Gaming & Movie PCPost Date: 2011-03-14 |
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alvin 
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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 Topic: Gaming & Movie PCPosted: 14 Mar 2011 at 10:36pm |
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1. Your Budget: Excluding peripherals, I am guessing I should be able to get what I need for between $1200-1500. 2. Expectations: I would like to have it hooked up to a monitor (that I have yet to decide upon), and my 54" plasma as well. 3. Usage: I want the PC to have no problem running games for the next several years. I doubt I will look at getting another computer for another 4 or so years. It would also be plugged into my plasma for watching all of the tv shows and movies I have downloaded onto external hard drives. 4. Special Needs: I was thinking that since the pc is primarily for games and movies, that the video card(s) would be the most important aspect. In my initial build ticket, I have dual 1 gigabyte cards. Perhaps this is overkill even though I want it to be able to handle games that come out 3 or 4 years from now - I am open to suggestions. The main reason I chose 6850's is because I read good reviews of them in Crossfire, and I like that they have regular-sized HDMI ports, unlike the NVidia cards. Thanks
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 15 Mar 2011 at 12:23am |
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Gpu is not the only aspect of running games in the future, cpus is the brain of your pc and always the most important, second comes gpu, as your pc gets older you can easily upgrade gpu, but cpu/mobo are gonna cost more and more difficult to upgrade, so IMHO its best to go with the best cpu/platform you can go with now, so that it stays powerful longer.
now forget your tv for a minute and tell me What is the native resolution of your monitor? cause we have to match your gpu power to the res. dual cards are no good, if you have for example 2 x 295 gtx, then that means you have quad sli, but tri sli 275 gtx would actually beat your quad, scaling is better tri then quad unfortunately. so let me know the res of the monitor you plan on gaming on with this pc and I can make a recommendation. |
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 15 Mar 2011 at 1:02pm |
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Lot's of good information for me to digest here.
I didn't realize the 6850 was a dual card. My current PC's are old, so I have not been able to play computer games from recent years. I guess I assumed that 1080p was generally what everyone used and what I would use as well. The only criteria for the monitors I have been looking at (on Amazon and Newegg) are that they are 24" give or take, 1ms or 2ms gtg response time, and have positive reviews. Anyways, playing 1080p on a 24" monitor will probably be perfect. One other thing, I may need a sound card? Movies: my receiver does not have HDMI, so I have been using digital optical for my computer. Games: I will probably get a good over ear headset. Appreciate the help. |
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justin.kerr
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Joined: 06 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5084 |
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Posted: 15 Mar 2011 at 1:23pm |
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6850 not a dual card
sound card, not on a movie PC. that is one reason to go with the AMD Graphics card, to do LPCM over HDMI, so time to get a new receiver, 1.4a HDMI is a beautiful thing, and decent receivers can be had very cheaply. But if that is not in the cards, then still, no sound card if you are going to be running a receiver.
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 16 Mar 2011 at 12:37am |
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As for monitors, response time and contrast ratio are BS numbers don't pay attention to those.
when looking for a monitor, the type of panel is most important, most panels you are looking at are either gonna be TN or IPS, IPS has superior picture quality and the new ones are great for gaming, look for a monitor that has the same Viewing Angle, both vertical and horizontal, and is at or above 170°, this is a sign of a quality panel on a monitor, assuring great picture quality, IPS is such a panel. |
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 16 Mar 2011 at 10:19am |
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Justin - I eventually will go all out on sound, with large KEF or Paradigm floorstanding speakers, and a Denon, but probably not this year. For now, I just plug the video source directly into the TV, and I need the PC to have a digital optical to plug into the receiver. So you are saying the motherboard will have a good digital optical output, and I do not need a sound card?
DST - Okay, I did not realize that there was such a difference in LCD panel technologies. I will read into it and look into monitors that are IPS. I still plan to use it at 1080p. Do you have a new suggestion on a configuration, or do I need to provide more information? |
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justin.kerr
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Joined: 06 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5084 |
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Posted: 16 Mar 2011 at 10:51am |
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pass on sound card, once you get a new receiver then you will have the preferred setup, passing audio through the GPU. |
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DST4ME
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Posted: 17 Mar 2011 at 12:28am |
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few great IPS panels that members here have and love:
Dell UltraSharp U2410 Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23 Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" |
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Treelox
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Joined: 04 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 78 |
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Posted: 17 Mar 2011 at 5:34am |
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the Dell's U2711 is great too, a great balance between size, price and preformance
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 6:25pm |
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It looks like I am going with this. That is a much better deal than anything I have seen on Amazon or Newegg. Its 1080p, has DVI and DS, and 23" should be just right.
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tidusx99
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Joined: 07 Jan 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 46 |
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Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 6:30pm |
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I was lucky enough to grab a 21.5 inch ASUS with DVI/VGA/1080 HDMI with the 1920x1080 resolution for $149.99 off New Egg.
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DST4ME
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 12:54am |
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lol wait till you see the picture quality of an IPS. 
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alvin
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 10:08pm |
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So what all changes should I make before I order?
I am guessing that it is suggested that I go with the 2600k, since the CPU is the most important place to put your money. I see a lot of people being recommended to either get the 922 case or the 942. I am also wondering if dual 6850's are overkill or even the best choice since I want to use the computer at 1080p.
I am open to final suggestions, even if it puts the price over $1500.
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DST4ME
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 11:40pm |
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you got a ticket number for that build?
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alvin
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 1:11am |
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It is actually the same one from the link in my original post. Ticket Number: 501034
Also, I was just looking at the cases and like the clean look of the Raven One. I would like to get that case unless there is something about that makes it terrible.
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DST4ME
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 2:21am |
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I believe for the raven you have to go to blackops and prices there are higher, go with haf 922 instead, as far as your build goes, your budget unfortunatly is limiting, and I've been there myself many times in the past, I would rather go with a 1000w psu and a single 6970, that way if I need more gpu power I can drop a second 6970 in it down the road and that is enough power for me to do just about almost anything, almost, I like to have a Noctua cooler cause cpu is the brain of the pc and ocing makes it faster, imagine taking your brain making it faster, how much better would your life be now? thats pretty much what happens when you oc a cpu, its a different world/speed, the SB chips oc real easy, so you can oc it a bit more yourself if you had a good cpu cooler, and last I like a lot of airflow in my cases that are air cooled, so haf X with the extra fan is my first choice here with the haf 932/922 my second choice.
Here you go Ticket# 504594 --- $1724 (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 6970 2GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.6GHz to 3.9GHz Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Problem is that its over budget, with a 570 price would be less but then in order to do sli we would need a pricier mobo, which then brings us back to the same price range as above |
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 8:39pm |
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Looks great, thanks.
So you are saying that I would be able to do Crossfire with that motherboard if I later on decided to, right? It is just SLI that it does not support?
Edited by alvin - 20 Mar 2011 at 8:40pm |
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Nebidimka
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 10:05pm |
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Look like yes, it doesnt support only SLI
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DST4ME
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Posted: 21 Mar 2011 at 2:57am |
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yes you can do cf but not sli, tho your second lane will be low on bandwidth, if I'm not mistaken, I think it runs at 4x. |
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alvin
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Posted: 21 Mar 2011 at 5:51pm |
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Ordered.
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DST4ME
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 2:23am |
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congrats
 , I would feel a bit better if you upgraded your mobo to one that does 8x 8x instead of the 8x 4x you gonna get with this one.
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 8:57am |
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I could probably call them and change if I needed to. I don't know anything about motherboards though...What does 8x 8x versus 8x 4x mean? Side note: I went onto Dell's site to buy the 23" IPS monitor yesterday, and it just so happened to be on sale for $40 off. $279 for 23" IPS :] |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 11:46pm |
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WoW on the price of the U2311H, that is great price.
yes you can call them and change mobo, and if budget allows then you should get the deluxe, the x8 and x4 are the bandwidth of the pci lanes that the gpus go on, x16 for both lanes is best, but at x8 we notice very little or no fps drop, however at x4 some games lose a good amount of fps, so best is x16 for both cards, but x8 is just as good, your mobo in sli will give you x8 for first lane and x4 for the other one, so you are x8 x4. the deluxe will give you x8 for lane one and x8 for lane two. |
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alvin
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Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 1:17pm |
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It has shipped!
Question: Overclocked Processor Settings Processor Speed GHz: 3.9 Motherboard BIOS: 1305 Video Card Driver: 10.11 Chipset Driver: CD Sound Card Driver: CD Does 3.9 mean with turbo boost, or is 3.9 the new regular speed and turbo boost is even higher? P.S. About to buy a headset, mouse, and keyboard...hooray! |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 4:36pm |
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Now its time to pray to the shipping gods
3.9Ghz is your oc speed, I believe it includes turbo, I have not had a chance to play with SB much yet as far as oc goes. Edited by DST4ME - 01 Apr 2011 at 4:36pm |
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Phat
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Joined: 23 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 18 |
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 4:41pm |
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i wonder what is his voltage cpu vcore
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 4:59pm |
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didn't you get an email with the vcore included?
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alvin
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 6:12pm |
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Nope. The only stats I got are the ones I pasted above.
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 01 Apr 2011 at 11:10pm |
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Then call or email them and ask them the vcore.
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