Observations from an observer

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   I have been perusing this site and boards a few days and would like to contribute just a small bit of knowledge to those seeking to build the perfect system that fits into their expectations.

DigitalStorm looks like an awesome company with awesome service that I wish I knew about years ago instead of plundering into the mass Dell zombie mode at the time.  I choose to build my own systems because building them is half the fun of course; with all of the neccesary components watercooled (RAM, hard drives, chipsets and mosfets are not included in the adventure).  

Where can your money be better spent to achieve the results you desire?

1.  CPU:  You don't need an I7 Extreme CPU.  The only difference between the 975 and 920 is better binned silicone and an unlocked multiplier.  Most 920's can achieve 4.0 GHz with 100% stability with a very small increase in v-core.  So insignificant that you will throw the PC away long before the CPU dies.  The 975's do much better under phase change and liquid nitrogen than 920's, but chances are that if you are into that, you wouldn't be here in the first place.
2. CPU cooler: The Asetek stage one system may be considered watercooling, but it is easily outperformed by a high end aircooling system. The risk vs. the best bang for the buck is not there.  Self contained or not, the pump can break.  It can leak.  Get a real watercooled system, if that is your plan, by paying the bucks, you won't regret it.  
3.  Power Supply:  This is the lifeline of your system.  Don't go overboard with a 1000w + PSU when your plans are one GPU and a CPU.  Don't go cheap either.  You would not believe how many posts I read of people trusting their 3k dollar system with a 20.00 PSU.  It blows, it could take everything plugged into it with it.
4.  Video cards:  Unless you are running insanely high resolutions, one good video card is enough.  It does not matter that you have 3x5870's running at 500 FPS in Crysis on a flat panel monitor at 60 Hz.  Unless you like major tearing, 60 FPS is all you will see.  Your eyes can't tell the diffeernce anyway.  Movies are only 27 FPS, I believe.
5.  Best upgrade to make your system "feel" faster:  Bar none it will be an SSD drive.  Forget RAID.  Forget Velociraptors in RAID.  You get one, you will never go back.  SSD in RAID, which I haven't experianced yet, would heighten the pleasure.  Windows and games load at frightening speeds.
6.  RAM:  99% of normal users out there don't need 6 GB of RAM, yet alone 12 GB.  If 6 GB isn't enough, you'll know it when you run out.  Get the fastest RAM that you can to go with your planned overclock.  If you want to run 20x200 to get 4.0 GHZ on a 920, get 1600 MHZ RAM.  

Have fun configuring your new "rig".

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daddyjaxx Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 29 Oct 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Quote Reply Topic: Observations from an observer Posted: 29 Oct 2009 at 6:42pm
	I have been perusing this site and boards a few days and would like to contribute just a small bit of knowledge to those seeking to build the perfect system that fits into their expectations. DigitalStorm looks like an awesome company with awesome service that I wish I knew about years ago instead of plundering into the mass Dell zombie mode at the time. I choose to build my own systems because building them is half the fun of course; with all of the neccesary components watercooled (RAM, hard drives, chipsets and mosfets are not included in the adventure). Where can your money be better spent to achieve the results you desire? 1. CPU: You don't need an I7 Extreme CPU. The only difference between the 975 and 920 is better binned silicone and an unlocked multiplier. Most 920's can achieve 4.0 GHz with 100% stability with a very small increase in v-core. So insignificant that you will throw the PC away long before the CPU dies. The 975's do much better under phase change and liquid nitrogen than 920's, but chances are that if you are into that, you wouldn't be here in the first place. 2. CPU cooler: The Asetek stage one system may be considered watercooling, but it is easily outperformed by a high end aircooling system. The risk vs. the best bang for the buck is not there. Self contained or not, the pump can break. It can leak. Get a real watercooled system, if that is your plan, by paying the bucks, you won't regret it. 3. Power Supply: This is the lifeline of your system. Don't go overboard with a 1000w + PSU when your plans are one GPU and a CPU. Don't go cheap either. You would not believe how many posts I read of people trusting their 3k dollar system with a 20.00 PSU. It blows, it could take everything plugged into it with it. 4. Video cards: Unless you are running insanely high resolutions, one good video card is enough. It does not matter that you have 3x5870's running at 500 FPS in Crysis on a flat panel monitor at 60 Hz. Unless you like major tearing, 60 FPS is all you will see. Your eyes can't tell the diffeernce anyway. Movies are only 27 FPS, I believe. 5. Best upgrade to make your system "feel" faster: Bar none it will be an SSD drive. Forget RAID. Forget Velociraptors in RAID. You get one, you will never go back. SSD in RAID, which I haven't experianced yet, would heighten the pleasure. Windows and games load at frightening speeds. 6. RAM: 99% of normal users out there don't need 6 GB of RAM, yet alone 12 GB. If 6 GB isn't enough, you'll know it when you run out. Get the fastest RAM that you can to go with your planned overclock. If you want to run 20x200 to get 4.0 GHZ on a 920, get 1600 MHZ RAM. Have fun configuring your new "rig".

Shooters and Beer Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 Oct 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Oct 2009 at 10:01pm
	I like this guy.

justin.kerr Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 06 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5084	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Oct 2009 at 8:58am
	lot of common sense there, couple things though. With a highly overclocked i7, all water cooled with a gtx 295 I would recommend a 1000 watt power supply as a minimum. Some people don't understand capacitor aging, and the fact that the peak efficiency is usually around 60%-70% draw. 6 Gb of RAM is far from overkill in my opinion, anytime you use over 70% of your RAM in apps, you are going to see slow downs, and I often am 60%-90% usage with 6Gb. Also even 4 5870's will not keep 60FPS going on a lot of games, and a cure for micro stutter is to keep the FPS above your monitor refresh rate, which a lot of monitors are going 120hz, which goes back to my suggestion, always get the most powerful single card. When you watch a movie, the frames per second will match that of your TV refresh rate. Most movies right now are still shot in 24p, 48p will be the new standard. Basically if you have a 120mz refresh screen, there are 1 "real" frame and 4 "fake" frames to fill the 120Mz refresh rate.

Psimon Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 16 Sep 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 249	Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 2009 at 6:52am
	Agree++ about 6GB of RAM. My former system had only 2-3 GB of RAM (I had 4GB, actually, but the 32-bit OS wouldn't recognize more than 3). I was constantly groveling through the process table trying to parse out programs using up my RAM. I couldn't allow AV, anti-malware, or even logitech's G15 LCD server to run because my RAM was too precious and I needed it to game. With 6GB I can run all these utilities and more. Once 6GB becomes the new standard (which has either already happened or will soon), software and game developers are naturally going to make their offerings more "feature rich" (translation: bloated) to take advantage of the extra RAM, so I imagine I'll be returning to tweaking and tuning eventually. For now, all that RAM is bliss.
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Observations from an observer

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