New PC Build

[njpaddy]

The PC I built 6 years ago wouldn't turn on over the weekend. A quick blink, then nothing. PSU is good, so I'm assuming it's the ABIT motherboard. To save a few dollars, I'm thinking about going AMD after 20 yrs of Intel CPU's. In some ways it's good timing since I was planning to upgrade to Win 7 from XP anyway. I'm looking at the following replacement parts:

ASUS Sabertooth 990FX MB (replacing ABIT IP35 Pro)
AMD FX8350 CPU (replacing an Intel E6750 Dual-Core)
Corsair Vengeance MEM 8GB (replacing Corsair 4MB)
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO CPU fan (instead of the AMD stock fan)

For the time being I'm keeping my EVGA GTX 550 Ti video card. I know it will be a bottleneck, but most of my games and programs are older ones anyway.

Anyone see any red flags with my proposed set up? I've got a CM Stacker 830 case, so there should be plenty of room. I'm trying to build more for reliability and future upgrading than speed and overclocking. I'm just a bit apprehensive about going AMD for the first time.

 

[hillbilly pick]

Saber tooth is a good board
Great CPU
I would use the stock heat-sink and fan as I have built a few dozen and it works great and some times a differen fan and sink do not fit just right.

you have good intake and exhaust fans in the case? AMDs run a little hotter than Intel.

evwything else looks good.

 

[hillbilly pick]

I went with the gigabit 990fx on my personal build and I work it pretty tough with video/photo editing. It's a great board and would recommend it too. I like asus as a company they make tough stuff.

 

[Phog Allen]

Gents, this is timely for me. My hoary old Dell e310(P4 2.8Ghz, 1Gb RAM, XP Pro) simply cannot handle any newer A/V software. I don't do a lot of editing but will eventually need to along with some trans-coding since my wife is really hammering me to get the old analogue 8mm video tapes digitised for playback over our network. I also run a programme called PlayonTv. This application aggregates online video content into a menu with folder architecture. It then chucks it out over the network to a front end unit. I currently use a PS3 for this but you can use a pc or XBOX 360 or I think even a Roku. It trans-codes internet video on the fly so it can get processor intense really fast. The old P4 struggles a LOT which is to be expected. This is Windows only application so as far as OS goes, it needs to be Microsoft.

Questions. Since most of the video this machine will process is intended for streaming is there really a need for super graphics ability? I always thought that capability was for rendering it directly to your monitor and that is where the heftier video capabilities were needed. I don't watch tv on the monitor and I do not game at all. So would onboard graphics do for most use? I note that most new motherboards have on board HD capability and HDMI output if I need to hook it up to the telly direct.

About that PlayonTv. I am sure the developers recommend multi-core processors. How many and how much speed do you really have to get in to? I have always seen it said by most enthusiasts to use a processor a step or three down from newest/most powerful to get really great performance and save a good bit of money. Good/bad idea? Is there really a need to step up to a super duty Core I7? As you can see most most of my use is a/v related. And yes, that editing thing will pop up from time to time. I know video editing can be very stressful on processors. I am completely out of the loop on motherboards so have no idea which socket and chipsets are the way to go if you need to change up processors later or add in some extra sound or peripheral cards. And power supplies. As an electrician I see some pretty wild claims made about power consumption with electronic devices. The truth is, no pc draws that much power. A lot of people think they do but in reality it is usually no more than a few light bulbs worth. And not very high wattage bulbs at that. I suspect quality of the supply would trump wattage. Thoughts on brands? Sorry to go on and on but this will come up soon and I don't want to have to rebuild it half a dozen times. So, stable motherboard, OS(really need to make a good decision here), quality memory, and good I/O ports. I could care less about legacy ports but want good selection of usb 3.0, Firewire, HDMI, and audio outs(and maybe 'ins' for the digitising process). Thanks much.

Cheers, Todd

 

[njpaddy]

you have good intake and exhaust fans in the case? AMDs run a little hotter than Intel.

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm good on fans. I'm running 5 case fans with slots for 2 more if needed. Still undecided about the stock CPU fan. Without overclocking, cooling should be ok, but most complaints seem to be that they're noisy. I anticipate the CM cooler may infringe on a ram slot, but that wouldn't bother me for now. I'll probably order it for $30 and decide during the build whether to use or keep as backup.

 

[UnCL3]

I likey...I think I'd go 16gb minimum on the ram, tho.

You can get 2500k's still for around 2 Benjamins and clock the pee-whine snot out of it
I wouldn't hesitate with the AMD cpu, tho...specs are decent, and I've not regretted any AMD builds I've done over the years (altho my personal workstations are always intel oc'd cpu's).

Cheers!

 

[mdunn]

stock CPU cooling is always average. Especially with a warmer AMD chip, it will be quieter if you have a bigger/better aftermarket cooler that doesnt have to run at full blast.

Ive one of the integrated CPU watercoolers that I really like. Keeps things cool, and is pretty quiet. Also, it doesnt impact any nearby slots and made it much easier to keep my airflow where I want it

 

[jrp316]

What's your PSU's wattage? I ask because that seems to be the only thing not getting an upgrade apart from your video card, and you might wanna make sure that your current PSU has the oomph to drive all that new gear.

AMD makes good processors, but like the others have said, they tend to run a bit warmer than Intel. If you've got a decent cooling system, it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

 

[njpaddy]

What's your PSU's wattage? I ask because that seems to be the only thing not getting an upgrade apart from your video card, and you might wanna make sure that your current PSU has the oomph to drive all that new gear.

Currently a Corsair HX650W bought in early 2012, but I'm considering replacing it again just to be safe.

 

[hillbilly pick]

Gents, this is timely for me. My hoary old Dell e310(P4 2.8Ghz, 1Gb RAM, XP Pro) simply cannot handle any newer A/V software. I don't do a lot of editing but will eventually need to along with some trans-coding since my wife is really hammering me to get the old analogue 8mm video tapes digitised for playback over our network. I also run a programme called PlayonTv. This application aggregates online video content into a menu with folder architecture. It then chucks it out over the network to a front end unit. I currently use a PS3 for this but you can use a pc or XBOX 360 or I think even a Roku. It trans-codes internet video on the fly so it can get processor intense really fast. The old P4 struggles a LOT which is to be expected. This is Windows only application so as far as OS goes, it needs to be Microsoft.

Questions. Since most of the video this machine will process is intended for streaming is there really a need for super graphics ability? I always thought that capability was for rendering it directly to your monitor and that is where the heftier video capabilities were needed. I don't watch tv on the monitor and I do not game at all. So would onboard graphics do for most use? I note that most new motherboards have on board HD capability and HDMI output if I need to hook it up to the telly direct.

About that PlayonTv. I am sure the developers recommend multi-core processors. How many and how much speed do you really have to get in to? I have always seen it said by most enthusiasts to use a processor a step or three down from newest/most powerful to get really great performance and save a good bit of money. Good/bad idea? Is there really a need to step up to a super duty Core I7? As you can see most most of my use is a/v related. And yes, that editing thing will pop up from time to time. I know video editing can be very stressful on processors. I am completely out of the loop on motherboards so have no idea which socket and chipsets are the way to go if you need to change up processors later or add in some extra sound or peripheral cards. And power supplies. As an electrician I see some pretty wild claims made about power consumption with electronic devices. The truth is, no pc draws that much power. A lot of people think they do but in reality it is usually no more than a few light bulbs worth. And not very high wattage bulbs at that. I suspect quality of the supply would trump wattage. Thoughts on brands? Sorry to go on and on but this will come up soon and I don't want to have to rebuild it half a dozen times. So, stable motherboard, OS(really need to make a good decision here), quality memory, and good I/O ports. I could care less about legacy ports but want good selection of usb 3.0, Firewire, HDMI, and audio outs(and maybe 'ins' for the digitising process). Thanks much.

Cheers, Todd

MB's with integrated graphics must use processor power and memory to accelerate. I am sure any upgrade to the MB and CPU will be a noticeable change but if you want to have a better experience and greater future upgrade options, I would go with dedicated graphics with a good amount of dedicated memory. Right now you don't need too much but your software will work smoother and it frees up your processor and memory.

But if you are using the machine as a streaming proxy type server to distribute to other devices, the network is going to be the weak link. Are you running wired or wireless?

AMD processors are great if you keep them cool. You can get a six-core for a decent price. The eight-cores are higher but still not i7 price.

pay attention to power requirements for graphics cards and processors and don't forget to have some head-room for cooling and peripherals. A good PSU is a must. Clean power is very important for extending the life of all electronics and I use power conditioners to convert all power to square waves instead of sine.

 

[hillbilly pick]

Currently a Corsair HX650W bought in early 2012, but I'm considering replacing it again just to be safe.

Good call on the PSU you beat me to it. Depending on GPU 650 should be ok but if it has some age on it you might think of replacing. I went with the corsair RM750 Gold and have room to expand.

i have plenty of power and have two SSD's one for OS and software, another SSD as a dedicated scratch-disk for video and audio editing, 3 TB spinner for mass storage, a 500gb drive out of an external that's power supply quit, and power left over.

 

[Phog Allen]

Good take on the discrete graphics unloading some of the acceleration. Network is combo of wired and wireless. Cat6 patch cable from router to Linksys four port switch at telly. PS3 and BluRay are always connected to it. I also connect the pc at this switch for anything the worthless PS3 browser won't handle. Which is a lot. Video apps for the PS3 are fine. The browser is beyond useless. Notebooks and tablet connect wirelessly. Router is a Netgear WNDR3700v4 with gigabit ports. I really need to replace the cheap 100mbs switch at the telly to help throughput.

Power quality is big with electronics. I will put real thought into the choice. Another thing to bear in mind is electrical connections in your home. Loose and ill wired connections at devices(receptacles, switches and light fixtures) cause more power issues than anything. Particularly for powerline network connections. So keep that in mind if you have weird issues. It can play a role. BTW, what sorts of power conditioners do you like? I may look into those as well. Thanks.

Cheers, Todd

 

[hillbilly pick]

Sounds like you have a solid network was going to recommend a switch.

i like Furman power conditioners.

 

[UnCL3]

Currently a Corsair HX650W bought in early 2012, but I'm considering replacing it again just to be safe.

If it checked out with a tester, I wouldn't bother. Corsair PSU's are really quite good. In 3 out of 5 rigs I have, there are Corsair PSU's (one of which is an HX650). The other 2 are Seasonics, who made most of the early Corsair PSU's.

Just my .02

 

[Ender78]

• 
  [*=left]
  • 
    [*=left]
    • 1 x CM Storm Sniper - Gaming Mid Tower Computer Case with Fan Controller and LED Light Switch (calls itself a mid tower but the thing is freaking huge)
      
      
      1 x MSI 890FXA-GD65 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
      
      
      1 x CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular High Performance ...
      
      
      1 x EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
      
      
      1 x AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ975FBGMBOX
      
      
      
      
      1 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10660) Desktop Memory Model GB316GB1333C9DC
      
      This is what I built.. I did wind up having to buy a new Harddrive later on but that was no biggie. and I also bought a V8 CPU cooler from Coolermaster.
      
      All of that was so I could play WoW on ultra settings but a few months after the upgrade, I kinda fell off the WoW wagon and went back to games that had endings and where I could play the game by myself and not have to worry about weepers, wankers and gankers. I am a solitary person by nature anyway. I play games like Wastelands, Doom3, Batman (all 3), Deadpool, Dishonnored.. etc this set up can handle them all.
      
      

 

[njpaddy]

If it checked out with a tester, I wouldn't bother. Corsair PSU's are really quite good. In 3 out of 5 rigs I have, there are Corsair PSU's (one of which is an HX650).

I picked up a tester to be sure and the Corsair PSU is also bad. Now I wonder what triggered the MB and PSU to go at the same time? I've had PSU's and MB go before, but never at the same time. The MB problem (short?) seems to be with the 8 pin 12V connector. The 24 pin seems ok.

RMA'd the PSU yesterday and ordered a Corsair RM750 Gold so I wouldn't have to wait for a replacement (thanks to hillbilly for mentioning that model).

 

[OfTheWild]

I run a Asus Sabertooth 990FX in my recent build (using an older 6 core Phenom II).
I started with the Asus m5a97 which is also an awesome board but it did not do so well with my SSD primary (130gb HyperX) and 2TB RAID10 setup (4 1TB WD RED drives).

If you want a fantastic board for AMD3+ thats easy to over clock or make tweaks in the GUI, i still have the m5a97. I was going to use it for a server but i'd let it go cheap (1/4 the cost of the sabertooth probably) if if was to help a BB member.

 

[njpaddy]

Thanks Dana. I appreciate the offer, but I already ordered the Sabertooth board. That m5a97 board was on my alternate budget build list, but my wife suggested I not worry about trying to save a couple of hundred and get what I wanted.

 

[UnCL3]

I picked up a tester to be sure and the Corsair PSU is also bad. Now I wonder what triggered the MB and PSU to go at the same time? I've had PSU's and MB go before, but never at the same time. The MB problem (short?) seems to be with the 8 pin 12V connector. The 24 pin seems ok.

RMA'd the PSU yesterday and ordered a Corsair RM750 Gold so I wouldn't have to wait for a replacement (thanks to hillbilly for mentioning that model).

Most Corsair PSU's have a 5 year warranty. I'm sure they are good for it. When you get it back you can ebay it or replace an older PSU in another rig you have. PSU testers are handy, eh?

 

[UnCL3]

Thanks Dana. I appreciate the offer, but I already ordered the Sabertooth board. That m5a97 board was on my alternate budget build list, but my wife suggested I not worry about trying to save a couple of hundred and get what I wanted.

H3LL YA!!!
You've got a keeper there, sir!