Railworks America

Ok, I know I'm starting a new thread but I'm more confused then ever over which system I should consider purchasing. In another thread I made reference to a system that our local computer store was recommending and adding an MSI GTX760 4GB card to it. The system is as follows.

MB - Intel DZ77GA-70K
CPU - Intel Quad Core i7 3770 3.4Ghz 8MB cache
GPU - MSI Gaming N760 TF 4GD5/OC GeForce GTX760 4GB 256bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
RAM - 8GB
HD - 1TB sata2
LG DVD-RW (I already have a spare one of these from an old computer)
CoolMaster Mid-Tower with a NZXT 120mm cooling fan in the front
PSU- 600W (don't know exact specs on it)

The second system I'm looking at is here (if I did it right I hope the link below works)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboBundl ... bo.1292621

Both these systems are close to each other in total cost. My guess would be do to the small local computer store not having the same buying power as Newegg. One thing I'm not sure about is whether Newegg just ships everything in boxes and I'd have to build it (no big deal though).

Anyway this ol' brain is starting to hurt, so opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,

Doug

I am running with an old e8400 and EVGA 560 FTW with 8gb ram and everything runs nicely.

Combos from The Egg have to be assembled. Also notice they don't guarantee that all the pieces are compatable. I have read folks that got a CPU that wouldn't work in the motherboard that was in the combo deal. I can't find a CPU compatability chart for that board, nor can I find what wattage CPU the board will support. Socket AM3+ is right for the CPU, tho.

That combo also has a much lesser performance video card than your local shop's deal. But you do get a bigger PSU and an SSD drive and double the amount of RAM. Don't see a DVD drive mentioned, nor the Windows operating system.

I'm still liking the system from your local shop. That i7 is a great performer. See what extra cost would be for another 8Gb RAM. I think your current PSU will be OK, and if I remember, you said you would be putting your current hard drive in the new system? That takes care of Windows.

If you aren't looking for DYI, then the choice is with the local shop's build. I presume it's assembled and tested? With the combo deal, you might be able to swap the SSD for a version of Win 7 Pro 64 bit. But spend a day putting it all together. (Gigabyte would be a better board than Asus, IMHO of course)

I'm leaning towards the local shop (intel based) one. But I'd ask about upgrading the power supply to 700watt and an MSI or Asus Mobo.
Intel has been expressing a desire to not make their own motherboards anymore, and in fact I've read some reviews over the last year from long time Intel Mobo fans, that say Intel's Mobos are not too great anymore.

Edit: Okay, I'm leaning towards an Asus or Gigabyte motherboard. MSI has great features and reliability (it's what I use) but there are almost no MSI boards out now for the new Haswell 1150 socket...
When it dawned on me how new Haswell is, I decided I'd better take a looksie around the interweb.

You mentioned a CM mid tower. I'm wondering which one, since the HAF XM already has a front intake fan of 120mm.

For what it's worth I have a MSI and my next computer will very most likely be another.

I hope we don't give Doug an "information overload". I was kinda hoping that Cooler Master mid tower from the local shop would be the HAF922, which is what I have. Really sweet case with a ton of cooling.

I was a huge Asus fan... when I could afford them. Gigabyte is my second and MSI is my third.

EVGA is my current squeeze for video cards.

PapaXpress wrote:I was a huge Asus fan... when I could afford them. Gigabyte is my second and MSI is my third.

EVGA is my current squeeze for video cards.

Why?

Can you expand on your question? Least I give you a one word answer.

Dan,
This is pretty simple. Why do you like the one over the other one. It's nice you have a preference but it would be informative to the rest of us why you favor one over the other.

I run an i7-3770K with a motherboard (a Gigabyte Z77X-UP4TH) that supports Virtu. I also have an ATI 6870 HD video card.

Virtu allows me to use the Intel GPU on the processor as my main graphics processor with the ATI card as an assisting graphics processor. I enabled RailWorks and a few other 3D programs to use Virtu. I'm quite happy with the results, frame rates are better than just using the original ATI graphics. When not running 3D, the ATI graphics card cools off so I assume it has more or less shut down when not running a program on my Virtu list.

If your motherboard has video output connectors and is licensed to use Virtu why not try using an important part of that Intel CPU.

GaryG

buzz456 wrote:Dan,
This is pretty simple. Why do you like the one over the other one. It's nice you have a preference but it would be informative to the rest of us why you favor one over the other.

AH! Glad you asked.

Long ago when I was building computers on the side I was constantly hitting the review sites. This was before big advertising hit them and people like Anand were enthusiasts and did reviews for the fun and glory of it (though I am sure they saw the way to make bigger sites and money from it). Anyway... Asus was the rising star. They had to bring a better product, for a price under the competition (as thus in range of my wallet) like Gigabyte, and MSI and several other names that have past my memory. Asus won the "awards" and I took a chance on them. I have never had an Asus component fail on me, whereas I have had Gigabyte and MSI fail on me in the past.

Then AMD lost the crown to Intel's Core Duo.

I was also a big AMD fan, and this was a game changer. I had to take a chance on Intel now with the e8400 (yup, I am running the same chip after all these years), the problem was that the perfromance motherboards Asus had were all too expensive for me. It was around this time Gigabyte was climbing back up from a deep pit. If I remember correctly one of their old engineers came back and started improving the product greatly. The review were favorable so I took another chance, and I have not regretted it. So far the only parts I have changed with this setup is the power supply (died), video card (to upgrade only), and hard drives (two died over the years). When Win 7 x64 came out I took the memory from my wife's computer (it was the same setup as mine so I had a double matched pair) to max out to 8gb (don't worry I bought her a new 8gb set). At the behest of this community I bought a dedicated sound card, and I chose the Asus Xonar over Soundblaster because of several favorable reviews. I even have an Asus headset... though it got good reviews I have to say its not the most comfortable I have worn, though the sound is great.

I agree with PapaXpress.
The only thing I'll add, is to look out for the new generation of Asus boards that only use 6 of the 9 ATX mounting holes.
They got cheap last year, and decided to make a very bad business decision. They shortened some models of mobo on the right side, so that they didn't reach the far right standoff positions.... The result was cracked traces and surface mounted components when people just tried to connect their 24 pin connectors, SATA etc.
From what I was reading a few months ago Asus was not very polite, in that they were blaming the builders, instead of management's penny pinching idea that flamed out.
It's also an early warning sign that upper management at Asus is getting greedy and cutting corners.... literally.

WOW,,,information overload is right.

I think I'm going with the local store as he does all the assembly and everything comes (including his work) with a 1 year warranty. At least that way if I have any issues I can deal face to face with him. I will check out the 600W PSU specs and maybe see if I can deal on something a little bigger (700-750W range). Plus look at the cost of increasing from 8GB to 16GB. I'll also check out the case to make sure it has room for possible future expansion (second GPU) and plenty of cooling. As far as looking into another MOBO, I can inquire, but I don't think it would be worth the hassle. His promotional sheet only covers AMD and Intel based systems, and yes I realize if I wanted something different he would more then likely order it in, but again, I really don't know if it's worth the hassle. The other thing I'll check with him is what he'll charge me for the MSI GPU as I know what it would cost me to order from Newegg and I don't think he'd be able to match the price (again, a one man store with limited buying power).

Anyway, appreciate all the input from everyone.

As a side note here's what I had in my old system had based on what I can remember (no not the one I currently have and will be giving to the wife, but the old one that finally died after roughly 10 years - yes I get mileage out of them).

MB - Foxconn 865A01
CPU - Intel Pentium 4 (if I remember correctly I think it was 2.8Ghz)
GPU - GeForce FX5600 Ultra
Creative SoundBlaster Pro
RAM - 2GB
HD - 80GB
CDrom
LG DVD RW

And to think at that time this thing cost over $2000.00

Doug

Well, I finally picked up the new computer on Friday from the local store. It's as follows:

MB - ASRock Z87 Pro 4
CPU - Intel Quad Core i7 4770 (Haswell) 3.4Ghz
Ram - 16GB DDR3
PSU - CoolerMaster 600W
HD - 1TB (I had my 500GB installed instead)
GPU - MSI GeForce Gamer GTX760 4GB DDR5
DVD-RW
Keyboard, mouse and speakers, W7 Home Premium 64bit (the wife gets these,,,aren't I generous!!)
Case - CoolerMaster Force 500

Took the fella almost 4 hours to get my 500GB up and running on the new machine (actually around 1-1/2hrs as the rest of the time he was with customers) and he didn't charge me extra. I think I wore out a section of his floor pacing back and forth (reminded me when our first child was born).

Got it home and spent the rest of the day tweaking a few things to my liking. Yesterday (the big day) I went offline with Steam and fired RW up, started up a scenario in NEPA and holly (you can guess), I had to pause the game, ran over to the neighbors house, broke into his car and took out the drivers seatbelt, ran back to my house and strapped myself into the chair. On my current mid range settings In the old computer I was only getting 14fps, the new computer on these setting was showing 100-115fps (don't know if I believe them). Now for the test, I maxed all settings out and started the scenario again and I was getting between 60-70fps. Tested out some other routes like MP, CP, SH and they all showed FPS in the same range. Now I realize this system is a Volkswagen compared to what a lot of you have, but for me this thing is awesome.

I guess it's time that I bite the bullet and start Steam and see what I get.

Doug