Hardware Discussion Thread

[ExtremeDude2]

(11-27-2013, 02:44 PM)Shonumi Wrote:

(11-27-2013, 10:38 AM)ExtremeDude2 Wrote: Wait, what did I do?

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-hardware-discussion-thread?pid=302612#pid302612

O yeah, I guess I did do that XD

[Masahiro]

(11-27-2013, 02:26 PM)Xtreme2damax Wrote: This is what I am set on for my new hardware:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=31639328

I presume I can still use my current 800W PSU and be alright, no need for anything else. I'm not sure how sufficient my current ram will be, have 3x 2GB sticks of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 but maybe I should consider this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Very rare poster, but decided to poke around a little for fun

Don't bother buying the EVGA superclocked version of the 780, it's not worth the premium over the standard one. What's more do yourself a favor and buy the ACX cooler version. The cooler is quieter, and cools MUCH better for just about the same price. Alternatively if you'd like to save some cash go for a 280x. You do lose a bit on performance but assuming you're gaming on 1080p the 780 is well beyond what you need to max out just about every game @ 60fps. That said, if you're gaming beyond 1080p, you could either go the route of 780s, 780tis, or the 290/290x from AMD. Honestly on a bang for buck perspective the 290/290x are absolutely awesome, but I'd wait until after non reference design coolers come out, as their coolers are absolutely TERRIBLE.

Not sure why you want an i7, do you do cpu intensive tasks that warrant hyperthreading? For gaming hyperthreading is useless, as just about no titles make use of it, and those that do do not see massive appreciable improvements. A 4670k would be more than enough for most people. That said, if you're streaming, heavy encoding, virtualization and the like you will be better served by the i7.

Also, having a budget like that and no SSD seems kind of criminal to me. It's a massive performance bump. A samsung 840 evo would be a great addition.

As for the powersupply, it will be cutting it a little close. 780s in SLI generally speaking you want around 800W, and more if you're overclocking.

But if you're just interested in going balls out there's 2 routes I'd recommend:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2aw29

x79 is a great platform for balls out enthusiasts, give you extra pci lanes for increased GPU bandwidth in multi card configurations (which at 2 cards may or may not be helpful, there isn't much good evidence either way when it comes to intensive gaming esp in the multiplayer category) and great overclockability. The powersupply is rock solid, even though it's a bronze. As for the GPUs, I'd consider getting either the EVGA GTX 780 with ACX coolers, the Gigabyte Windforce 780 with ACX coolers, or the 780 ti versions of these cards if you really want to throw balls to the wall.

Alternatively you could downgrade to z87/1150 and retain the pci lanes if you wanted by getting a plx chip enabled motherboard (which allows for pci lane multiplexing, effectively doubling the pci lanes available from 16 to 32) such as the gigabyte g1 sniper, or the oc force, and either a 4670k or 4770k. Hope this all helps

[AnyOldName3]

Quote: As for the powersupply, it will be cutting it a little close. 780s in SLI generally speaking you want around 800W, and more if you're overclocking.

Bear in mind that the Titan-based Steam machines are specified with a 300W PSU. He may be less close than you think.

[Xtreme2damax]

I have an 800W modular Corsair PSU.

I was interested in an i7 only because I plan on recording game play, doing some video encoding and maybe stream from my pc to other computers and devices. Plus my current system has an i7; I don't plan on building another system for a very long time so I want purchase the best right now, have enough power to play all my current games and any titles released within the next five years.

[Masahiro]

(11-29-2013, 07:19 AM)AnyOldName3 Wrote:

Quote: As for the powersupply, it will be cutting it a little close. 780s in SLI generally speaking you want around 800W, and more if you're overclocking.

Bear in mind that the Titan-based Steam machines are specified with a 300W PSU. He may be less close than you think.

Well if that's true, then most likely components have been downclocked to pull that off. The only way the Titan and a CPU/everything else could be upgraded is if the (most likely) gpu was downclocked to bring the TDP down from 250W to say 180-250W to allow for everything else.

[Anti-Ultimate]

Or undervolted....

[Masahiro]

(11-30-2013, 04:51 AM)Anti-Ultimate Wrote: Or undervolted....

Downclocked = undervolted in what I was saying. Generally speaking when you downclock something, you also undervolt it as a power savings. You most likely won't need the same voltage with lower clocks after all .

[NaturalViolence]

Shonumi Wrote:You've got your roles all mixed up

You sure about that? I always thought it was roll. Role doesn't make any sense in that expression.

@Xtreme2damax

That is soooo over the top.

Also you have a 2x4GB kit listed. Is that intentional? Why not just get an additional 2GB DIMM to save money? And dear god why do you need a top of the line cpu, gpu, and a $300 motherboard!?!

Xtreme2damax Wrote:I don't plan on building another system for a very long time so I want purchase the best right now, have enough power to play all my current games and any titles released within the next five years.

It's better to do smaller more incremental upgrades. You never have to face your hardware being quickly outdated without being able to afford a replacement and you spend the same or less long term.

AnyOldName3 Wrote:Bear in mind that the Titan-based Steam machines are specified with a 300W PSU. He may be less close than you think.

Can I get a source on that? I wasn't able to dig up anything on google about the PSU and 300 watts is barely more than the GPU alone uses at full load. It's impossible to build a system around that without it shutting down when taxed.

Masahiro Wrote:x79 is a great platform for balls out enthusiasts, give you extra pci lanes for increased GPU bandwidth in multi card configurations (which at 2 cards may or may not be helpful, there isn't much good evidence either way when it comes to intensive gaming esp in the multiplayer category) and great overclockability.

Every single study I've seen conducted on this shows little to no performance increase (<4%) in dual card setups from increasing pci-e bandwidth. Either total or per card. You don't start to see any statistically significant difference until you get to 3 or 4 top of the line cards. Buying an x79 system for this is just pissing away money in my opinion.

I would pay a little bit more for a samsung 840 pro instead of an 840 evo. Better lifespan and write speed.

[Shonumi]

@NV - Go back and read your original post: https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-hardware-discussion-thread?pid=302839#pid302839 You mixed up role and roll. The bolded part is my fixing your statement. The linguistic pun refers to people mixing up their roles (i.e. functions), as in you're often pointing out mistakes like that to others, but now things have switched in a way, you know, a "role reversal" :p

[NaturalViolence]

Oh.....so I did. My bad.