New Gaming Rig

bob48 · January 22, 2013, 02:00:45 PM

Sounds like a very cool rig, you should get some great gaming pleasure out of that :P

donkey_roxor · January 22, 2013, 02:08:30 PM

Quote from: Jack Nastyface on January 22, 2013, 01:54:22 PM
I have a dual-drive NAS cage (network attached storage device) that I use for file storage for the home. I am planning on replacing the drive I've got in the cage with two mirrored SSDs for backups, etc. Should work great, but will be costly...

Using SSDs for file/media storage or backup might be overkill. Why not either spend the money for hard disks with larger capacity or for a larger SSD for your main system instead?

Greybriar · January 22, 2013, 02:44:54 PM

Congrats on your new computer, Jarhead. It looks like you got a lot of bang for your buck.

Keep us posted on how Windows 8 stacks up.

JasonPratt · January 22, 2013, 05:07:31 PM

Quote from: Keunert on January 22, 2013, 07:28:26 AM
how about ssd hard drives? do they improve performance?

The main HD on my new Falcon is an SSD, and I'm inclined to say "yes"--they access twice as fast and don't need defragging ever!

However it's hard to tell because the overall superpower of the Presence (as I like to call it ;D ) makes everything look fast. I'll be curious if JH agrees about the superiority (at least as an OS main drive).

As for Win8, I echo JH's WTFFFFFFFFFFF!!?!

But Shelldrake over in another thread pointed me toward this small program for creating a classic Start menu, and while I haven't implemented it yet that'll help me swallow Win8 better.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/start-menu-in-windows-8-with-classic-shell/

Slick Wilhelm · January 22, 2013, 05:08:05 PM

Sounds like a nice rig for the money, Jarhead. :)

Personally, I decided not to build a new gaming rig just yet. I built my current rig back in 2008, but a few upgrades have kept it competative:

- Overclocked the i7 920 from 2.66 GHz to 3.36 GHz
- Upgraded the RAM from 6 GB to 12GB
- Upgraded the ATI 4870 1GB card to an AMD 6950 2 GB card
- Finally, just replaced the 10,000rpm Velociraptor with a 256GB OCZ SSD hard drive.
- And a fresh new install of Windows 7. Install was quick because I had loaded the OS onto a USB flash drive, and activation was a breeze because I had the registration number from the install DVD.

I think I'm good to go for another year or so before I need to build a new rig.

Let us know how the CT scan goes. I hope it's nothing serious.

JasonPratt · January 22, 2013, 05:19:24 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 22, 2013, 09:36:29 AM
Set it up last night. Love the monitor. 27" is the largest I've ever had for pc gaming. My last one was 22" or 23". I've only installed Ghost Recon Future Soldier, SOTS II Enhanced and DCS World, but I haven't really had time to play anything yet.

I recently upgraded to a 47" monitor, and that was waaaaay too much; but I suspect even a 42" monitor overloads my brain to the point I have trouble sleeping at night. (I gave my slightly older but still actually-better-than-new 37" Vizio to a cousin in college whose shared apartment needed a new HD after one of their roommates moved. New Vizio is 42". Even with the cruddy signal processing of the PowerDVD blu-ray software, Fellowship of the Rings looks stunning; can't wait to get my PS3 fixed this week.)

Anyway, what I meant was: if possible don't even worry about upgrading monitor size. A large monitor will turn your brain to mush.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 22, 2013, 09:36:29 AMSo far it runs great, though. At first, with Windows 8, I was like...W...T...F!?!?! It felt like a total rip-off of apple's system. I was thinking, if this is what Windows has become, I should have just bought a Mac...

BITE YOUR TONGUE!--I've worked on Macs all my life, and that ridiculous menu system on Win8 does not begin to approach licking the soles of a Mac's interface. .......or, some analogy like that.

What it actually rips off is iOS or some other pad-based system. That's literally the selling point, treating the monitor like a big touchpad. In fact it's supposed to be used with a freaking touch-pad monitor, as if Win8 users crapped gold. Blargh.

I have nothing but hatred for the menu system. The rest of it, eh, we'll see, but I saw an article that Valve's people think the system architecture overall is a disaster of Vista proportions. The expectation is that Microsoft will rush a fix-OS out asap, like Win7 was for Vista.

JasonPratt · January 22, 2013, 05:21:52 PM

Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on January 22, 2013, 05:08:05 PM
Sounds like a nice rig for the money, Jarhead. :)

Personally, I decided not to build a new gaming rig just yet. I built my current rig back in 2008, but a few upgrades have kept it competative:

- Overclocked the i7 920 from 2.66 GHz to 3.36 GHz

Damn, Slick, what are you using to cool that? Dry ice?? A wormhole into the outer darkness?!?

sandman2575 · January 22, 2013, 08:23:52 PM

A). Congrats on the new rig !

B). Just a by-the-way question -- I'm always a little surprised at how much RAM folks get these days -- 8-12 GB seems almost standard. My question is, does it actually make a difference for gaming, or is it for 'future-proofing'? Am I, like, so 2009 for only having 4GB?

Greybriar · January 22, 2013, 09:26:18 PM

In a word, yes.

Slick Wilhelm · January 23, 2013, 08:40:14 AM

Quote from: JasonPratt on January 22, 2013, 05:21:52 PM

Damn, Slick, what are you using to cool that? Dry ice??

One of these is all. Cooler Master Hyper N 520.

I also use an Antec 902 case, so I've got lots of airflow through the system.

Actually, with the i7 920 lots of people have made it to 4.0 GHz, but I don't really need that kind of horsepower. With the video card I have now, my FPS are solid.

Bismarck · January 23, 2013, 12:17:56 PM

My new one will be here in two weeks. Don't know the details other than it smokes. Am using iPad now.

JasonPratt · January 23, 2013, 01:18:29 PM

Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on January 23, 2013, 08:40:14 AM
Quote from: JasonPratt on January 22, 2013, 05:21:52 PM

Damn, Slick, what are you using to cool that? Dry ice??

One of these is all. Cooler Master Hyper N 520.

Sounds like an anime superhero. ;D

Kushan · January 23, 2013, 03:19:14 PM

Not sure why everyone hates windows 8. I've been using it for the last few weeks and like it more then windows 7. Its just as fast, if not a little faster, then win7 is. They added a couple of features to explorer that I like. The tile interface isn't near as bad on a normal PC with a mouse as some people may think. With windows 7 I used desktop shortcuts for most things anyways, it hasn't been hard to use tiles instead. Took me a few hours to learn were everything is at, but after that its been good. I have yet to encounter any compatibility issues, with games or programs. I've installed and started, almost all of my matrix games, 3-4 steam games, and 1 or 2 of the games I've got from GOG, and they all seem to work fine.