8-Core System Build

[buddharock]

I'm new to the forum but I have a decent amount of experience. I've always been the guy that knew about computers but never had a good one for himself... well, I went out and I got this. It runs pretty effectively but I am always looking for opinions or suggestions on how to make it even better.

I have already purchased this setup and built it.

Normally I am an Intel and nVidia guy but I wanted to try this out. I stayed with everything AMD in hopes that the performance would be optimal.

Build:

Case - Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 www.frys.com/product/6366991 - $160 (Wanted to spend less but this case keeps everything very cool.)
Board - MSI 990XA-GD55 www.frys.com/product/6817876 - $120 after rebate
Processor - AMD FX-8120 8-Core 3.1 Ghz www.frys.com/product/6820696 - $200
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600 Mhz DDR3 www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145347 - $97
GPU - XFX Radeon HD 6770 www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540 - $110
GPU - Diamond Radeon HD 6770 www.frys.com/product/6894556 - $120 (The GPUs are in Crossfire.)
HDD - 80GB 7200RPM SATA - $40 (All ready had, for OS and system files only - will upgrade to SSD at some point.)
HDD - Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 2TB 5400RPM www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145475 - $120 (initially bought the Seagate Barracuda Green but it died in one day. I'm not a big fan of Hitachi but it seems to be working fine. I'd rather have a slower spinning drive for a 2TB+ drive and have the OS drive be faster.)
PSU - Rosewill Xtreme 80+ Certified 750w www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182067 - $90 (All ready had.)
Optical - Samsung Lightscribe DVD/RW www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151252 - $20 (All ready had.)

Total - $1077 plus tax

Extras:

Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 2443BWX www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001295 - $100 (All ready had, currently retailing at various sources starting around $270, I bought it through a friend. 1920x1200, 20,000:1 Contrast - creates a bright beautiful image on DVI.)
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Full Install www.frys.com/product/6023368 - $100 (Full version retails for $300, purchased an extra copy a friend of mine had - definitely lucked out.)
Security - Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 - http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/home-computer-security/internet-security - $70 (Used this program for years, nothing has ever broken through it. Very light client - 1 process and 1 service. Far better than Norton/McAfee/etc.)

Speed will increase once I get an SSD though it runs pretty fast right now. I am just waiting for the prices to come down a bit. Aside from that I think I did all right.

 

[thently]

I like AMD I really do but just dont do it. For a grand you will have an i5 2500K and it will bury this system you just speced up. I am running a 1090T system and love it but next build will be intel they just dont even compair any more.

Thent

 

[buddharock]

I like AMD I really do but just dont do it. For a grand you will have an i5 2500K and it will bury this system you just speced up. I am running a 1090T system and love it but next build will be intel they just dont even compair any more.

Thent

Sorry, I should have clarified. I already DID do it, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to improve this set up. As for the processors, 8-core technology is new to the market so I don't think programs and/or hardware is optimized for it just yet. Give it some time and I think we'll see what these processors can really do. Plus, for the price, you really can't beat them. The processor is the one thing I will not change.

 

[tcfraz]

Id stick with the 8120 but thats just cause i like amd but the 2500k does benchmark better in most areas... What will it be used for? Also why are you getting two 6770's get a 6950 for the same price.

 

[buddharock]

Id stick with the 8120 but thats just cause i like amd but the 2500k does benchmark better in most areas... What will it be used for? Also why are you getting two 6770's get a 6950 for the same price.

Gaming, HD Video and Audio, work (I'm in desktop support), the usual stuff.

I want to see how the dual GPUs perform. I initially just had the one which benchmarked well and got a 6.0 for Graphics/Gaming Graphics on the Windows Experience Rating.
After setting up the second one that jumped to 7.4.

 

[willard]

Sorry, I should have clarified. I already DID do it, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to improve this set up. As for the processors, 8-core technology is new to the market so I don't think programs and/or hardware is optimized for it just yet. Give it some time and I think we'll see what these processors can really do. Plus, for the price, you really can't beat them. The processor is the one thing I will not change.

The problem isn't lack of optimization for 8 core chips, Bulldozer just isn't very good. Even in applications that can use as many threads as possible, Bulldozer's 8 cores barely keep pace with Sandy Bridge's 4. If you're talking about floating point performance, BD is effectively a 4 core chip because each Bulldozer module only has a single floating point scheduler.

Better optimization for multithreading will make things better, but nothing's going to change the fact that the top of the line BD chip only barely beats the 2500k in the best cases (while still losing to it in the majority of situations), and loses to the 2600k in all cases. It's just not a very good chip. Sorry.

 

[buddharock]

The problem isn't lack of optimization for 8 core chips, Bulldozer just isn't very good. Even in applications that can use as many threads as possible, Bulldozer's 8 cores barely keep pace with Sandy Bridge's 4. If you're talking about floating point performance, BD is effectively a 4 core chip because each Bulldozer module only has a single floating point scheduler.

Better optimization for multithreading will make things better, but nothing's going to change the fact that the top of the line BD chip only barely beats the 2500k in the best cases (while still losing to it in the majority of situations), and loses to the 2600k in all cases. It's just not a very good chip. Sorry.

That's fair and I understand that. However, as I have all ready purchased this set up, I want opinions on how I can make it better without changing the CPU.

 

[tcfraz]

Gaming, HD Video and Audio, work (I'm in desktop support), the usual stuff.

I want to see how the dual GPUs perform. I initially just had the one which benchmarked well and got a 6.0 for Graphics/Gaming Graphics on the Windows Experience Rating.
After setting up the second one that jumped to 7.4.

Only a 7.4 with to 6770's? I had a single 5770 and it got a 7.4. My current 6870 gets a 7.8 score. Id check drivers and stuff for your cards and make sure there installed correctly. to 6770's should be similar to my 6870. Either way id upgrade your graphics card to a 6870 or better.

 

[buddharock]

Only a 7.4 with to 6770's? I had a single 5770 and it got a 7.4. My current 6870 gets a 7.8 score. Id check drivers and stuff for your cards and make sure there installed correctly. to 6770's should be similar to my 6870. Either way id upgrade your graphics card to a 6870 or better.

As far as I know the drivers are up to date. I had the Catalyst Control Program run the updater and it pulled what it said are the most up to date drivers. I'll have to look when I get home to make sure. As for you getting a 7.4 with a 5770 I'd like to see how you did that.

Also, at this point I have not overclocked. I assume that the numbers will increase when/if I do.

 

[thently]

Well THen your answer is an SSD I added this to my system as well and it was nite and day diffrence... Not much else to be done with this system. You need to get that proc overclocked to 4.5 asap I helped my friend OC his fx6100 and even at 4.7ghz my 1090T at 4.2 consistently outbenched his.

Thent

 

[Guest]

Apart from overclocking or adding a ssd there is nothing much you can really do. You should always get the best single card you can for your budget and crossfire/sli later.

 

[whooleo]

Windows Experiance Index does not take advantage of Crossfire/SLI! Thus the same score as a single 5770/6770.

 

[tcfraz]

Windows Experiance Index does not take advantage of Crossfire/SLI! Thus the same score as a single 5770/6770.

Still my 5770 (never oced) should rank the same or lower than his 6770 which it did not for some reason... im pretty sure all 5770-6770's rank 7.4... my friends 6790 gets a 7.5

 

[whooleo]

Still my 5770 (never oced) should rank the same or lower than his 6770 which it did not for some reason... im pretty sure all 5770-6770's rank 7.4... my friends 6790 gets a 7.5

Could be a glitch with WEI, but WEI is garbage anyway so it's a bit irrelevant.

 

[buddharock]

Apart from overclocking or adding a ssd there is nothing much you can really do. You should always get the best single card you can for your budget and crossfire/sli later.

I started with the XFX 6770 and added the Diamond 6770 about a week later. It did make the WEI jump and the graphics seem pretty responsive.

Would it be better to run the 2 GPUs without crossfire? I've heard pros and cons... from the reading I've done it seems to depend on the game and how it uses the resources available.