GR ~ PC Hardware thread

[AgOnNy]

There's a chance I might get my first commission paid at the end of Jan, so thinking it's time I spruce up the computer.

Everything is still good I guess, but looking at upgrading to an SSD and want to upgrade to a DX11 card (currently running a Vapor X 4890).

For the SSD, it will just be for the OS and programs so leaning towards a OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD. Might also get either a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB or a WD Velociraptor just for docs, music and video (right now I have a partition on a SATA II drive). The Seagate Momentus is great for a bootup drive, but not sure if there'll be much benefit for storage.

For the video card I've kept an eye on the 5970, but might wait until the 6970 range is released. Also, thinking of doubling my RAM from 6GB to 12GB....

Any thoughts?

[Pariah]

12GB of ram can have adverse affects on high overclocks..unless you are using that much ram i'd say its not really worth going 12

as for the GPU leaked benchmarks out so far put the 6970 behind the NV 580GTX...looks like AMD have it positioned around the 570 performance wise

vortex 2 + raptor or momentus should be fine but the 600GB Raptor still outperform the momentus overall

oh right and the 5970 will still out perform the 6970...since 6970 is not the dual GPU variant...that will be the 6990 and on NVs side they will be releasing the 595GTX

[Shaneus]

vortex 2 + raptor or momentus should be fine but the 600GB Raptor still outperform the momentus overall

You getting the Momentus and the Momentus XT mixed up? The XT is the one with the 4gb SSD cache on it. From what I remember it's pretty much faster than anything that isn't pure SSD.

[Pariah]

No I'm not

http://www.anandtech.com/print/3734" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Overall raptor beats momentus xt seeing as he won't be using as his windows drive boot time does not matter

Though since he will be using the drive for videos music and other stuff maybe going for a 2TB WD black would be the best option

They are very fast for mechanical drive and offer a ton of space

[AgOnNy]

The current 400GB partition for 'Libraries' sits on a 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda. I was originally thinking or re-partitioning that to a larger size, however thinking that a new drive might be best and 1.5TB will just be used as a download drive.

Main reason I was looking at a faster drive is that my photos & images that I process in Photoshop will sit on there (program will sit on the SSD).

[Pariah]

looks like raptor is the way to go than..

[pilonv1]

6950/6970 reviews out!

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4061/amds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... on-hd-6950

http://hardocp.com/article/2010/12/14/a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ard_review

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-6950-6970-review" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AgOnNy]

I was looking everywhere for a review this morning for the 6970, decided to take a leap of faith and buy it anyway. Will have it tomorrow.

[Shaneus]

I just bought a second 5850 and a motherboard capable of dual x16 PCI-E so I can squeeze some life out of my Q9550 775 CPU. Should last me well past the 6xxx series and into whatever 7xxx offers (DX12?). Bundled with the OCZ SSD I'm installing, I'm pretty chuffed.

[pilonv1]

That's my next choice - do I get a better single GPU or new mobo and second 5850. Otherwise I'll hang on to what I have and do a new build in a year or two.

[Shaneus]

I bought my second (matching) 5850 from eBay for $200 shipped. Beauty is that even though it's non-reference it DOES have a voltage controller in it so you can overclock the fuck out of it. My current single card runs at about 920/1200 (give or take).

[AgOnNy]

On the weekend I'll be installing the OCZ Vertex 2 and the Radeon 6970. Going to put the video card in first to see what it can do performance wise with the current system, then wipe everything and start fresh.

Anyone interested in buying my Sapphire 4890 Vapor X? Awesome card and still up there, only thing it doesn't support is DX11. I play the majority of my current games maxed out and it's a nice overclocker (clock @ 950MHz). Pretty sure I've still got the box too.http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentatio ... 01&pid=259.

[flipswitch]

I have a i7 920 which isn't overclocked.Is it possible to overlclock the cpu while still using the stock cooling?

and another thing, i have no idea how to do it.I guess that's what google is for.

[Pariah]

I have a i7 920 which isn't overclocked.Is it possible to overlclock the cpu while still using the stock cooling?

and another thing, i have no idea how to do it.I guess that's what google is for.

id say 3.2GHz on stock cooling would be attainable [you can push it further but on stock cooling i'd stick with 3.2GHz as max safe overclock]

and how to do it all depends on your motherboard..

[AgOnNy]

Anyone want to buy my Vapor X 4890? It OC's extremely well and performance is still well above average.

[Sveky]

How much Ags?

[flipswitch]

So I am thinking of upgrading my 4890 for something around the $300-50 mark.Should i bother with the GTX470, or wait for the new GTX 560 which comes out later this month?. Any other cards I should look out for? thanks.

One more thing, is the 6950 a good buy and is it compatible ( have all the connections) with the i7 920 motherboard?

Just reading some reviews of it.

[pilonv1]

I can't speak for this first hand, but apparently the 6950 can be unlocked to a 6970 with a certain bios.

[Pariah]

So I am thinking of upgrading my 4890 for something around the $300-50 mark.Should i bother with the GTX470, or wait for the new GTX 560 which comes out later this month?. Any other cards I should look out for? thanks.

One more thing, is the 6950 a good buy and is it compatible ( have all the connections) with the i7 920 motherboard?

Just reading some reviews of it.

do not buy a GPU till the 560GTX hits aus market..which should be around two weeks or so

once it is out get the gpu that offers best bang for buck

[if the 560 is as an amazing overclocker as many are claiming it might end up with the bang for buck crown]

[flipswitch]

I have a few questions.

This is my powersupply Ritmo force 1200 gaming. http://ritmotech.com.au/satotech/produc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... e0bb4a0cd0
The videocard that I want is the geforce gtx 570 which is a dual slot. it says it needs two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors
my motherboard is GA X58A UD39.

Will this graphics card work with my current system listed above?

sorry for the noobish questions.

[Pariah]

yes it will work

you will need to insure that both "PCI-6-pin" leads are plugged into the 570GTX



top view of where you will need to plug the leads into

[flipswitch]

Yeah, thanks pariah.I just had a look at my 4890 which appears to be 2 6pin connectors as well.

[Pariah]

no problem

good choice going for the 570

[pilonv1]

I like the power connections being on the side like that. My stupid 5850 is on the end which makes it a tight fit in my case.

[flipswitch]

My card has been shipped, thought it would come today but it doesn't look like it now.

Regarding overclocking, would PC stores be able to do it for someone who doesn't know how to, or is it something they don't deal with?
The guy who usually builds my pc, said not to do it ( i have the i7 920) but if you check the net it's a completely different story.