Building A Custom PC Question

[rlf3911]

"i wont need anything really high performance, i wont be doing anything really taxing on this PC"

Get a netbook! Love mine, does all my web surfing, e-mail, poker, and youtube/tv watching without a hitch. EEE 1005HA. I did upgrade the RAM to 2gb, and put in a intel x-25, got about $500 in it all together. Love it.

[Xerios]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Anyone here use 12GB RAM? I wonder how fast the speed would be on such a machine.

theoretically it would just mean more processes could be run over a longer span of time before clearing out the cache...

we had a server in the lab last week with 128 GIG of ram i was like wtf who needs this (turns out its a pharmaceutical company who bought it from us)

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by Xerios

theoretically it would just mean more processes could be run over a longer span of time before clearing out the cache...

we had a server in the lab last week with 128 GIG of ram i was like wtf who needs this (turns out its a pharmaceutical company who bought it from us)

LOL!

What does your PC run at?

[DJ Manyak]

12gb is ram overkill for just everyday use

[Xerios]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

LOL!

What does your PC run at?

2 years ago i built a brand new one... i wasnt going to use a 64 bit os but i left 2 memory banks over

1 quad core intel proc @ 2.66 ghz
4gb memory
7000 gigs of hard drive space
9800GTX OC nvidia card
1 bluray burner
1 bluray reader

[FlipperWasIrish]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Anyone here use 12GB RAM? I wonder how fast the speed would be on such a machine.

I can't give you an accurate answer to the 2nd part of your question, it's too open ended. It depends upon variables. Two critical ones are, one, what version of Windows 7 you are running, as you can add 12GBs but 32-bit Windows 7 will never even use near that amount. The 64-bit version can access it, so at this point. Two, what task(s) are you asking the computer to accomplish?

For the first part I have not used that much on any of my machines, but I have had a couple of clients that felt the need to have 16GB (overkill IMHO). Buy they have been happy so all is good.

[binarymelon]

Something else to keep in mind if you're going to go with a 32-bit OS, that I just found out recently. Your 4gb of RAM isn't actually 4gb. The 4gb limit is for total addressable memory. This includes your video RAM, and quite possibly other things (but video RAM is what will make the most impact).

[BLindsay]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Anyone here use 12GB RAM? I wonder how fast the speed would be on such a machine.

I run 12GB of DDR3, the rest of my system is

Intel core i7 920 @ 4.0GHz
12GB DDR3 1600
2 Intel X25-E 32GB RAID-0
4 Segate 1TB RAID-5
Asus P6T
Lite-on DVDRW (gonna swap for blu-ray burner soon)
Antec 650w (gonna swap for corsair 1kw soon)
ATI 1GB 4870 (gonna swap for 2x 5850's soon)

Oh and its all watercooled

[Xerios]

Originally Posted by BLindsay

I run 12GB of DDR3, the rest of my system is

Intel core i7 920 @ 4.0GHz
12GB DDR3 1600
2 Intel X25-E 32GB RAID-0
4 Segate 1TB RAID-5
Asus P6T
Lite-on DVDRW (gonna swap for blu-ray burner soon)
Antec 650w (gonna swap for corsair 1kw soon)
ATI 1GB 4870 (gonna swap for 2x 5850's soon)

Oh and its all watercooled

other than "4 Segate 1TB RAID-5" i like the setup, but what do you do that you need soo much horsepower?? you could practically create avatar on that setup (i know its a joke lol, avatar was setup using many servers and the HP blade c class blade system)

im working on a new setup over the next 2 years... since the one i have is only 2 years old and i built it for 7 years into the future lol.. i wanna raid 1 (2 drives for the OS) and raid 5 or 6 about (8) 2TB drives... i need space

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Xerios

im working on a new setup over the next 2 years... since the one i have is only 2 years old and i built it for 7 years into the future lol.. i wanna raid 1 (2 drives for the OS) and raid 5 or 6 about (8) 2TB drives... i need space

I have a ton of HD bays in my comp I think like 8 or more but raid scares the shit out of me because if one crashes don't they all crash

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by rlf3911

"i wont need anything really high performance, i wont be doing anything really taxing on this PC"

Get a netbook! Love mine, does all my web surfing, e-mail, poker, and youtube/tv watching without a hitch. EEE 1005HA. I did upgrade the RAM to 2gb, and put in a intel x-25, got about $500 in it all together. Love it.

i definitely need more than a netbook, but that might be something i get later on just for internet and stuff, but i do need a desktop in this case

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by Xerios

we gotta believe that if he wanted SLI, he would know what hes doing in the first place and wouldnt be asking us such a generic question haha.. i know jono on some level and im betting he doesnt know what SLI is...

other than graphical design and i mean heavy graphical design like multiple cad, autocad, cadkey, cimatron programs i dont know any consumer level person who needs sli... its just cool to say i have 4 video cards operating as one lol

i can definitely say i dont need to be doing this stuff, and if i do some gaming, its not going to be anything heavy, im not ashamed to admit that every once in awhile i get the urge to rock some sim city or a game of that nature, nothing that is going to have really major needs as far as the video card, my real gaming is done on the PS3, and i really dont even have a lot of time for that right now

another thing i dont know, whats the differences between running a 32 and a 64 bit OS? is there advantages to one over the other, i just assumed that the 64 was the way to go

also, anybody know where i could find a copy of vista for decently cheap, my dad told me hes got an upgrade code for windows 7 that he doesnt need since he decided to just buy a brand new PC himself, so ill use that if i can to save from having to buy a new copy of 7

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

A Core i7 CPU would offer great overclocking potential, but if you're not gaming or graphics editing (e.g. Photoshop), it's just wasted money. A Core i3 or i5, or an AMD Phenom II X2 or X4 has more than enough processing power for the average user.

thats pretty much what i figured

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

A few questions:

• Are there any existing components from your current PC that you can transfer over to the new build (that includes mouse and/or keyboard)? This could help with reducing the overall cost.
• Will you be doing any overclocking?
• Will you consider an AMD-based system?

*yeah, i am going to use my existing mouse, keyboard, etc for now and just swap those out for new pieces when i can, my plan is to be as wireless as possible, ive got such a mess of cables right now, its super annoying

*i dont think so, it would help if i really understood what that meant, but it sounds like something i wouldnt be doing unless i really knew what it was

*i guess so, but from the research i have done on this, it seems like the prevailing opinion is that intel is the better way to go

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by jono_0101

*yeah, i am going to use my existing mouse, keyboard, etc for now and just swap those out for new pieces when i can, my plan is to be as wireless as possible, ive got such a mess of cables right now, its super annoying

I'll keep this in mind when I put together your checklist.

*i dont think so, it would help if i really understood what that meant, but it sounds like something i wouldnt be doing unless i really knew what it was

Basically, overclocking allows your PC to perform a bit (or significantly) faster than paying substantially more for upgrades to existing components. What happens is that you're modifying the clock frequency of specific components, usually the CPU and memory, to run at a higher-than-rated speed.

The process of overclocking has become easier, even for casual users, because motherboard manufacturers include software which will allow you to adjust these clock frequencies relatively safely, without voiding the warranties on your components. There are still risks involved though, namely, potential system instability and shortening the lifespan of these components.

In my case, I used the software provided by GIGABYTE to modify the clock frequencies on my CPU and memory. My CPU is rated at 2.66GHz from the factory, but overclocked, it runs at 3.44Ghz right now.

Overclocking is an option that's available to you, if you ever choose to exercise it.

*i guess so, but from the research i have done on this, it seems like the prevailing opinion is that intel is the better way to go

Intel's CPU do run a bit cooler and consume less energy than their AMD counterparts. AMD is a great alternative if you're a serious overclocker, but seeing as you don't need turbocharged performance for checking e-mails, I'll just stick with Intel.

I'll try to put together a sub-$1000 system for you later this afternoon.

[onyxbfly]

@ Jono, for under a thousand you could simply go with a H55 chipset and that will give you full hd audio via hdmi no need for a GPU unless you plan on gaming, if you want more power you can simply OC the chip. All you need is a case, ram, psu, mobo and chip. The case would be based on what your size limitations are, and or preferrence. They have small cases that resemble blu ray players but as such you would be limited in terms of upgrading the components. Then they have cases with full touch screen which would blow your budget from the go. Some cases come with PSU one that comes to mind is the Antec nsk2480.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by onyxbfly

@ Jono, for under a thousand you could simply go with a H55 chipset and that will give you full hd audio via hdmi no need for a GPU unless you plan on gaming, if you want more power you can simply OC the chip.

He mentioned in post #5 that he may do some occasional gaming, so the H55 chipset may not suffice. I'm not sure what kind of gaming he had in mind, but even a lowly HD 5450 at $45 should return some decent framerates at a 1680x1050 resolution (depends on the game).

I don't think he's doing any overclocking either, so it needs to be an acceptable performer from the get-go.

[jono_0101]

i wont be doing any crazy gaming on this PC, my gaming is done on my PS3, when i say occasional gaming, its when i get the urge to play something like sim city, i dont know why, i just like playing games like that occasionally, so it wouldnt be anything requiring a LOT of power graphically

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by jono_0101

another thing i dont know, whats the differences between running a 32 and a 64 bit OS? is there advantages to one over the other, i just assumed that the 64 was the way to go

It depends on your needs.

The main advantage of going with a 64-bit OS is its superior memory management, i.e. will handle > 4GB of RAM.

A few caveats though: even though most 32-bit applications will run on a 64-bit OS, there are exceptions (such as anti-virus software). Drivers written for a 32-bit OS may not work on a 64-bit OS.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

It depends on your needs.

The main advantage of going with a 64-bit OS is its superior memory management, i.e. will handle > 4GB of RAM.

A few caveats though: even though most 32-bit applications will run on a 64-bit OS, there are exceptions (such as anti-virus software). Drivers written for a 32-bit OS may not work on a 64-bit OS.

Not to mention video players, music player sites still need to be run in the 32 bit variation.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by BLindsay

I run 12GB of DDR3, the rest of my system is

Intel core i7 920 @ 4.0GHz
12GB DDR3 1600
2 Intel X25-E 32GB RAID-0
4 Segate 1TB RAID-5
Asus P6T
Lite-on DVDRW (gonna swap for blu-ray burner soon)
Antec 650w (gonna swap for corsair 1kw soon)
ATI 1GB 4870 (gonna swap for 2x 5850's soon)

Oh and its all watercooled

Wow! Even though that much memory is not needed I would get it myself if I had the money.

But the watercooling, how does that work exactly? Do you put water in it lol?