Building My 1st Computer

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

It doesn't support it out of the box, but you can set up an SLI profile through the nVidia control panel and do it that way.

[Khalus]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

It doesn't support it out of the box, but you can set up an SLI profile through the nVidia control panel and do it that way.

And then get even less FPS and performance than running a single GPU. Its been well tested by the community and myself and a single GPU is the way to play it right now.

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

With the SLI profile I run the game perfectly smooth with MOST settings near max. I couldn't do that before with a single GPU. I'm not really sure what tests you're referring to, as I haven't read any such thing.

[Khalus]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

Alrighty then, here is a nice build for ya that will easily play FFXIV on max settings, sans Ambient Occlusion {you don't really need that on anyway} but everything else you can max and play just fine with.


Going off the MB you listed already having in the OP:


ASUS Rampage III Gene LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

Thermaltake SpinQ VT 80mm Sleeve CPU Cooler

A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333G (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model ~ yes you can run dual channel memory on a triple channel board, just can't overclock it.Get 8gb of RAM...{having lots of extra RAM as a gamer or multi-tasker is nice, regardless of what anyone says!}

EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

HITACHI Deskstar H3IK10003272SP (0S02860) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive


I think that just about covers it minus a Mouse, Keyboard and Monitor, but I'll let you choose that if you don't already have them. Most of the parts I listed above are what I'm currently running, {minus the MB and CPU ~ I have different ones} As far as overclocking goes, you won't have to with this PC and it'll easily run everything on max settings minus Ambient Occlusion with everything on the market today and prolly for the next 2-3 years. That is before you'll have to start turning down the settings a bit, maybe...

The theme of late with developers is accessibility for all walks-of-PCs, so while some games like FFXIV can push even the best PCs to its knees, most games are designed for gamers with PCs up to a decade old still.

All for the low low price of $1025 ~ give or take $50, minus shipping costs, plus if you're crafty and patient you could get some parts on sale or with rebates to save a bit of hard earned dough...



Oh, almost forgot with this large ATX case, you can hide the wires behind the MB for a really nice clean look, with even better airflow. Since the PSU sits on the bottom you'll need two extension cables:

NZXT 9.84" 8Pin Motherboard Power Extension Cable

Rosewill 7.8" EATX power supply 24P Male to ATX 20P Female motherboard Cable



And don't forget your: {used between your CPU cooler and the CPU itself...mandatory}

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound





Anyway, if you'd like to see what this all looks like built, here are some images of my build:






And here are the scores my PC gets in the DX11 Benchmark Heaven:

If anyone else would like to chime in on this build, please do, or if the OP has more questions, feel free to ask!

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

It might not be a bad idea to go with Khalus' idea, with the single higher-end GPU. It'll be a bit more expensive, but once they roll out the 600s you can pick up another 500 for cheap and SLI for 600+ power.

[Khalus]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

It might not be a bad idea to go with Khalus' idea, with the single higher-end GPU. It'll be a bit more expensive, but once they roll out the 600s you can pick up another 500 for cheap and SLI for 600+ power.

How does $400+ for 2x GTX460s 1gb, cost less than a single GTX570 at $360? And the 570 has the new vapor chamber cooling, and better fan. Seriously at idle speeds my 570 sits at around 31-32c, and on a full load less than 60c in all games except FFXIV, unless I punch it up to 85% speed...

And what 600s?, the 500 series just released in Nov/Dec...there is no word on another new series this soon.

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

A GTX 460 1GB can be found for $160-170, these days. Used to be $230, but they've come down in price.

I'm simply predicting they'll continue into the 600s. It didn't take them long to move to 500 from 400, so I doubt it'll take them long to move into either the 600s or 700s.

[Zempten]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

Oh awesome! I was actually thinking of going with the Radeon 9650. How does that compare to the GTX 570? Also i heard something about diamond paste for the CPU. Could you explain a bit on that? Isn't it a better thermal conductor then silver? Also . . .I didn't realize i needed to buy the CPU heatsink seperately lol. Well at least i'm learning ^ ^ Thanks again guys

Also does the dual-card thing only work in full screen?

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

I think you mean HD 6000 series.

Thermal paste isn't something you should spend too much money on; it's relatively cheap on it's own, but it's only one piece of the puzzle.

Dual GPUs work at any resolution, windowed or otherwise.

[Zempten]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

hehe, your right. 6950. sorry

[Khalus]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

Also . . .I didn't realize i needed to buy the CPU heatsink seperately lol. Well at least i'm learning ^ ^ Thanks again guys

You don't have to purchase a separate heatsink, as most CPUs come with a generic one, but they're not very good. Basically when you're spending this kind of money on custom parts you want good cooling to ensure they last and perform at their best for many years. The #1 culprit in parts failing is overheating...

I have a CPU temp monitor running in my tray at all times, and with that SpinQ heatsink , all 4 of my cores stay nice a cool between 32c ~ 44c, and under full loads I havn't seen them break 55c. It also in the running as one of the top end, best heatsinks on the market.

[DakAttack]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

What kind of cooler are you using, and at what speeds? I break 70C all the time, under load. I'm running at 4GHz on four cores, each running two threads. I haven't had a problem, thus far, but I'm wondering if I could push it any lower. It's probably an issue with passive cooling.

[Zempten]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

I noticed also that the PSU that you choose says "compatible with i5/i7. Is that just a comment thrown on products to get them to sell? as in pretty much all PSUs are compatible with i5/i7? Cause I was looking at this PSU and it just seems more bang for the buck.

Also any commet on the HD 6950? I've been reading up on it and they say it can be flashed to a 6970? or something like that, but i don't really know what that means.

[Aeni]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

Also any commet on the HD 6950?

I'll ask my friend later if I ever see him on. He owns one and the initial response was that he really liked it. I think he put together a full Sandy Bridge set with 8GB of ram and the 6950.

[Khalus]

Re: Building My 1st Computer

What you choose to buy is really your decision, I was just building you a suggestion. As far as AMD GPUs go, I dunno how good it is as I've only ever used nVidia. Over the years all I've ever heard were problems getting this or that game to play properly, yet it all ran fine on nVidia.


{btw to those that don't know yet, the name "ATI" was abolished a few months ago, and changed to AMD, since it is AMD that has owned them now for several years...}