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I realize the 6950 is a bit of a monster but it has nice big slow spinning cooling fans and matches the rest of the rig performance wise. Actually the whole rig is overkill probably but I want it to last as long as possible for a reasonable outlay so building in plenty of overhead makes sense if it can be done at a reasonable price. I try and build my machines so the components compliment each other and don't cause bottle necks. Also I currently have 2 passive double width nvidia's and heat soak was a problem initially in my current box. I'm trying to use one card to help with drivers and to keep the box as open as possible for cooling.
Thanks for the fan recommendation. I have heard favourable reviews from others too.
I think I have settled on a Corsair 650D unless I hear anything unfavourable. It's one of the few mid size towers that will take big video cards and I don't need a full tower size case. The Corsair also has a bunch of other nice features and is pretty reasonably priced too. I didn't want a "full of led's" gaming case either. It's what's on the inside that counts
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
@Treggs, but to be clear, you plan on playing some major games on this right?
I mean my system is 2.5 years old and is an i7 920 overclocked to 4ghz, 12gb, 4x750gb hardware raid 10 on a 3ware 9650... and my video cards are 2xnvs 295... so it isn't about "matching" performance, it is about spending money wisely That extra $300 you are spending on your video card will buy a lot more cpu power, a couple of nice monitors, a nice ssd and UPS, or a lot of other things.
Just FYI, have you tried blowing the dust out with compressed air? It could be some components are getting hot because of excessive dust. I come across so many peoples machines who have issues and when you open them up they are completely covered in dust.
I especially recommend this for folks with laptops running hot when they use to not.
I appreciate the suggestion. My trade is in Avionics so I know how to keep electronics maintained for maximum life. I have tried every trick in my book testing wise and it's definitely an intermittent motherboard. My gear gets the regular compressed air treatment and I also cringe when looking inside other peoples machines.
lol I started this thread because I wanted opinions
Yes I do plan on gaming on this rig but only occasionally so the 6950 won't be wasted. I have looked at lesser graphics setup's and the money saving doesn't match the performance loss. For example a pair of nvidia's like you suggest isn't a big saving over a single 6950 ($340) and the 6950 gives me the capability to run another 2 monitors as well as the extra performance. Seemed reasonable to pay the extra.
An SSD is on the list for the future but I'm happy to wait for them to get a bit cheaper before jumping in. I also recently bought a new hard drive for my current desktop so that can be poached for the new machine.
Extra monitors aren't really necessary for me. If I was going to add any more I would probably add a TV above my current monitor arrangement for viewing bloomberg etc. Since I only play the futures markets I don't need a stack of 9 monitors scanning the complete stock market. I use virtual desktops for things like email and it actually does a good job of hiding distractions for me.
You have done an excellent job of making me justify my spec list though. Thanks.
Where do you see the difference besides for boot times?
Even a 100% improvement for most tasks it seems would be the difference between
10 milliseconds and 5 milliseconds.
Yes, it's worth it to save a minute on your boot. I also like how it is completely silent. Performance-wise you'd do just as well with a Raptor, I guess...
I also do some music production, and working with plug-ins and samples is more pleasant...
Yes, I am wary of that, too. I have separate drives for a lot of my stuff. But to be able to boot in a few seconds does wonders for my ADD!
I recently doubled the RAM and put in an SSD in an old laptop too, and that was well worth it. I was about to throw it away...
Cool song, it sounds a little like NIN wrapped in cotton candy... I also dabble in electronica, just for fun, though. I just rediscovered my old Roland VS-890 and found a (satirical) rap album I made in high school... It's too bad it's in Norwegian, I think it has international appeal..
An SSD is on the "possibly add later" list as I'm cautious about reliability and whether I will actually notice much difference. Would an SSD add noticeable speed to any of the following?
Web browser (firefox,chrome), NT7(normal operation and strategy testing), VM's (not storaged on the SSD), Thunderbird etc. These are my most used apps on my trading box and boot times don't matter as I rarely reboot my computer. If I'm turning it off I put it in standby for fast recovery. I do a reboot and any maintenance like CCleaner on a weekend.
Not really... I think SSDs makes sense in a laptop (due to the lack of moving parts), but in your case I'd probably get Raptors instead. I argue they still are the best hard drives... But others might disagree...