New Performance/Gaming Computer Build, budget ~$1500 give or take

[drdeathx]

400W, actually. 398W, to be precise.


With cards @ 1250 MHz, yeah, 697W. CPU pulls 90W @ 4.6 GHz, 50W for board, say another 25W for fans and drives, the rest is VGA.

I ran prime 95 and Furmark with 2 cards and the system did not pull 400 watts Dave. Enlighten me on this if you can. I ran power consumption a few months ago and could run again if needed.

 

[cadaveca]

bump questions about CPU cooler

you get what you pay for.


cooling is more critical with IVB vs SNB, since TIM between IHS and silicon is different. Hyper212+, on SNB, no problem, avg 125-140W OC to 4.5 GHz. With 3770k, no way, even though power draw is less.

I ran prime 95 and Furmark with 2 cards and the system did not pull 400 watts Dave. Enlighten me on this if you can. I ran power consumption a few months ago and could run again if needed.

Running furmark and prime95 is stupid. no actual game draws power like that, nor does folding. Furmark is far too unrealisitic.


You test to maximize power draw, I test real-world, by using the PC through the week. Power meter sits directly above my monitor, so I can look at a glance, and also records maximums. Pretty basic, actually.

 

[erocker]

Have you bothered to look at reviews for these products?

 

[cadaveca]

Have you bothered to look at reviews for these products?

Since most reviews tend to not always agree on stuff...I'd ask even if I did read every one, just for realistic user response. Cherry picking samples, and all that, although, I gotta say, I don't think I've ever got a really good review sample. Not REALLY good.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

Have you looked at reviews for these products?

yes, i read several pages of reviews for each of the products.

you get what you pay for.
cooling is more critical with IVB vs SNB, since TIM between IHS and silicon is different. Hyper212+, on SNB, no problem, avg 125-140W OC to 4.5 GHz. With 3770k, no way, even though power draw is less.
Running furmark and prime95 is stupid. no actual game draws power like that, nor does folding. Furmark is far too unrealisitic.
You test to maximize power draw, I test real-world, by using the PC through the week. Power meter sits directly above my monitor, so I can look at a glance, and also records maximums. Pretty basic, actually.

Is it necessary to get another cooler or will the stock work fine if not overclocked?

 

[cadaveca]

yes, i read several pages of reviews for each of the products.



Is it necessary to get another cooler or will the stock work fine if not overclocked?

stock is fine, or else, they'd not include a cooler at all. Would be a lawsuit(nefarious device).


However, at the same time, there's this thing, I think it goes: for every 10 C dropped, IC life can double? I dunno is that is true, or still applies...but it does kinda highlight how critical cooling can be, even if running stock.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

stock is fine, or else, they'd not include a cooler at all. Would be a lawsuit(nefarious device).


However, at the same time, there's this thing, I think it goes: for every 10 C dropped, IC life can double? I dunno is that is true, or still applies...but it does kinda highlight how critical cooling can be, even if running stock.

Good to know. Would lower temperature also affect power efficiency (noticeably)?

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Good to know. Would lower temperature also affect power efficiency (noticeably)?

Maybe a few watts from the fan not needing to run as fast. Pennies a month

 

[drdeathx]

you get what you pay for.


cooling is more critical with IVB vs SNB, since TIM between IHS and silicon is different. Hyper212+, on SNB, no problem, avg 125-140W OC to 4.5 GHz. With 3770k, no way, even though power draw is less.



Running furmark and prime95 is stupid. no actual game draws power like that, nor does folding. Furmark is far too unrealisitic.


You test to maximize power draw, I test real-world, by using the PC through the week. Power meter sits directly above my monitor, so I can look at a glance, and also records maximums. Pretty basic, actually.

What did you run to full load the system?

 

[cadaveca]

What did you run to full load the system?

P95 Blend and BF3.

 

[Irony]

Is it necessary to get another cooler or will the stock work fine if not overclocked?

Its barely sufficient. I wouldn't want to use the stock cooler to even run prime95 for very long at stock speeds. Hyper 212 is a decent cooler for the money. But ultimately, like someone already said, you pretty much get what you pay for with coolers. Pricier ones like silver arrow, nh-d14 and such are going to cool better

 

[drdeathx]

P95 Blend and BF3.

I just ran on 2 cards and it was up to 775 watts. Good stuff.

3770K @ 4.7GHz and 2 x radeon 7970's at 1200/1600. I did pump the voltage on the cards up to 1.2volts just to see the result.

 

[cadaveca]

I just ran on 2 cards and it was up to 775 watts. Good stuff.

3770K @ 4.7GHz and 2 x radeon 7970's at 1200/1600. I did pump the voltage on the cards up to 1.2volts just to see the result.

Yeah, you're pushing an extra 100 MHz over what I do, so seems pretty accurate for silicon differences between chips and VGAs, between yours and mine.

So now, If going to OC that rig 24/7, I'd buy a PSU rated for 20% over that 775W you got...so say 1000W. I've been recommending 850W PSUs for dual GPU systems with OC for years now...and many have said that's too much.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

Can anyone tell me specifically if and where my build will bottleneck?

 

[cdawall]

Can anyone tell me specifically if and where my build will bottleneck?

The user.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

The user.

lol I mean hardware of course

 

[repman244]

The user.

Can anyone tell me specifically if and where my build will bottleneck?

It's not a question of if, there is always a bottleneck.

For your usage, IMO it's either the CPU or the GPU.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

It's not a question of if, there is always a bottleneck.

For your usage, IMO it's either the CPU or the GPU.

ok, but my CPU is 3770K and GPU is 7950 Crossfire (x2). So please clarify.

 

[cdawall]

ok, but my CPU is 3770K and GPU is 7950 Crossfire (x2). So please clarify.

Depends what you are doing. Normal system will have no issues.

 

[repman244]

ok, but my CPU is 3770K and GPU is 7950 Crossfire (x2). So please clarify.

Example:
If a game loads your CPU to 100% and GPU stays at 50% you aren't utilizing your GPU to it's full potential.
So there is always some sort of a bottleneck, but you should be looking at the framerates you want to achieve.
Ideal situation would be using 100%CPU for feeding the GPU to it's 100% but you won't have that.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

Example:
If a game loads your CPU to 100% and GPU stays at 50% you aren't utilizing your GPU to it's full potential.
So there is always some sort of a bottleneck, but you should be looking at the framerates you want to achieve.
Ideal situation would be using 100%CPU for feeding the GPU to it's 100% but you won't have that.

Yes, exactly, so where will my system, parts listed in this thread, most probably bottleneck?

 

[cadaveca]

Yes, exactly, so where will my system, parts listed in this thread, most probably bottleneck?

HDD/SSD.

CPU speed still plays a role as well, with older stuff, however, most newer stuff is GPU-bottlenecked, depending on resolution. stuff = apps.

SO like posted above, it depends on what you're doing, exactly.


2x7970, obviously, is faster. you coudl say GPU is bottleneck, there. So...

there's aren't much faster CPUs, but for multi-threaded work, obviously more cores is better.


That why one of the first questions asked for system builds is what the PC will be used for.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

2x7970, obviously, is faster

... and $500 more expensive

 

[repman244]

Yes, exactly, so where will my system, parts listed in this thread, most probably bottleneck?

Both me and cdawall answered, it depends what you do.

Use my example and just flip it around.

You will always have a bottleneck, the only way not to have one is to have a system that would do anything in t = 0 which is impossible.

 

[vawrvawerawe]

thanks. pictures coming soon.