Getting a new computer. Need advice.

[Solid Dreams]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

no such thing as enough in hard drive, Bandit.

[Zageron]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Rubix that PC is awesome.
But I would get another GTX 295, and then a Physics card, like a GTX 260.
I would also make sure you get liquid cooling.

[ninjaKIWI]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

lol Banditcom, it wasn't a Maxtor was it?

[MrGiggles]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Mostly people asking if their specs will handle Crysis maxed out.

What those people don't realize is that "running Crysis at max settings" is a silly goal and a sillier benchmark. If it runs it at max settings, great, but there are better benchmarks.

$1500 for the computer (excluding monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, external backup HD).

I spent about $900 dollars on a computer (the case and everything in it, no monitor or antyhing) that runs Fallout 3, L4D, and Farcry 2 at maximum settings. Granted, the monitor attatched is only 19", but I think 11-12 grand is more than enough for a computer operating on a larger monitor if you purchase the parts on Newegg. They usually have deals you can take advantage of, too. 1.5k is okay, it's not great cost-efficiency-wise but you don't have to upgrade quite so often which is pleasant and worth it to many. $2000 is just rofl (for gaming) and will get you laughed out of most technology oriented communities.

Rubix that PC is awesome.
But I would get another GTX 295, and then a Physics card, like a GTX 260.
I would also make sure you get liquid cooling.

NO

BAD

PhysX cards are stupid and not worth the cost. It's like buying a car and then sticking a forty foot spoiler made of pure money on it. It's just emptying your wallet for minimal performance gains.

Besides, there are like, 2 games that support PhysX cards enough to matter.

Liquid cooling is also stupid and ricer and COMPLETELY unnecessary. Air cooling is more than adequate for cooling almost 99% of the computers on the planet, and it's much cheaper and less hassle.

[MrRubix]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

PhysX cards are stupid and not worth the cost. It's like buying a car and then sticking a forty foot spoiler made of pure money on it. It's just emptying your wallet for minimal performance gains.

This made me LOL.

Can I SLI two totally different cards?

[MrGiggles]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

This made me LOL.

Can I SLI two totally different cards?

Nope. SLI only works with 2 IDENTICAL cards. And, most likely, a more powerful PSU, in the 1000 watt range. GPUs eat tons of electricity and spew about as much heat.

[MrRubix]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

I hope 400W is enough to handle that system.

Would SLI'ing two of those GeForce 295's or whatever pack a pretty good punch in a few years?

[fido123]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

RAM overkill. Also something you might want to consider for speed is having both a normal hardrive, and then an SSHD (Solid State Hard Drive). Will decrease load times by a ton. They're quite expensive so I suggest you get like a 100-250G one and simply put your OS, and games you play often in it. Stuff like music doesn't take much time to load up anyway.

EDIT: Woah 400W will not do that...get AT LEAST 800W

[MrGiggles]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

I hope 400W is enough to handle that system.

Would SLI'ing two of those GeForce 295's or whatever pack a pretty good punch in a few years?

whoa whoa whoa wait

400 watts? For your computer? Absolutely not. A GTX 260 requires 550W MINIMUM. I'm pretty sure your specs said that it had an 800W PSU though, which should be about enough.

One GTX 295 will last you at least half a decade or more before you have to start turning down the default graphics settings. SLIing 295's will buy you another few years, and tri-SLIing another one or two years beyond that, maybe. Unfortunately, they'll also require you to build a case made entirely out of fans or submerged in mineral oil. I'd just replace it entirely after mid-range cards become as powerful as the 295. Then it will be cooler and more friendly towards SLI with the same amount of processing power.

Additionally, one card is more powerful than 2 cards half as powerful in SLI. It's not a perfect system, and you lose a bit of efficiency.

EDIT: An SSD could be helpful. Personally, I'm divided on them because load times don't bother me a ton and they're quite expensive per gigabyte. However, they have been proven to last longer and have SIGNIFICANTLY faster speeds than conventional drives. They'll probably become the market standard in the future, once the technology has advanced some more.

[Zageron]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

It all depends on what brand the 400W power supply is.

http://www.seasonic.com/product/pc_atx.jsp

And yeah 400W is too low.
I would go for an 800 personally, but a 650 sounds fine.

And for Liquid cooling vs Air cooling.
It's all preference and knowledge. If you know what you're doing Air cooling will work, but Liquid cooling is way more efficient most of the time... and it's hardly a hassle.

[MrRubix]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Sorry, yes, 800W, my mistake!

And yeah, I figure in the future, if I wanted to get a boost in graphics, I'd just replace the 295 with a better card. It seems like SLI is a good option if I can link two cheaper cards together such that it's of comparable performance to a more expensive card for a cheaper price, but I don't know if this is true or not.

[MrGiggles]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Sorry, yes, 800W, my mistake!

And yeah, I figure in the future, if I wanted to get a boost in graphics, I'd just replace the 295 with a better card. It seems like SLI is a good option if I can link two cheaper cards together such that it's of comparable performance to a more expensive card for a cheaper price, but I don't know if this is true or not.

Right, it really depends on the way the cards are priced.

As for liquid cooling, it can be fun to experiment with, especially if your case is built to handle water cooling. Additionally, you're almost guaranteed to never overheat unless you spring a leak or something and don't notice, which would make you a Class A retard. Unfortunately, it's still cumbersome and unnecessary since air cooling can cover all of your needs, cheaper and with less extraneous equipment. Plus, you don't really need to know what you're doing since most cases come with sufficient fans already installed.

[fido123]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Right, it really depends on the way the cards are priced.

As for liquid cooling, it can be fun to experiment with, especially if your case is built to handle water cooling. Additionally, you're almost guaranteed to never overheat unless you spring a leak or something and don't notice, which would make you a Class A retard. Unfortunately, it's still cumbersome and unnecessary since air cooling can cover all of your needs, cheaper and with less extraneous equipment. Plus, you don't really need to know what you're doing since most cases come with sufficient fans already installed.

First of all they don't leak, you don't even fill them yourself. Also the cooler something runs, the longer it lasts, and water cooling keeps it much better. My high school computer teacher was playing around with it and it runs about 7C colder, which increase longevity of the parts by a couple years.

[MrGiggles]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

First of all they don't leak, you don't even fill them yourself. Also the cooler something runs, the longer it lasts, and water cooling keeps it much better. My high school computer teacher was playing around with it and it runs about 7C colder, which increase longevity of the parts by a couple years.

Water cooling can leak. Especially if you buy crummy systems with ceramic blocks, those are almost guaranteed to leak eventually. Even if you buy good quality water cooling, **** happens. I've heard a bunch of anecdotes of varying believability on /g/ and Tom's Hardware. 90% of accidents happen because so and so forgot to tighten this or that and then turned their computer on repeatedly after the components got wet. You do have to fill the system up yourself. You need to replace the coolant every year, at the very least.

Luckily, I've heard some water cooling setups doesn't actually use water anymore. They use another fluid that won't wreck all your parts if it does go haywire.

Longevity is increased with water cooling, but if you're planning to maintain the computer, you'll never keep a part for longer than a couple of years anyway. Hard drives, maybe, but air cooling will keep your other parts alive well until after you've replaced them.

[Zageron]

Re: Getting a new computer. Need advice.

Air cooling is especially effective if you know how to shape air.
If you can get the airflow to be perfect then it's way more efficient.