New PC Hardware for Brink

(Jimmy James) #1

So, a couple weeks ago I decided to upgrade my below-minimum-requirements video card (8600 GT) to an EVGA nVidia GeForece 460 GTX ($176) only to find out my crappy proprietary Dell power supply can’t handle it. So instead of returning it I decided to admit I was wrong for trying to cheap out by buying a Dell and go back to building my own computers from the ground up.

I went to my local computer store today to do some pricing and this is the rig I’m planning to buy on Tuesday (while their 4th of July sale is still going on):

Case: Antec Three Hundred Gaming MidTower: $60 (lots of vents and fans)

DVD: Pioneer 24X SATA DVD+/-RW: $25

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series 850W: $126

Mother Board: Asus P8P67 i7 DDR3 USB 3: $150

RAM: Corsair 2X4GB DDR3: $90

CPU: Intel Quad Core i7 3.4 Ghz: $300

Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer: $96

Hard Drive 1: Crucial Real Solid State Drive SATA3 64GB: $130

Hard Drive 2: Seagate Barracuda SATA3 1TB: $56

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 3-bit: $110

Since I haven’t built a computer from scratch in half a decade I was hoping some PC savvy people would help me with a few questions.

First, the salesman said that the solid state hard drive would improve performance if I installed the OS on it then used the 1TB Seagate for applications. Is this correct? Will paying an extra $130 for new tech that’s been out for about a year really make that much difference in my game performance?

Second, he said that, even though a 32-bit OS only recognizes around 3 gigs of RAM, if I buy 2 4-gig RAM chips (they come in a pack) that the “dual channel” capability of the motherboard will allow the 32-bit OS to use the RAM it can recognize more efficiently. This sounds like crap to me but can anyone confirm this is true?

Lastly, he said that Win 7 64-bit was faster (and recognized more RAM) than Win 7 32-bit and it was the same price but he warned me that older apps/games may not run on the 64-bit system. My question for this: Has anyone with Win 7 64-bit experienced problems running older apps/games and if so does compatibility mode work to fix this problem?

Thanks,
JJ

(Bittermetal) #2

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;349858]So, a couple weeks ago I decided to upgrade my below-minimum-requirements video card (8600 GT) to an EVGA nVidia GeForece 460 GTX ($176) only to find out my crappy proprietary Dell power supply can’t handle it. So instead of returning it I decided to admit I was wrong for trying to cheap out by buying a Dell and go back to building my own computers from the ground up.

I went to my local computer store today to do some pricing and this is the rig I’m planning to buy on Tuesday (while their 4th of July sale is still going on):

Since I haven’t built a computer from scratch in half a decade I was hoping some PC savvy people would help me with a few questions.

First, the salesman said that the solid state hard drive would improve performance if I installed the OS on it then used the 1TB Seagate for applications. Is this correct? Will paying an extra $130 for new tech that’s been out for about a year really make that much difference in my game performance?

Second, he said that, even though a 32-bit OS only recognizes around 3 gigs of RAM, if I buy 2 4-gig RAM chips (they come in a pack) that the “dual channel” capability of the motherboard will allow the 32-bit OS to use the RAM it can recognize more efficiently. This sounds like crap to me but can anyone confirm this is true?

Lastly, he said that Win 7 64-bit was faster (and recognized more RAM) than Win 7 32-bit and it was the same price but he warned my that older apps/games may not run on the 64-bit system. My question for this: Mas anyone with Win 7 64-bit experienced problems running older apps/games and if so does comparability mode work to fix this problem?

Thanks,
JJ[/QUOTE]

Not a bad rig at all Jimmy. I might try to go for a X58 motherboard. But that would lock you into getting triple channel memory. Price difference isn’t much, but could hurt your budget.

Which processor are you getting? For instance I have the i7 950 (3.07 OC’d to 4.14Ghz). I love it. I use EVGA X58 FTW3 motherboard.

I run Win7 64. Older apps: I can play all the Source engine games including CS source. I still run photoshop 8 CS. Not sure what my oldest app and software is. But I have had no issues.

I have had discussions with colleagues over and over about the best way to use solid state drives. Currently my 128gb SSD handles my OS. It runs and boots windows very quick and snappy. But there are a few problems. I am constently managing the storage space. Even if I set downloads and installs to automatically go to other SATA drives, random files and documents still wind up on the solid state, and then I’m moving or purging. 128gb in these times is not much at all.

I’ve heard its best to keep your apps and games on SSD drives as they will boot and run much smoother. I really like this idea. But games will eat up HD space so quick. So it’s really preferential.

Socket 2011 cpus and Z79 motherboards are just on the horizon… With that in mind, I think you are spending the right amount. No need to go overboard when the new-new is just around the corner.

I think your weakest link is that video card. I would really try to get in the 500 series. I prefer the image quality (and performance) of the 500 series. If you can’t move up to a 570 ($350 maybe less with rebates) then I would just table it and get another 460 later down the line.

(Jimmy James) #3

[QUOTE=Bittermetal;349860]Not a bad rig at all Jimmy. I might try to go for a X58 motherboard. But that would lock you into getting triple channel memory. Price difference isn’t much, but could hurt your budget.

Which processor are you getting? For instance I have the i7 950 (3.07 OC’d to 4.14Ghz). I love it. I use EVGA X58 FTW3 motherboard.[/QUOTE]

Here are the exact details that I was given by the store (not sure what some of the numbers mean):

Motherboard:Asus P8P67 B3 Rev i7 i5 i3 LGA1155 P67 DDR3 USB 3

CPU:Intel Core i7-2600 3.40Ghz 8MB Cache 32NM LGA 1155

[QUOTE=Bittermetal;349860]
Socket 2011 cpus and Z79 motherboards are just on the horizon… With that in mind, I think you are spending the right amount. No need to go overboard when the new-new is just around the corner.

I think your weakest link is that video card. I would really try to get in the 500 series. I prefer the image quality (and performance) of the 500 series. If you can’t move up to a 570 ($350 maybe less with rebates) then I would just table it and get another 460 later down the line.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I’m a big fan of buying the one-off newest hardware as the prices drop quickly when the new model comes out. I think the next hardware upgrade will be for my wife’s computer when I replace her EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX+. I’ll wait for nVidia to release the 6xx series and buy a 580 or 590 (tee hee, I sneaky).

Thanks for all the other info to, I will take it all into consideration.

-JJ

EDIT: What’s a “x58 Motherboard”? I feel so out of touch. (Damn you Dell!)

(BMXer) #4

I built a pretty similar rig a few months ago… Same mobo, 2600k, etc. I am super happy with it.
I agree with Bittermetal though… you might wanna look at a little more powerful video card. I have a 570 but I think any of the 500 series would be beast.

Loose the soundblaster if you ask me. From my past experience, onboard sound is just as good if not better with a lot less driver issues. The soundblaster drivers have been pretty horrible the past few years imo.

I have a 128gb SSD as my only drive. I have a file server that I store all my multimedia stuff so only games and apps on my rig. I can basically only have about 4 or 5 games installed before my drive gets too full. I am planning to add another 128gb SSD in RAID0 and I think I should have enough space. I think it depends on your capacity but try to keep just your OS and major games on the SSD and you should be fine.

(Bittermetal) #5

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;349878]Here are the exact details that I was given by the store (not sure what some of the numbers mean):

Yeah, I’m a big fan of buying the one-off newest hardware as the prices drop quickly when the new model comes out. I think the next hardware upgrade will be for my wife’s computer when I replace her EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX+. I’ll wait for nVidia to release the 6xx series and buy a 580 or 590 (tee hee, I sneaky).

Thanks for all the other info to, I will take it all into consideration.

-JJ[/QUOTE]

Ok that processor kicks all butt! Super overcloclable! Good buy. The comp looks strong. Go with it. For 1 grand…? Not bad at all.

(Bittermetal) #6

[QUOTE=BMXer;349880]I built a pretty similar rig a few months ago… Same mobo, 2600k, etc. I am super happy with it.
I agree with Bittermetal though… you might wanna look at a little more powerful video card. I have a 570 but I think any of the 500 series would be beast.

Loose the soundblaster if you ask me. From my past experience, onboard sound is just as good if not better with a lot less driver issues. The soundblaster drivers have been pretty horrible the past few years imo.

I have a 128gb SSD as my only drive. I have a file server that I store all my multimedia stuff so only games and apps on my rig. I can basically only have about 4 or 5 games installed before my drive gets too full. I am planning to add another 128gb SSD in RAID0 and I think I should have enough space. I think it depends on your capacity but try to keep just your OS and major games on the SSD and you should be fine.[/QUOTE]

You know I had the same feeling about dedicated sound card vs onboard sound. And yes Creative has too many drivers to install for a single device and and and… they often malfunction, require reinstallation, or cause conflicts. HOWEVER…

I had removed my X-Fi Creative sound card to make room for the Bigfoot Killer Nic network card. (def lowers ping btw). Then I bought my current EVGA motherboard (mentioned above) only to find that they were no longer using an optical out ports for Dolby 5.1. This meant I couldnt use my Astro Gaming headphone/mic/amp which I LOVE. (I can link to my reviews on those if needed). So I removed the Killer NiC card and reinstalled my X-Fi sound card which does have the optical out.

WHOA!! The sound on the sound cards demolishes the motherboard onboard sound…the onboard device is a realtek. So you could get a motherboard with better onboard sound. My particular situation and my desire to keep my Astros warranted the reinstallation of the X-fi card. Incidentally I’ve had no problems with the latest drivers.

(Deadwalking) #7

MoBO onboard audio can produce decent quality audio and maybe have less driver woes, but the audio quality on an X-Fi or Zonar along with the built in processor makes it all worth it. The processor does all the audio thinking leaving space for the CPU to do other tasks.

X-Fi drivers are easy install as long as you know exactly what sound card you have. And you don’t have to install all the extra stuff to use it for gaming. Most of the extras are for audio recording and editing. All you need is the control panel and the drivers. In Win 7 you can easily get away with only the drivers and use Windows 7 sound control panel to adjust everything, you won’t be able to fully adjust a couple of the creative specific extras without the control panel.

Windows 7 x64 for sure. Very few apps have major issues with win 7 x64, and once discovered are generally fixed fairly quickly. I have yet to find a game tat wont run in win 7 x64. You can not beat being able to utilize all your RAM if you have more than 3.5GB’s, and the x64 version is faster inside windows. You may not have to many x64 apps but it will run your games better than x86.

(Crytiqal) #8

with windows 7 64-bit I can still play Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D so it’s all good :wink:

(FireWorks) #9

Looks like money isnt the problem, but a 2500k is more then sufficient.

My EVGA 560Ti also does a nice visual job at very low noise level and power consumption.

An 800+ Powersupply is way over the top. Thats for massive overclocking with 2grafic cards.

All the money you are willing to spend in excessive stuff might be better in a larger SSD. I found 128 to be ok, but thats depending on how much stuff you want to pack on them. 64 would be ok if its only Win7 and Brink.

Isnt there an english enthusiast forum for hardware with a lot of very well informed people dedicated to new buyers? A german one would be this here:
http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/komplette-rechner-zusammenstellung-und-praxisprobleme/95

They are definitly up to date an know about every aspect…

(kilL_888) #10

first, the salesman is incorrect. it would make no sence to put your programs on a different hd than the ssd. os, games and programs need to be on ssd to increase their “performance”. but the only performance increase is the loading time. windows 7 boots in under 30 seconds. if you often launch programs or play games, go for the ssd. but keep in mind it only reduces loading times. you wont get a frames boost whatsoever.

not sure about that. 32bit os can only recognize 3gb of ram. if you have more than 3gb go for a 64bit os. otherwise you throw away your money for ram that you cannot use.

all 32bit apps i use also work on windows 7 64. even old games run. heck, i can even play the original doom on win7 64bit. i guess you wont have problems with a 64bit os.

for the rest of the hardware i would recommend googling for a hardware forum.

http://www.computerbase.de/forum/ (german)
http://forums.guru3d.com/ (english)

you also might wanna check online sale prices. they are usually lower than the store retail prices. you can compare prices more easily, too.

(tokamak) #11

All you really had to do to make Brink work perfectly fine is to not have an ATI.

(Cep) #12

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;349858] My question for this: Has anyone with Win 7 64-bit experienced problems running older apps/games and if so does compatibility mode work to fix this problem?

Thanks,
JJ[/QUOTE]

Hi JJ,

Never had a problem myself I use Win 7 64bit Pro and it works fine with all my other games. I have an AMD phenom 6 core in my rig. I sometimes have the odd drop in ET:QW but I don’t have it often.

(Bittermetal) #13

[QUOTE=kilL_888;350126]first, the salesman is incorrect. it would make no sence to put your programs on a different hd than the ssd. os, games and programs need to be on ssd to increase their “performance”. but the only performance increase is the loading time. windows 7 boots in under 30 seconds. if you often launch programs or play games, go for the ssd. but keep in mind it only reduces loading times. you wont get a frames boost whatsoever.

not sure about that. 32bit os can only recognize 3gb of ram. if you have more than 3gb go for a 64bit os. otherwise you throw away your money for ram that you cannot use.

all 32bit apps i use also work on windows 7 64. even old games run. heck, i can even play the original doom on win7 64bit. i guess you wont have problems with a 64bit os.

for the rest of the hardware i would recommend googling for a hardware forum.

http://www.computerbase.de/forum/ (german)
http://forums.guru3d.com/ (english)

you also might wanna check online sale prices. they are usually lower than the store retail prices. you can compare prices more easily, too.[/QUOTE]

An SSD is too small even at its highest capacity to fill with games and OS. It makes little sense. This is why we tend to suggest that users pick which way they want to go.

And you are right that it will not give a FPS boost to your gameplay but it smooths out gameplay a ton. Especially on games where new levels are constantly loading on the fly. So you’re right it improves load times. However those micro loads happen more often in games than you think. Having SSD makes consistent smooth gameplay more possible with out any hangs, skips or sluggishness.

(Jimmy James) #14

Thanks for the input everyone!

Good to know older games like DOOM and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D work on Win 7 64-bit. However, can anyone with Win 7 64-bit confirm that Neverwinter Nights works on a Win 7 64-bit? I host a NWN server and I need to be able to run it.

So, based on the feedback I think I’ll go with Win 7 64-bit since it’s the same price as the Win 7 32-bit and I’m getting 8 gigs of RAM. Also, I think I’ll skip the SSD tech for now, wait for the storage to price ratio to get a little better.

I’ll post on my final purchase Tuesday and I better get the Fanboy of the Year award for dropping $1k just to play Brink.

Thanks again,
JJ

(Bittermetal) #15

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;350276]Thanks for the input everyone!

Good to know older games like DOOM and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D work on Win 7 64-bit. However, can anyone with Win 7 64-bit confirm that Neverwinter Nights works on a Win 7 64-bit? I host a NWN server and I need to be able to run it.

So, based on the feedback I think I’ll go with Win 7 64-bit since it’s the same price as the Win 7 32-bit and I’m getting 8 gigs of RAM. Also, I think I’ll skip the SSD tech for now, wait for the storage to price ratio to get a little better.

I’ll post on my final purchase Tuesday and I better get the Fanboy of the Year award for dropping $1k just to play Brink.

Thanks again,
JJ[/QUOTE]

Brink online at 135fps is darn fantastic. I agree on the SSD hold off. THey are way too expensive. I love mine but it was a piece of hardware I reviewed for Geek Monthly before the publishing company tanked. So it was given to me. Could never buy one of these things. OCZ has a nice large capacity one that fits into a PCI slot. But its stupid money. Nearly a grand I think!$!$!$

(Throbblefoot) #16

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;350276]Thanks for the input everyone!
I’ll post on my final purchase Tuesday and I better get the Fanboy of the Year award for dropping $1k just to play Brink.
[/QUOTE]

I should never have let you see what Brink looks like on my rig, Jimmy.

-Throbblefoot

(Jimmy James) #17

[QUOTE=Throbblefoot;350290]I should never have let you see what Brink looks like on my rig, Jimmy.

-Throbblefoot[/QUOTE]

Oh crap, my wife found this thread! Look cool everybody. Puts hands behind back and starts to whistle nonchalantly while rocking back and forth. Nothing to see here.

-JJ

(Bittermetal) #18

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;350296]Oh crap, my wife found this thread! Look cool everybody. Puts hands behind back and starts to whistle nonchalantly while rocking back and forth. Nothing to see here.

-JJ[/QUOTE]

Haha! Tell you can download her favorite shows and movies in record time with the new build. And you can get in and out of game so much faster so you aren’t gaming for quite so long.

yeeeeaaaaah right~!

(Throbblefoot) #19

I might appreciate him getting in and out of the game faster, but only so he stops missing the first spawn on every map. I get tired of waiting for him to catch up!

-Throbblefoot

(Bittermetal) #20

[QUOTE=Throbblefoot;350314]I might appreciate him getting in and out of the game faster, but only so he stops missing the first spawn on every map. I get tired of waiting for him to catch up!

-Throbblefoot[/QUOTE]

I just played a match with him and he was telling me he get 20fps. Anyone who is having fun at BRINK ice-skating uphill like that is a dedicated man… Also speaks volumes to the fun he is having in the game.

But enough is enough, lets get Jimmy up and running on something worthy of his wife’s ire and/or patience.