Best 9k GAMERS Box?

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

Hi guys

After weeks of researching I believe I have finally found a good value for money gamer PC. The PC will be used mainly for games like CIV5, Starcraft 2 and movies. The specs are as follows:

Amd socket AM3 955 - R 1,630

MSI 790GX-G65 – R1,199

Kingston Hyper-X KHX11000D3K2/4G [ 2 X 2GB KIT ] – R1,100

MSI Radeon HD 5850 – R2,999

Coolermaster RC-632s-SKN1 ( Meshed Side Panel ) – R487

Seagate Barracuda 1TB – R755

OCZ StealthXStream 600W – R879

BOX TOTAL: R9,049 (I've left the dvd rom out for now)


SAMSUNG B2330H – R1,825

Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 – R1,027

TOTAL: R2,854

And that’s that, what do you think? The main reason that I went with the MSI board is that it has 8x8 CrossfireX and I plan on running 2 5850’s crossfire once the PC falls behind somewhat. Also, if I may tap into your unbridled tech knowledge for a sec...

-Would it be feasible to scale down the RAM to Kingston Value Ram for R140 less?
-Would the PSU be powerful enough to run 2x 5850’s in Crossfire? Is the OCZ even necessary? Could I instead go for the Cooler master Extreme Power Plus 600w for R120 less?

With regards to the Laser Desktop set... well you only buy a keyboard and mouse once and I think it’s sexy as hell

Please advise me where you feel necessary and leave a deluge of opinions

 

[nakedpeanut]

i'm running the kingston value ram and well it works even with a lil OC'ing you wont really see any performance decrease when using it.. Unless you maybe comparing benchmark results.

As for the psu.. As long as it has good ratings in terms of amps supplied and efficiency then go for it.. just google psu needed for cross fire 5850.. Sure there will be results..

If you really want to get cross fire later on why not buy a newer board that has PCIe2 and has full crossfire? Usually a little more costly..

But all in all it's a very nice build. I just need a 5850 for my box..

 

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

Thanks for your reply. I see there is very little performance loss with Value ram and more expensive ram.
Regarding the motherboard, well I was trying to cut costs where I could, and from what I saw, the performance difference between 8x8 crossfire and 16x16 was a mere 2 odd %. As for PCIe2... well I wasn't aware there was a difference :/ Will look that one up again, THANKS.

I've just seen that the 5850 crossfire requires "four, 75 watt, 6-pin, PCI Express® connectors". Now this is where my ignorance truly shines: according to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010 the OCZ only has 2 x PCI-E. Does this mean it falls short for crossfire? Is it that simple?

 

[Decotey]

you can get adaptors that go from the standard 4 pin atx connectors to 6 pin pci-express. Bare in mind each adaptor requires 2x 4 pin atx cable. Here is a link to a pic of the connector http://www.pcloft.com/vgacapoca7pe.html.

Also I would not recommend buying a pc now, with the intention of crossfiring later. You need the same generation cards in crossfire and when you one day decide to slot another card in, for the same performance you could go a single card option. Also your cpu is gonna be obsolete against 2x5850s . But that's just my opinion.

If your mind is set on the crossfire option perhaps just make sure your psu has a ton of standard 4 pin atx cables and use the adaptors when necessary. You would therefore need 2x pci-e and 4x 4 pin atx cables just for the gfx cards
I wouldn't recommend this method though, as the 5850 is quite power hungry and your power supply is current limited per 12V rail. As I understand it the different cables are at manufacturing linked to the different 12V rails. So if you connecting cables from the same rail to both cards, you gonna have a problem. So in the end you probably won't get enough current through to both 5850s.

From 700W + psus start coming with 4xpci-e connectors
These pci-e connectors are placed on separate rails, so max current draw no longer necessarily becomes an issue

 

[Chevron]

Hi guys

After weeks of researching I believe I have finally found a good value for money gamer PC. The PC will be used mainly for games like CIV5, Starcraft 2 and movies. The specs are as follows:

Amd socket AM3 955 - R 1,630

MSI 790GX-G65 – R1,199

Kingston Hyper-X KHX11000D3K2/4G [ 2 X 2GB KIT ] – R1,100

MSI Radeon HD 5850 – R2,999

Coolermaster RC-632s-SKN1 ( Meshed Side Panel ) – R487

Seagate Barracuda 1TB – R755

OCZ StealthXStream 600W – R879

BOX TOTAL: R9,049 (I've left the dvd rom out for now)


SAMSUNG B2330H – R1,825

Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 – R1,027

TOTAL: R2,854

And that’s that, what do you think? The main reason that I went with the MSI board is that it has 8x8 CrossfireX and I plan on running 2 5850’s crossfire once the PC falls behind somewhat. Also, if I may tap into your unbridled tech knowledge for a sec...

-Would it be feasible to scale down the RAM to Kingston Value Ram for R140 less?
-Would the PSU be powerful enough to run 2x 5850’s in Crossfire? Is the OCZ even necessary? Could I instead go for the Cooler master Extreme Power Plus 600w for R120 less?

With regards to the Laser Desktop set... well you only buy a keyboard and mouse once and I think it’s sexy as hell

Please advise me where you feel necessary and leave a deluge of opinions

Firstly dont get wireless keyboard and mouse for gaming.

Secondly you'll need a Corsair 650watt if you wanna X-Fire two 5850s. Thing is though when you get the cash for the second card there'll be new better cards out.

There's nothing wrong with going for the cheaper ram.

I'd also say try squeeze in this in place of the hard drive you chose:
http://www.prophecy.co.za/intel-x25v-series-40gb-solid-state-sata-plus-drive-based-p-65571.html

 

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

you can get adaptors that go from the standard 4 pin atx connectors to 6 pin pci-express. Bare in mind each adaptor requires 2x 4 pin atx cable. Here is a link to a pic of the connector http://www.pcloft.com/vgacapoca7pe.html.

Also I would not recommend buying a pc now, with the intention of crossfiring later. You need the same generation cards in crossfire and when you one day decide to slot another card in, for the same performance you could go a single card option. Also your cpu is gonna be obsolete against 2x5850s . But that's just my opinion.

If your mind is set on the crossfire option perhaps just make sure your psu has a ton of standard 4 pin atx cables and use the adaptors when necessary. You would therefore need 2x pci-e and 4x 4 pin atx cables just for the gfx cards
I wouldn't recommend this method though, as the 5850 is quite power hungry and your power supply is current limited per 12V rail. As I understand it the different cables are at manufacturing linked to the different 12V rails. So if you connecting cables from the same rail to both cards, you gonna have a problem. So in the end you probably won't get enough current through to both 5850s.

From 700W + psus start coming with 4xpci-e connectors
These pci-e connectors are placed on separate rails, so max current draw no longer necessarily becomes an issue

I suppose the idea was that the price of the 5850's would have markedly decreased by the time I chose to buy another one. It is possible that they would be somewhat obsolete by then though - perhaps by using hybrid crossfire I can avoid this? Your CPU statement got me thinking as well..

Yes there seems to be an endless string of troubles connected with crossfire - before I go out gallivanting for a PSU I will make sure that it has the required connectors as what you mentioned about 12v rails makes perfect sense. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

Firstly dont get wireless keyboard and mouse for gaming.

Secondly you'll need a Corsair 650watt if you wanna X-Fire two 5850s. Thing is though when you get the cash for the second card there'll be new better cards out.

There's nothing wrong with going for the cheaper ram.

I'd also say try squeeze in this in place of the hard drive you chose:
http://www.prophecy.co.za/intel-x25v-series-40gb-solid-state-sata-plus-drive-based-p-65571.html

Heh, yes wireless has it's shortfalls... When I plan on buying my 2nd 5850 (or another card through hybrid C) it will simply be to keep 'up to date'. The idea is that my PC (as is) will remain decent for about 3 years with the occasional ram upgrade and the buying of a new card in about a year, though that might be overly ambitious. I do plan on getting an SSD in time, perhaps once the prices are more attractive All and all, valid points - THANKS!

 

[kaaskop]

Just check the chassis for space to fit the 5850. Ive got a CM gladiator (also a midtower) and the card is to long to fit in my case.

 

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

Thanks Kaaskop. The 632 is a measly 3 cm greater in length. I'll ask at the cooler master forum.

 

[Brawler]

I tested 2x 5850's and it wasnt too amazing..

 

[Vincent-CuTTiNG]

If my math is correct, there's about a 73% performance increase in crossfire, at least with the benchmark I was consulting anyways. Besides running 2x 5770's though, I think 2x 5850's has the best (dx11) performance cost ratio.