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Okay, so I have some spare time and some spare cash on my hands, and after reading about all the hype of building a new computer all over TL.net, I thought about building a new computer.
Anyways, I went on Newegg, and here is the stuff I am looking to get.
1. 2x Lite-On 22x DVD+-R DVD Burner; $41.98 Total
2. Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case; $159.99
3. 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $199.98 Total
4. Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Read; $119.99
5. G.Skill 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Triple Channel; $99.99
6. Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor; $288.99
7. MSI X58 Platinum SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Motherboard + MSI R4850-512M OC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express Combo; $364.98
8. Another MSI R4850-512M OC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express; $149.99
In total (plus some $6.99 worth of Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound) - $1,432.88
Basically, I would like to know:
1. If there are any parts that I should swap for something else, and why.
2. If this thing will even work as it stands, I haven't kept up with computers much lately and not up to date on the latest tech.
3. Would this be a worthwhile system?
Other information:
1. I will be using this mostly for gaming. I know it will be overkill because I don't play Crysis or do any rendering, but I would like it to run any games I could possibly play fairly decent.
2. I chose to get two DVD burners because it's always been a pain in the ass to have just one.
3. This is for my personal use, but I'm thinking that if this computer is a success, I might build one for my little brother for his birthday that is coming up and another for my dad for father's day. I'm not too worried about how much it will cost, but obviously, I don't want to waste money where I don't have too (i.e. I think the powersupply is a little overkill).
4. I want to use this system partially as a "home-server" where it will stay open all the time, hooked up to a huge monitor(s) (which I still have to look for). As such, it will need for me to be able to remote into it, run surveillance equipment, and other entertainment systems (particularly, to record TV shows and such).
5. Like I said, I'm not too keen on this computer stuff anymore, and I'm pretty sure there are alot of stuff I have left out. Maybe, this system should be vastly more powerful for all I want to do. I don't know. I was hoping TL.net could help me out a bit here.
Edit: And oh by the way, I was also wondering about the case. I chose that case because Newegg suggested it. If I could, I would like to pick a case that had the following specs, in order of importance:
1. Obviously, ability to fit everything I put want to inside, as listed above.
2. Mobility - maybe like one of those cases with a handle on it.
3. Obviously, to keep everything working and not overheat.
4. If possible, have all the other cool little things like LCD screens and what-not.
 
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3. 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $199.98 Total
Bad bad bad... firmware issues.. avoid it like a plague. google it and you know what i mean.
Find a WD equivalent.
Don't get crap like LCD on a case. Find something that's spacious.
Is that corsair PSU modular?
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Thanks for the info on the Seagate Barracuda.
So I guess the "mobility" thing is out for the case, eh. If I want it to be spacious, that is.
No that PSU is non-modular.
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modular PSU are more expensive but easier to use for cable management.
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you can still get something that has a handle. some of the antec models have them but i don't like them because they are ugly 
you might want to chuck in an aftermarket cooler and replace all the screws with anti vibration ones to make it quieter - seems like you want to run this 24/7
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hmm sounds good enough. My friend wanted something similiar like this for the same price so.....
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check out some of the lian-li cases. they look mad!
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On March 15 2009 23:10 haduken wrote:
check out some of the lian-li cases. they look mad!
thats true
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A lot of this seems wasteful
Quad core is useless for gaming. Unless you are into heavy duty video editing, encoding, etc, save yourself the money and get a dual core.
I don't know why you'd want 2 optical drives but thats up to you.
SLIing two mid range cards is kind of defeating the purpose, and the purpose is wasteful to begin with. SLI only really helps in obscene resolutions, like 2560*1650 and beyond. You'd be way better off with one 4870 or gtx260. It's less money now and you'll feel less wasteful when you upgrade. You can also shave off a lot of money on the ps by getting a solid 450-500 watt and maybe a cheaper motherboard too if you looked for features more in line with what you want. For instance when upgrading, it's almost always more bang for your buck to just get a newer card than it is to try to SLI with your current one.
also ddr3 isnt worth it yet. low latency ddr2 outerperforms/ is equal to current dd3 offerings for less than half the price
Get a less expensive case, like the sonata or three hundred
You could probably get a pc that performs equally in games for less than 1k. Probably around 800-900
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Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer?
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On March 16 2009 00:31 fearus wrote:
Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer?
Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea!
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you cant go wrong with this 3 things
1. get quad core. dual core are obsolete and quad cores arent that expensive
2 .get at least 4gb ram. you need more ram to run vista and games smoothly. and they arent expensive. dont try to save on this one.
3. don't go for dual graphic cards sli or crossfire. get a single powerful card. less trouble less bugs. TRUST ME IVE BEEN THERE. the performance aren't that great with dual cards.
and there you have your perfect gaming rig.
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dual core isn't obsolete. of all the games that support quad core absolutely none of them will post significant performance gains over 2 cores, that doesn't justify paying 1.5x-2x the price for a processor if you are gaming.
And if you think buying a quadcore will future proof you, ask the people who had dual core 3500 athlons if they were at all future proof. By the time quad cores are fully supported and utilized your cpu will be garbage anyway. That's the reality of the PC hardware market, new hardware that is of little benefit to you is over priced and you should never consider it from a price/performance standpoint. If you are rich these rules don't apply to you though
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On March 16 2009 02:44 floor exercise wrote:
dual core isn't obsolete. of all the games that support quad core absolutely none of them will post significant performance gains over 2 cores, that doesn't justify paying 1.5x-2x the price for a processor if you are gaming.
And if you think buying a quadcore will future proof you, ask the people who had dual core 3500 athlons if they were at all future proof. By the time quad cores are fully supported and utilized your cpu will be garbage anyway. That's the reality of the PC hardware market, new hardware that is of little benefit to you is over priced and you should never consider it from a price/performance standpoint. If you are rich these rules don't apply to you though
quad cores are not expensive at all and is well worth the price.
i recommend everyone to get an AMD phenom quad core. they are great im currently using a phenom 9600 quad core 2.3ghz oc to 2.5 ghz (got it in 2008 january still peforming great) . the latest phenom II are definitely a beast.
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actually yeah price/performance the phenom IIs are pretty good I was mostly talking about the core 2 quads
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Lately i can't say MSI quality for mobo's is up to snuff i would stick to ASUS and Gigabyte
Imo a 520HX series, best quality psu are always the best never have to worry, from corsair and just use a GTX285 or just wait for ATI new single gpu 4890 to hit the market alot less trouble and power consumption for single gpu set up also generally more reliable in frame rates. Problem with dual tri quad gpu set up is their fps is more dependt on the driver and min frame rates are usually a lot lower so there is chances of micro stuttering.
Seagate's AS series can't be trusted maybe their 7200.12 but due to firmware scares it's not recommended for those who don't baby their machines i hate to recommend WD because their HDD are usually a bit slower then seagate's due to WD drives have a poor random seek time but this is just like 3 secs slower on a long random read nothing to really fret over.
You want to move it around with a full atx case which is like a box of bricks have fun with that just secure everything down tight and be gentle.
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single video card, cheaper case, amd phenom ii thx
btw there shouldnt be any problems with the seagate drives, i believe the firmware fixes have already been release so it shouldn't be a problem.
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On March 16 2009 07:27 IzzyCraft wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2009 07:08 mahnini wrote:
single video card, cheaper case, amd phenom ii thx
btw there shouldnt be any problems with the seagate drives, i believe the firmware fixes have already been release so it shouldn't be a problem. Phenom ii is for 2 types of people, either those who just want to use it for gaming and most for their money basically cutting coners. Or AMD fan boys. Phe ii beats is on par ever so slightly with i7 in gaming but every where else they get their ass spanked by the i7 series, basically amd tried to regain ground with their gaming fans who been violated by years of intel raping amd in gaming cpu. Cheaper case is bull shit I've always had great cases and when i sold the systems i just bought a crappy case and put the system in there and sold it. Great cases help with noise and vibration also with work space or air flow
you can get the antec 300 which is the basically same thing, maybe a tiny bit smaller and less flamboyant.
phenom ii gives you midrange quad performance like core 2 q9400 - q9550 for dual core prices. nothing on the market can compare to the core i7 making such a comparison makes no sense especially seeing as how building a phenom ii system would probably be around 500$ less
forgot to add LOL INTEL FANBOY
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True although i believe the price diff is closer to 350-500 depending what he buys. But for his budget of apparently 1500 i7 would be the best fit imo seeing as he doesn't need monitor or os a good i7 build is very possible.
Hey intel hasn't betrayed me in performance and oc ability although i7 was a bit odd. Also how can you say intel fan boy is bad that's like saying haha your the best.
My known bais is to
Intel
Nvidia (Hey they have the most powerful single gpu i hate dual gpu i love single gpu)
Asus mobo's (in terms of quality it's asus vs gigabyte for the whole package deal of getting extra stuff at great quality on your mobo)
Seagate HDD's
Pc Power and Cooling psu (hey can't beat the best!)
Xigmatek/OCZ for quad core cpu coolers (They just have 1 great cooler between them HDT typed which im always afraid ill warp when putting together)
Zalman for dual core cpu coolers
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You are going to get a 64 bit OS so you can take advantage of the 6 GB of ram right? A 32 bit OS doesn't work with more than 4 gigs of ram.
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32 bit wont work for more then 3.5 if you have high end gpu's with a lot of on board vid ram you'll get even less it's why sli and crossfire users are nearly pure 64bit os users. Image a tri sli of 280 on a 32 bit system that leaves you with 1 gig of system ram 3 gigs of vid ram lol
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i don't think core i7 is a bad investment at all. it is going to be the standard for intel for years to come and 920, 940 are really their flagship chips. they will release slower and cheaper chips later but what they have now is the it.
phenom 2 is definately not a bad choice given their price but again not proved to be a worthy investment otherthan the price issue.
dual cores are not obsolete but quad core price is reasonable enough to justify an upgrade imo.
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technology is a funny thing. you can't really say buying an i7 right now is bad or good because no one knows what's going to happen within 1-2 years. the best you can do is buy the best you have for your price range and that's it. you take into factors like time between upgrades, actual use, etc.
considering how far ahead the i7 core is it definitely presents a unique situation. BUT remember this, 32nm 8 core processors are pretty close to coming to market (sometime by the end of this year i think) and before you say "who needs 8 cores blah blah blah" consider the irony of your situation.
perhaps filling your computer gap for 1 year with a phenom ii saving 150 with the mobo, 150 with the processor itself, 20-30 for ram. then if you fee like it transitioning to newer / cheaper i7 boards and processors. or you could go for the intel mobo and processor now and just the processor later.
looking at it this way the i7 now seems like a good choice, but that's assuming that you need such processing power. it's never bad to have more power than necessary but one has to consider the cost. going with a phenom ii saves you much more in the short-medium term which makes it the more economical choice for frequent upgraders, while the i7 core would probably work better for medium - long term upgraders.
the phenom ii is not a bad processor by any means, saying so would mean disregarding intels entire mid range quad core lineup.
there's no denying that intel is the better processor manufacturer but looking at this from a cost / benefit perspective i think AMD currently has the upper hand. intel had a strangle hold on the dual cores and up until recently quads but now i think AMDs aggressive pricing is making it a seriously good choice.
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Really depends what your habits are I usually do a system overhall every 2-3 years (takes that long to get 2 ish system gens later) before i upgrade. Usually spending 800-1000ish for the overhall if i'm just buying new pc parts nothing ascetic like a new monitor speakers etc And so out of habbit i spend in that range ever 2-3 years Which ends up in the high end market but not the super high end. Just for note the build i had before this one was E6600 3.0oc with a 8800GTS 640 on 32 bit xp with 4 gigs of ddr2 800 ram which easily would last another 2 years playing games with chosen options imo before i would need to set everything on low with my current monitor set up of a 22" wide screen.
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i have an E8400 + 4G + 8800GS and i do fine on a 22 inch monitor.
Gaming honestly is not the reason you should upgrade.
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especially considering there are no good games to play
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On March 16 2009 01:44 decafchicken wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2009 00:31 fearus wrote:
Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer? Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea!
1. His not going to enjoy the process
2. His not saving money
3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals...
If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread
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Did you guys know that ASUS is pronounced "uh-SOOS" and not "ei-sus" as it's spelled?
When I first found that out, I was like, "WTF??"
I still can't pronounce it correctly...
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On March 16 2009 10:48 fearus wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2009 01:44 decafchicken wrote:On March 16 2009 00:31 fearus wrote:
Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer? Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea! 1. His not going to enjoy the process 2. His not saving money 3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals... If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread
1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding.
2. I definitely am. Anywhere else, this computer would be in the $3000++ range, plus it would be mostly generic name brands.
3. There is no such thing as a well priced, half-decent computer that can be bought at any retail store such as Best Buy or CCity. You're always giving up something. I know; I used to work at one. And all the computer speciality shops always charge an arm and a leg for anything custom you want.
Thanks for the advice, but I honestly don't think there is any reason NOT to build your own computer unless you are satisfied with getting shafted in the name of convenience.
To all the other advice out there, I really appreciate it. I have a lot to consider, but for right now, I am thinking with:
1. Sticking with the i7 and DDR3; it's not so expensive that it would deter me from getting it.
2. Looking at another PSU, preferably a modular one as haduken suggested.
3. Getting an aftermarket heatsink; any recommendations?
4. Checking out other cases at the moment; there are so many, this task seems pretty daunting
5. Debating whether to get a 4870 or 2x 4850 (thanks floor exercise). Is there any other card that would be even better than the 4870?
Note: I do have a 64-bit Vista Premium, so the 6GB RAM isn't a problem. Thanks for asking.
Lots to think about and consider...
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On March 16 2009 11:19 TheosEx wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2009 10:48 fearus wrote:On March 16 2009 01:44 decafchicken wrote:On March 16 2009 00:31 fearus wrote:
Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer? Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea! 1. His not going to enjoy the process 2. His not saving money 3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals... If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread 1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding.
Fair enough, best of luck then!
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On March 16 2009 11:19 TheosEx wrote:Show nested quote +On March 16 2009 10:48 fearus wrote:On March 16 2009 01:44 decafchicken wrote:On March 16 2009 00:31 fearus wrote:
Is it too late to try and convince you to back out of building your own computer? Yea, saving money while getting better performance and possibly enjoying it in the process is a terrible idea! 1. His not going to enjoy the process 2. His not saving money 3. Better performance? Because some computer parts are sooo top secret and exclusive that the only way to obtain it is to order the part indvidually.. god forbid some computer shop decides to use it in they own package deals... If its not too late.. don't build your own system = best advice in thread 1. I've built computers before and I actually found it quite enjoyable and rewarding. 2. I definitely am. Anywhere else, this computer would be in the $3000++ range, plus it would be mostly generic name brands. 3. There is no such thing as a well priced, half-decent computer that can be bought at any retail store such as Best Buy or CCity. You're always giving up something. I know; I used to work at one. And all the computer speciality shops always charge an arm and a leg for anything custom you want. Thanks for the advice, but I honestly don't think there is any reason NOT to build your own computer unless you are satisfied with getting shafted in the name of convenience. To all the other advice out there, I really appreciate it. I have a lot to consider, but for right now, I am thinking with: 1. Sticking with the i7 and DDR3; it's not so expensive that it would deter me from getting it. 2. Looking at another PSU, preferably a modular one as haduken suggested. 3. Getting an aftermarket heatsink; any recommendations? 4. Checking out other cases at the moment; there are so many, this task seems pretty daunting 5. Debating whether to get a 4870 or 2x 4850 (thanks floor exercise). Is there any other card that would be even better than the 4870? Note: I do have a 64-bit Vista Premium, so the 6GB RAM isn't a problem. Thanks for asking. Lots to think about and consider...
3. zalman, arctic freezer 7, xigmatek and a few others
4. antec 300 is very similar to the antec 900 except half the price and pretty much the same. there's also the cooler master 690 which is pretty nice as well as cheap
5. there's always 4870x2, it's a single card not 4870 crossfired but i think anything over the 4870 is kind've going overboard but if you want there's the gtx 295 gtx285 and such
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4870 x 2 is kinda overkill for small screens so make sure you get a big one!
arctic freezer 7 is a well recommended cooler, i can't get it in australia tho, maybe discontinued? but you yanks have your ways.
i dunno what to say about building computers. if you've done it before and know the basics then definately do it. buying from shop is for tards and mom and dads.
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I guess I'll stick with the 4870 and get an arctic freezer 7.
I'm still looking at PSUs and Cases. So freakin' many.
And I probably go with this screen
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30inch monitor lol i would actually go with sli or cross fire in this case for extra video memory so you can turn on all that eye candy. 2 260's or 2 4870's should be fine i would only suggest it to those at 30 inch because i know the performance at 24" and lower everything can be handled on full any game pretty much by 1 gpu even with all the eye candy like AA etc. If not sli or crossfire i strongle suggest a GTX 285. i hate 2 gpu's on 1 card too much to ever result to suggesting that.
Best single GPU on market GTX 285 > GTX 280 > GTX260(216core)=4870 (1 gig) i don't count dual cards too driver dependent
i7 Do not use Zalman cooler it's not worth the price of those things. Zalman makes great coolers but right now only for dual core system the cooling is best.
Else i recommend a XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 with some OCZ Technology Freeze no cure time makes it easy and reliable if not Arctic Silver 5 is fine
As for psu i suggest a Corsair one with HX at the end quality psu modular it's all good. CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX would be great if you stay single gpu But things like Antec Seasonic silver stone PC Power and Cooling OCZ are all good quality psu makers For dual GPU you can do it on high quality 600's with newer gpu's at ffmm but 750w is for recommended. nicely left you with more questions then anwers lol
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Wow, I knew you would come through maleorderbride. That case and PSU is cash, and the mobo/RAM will definitely be thrown in as well (I can't believe I didn't think of this).
This may seem like a stupid question, but why do you suggest the 160/250GB HDDs in RAID 0, and a 2nd 1TB HDD, and not just 2x 1TB HDD?
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the idea is that you have a fast raid for operating systems where majority of seek/write will be happening (the faster the seek/write, the more responsive your programs will be). raid 0 doubles the seek in your setup.
the 2 x 1TB are for media and file storage. You don't need a super fast drive for this because majority of times you would only be doing transferring / streaming stuff off it. You don't want to put the larger drives in raid 0 because if one drive fails, you are fucked.
It also make sense when your windows fail for whatever reason (like we haven't seen that before). It's just so much easier this way. I suppose you can also get the 1TB and partition it but that's just noobish, 160GB is what like 40 bucks?
So you can get some of the cheaper WD green drives which have slower spinning speed + lower power consumption. 5400rpm is what i'm thinking of. it won't really matter to the user if all you are doing is storing stuff.
if you really want to go nuts. SSD or the WD Velociraptor are awesome. I have a velociraptor in my box now and the boot time is just insanely fast.
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You also don't want larger drives in raid 0 because they fail alot more often.
Refurbished cases are fine as long as they aren't like 99% plastic cases ones form CM are what i buy to resell my computers  i keep the nice new great cases for my self.
I love my CM cosmos 1000
Anyways this is my take on a 30 inch monitor build
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283
OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze
OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Modle:OCZ3X1333LV6GK
Nvidia GTX 285 probably from evga or pny a non oc model cheaper then the rest.
2 x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB
Drive As far as i remember the .12 is a rebranded .11 to fit the smaller 16mb catche and has different firmware frankly i would risk it it has better sustained read times. Else i would just go with Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB
CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W PSU
COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 Case
Which all together would probably cost around 1600-1700 after tax shipping and some creative shopping on several sites.
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EPT
