Dual G34 Gaming

[volts]

I need some help with a decision.
I’m in the market to build a new system for my personal use, and I can’t seem too decided on a board but im looking for something that I won’t have to change for a while. I’m a bit of an AMD fan boy and would prefer the system to be AMD based, but I’m open to suggestions. I’m looking for a system that I can throw ANYTHING at and have it not even flinch. I game a bit i.e. (Crysis, Warhead, and Metro) but I mostly do A LOT of audio and video conversions. I’m looking at a Supermicro H8DG6 with a pair of Opteron 6174 2.2ghz and twin ATI 6990 cards and 32gb of ram, or an Asus KGPE-D16 with same cpu, vids, and ram.
I’m a HUGE fan of dual socket, but this nostalgia stems from the days of dual socket 370, 462 and dual socket F systems of the past.

I’ve always had dual socket systems and had such luck with them and would love to carry that success into the future once more.
I understand that a dual system is usually more money than other non parallel systems but I’m looking for something that I won’t have to upgrade for some time.

My other choice was an 8 core AM3+ FX system with 4 Ati 6990’s and max possible ram.

I am a person that is EXTREMLY impatient with anything computers and hate waiting for anything to load or complete and don’t mind a premium for premium speed.

I’m not someone who is loaded but I can justify paying for something that will last at least 5 years.

I have a budget of about $5500 for a final product.

So my question is, would a dual Opteron just be extreme over kill and how do these systems cope with ultra high end video cards.

Please any suggestions would be awesome, thanks everyone and especially from thoughts with dual Opteron system with comments.

And please remember I’m looking for a system that I can throw ANYHTING at and have it chewed up and spit back at me almost instantly

 

[yyk71200]

1. Dual socket systems are good for serious professional work and server tasks. For gaming they are a waste. In fact, you'll get better performance in gaming from a single socket and overclocking it.
2. Bulldozer should come out in August-September. You have three choices: wait, build a system with AM3+ board and cheap phenom and wait, or build a Sandy Bridge system. The last choice will not be bad in any case.

EDIT. I don't think 4 6990crossfire are even possible. That is 8 GPUs. In fact, quad-fire (2x6990s) has low returns comparing to tri-fire. In fact, quad-fire sometimes even has lower performance. Of course at very high resolutions (like 3 monitors) it may be beneficial, but nothing beyond that.

 

[volts]

I had forgotten to mention this in the first post. I already have two ati 6990’s but don’t really have a board to run them in and also I do a fantastic amount of work in adobe soundbooth and that is where most of my audio editing is done.
Is there any particular reason why dual cpus are not good for gaming, is the lack of multi threaded support or something else im not aware of.

FYI I have a very strong understanding of basic and advanced computer building, but I’ve been out of it for so long now I’ve lost my place.

If any explanation requires technical terms, use them I should understand.

And hey your awesome yyk71200 you’re the first to respond thank you

 

[yyk71200]

For gaming, a vast majority of games do not benefit from more than four cores at all. Even though some games can use more than four threats, the returns are miniscule beyond four cores. Only if you do some other work while gaming at the same time, you can benefit from more than four cores.

For purely gaming, you'll see much more benefit if you overclock a single socket four cores CPU system than use slower clocked dual socket system (I am not aware of capabilities of overclocking multisocket systems but strongly suspect that you won't have the same overclocking capabilities on such system because they are not designed for overclocking). Of course, if you do a serious professional work, you may choose a multisocket system for such purposes.

 

[kajabla]

For something that you can "throw anything at," you'll have to go Intel. At the moment, with Bulldozer still a mystery, AMD CPUs are pretty low-end. A 2500K would be the best choice; the 2600K doesn't offer more performance in gaming. However, if you're intent on getting the maximum possible overclock, the 2600K might be feasible.
Yes, most games can't handle more than 3 or 4 threads. Multiple CPUs will give no performance increase.
Basically, you can't really do much but more SSDs for noticeable performance increases beyond about $2500.
For this kind of impatience, you'll be better off dumping some money into SSDs. With this kind of absurd budget and your state of mind, you could run your whole system off 2 or 3 256gb SSDs, which run around $400 each.
Why the heck did you get 6990s? They're loud and hot and inefficient, both energy- and cost-wise. It would have been better to go with 2x580.
This is looking like:
2x6990 (What were you thinking? This is not a rhetorical question; please tell me.)
2600K
2x256gb SSD
1000W PSU

 

[volts]

It had actually worked out that I ordered one card thinking that I could use it I’m my current system, but then had to lend/give that system to a friend. As a gift the same friend ordered me the same card as a thank you gift not knowing about the first order. So now I’m left with two 6990, no system to use them in and a very strange story. I’m not dead set on using them, and could always sell them but have heard good reviews on them.

Just thinking about all of your suggestions, am I making a mistake in assuming that cpu’s are still the bottle neck in a system like a few years ago. Perusing a system build with max cpu’s is not going to provided me with an assumed huge increase in speed. I should be perusing SSD’s and OC ram?

I wanted to again thank the two of you for providing your insight and recommendations

 

[yyk71200]

While most games right now benefit more from fast GPUs, having a strong processor can still be a good idea. Having 2600k and overclock them to 4.5GHz+ will basically eliminate any CPU bottlenecks + this CPU is not that expensive relatively speaking. Anyway, in gaming it can even beat the previous generation $1000 cpu while costing slightly over $300.

Having 2x6990 may be beneficial if you run eyefinity with three monitors but proven to have some issues in some games (quite a lot of issues to be exact). Alternatively, you can sell one 6990 and buy a 6970 and run 6990+6970 trifire that has much less issues with games and only slightly less powerful.

 

[volts]

I do find it kind of funny that there is no clear cut option for best results. I know what not to go with but nothing is clear on what TO go with. I really don’t think I’m going with dual G34, but I can’t help but feel that as time goes on and applications increase in thread support more cores will pay off. Also with that though, by the time thread support approaches a 24 core mark the other components in the system like ram/video/bus speed will be so outdated that they will become the limiting factor. Would you agree with this logic?

Also I was looking at the sandy bridge line up from Intel, is it just me or is there no second generation i7 extreme edition. Have they begun to phase them out or have they not released the new line up yet?


Again thank you yyk71200, you’ve truly provided an important second set of eyes to the problem. And kajabla you to, thank you

 

[yyk71200]

Sandy Bridge Extreme should come out later this year. Also, about outdating of components: I think it is better to build a new midrange but good value computer every couple of years than spend a fortune one time and try to squeeze the system to last five or more years.