Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

@_@ back from break, hope this isn't too late.

Anywho, NaturalViolence was kind enough to cook up this list for me.

MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Acer HN274Hbmiiid Black 27" 3D Full HD HDMI WideScreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 92mm SSO CPU Cooler
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x 230mm front RED LED, 1x 140mm rear, 1x 230mm top, and 1x 230mm side
LG Black Super Multi SATA WH12LS30 LightScribe Support

Total cost around $2200

What I still don't understand (hardware noob here) is the differences between the various models of GPUs - some are made by MSI, some by Asus, some by XYZ...aren't they all made by Nvidia? Are there performance differences between the brands, or is it all just aesthetics?

Also, should I just go ahead and go straight for an i7? I heard there isn't much difference between i5 and i7 apart from HT....but as a graphics designer, I often use programs that require it....and since I have the cash, I thought "might as well...." is the difference noticeable at all?

Big Kudos to NaturalViolence for all the help he gave me, btw....is there a 'thank you' button in these forums?

P.S. To YouHaveRROD: Yes please! The more opinions the better....and that's a monster build you got there....

Ah right, thanks for reminding me to put the public links up.

$2,200 build: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=17074752
$1,400 build: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=17075092

For those of you planning to try and fine tune it remember he needs a good system for pc gaming and running dolphin (both cpu and gpu must be high end). Also the rig needs to be 3D vision capable which means that if you use a monitor that doesn't include it you must add the kit ($150) to the list separately.

Quote:What I still don't understand (hardware noob here) is the differences between the various models of GPUs - some are made by MSI, some by Asus, some by XYZ...aren't they all made by Nvidia? Are there performance differences between the brands, or is it all just aesthetics?

I'll try to explain this the easiest way I can. A video card is an expansion card (circuit board) with a lot of chips and stuff on it.

One of those chips is the GPU, graphics processing unit, which is a microprocessor intended to act as a graphics co-processor. That means that some tasks can be "hardware accelerated" by having the GPU do them instead of writing software for them that runs on the cpu. GPUs are microprocessors specifically designed to do graphics related tasks, they are not general purpose processors like CPUs. Since they are co-processors software running on the cpu must be used to generate the code that they run.

The cards also have memory, MOSFETs, voltage regulators, a bus connection, various ports, etc. on them.

Companies like MSI/ASUS/etc. make video cards. They buy the GPUs for their video cards from Nvidia or ATI. But they make the final product. Nvidia/ATI provide a reference design for the board. The board manufacturers (MSI/ASUS/etc.) can choose to use this reference design or make modifications to it and use a different/custom design. They can choose to change the clock rates of the GPU, they can choose to use higher capacity memory modules to give the card more video memory, they can provide their own cooling solution instead of the stock cooler designed by nvidia/ati.

So Nvidia/ATI make the chip, the GPU. MSI/ASUS/etc. make the cards. The GPU is useless without a card, and the cards are useless without a GPU.

Quote:Also, should I just go ahead and go straight for an i7? I heard there isn't much difference between i5 and i7 apart from HT....but as a graphics designer, I often use programs that require it....and since I have the cash, I thought "might as well...." is the difference noticeable at all?

Well you don't "require it", but you might benefit from it. It depends on the application. Most applications don't benefit from HT at all, but some (such as video encoders for example) benefit enormously from it. What exactly do you do? You need to be more specific.

So the different brands make different *Video Cards* that uses the same *GPU*.....(scribbles down notes)...ok, gotcha. Well, that was more outta curiosity then anything, so I'll be a good little boy and just get the one you recommended.

Programs I use include Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, and Maya (the Adobe suite I have been using for a few years now, just started w/ 3D animation last year).
If the i7 will greatly help AE encodes - which takes obscene amounts of time to do even on my work computers (which are a gazillion times faster than my home....laptop...) - then that's it, i7 all the way.

*pants heavily while drooling*

Can't wait to play Xenoblade in HD 3D...

Quote:Programs I use include Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, and Maya (the Adobe suite I have been using for a few years now, just started w/ 3D animation last year).
If the i7 will greatly help AE encodes - which takes obscene amounts of time to do even on my work computers (which are a gazillion times faster than my home....laptop...) - then that's it, i7 all the way.

*pants heavily while drooling*

Yes, yes it will. In that case spend the extra money on the i7 2600k.

You're one of the few people on the planet with a legitimately good reason to get a cpu with HT.

Just wanted to say that I've had a gtx280 for a while (now oldschool tech...), and upgraded to a 30" screen and i7 2600k.
Everything still runs fine (everything=normal apps, dolphin, recent pc games)
So if you want to save a few hundred bucks and don't have any reason to get a current gen card, definitely get an older one and max out your cpu instead.

fwiw, I also don't have any cd/dvd drive...can save money there.

I've also used this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
In 4 builds now, and all have worked fine. Another $100 saved

Thanks for the suggestion shuffle2!
...but I'm not gonna lie, filthy commercialism has already overridden any higher imperatives in my mind, so money saving be damned, I'm going all out this time! (maniacal laugh)

It's my first new PC in 6 years, so god knows I've got the cash to burn!

Speaking about burning cash, would someone kindly explain to me just how sound cards affect audio output, and how I might be able to otherwise increase audio fidelity on my system?

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s (modded into 595s), and am looking to invest in a set of speakers as well. I have always been confused by the relationship between the sound source (mp3s, smartphones, laptops) and the output device (headphones, earphones, speakers). Changing output devices make an obvious change to sound quality, but if a computer vs computer w/ soundcard....would the latter sound better?

In short, what should I do to get better audio quality?

Thanks everyone, you've all been really helpful - if not for this board, I'd probably be raging over a under-performing Alienware laptop right now...

(09-13-2011, 04:31 PM)nvekmauvia Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the suggestion shuffle2!
...but I'm not gonna lie, filthy commercialism has already overridden any higher imperatives in my mind, so money saving be damned, I'm going all out this time! (maniacal laugh)

It's my first new PC in 6 years, so god knows I've got the cash to burn!

Speaking about burning cash, would someone kindly explain to me just how sound cards affect audio output, and how I might be able to otherwise increase audio fidelity on my system?

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s (modded into 595s), and am looking to invest in a set of speakers as well. I have always been confused by the relationship between the sound source (mp3s, smartphones, laptops) and the output device (headphones, earphones, speakers). Changing output devices make an obvious change to sound quality, but if a computer vs computer w/ soundcard....would the latter sound better?

In short, what should I do to get better audio quality?

Thanks everyone, you've all been really helpful - if not for this board, I'd probably be raging over a under-performing Alienware laptop right now...

NaturalViolence's build is great,but i would a change a few things:
1.Get the CM PSU out of here.Get a Corsair one.
2.Not too keen on ASRock honestly.I'd got with a Asus/Gigabyte board.

Apart from that,it seems great.

Quote:1.Get the CM PSU out of here.Get a Corsair one.

It's a better PSU than anything corsair makes, especially for the money. Don't let the hivemind of internet forums that yells "CORSAIR!" every time because they have heard it from others trick you. They were all screaming "OCZ!" a few years ago and "ANTEC!" before that. In a few years they will be singing praises for coolermaster. The hivemind is always a few years behind on power supply advice since they tend to listen to other forum users and hype rather than reading reviews. Don't get me wrong corsair makes some great PSUs, but cooler master has surpassed them and it will take a few years for the hivemind to figure that out.

Quote:2.Not too keen on ASRock honestly.I'd got with a Asus/Gigabyte board.

Look at the product, not the brand. This is one of the best rated Z68/P67 boards both on newegg and across the web. Don't let brand stigma get in the way of your product decisions.

Quote:In 4 builds now, and all have worked fine. Another $100 saved Smile

Pfft. Saving money is for poor people.

Quote:Speaking about burning cash, would someone kindly explain to me just how sound cards affect audio output, and how I might be able to otherwise increase audio fidelity on my system?

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s (modded into 595s), and am looking to invest in a set of speakers as well. I have always been confused by the relationship between the sound source (mp3s, smartphones, laptops) and the output device (headphones, earphones, speakers). Changing output devices make an obvious change to sound quality, but if a computer vs computer w/ soundcard....would the latter sound better?

In short, what should I do to get better audio quality?

Oh god that's a long explanation, you kind of have to understand basic electronics and audio in general first. The short answer is both affect the resulting sound waves (and therefore quality).

If you're asking which would I buy first, speakers or audio card, I would go with an audio card. Nothing beats a good pair of headphones + audio card.

Speaker advantages:
-better imaging (sense of sound sources moving around)
-multiple people in the room can listen to it simultaneously
-more convenient (don't need to wear anything)

Headphone advantages:
-usually much cheaper (since theinternal hardware is smaller)
-much higher sound quality (since it fires the sound waves straight into your ears and the waves don't need to go very far)
-other people can't listen in (unless it's an open back)

(09-14-2011, 08:53 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:1.Get the CM PSU out of here.Get a Corsair one.

It's a better PSU than anything corsair makes, especially for the money. Don't let the hivemind of internet forums that yells "CORSAIR!" every time because they have heard it from others trick you. They were all screaming "OCZ!" a few years ago and "ANTEC!" before that. In a few years they will be singing praises for coolermaster. The hivemind is always a few years behind on power supply advice since they tend to listen to other forum users and hype rather than reading reviews. Don't get me wrong corsair makes some great PSUs, but cooler master has surpassed them and it will take a few years for the hivemind to figure that out.

Quote:2.Not too keen on ASRock honestly.I'd got with a Asus/Gigabyte board.

Look at the product, not the brand. This is one of the best rated Z68/P67 boards both on newegg and across the web. Don't let brand stigma get in the way of your product decisions.

FINE GEEZ YOU WIN :/

I'll be getting a soundcard then!

Think I'll build her up as soon as I get back to Australia, so might take a while...

...but I'll definitely post my thoughts/screens when I'm good!

Once again, (last time, I promise) thanks guys!

*genuflects*