Tsawind

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Hey, I have never build a computer before, but I'm waiting to get my old 4800+ from the shop, chipset fan melted and I couldn't get the bios to work... didnt know a fan was burned up, found out that 3 of my 4 corsair ddr ram chips were burned up and I owe the guy $100 when he puts the fan in.

Anyways I'm sick of all those issues so I am going to try to build one from scratch, I've picked the GA-790FXTA-UD5, drop the phenom II quad for 2-4 years, going to get a baddass case with like 8 fans, some type of corsair Power prolly like 1250 watt?? And I would like to use my ram @ 1866 w/ 8 gbs, I see some gskill 4gb cards, what kind of ram can I get to future-proof this rig, or should I wait and get new ram with a new processor in 2 years to get maximum performance?? Then i'de just slap in 4x1gb and runn @ 1333 if I could.

I plan on making it air cooled and having 2x SSD drives in RAID 0 Via SATA 6gbp/s, running quads or better @ 4-5ghz and having 8gb+ of Fast Ass Name Brand DDR3 Ram! I'm talking in 3 years time, when the new stuff comes out I should be good to do that right?

I hate when things break, so I'm trying to build something that's going to last me probably 10 years, upgrading when prices are right, or the right tech comes out. My computer is on 24/7/365 and I think with these components I could build a system to stay overclocked and cool, so when I walk in the door I can move the mouse turn a 1080p movie on one screen, and turn on the most BA game on another and listen to this baby scream!

I know my post is getting a little long, but i'm just need some help with the RAM, and to see if i'm on the right track. I am getting tempted to just but the board and case just so I got it then my g/f cant stop me from saving for the parts in the next year lol!!

Thanks for the insight guys!! This is a big long term investment for me.
 

Tsawind

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I forgot to mention, but this will probably be my powerhouse for my Theater. I will get a cheap video card and use onboard sound for now, eventually I want this machine to power 1 1080p projector, and 2 42" lcds @ 1900x1200 with multiple mice/keyboards when the tech comes out. I will need dual video cards and a 7.1 sound card for a 7.1 reciever with a blu-ray burner right? Then get a reciever that has multiple ports to use DirecTV HDDVR and the computer? Some way I can hook my HDDVR to computer or something??

This is the case I have on my mind,
CoolerMaster HAF 932 AMD Red Dragon Edition Full Tower
if there is something better please tell me will be buying the case and mother board soon, other parts will be after I save up a bit, since this is my first build I don't think I dare mess with a liquid cooled system.

Should I wait till there is such thing and a dual socket AM3 board?? I want high-end, Top-quality stuff as this computer will be a part of my house!
 
Might want to follow the guidelines from the link in my signature. We have no idea where to get started if you don't give us a budget, or what you're planning on doing with it. You described an HTPC, which typically only needs about $500-900 for the build.

Everything you are talking about after the CPU/board is a waste of money. At most, you need an 850W PSU, even if Crossfiring HD 5970s.

I also garauntee that you're planning on wasting a lot of money if you're talking about liquid cooling, 1250W PSUs, and 8 GB of fast RAM for an HTPC. More than 4 GB is completely unnecessary unless you're encoding or doing something else extremely memory intensive.

Also, it is unreasonable to expect a computer to last you 10 years. You'd be luck if you spent $2,000 on a build that lasted you 5 years, maybe 6-7 years with some lucky timing for upgrades. 10 years is absolutely out of the question.
 

Tsawind

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I am looking at a total budget of $5,000-$10,000 for a 1080p projector, 2 42" 1900x1200 monitors, a 7.1 reciever and a top of the line computer, Finished in 5 years or less, my house is under construction just by me, with a base working computer that will be upgraded later in the next 2-6 months.

My dell has been with me for over 8 years and is still running strong, 10 years for this home theater/entertainment center would not be out of line IMO. This computer would stay with the house if I ever sold it or even rented. I want to get quality high-end parts, because this will be a complete system that will be in my house for a long time, things do eventually break, but if/when they do I would just fix that part/parts that need fixing and Bamb theater is back and running.

This system may in the future be running 4x+ security cams, Emulators, and controllers for ps3/xbox 360 ect If I can do that. Also video editing 3d CAD and multiple clients on some games ;>). I demand a lot from this rig I understand, but I want to do my research and I am willing to pay extra for the right stuff, it just might take me longer to put it all together then. When I use my computer, I USE My computer! Frickin things are never fast enough for me, if I'm gonna be spending $1000 on a software program later on down the road I dont want to have to wait forever to *** done!
 
I have no doubt that it will work for more than the 5-7 years. It just won't be a high performance tower after about 5 years.

So the budget for the misc, non-tower parts:

Projector: $2,000
Monitors (30" is as big as LCDs come on Newegg): $2,500 total
7.1 receiver: $500
Total: $5,000

Figure another $2,000 for anything else, leaves $3,000 for the tower. Which is more than enough for everything.

CPU: i7-920 $289
HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $30
Mobo: Asus P6X58D Premium $310
RAM: 2x Mushkin Enhanced Redline 3x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 6 $470 after rebate
Boot Drive: Corsair 128 GB SSD $375
Data Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $90
GPU: HD 5970 $650. It might be worth it to wait for Fermi to release depending on the exact CAD programs you run.
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate. It's not worth it to spend the extra for the 932, as this is almost as big, and $70 cheaper.
PSU: OCZ Z Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified $200
Optical: Pioneer Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer $220
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit OEM $140
TV Tuners: 2x Hauppauge Tuner w/ remote $210. I don't know too much about this area, but I do know Hauppauge is the best. Keep in mind this won't allow you to record from cable or satellite...

Total: $3,074.
 
I don't know too much about them, but I think it would be better to stick on the desktop side of things. Besides, instead of the $300ish CPU and $300ish board being the top of the line, they're the bottom. Thus putting out of budget, despite how large it is.
 

Tsawind

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I've been watching 42" lcd's for a long time they went from 3-5g's to 500-2500, now with 180hz and hdmi/dvi yeah I cant w8 just workin to make money.
I really want to stick with the AM3 socket for future upgradeablity in cpu.
 

darkjuggalo2000

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amd is a decent budget company with great performance and upgradeablitiy is unmatched with amd......

However intel is still the better processor. But with that being said i would go with amd as well infact i did with my gaming rig.
 
For your budget, AMD does not make sense. Also, given how much your investing in the system, Intel's upcoming CPUs for the 1366 socket aren't out of range. I like AMD, but they are a budget provider. Right now, they cannot touch Intel in terms of performance.
 

Tsawind

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I'm willing to spend the extra for a 4x 965, get the GA-790FXTA-UD5, I want to spend some $ in the case because that will be around for a long time, probably with spare fans, I been thinkin the 932, something better would be nice, seperate areas for heat? Everything else I am going to buy cheap right now just to get it to work, other than PSU.
 

Tsawind

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I can get a 945 for $150, one of the reasons I want to stick with this socket it because AMD announces that they were going to stick with the AM3 socket for a while while intel will be coming with a new one.
 
You're not spending more to get an AMD build. They will cost about $400 less than an i7-920. And it will not give as much performance.

The current order of CPUs goes:

X4 955 $160
X4 965 $185
i5-750 $195
i7-860 $280 (better performance in non-gaming apps)
i7-920 $289

Switching to an AMD build would be a HUGE downgrade. Yes, AMD will use the socket for the next couple of years. However, Intel just hasn't stated how long they'll be using the 1366 socket as their high end. Both sockets will see 6 core CPUs. The difference is that AMD's will likely be a lower performing CPU and thus will be cheaper when it first comes out.

Frankly, if you were to go with an AMD build, I would not only say it was a big mistake, but I might even say it doesn't qualify as a high-end system at that point. High budgets only go with AMD if it means they can squeeze in a bigger part that's more important (i.e. the GPU for gaming).

The HAF is an excellent choice, expect that the 922 is just about the same size and $60-70 less. There is no reason to pay the extra money. There also isn't a reason to buy extra fans for either.
 

Tsawind

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I might just get the 965, but I'm talkin about upgrading CPU in 2 years, prolly along with GPU and fast bigger ram, with lower latency?? whatever latency means! explain if u can thnx =-)
 

Tsawind

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Im just saying It seems like the best bang for my buck, buy the nicest case I can, get the bomb mobo, bomb psu, and high end cpu, isnt AMD faster than intel stock?
 
Check out the "Guide to Choosing Parts" sticky for a technical explanation.

If you're waiting for two year to upgrade the CPU, there is absolutely no advantage of getting an AM3 socket. Both AMD and Intel will still have upgrades for their current sockets then.

Intel has by far the fastest CPUs on the market today. It's not even a close competition. Some of Intel's old LGA775 socket CPUs are faster than the 965. Here are the CPU benchmarks. If you select the i7-920 (the 5th one down) and the X4 965 (the 8th one down), you can see additional benchmarks for comparison.