astrostu
09-05-2015, 01:18 PM
The Short-Short Background: Mac guy, built dual-boot PC/Linux in 2011 with components optimized to run 4 very specific software programs. Four years later, big NewEgg sale, looking to upgrade (1) case, (2) SSD, (3) GPU.
Current Specs: These were basically optimized to support a lot of RAM, "a lot" of storage that's not accessed continuously, and a fast CPU but most of my software isn't threaded.
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131800)
CPU: Intel i7-3820 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8x8GB
GPU: MSI-branding of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1GB) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573)
HDD: 3x1TB RAID5
SSD: 1x120GB partitioned into Windows and Linux
Case: Antec 900 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021)
PSU: CORSAIR HX850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011)
Fan: CORSAIR H60
New Case: This is the case I was originally looking at, now looking to get because it'll offer more space: Cooler Master 932 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160).
New SSD and Question: Gone down significantly in price, but I need more active room on the Linux side. Looking to get a Samsung 850 EVO that's 500GB for the Windows side and 1TB for the Linux side. Question: A friend mentioned he wasn't sure if I could "dual boot" off of two separate disks, that I might only be able to do it from one. That didn't make any sense to me (BIOS should recognize it as two disks whether they're separate or partitioned, right?), but I thought I'd ask.
New GPU: The GPU was really the only component back in 2011 that I didn't need to get the best-of-the-best because nothing I was running was GPU-accelerated. That's changed somewhat, where one software program I use for mapping can now load raster maps into the GPU memory, and the 3D analysis stuff is GPU-accelerated, but I do very little of it. I also have been playing Civilization more often, so a decent GPU might be nice. I also want to be able to drive at least 3 monitors, at least 1 of them 4k. Current monitors are an old HD Samsung and a Dell U2713HM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260111), both right now connected via the 2 DVI ports on my current GPU. I also do some 3D modeling with Cinema 4D*, so the ability to link GPUs in the future (NVIDIA's SLI, ATI's CrossFire) is something I'd like.
GPU Question: My "needs" are still relatively minor*, but I'm trying to understand some differences here. Tom's Hardware suggests a mid-range GPU that's good is the NVIDIA GeForce 750Ti if I stick with NVIDIA. However, it doesn't offer SLI support. Going up, the 960 looks good, but I'm somewhat confused about the Memory Interface. My old 550Ti has 192-bit interface, but the 960 is a 128-bit interface. How much does that actually affect what kind of performance? I'm looking at the 960, but if the memory interface is an issue, I'd "need" to go up to the 970. Right?
And even once deciding on the actual chipset, what's the best way to navigate through different manufacturer's tiny variations? Clock speeds are slightly different, ports are slightly different but all do what I'd want ... thoughts?
*Yes, this one piece of software you might think requires top-of-the-line GPUs actually doesn't. Only the navigation and shading when in wireframe uses the GPU, the actual render uses CPU. I'd be better off with a bank of Mac Minis than a top-of-the-line GPU.
Current Specs: These were basically optimized to support a lot of RAM, "a lot" of storage that's not accessed continuously, and a fast CPU but most of my software isn't threaded.
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131800)
CPU: Intel i7-3820 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8x8GB
GPU: MSI-branding of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1GB) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573)
HDD: 3x1TB RAID5
SSD: 1x120GB partitioned into Windows and Linux
Case: Antec 900 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021)
PSU: CORSAIR HX850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011)
Fan: CORSAIR H60
New Case: This is the case I was originally looking at, now looking to get because it'll offer more space: Cooler Master 932 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160).
New SSD and Question: Gone down significantly in price, but I need more active room on the Linux side. Looking to get a Samsung 850 EVO that's 500GB for the Windows side and 1TB for the Linux side. Question: A friend mentioned he wasn't sure if I could "dual boot" off of two separate disks, that I might only be able to do it from one. That didn't make any sense to me (BIOS should recognize it as two disks whether they're separate or partitioned, right?), but I thought I'd ask.
New GPU: The GPU was really the only component back in 2011 that I didn't need to get the best-of-the-best because nothing I was running was GPU-accelerated. That's changed somewhat, where one software program I use for mapping can now load raster maps into the GPU memory, and the 3D analysis stuff is GPU-accelerated, but I do very little of it. I also have been playing Civilization more often, so a decent GPU might be nice. I also want to be able to drive at least 3 monitors, at least 1 of them 4k. Current monitors are an old HD Samsung and a Dell U2713HM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260111), both right now connected via the 2 DVI ports on my current GPU. I also do some 3D modeling with Cinema 4D*, so the ability to link GPUs in the future (NVIDIA's SLI, ATI's CrossFire) is something I'd like.
GPU Question: My "needs" are still relatively minor*, but I'm trying to understand some differences here. Tom's Hardware suggests a mid-range GPU that's good is the NVIDIA GeForce 750Ti if I stick with NVIDIA. However, it doesn't offer SLI support. Going up, the 960 looks good, but I'm somewhat confused about the Memory Interface. My old 550Ti has 192-bit interface, but the 960 is a 128-bit interface. How much does that actually affect what kind of performance? I'm looking at the 960, but if the memory interface is an issue, I'd "need" to go up to the 970. Right?
And even once deciding on the actual chipset, what's the best way to navigate through different manufacturer's tiny variations? Clock speeds are slightly different, ports are slightly different but all do what I'd want ... thoughts?
*Yes, this one piece of software you might think requires top-of-the-line GPUs actually doesn't. Only the navigation and shading when in wireframe uses the GPU, the actual render uses CPU. I'd be better off with a bank of Mac Minis than a top-of-the-line GPU.