Gigabyte and Ripjaws

[radar999]

I plan on building a computer but need some advice! I wanna build a computer based off the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, I will be using it to:

play video games, watch HD movies and video, record me playing my PS3 on the computer somehow (lots of help there please), encoding video, video editing, photoshopping and things of that nature.

I'm on a budget of about $2000 and I was wondering if I could please get some feedback from any and everybody...........GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Also...............I plan on getting this mobo----->GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3..........
and trying to see if this set of
memory------>G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM................
will work with this mobo!

T.I.A. to everybody!

 

[spigias]

hi,
it will be better to specify the memory p/n

If you want a quick answer i think that the above memory modules will work flawlessly with your mobo, but you may have to set the correct timing or voltage manually. good luck

 

[radar999]

I'm new to the whole computer building thing but not new to computers in general......and I really don't know what the abbreviation "memory p/n" stands for but the specs are as follows:
Model=================
Brand: G.SKILL
Series: Ripjaws Series
Model: F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Type: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Tech Spec==============
Capacity: 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Speed: DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Cas Latency: 9
Timing: 9-9-9-24-2N
Voltage: 1.5V
ECC: No
Buffered/Registered: Unbuffered
Multi-channel Kit: Dual Channel Kit
Heat Spreader: Yes

I kindah figured it would because the mobo supports up to DDR3 1866 memory but I just needed confirmation!

Also............if I wanted to crossfire 2 Radeon HD 5870s would an 850W power supply be enough or do I need larger?!

T.I.A.

 

[rockyjohn]

2 x 4 GB is not very common yet, and still fairly expensive. Why 2 x 4 GB instead of 4 x 2 GB?
Also I would suggest getting faster timings - available on 2 GB sticks anyway - I don't know about 4 GB sticks - but if not that too might be another reason to go with 2GB sticks.

But the bigger question is, if spending that kind of money on a system why not go with an i7-920 system with the faster triple channel memory? The PC and memory should be significantly faster than the 965 - especially doing video encoding and editing.

 

[radar999]

I really don't plan on spending $2000 on the system but that is the limit....I still wanna cut corners where I can, and from what I am hearing it would be stupid of me to pay like.......$300+ for an i7 when I can pay under $200 for and X4 965!
I actually tested both of them and really didn't see a difference in performance! I got to play with the i7 first because a friend of mine has it in his! It is ULTRA FAST in terms of the normal stuff he does on his computer (downloading stuff, running multiple apps, emulators of other operating systems......) and he has a router built into the computer so all his connections come from there!

Funny because when I got to play with the X4 965 at my friends computer store that he owns it was equally fast in my opinion!

Truthfully all I did was run the test (TRUE test) of just running about 20 different apps on each computer, stuff like bringing up multiple web browsing pages, running WMP, running Microsoft Excel, going into the C and D drive if it had one and messing around in there, burning a video to a dvd, pulling up games that's already in the computer and going to the control panel and navigating through there on top of other stuff all at the same time!

The only thing with that is my friends computer with the i7 was running XP with 4 gigs and the X4 965 was running Windows 7 with 8 gigs.

I was gonna go with the latest i7 processor at first but when I looked into it I think it would be best to go with the 965 because of the price........AND the performance!

Plus I figured since the mobo I'm getting supports up to 16gigs of memory than I would get those "2 X 4GB" cards so I only use up 2 slots.....according to the specs their the same as the other ripjaws.....just 4gigs per stick! And I'm willing to spend the money on these now so in the next year or so when the price goes down I can just get 2 more and be straight......but I'm not willing to pay the same...........if not more.........for an i7 processor just for the next one to come out and be way better for the same price.....and the one I bought drops in price making me look stupid!

 

[rockyjohn]

When you ran the i7 with 4 gigs - what was the memory configuration? Were you really taking advantage of the triple channel memory? That is where you will get the big boost in performance on video encoding and editing. I think you compared a crippled i7 with the 965.

If you want to save money, why not get a 955 and OC to 965 speed or higher? And whats with the 2 5870s @ about $400? Will two really give you that much better performance than one - speaking value wise? What size monitor and resolution are you planning?

I think you could trade out the second 5870 for i7-920 with 6 GB of triple channel memory (also saving a another couple hundred over 2x4GB) with minimal impact on gaming and significant improvement in video encoding and editing.

Further, with video editing and encoding, you would get a signficant advantage going with nVidia and CUDA. It would be nice if you could wait for the Fermi versions coming out this quarter, but if not would still be ahead with something like a GTX 295 at about $500 and then a GTS 250 at about $120 for a dedicated Physx card.

You thus could save about $200 each on memory and graphics cards and be ahead after spending about $200 more total for i7-920 CPU and mobo.

Note a further advantage is all the PCIe lanes on the x58 board compared to x55 - giving true SLI if you want it or supporting cards to upgrade to USB 3 and STAT 3.0 without sacrificing PCIe lanes dedicated to the graphics cards.

Just all around a better deal. Now that said - if you really don't do much video encoding or editing, then I would not pay for the higher cost either - but I also would not go with the 2 x 4 GB of memory or twin 5870s - unless you have a huge monitor or 3 at high resolution - and I am not even sure about that. How much video encoding and editing do you do?

 

[radar999]

First off rockyjohn...............thanks for the replies.....I really appreciate it!

Now, I will be running a "special edition" (LOL) Windows 7.....from what I hear it supports up to like....192gigs of memory or something.....please correct me if I'm wrong?! But in the long run I know it can go up to 8gigs so I'm straight with that! Thats why I want to go with the memory I have in mind, than down the line when the price drops I can get more and be even better!

And I checked the memory for both, the AMD clearly stated 8gigs, but the intel stated something like "3584mb" or something like that! That was from the control panel! I really couldn't tell you what the memory configuration was (if thats something different) because I haven't gotten into the web of the technical stuff...I'm running off an old computer now! I will dwell into all that when I get my new system up and going!

Where I live the 955 is like.......$30 less than the 965 and they have a 140W one on hold for me! The 955 is $149.99 and the 965 is $179.99....and that's the Black Edition too (don't know if that matters though)! Now if you were referring to the i7 955 (if they even have that model out) than HELL NO because the cheapest i7 I can get is the 920 and its still $400!

As with the HD 5870's, my plan was to get one now, than when the price drops later on either get another one or go for the HD 5970 when the price drops on that one....and where I live I can get a HD 5870 RIGHT NOW for $299.99, but I could really use some advice here because I do plan on doing some maximum gaming on it and would like to know whats my best bet as far as video cards! I have my current computer hooked up to my Toshiba 46" LCD full 1080p TV so I don't know if that makes a difference either!

From what I hear also if I got an i7 than when the next big thing from intel comes out not only would I WANNA buy it......but I would also HAVE TO update my mobo......I hear intel is stupid like that! A different processor comes out thats not compatible with the current mobo's so you gotta get a new one, I've seen people on furoms use the same AMD mobo for like....3 generations! And when looking for memory what should I pay attention to the most?! What specs should I huddle and think about before making my purchase?!

If I got the GTX 295 I might as well get the HD 5970, same price exept the GTX 295 is a teed bit cheaper but nothing noticeable!

The board I'm getting has 2 PCIe x16 slots running @ x16 and 1 PCIe x16 slot running @ x8......on top of 1 regular PCIe slot and 3 PCI slots! It also has 2 SATA 6Gb/s connections, 2 USB 3.0, Daul Channel, and supports most.....if not all......AM sockets! I think I'm covered on the..........correct me if I'm wrong please!

I do a lot of video editing on the system I have now but I'm used to the speed of it.....encoding I tried and it didn't go so well for me so I figure with a better computer I should be fine! From what I searched already, even the i7 975 didn't really have that much of an advantage over the X4 965! From what I saw it was seconds difference, so I really don't wanna spend an extra $200 to $300 on a couple seconds......or slightly better performance!

Now with the memory, I'm willing to go for something cheaper and lighter if you can tell me the vantage points of going with the 2gig sticks?!

Also I'm try'na find a way to record me playing my PS3 right to my computer and not the old fashioned "using a camera!" Any help there would be appreciated!

Sorry for the long post too!

 

[rockyjohn]

Regarding CPUs - look at the charts - the i7-920 is ahead of AMD 965 and 955 by a significant margin on video encoding and editing activites - on Adobe Priemier almost TWICE as fast. I also include the i7-950 since you can easily OC the 920 to that level.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts-update-1/compare,1396.html?prod%5B2882%5D=on&prod%5B2617%5D=on&prod%5B2780%5D=on&prod%5B2607%5D=on

The only advantage of going with 2 GB sticks for memory is cost - the 4 gb sticks are twice as large but cost about 4 times as much. With 2 GB sticks and 4 slots you get 8 GBs. Latest report I saw about 6 months ago was few applications could make use of 3 GB. That provides a lot of room for application usage to grow over time from 3 GB to 8 GB. If you have the money, go for it. But it does not make sense to me to cut back on the CPU for cost reasons - which has a major impact on performance - in order to get more expensive memory that has no impact at the current time because applications don't use it.

Your mobo supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory - so that is the limit regardles of what the OS supports. I normally recommend filling two slots and leaving two for later, just a you are considering. Its just in this case the 4 GB sticks cost so much more I would not choose to do it for myself. Also note that the Gigabyte X58A-UD5 mobo, with its triple channel memory, supports a maximum of 24 GB - 50% more if you need memory, although I cannot imagine needing more thatn 16 GB in the near future. But with the X58 mobo I would get 3 x 2 GB now and still have room for 3 x 2 GB later. At todays cost, that total 12 GB would cost much less than the 8 GB you are looking at as 2 x 4 GB.

 

[rockyjohn]

Regarding the video card - I will defer to others since I don't know requirements when you hook it up to a 46" LCD. Do you actually use that for the computer monitor and game on it or just for movies? Anything else also hooked up to it?

I prefer nVidia cards because of CUDA and Physx. I think in the long run that will make the best gaming cards, and certainly provide the biggest assist to the CPU in calculations to support things like video rendering and CAD. I beleive you should wait on purchasing the card to see the new line of nVidia Fermi cards slated to come out this quarter - expected to be revolutionary. If you can't wait, I would still go with nVidia as I mentioned above. You might not need the 295 but be able to get by with the 285 at substantial savings - but as I said I don't know about the 46" LCD.

I suggest you read about FERMI and also the current issues with some ATI cards before making a decision:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/batman-arkham-asylum,2465.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gf100-fermi-directx-11,2536.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ATI-Grey-Screen-Fix-5870,9549.html

 

[radar999]

UH, HELL YEAH! I use it for everything, even replying to your post! I have everything hooked up to this TV and I currently have an old graphics card in here but its only a 256mb one! Still plays all my games and everything but with hiccups!

I might have to agree with you on the Nvidia thing because I think they power the XBox 360 and thats pretty hot! But on the other hand Radeon has the 5970 which they are claiming in the best GPU in the world right now!

Well, on the first note....................and again.....thanks for your help.....but I refuse........and I'll say again........I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to pay........$300+ more for a CPU that's slightly better than another! I appreciate that info you linked on that one post but those specs aren't convincing enough for me to shell out that much more money for a fraction more of the performance (a small fraction too)! Just my opinion but those seconds aren't worth an extra $150 to $400! There is still a budget but if I blow it I would at least blow it on memory or peripherals for the computer like fans or a water cooling system and not a CPU that has a million different incarnations all priced extra stupid high that is par with the other one I can get for less than $200 that will serve me well for the next ?? years or so....just my opinion though.....not try'na bash you or intel!

I was just looking and I actually found a memory stick that has 4gigs on it and is a DDR3 1600 for $156.99..............so I actually save right there and get what I want! I can start with that and upgrade later!

And I know that the mobo I want only supports 16gb, I was just stating that about Windows 7 because I know Windows XP 64 only supports up to 4gb (correct me if I'm wrong please)!

That Gigabyte X58A-UD5 you pointed though is really making me reconsider my plan! Up to 24gigs, i7 9**, and it has all the stuff that the current one I want has......................................DAMN YOU! LOL!

The only thing is the mobo is about $300, about $300 for an i7 920, thats $600 right there alone! What about gaming, I hear the AMD is better for gaming than the Intel?! Any light on that one?!

Again, thanks for your help!

 

[rockyjohn]

I might have to agree with you on the Nvidia thing because I think they power the XBox 360 and thats pretty hot! But on the other hand Radeon has the 5970 which they are claiming in the best GPU in the world right now!

Yes the 5970 is the fastest right now, and probably will be until nVidia issues their next version. And then they will be until ATI issues theirs. So on the raw speed they see-saw back 'n forth. But ATI cannot come close to competing with nVidia's CUDA and Physx performance.

I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to pay........$300+ more for a CPU that's slightly better than another! I appreciate that info you linked on that one post but those specs aren't convincing enough for me to shell out that much more money for a fraction more of the performance (a small fraction too)! Just my opinion but those seconds aren't worth an extra $150 to $400!

A fraction more performance? You cut the time you spend waiting on your video processing in half? If you do much - and I thought you indicated you did - you might be saving hours of your time each month. How much value do you put on that? Lets see $200 more for a CPU and mobo that will last at least 3 years - that is about $6 per month. $6 v. hours and hours saved on the PC each month - that is a no brainer for me. I especially hate waiting around for PC to complete tasks or trying to find other things to do which will be interrupted when I come back to PC again.

I was just looking and I actually found a memory stick that has 4gigs on it and is a DDR3 1600 for $156.99..............so I actually save right there and get what I want! I can start with that and upgrade later!

That sounds like a great price because the ones I saw, and the ones reviewed on THG, were about $400 to $500 a pair - compared to about $200 for 4 x 2 GB.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/8gb-ddr3-ram,2542.html

Is the memory you found compatible with your mobo? What are the timings?

The only thing is the mobo is about $300, about $300 for an i7 920, thats $600 right there alone! What about gaming, I hear the AMD is better for gaming than the Intel?! Any light on that one?!

Not that I am aware of. For gaming THG recommends the i5-750 as the "be all and end all" for gaming. I suppose at the moment it delivers all the performance one could ask for, but it does not have hyperthreading and I think that feature will become increasing important in gaming. Nertheless, if your rig was primarily for gaming I would be hard pressed to recommend spending more for the i7-750. It is the video work that taxes and makes use of the that extra computing power.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2520-6.html

Note that you are actually purchasing the "budget" CPUs - the AMD 945 is for those with only $165 to spend and the AMD 955 only gets an honorable mention, losing out to the i5-750. The i7-920 is the choice at about $300, although as noted they question spending that money for gaming purposes only.

 

[rockyjohn]

By the way, as you try to find a good balanced system - between CPU and graphics card - you might want to read these two articles if you missed them:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-balanced-platform,2469.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc,2477.html

They also show why I question the need for so much graphics power.

 

[radar999]

I'm about to read the links you posted but wanted to reply before I did! You are really making me think about that i7 920.......sounds like $300 well spent on a CPU that will be able to handle games and video editing! This will be more of a multimedia rig! What I do a lot on my current system is make videos of weddings, funerals and childbirth and stuff like that and like I said......I'm used to the speeds I have now (which aren't good at all but are still decent) but figured a better computer would do!

It really does seem like the i7 920 would be my best bet for everything but I've heard a lot about the AMDs beating the Intels in gaming! I wanna game but that's not all I wanna do!

In terms of the graphics card I've been hearing a lot of people talking about video editing programs not depending on the CPU itself but the video card as well, so I thought if I had a sweet video card in there I would be good to go with the X4 965!

I actually just found a product (the Hauppauge HD PVR) that will let me record gameplay from my PS3 to my pc so I can than upload them to my website, so I think I'm good to go with that! I really do get your point about ATI and NVidia going back and forward with their video cards...thats why I was going to stick with the HD 5870 for now.....because I heard some great reviews on them standalone and crossfired!

A fraction more performance? You cut the time you spend waiting on your video processing in half? If you do much - and I thought you indicated you did - you might be saving hours of your time each month. How much value do you put on that? Lets see $200 more for a CPU and mobo that will last at least 3 years - that is about $6 per month. $6 v. hours and hours saved on the PC each month - that is a no brainer for me. I especially hate waiting around for PC to complete tasks or trying to find other things to do which will be interrupted when I come back to PC again.

I'm willing to make that sacrifice, not really much for me! The thing is multitasking too so I won't be doing just the one thing at a time! Looking at those results again........those seconds don't add up to the cost (current mobo I plan on getting=$185, current processor I plan on getting=$180, that's about $370 roughly)! The set-up you offered sounds sweet as hell but the price (mobo you offered=$300, processor you offered=$300, that's $600) is costly, and $600-$370=$230.................which can be spent on another 4gig stick of memory, or if I did settle for the HD 5770 I could just get the other one! Plus I really would hate for 3 years to go by and the next wave of processor come out....so I try to upgrade but I got intel so I gotta get a whole new motherboard....which is more money coming from me!

Is the memory you found compatible with your mobo? What are the timings?

Yes sir! Already looked into the that! They had a cheaper one that was like $130 but it was only a DDR3 1066! Timing measures @ 9-9-9-24-2N (not sure what the 2N is)!

Note that you are actually purchasing the "budget" CPUs - the AMD 945 is for those with only $165 to spend and the AMD 955 only gets an honorable mention, losing out to the i5-750. The i7-920 is the choice at about $300, although as noted they question spending that money for gaming purposes only.

Yeah but I can get a X4 965 Black Edition for $180! That's still budget, but you get power with that budget, not to mention the motherboard! I read up on the triple channel memory and most...if not...everyone says there is no difference....mainly because there is no use for it at the time! Same with the hyperthreading, but they did say the video editing programs and such use it!

I don't know Rocky......its a hard toss-up! AMD is on my mind because of price and performance......but as everybody states Intel holds the crown.....and they did say the X4 965 competes with the i5 processors, so I just might switch to the i7 920! But if I do I will have to sacrifice my video card lust and just go with a HD 5570 or something of the like!

I'm about to read those links you sent!
Almost............................................Almost!

 

[rockyjohn]

A little more light reading about the FERMI video card coming out:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1778

 

[rockyjohn]

Here is a model build I put together about 2 weeks ago - but the prices should still be representative. Note that it only has a GTX 275 video card but you can upgrade that since the total cost was only $1,517. Note that that also includes amost $100 for a Blu-Ray DVD - read only which could be excluded and $180 for the O/S.. Also note that I used a cheaper Gigabyte mobo.

Do you live near a Micro Cemter store? I don't know if they still have it but for the longest time they were selling the i7-920 for only $200 but in-store only.

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor – Retail - $289 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail - $210 + $8 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

GSKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI – Retail - $180 + $6 shipping
Timings 7-8-7-24-2N
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

BFG Tech BFGEGTX275896OCE GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card – Retail - $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143183

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail - $90 + $10 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply – Retail - $130 + $6 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail - $45 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail - $90 + $8 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162

Pioneer Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner LabelFlash Support - OEM - $35 + free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129045

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM - $180 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116762


Total Cost – Hardware $1299 + Shipping $38 + OS $180 = $1517

 

[rockyjohn]

By the way, if you want to get more input on your entire system, you might want to post it in the Homebuilt forum where it might get more attention - particularly on the issues of which CPU is best and which graphics card to go with. Naturally I have already provided the only true and correct information, buy if you want to hear from others you might post there.

 

[radar999]

Everything about that rig sounds good except for the video card..................and the power supply! I was going for an 850W Antec! The dude @ MicroCenter told me I should be good with 750W but I plan on putting up to 3 videos card in there and some more memory in the future!

And I know its not out yet but judging from the scattered specs I've read already for the Fermi it sounds like a Radeon HD 5970! The HD 5970 actually has better specs..................for now!

I can check again but I don't even see the i7 920 on the MicroCenter website! Everywhere else has it for a jacked up price!

I have an O.S. and a disc drive already just sitting here, just indecisive on which processor I should get! Everything else is good but that! I'm thinking price for power but when I think of the i7 920 I get confused!

 

[rockyjohn]

I came across an article written yesterday about FERMI graphics cards that I thought you might like to read.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2358846,00.asp

What Radeon HD 5970 or any other ATI card can do is not even close to the feature set we are talking about here for FERMI and how it used the graphics card to assist the CPU and how it calculates for Physx in graphics. ATI does have a copycat technology, but it is light years behind.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

From what I understand the 5970 is basically a 5870 x2 type card (the 5970's slowed down a bit too)

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274507-33-official-5970-reviews-discussion

IF you can find one, it will be cheaper than 2 of the 5970 cards. But it will also be about an inch longer than a 5870 card too.

FERMI is out next month, so if you can wait that long, prices may be better, or the FERMI may prove to be actually better.

As NVidia hasn't said much about what it can really do graphically, the wait may be worth the benefits either way you go.

 

[vishavs]

i love amd , but for 2000 your choice is intel.