Building PC, need advice

[champion-7891]

Hello!

I am building a PC with the following specs:
Core i5 2500K
8 GB Corsair Vengeance/GSkill ripjaws 1600 DDR3
XFx Radeon 6950 1Gb
Antec 600 casing

I have yet to choose a motherboard though MSI P67A C-43 or an ASUS equivalent fall in my range....I already have Hard disks (4 of them!) which I plan to migrate to this rig with another 2TB WD Green....

So guys, I need your advice about:
1) Corsair v Gskill
2) Antec 600...good enough?
3) Will I be better off with 560 Ti?
4) PSU: CoolerMaster GX-750W or Antec Earth Watts 750W or Thermaltake TR-700P 700W or Corsair TX 750 or Xigmatek NRP-MC 702? Or any other suggestion?
5) will I be able to plug in my WD 1 tb black into a 6gbps sata onboard port?

Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

0. I'd go Z68 at this point. The ASRock Pro3 and GA-Z68A-D3H are both good choices IMHO.
1. Get whichever DDR3 1333 1.5V is cheaper, don't pay for "fancy" RAM.
2. Yes
3. Not as long as you are paying ~$210 for the 6950
4. None of the above, they are all overkill. A 500CX is more than enough.
5. Yes

 

[ArrowHead1]

1) CORSAIR!!! its a more reliable brand and the price difference isn't too much
2) Yeah I have a 600 myself
3) I would go with the 560 Ti
4) Either one is fine but yeah 500W-600W is plenty
5) Yep

 

[champion-7891]

@ arrowhead

1) why do you recommend Gtx 560 Ti over 6950 1gb (i am gaming at 1080p)?
2) about the antec six hundred casing...the place for PSU does not have a bottom exhaust hence the PSU exhausts within the case, does this not negatively affect GPu temps?

 

[fffblackmage]

2) about the antec six hundred casing...the place for PSU does not have a bottom exhaust hence the PSU exhausts within the case, does this not negatively affect GPu temps?

PSUs usually exhaust out the back of the case. That "bottom exhaust" you speak of is actually an air intake.

 

[mfenn]

1) CORSAIR!!! its a more reliable brand and the price difference isn't too much

Return rates:
Corsair 1.6% (1.4% last year)
G.Skill 2.0% (2.7% last year)

Not worth the extra money for the Corsair.

 

[hardboy]

Get fast ddr 3 1600 8gb, get a 6950 2gb oc, just a bit more
Get msi p67a gd55 b3

 

[champion-7891]

PSUs usually exhaust out the back of the case. That "bottom exhaust" you speak of is actually an air intake.

Sorry to be so ignorant...there are two outlets, one where we connect our power cable, the other where the fan is. You imply that the latter is the intake?

If yes, how severe are the negative impacts of having the PSU intake inside the casing?

 

[dawp]

With the power supply on the bottom and the fan pointing down, it draws cooler air from the bottom of the case or from vent below the PSU and blows it out the back.

with a top mounted PSU, it draws warm air from the system and blows it out the back.

PSUs usually run better if they can get fresh air from outside the case.

 

[champion-7891]

With the power supply on the bottom and the fan pointing down, it draws cooler air from the bottom of the case or from vent below the PSU and blows it out the back.

with a top mounted PSU, it draws warm air from the system and blows it out the back.

PSUs usually run better if they can get fresh air from outside the case.

The context of my question was related to the Antec six hundred (and even nine hundred two) chassis...both have bottom mounted PSUs without a bottom intake...in this case the PSU will have to be mounted inverted, just below the GPU....my question was related to this...adverse effects if any of this config

 

[fffblackmage]

The context of my question was related to the Antec six hundred (and even nine hundred two) chassis...both have bottom mounted PSUs without a bottom intake...in this case the PSU will have to be mounted inverted, just below the GPU....my question was related to this...adverse effects if any of this config

No adverse effects.

 

[mfenn]

Get fast ddr 3 1600 8gb, get a 6950 2gb oc, just a bit more
Get msi p67a gd55 b3

All of those parts are more expensive than they need to be for minimal performance gain.

 

[mfenn]

Sorry to be so ignorant...there are two outlets, one where we connect our power cable, the other where the fan is. You imply that the latter is the intake?

The fan is oriented such that it draws air from inside the case and exhausts it out the back. This allows the PSU to help exhaust warm out outside of the case.

If yes, how severe are the negative impacts of having the PSU intake inside the casing?

You're assuming that there are negative impacts, which there aren't. The PSU is not going to fail due to having slightly elevated intake temperatures.

 

[Morg.]

So guys, I need your advice about:
1) Nobody gives a shit, corsair=gskill=ocz=mushkin . as long as there are no reports of issues w/ that specific ram module and your mobo
2) Antec 600 is useless for your build, take a one hundred, it does a perfect job if you just add one scythe slipstream in the side pannel
3) No, definitely no, the 560 Ti is barely level with the 6950, AND the 6950 unlocks to a 6970, totally matching a 570, which obviously is better than a 560Ti
4) I made a build just like that, you can go for Corsair CX600 it's cheap and more than enough for what you're powering there (277Watts for unlocked/oc'd 6950 and prolly around 150 watts for 5Ghz on the CPU -> you do need a good air cooler like Mugen2 REv.B)
5) Yes

Mfenn's comments should be disregarded, 1600 / 1333 ram are at the same price, the 6950 2gb oc is THE BEST PRICE/PERFORMANCE OF ALL CURRENTLY SELLING GFX . yes, it unlocks, it oc's and it costs 220 bucks to beat 300 bucks cards.

Also. MSI is bad, buy gigabyte it's reliable and great . get a p67 lowest model it's enough even for CFX and it costs like 100 bucks.

There are negative impacts from the internal intake, some of which are not considered here.

1. a bit more temp -> a bit more noise
2. airflow considerations
On the second step, I believe it is worth elaborating - if you have a side pannel fan installed to blow on the CFX setup (as is normally the case), you will have airflow distortion from the psu intake, even though it will be slight.

All in all, there are quite a few negative impacts but they're so minimal it doesn't matter.

But, there are positive impacts, as this intake will participate in case cooling

And, with many cases there are negative impacts from external intake, as in airflow restriction, major dust buildup and "how do I clean this mess now it's facing down?"-syndrome.

All in all, don't give a shit it doesn't matter, you're not battling for perfect airflow control anyway.

 

[mfenn]

Mfenn's comments should be disregarded, 1600 / 1333 ram are at the same price,

8GB DDR3 1333 1.5V $60 AP
8GB DDR3 1600 1.5V $78

Yep, same price all right.

the 6950 2gb oc is THE BEST PRICE/PERFORMANCE OF ALL CURRENTLY SELLING GFX . yes, it unlocks, it oc's and it costs 220 bucks to beat 300 bucks cards.

Hate to break it to you, but the $220 6950 2GB does not unlock.

 

[champion-7891]

thanks guys for your replies....

a couple of points:
1) i have been surfing the net, and after considerable thought, i am thinking of getting a CM II Plus instead of antec 600.
2) most people ive talked over the net have warned me to stay away from the CM GX 750 W...so am going for Antec earth watts 750
3) i was getting an XFX 1 gb 6950 but reviews over at new egg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo calls for concern...a lot of people are repoting crashes with this card... is it true?

 

[bntran02]

1) Doesnt matter. There are several articals on the internet about cheap ram vs expensive ram. You might get a 1% boost at max between the cheapest and most expensive (if you're lucky).
2) Plenty

i was getting an XFX 1 gb 6950 but reviews over at new egg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo calls for concern...a lot of people are repoting crashes with this card... is it true?

3) ATI cards generally perform faster at similar price points but I've have always preferred nVidia cards because i've found them to be less glitchy (e.i. Gamma issues, monitor randomly turns off because of a refresh rate issue, crashes, etc...)
4) All are more than you need but I would prefer Corsair. The TX750 is currently the highest rated and most purchased PSU of all time on newegg. It's what I used and have had it for 3 years so far
5) Yes

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Mfenn's comments should be disregarded, 1600 / 1333 ram are at the same price

As has already been pointed out, no, they are not the same price, at least not on a day-to-day basis.

I've been following your posts as you've become more active in the forums and I will simply say this: you sometimes give good advice, but many of your claims are either misguided or flat out wrong. mfenn has been one of the most active contributors to these forums for many months, and I have yet to read him making a suggestion that I took serious issue with. Telling someone to disregard his advice is one of the dumbest comments you've made on these forums.

Also. MSI is bad, buy gigabyte it's reliable and great

This is total non-sense. Both MSI and Gigabyte make great motherboard models, and both of them make the occasional stinker. See Gigabyte's issues with onboard video in their Z68 boards.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Telling someone to disregard his advice is one of the dumbest comments you've made on these forums.

Seconded.

 

[mfenn]

Telling someone to disregard his advice is one of the dumbest comments you've made on these forums.

Seconded.

:wub: Thanks guys.

 

[mfenn]

thanks guys for your replies....

a couple of points:
1) i have been surfing the net, and after considerable thought, i am thinking of getting a CM II Plus instead of antec 600.

I'm assuming that you're referring to the CM690 II. If so, that's fine too. Just pick the one that you like the looks of better.

2) most people ive talked over the net have warned me to stay away from the CM GX 750 W...so am going for Antec earth watts 750

Good call avoiding the CoolerMaster PSU. While the Earthwatts 750W is a good PSU, it is serious overkill for a single 6950 1GB. You're looking at a total system power draw of about 300W under load. That puts you in the low end of the efficiency curve even maxed out. Idle is going to be really terrible. A 430CX is plenty of power for this build, though you will need to use a Molex to PCIe 6-pin adapter. The 520C gives you a ton of headroom and avoids the need for an adapter.

3) i was getting an XFX 1 gb 6950 but reviews over at new egg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo calls for concern...a lot of people are repoting crashes with this card... is it true?

The reviews look fine to me. Any manufacturer makes a DOA card from time to time. The difference is that Newegg and XFX will take care of you. The price is right as well.

 

[champion-7891]

btw how do you guys view sparkle and HIS as manufacturers?

also...looking long term...would you prefer a 2 gb 6950 over a 560ti/1 gb 6950?

 

[mfenn]

btw how do you guys view sparkle and HIS as manufacturers?

also...looking long term...would you prefer a 2 gb 6950 over a 560ti/1 gb 6950?

They're fine IMHO. And yes, I would say that a 2GB card is better long-term.