Future Proofing!

[Tsawind]

Hey, I have never build a computer before, but I'm waiting to get my old 4800+ from the shop, chipset fan melted and I couldn't get the bios to work... didnt know a fan was burned up, found out that 3 of my 4 corsair ddr ram chips were burned up and I owe the guy $100 when he puts the fan in.

Anyways I'm sick of all those issues so I am going to try to build one from scratch, I've picked the GA-790FXTA-UD5, drop the phenom II quad for 2-4 years, going to get a baddass case with like 8 fans, some type of corsair Power prolly like 1250 watt?? And I would like to use my ram @ 1866 w/ 8 gbs, I see some gskill 4gb cards, what kind of ram can I get to future-proof this rig, or should I wait and get new ram with a new processor in 2 years to get maximum performance?? Then i'de just slap in 4x1gb and runn @ 1333 if I could.

I plan on making it air cooled and having 2x SSD drives in RAID 0 Via SATA 6gbp/s, running quads or better @ 4-5ghz and having 8gb+ of Fast Ass Name Brand DDR3 Ram! I'm talking in 3 years time, when the new stuff comes out I should be good to do that right?

I hate when things break, so I'm trying to build something that's going to last me probably 10 years, upgrading when prices are right, or the right tech comes out. My computer is on 24/7/365 and I think with these components I could build a system to stay overclocked and cool, so when I walk in the door I can move the mouse turn a 1080p movie on one screen, and turn on the most BA game on another and listen to this baby scream!

I know my post is getting a little long, but i'm just need some help with the RAM, and to see if i'm on the right track. I am getting tempted to just but the board and case just so I got it then my g/f cant stop me from saving for the parts in the next year lol!!

Thanks for the insight guys!! This is a big long term investment for me.

 

[Tsawind]

Ur saying spend the $100 for a 11498 rating vs a 11414?

 

[MadAdmiral]

That's only one benchmark. Pasting the link to the full comparison doesn't work. Click the box next to each CPU, then click Compare at the top to see all of the benchmarks.


All of the benchmarks point to the i7, except a couple of the gaming ones which don't matter for CPUs (because the GPU is always the bottleneck, so the maximum that part can do is what determines what the whole computer can do). We're talking differences in the real CPU benchmarks like a whole minute off using video editing in Adobe Premiere, a full minute off virus scans with AVG, and 40 seconds off compressing with WinRAR.

 

[Tsawind]

I've been doing a lot of research so you guys gotta tell me what you think about this build, will have to be after my trip, so wont be buying for like a month or so, I might just buy the case/mobo/psu first and scrounge stuff up for other parts in my wait to upgrade 2yrs later, or when the stuff comes out w/e.

If I can get the money together I think I'de do this for now



2 XFX HD-575X-ZNDC Radeon HD 5750 XXX Edition 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail $159.99 $319.98

2 Western Digital AV WD2500AVJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive $47.99 $95.98

1 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 - Retail $297.99 -$20.00 Instant $277.99

1 CoolerMaster HAF 932 AMD Red Dragon Edition Full Tower
$186.01

1 GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3 AMD 790FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $184.99

1 OCZ Z Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W ATX12V 2.3/ EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active ... - Retail $309.99 -$10.00 Instant $299.99

1 AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ965FBGMBOX - Retail $179.99 $179.99

1 CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler - Retail $77.89 $77.89

Subtotal: $1,622.82

 

[Tsawind]

Sorry RAM is wrong, I was wondering, will the motherboard allow me to get up to 1866 one day on 4 dimms when I upgrade the cpu or will I max out at 1333 with this MOBO??

On the rail can't decide between these

1 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model CMD8GX3M4A1333C7 - Retail $249.99 $249.99

1 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL - Retail $154.99 $154.99

 

[batuchka]

H

Anyways I'm sick of all those issues so I am going to try to build one from scratch, I've picked the GA-790FXTA-UD5, drop the phenom II quad for 2-4 years, going to get a baddass case with like 8 fans, some type of corsair Power prolly like 1250 watt?? And I would like to use my ram @ 1866 w/ 8 gbs, I see some gskill 4gb cards, what kind of ram can I get to future-proof this rig, or should I wait and get new ram with a new processor in 2 years to get maximum performance??

I plan on making it air cooled and having 2x SSD drives in RAID 0 Via SATA 6gbp/s, running quads or better @ 4-5ghz and having 8gb+ of Fast Ass Name Brand DDR3 Ram! I'm talking in 3 years time, when the new stuff comes out I should be good to do that right?

I hate when things break, so I'm trying to build something that's going to last me probably 10 years, upgrading when prices are right, or the right tech comes out.

I know my post is getting a little long, but i'm just need some help with the RAM, and to see if i'm on the right track. I am getting tempted to just but the board and case just so I got it then my g/f cant stop me from saving for the parts in the next year lol!!

Thanks for the insight guys!! This is a big long term investment for me.

Whoa at the rate tech moves just buy what u need - future proofing is sometimes a way people rationalise forking out obscene amounts of $$ for what they want not need lol

 

[batuchka]

I forgot to mention, but this will probably be my powerhouse for my Theater. I will get a cheap video card and use onboard sound for now, eventually I want this machine to power 1 1080p projector, and 2 42" lcds @ 1900x1200 with multiple mice/keyboards when the tech comes out. I will need dual video cards and a 7.1 sound card for a 7.1 reciever with a blu-ray burner right? Then get a reciever that has multiple ports to use DirecTV HDDVR and the computer? Some way I can hook my HDDVR to computer or something??

This is the case I have on my mind,
CoolerMaster HAF 932 AMD Red Dragon Edition Full Tower
if there is something better please tell me will be buying the case and mother board soon, other parts will be after I save up a bit, since this is my first build I don't think I dare mess with a liquid cooled system.

Should I wait till there is such thing and a dual socket AM3 board?? I want high-end, Top-quality stuff as this computer will be a part of my house!

If u need a HTPC and dun have those projectors, LCDs, etc *now* just pair up an AthlonII X3 and a 785G AM3/DDR3 mobo with HDMI/SPDIF and 2GB DDR3 ...

 

[MadAdmiral]

Build

Ok... Apparently you haven't listened to anything I've been saying...

To start, if you're buying over time, I wouldn't buy the board first. The PSU, case and optical drives are the best things to buy early, as the likelihood of failure is low and the prices don't fluctuate much. After that, I would go with RAM and HSF as the next purchases. The the HDD, as the tech does change fairly quick. The very last thing I would buy is the GPU, CPU and board. The GPU prices change pretty quickly. CPUs' prices don't really change, but the specific chip in the price range will. Once the 6 core CPUs come out, I'd bet that the CPUs will slip down at least a level as far as prices (i.e. the i7-920 will probably be about the price of the i5-750 is now). The board is dependent on the CPU, so until you know exactly which one you're buying, you shouldn't buy a board.

The 5750's are just not a good idea. At about the same price is the 5770, which offer about 15-20% better performance. Last I checked, it was literally a 1 to 1 price to performance ratio for the increase.

Crossfiring right away is also a horrible idea. You lose an entire upgrade path and ensure you spend more money very soon by buying lesser cards.

Not only are you buying very small drives, they are also very slow. Assuming you mean to put them in RAID 0, they still are drastically underpowered compared to buying 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB at only $13 more.

Corsair RAM is ridiculously expensive. If you picked up two sets of G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 for $230, not only would you save money, you'd also get faster sticks.
You will NEVER need 1000W. You can put the HD 5970 in Trifire (6 cards total) and still be under the need for 1000W.

Again, the AMD build will make the PC a lot slower and have no advantages at your price range.

That CPU cooler is not a good idea. It's not only more expensive than many, but it's also louder and doesn't keep things as cool.

I'm not exactly getting what was wrong with the build I gave you. If it was too expensive, don't say you have a $10K budget for 3 LCDs, a 1080p projector, and the tower. There's also a lot of thing I can cut out of it (like CL 7 RAM instead of CL 6, which saves a good $200+) to make it cheaper without losing any noticeable performance. Besides the RAM change, you could easily drop out the SSD (or switch to a smaller one), find a cheaper BluRay drive, and drop the TV tuners (pointless IMO, as they can't go through cable or satellite). You could even drop the HD 5970 to a 5870 with plans to Crossfire later, or drop the extra 6 GB of RAM for the base build. All of these changes would likely save you a total of around $1,300.