Graphic Work and entertainment PC

[nuno_sousa84]

Hi all,

So its time to do an upgrade, but first i would like to hear your advices. After some search this is what i pretend to get:

- CPU - i7 860 or 870 (Socket 1156) or 930 (1366) (im not sure)
- Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 or maybe a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
- Memory - Ripjaws F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH (2Gx2)
- Radeon 5850 1Gb (im not sure which brand)

Im willing to spend around 800 US Dollars (500-600 Euros). This will replace my current rig:

- Nvidia XFX GTX 9800 512Mb
- Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS5
- GSKILL DDR2 F2 8500 CL5D PK
- Intel E8400

My monitor is a 23" inch DELL U2311H (1920x1080) and my power supply is a Corsair 520W modular (Do you think this can feed the new rig?). I will be using the PC for 3D modelling work (particularly Blender 3D), GIS, some photography editing and games. So what do you think? any suggestions?

Thank you

Nuno

 

[Proximon]

Not bad at all. Could you overclock your current CPU and wait until Q1 2011? Maybe OC and get the GPU next week? Next week should be a good time for GPU shopping and 3 months should be the best time for CPU shopping

 

[batuchka]

This is my usual Blender, Premiere, Linux workstation, CPU intensive config that either leverages on GPU or user wants gaming capability as well

$679AR (full tower itself, remove hardware u have on hand)

Optional Items

CM GeminiIIS cooler $38 Free Ship
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-PBU1&title=Cooler-Master-GeminII-S-RR-CCH-PBU1-GP-CPU-Fan-For-Intel-LGA1366-1156-775-AMD-AM3-AM2-AM2

60GB Sandforce based SSD $125 Free Ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231377


Proxi also has a good point: that 880G has IGP anyways so u could await further developments on the GPU front hehe

 

[nuno_sousa84]

Thank you for the help. Proxi good point! This might not be the best time to do an CPU upgrade. Unfortunatly im afraid next year (starting January) the VAT goes from 21% to 23% in my country (Portugal), due to the actual economic crysis. Im not sure what will be the prices impact in electronics.
It seems sandy bridge quad-cores are coming early next year (in some reviews that say we should expect an average improvment in processing power of around 20% comparing to the actual quad-cores i5 and i7). Well sooner or later i will have to buy a new CPU, cause when working with Blender is pretty noticeable that it uses the dual core CPU at its maximum (so i suppose a quad-core would be the next step). As you mentioned i can OC my E8400 (3.0Ghz sotck speed to an higher speed clock), the problem is that honestly i never done it before, nor im sure i have the adequate hardware to do it. But it is a possibility. Plus now im buying a new monitor the DELL U2311H (in fact my first LCD Monitor, dont laugh, i've been using my Nokia 17" CRT for 12 years, hehehehe). So i will be working in a native resolution of 1920x1080. I think i should expect a lower preformance ratio between the new DELL monitor and the hardware than the actual 1280x1024 CRT and the hardware? Maybe i should buy the Monitor first and analize the possible performance differences.
So at this point the CPU is the big issue. Wait for the next year sandy bridge and buy one. Or expect a lower of prices from the actual i5 and i7 quad-cores till the end of this year and buy one. The GPU is more easy choice cause as you say new graphic cards are coming or at least prices will change next weeks. One thing that people told me in other forum is that is preferable to opt for the NVIDIA graphis cards cause they use or support the CUDA (im not sure what is this), but eventually is more adequate for Graphic applications preformance. Is that it? how? should i consider NVIDIA to work with graphic apps vs ATI for more gaming performance?
Well unfortunatly i will not be able to swap the RAM now cause my actual motherboard only supports DDRII and not DDRIII, so i think right now the only thing that seems more reasonable to buy/update is really the GPU.

Thank you for your patient and help
Nuno

 

[Proximon]

Wow 23%... Hopefully that is your only tax.

I'm looking forward to that new unlocked quad myself. Overclocking a Wolfdale is very simple.

At the easiest, you nudge the core speed from where it is now (333Mhz) up to about 400Mhz, gradually.
Before you start just set your memory multiplier to 1 or 1:1 or however your BIOS says it. Both your CPU and RAM run off of a multiple of the FSB, Front Side BUS, which as I said is 333Mhz right now.

Your CPU voltage is probably set to Auto, and you can leave it there. Yes, you will need a good cooler, but your hardware should be quite capable otherwise.

I never laugh at CRTs, there are very good reasons to use them. I used a high-end CRT up until about 2004-5.

I think your GPU choice was fine. The GTX 460 1GB is also a great choice, and it's possible an Nvidia card will play nicer with your 3D programs... they tend to have slightly better drivers when it comes to non-gaming. Yes, CUDA is a way that you put the power of the graphics card to work doing calculations that the CPU normally has to do... handy for professional work.

 

[Proximon]

Oh, if you were planning on the Nvidia route though you might want the GTX 470. I think it's more powerful for that type of thing... the 460 is more a pure gaming card.