Multiple HDD is really just contingency. It's better than if you have the space for them and have a good backup plan. Otherwise a single HDD works just as well. No, having more than one HDD doesn't make them go faster.
' Wrote:The RAM is fine with that motherboard....However that's a different socket (1156 not 1155) for the i5 2400... (Won't work)
That's my fault, I linked him to that this morning but I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention at the time. So yeah, a P8P67 of some form is the way to go for the motherboard.
I really recommend getting an NVidia card over Radeon. They are significantly better just because of the software, AMD drivers suck so badly I can't even find words.
I've only ever used nvidia cards and I've never had an issue (GT 240 on my main machine and GT 230M on my laptop). However I am considering on going with a HD 6850 or HD 6950 for my next build (depending on budget) but really it all boils down to you're willing to pay and if you're going to make full use out of it....
@Cabulb - The guide I provided is only there to help make decisions.
I was suggested this from a mate of mine to help with my build...
You don't have to solely depend on it... But it mainly suggests Intel CPUs and Radeon Cards/Nvidia.
However the guide doesn't touch on any of the Phenom II X6 CPUs which isn't really what Zukeenee is looking for...
Typically the best place to get the parts. Amazon sometimes has them cheaper, but not often.
Terminology:
GPU: Graphics Processing Unit. A sub-CPU on the graphics card dedicated entirely to rendering. Generally used to refer to the graphics card as a whole, though.
Main parts
Motherboard - make sure it works well with your GPUs and CPU. Also make sure it has enough slots for all the graphics cards you want. Then check the amount of USB (because you can never have enough).
Hard disk(s) - do not, and I repeat, do not buy Western Digital (WD) hard disks. They tend to get horrible memory leaks. Also, if 500 gig should be plenty of space unless you plan on loading every game in the history of mankind or storing a good deal of media or something. If you plan on storing a lot of media, especially video, you'll want a terrabyte or more. If you plan on storing movies, you'll want multiple terrabytes, but at that point, I suggest a separate server for that stuff.
CPU - as mentioned above, check for motherboard compatibility.
CPU fan - probably the most difficult part to install (other than maybe all those stupid LED plugs). Make
sure you get a decent one, and if you're planning to overclock, you'll want a seriously huge one.
Alternatively, you can run a water cooling system, though I don't recommend it if you haven't built a computer before. Besides, that's something you can always add in later if need be.
Graphics card(s) - you'll likely want more than one, with that kind of budget, so while you're researching, look into SLI and CrossFireX compatibility (depending on whether you're using nVidia or ATI respectively; I'll leave the standard debate to others)
RAM: Invest in a ton of ram. Seriously, the stuff is dirt cheap right now. Buy lots while it stays that way. Plus, it's really nice to have lots of RAM, and if you buy a lot now, you don't have to worry about compatibility later. Speaking of which, make sure all you're RAM's the same type, and that it's compatible with your motherboard. The speed difference between most of the RAM is fairly small, and the price difference fairly huge, to the point where I typically don't use later than DDR3 unless I have to.
Sound card (optional; most setups don't use them, especially multiple-GPU gaming setups (since GPU fans on the bigger cards tend to be massive and block other card slots), and a lot of the modern ones kinda screwy, but if you're an audiophile, you'll want one)
Replacement case fans: Optional, and depends on your case. Most cases come with terrible fans you'll need to replace. A very few come with decent fans. Do your research, but if in doubt, you'll probably want to replace the fans.
Basic parts
I typically have all these already, since there shells of tons of old computers are lying all over my house, but you'll probably need to buy them.
Case: Choose this near to last. You want to make sure you have room for all the stuff you want. You'll probably want a big one. However, also highly important are the case's accessibility, filtering, and fans. With a gaming machine, you'll want tons of cooling, which means you'll also have to have good dust filters (and easily-accessible ones, at that). On top of that, you want to make sure you can get into the computer easily in order to work on it.
Power supply: Make sure you get a big enough power supply to easily handle all the stuff in your computer, and then some.
DVD drive: Yes, you still need one. I suggest you get a DVD-R, because you never know when you'll want to burn something. Blu-Ray optional.
Screen(s): Yes, I know it sounds silly to mention, but if you've been using a laptop, it's easy to forget. Also, they're mind-blowingly expensive. If you want any kind of size, you're going to be cutting into your budget big-time. You also have the problem of diminishing returns: the more size you have, the greater the increase in cost for the next size up. Two or even three screens are really nice, but due to your budget, I might stick with one if I were you.
Speakers: Also important. Good speakers with a subwoofer can sound seriously awesome. Bad speakers can short out in a week and never work again.
Do you have the typical miscellaneous parts on hand? If not, you'll need to make sure you have the following:
Grounding wire: Not required for most things, but I like to ground myself anyways, just to be sure.
Magnet-tipped and non-magnet-tipped phillips-head screwdriver sets: the more screwdrivers, the better.
Various assorted replacement wires: almost all the parts should come with wiring, but you never know.
Thermal paste: Should come with the CPU fan, but again, you never know.
Also, in case you forget - and you probably will at some point - you need an OS.
I've probably forgotten some things, mind you, but I covered at least the majority of what you'll want.
I'm gonna go ahead and get a 1TB drive as opposed to a 500GB one. I tend to accumulate a lot of stuff on my hard drive pretty quickly, and I figure "hey, why not double the capacity for only ~$20?"
I'm actually still on the fence about getting 4GB RAM or 8GB RAM. This one might just be another "Might as well get the better one" choice, but I'm also haunted by memories of having games crash frequently due to a lack of memory. I'd love to even it out and just get 6GB RAM, but apparently the triple channel motherboards required for that aren't on the market right now.
Um. 560 Ti. That's good, right? I don't know. Reviews on NewEgg seem pretty good, and it's relatively inexpensive. So I think it's fine. Also it comes with free Batman. You can't say no to Batman.
It's that combo that Aeternus linked. Looks good to me. Decent reviews on both products and all that.
I've yet to really look into graphics cards. Going by what Denelo posted about GPUs, is that GPU I have listed up there essentially a graphics card on its own? I don't think I realized that when I picked it out. The link between graphics cards and GPUs only just occurred to me, actually, and I'm not going to go research it right now because I'm probably going straight to bed after posting this. I'll look into it later.
As for the rest, I've got a decent keyboard and a good mouse already. I've also got an older monitor and speakers I can use for a while, but I'll probably get new ones at some point. And yeah, I'll have to buy an OS, of course.
Anything that I'm missing? Any grave errors in choosing my parts?
Looking through that, it all seems to fit. If you don't have to worry about monitors and such, I'd definitely get the 8 gigs RAM if I were you. RAM's so ridiculously cheap right now, it's not even funny, and the speed increase is significant.
I'd also go for a second GPU if I were you. And yes, that "GPU" is in fact the video card. That would put you at ~$1001 before shipping, which is so close to your budget that you could literally pick the extra up off the street. Can't really help with card quality, though; I'm an ATI guy, and don't really know much about the quality of the various nVidia cards. Keep in mind, though, that with SLI, you have to use all the same card (for example, you can SLI as many GTX 560 Tis as you want, but not a GTX 560 Ti and a GTX 560).
That said, you do realize that that HDD only runs at half the speed the motherboard supports, right? Your motherboard has three 6 GB/s SATA ports, but the HDD only supports up to 3 GB/s. Might want to look at a faster drive, depending on how much you plan to move files onto, off of, and around on your computer. You could also run a RAID array - the motherboard can support a six-HDD array with 2 6 GB/s disks and 4 3 GB/s disks - but that might cost a couple hundred extra dollars, and quite frankly, it's unnecessarily complicated and a pain to set up.
That CPU looks pretty good, but if you want to overclock it, you're going to have some issues. It's locked, so your can't exactly push its limits. On top of that (no pun intended), the default fan is apparently terrible. I'd suggest definitely buying a different CPU fan for that thing, even if you aren't going to overclock it. It might mean you have to drop something, though, whether the second GTX 560 Ti or something else. Unfortunately, you can't just start with a 560/TI setup and switch to Ti/Ti later, since you're using SLI rather than CrossFireX.
Few more important things to consider. First of all, you forgot a DVD drive. Cases don't just come with those, you know, any more than they come with HDDs. You need to actually buy any drives you want separately. Second, look at the case measurements and your card measurements to make sure that your GPU fits in your case. A lot of the newer ones need a larger than standard case. Third, I don't think you're gonna get more than two GPUs in that motherboard, so you have very little upgradability past dual SLI without completely changing to higher-end video cards and leaving your old ones out of the build entirely (which of course you have to do when you upgrade card level with SLI anyways, but with this build, I don't think you're going to be able to upgrade anything but card level if you have two GPUs). Fourth, the 750W PSU should be fine for what you have here, but if you ever decide to add in a lot more HDDs and/or GPUs, you'll probably need to go up to a thousand-watt PSU.
Thanks for pointing all that out, Denelo. I'll upgrade to the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D, which is 6 GB/s. And it's not that much more expensive.
I also got directed to a similar motherboard to the one I listed above (The other one was "Limited Edition", and I was told that "Limited Edition" generally means "There was something wrong with it"). And what luck! That board has a combo deal with some memory-things, which appear to be slightly faster than the ones I was going to get, anyway. The board supports the upgrade, and it all turns out to be cheaper, so I'll take that deal.
Also, I'm not planning on doing any overclocking, so that's not really an issue with my CPU. If the fan does end up being an issue, that's something I can replace later on, right? For now I think I'll leave it with its original fan and simply watch out for any trouble it might cause.
I think I'll stick with a single GPU and hold onto the $220. The benefits of having two graphics cards just doesn't seem worth the extra cost to me.
And oh yeah. A disc drive of some sort. This one looks fine, so I'll probably get it.
And I've taken a look at the measurements of the case, motherboard, and GPU. It all seems to fit.
So with all of that, I think I'm about ready to make my purchases.
Graphics Card : Sapphire HD 6870 ( Your card is better at performance, mine is better at price )
PSU : Corsair GS600
HDD : Seagate 1TB 7200.12
And if you are getting nVidia card get " MSI N560GTX Ti Twin Frozr II " this card has good performance for a mid range card and a really good cooling solution .I believe my config costs only 2/3 of yours or maybe even less.