerning the case I have a Fractal Define R4, and it leaves nothing to be desired. It's so nice I even did the proper cabling in it :rock
Case before the 280X
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oDOxj-R3loI/Urw8FapQJkI/AAAAAAAAJ0s/KpGc6C8dmjk/w1059-h596-no/DSC_0213.JPG)
Almost bought that case instead bud. Fractal Design is top notch.
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I was running my OS (always up to date)and other programs on my 64GB ssd for over 2 years without low space warnings. In fact, I still had 11GB free.
You didn't have much programs then :)
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You didn't have much programs then :)
I had everything I needed. The programs I used less frequently went on the 1tb hdd.
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that is what I currently run for 3 screen. the 280X is awesome despite being a 7890 relabeled, but I have afterthoughts about getting the 290 instead which is a brand new design...
Did not know that a 770/280x can run 3 monitors that well. Thanks for the info.
But the 280x is a renamed 7970 GHz edition ;)
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Did not know that a 770/280x can run 3 monitors that well. Thanks for the info.
But the 280x is a renamed 7970 GHz edition ;)
well yes I wasn't sure of the actual card being rebranded :P The BIOS of the card is a bit different tho.
All ATI 5XXX and 6XXX cards are able to support 3 monitors in eyefinity, but you couldn't have 2 monitors in DVI and one in HDMI for example, you had to have one on the displayport at least -rather complicated subject more details here : http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/3
the new ones can support any combination as long as all screens are all the same resolution and frequency.
The 280X has a slight issue, the screen flickers 1/10th of a second from time to time only on the windows desktop. Its a combo of a driver and BIOS that causes this issue. Its minor, will eventually get fixed but still there. http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=440&threadid=168806&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear
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All ATI 5XXX and 6XXX cards are able to support 3 monitors in eyefinity, but you couldn't have 2 monitors in DVI and one in HDMI for example, you had to have one on the displayport at least -rather complicated subject more details here : http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/3
This is true. I run 3 monitors on my XFX HD6950 and I have to use an active display port adapter for one of the monitors. It works well except I get some screen tearing on the monitor that has the display port adapter.
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This is true. I run 3 monitors on my XFX HD6950 and I have to use an active display port adapter for one of the monitors. It works well except I get some screen tearing on the monitor that has the display port adapter.
On my 6870 I used a passive DP to vga converter (dirty) and I had massive segmentation (dunno how to describe it) on any screen at a random location that was not my selected main in CCC. Now I can plug all monitors via DVI and HDMI without any trouble or quality loss except that flicker in windows.
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I'm particularly interested in comments on the PSU at 600W for this system:
Get a really good one, don't go cheap there! As SirNuke said, Seasonic seems to be the most reliable manufacturer currently.
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Here are specs quoted to me for a gaming system. FYI, the only game I play is AH and I want the system designed to stay current for a while. I'm particularly interested in comments on the PSU at 600W for this system:
Mid Tower case with (2) 3.5 bays and (3) 5.25 bays
600W psu
Intel core I7-4771 3rd generation quad core processor @ 3.5 ghz
Intel system board with 6 serial ATA, (6) USB 2.0 ports, (2) USB 3.0 ports, integrated sound, 10/100/1000 ethernet
16 GB 1600 mhz DDR3 RAM
500 GB Serial ATA solid state drive
DVD reader/writer
nVidia GTX 770 graphics card with 4 GB RAM
Windows 7 home premium 64 bit
I discussed sound options and the tech assured me that the integrated sound on the Intel board was fine for my purposes (I only ever use head phones, no speakers or surround). I also told him I wanted it stripped down on the software side. I'll tell him what programs I want from my existing hard drive (AH, Windows Office, etc. -- none of the hundreds of add-ons like Dell ships). The price quoted is well within my budget.
What's the verdict? And thanks in advance for the comments.
scud I would also be interested in the brand name of the components he's using.
semp
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Good point. Although every time they've done a prior job for me, it's been high-end parts.
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just guessing in brand name i see around 1200 to 1400 worth of components. with the video card around 400 and cpu at 300 being 1/2 of it. and the 500gb ssd somewhere between 300 to well over 1000.
the samsung evo has been recommended by ripley and so far it has some great reviews and around $160 for 250gb that would be a good buy. meaning for 250 bucks you can get some really good ssd with all the storage you need and a regular hard drive with all the storage you will never use :).
semp
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well yes I wasn't sure of the actual card being rebranded :P The BIOS of the card is a bit different tho.
All ATI 5XXX and 6XXX cards are able to support 3 monitors in eyefinity, but you couldn't have 2 monitors in DVI and one in HDMI for example, you had to have one on the displayport at least -rather complicated subject more details here : http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/3
I know, tryed plugging 3 monitors into my 5830. Well, it worked, but the performance was so poor... The 7970 is has about 2.5 times the computing power of my card - if you tryed it, it might work well.
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Here are the brands, except for memory. The tech said it depends on price and availability, but it is definitely 16 GB at 1600 MHZ DDR3. Looks good to me!
Intel motherboard & processor (3 Year warranty from Intel)
Samsung EVO 840 Solid State Drive
Lite-On DVD
Gigabyte branded Nvidia Graphic card
Corsair Power supply
In-Win case
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just make sure the motherboard is not a micro board. I dont think it is but just to make sure. the dvd doesnt really matter. i have a cheap one i got for 15 bucks 6 years ago and it is still going on strong. actually i hardly use it.
the ram I would make sure it has a heat spreader or whatever it's called. and if I may, I would insist on an after market cpu cooler. they're around 30 bucks and one that doesnt require push pins to install :).
semp
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Here are the brands, except for memory. The tech said it depends on price and availability, but it is definitely 16 GB at 1600 MHZ DDR3. Looks good to me!
Intel motherboard & processor (3 Year warranty from Intel)
Samsung EVO 840 Solid State Drive
Lite-On DVD
Gigabyte branded Nvidia Graphic card
Corsair Power supply
In-Win case
For another $50 get a nicer case (recommend Fractal Design at this point). If you go Nvidia, only go EVGA. I am only trying you recommend a great company, just in case you need to RMA. I also agree with semp on the CPU cooler.
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Thx for the advice! These guys are really good, but not primarily gamers. The board is definitely not a micro board, checked that first thing. I absolutely checked out the video card brand. Getting 5 stars in the geek sites. :banana:
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I'd add a 2TB data storage hard drive, for photos/movies/whatever. You don't want to ever fill up the SSD to capacity because the way they work, they need some unused spare area to help optimize performance. So have another HD in there for big files.
I would NOT go smaller on the SSD, if that configuration meets your price point. I'm holding out for the 1TB SSDs to drop in price because I've had plenty of hassles with a too-small SSD in my laptop. Yes I "can" make it work with a small boot SSD and a larger data drive, but it is a HASSLE. As soon as I am able, the small SSD in my laptop will be replaced with a bigger one so I can quit fiddling with it and just USE it.
Also, nvidia will be announcing their next gen vid chipset in a month or to, if I recall correctly. That's probably a good reason to not over-buy the video card, however the top of the line 780 nvidia cards are pretty dang fast...
Oh yea, don't forget a new monitor if your new card is overkill for your current monitor. I like how 24" monitors fit on my desk... for some games, too big of a monitor means you have to keep turning your head to see details on all edges of the monitor. With a nice hires 24" monitor you should be able to keep the whole fight in front of you, yet still have enough desktop space to get a nice big image. Or for multi-monitor setups, 3 24" monitors stood up in portrait mode can give you a pretty big window into the world :) Vertical screen size is important for flightsims IMHO... you can have 3 monitors in normal landscape mode for driving games...
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Yes as eagl said small ssds suck. Large ones are usually faster and they have much better longevity.
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I'm going to guess that a 500GB SSD would not be considered small. My current monitor is an ASUS 24 inch flat screen HD purchased last summer. I don't think that will hinder the video card. :)
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I'm going to guess that a 500GB SSD would not be considered small. My current monitor is an ASUS 24 inch flat screen HD purchased last summer. I don't think that will hinder the video card. :)
In SSDs the bigger the better usually. In monitors it's visually the same but resource wise the opposite. If you want a monitor that does _not_ hinder your video card you have to get a small low res one.
The fancyer your screen is the more power it requires from the displaycard to run.
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I think eagl was just making the point that since I'm getting a decent video card, make sure I have a monitor that will be able to take advantage of it. Luckily, I do. The only component outside of the case I'm replacing is my old Dell keyboard which has a mult-pin connector, not USB. Given that I have a CH HOTAS set up, I don't need a lot of bells and whistles so I can go with a fairly standard (aka, cheap) keyboard. I only use a few keys in AH. The rest of my keyboard use is as a qwerty for word processing, Power Point, etc.
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Just wanted to thank all on the board for the comments and suggestions. I did upgrade to a Corsair 750 W psu, but the rest remains the same. Picked the pc up today, clean download of AH, with the hi-res pack, fired it up, maxed out the vid settings and we're running at top frame rates in furballs and on ground runs. Couldn't be happier. Thanks to all. :banana: :banana:
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I recommend 256gb SSD, its both much faster, and keeps you happy longer.
My next upgrade is probably a gtx780, as soon it drops a bit more in price.
Now with the aftermarket cooling system AMD 290 could be an good option, but they still run warm compared with the 780.