25 replies to this topic

[Lightdragon]

should really have posted this in the hardware section

[Betaeffect]

This is a mid level system that works well with the current generation of games...it is about a month old...the video card is in crossfire mode with the onboard chip (1 Gb each) and the disk drives are in a RAID 1 configuration...reviews are mixed on the motherboard, but so far no problems...

System Summary:
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 build 7601 (64-bit), 1 x AMD A8-3870 APU with Radeon™ HD Graphics [3006.8 MHz], 7.9GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series, 931GB HDD, CD-RW/DVDRW

General:
System Name:
Motherboard Manufacturer: BIOSTAR Group
Motherboard Name: TA75M+
Motherboard Serial Number: None
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version: 4.6.4
BIOS Release Date: 04/12/2012

CPU:
CPU manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Type: AMD A8-3870 APU with Radeon™ HD Graphics
Codename: Llano
CPUID: Family 12, Model 1, Stepping 0, Revision LN1-B0
Socket: FM1
Lithography: 32nm
Physical CPU's: 1
Cores per CPU: 4
Hyperthreading: Not capable
CPU features: MMX 3DNow! SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSE4a DEP PAE AMD64
Clock frequencies:

• Measured CPU speed: 3006.8 MHz
  
• Multiplier: x30.0
  
• Reference Clock: 100.2 MHz

Cache per CPU package:

• L1 Instruction Cache: 4 x 64 KB
  
• L1 data cache: 4 x 64 KB
  
• L2 cache: 4 x 1024 KB
  
• L3 cache: Not applicable

Memory:

Total Physical Memory: 8102MB
Available Physical Memory: 6849MB
Memory devices:

• 2048MB, 1333MHz
  
• 2048MB, 1333MHz
  
• 2048MB, 1333MHz
  
• 2048MB, 1333MHz

Virtual memory: C:\pagefile.sys (allocated base size 8102MB)



Graphics:
AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
Chip Type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x68BA)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Memory: 1024MB
BIOS: 113-HD677ZNF70
Driver provider: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Driver version: 8.980.0.0
Driver date: 6-11-2012

Disk volumes:
C: Local drive, NTFS, (931.22GB total, 898.76GB free)
D: Optical drive, GSP1RMCHPXFREO_EN_DVD, UDF

Disk drives:
Disk drive: Model AMD 1X2 Mirror/RAID1 SCSI Disk Device (Size: 931.32GB)

Optical drives:
D: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22NS90 (CD-RW/DVDRW)

Network:
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Home Network Password :

USB:
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
AMD USB 3.0 Host Controller
AMD USB 3.0 Host Controller

Edited by Betaeffect, 09 August 2012 - 01:21 PM.

[Odins Fist]

If you are spending around $1500.00 Dollars don't bother with an ASRock motherboard....

[SakuranoSenshi]

Roguewolf, on 08 August 2012 - 11:21 PM, said:

^ This ^

For the next 3 to 5 years of gaming, the I7 cores are a total waste. They Ivy Brige I5 cores have exactly the same threading performance, the I7 cores simply can do faster mathmatical computations. You can mix and match, as well as swap a few cheaper parts in (For example you should have able to scavange a DVD drive somewhere, I dont even use one anymore).

Also, one thing about the GForce 550/570/590 boards, the big secret in the industry is they are performing as good as the 600 series, for a heck of alot less money. For some reason the mainbaords for the current generation of intel or AMD chips cannot push data fast enough to utilize the full perfornce of a 600 board. Engineering problems, what can you do right?

I built my system for $800 using some recycled parts. There is no reason what so ever you couldnt get a very nice 3 to 4 year system by spending $1000. Another thing is the over powered power supply. If you are not planing to SLi your cards, 500 to 600 Watts is more than enough. If you have any Engineering aptitude crunch the numbers on the current/voltage draw.

I have been building these things for myself and my family since I was 12 (21 years now), so I have seen alot of systems come and go.

Good luck mate.

Well, the i5 vs i7 thing doesn't work out the way you imply, though what you stated is largely correct; guess what computing amounts to? That's right, lots of maths. However, they're definitely the better 'bang for buck' option in the Intel line-up.

On the PSU thing, you're right. Even with "SLI" or "Crossfire" you very likely don't need 600 watts, actually, however, as I posted elsewhere, you probably will have to buy one rated at that in order to get a 12 volt rail with the appropriate current rating. Most 'gamer' systems will run, with overhead, on a 400 or 450 watt PSU and the typical "Mom's PC" setup could probably still use a 250 W one but certainly a 300 to 350 watt PSU will be adequate. The hugley overhyped PSU thing grew out of the so-called 'enthusiast' market (read "overclockers" who typically are quite clueless, actually) once they realized that it was a critical part of the system and the 'bog standard' PSUs supplied in cheap cases were pretty variable quality (sometimes not even delivering the claimed rating, but nobody ever bothered to check).

[Roguewolf]

SakuranoSenshi, on 09 August 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

Well, the i5 vs i7 thing doesn't work out the way you imply, though what you stated is largely correct; guess what computing amounts to? That's right, lots of maths. However, they're definitely the better 'bang for buck' option in the Intel line-up.

On the PSU thing, you're right. Even with "SLI" or "Crossfire" you very likely don't need 600 watts, actually, however, as I posted elsewhere, you probably will have to buy one rated at that in order to get a 12 volt rail with the appropriate current rating. Most 'gamer' systems will run, with overhead, on a 400 or 450 watt PSU and the typical "Mom's PC" setup could probably still use a 250 W one but certainly a 300 to 350 watt PSU will be adequate. The hugley overhyped PSU thing grew out of the so-called 'enthusiast' market (read "overclockers" who typically are quite clueless, actually) once they realized that it was a critical part of the system and the 'bog standard' PSUs supplied in cheap cases were pretty variable quality (sometimes not even delivering the claimed rating, but nobody ever bothered to check).

Very true about my CPU generalization. My bad. What I was more or less getting at was that the current rate for flops that mainboards can handle is right around the max an I5 can do. If you have the extra cash, get the I7, why not right? Your translation was spot on though, bang for the buck is with the Ivy Bridge I5's.

I run a 550Watt with a single GFX card and a Sabertooth z77, along with 5 HD's , 1 SSD, and 8 Fans. The PSU never gets above 35C unless the ambient temperature gets above that, and I have no undercurrent in the systems. And yes, since someone will ask, I use all 6 storage mediums when I am running AutoCad and Modelit.

Edited by Roguewolf, 09 August 2012 - 03:31 PM.

[SakuranoSenshi]

With that number of drives, you are actually one of the few who should have a PSU above 400 or so watts, based on total (maximum) power draw. I remember when all the fuss started over this and people were seriously talking about wanting a 1 kW PSU so they could run their CPU overclocked and have a powerful graphics setup *eye roll*