New Gaming build, Opinion on SSD vs Rampage 3

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blazer9131

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Hey guys.

So first off let me state that my budget can not exceed 1750 USD.

Alright, so that's out of the way. Here's my current build:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20574848

Now, That build has an SSD. I'm a gamer, and I love Overclocking. What would be the most effective performance wise, getting that extra power from a good OCing Mobo, or that extra speed from the HDD?

Also, I have a question about the HSF. Right now it's a H50, but I was told that a normal HSF would be cheaper, quieter, and provide similar cooling. Anything recommended?
Since I overclock, and will try to push the CPU to the highest I can get while staying pretty cool, would WC be ideal? How much would that run me, for a CPU block, pump, reservoir, and maybe even GPU blocks.

Thanks for any help!


 
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geofelt


1) I would prefer the single GTX580 over dual cards.
. It preserves your option to go dual cards.
. Eventual resale price of top end cards should be stronger.
. some...
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geofelt

geofelt

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The build is fine.

Your gaming will not improve much with a SSD, but everything will feel faster and snappier, so I recommend it.

A high priced enthusiast motherboard will not give you any better overclock, at least to sane levels. The sabretooth is good. After you get to 3.3 or so, there is very little added benefit to a greater overclock.

I am not a fan of liquid cooling. A good oem cooler will do the job just as well. Something like the cm hyper212 which is about $32:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

The best is probably the prolimatech megahalems at about $62:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242001

For gaming, the graphics card is more important than the cpu. I am not a fan of SLI if a great single card will do the job.
If you are gaming at 1920 x 1200 or less, then a GTX580 would be better. It preserves your option to go sli later. Also, some games have problems with sli or don't scale well.

 
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gkay09

gkay09

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^
EDIT: Dint refresh...

As for the mobo vs SSD debate, till what levels are you planning to overclock ?
Upto 4GHz, even the Sabertooth is good enough...
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-tuf-sabertooth-x58-review/9

CPU Cooler - Yes, if you go with big air, then you would get better performance for less...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142
Additional fan in Push-Pull config
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185065
Its performance review -
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/scythe-ninja3_5.html#sect0

Buying 2x GTX 470s together ? With newer cards set to release in a few days, I wouldn't do that...
Also the ATI HD 6870 would offer equally good performance, but would considerably run cooler and pull less power...
 
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blazer9131

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I just did a quick update on my build, replaced the H50 with prolimatech megahalems and 2 CM 2000RPM Red LED fans for a push-pull config. Turns out to be about the same, but the prolimatech megahalems provides better cooling, or so I've read.

Also, Yeah, currently I'm only gaming at 1440 by 900, but I do have a second monitor for Teamspeak/system clock/temps which is running 1024x768. I don't game on that though (of course). I don't have any plans on upgrading to a screen any larger than 23inches soon. If I keep this screen, would a GTX580 be better?

I'm gonna overclock to atleast 3.7GHz to start, and then mess around a bit after I set things up.

@gkay, what new cards are you talking about? To be honest I'd rather stick with nVidia cards.

Thanks for the quick responses guys.
 
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blazer9131

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Awesome, great news. I won't be buying untill end of November/Early december anyway.

I've had bad experiences with ATi in the past. Plus I'll be honest, I'm an Intel/NVida fanboy. I've always used them, I've never since tried ATi, and I've never touched an AMD on my own builds. I'll take performance over cost-effectiveness, but that's just my opinion, and I'm sure everyone has their own way of looking at things.

 
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blazer9131

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Umm, Right when the 8800 series launched. At first I got the ATi equilivent, that failed on me wasted a good bit of money, and then just went for my current 8800GT which is working beautifully. Another thing is that I'd rather have that peace of mind. All the bigger companies produce Nvidia cards, EVGA, Asus, Gigabyte, PNY, XFX. Sure some produce ATi as well, but I just think the actual quality of the product is better with Nvidia boards..
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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At 1440 x 900 you do not need a very strong card for exceptional performance in most games. Tom's suggests a GTS450:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,2782-3.html

If you want to go stronger, the GTX470 is currently a good value. Anything more is in anticipation of a larger monitor.

To help the current situation, I suggest getting a cheap card for your second monitor. That lets you dedicate the full resources of your main monitor to gaming.
 
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gkay09

gkay09

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^^ That was the time, ATI was not doing well, but you shouldnt generally reject a company based on the past performance...
ATI from the HD 4xxx series have had very good success with their cards and except for fanboys, anyone would agree that the ATI's current gen cards are as good or maybe even better than the Nvidia cards...
Also you should know that XFX will not make Fermi cards and have started making ATI cards long time ago...
But its your call though...
 
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blazer9131

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Ah, alright. I haven't had any experience since.. I like to stay informed, and that's good to know, but I'll still keep my original thoughts on getting a NVidia card. As for the card I'm getting... Right now my build has 2x GTX470's.. From what others have said, since I'm gaming on a low (ish) resolution (1440x900) I should get a single GPU. I was thinking maybe I should "future" proof the PC, and get a single GTX580, and in 2 years, if needed I'll SLI it. Or I'll SLI it when I get a new larger monitor. How would that work out?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I think that is a good plan. Spend the extra cash on a good bigger monitor now, and keep your old too. Game on the big one, and keep e-mail, and performance apps open on your old.
 
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blazer9131

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I posted a similar thread on my Clan's forums and they said that having a high-end GPU and a low resolution (1440x900) will cause my CPU to be a bottleneck.. Is this true, and if so, How? Cause I can't make any sense of that..
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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I don't like the term "bottleneck".
It implies that something will be slower. Not so.
With a faster gpu, you will go faster.
With a faster cpu, you will go faster.

In this case, it means that a strong card can render images so fast at 1440 x 900 that the cpu can not create them as fast as the gpu can handle them. It is an academic point. A typical LCD monitor can refresh at 60 fps. What is the utility of being able to render frames at 100? The value in going faster is that the minimum frame rate will be higher, making for better gaming experience.

It is all about balance. You want a cpu and gpu to be somewhat balanced. If not, you will be paying a bit more for each marginal increment of performance.
 
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blazer9131

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Alright, so, in your opinion, would you get the single GTX580 or SLI GTX470's? As said before I would rather stick with the NVidia cards.

Here's my current train of thought: I'm thinking of getting a single GTX580 with my current 1440x900 monitor. In about 5-6 months I'll get a 23 inch monitor, and continue using the GTX580. From what I'm seeing, in about 2-3 years the card will start to have a bit trouble with the games out. At that point I'll get another card and SLI it.

Right now my 8800GT is working alright so that's the information that I'm working out of.
 
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HeyImGodly

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Id get the 580.
if youd be willing to go ATi I'd get two 6870's
the 470 & the 480 have cooling problems and power consumption issues.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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1) I would prefer the single GTX580 over dual cards.
. It preserves your option to go dual cards.
. Eventual resale price of top end cards should be stronger.
. some games do not do well with dual gpu's
. The second slot can hold your 8800GT and the small monitor which will take some load off of your gaming card.
2) In a year,( no more than two) you should see 28nm based graphics cards. I would plan on marketing your GTX580 at that time to pay for the next best thing... if you need/want it. Going sli will probably not be an attractive proposition. How many people would like to spend $300 to add a second GTX285( a year old card) to their system today?
 
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blazer9131

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That seems like the logical thing to do, Thanks for all your help guys. I appreciate it very much. I hope to have the parts ordered in 2-3 weeks.
 
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