Curse

WEEBS · Mar 26, 2009, 09:19 PM // 21:19

Decided on a GTX295..... JUST ONE FOR NOW,

Just wondering if the 42 TV is 1080p :-)

Yes I'm a smug git lol,

Don't think there's room on the office (Wife's Office) desk to put anything larger then a 24" Monitor. Think she's bit put out that I've commandeered her space during the day as it is.

Snograt · Mar 26, 2009, 09:42 PM // 21:42

Meh.

On the subject of SSDs, with this sort of money-no-object attitude, I'd go for four SSDs in a striped mirror with a nice little Terabyte drive for the porn.

Data, I mean.

WEEBS · Mar 26, 2009, 09:44 PM // 21:44

So now your saying Go for bigger 7200 HD

moriz · Mar 26, 2009, 09:56 PM // 21:56

sorry guys for being late to be party... my hard drive bricked itself and i had to some rebuilding (and yes, if you are wondering, my old hard drive is a seagate barracuda 500

)

the GTX295 is a good choice. you've gone well past the point of diminishing returns on the performance of your machine, and the difference between a single GTX295 and 2x GTX285 will be minuscule.

since money is apparently no object for you, i'd suggest a third hard drive (identical to the first two) and set up a RAID 0+1. yes, you KNOW you want it....

with all this expensive hardware being thrown around, i'd personally skimp the lights (though illuminated fans will fine). i'd use that money to spend on excellent (and quiet) cooling.

Snograt · Mar 26, 2009, 10:08 PM // 22:08

Is this the bizarre difference between RAID 0+1 and RAID 1+0? I never understood that. I thought that if you had a standard striped array, with two identical HDDs, then if you wanted to mirror that array, you'd need another two identical drives.

What have I missed?

(Er, not OT at all - I'm pricing, you see...)

moriz · Mar 26, 2009, 10:55 PM // 22:55

*cough* my mistake, you need 4 drives.

as far as i know, the difference between 0+1 and 1+0 is that 0+1 treats the disks as two sets of two disks, the second set mirrors the first two. it prevents data loss if one or both disks fail on one set. however, it is toast if disks from both sets fail.

1+0 is a bit different. it is two sets of disks, but each set is configured in mirrors. basically, data is first striped into the two sets, and within each set, it is duplicated on the second disk of the set. this means the setup can sustain multiple disk failures before any data is lost.

given all this, it might be a good idea to go for RAID 1+0.

Elder III · Mar 26, 2009, 11:43 PM // 23:43

Wow - that's a sweet azz rig you're talking about there. XD

I like the original configuration with the exception of the RAM (6-8 GB is more than enough overkill... no need at all for 12 right now) & I'm abit confused about the monitor situation... Are you using a 24" desktop monitor, a 32" Bravia or a 42" tv across the room? If you are using the 24" then stick with the 1 GTX295 - if it's one of the bigger screens (assuming at least 1900x1200 res) then go for the 2 GTX285s in SLI. Also I don't think that you need 1500watt PSU, but it won't hurt that's for sure(btw Thermaltake is a great brand imo).

Oh, light that baby up - no sense in dropping that kind of cash in it if it doesn't have lots of lights, LEDS, strobes, whistles, bells and enough fans to make it sound like the International Space Station launching into orbit when it boots up.

Snograt · Mar 27, 2009, 09:28 AM // 09:28

At the moment it's more than overkill, Elder - he's sticking with his Samsung 2232BW (an absolutely fabulous 22-incher) with a view to upgrading to something more suited to that graphical power at a later date.

We've decided to stick at 6GB - 2x2x2GB seems to be the sweet spot with triple-channel DDR3.

As regards the PSU, yes again that's overkill. I selected that because the smaller PSUs on offer are unbranded and, like you, I think Tt make awesome products.

dark horni worm · Mar 27, 2009, 01:29 PM // 13:29

what sound system will you be using? if you have the cash, you could consider to throw in a decent sound card there, and buy yourself a nice 5.1/7.1 system if you have the room.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?CRE-70SB0
and http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?CRE-104833 for example.

thought a bout a mouse? http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?RAZ-LACHBB recently bought this myself, great gaming mouse.

keyboard? http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?LOG-967929 let's just stick to the keyboard everyone seem to like

Elder III · Mar 28, 2009, 01:08 AM // 01:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snograt

At the moment it's more than overkill, Elder - he's sticking with his Samsung 2232BW (an absolutely fabulous 22-incher) with a view to upgrading to something more suited to that graphical power at a later date.

We've decided to stick at 6GB - 2x2x2GB seems to be the sweet spot with triple-channel DDR3.

As regards the PSU, yes again that's overkill. I selected that because the smaller PSUs on offer are unbranded and, like you, I think Tt make awesome products.

Yeah, that's a nice monitor, all most people really need... unless you want to sit across the room anything bigger than that is just eyestrain. hehe

good choice on the RAM... very fast speeds there with triple channel

Well, if that's the only name brand PSU and money isn't an issue, go for it... nothing like a no name PSU to screw you in the end (pun intended). Trust me.... I have recently had reason to regret buying a no name PSU (no, not really by choice, but by necessity). :/

Burst Cancel · Mar 28, 2009, 04:49 AM // 04:49

Comments:
- The i7 965 is a waste of money. The 920s are excellent overclockers for a fifth of the price.
- Unless you're using memory intensive apps (e.g., Photoshop) on a regular basis, 12GB is overkill. In fact, 6GB is overkill. Most people think that you need to run triple-channel with i7/x58, but you don't. Furthermore, there is essentially no real-world performance benefit to running triple-channel. Pure marketing.
- The DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8 is a better overclocking motherboard. For better features (SAS controller, 3-way x16 SLI, etc.), grab a ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution or the newly-released EVGA X58 Classified.
- The best system drives are Intel SSDs. If you have cash to burn, buy a handful and RAID them. Raptors are pointless.
- For PSU, I'd grab a Corsair or PCP&C. 850W-ish should be more than enough.
- For CPU coolers, I'd grab a TRUE or a Noctua U12P. If you have the cash, build a watercooling loop; the HAF932 is especially suited for it (120.3 rad mounted under the top panel, plenty of room for pump/res).

Snograt · Mar 28, 2009, 01:27 PM // 13:27

I agree with every point you made there, BC (except for the memory - I like having too much memory.)

The thing is, as was said before, we're stuck with pre-built systems from the few British suppliers that do decent, configurable systems.

If anyone can spec us with a British supplier that can do an infinitely configurable, high-end, pre-built rig that isn't pcspecialist, overclockers or novatech - let us know!

Oh, and make it snappy - the money is going to be available "forthwith".

(Yes, I know - http://www.alienware.co.uk/product_p...l_default.aspx - have you seen their prices?)

Nazar Razak · Mar 28, 2009, 02:50 PM // 14:50

BEAST computers
havent bought from them myself (they dont do low-mid end computers ;P), but look pretty legit.

Lord Sojar · Mar 31, 2009, 07:53 PM // 19:53

Save money on the processor, go with an i7 920 or 940.

Throw 2 GTX 285s in it. They will outperform a GTX295, which was created for the sole purpose to give the most powerful single card solution to those without SLi motherboards. 2 GTX285s will trounce a 295.

However, as I understand it... we are pushing up the release of GT300, soooo, perhaps just put in 1 GTX260 to save money and upgrade to the new GT300 (whichever you choose) upon release (which I wish I could give you an exact date on!)

Just my 2 quid.

moriz · Mar 31, 2009, 08:09 PM // 20:09

who resurrected rahja?!! WHO???????!!!