Recommendations for new box

[nightscope]

Greetings Scopers,

My venerable Intel Core 2 Duo box needs updating. I need some recommendations for a new case, CPU, mobo, ram. The more the merrier.

I want to put my 2 Scope Pro cards in this box so the case will have to take them. A case as silent as possible would be good. I am aware that I'll need proper PCI slots so the mobo will have to have a minimum of 2 of those. CPU, don't really need a monster but as fast as possible would be nice.

I've always built my own boxes and I might still do that. Or I might take the specs to a builder and get them to make one. Problem with that is that it's unlikely they'll know the exact requirements for a system that will take these older cards.

Any clues, pitfalls, etc, would be very much appreciated.

Anks,

ns

[garyb]

most of the Z97 and Z87 motherboards will work great. a socket 1150 i7 or i5 will work in those motherboards(i3 too).

i suggest you keep your old case. it might be a little bit of a challenge finding another case that will work with full length PCI cards. RAM is cheap and easy. you might want a new power supply, get a gold or silver level efficiency supply at least.

this build shouldn't be too very stressful. almost all the late model motherboards work, with the exception of socket 1155...

[nightscope]

Cheers, Gary, this is great. I shall look at the Z97 and Z87 motherboards as advised. I want to keep the old case and system. Basically what happened with the present box was that the little heatsink mount pins that go into the mobo have perished so the heatsink lost it's connection with the CPU and led to massive overheating. I've sourced some new pins but I've been putting off getting a new system for years 'cos this one works fine till now. But if I can't find another case I'll use the old one as you suggest. It's an Antec and I had to remove the lower drive case to get the cards to fit.

almost all the late model motherboards work, with the exception of socket 1155...

When you say "work" what exactly do you mean? I'd like a i7 if possible.

I better get some proper research on the go. I don't even know what a socket 1155 is.

Thanks, again, Gary,

ns

[garyb]

there are several systems in the Masterverb thread that should be helpful places to start.

by "work", i mean that do what they are supposed to do and give reasonable Masterverb results....

depending on what types of things that you do with the computer, an i5 may offer the exact same performance for quite a bit less money. the i7 will be much more powerful for offline calculations, but for your "realtime" stuff, the comparable i5 will do the same thing. if money is not really a main consideration, then the i7 is the way to go. there are many different models with the i5 and i7 designation. to get an idea of how each will perform, google the names of two processors like "4790 vs 4690". CPU Boss does a good job breaking down performance differences. in the case of the example, the 4790 i7 is about $325 and the 4680 i5 is about $225. for single core and non-turbo/non-hyperthreaded benchmarks(like you would use with Scope) the performance of the two is almost exactly the same.

the other factor is that the prices jump up and down depending on what the manufacturers and retailers feel like selling, so just buy whatever is available at a good price. by any measure, the new computer will be worlds faster than your current machine. you also may want to use an SSD for your C: drive, although i would probably suggest a conventional SATA hard drive for your working drive.

[nightscope]

Right, off to the MVerb thread.

ns

[tlaskows]

I had to cut out the drive holding bay out of my case with a grinder and the cards fit fine

I have a cheap Asus Z87-k (about 80 USD) and a 4770k with a cheap water cooler and a fan controller to keep everything quiet.

-Tom

[nightscope]

Asus Z87-k (about 80 USD) and a 4770k

Just been looking at one of them. Are you on the Xcite or the cards?

Cheers,

ns

PS. Well , you wouldn't be taking an angle grinder to the case for the Xcite, woud yah?

[nightscope]

Thanks fer the edit, Gary.

[tlaskows]

I have 3 Pro cards and happy

-Tom

[garyb]

btw- the i5 mentioned should have been 4690, not 4680....

[tlaskows]

The new i7s and i5s are very fast. When I ran my i7 quad at 4.4GHz it clocked around 180 GIPS, faster than my old six core at 4.14 GHz.

Probably don't need all that speed if you've got Scope...

-Tom

[nightscope]

Probably don't need all that speed if you've got Scope...-Tom

Exactly. I'm not allowed to go fast anymore. Just got done for doing 93mph...

....in a 30mph zone. Nah, motorway jobbie. Police came out of nowhere on an empty road. Instant heart attack. The copper said my driving was excellent apart from the excess speed. He had a nice car. Audi Turbo Wotsit Deathrace Special. After he gave me the ticket, we got on to checking out all the computers in his car. Doesn't run Scope.

Sounds like something like wot you've got might suit me just fine.

Anks,

ns

[tlaskows]

Lol, nice

Yeah, I'm happy with my setup. It's perfect for playing around...

-Tom