Just rebuilt my PC - and it still works

Tobers

Tobers

Messages
3,435
Name
Andy
Edit My Images
No
Pretty much a total rebuild. I was getting frustrated with Lightroom taking ages to render previews, work in Develop mode etc so I figured it was time for a bit of a speed increase.

Firstly, an Intel i7 920 quad core processor. That neccessitated a new motherboard as I was running an AMD 3400+ chip previously. I stuck in an ASUS P6T with 4GB of RAM. Also of course I needed a new video card so went for an ATI HD4870 1GB doodah.

Having taken the old one to bits, I actually read the manual (for a change) for the motherboard, and started putting things back together. I figured out I'd need a new power supply as well as the video card needed 2 PCI power leads. In the end, all that stayed the same was the 2 500GB hard drives, DVD drive, chassis and a bunch of fans. Oh, and I made sure I had an anti-static wristband on too.

It wouldn't boot to start with and I fretted overnight to work out why not. Some more internet gazing revealed that I'd forgotten to plug in the 8-pin power connector to the motherboard - when that went it all was well and it booted up fine.

Much driver installation and rebooting later, plus having to reactivate my Windows with Microsoft (a 1 minute automated phone call thing) and it was all up & running OK. I think it took about 6-7 hours altogether which isn't bad as I really didn't know what I was doing.

The end result is a really pretty darned fast piece of kit. I used to get 20-30 frames per second on Counterstrike but it's now running at 300fps which is just bonkers. Lightroom is stunningly fast and the whole PC feels much more responsive.

Next up I might get myself a 64GB SSD drive and install Windows 7 onto it for uber-speed.
 
Sounds like a nice build. I was looking at the i7 for my next desktop, but it is that or some new kit.

Good to hear you were wearing an anti static wristband, I've read many stories about people building their brand spanking new PC on their own and forgetting to ground themself first. A great way to turn your pc into a overly sized paper weight.


Did you insert the processor on your own? That would be my biggest worry when building my own rig. I have taken my pc to bits before for de-dusting but I've never went near my processor.
 
Yep - inserting the processor was probably the easiest part of the whole job. It only goes in one way, it's a simple drop-in then clamp shut. The fan that came with the CPU also had the grey gunk thermal transfer paste already installed. Installing the fan onto the board was also a very simple push-fit.

The trickiest thing was working out where all the front panel connectors went but the manual has all the details.

Just RTFM, take it slow and you'll be fine.
 
Does the i7 need a newer style mobo? Ive got the Asus P5Q-Pro
 
I am sure the i7 requires DDR3 RAM as well.

Just priced a new i7 machine, so tempting.
 
Nice! :thumbs: Although I would say that, as I have pretty much the same setup. :D The i7 920 is fantastic, I got it with the P6T mobo and 6GB memory to get the tripple channel working. Are you using 2 x 2GB modules? That would only give you dual channel memory?

Couldn't believe how easy it was to setup either, mine was up and running in a couple of hours with Vista 64. Was just before Microsoft offered free upgrades to Windows 7 too. :thumbsdown: How do you find Windows 7? I've heard a lot of good things about it and considering taking advantage of the student deal for £30.

I also use mine for gaming, as well as AutoCAD, 3D Max, Photoshop etc, which is why I went with the i7. Havent put any old games on it yet, but the new ones look great and run smoothly. :D
 
I'm running windows 7 and prefer it to vista. The libraries make it much easier to manage all my images/audio/movies. The feature to drag a window to the side of the screen and have it snap to half the screen is great when working with multiple windows. The taskbar is also much better than the old one.

Performance wise, I can't say. I was running Vista x64 on my old desktop (Q6600/8GB RAM) and and have the x86 7 on my laptop which doesn't really give a fair comparisson.


For £30, you can't really go wrong.
 
neil_g said:
yes. your mobo is a LGA775 and i7 is LGA1366 or LGA1156.
Click to expand...

Ive got a core2 setup at the mo 2.4 GHz E6600, I might just overclock that someday and save the cash

Fuuudge said:
I'm running windows 7 and prefer it to vista. The libraries make it much easier to manage all my images/audio/movies. The feature to drag a window to the side of the screen and have it snap to half the screen is great when working with multiple windows. The taskbar is also much better than the old one.

Performance wise, I can't say. I was running Vista x64 on my old desktop (Q6600/8GB RAM) and and have the x86 7 on my laptop which doesn't really give a fair comparisson.


For £30, you can't really go wrong.
Click to expand...

Would you mind going into a bit of depth, how you have your libraries setup? Was tempted to have a play myself, but ive just got TV/Films/Music on separate drives themselves-so I didnt think libraries would be much use really
 
I'm only using 4GB of memory at the moment. I dont think XP will work with any more (or take advantage of it). I have a Win7 disk coutesy of work but I'm a bit wary of the install as it seems to need a complete wipe. I would like to put Win7 on an SSD in the near future so I think I'll wait for that.

Anyway, Lightroom just flies with this setup - very pleased. Cost £600 in total inc VAT.
 
Did you optimise your Lightroom catalogue regularly? Might have saved some hard work if not ;)
 
Yes indeed, though it's a good tip to optimise the catalogue frequently. My problem is that I run 5 catalogues with lots of pics in, and I need really fast processing times for my sports photography and cant abide hanging around waiting for full-sized previews to render.
 
Tobers said:
Yes indeed, though it's a good tip to optimise the catalogue frequently. My problem is that I run 5 catalogues with lots of pics in, and I need really fast processing times for my sports photography and cant abide hanging around waiting for full-sized previews to render.
Click to expand...

Ah! I only keep the photos I'm editing at the time in Lightroom otherwise it does get dogged slow :(
 
I7 920's are great, have you overclocked yours?

It is well worth getting 6 GB or more RAM and I would also recommend 64Bit Windows 7.
 
neil_g said:
hmm, looking at about 800-900 quid for the spec machine i want.. lol
Click to expand...

That's about what I paid for my setup, excluding moniter a few months ago from scan.co.uk They have a 'Today Only' section which is worth a look now and then, I got a discount on the i7 and mobo as a combined deal.

- Silverstone Precision Case in Black
- 650W Power Supply Quad SLi/XFire Compatable
- Intel Quad Core i7 920 (D0 version - easier to overclock)
- Asus P6T motherboard
- 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 ram
- 500GB Sata2 Western Digital Caviar HD
- 1GB ATI XFX HD4870 XXX DDR5
- Vista 64bit Home Basic
- Kensignton Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

I'm still really happy with it as might tell. :D It's really future proof aswell, lots of expansion options which is also one reason I went for getting a desktop PC rather than another Laptop. So much more for your money. Definately recommend it Neil! :thumbs: Handles photoshop really well too and if you get the 64bit version of Photoshop even better. Only gripe would be more Hard Drive space for photos... :p
 
neil_g said:
oops i just ordered parts for a new rig..

not an i7, just a dualcore2quad.. still came in 250 under my low end original estimate lol
Click to expand...

A little confused by this, do you mean a dual processor motherboard with two quadcores?
 
Just a quick update on the rebuild. All is going very well though I think I have a bit of a driver clash somewhere as the PC hangs once every couple of days. I reset my Windows page file over to my secondary 500GB disk which is faster than the older primary disk and that has sped things up even more.

As I'm still on XP, and have a Win7 gold disk sitting on my desk, I am keen to move onto Win7 fairly soon, but dont want to rebuild everything. I do have my eyes set on a SATA SSD on which I can put Win7, Photoshop and Lightroom plus other frequently used apps like Firefox. That should really fly. I reckon 128GB should do for the SSD. Coolio. Will keep you posted if I get enough Christmas money to do that! In the meantime I'm interested to hear from anyone else who is running Win7 from an SSD with a couple of other SATA hard drives in the box.
 
just something to concider with SSD:

get one with updatable firmware that is also TRIM compatible (best to put W7 on also as that fully supports TRIM). youll also need to turn off auto defrags etc but im sure youve found all that through google. im not sure if the leveling process issues have been fixed with SSD but it has been that after a certain period of time the drive needs wiping as the access/write times drop significantly. although like i say this may be old hat now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top