[dirtyklingon]

why would 775 cord 2's even be an option for upgrading at this point? could probably get a 1156 core i5 and p55 mobo for the same price or cheaper as an upgraded c2 and up to date 775 mobo right now.

only added expense for that would be the ddr3 ram which isn't cheap right now.

but amd is the more cost effective option. spend the extra money on a p2 955 and am3 mobo. still need ddr3 ram for it, but it's better than an i5/etc.


anyways, look in your bios for options to OC. yes there are programs to OC from windows but they are for minor adjustments/tweaks. find out your mobo model//bio revision and go to a enthusiast forum like overclockers.net where they have tonnes of knowledgeable helpful people who can walk you through it or point you to a guide for your specific motherboard.

[Vardant]

Do you seriously know anything about computers? I highly doubt it from your posts.

The MB I've recommended supports DDR2 and even the new six-core CPU's from AMD, if he ever needs to ugprade in the future. No need to go for DDR3.

C2D was just an example of how ovepriced and meaningless is upgrading your CPU, when you have something like E8400, that can easily hit 4GHz and more.

[dirtyklingon]

no i know absolutely nothing about computers. you caught me.

thanks for providing a link to the mobo that has ddr2 on an amd chipset. and for giving non future proof advice that is imho a waste of money.

sorry if i recomend things that will last a couple years at least but might cost a little more in the short term, instead of spending a little less for something that's already out of date.

you're clearly the expert here.

[dirtyklingon]

some relevant links:

http://www.overclock...2-aion-cpu.html

http://www.tomshardw...g-upgrades-aion

unfortunately after several minutes of googling this was the most relevant stuff i could find and not exactly what i was looking for in relation to aion.

[Vardant]

dirtyklingon, on 23 May 2010 - 09:26 AM, said:

no i know absolutely nothing about computers. you caught me.

thanks for providing a link to the mobo that has ddr2 on an amd chipset. and for giving non future proof advice that is imho a waste of money.

You didn't even know, how to clear CMOS, so yeah...

That MB has support for the newest six-core CPU's from AMD, how more future proof can you get? He has DDR2, so there's no need to waste money on a meaningless upgrade, that he won't even notice.

[┼Death┼]

Vardant, on 24 May 2010 - 08:19 AM, said:

You didn't even know, how to clear CMOS, so yeah...

That MB has support for the newest six-core CPU's from AMD, how more future proof can you get? He has DDR2, so there's no need to waste money on a meaningless upgrade, that he won't even notice.

While there being no noticeable difference from the DDR2 and DDR3. These are the reasons to buy DDR3:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2232/2

[dirtyklingon]

Vardant, on 24 May 2010 - 08:19 AM, said:

You didn't even know, how to clear CMOS, so yeah...

That MB has support for the newest six-core CPU's from AMD, how more future proof can you get? He has DDR2, so there's no need to waste money on a meaningless upgrade, that he won't even notice.

lol what i know how to clear cmos. just because my last mobo(socket 775 n750 chipset) bought within the last 3 years had no clear cmos button that i'm aware of... am2+ is as not as future proof as am3. but they're all compatible and have different features.

and ddr3 has a great deal more bandwidth than ddr2. which in turn takes advantage of the higher end cpu's. why bottleneck a highend cpu with your memory?

http://www.tomshardw...guide,2546.html was a very informative article on the subject of motherboards.

[plume]

Hi. I want upgrade my comp in minimal cost
I have: P5K SE, Intel core 2 Duo CPU E4500 2.20 GHz, OCZ2G800R21G,OCZ2G800R21G, OCZ2T800C42G, OCZ2T800C42G, GeForce 8800 GTS 512, ST3500418AS 500GB, creative SB X-Fi
Can I leave something? What I must changed in the first place?

[dirtyklingon]

well you could upgrade that cpu and see a fair gain in performance i'd think. another core 2 cpu will fit on that motherboard.

for anything beyond that i'd recomend building a new system, saving the gfx card for a back up and the hdd for extra storage.

[dominico]

Hello,

So yea, I have previously asked for build advice and I thank you but now I would like to build my cousin a computer. He says that he can get a good deal on the i5 so he wants it built around that etc.

Anyway with me helping him out I was hoping you could post a decent build for a gaming PC built around the i5. Budget is around 1k, needs to be able to play FFXIV (new mmo coming out sept 1st) and Aion (ofc). Preferably on max graphics for both games. No need to include monitor, keyboard, mouse, case, or OS. Crossfire preferred so he has room to upgrade computer without having to just throw nyerk away and buy new stuff. Anyway I would do this myself but I am spending way too much time at work. I would appreciate the advice and help.

PS: I remember posting on gpx cards in the Technical Discussion but I dont know if I can afford a 400 gpx card unless its one of the most important parts in the computer. Then that is fine.

But yea, 1k USD i5 750 build. kthnx ^^

[dirtyklingon]

you're not going to get max graphics in ff14 with that budget. but it should run aion well.

i5 750
1156 p55 motherboard
2x 2gb ram kit 1333mhz
650-850w psu
nvidia 460 1gb factory OC model
or nvidia GTX 470 stock.
1tb 7200 rpm sata 2 hdd


something like that should give you some breathing room in your budget. you can upgrade to a second 460 or 470 easily.

if you're going to keep your old case make sure it has a front intake fan and a rear exhaust fan at the very least. multiple front fans, top exhaust fan, side intake fan all optional. if not then check out the coolermaster HAF line of cases. lots of room and great upgradeability for a good cost.

[dominico]

out of curiosity that system is upgradable to support max graphics on ffxiv or is that just not possible with this build.
Btw thnx for the advice

One more question heh, I was hoping that someone could take time to read this and maybe comment on it to avoid confusing noobies such as myself on Crossfire and SATA 6/USB 3.0

"Two of the primary graphics card’s 16 PCIe lanes supply its USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers, and Gigabyte disables six more lanes to make the upper slot an effective x8 interface. The USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers revert to the chipset’s 2.5 GT/s lanes whenever two graphics cards are installed, to preserve the x8 transfers each graphics card needs for optimal CrossFire or SLI performance.

Thus, users with a single graphics card must sacrifice half of its peak bandwidth to enable 5.0 Gb transfers to the USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers, while those with two cards must live with 2.5 Gb/s bandwidth limits on USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 Gb/s controllers. Neither of these sacrifices is huge or even noticeable on most of today’s hardware, yet anyone trying to future-proof their system could be left cold."

Any MB that has both crossfire and SATA 6/USB 3.0? I can't seem to find one and would rather stick with ATI Radeon GPU's than swith to NVIDIA, not that I have anything again NVIDIA

[dirtyklingon]

high end modern gfx cards are just starting to fill up the bandwidth of 8x pcie lanes. so don't worry about that much.

usb3/sata 3 are not a big deal right now. there will likely be a amd chipset supporting them but they won't be supported by intel any time soon.


and according to the ff14 benchmark demo no system today can play it on max settings, though it will be quite playable on high resolution settings a fairly top end 480/5870 based system.

as for nvidia vs ati, well you could look for a 5830, but it's going to cost more than the 460 iirc. you can get a factory oc'ed 460 1gb that matches a 470 for performance for a fraction of the cost. tbh none of these are going to run ff14 on very high settings.

[dominico]

ah, so this i5 build of mine prob wont run ffxiv on max setting, not just because no computer can, but because its not built around an ATI 5870 GPU or w/e. Still, in your opinion do you think I could comfortably run both Aion and FFXIV on regular or higher than regular settings on this build, AND for the money I am putting into it that it is marginally one of the better ones? Thanks for catering it around the i5 and thnx for helping me out, its so hard to find advice like this anywhere

[dominico]

OK SO
Because I have so many questions I am posting all questions I have and standing by whatever build we decide. OK HERE WE GO

Processor: I was originally thinking about the i5 2.66 GHz Quadcore processor, but I read that having quad cores for gaming is dumb because even the most demanding games use 2. Please correct me if I am wrong. SO instead my eyes saw the i5 3.33 GHz 661 processor that was dual core. I was thinking that this would be more ideal since it has more processing power and less unused cores.

Memory: I want to get the DDR3 memory but most of the DDR3 are only compatible with the i7 Core. I dont know if this is true but thus far haven't had any luck with DDR3 that is compatible with the i5. I was afraid of DDR2 thinking that it might not be compatable with any motherboard I might get (see bottom) that may/may not have SATA III but im clueless and that will be talked about more later. Also afraid of bottleneck effects with memory and want great performance etc and dont mind paying that extra 50 bucks for better RAM.

GPU: Oh boy. So I'm pretty sure that I will get the Radeon 5870 but you made it sound like I almost need a build oriented around that GPU. So I dont know if thats a good choice or not. Suggestions much apreciated.

MB: You pretty much answered my question about SATA III, but still a little confused because I want to make the computer so it can be upgraded in the future with ease so was thinking about that SLI or Crossfire system to add more GPU's in the future. But as you said that may or may not what I need to be focusing on.

Sound card?: I don't know if I need one in order to have sound, stupid question but hoping that someone might throw in a quick explanation about it.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.co...ID=3463938&SID=, pretty sure enough power.

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119197, pretty sure its big enough etc.

Hope these are all compatable. I have looked it over and I'm pretty sure its solid, just need some pro tips and maybe some heads up on cheaper versions of the same build without lacking performance. And, again, Thank you soooo much for your input.

[dirtyklingon]

well with a 5770 or better gfx card you should be able to run aion well, and any other game at decent settings, including ff14. i wouldn't go lower than a 5770 though.

5770 isn't bad to crossfire later, though it doesn't have the expandability of the 460, in terms of sli scaling and OC potential.

5830 is also a good choice for future cf. and can be OCed fairly well.

overall i'd say get the best of what fits into your budget. if you can save a few bucks by not getting a motherboard with usb 3 and sata 3 and put that into a better gfx card then that would be your best bet.

dominico, on 12 July 2010 - 07:49 PM, said:

OK SO
Because I have so many questions I am posting all questions I have and standing by whatever build we decide. OK HERE WE GO

Processor: I was originally thinking about the i5 2.66 GHz Quadcore processor, but I read that having quad cores for gaming is dumb because even the most demanding games use 2. Please correct me if I am wrong. SO instead my eyes saw the i5 3.33 GHz 661 processor that was dual core. I was thinking that this would be more ideal since it has more processing power and less unused cores.

Memory: I want to get the DDR3 memory but most of the DDR3 are only compatible with the i7 Core. I dont know if this is true but thus far haven't had any luck with DDR3 that is compatible with the i5. I was afraid of DDR2 thinking that it might not be compatable with any motherboard I might get (see bottom) that may/may not have SATA III but im clueless and that will be talked about more later. Also afraid of bottleneck effects with memory and want great performance etc and dont mind paying that extra 50 bucks for better RAM.

GPU: Oh boy. So I'm pretty sure that I will get the Radeon 5870 but you made it sound like I almost need a build oriented around that GPU. So I dont know if thats a good choice or not. Suggestions much apreciated.

MB: You pretty much answered my question about SATA III, but still a little confused because I want to make the computer so it can be upgraded in the future with ease so was thinking about that SLI or Crossfire system to add more GPU's in the future. But as you said that may or may not what I need to be focusing on.

Sound card?: I don't know if I need one in order to have sound, stupid question but hoping that someone might throw in a quick explanation about it.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.co...ID=3463938&SID=, pretty sure enough power.

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119197, pretty sure its big enough etc.

Hope these are all compatable. I have looked it over and I'm pretty sure its solid, just need some pro tips and maybe some heads up on cheaper versions of the same build without lacking performance. And, again, Thank you soooo much for your input.

for the cpu it depends on how much money you save but cutting out the 2 cores. also keep in mind that a quad core is going to encode video that much faster. and there's no guarantee that future games won't start using more than 2 cores.

memory: ddr3 is the only memory compatable with i5 platform. for the i5 (LGA 1156 socket) you'll want a dual channel kit. i've seen decent 2x2gb 1333mhz kits for about $100. one is all you'll need. if you can afford 1600mhz kit(again make sure it's 2x2gb) go for it, but you won't see that much performance gain over 1333mhz.

motherboard: like i said sata 3 and usb 3 aren't a big deal right now. no devices even use usb3 and while there are hdd's that use sata 3 you're not going to see a tremendous gain from it. both of these are really for enthusiasts and you can save a few bucks by looking for a mobo that doesn't have either, as these features are at a premium. if you get usb3 devices in teh future you can get a pcie slotted usb3 card for like $20.

soundcard: don't bother with this unless you have a surround system you want to hook up to your pc or you REALLY REALLY care about sound fidelity. for most people the built in hd sound is great and compatable with many surround sound speaker systems.

that power supply looks good.

case is great and i think you will be happy with it. i've heard only good things about it.

[dominico]

so is that GPU fine, the 5870. Its like 400 bucks but idk what a nice cheaper trade off would be for the 5870

also about the cpu, do you think the Ghz trade off is worht the trade for the dual core and quad core? for now at least? Im really just worried about ffxiv and aion cuz im pretty sure ill be playing those for the next 3 yrs, unless other mmo's come out.

[dirtyklingon]

yeah the 5870 is pretty decent for the price.

personally i'd rather get the quad core but then i make videos so faster encoding time is good for my purpose. you can OC either in the future but the quad core will OC farther.

[plume]

plume, on 11 July 2010 - 08:51 AM, said:

Hi. I want upgrade my comp in minimal cost
I have: P5K SE, Intel core 2 Duo CPU E4500 2.20 GHz, OCZ2G800R21G,OCZ2G800R21G, OCZ2T800C42G, OCZ2T800C42G, GeForce 8800 GTS 512, ST3500418AS 500GB, creative SB X-Fi
Can I leave something? What I must changed in the first place?

say plz which prefer:
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0 GHz/ 12Мб/ 1333 LGA775
or
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz/ 12Мб/ 1333 LGA775
or
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 2.83 GHz/ 6Мб/ 1333 LGA775

This post has been edited by plume: 14 July 2010 - 09:28 AM

[┼Death┼]

plume, on 14 July 2010 - 09:27 AM, said:

say plz which prefer:
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0 GHz/ 12Мб/ 1333 LGA775
or
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz/ 12Мб/ 1333 LGA775
or
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 2.83 GHz/ 6Мб/ 1333 LGA775

Well of course your going to buy the fastest one, which is the Q9650, unless your budget says otherwise.