Concept for new computer build

[Zephyr2011]

I had posted another thread for a build however upon talking with some of the people at school who know a lot more about computers than I and also from the community I've decided to scrap that concept pretty well completely. My goal is a computer that will go in my room (my Mom wants me to get a new computer specifically so I'll have on in my room, go figure) It will sit on/in a custom built entertainment center (that I'll make but that's irrelevant) that is specifically tailored for effecient fan usage and cable connections. The monitor will be on a swiveling base so that I can both play the computer whil laying on my bed and also in a chair when needed. The computer will also replace my current TV so I'll need a tuner card for it so that I can watch TV on it. Presently I have a surround sound system that's fairly easily integrated with the computer and I'll use it. So in essence it will be my entire entertainment system. My short term goal for the power of the computer is to be able to easily run Morrowind with this setup at a draw distance of 25+ cells and shader/shadow detail set to maximum and at 60 fps (max set in .ini). And also run FO3, NV and Oblivion on maximum graphics settings and when Skyrim comes out for it to run smoothly hopefully at a decent graphics level (granted the uberly intensive morrowind is probably going to rival Skyrim at highest details considering the inate inneficiencies of MGE). I'd like the best possible mobo (as that determines it's upgrade-ability) so that I ca simply swap out parts for several years and also a good processor as basically it and the mobo will never be seperated without their mutual death. GPU wise I'd reeeeeally like HD but two cheaper end ones cross-fired would work just fine as apposed to one incredibly expensive unit. After talking with a few people I think I want to go with two harddrives one solid state (the smallest and cheapest I can find) for my OS ad essential systems and the other a 1TB for all my mods and games. The graphics cards can and probably will be upgraded several times throughout this computer's lifetime so I don't care too much on how poor quality they are so long as they're HD. Can anyon offer any advice on this build like specific parts? Radeon HD 4850's have been recommended to me as they're petty afordable and are decent workhorses. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[urbex]

Twentyfive cell MGE distant land at 60 FPS. That's a pretty high requirement. My GTX460 only pulls 30, maybe a 580? That's pretty overkill for other games though. I wouldn't go with 4850s, they're last gen.

[JimboUK]

Graphics cards will only make a partial difference, Morrowind is very CPU heavy and badly optimised, it even gives i7s a good pasting.

[Erik005]

What is your budget?

 

Here is a preliminary list:

 

Core i7 2600K. (Replace with i7-2600, i5-2500k, i5-2500, i5-2400 or i5-2300 according to budget)

Msi P67-gd65.

GTX 560 (This gives you the possibility to get another later.)

850W PSU.

Optical station.

Hard drive.

Case.

Windows.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Erik005

[Vindekarr]

Brand wise? go MSI or Gigabyte tech, ThermalTake, Lian Li, or Antech for the case, and Corsair for the RAM-I've been using these brands since forever, and gotten nothing but excellent service out of them for 12 years, despite frequent abuse and a lot of hard labour in fierce heat and high humidity.

 

One thing I will suggest that's a bit out of the box is passive cooling.

 

Oil cooled PCs will require you to do some research and find a good assembler, but the cooling benefits allow for simply insane overclocking of even smallscale parts-just make sure the drivebay isnt under the surface of the oil or you can do some minor damage to HDDs or disks.

 

Basicaly, these insane rigs submerge the entire case, except the disk drives and HDD, in a vat of Mineral Oil whenever in use. While this DOES make them look like you've gone full nerdrage and tossed your PC in a fishtank, and while it IS hard to track down the type of oil required, and while the resulting rig DOES weigh as much as a large motorbike, the other result is cooling superior even to some liquid nitrogen injected systems.

 

How to build one:

 

First, you need a thunking great big fishtank, a good solid one at that, prefferably well re-inforced along the bottom to take the weight of the heavy parts.

 

Second you need a custom frame to put the PC in, it doesnt need a walled case, but it needs powerful small diametre fans, and some method of keeping the PC's gubbins together in a rigid metal frame. Lastly, make sure you've got a very reliable mechanism to keep your drive bays above the oil, if they spin in the oil they can burn out and be damaged.

 

Third, you need an oil that wont zap out your machine once dunked. There is one that is truly ideal, but you'll need to do some digging to find is as it's kinda rare and niche. Mineral Oil, used as a laxative for horses, can be found at Vets, particularly in the country, and any other place you can find a constipated horse, you'll need a few buckets full but if you installed a good quality fish tank filter, you wont need to replace it more than once every few years.

 

A key note: do lots of research of your own before you try and build this, if you dont, instead of a scifi looking, self cooling, never-gets-hot ubermachine, you may end up with a highly expensive toaster-in-the-tub.

Secondly, CommanderCrazy, you linked a site that makes these a while ago? this would be a good adition to this page.

[urbex]

Graphics cards will only make a partial difference, Morrowind is very CPU heavy and badly optimised, it even gives i7s a good pasting.

I was under the impression the distant land bottleneck was VRAM?

Edited January 24, 2011 by urbex

[Zephyr2011]

I'd rather not spend a whole lot more than a thousand dollrs on this (not including monitor) I feel that the insane oil cooling is a little overkill for my plans because the machine will only be on for a few hours at a time and it will be very well ventilated butI might look into it all the same. As for MGE and it's innefficiencies I realise that this request is rather big considering how intensive it is so I'd compromise on that score, once OpenMW comes out though it will definately diminish in inefficiency (new engine huzzah!!!) but prior to that I'd compromise with a 35. As for last gen graphics cards I'm fine with them if they're for the right price I may be able to get two and they'll get the job done, the primary goal is to be as upgradeable as possible the initial hope is for it to be able to process like no tomorrow as graphics is much more easily improved than processing power. I wouldn't think twice about spending 3/4 of my budget on the processor and mobo.

[prandiningrat]

ATI 4850 is good card and the winner graphic card in 2008 for below $200 but not now, you can consider buy from 5000 or 6000 series for ATI graphic card but if you can get ATI 4890 this is good one..

If you need new processor, think about new Intel 2500 (i5) or 2600 (i7) as posted above,but you need motherboard supported for it,. most of motherboards for that CPU still having version 1.0,in my personnal experience still bugged and lack of feature(especially in BIOS) so you need waiting for 1-2 months when version 1.1 or later come out...