The Desktop PC Building Thread - Page 5

I've had good experiences with Sapphire and HIS ATI cards.

I really don't know how you'd eat up 4gb of ram playing a game. Even running the latest games with many programs in the background I only end up utilizing 2.8 to 3gb. I keep my W7 memory usage to a minimum by removing a lot of the clutter that runs in the background though.

$60 for a 212+ is a bit steep. You can usually find similar coolers (with direct heat pipe contact) for ~$30-40.

Where do you plan on buying your hardware? newegg.ca? ncix? Local shop?

Some cards also have aftermarket mods, those are useful if you plan on overclocking. I have the ATI 5770 with copper heatsink, but to be honest it runs everything great on stock anyway as I just play at 1600x1050.

FWIW, if you intend on running Ubuntu or any other Linux distro, avoid ATI cards. Horrible driver issues. If you just intend to run Windows 7, disregard this post.

You have to remember that ATI designed the schematics, layout and the ASIC for the original reference design, so they know what they are doing. If the vendors, partners and OEMs are bumping up the core voltage and mvdd while still using the reference design, they are technically overclocking the card. Performance is not entirely dependent on MHz and voltages.

I hate to derail, but I have been wondering this. Why do people spend so much money and effort to overclock? I'm not talking about bumping up a 2.9 ghz to 3.2 on stock cooling/voltage. But the serious people, who go out, mod their cases, buy water cooling systems, etc. What's the point when in all likelihood, it's cheaper to just buy the faster processor? Or is there no good reason, as I'm assuming there isn't, and it's the same thing as people ricing out their Hondas?

Cool. I'd like to chime in more here, but I don't think I can offer anything that hasn't been mentioned already. Enjoy your build. I'd also like to tout my love for Gigabyte motherboards, but OP got an Asus, and am not going to get into a Gigabyte v. Asus debate. That's like fighting over Coke v. Pepsi, or Tastes Great v. Less Filling.

It's a hobby.

Anyone can take $1000, buy PC components, and plug them together to make a PC. And I mean anyone. But to take a $1000 PC and make it perform at the same level as a $1500 PC via overclocking takes some skill and patience. That's the really fun part about building a PC.

And in the short run .. yes it may be cheaper to buy the better components, but when you upgrade processors every couple years, and keep the same case/cooling system, overclocking in the long run is much cheaper.

It's a hobby.

Anyone can take $1000, buy PC components, and plug them together to make a PC. And I mean anyone. But to take a $1000 PC and make it perform at the same level as a $1500 PC via overclocking takes some skill and patience. That's the really fun part about building a PC.

And in the short run .. yes it may be cheaper to buy the better components, but when you upgrade processors every couple years, and keep the same case/cooling system, overclocking in the long run is much cheaper.

Not to mention you get more life out of your motherboard. Most of these components last way beyond the time needed by the user. For example: a motherboard for a techy may be worthless after a couple years, same with the processor. To overclock it to a level to keep the user satisfied with performance for another 6-months to a year said user may be able to wait until the next gen of software/hardware before doing an entire rebuild. Think all the people who build top-end machines 3-4 years ago that still want to play top end games. Their systems may have been getting pretty outdated and they might have been thinking about replacing and upgrading to Vista .. but with some tech skills could of overclocked and waited until Windows 7 was released instead.

Oh and back to the hobby point .. Think about those guys who put $10,000 stereo's in their cars just to make as much noise as possible. It's completely impractical but they enjoy it. Same goes for PC builders. Watch the youtube videos of the guys back in the P4 days using liquid nitrogen to OC those processors to unheard of speeds. Just facinating stuff.

Yeah, I didn't take into consideration the fancy cooling systems can last forever. Still though, I have an AM3 Propus Quad, and when it's out of date, I'll probably slap something better in for AM3 I get off craigslist after the AM4, 5, whatever comes out.

Different strokes.