Thanks for this thread, it's been quite helpful to me.

What do you hardware heads think about this build? The idea here being that if/when I want to upgrade, I can throw another 5770 in there. Also, I know the antec case is unpopular with a few posters here, but a friend has vouched for it and I value his word.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19092108

Edit: Sorry, wishlist should be public now.

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 23 2010 23:10 GMT

#106

I think you need to make a wishlist public before we can see it

semantics

10040 Posts

May 23 2010 23:50 GMT

#107

On May 22 2010 11:03 HDstarcraft wrote:

Show nested quote +

Looks very sexy

I'm actually planning to rebuild my computer sometime soon. My loop is actually getting really murky, and my radiator is getting clogged with dust =/

Well that's why i don't water cool it needs maintenance just like everything else except water cooling cost me a 200-400 dollar premium every time i get something new and that makes me wallet sad.

It is sexxy if you're going for high end look into what controller it uses currently the newest sandforce controllers is where it's at, esp in write speeds.

@ Rho_

Still not public
your url
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=19092108

a public url
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19092108

not acutlly sure if that's your rig or not lol but the 5770 and antec case makes me think it is.

Rho_

United States971 Posts

May 23 2010 23:57 GMT

#108

Yeah, that's it. Sorry, forgot to change the link after making it public.

TriniMasta

United States1323 Posts

May 23 2010 23:58 GMT

#109

Well keep in mind you're going to use the computer for a long long time, every extra spec pays off.

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 24 2010 00:33 GMT

#110

I don't know who recommended that HSF to you, but the Zalmans are no longer the high performance leaders in the HSF market

.

You'll be better off with a high quality Scythe/Noctua cooler, or simple a Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Add $10, get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608014
or for $35, get this giant
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

Both of them are miles ahead of any Zalman on the market.

The idea with the Antec 900 is that it was an awesome case when it first came out, but now there are better cases on the market like the Cooler Master HAF 922, Lian Lis, etc.

That 5770 is also absolutely terrible. If you have the money to get a decent 5770, get the MSI Hawk
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490
It is known to be a great overclocker, which sort of justifies the price premium.

If you don't plan on overclocking, just get this because there is no reason to spend extra money on something you don't need.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462

The power supply is overkill as well. A 750W Antec TruePower will serve you just as well.

Edit: You may also want to consider a USB 3.0 & SATA III supporting motherboard.

Rho_

United States971 Posts

May 24 2010 00:37 GMT

#111

Ok, thanks for the advice. I'm a total noob at this stuff. A lot (powersupply, mobo, vid card) of the stuff I picked because it was part of a bundle deal on newegg, but they won't add bundles to wishlists.

What are the advantages of USB 3.0 and SATA III?

Also, sound is a concern to me, which of the better cases would you recommend?

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 24 2010 00:41 GMT

#112

Ah I see, if it works that way then it should be fine. USB 3.0 is supposedly 10x faster than USB 2.0, and SATA III is 2x faster than SATA II. Whereas you probably will never use SATA III to its potential if you aren't using a SSD drive, USB is commonly used, and as soon as USB 3.0 support becomes widespread (in around 1 year), more and more products will begin supporting it.

semantics

10040 Posts

May 24 2010 03:20 GMT

#113

I belive you can crossfire 2 5770 off 550w on a good psu, so 600-650w would do you all the same.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012
could always get this modular etc can crossfire 2 5850's off it if you wanted

the 5770 you choose so expensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363
has a better cooler and is cheaper.

Zalman does offer high quality coolers but you can get better or the same efficiency of a cooler for less now. As frag already pointed out the cheap really effecient cooler i'll point out the 79.99 cooler in competition of the noctua
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109022&cm_re=thermalright-_-35-109-022-_-Product
put 2 of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109028&cm_re=thermalright-_-35-109-028-_-Product

for a really quiet rig

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 24 2010 04:03 GMT

#114

Oh man, Thermalright TRUE is soooooo good.

I'd prefer these fans though
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185058

semantics

10040 Posts

May 24 2010 04:06 GMT

#115

Slim fans are noisy.

I'd actually prefer these fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185090&cm_re=scythe-_-35-185-090-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608004&cm_re=noctua-_-35-608-004-_-Product

But so costly for quiet good fans.

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 24 2010 04:40 GMT

#116

24dBA is still much less noisy than the HDDs which will be around 40ish dB. Won't really matter too much if you hear your fans if there is a noisy HDD spinning along. The fans also move like 60CFM which is much more than most of the other 120mm fans that I have seen.

semantics

10040 Posts

May 24 2010 04:54 GMT

#117

That's only when hdds are writing or reading alot i have an ssd so i only hear whispers and i love it well except when i start up a movie on one of my storage drives then i hear the hdd turning on etc.

FragKrag

United States11552 Posts

May 24 2010 05:02 GMT

#118

24dB isn't exactly very loud either though.

and if you have a GPU (what gaming rig doesn't?) then you will still have a GPU fan idling above the CPU fan ;/

semantics

10040 Posts

May 24 2010 05:17 GMT

#119

On May 24 2010 14:02 FragKrag wrote:
24dB isn't exactly very loud either though.

and if you have a GPU (what gaming rig doesn't?) then you will still have a GPU fan idling above the CPU fan ;/

Not my fans i have an aftermarket cooler for my gpu and my fans are about the same amount of loud as my cpu cooler.

Also modren gpu coolers idle pretty low, in games if it ramps up a big isn't not too much of a big deal as the sound from the game can drown it out mostly.

silence is key for me even after running a heavy oc. I watch movies and record shows on my computer to be played back on my tv if it's not quiet i'll be annoyed. But it's also nice while suring the Internet and doing general computing.

Subwoofermate

293 Posts

May 24 2010 05:33 GMT

#120

Yes, Scythe Slipstreams are some of the best noise/performance ratio fans in the market. If they're too noisy you can play around with the voltages. Noctua fans are also really good as well but gosh they're so fucking expensive here in Australia.

Speaking of CPU heatsinks, the quality of the heatsink depends on its performance during load. The Zalmans are a bit dodgy at this and will get demolished by the flagship Thermalright/Cogage coolers, the Noctua U12P/D14, and Prolimatech Megahalem. But those are extremely expensive...if you want a really budget CPU cooler that performs extremely well, nothing out there competes against the Cooler Master Hyper 212+.

On May 24 2010 09:37 Rho_ wrote:
Ok, thanks for the advice. I'm a total noob at this stuff. A lot (powersupply, mobo, vid card) of the stuff I picked because it was part of a bundle deal on newegg, but they won't add bundles to wishlists.

What are the advantages of USB 3.0 and SATA III?

Also, sound is a concern to me, which of the better cases would you recommend?

The Antec Performance One series of cases are still the best cases around for pretty much everything.