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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > New Build > New Build Setup - Advice?

New Build Setup - Advice?

Forum Systems : New Build New Build Setup - Advice?

Hello All - I am putting together a new build for the WoW expansion and want to know if this build is a decent setup. Been searching around online, and I'm not sure if I can find something prebuilt that's cheaper. I already have an Antec Mid Tower case I plan on re-using, as well as a soundcard so that saves me some money. But I'm currently running a Core 2 Duo and an 8800GTX Nvidia card that I'm wanting to upgrade from. System was built about 3 years ago, so here's my wishlist. Also upgrading from XP to Windows 7 64 bit. Let me know what you think. Wishlist below is from newegg and with tax I'm looking at around 1450.00 or so. Would love to do it cheaper, the only game I play is WoW at max resolution on a 25 inch monitor and a 23 inch second monitor for web surfing.

My Wish List Details
New PC Wishlist

Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 KINGWIN Lazer LZ-1000 1000W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector ...
Model #:LZ-1000
Item #:N82E16817121068
$159.99

1 CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9
Model #:TR3X6G1333C9
Item #:N82E16820145220
$109.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-X58A-UD3R
Item #:N82E16813128423
$209.99

1 Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7860
Model #:BX80605I7860
Item #:N82E16819115214
$279.99

1 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Model #:GFC-00599
Item #:N82E16832116754
$99.99

1 Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student 3-User
Model #:79G-02144
Item #:N82E16832116856
$124.99

1 ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Model #:9500A
Item #:N82E16835118223
$49.99

1 EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Model #:012-P3-1472-AR
Item #:N82E16814130549
$269.99

1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD1001FALS
Item #:N82E16822136284
$87.99

Subtotal: $1,392.91

Reply to kyranvale

Hi kyranvale, First thing first - Your board & CPU are not compatible with each other. The CPU needs a socket LGA 1156 board. Either that, or change your CPU to an i7 9xx range CPU (930/950/980x) etc and keep the x58 board.

Secondly, if you stick to 1156, I'll say get a Core i5-760 instead of the i7 860 along with a ASUS P7P55D-E motherboard.

If you wanna get a top of the line i7 9xx processor, you'll need a LGA 1366 Motherboard with a x58 NB chipset.

The Gigabyte board that you've linked will be a good choice in that case IMO. You can also go with a similarly specked but cheaper $190 ASUS Sabertooth X58

Now to the RAM. You're right 'bout the triple channel selection. That's the absolute best option. But I'll prolly go with a faster 1600 Mhz kit. $125 CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CL7.

Message edited by calguyhunk on 10-28-2010 at 08:23:16 AM

Reply to calguyhunk

Thanks for the info. Do you think that this setup would be adaquate over my E6850 Duo Core running overclocked at 3.45 GHZ? I'm running an 8800GTX, and I just can't decide if it's time to upgrade to an entirely new socket/mobo combo.

Reply to kyranvale

TBH, I personally think your processor is good enough not to merit an upgrade as of now. Restrain your urge-to-splurge this year & get the Sandy Bridge next year when it's released

I'll say for now, upgrade your GPU to a $200 GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB

EDIT : You didn't give your full specs. If you don't have 4 GB of RAM, get that. Just make sure the extra RAM is DDR2.

Message edited by calguyhunk on 10-27-2010 at 01:00:53 PM

Reply to calguyhunk

As was said, if your going w/ a 1366 MoBo, you'll need a 1366 CPU and 3 sticks of RAM, not two. Assuming you going to stay w/ 1156 ....

Not a fan of Gigabyte's USB 3 solution. See THG article on the topic.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 490-2.html

Gigabyte’s P55A-UD4P cuts costs by using the processor’s PCIe 2.0 connections to host its high-bandwidth controllers. Two of the primary graphics card’s 16 PCIe lanes supply its USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers, and Gigabyte disables six more lanes to make the upper slot an effective x8 interface. The USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers revert to the chipset’s 2.5 GT/s lanes whenever two graphics cards are installed, to preserve the x8 transfers each graphics card needs for optimal CrossFire or SLI performance.

The ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA is a great deal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131634

Get a better PSU from Antec (SG, CP or TP lines), Corsair (HX, TX lines), XFX (Black Edition)

CAS 9 memory for $109 when ...

CAS 6 as lows as $82
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227572

CAS 7 as low as $84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820226154

If ya gonna spring for $49 for the Zalman....I'd look at the better performers in this price range.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index. [...] itstart=13

< $50 price range - Scythe 2100
$50+ price range - Prolimatch Megahalems

------------------------------ If a man speaks in the forest and no woman hears him, is he still wrong ?
Reply to JackNaylorPE

Do not get a caviar, get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB...

------------------------------ Need to contact me? Just send me a private msg

Always love to help!
Reply to Reaper2794

I'm currently running 4 Gigs of RAM, but XP only recognizes 3.25 gigs of it. I'm curious, would I see a major upgrade in gaming performance if I just kept the same mobo/processor and upgraded to 6 gigs of ram and jumped to the 470GTX? I'd also be flipping to Windows 7 from XP, assuming my motherboard can handle it. Thanks again for all the replies and advice, it's greatly appreciated!!!!! Below is my existing setup: (Edited to reduce the wall of text.)

ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131073

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80557E6850
Item #: N82E16819115028

Rosewill Xtreme Series RX850-S-B 850W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX
Item #: N82E16820145176

Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136033

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129021

BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXOCE GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Message edited by kyranvale on 10-28-2010 at 04:05:47 AM

Reply to kyranvale

Windows recognizes only 3.25GB because it is 32 bit. You need 64 bit if you want the full 4 GB functionality.

Also, there will be no discernible increase in gaming performance whatsoever beyond 4GB. For Photo editing, 3D rendering, yes. But not gaming.

As I've laid out already, the only thing that you can change is the GFX card. Get a 1 GB GTX 4xx or Radeon HD 68xx depending on your budget and resolution and that should immediately see a gain in performance.

Keep the rest of your stuff. As it is, you've got pretty nice specs - I'll keep a lot of it for your next build - HDD, Case, PSU.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by calguyhunk on 10-28-2010 at 08:21:50 AM

Reply to calguyhunk

You also don't need a 1000W PSU, but stick to a modular one, they're awesum ^^

------------------------------ Need to contact me? Just send me a private msg

Always love to help!
Reply to Reaper2794

calguyhunk wrote :

Windows recognizes only 3.25GB because it is 32 bit. You need 64 bit if you want the full 4 GB functionality.

Also, there will be no discernible increase in gaming performance whatsoever beyond 4GB. For Photo editing, 3D rendering, yes. But not gaming.

As I've laid out already, the only thing that you can change is the GFX card. Get a 1 GB GTX 4xx or Radeon HD 68xx depending on your budget and resolution and that should immediately see a gain in performance.

Keep the rest of your stuff. As it is, you've got pretty nice specs - I'll keep a lot of it for your next build - HDD, Case, PSU.

Thank you for the info above. Question - the details on my motherboard say it's safe for XP and Vista, not Windows 7. Will I have any issues upgrading to Windows 7 with the current setup? Thanks again to everyone for all the replies!!!!!!

Reply to kyranvale

Your Mobo manual doesn't mention Win7 'coz when the Mobo came out, there was no Win7! That's the simple explanation. In any case any piece of hardware that supports Vista will typically support Win 7.

Reply to calguyhunk

Evening All. I ended up just upgrading to the GTX 470. It's a nice card, and with Windows 7, I'm seeing better all around performance boosts now that I'm getting all 4 gigs of my Corsair ram being used.

Question for a follow up...would there be any gaming benefit to running 2 GTX 470's in SLI over just one? I'm playing World of Warcraft (pretty much the only game I play) and with the single card I'm getting 60FPS in most areas of the game, but 35-40FPS in some of the higher traffic areas. Don't think my CPU (E6850 OC'd to 3.45Ghz) is bottlenecking anything, so I'm just curious if it's worth me spending an extra 280.00 and running SLI. I'm currently running 1900x1280 at Max Detail and resolution on a 25 inch Samsung LCD PC monitor.

Any extra advice is appreciated!

Reply to kyranvale

There's hardly any real world difference between 60 fps and a 100 say for instance. IMO, definitely not worth the extra 280. In any case, Warcraft ain't gfx intensive enough to merit a 470 SLI even @ 1920X1200. Maybe for Crysis, Metro etc.

Reply to calguyhunk

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