Hardware suggestions

[theFightingSeabee]

Hi,

My computer was fried a month or so ago and I am now looking for a motherboard/cpu/ram combo. Looking around, I have no idea what is good or not. I don't need the latest, most expensive and most powerful combo. Just a decent mid-range combo that will last me at least a couple years.

Any help, suggestions, etc is appreciated. Thanks!

[Schrullenhaft]

I assume you're looking for a video card with that combo or do you have one already that needs to work with this new motherboard ?

Cost-wise the AMD Athlon/Phenoms are pretty good, but the Intel CPUs tend to be a bit faster (and more expensive). If CM is your main addiction, then you're probably not going to see a difference between a quad-core, a tri-core or a dual core CPU. The CM series still utilizes only one CPU core and will continue to do so for several more years. However for other tasks you may see a difference with the number of cores, only a few programs really make much use of more than one or two. Most programs that can make use of more than one or two cores are typically data heavy video/audio converters, compressors, encoders, etc.

DDR2 and DDR3 seem to be almost equivalent in price, so for future compatibility (CPU upgrades primarily), DDR3 memory and motherboards may be the way to go. Of course upgradability can be surprisingly short lived since things tend to change at inopportune times for the customer.

Another thing you may need to consider in a new motherboard/CPU/memory combo is a power supply if you don't already have a 24-pin one already with sufficient wattage. With the newer Intel CPUs you may need the 8-pin 12V supply line too.

A major factor will probably be how much you're willing to spend since there are quite a few options. CM will probably benefit the most from a fast CPU more so than the amount of memory since it is only a 32-bit application that can probably see only 2GB of RAM at max. However you'll probably want to get at least 4GB (2 x 2GB modules). When it comes to memory purchases you'll want to inspect any 'memory compatibility lists/documents' the motherboard manufacturer has to ensure you get something that is compatible. Unfortunately a lot of these lists do NOT have a lot of the memory modules out there that may actually work. Reading through some of the user feedback from the Newegg reviews is helpful since you may run into combinations that have and have not worked for people (that aren't on the list).

For CM's purposes I would suggest something that has a lower latency rather than is faster (though you do want to get a sufficient speed). Bandwidth is nice (the speed), but I'm not sure how much of a difference that may make for CM where as lower latency may be more noticeable, especially when you get into the more bargain cost, name-brand memory that starts to have much higher latencies. I typically stick with memory manufacturers such as Corsair, Kingston, OCZ, GSkill, Mushkin though you may find other brands that do well. Corsair seems to be on a lot of 'memory compatibility lists', but like any other brand they can have bad modules go out (since the actual memory chips on them can change - as with almost any other brand). Newegg reviews are handy in this regard since you can somewhat determine if a particular model is having quality issues with newer chips, etc.

For AMD CPUs the AMD chipsets seem to be the best (since they offer a bit better overclocking potential with some of the chips). Nvidia does fine too. For Intel I typically stick with the Intel chipsets too, though Nvidia also does fine. Occasionally I hear some issues with Nvidia's software-RAID (using their southbridge), though that might not be something you'll do. Nvidia does offer the capability of running SLI (multiple video cards) with Nvidia video cards (you can't do that with any other chipset, except a few Intel ones). For ATI Crossfire (AMD's version of SLI), both the AMD and Intel chipsets work.

For AMDs, the CPUs I would recommend (most based on specs rather than personal experience) - all Socket AM3, for DDR3 compatibility - the Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz), Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz), Phenom II X3 720 (2.8GHz), Phenom II X2 550 (3.1GHz). The Athlon II's don't have an L3 cache (not sure how much of a difference that is for CM), but some of them have 1MB L2 cache per core (compared to the standard 512KB of most cores).

For Intel CPUs, the LGA775 socket CPUs are 'dead' and you won't be seeing anything newer in that socket (that's fast, at least). However the higher end Socket 775 CPUs are closer in price to the above AMDs (the quad cores). The E8500 (3.16GHz) or E8400 (3.0GHz) dual cores are good (E8600 is a bit more expensive for a small speed bump). The Quad cores are a bit more expensive and CM really won't benefit from them compared to the dual cores. The Q9550 seems to be one of the better buys in this range. Typically quad cores are going to run a little slower and/or a little hotter than dual cores. There are programs that can potentially take advantage of all 4 cores or if you're doing some heavy multi-tasking. If you get an LGA775 motherboard you may want to double-check its quad-core compatibility as some of them may not run the newest LGA775 quad cores. Most LGA775 motherboard will use DDR2 memory (with a few using DDR3).

Bumping up to a different and newer socket for Intel the LGA1136, which is pretty much exclusively Intel P55 chipset motherboards. These will be quad core CPUs and they're a step up in price too. These CPUs have the memory controller integrated into the CPU like AMD has done since the Athlon x64 first debuted. The i5 750 (2.66GHz) is the closest to the above processors in price (around $200). The i7 860 (2.8GHz) bumps up much closer to $300 (though usually under it). These CPUs have a hefty 8MB of L3 cache and really do run multi-tasking a bit better than many other CPUs (the i5 and i7's).

Moving to socket LGA1366, the only reasonable cost CPU is the i7 920 (2.66GHz). CPUs above this model get quite expensive. The advantage with this socket is that you can run Crossfire or possibly SLI with the Intel X58 chipsets that exclusively support it. The Socket LGA1156 (P55 chipset) usually supports only one x16 video card (not a large problem for most people). They also have a different memory bank scheme that supports three DIMM banks instead of the more common two DIMM banks (so you buy DIMMs in sets of three).

The LGA1156 CPUs might be a better choice for those who are not going to use multiple video card solutions, but there isn't a whole lot of CPUs available for it (3 are commonly available). In the long run it may not have a whole lot of upgradability, but their price and performance have made them quite popular. I haven't kept up with Intel's roadmap for the future, but it is quite possible another socket may come out for future i-core CPUs (i7, i9, etc.).

Among Intel LGA1156 (P55) motherboards the MSI P55-GD80 seems well regarded (though somewhat premium priced). The ASUS P7P55D EVO seems to be pretty good too. Gigabyte's GA-P55-UD3R also seems fairly popular. EVGA also makes some decent motherboards for this socket.

For LGA1366 the prices tend to be a bit more premium, often near or over $200. The Intel X58 chipset seems to be the only chipset available, but most implementations support both Crossfire and SLI. Gigabyte's GA-EX58-UD5 and Asus' P6T series seem to be fairly good boards.

I highly recommend reading through the Newegg reviews on these boards and others to see what experiences and frustrations people have encountered. You may find some issues that make a purchase not worthwhile.

[theFightingSeabee]

Schrullenhaft,

Thanks! The more I searched, the more I realized that I didn't know what I was looking for. I haven't had to look at it all since 2005, when I built my last computer. I will definitely be sticking with the mid-range stuff. I have seen some pretty decent prices on some of the Phenom II's and motherboards. I'll probably start with 2gb of ram as well. Even the mid-low ranged stuff of today will blow the doors off my old rig.

And yes, I'll be upgrading to pci-express, so I'll be needing a new video card as well. This will also have to be mid/low-ranged as far as price goes.

Your post is EXTREMELY helpful to me. THANKS AGAIN! I may be heading down to Fry's tomorrow to see what they have on sale.

[Lanzfeld]

Schrullenhaft,

May I ask what you think of this combo for not only CMSF, CM:N but also some flight sims like Rise Of Flight.

i7 920

6 GB DDR3

GTX 260

MSI X58 Pro-E Motherboard

700 Watts

Any bottlenecks or suggestions I really value what you may have to say.

Thanks

[theFightingSeabee]

Sweeeet! I'm back! Getting my new computer all set up right now!

phenom II triple core

4gb ram

new ati video card

100 x better than my old computer which was mid-range in 2005!

[Schrullenhaft]

Lanzfeld - your setup should be fine for CMSF, CM:N and Rise of Flight. The CM games really won't make use of the multiple cores in the i7 920, but you should be able to overclock the CPU (assuming you're getting some after-market cooling for the CPU rather than the Intel heatsink) to a pretty healthy level.

You may want to look into the P55 motherboards and the i7 860. They're probably a bit cheaper and don't sacrifice too much in performance, but their potential longevity may not be as long as the socket 1366 boards (Intel X58). Plus the P55 boards aren't really geared for multi-GPU setups (limited PCIe lanes). There might be some differences for ROF running on a 920 compared to the 860 though.

One caveat involving Nvidia-based video cards is that the 190 series driver has issues with lighting effects that are very distracting. If CM is your primary addiction, then you may want to stick to the 180 series drivers for now until Nvidia fixes this issue (at some point in the future).

[Piecekeeper]

Lanzfeld -

One caveat involving Nvidia-based video cards is that the 190 series driver has issues with lighting effects that are very distracting. If CM is your primary addiction, then you may want to stick to the 180 series drivers for now until Nvidia fixes this issue (at some point in the future).

And the performance sucks using the 190 series too.