Just a few of the things that I’ve learned (or re-learned) while putting together the preliminary info on preparing to design a first draft for my potential eventual build!
- micro-stuttering: oh good. Multi-card setups (i.e., Crossfire and SLI) have a totally new way to screw with your gaming FPS. Apparently the two cards fail to synchronize properly, and you get a stutter even when your FPS looks like it should be fine or better. So there’s a big plus for getting one more powerful card rather than two less powerful ones.
- Socket 1366: is taking over…maybe. The usual advice is that any current mainstream mobo will be obsolete in a few years anyway, so there’s little need to worry about future-proofing socket choices. On the other hand, a multi-GPU rig will definitely benefit from the extra PCIe lanes of the 1366…but a single-card setup on a P55 board could be just as good, for less money.
- SATA 6G: is here. Do I need it? The SATA 3G would already be a step up for me (no, really), and it’s certainly a cheaper and more readily-available option (for both mobos and drives). But will it be obsolete in the next 3-4 years? Will I be using RAID? Will I be using SSDs?
- USB 3.0: is here. Despite Intel dragging its feet on implementation, we have 1156 and 1366 mobos with USB 3.0 controllers. So that’s not a problem, except for the fact that I’ll pretty much need to get one. And if I’m getting USB 3.0 (which I am, unless I find an incredibly good reason not to do so), I’ll probably end up having to get SATA 6G because they tend to be offered on all the same new boards.
- three things that I need to learn better before I make my final decisions: memory specifications (I get the size part just fine, I just need to get a better handle on latency, timing, and channels), what is so important about 12v rails, and how much power I really need for this sort of build.