Building a computer

[Southern Dad]

Actually, I might. I'm still not set on if I'm going to build a new computer, or buy another car. I might even do both.

I bought a new car in 2000. A brand spanking new Z28, with $19,000 down. I don't plan on buying a new car again unless it's something like a Tesla. LOL... I even contemplated buying a Smart... probably won't though.

I never built my own computer before. When I had the rev 6A Amiga 500, I modified the motherboard. Put an A3000 Agnus in it and 2 meg chip memory. I'm an electronic tech with almost 40 years paid experience, studied since 1968, and I never built my own computer. I'd like to do it once, and it will be far more than I need. Just because...

Just because I can afford it, and just because I can then say I did it.

Even before my Amiga, I modified my 1541 for my C64 with a parallel interface, and more:

I was into program hacking back then, and I could lock in and spool a half-track, and more. I still have my C64 and three drives. I miss my Amiga A4000, but do have an A3000 with a Cybervision 64 3D graphics card and I wrote a machine language routine to reduce the wait states of the memory.

I have not kept up with modern PC's, but I have forgotten more about past PC than most people have ever known.

My C64 also had many modifications. That was back when we could run to Radio Shack for little switches and such.

 

[Southern Dad]

I placed a hold on an Amiga 4000 before they were available, and bought one of the three that hit the Portland Oregon area, the day the arrived. Cost me $3,000...

October 1992...

I had an Amiga 1000 then later a 500, and a 2500. I went PC before the 4000 came out.

 

[Lord of Planar]

My C64 also had many modifications. That was back when we could run to Radio Shack for little switches and such.

Yep.

I probable got all that at radio shack along with the switches and LED's. i still have it!

LOL...

Should have cleaned off my paw prints (dust) they are rather visible where i grasped it. It was probable sitting in the same place for 5 or more years until now.

 

[Lord of Planar]

I had an Amiga 1000 then later a 500, and a 2500. I went PC before the 4000 came out.

I wish I kept my A4000. I ran into money issues a few years after buying it, and it was hard to let go.

 

[kyle walker]

Building a PC keeping the costs within the budget, I build planning to use three monitor..1400p

 

[AGENT J]

I'm coming across some cash in the next few weeks. I'm either going to buy a second car, or build a sweet computer. Maybe even both. If you had as much as $4k to spend on a computer build, what would you choose for your components?

Required:

PCIe 4 lane SSD.

2011-3 processor.

This is what I did at Christmas time . . I love it!


Case: Corsair Carbide 300R with Sound dampening
Carbide Series® 300R Compact PC Gaming Case

Case Fans: Consiar Air Series AF120 LED blue QUiet Edition High Airflow
Two 120mm top fans, Two side panel 120mm fans and Two front panel 140mm fans all blue led, extra quiet with vibration mounts.
Air Series AF120 LED Blue Quiet Edition High Airflow 120mm Fan

Fan Controller: Lamptron FCT
FC Touch - LamptronLamptron

MOB: ASUS X99 Deluxe/U3.1
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/X99DELUXEU31/

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-5930K Six-Core 3.50GHz 15MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011-V3
500 Internal Server Error

CPU Fan: ENERMAX ETS-T40F-BK CPU Cooler Blue LED
http://www.enermax.com/home.php?fn=e...&lv1=50&no=302

Memory: 8GB Kingston HyperX Fury x 4
FURY DDR4 Memory | HyperX

Video Cards: Two EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB FTW
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-3967-KR


OS Drive: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO Series
http://www.samsung.com/global/busine.../overview.html

Data Drive: Dual 1 TB Seagate Desktop SSHD Hybrid Drives in Raid 1 configuration
http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard...-hybrid-drive/

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000watt G2
https://www.evga.com/Products/Produc...120-G2-1000-XR

Blu-Ray: Pioneer BDR206DBK
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...ves/BDR-209DBK

I talked about it here
http://www.debatepolitics.com/off-topic-discussion/240390-building-my-own-pc-its-gonna-beast.html

I run three monitors off one video card and the second runs a big screen when i want to stream movies etc

 

[Apocalypse]

I'm coming across some cash in the next few weeks. I'm either going to buy a second car, or build a sweet computer. Maybe even both. If you had as much as $4k to spend on a computer build, what would you choose for your components?

Required:

PCIe 4 lane SSD.

2011-3 processor.

Did you win the lottery?
Unless you're on some Forbes list, nothing justifies spending that sum of money on a computer.
As you go up in budget for buying a computer, at some point the differences in quality will be so insignificant you'd barely notice it. Spend it on a decent screen if you have to.

 

[Mycroft]

Did you win the lottery?
Unless you're on some Forbes list, nothing justifies spending that sum of money on a computer.
As you go up in budget for buying a computer, at some point the differences in quality will be so insignificant you'd barely notice it. Spend it on a decent screen if you have to.

I can think of one very good reason to spend this kind of money on a computer: Having a future-proof system.

In fact, I did pretty much the same thing in 2012. I wanted a computer that would be able to play most games for at least the next five years. This is it:

MOBO: ASUS Rampage IV Gene
CPU: Intel Core I7 3930K
Mem: 16 GB G.Skill DDR3
GPU: 2X Nvidia GeForce GTX 680

This includes water cooling for CPU, 1200W PS, a 240GB SSD, 2X 1TB Drives and 2X 27" 1080p monitors.

My only problem is that my desire to play games has shifted from "Play Everything!" to "Play Online MMO's and Single Player RPG's". Not much in those genres have come out lately that stress my system. I've had a lot of fun playing ESO Online and DragonAge at Ultra settings.

btw, because games and other software just aren't demanding very high end system stats nowadays, I'm thinking my system is going to serve me well for much more than five years.

 

[Apocalypse]

I can think of one very good reason to spend this kind of money on a computer: Having a future-proof system.

In fact, I did pretty much the same thing in 2012. I wanted a computer that would be able to play most games for at least the next five years. This is it:

MOBO: ASUS Rampage IV Gene
CPU: Intel Core I7 3930K
Mem: 16 GB G.Skill DDR3
GPU: 2X Nvidia GeForce GTX 680

This includes water cooling for CPU, 1200W PS, a 240GB SSD, 2X 1TB Drives and 2X 27" 1080p monitors.

My only problem is that my desire to play games has shifted from "Play Everything!" to "Play Online MMO's and Single Player RPG's". Not much in those genres have come out lately that stress my system. I've had a lot of fun playing ESO Online and DragonAge at Ultra settings.

btw, because games and other software just aren't demanding very high end system stats nowadays, I'm thinking my system is going to serve me well for much more than five years.

It'll get you through 8 years at the very least.
Last year I got myself a new system as well, after my previous one managed to still run newly released games nearly a full decade after I've built it(although I've made several small upgrades during the years) but could no longer handle the high graphics.
I got it for around $1.3k and I now regret spending that much, I could really do just fine with an average Intel i5 instead of my i7 6400k, I just figured that if I'll get myself the best CPU there is I'd just have to spend less money upgrading it through the years. Also, the fact that I've lost a lot of my interest in gaming in recent years and haven't played more than one single graphics-wise demanding video game (Fallout 4) on this new system so far makes it a lot more annoying.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Did you win the lottery?
Unless you're on some Forbes list, nothing justifies spending that sum of money on a computer.
As you go up in budget for buying a computer, at some point the differences in quality will be so insignificant you'd barely notice it. Spend it on a decent screen if you have to.

Sold some stocks 5/3.

I have $32k to play with, when the check arrives.

Today maybe?

 

[Southern Dad]

Sold some stocks 5/3.

I have $32k to play with, when the check arrives.

Today maybe?

Are you living debt free? If not, consider putting a lot of it toward that. It may not be as fun as spending it but in the end you will love it. I did my "I'm debt free!" shout just 17 months ago. No car payments, no credit card payments, no mortgage. My debt is whatever I owe the utility companies this month. It changed my life. [/puts away soapbox]

 

[Lord of Planar]

Are you living debt free? If not, consider putting a lot of it toward that. It may not be as fun as spending it but in the end you will love it. I did my "I'm debt free!" shout just 17 months ago. No car payments, no credit card payments, no mortgage. My debt is whatever I owe the utility companies this month. It changed my life. [/puts away soapbox]

My money is growing, and I'm in no hurry to retire. I have my personal mutual funds, and a 401k growing. I just like to take a chunk out every now and then, when Uncle Sam needs more revenue... The taxation sucks! Besides, I want my retirement money to grow more too.

Yes, having no or low debt is really nice. I'm not debt free. I use credit cards and generally pay most, if not all off when I get the statement. Not long ago, I bought a Stainless Steel shop tool box over $1,300 I'm paying on. No car payment, no house payment, though I might get a car payment... Probably just get a used car and pay cash like I did my last several cars.

I'll be quadruple dipping when I retire.

Social Security
Pension
401k
Mutual funds.

I haven't taken $30k+ out since 2000, and bought a new Z28 when I did. That was actual a company stock purchase program that yielded me over $30k with around $3,800 on my money invested into it, rather than my own mutual funds though. This time, it's my own investment account.

 

[chuckiechan]

Let me add this...

If you are a gamer, you are really building your computer to run your video card. That is job number one.

What game you play will determine your video card, and that will have a lot to do with the build of everything else. So start there and work back. BTW, you don't have to run all games on "Ultra" video ( Battlefield 4 specification. Others use different descriptions)

I prefer AMD processors. They are cheaper and run fine and you get more bang for the buck.

BTW, you don't need 64 gigs of ram.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Let me add this...

Nothing productive to add? Is this arrogance that follows?

If you are a gamer, you are really building your computer to run your video card. That is job number one.

Yes, and the motherboard I'm looking at will hold four.

What game you play will determine your video card, and that will have a lot to do with the build of everything else. So start there and work back. BTW, you don't have to run all games on "Ultra" video ( Battlefield 4 specification. Others use different descriptions)

But it's nice to have all options set to max.

I prefer AMD processors. They are cheaper and run fine and you get more bang for the buck.

Cheapskate... Besides, Intel is more reliable.

BTW, you don't need 64 gigs of ram.

Just because you don't...

How long do you think it will be before we do?

Oh... The motherboard I'll probably get holds 128 GB DDR4, up tp 3666 mhz.

 

[chuckiechan]

You deserve yourself.

 

[faithful_servant]

I'm coming across some cash in the next few weeks. I'm either going to buy a second car, or build a sweet computer. Maybe even both. If you had as much as $4k to spend on a computer build, what would you choose for your components?

Required:

PCIe 4 lane SSD.

2011-3 processor.

$4k??? I'd buy myself an incredible PC and then spend the other $2500 on a better car. With current tech, there is NO reason to spend $4k on a PC.

 

[faithful_servant]

I haven't checked recently, but my thought as of a few weeks ago was, with Amazon pricing:

$461.42 MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX
$214.00 Seagate 6TB ST6000DM001
$322.57 Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB NVMe
$699.99 EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti VR EDITION
$602.00 Intel Core i7-5930K
$630.99 Corsair Dominator Platinum 64GB DDR4 3333

I haven't kept up with the latest since. I'm sure when I'm ready to buy, these prices and technology will change.

I also want a modular power supply , and most likely an E-ATX motherboard rather than an ATX.

Amazon???? If you're going to throw a big pile of money at a PC, go to Newegg.com and start here:
ABS x99 Configurator - Newegg.com

 

[Lord of Planar]

$4k??? I'd buy myself an incredible PC and then spend the other $2500 on a better car. With current tech, there is NO reason to spend $4k on a PC.

It's something I have never done before, and want to make an elegant dragon if I actually do it. I know the value of buying more than what is needed at the moment when it comes to a fast paced technology. I was in an engineering department of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer for four years. I was interfacing with top corporate people of the industry at the time. I was great at the job, but another corporation bought the company out, and I didn't want to move to Phoenix. I actually understand and am still bound by contracts not to disclose, parts of how such paradigm shifts are managed.

Believe it or not, 128 GB will be needed soon, and I want to be ready. The industry however, will not sell what they plan for in the future. Just short of it, so those wanting to keep pace, have to buy again.

I don't need to keep pace, but if I build a top of the line system now for say $4K, it will last 10 years and I wont have to spend $1,500 every 2 years.

There is a method to my madness.

Besides, right now I can spend that much without thinking twice.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Amazon???? If you're going to throw a big pile of money at a PC, go to Newegg.com and start here:
ABS x99 Configurator - Newegg.com

Actually, I'm going to support the local community for every thing they have that I want. I will only mail order what the local areas doesn't stock. I get razzed by people for spending 20% more than the lowest price, but hey... If you like throwing local people out of work, that's your gig. Not mine.

I'm so far gravitating to the MSI Godlike gaming motherboard. It is an E-ATX. Probably still go with the i7-5930K. I'll definitely do 64 GB memory because you need four slots at a time, and I will max out 4 of the 8 slots, so I don't need to completely replace the memory when more is needed.

 

[Southern Dad]

Find a Micro Center of Fry's in your area. They always have clearance and open box discounted items. It is worth it.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Find a Micro Center of Fry's in your area. They always have clearance and open box discounted items. It is worth it.

I go to Fry's quite often. There isn't Micro Center nearby.

 

[Deuce]

DO NOT
ORDER
A 900 SERIES

GPU

NOW

ok. Phew. Hope I caught you in time.
Nvidia GTX 1080, GTX 1070: Price, release date | BGR




The 1080 is more powerful than the Titan X and is cheaper than the 980ti you're lookin at. (although there's also a chance to get a 980ti for super cheap as they start the firesales.)

 

[Lord of Planar]

DO NOT
ORDER
A 900 SERIES

GPU

NOW

ok. Phew. Hope I caught you in time.
Nvidia GTX 1080, GTX 1070: Price, release date | BGR




The 1080 is more powerful than the Titan X and is cheaper than the 980ti you're lookin at. (although there's also a chance to get a 980ti for super cheap as they start the firesales.)

Yes, I am well aware of the products, but thanx. I may wait on reviews of the new Pascal cards.

I just bough a cheap overclocked 950 for my current computer, replacing the 720 that came with it. These prices are dropping. If I start the build before a new card is available, I'll simply start it off with this 720 I already have, or the 950.

 

[Deuce]

Ok, now that I've had some time to read the thread and catch up: You may already know some or all of this, but it's just my advice. I build a lot of computers and will go toe-to-toe with anyone out there in terms of nerdery. I'll see your KSP, which I also play, and raise you a Nethack.

1) You've talked, indirectly, about "future proofing." A machine you can use for 10 years.

Here's the thing. in 5 years a $700 computer is going to be faster than your $4000 computer today. In two years, a $1500 computer is going to be faster than your $4000 computer today. You're not going to get ten years out of this computer. You're clearly interested in video games. No video gamer has ever gotten ten years out of a machine. It's absurd. Ten years ago if you wanted to max out a system you would have bought an Nvidia 7950 GX2 graphics card. Its 3Dmark score was 194. The GTX 970 scores over 8000.

So, don't be married to the idea of a $4000 machine. It's likely you can get identical real-world experience out of a $2000 computer today, and then two years from now buy another $2000 computer with even newer and cooler stuff!

So, about that real-world experience:

2) Faster RAM doesn't do much of anything for gaming performance. You wont get a single frame per second out of that 4000 vs 3333. Buy the lowest speed ram your motherboard works with. It's an incredibly rare scenario that "lolz ultrafast gaming RAM" will make a noticeable difference. Take the cheaper RAM, and maybe dump the savings into a better GPU. (although with a GTX 1080 I'd caution that there literally may not be such a thing)

3) CPU. Consider the i5 over the i7. The primary benefit of the i7 series over i5's is Hyperthreading, wherein the CPU will present 2 virtual cores for each physical core. (the system thinks your quad core CPU is an eight core) This results in slightly more efficient use of the CPU's time..... when you're running software that actually makes use of eight cores. As you mentioned somewhere, KSP is not such a game. Because there aren't any games that will make use of hyperthreading. It may change eventually, but I doubt it. The nature of gaming means CPU calculations will be leaning sequential rather than parallel, for the most part. The base clock speed is slightly faster on the i7, but you're getting a K model so I assume you plan to overclock. The i5 is going to get the same single-thread performance as the i7, sometimes even better. You might actually run games faster on the i5.

If you don't plan to overclock, don't get the K model CPU or the X99 series.

Plus, it's rare that a game is CPU bound at all. Sure, KSP is a good example when you build rockets that are very... Kerbal, but for most of your gaming CPU will never be the bottleneck. GPU will be.

4) I think 64GB of RAM is laughably high right now. My current machine is 24GB and I've never had an issue. I'd maybe go with 32GB, leave the extra slots open. The very first day you ever see an issue of not having enough RAM, go buy some more. I bet you it'll be years from now. And that RAM will cost half as much by then.

5) For the love of God, tell me you aren't planning to hook this rig up to a 1080p, 60hz monitor. edit: Found where you said a 1200p/1080p dual monitor setup and possible upgrade to two/three 1600p. I'd definitely go with the GTX 1080 for that. You should also check out the ultrawide 1440p setups out there. I have one and they're great.

edit2:

6) Is there a particular reason you want an E-ATX motherboard?

 

[SocialD]

ROG MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME/ASSEMBLY ~$500
Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 64GB DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz ~$480
I7-6700K ~$350
Corsair AX Series, AX860, 860 Watt Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Platinum Certified ~$160
Pick your Full Tower ATX case plenty of great ones for ~$250 or less.
GTX 980 TI - several good ones to choose from I prefer ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI on vid cards, ive had a few issues with EVGA cards ~$610-670
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM) -excellent deal on this been going on for ~$150
WD Black 5TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD5001FZWX - ~$220 best value right now for a performance storage drive
Thermaltake WATER 3.0 Triple Riing RGB High Static Pressure Fans 360 AIO Water Cooling System ~$175

very high end ~$2900 online bit more locally i would guess and you could double up your storage if you like and raid 0 or even SLI two of those vids if you like.