Final Thoughts: Gaming Rig Build

[Draiko333]

Hey guys,

I've been spending a lot of time looking over components and trying to get the best parts for the money for my new system, and I've received a great deal of help and advise from the community. I was just looking for some final thoughts on my build before I push the purchase button lol.

Before I get to my build I should note that I don't know anything about overclocking, and probably won't attempt to even learn until further down the road when my computer isn't performing as well as I'd like it to but don't want to spend any more money.

So here is my build (At the bottom I've listed my final concerns over choices):


NZXT Hades ATX Mid Tower Case = $74.99 (after MIR)

G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ PC3-10666 4GB = $65.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 = $37.99

ASUS Sabertooth I55 LGA1156 P55 = $166.44

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT = $93.79

ASUS VH236H 23 Widescreen LCD Monitor = $192.44

Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN = $104.99

ASUS Radeon HD 6870 913MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ x 2 = $485.98

ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM = $22.95

Intel Core i5 760 Quad Core Processor = $199.99

OCZ Alchemy Series Elixer USB2.0 Gaming Keyboard = $22.99

Gigabyte GM-M6800 5 Button Dual Lens Optical Mouse = $11.22

Logitech X-140 2.0 5W RMS Black Analog Speakers = $24.45

Scythe Shuriken 3 Heatpipe Low Profile CPU Heatsink = $29.99
________________________________________________________
Total: $1629.20


I'm still trying to decide between some components, but as of now this is what I intend to order.

Case: NZXT Hades vs. Cooler Master HAF 912 (Plus a 200MM top fan and a 120MM side fan)

Hard Drive: Contemplating getting two Seagates for RAID 0 or a Western Digital 1TB (FAEX series)

Motherboard: Sabertooth i55 vs. P7P55D Deluxe vs. P7P55D-E Pro vs. MSI P55A-GD65 vs. Gigabyte P55A-UD4P

I chose the Sabertooth because of the 10-channel audio, the durable components and cyramic coating.
They all seem fairly equal to me. The rest came with auto-OC features which I would feel tempted to use despite being told not to lol (mostly because I don't have a clue about OC myself and this gets someone else to do it for me for free - I see it as a free performance boost but it seems unsafe). I don't foresee any need for USB 3.0 atm, but I could be wrong.

Heatsink: I picked up the extra heatsink just in case I decided to make an attempt at overclocking later. I've heard horror stories about removing stock heatsinks and having left over thermal compound causing issues. I figured if my computer came with a decent heatsink to start with I wouldn't have to worry about that. If I decided to go with the Cooler Master HAF 912 case I would replace the Scythe Shuriken 3 with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus.

So with that said: Any suggestions or general criticism?

Thank you all for helping me with this build!

 

[zi0n.]

Why Xfire over a single card? $165 for a p55 MB seems too high for me. Also don't get a Seagate HD, either get a Samsung f3 1 tb or get a black WD.

 

[Draiko333]

Why Xfire over a single card? $165 for a p55 MB seems too high for me. Also don't get a Seagate HD, either get a Samsung f3 1 tb or get a black WD.

Xfire was mostly because my original build was so bad it allowed me to Xfire for the same price when a few people smartened me up. Though I'm beginning to think it's overkill... I can always get a second later when I actually need it. I plan on playing WoW and SC2 mostly right now... as well as Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age: Origins. Being able to play those on Max would be great. Is it difficult to Xfire video cards yourself? I'm having NCIX build this rig for me to make sure it's done correctly. Would I have trouble doing it on my own?

Do you have any recommendations for a motherboard? The cheapest of the lot from what I was considering is the P7P55D Deluxe for $131.20.

NCIX doesn't have the Samsung F3 sadly. And the Western Digital costs more than twice that of my Seagate ($38 vs. $85). Is the difference really that significant? In the reviews I read the Seagate just fell slightly behind usually... with the exception on game load times where it actually beat the competition. Would two of the Seagates in a Raid 0 configuration beat the Western Digital?

Thank you for the input! I'm always learning something new as I go along lol.

 

[mfenn]

I don't see a problem with the 6870 CFX at this point. It's AMD's highest performance solution (without getting into tri-fire).

You overall build looks fine, though I would change a few things:
- Get a Samsung F3 or WD Black or Hitachi over a Seagate
- The 6870 sips power, so a 650W would be fine.
- Don't power with a "low-profile" heatsink unless your case's clearance won't allow anything else.

EDIT: For your uses, you're correct that a single 6870 would be sufficient.

Also, you should really really really update your original thread instead of posting a new one. We've already been over the HDD ground before.

EDIT2: If you drop the Crossfire, you can go for a cheaper board like the GA-P55-USB3. Crossfire is something that you should either have or not have from the outset. "Upgrading to Crossfire" is generally a bad value proposition.

 

[Draiko333]

I don't see a problem with the 6870 CFX at this point. It's AMD's highest performance solution (without getting into tri-fire).

You overall build looks fine, though I would change a few things:
- Get a Samsung F3 or WD Black or Hitachi over a Seagate
- The 6870 sips power, so a 650W would be fine.
- Don't power with a "low-profile" heatsink unless your case's clearance won't allow anything else.

EDIT: For your uses, you're correct that a single 6870 would be sufficient.

Also, you should really really really update your original thread instead of posting a new one. We've already been over the HDD ground before.

EDIT2: If you drop the Crossfire, you can go for a cheaper board like the GA-P55-USB3. Crossfire is something that you should either have or not have from the outset. "Upgrading to Crossfire" is generally a bad value proposition.

I really wish I could get the Samsung, but unless I decide to build the entire computer myself I have to order from NCIX so they can do it for me. I like that idea mostly so I know what I get is all working fine and I don't have to worry about sending back faulty parts. As for the Western Digital and Hitachi go... In the reviews I checked out the Seagate was just below the others usually.. except during game load times where it actually beat the rest. So I thought considering the WD costs $85 I could have 2 Seagates instead and have them in Raid 0 to increase its performance. Is the Seagate really that bad though? If so I'll for sure swap in the WD.

Wasn't sure on the power supply. I've actually had some people recommend an 850W. So I thought I'd take middle ground. Though others have also told me my particular choice wasn't the best and I should consider either the Antec TruePower New TP-750 or the XFX Black Edition 750W.

And yeah the Hades is too narrow to allow the use of the CM 212+ so I didn't have a lot to choose from. Maybe the HAF 912 would be better.

Hmmm I'd like to keep my computer somewhat future-proofed... so in that case I think I'll stick with the Crossfire option. I'm glad you mentioned that though as I was leaning towards dropping one just for the time being until I needed a second.

Apologies for the new thread too... I just figured a new thread would be appropriate for so many changes. Though yeah I guess having all previous discussions included would have saved some time for others posting. Sorry!

Thank you though for your very informative information. You've been very very helpful. I appreciate it.

 

[fffblackmage]

So I thought considering the WD costs $85 I could have 2 Seagates instead and have them in Raid 0 to increase its performance. Is the Seagate really that bad though? If so I'll for sure swap in the WD.

AFAIK, RAID0 doesn't help game load times.

Wasn't sure on the power supply. I've actually had some people recommend an 850W. So I thought I'd take middle ground. Though others have also told me my particular choice wasn't the best and I should consider either the Antec TruePower New TP-750 or the XFX Black Edition 750W.

The Antec TP-750 and XFX 750W is recommended over the Corsair 750W because the Corsair is an aging PSU (came out years ago, while the Antec and XFX PSUs are more recent additions in the market).

 

[mfenn]

I really wish I could get the Samsung, but unless I decide to build the entire computer myself I have to order from NCIX so they can do it for me. I like that idea mostly so I know what I get is all working fine and I don't have to worry about sending back faulty parts. As for the Western Digital and Hitachi go... In the reviews I checked out the Seagate was just below the others usually.. except during game load times where it actually beat the rest. So I thought considering the WD costs $85 I could have 2 Seagates instead and have them in Raid 0 to increase its performance. Is the Seagate really that bad though? If so I'll for sure swap in the WD.

Wasn't sure on the power supply. I've actually had some people recommend an 850W. So I thought I'd take middle ground. Though others have also told me my particular choice wasn't the best and I should consider either the Antec TruePower New TP-750 or the XFX Black Edition 750W.

And yeah the Hades is too narrow to allow the use of the CM 212+ so I didn't have a lot to choose from. Maybe the HAF 912 would be better.

Hmmm I'd like to keep my computer somewhat future-proofed... so in that case I think I'll stick with the Crossfire option. I'm glad you mentioned that though as I was leaning towards dropping one just for the time being until I needed a second.

Apologies for the new thread too... I just figured a new thread would be appropriate for so many changes. Though yeah I guess having all previous discussions included would have saved some time for others posting. Sorry!

Thank you though for your very informative information. You've been very very helpful. I appreciate it.

Hey man, no problem. Just letting you in on some forum etiquette.

For the HDD, the reason that I would avoid Seagate has nothing to do with performance. Seagate's reliability has been very suspect as of late. RAID0 just increases the chances of something going wrong.

 

[Draiko333]

Hmm I see I see...

Alright I've decided to drop the Seagate idea altogether and throw down the extra $45 for the WD 1TB FAEX. Certainly don't want to be stuck with a crap hard drive.

One question regarding the two power supplies I mentioned earlier... One has a single 12v rail and the other has 4.. is that an issue? XFX seems to claim single is better. The XFX is modular so I'm thinking I might get that just to keep things neat (only just learned what modular was today haha).

Thanks again guys!

 

[mfenn]

Hmm I see I see...

Alright I've decided to drop the Seagate idea altogether and throw down the extra $45 for the WD 1TB FAEX. Certainly don't want to be stuck with a crap hard drive.

One question regarding the two power supplies I mentioned earlier... One has a single 12v rail and the other has 4.. is that an issue? XFX seems to claim single is better. The XFX is modular so I'm thinking I might get that just to keep things neat (only just learned what modular was today haha).

Thanks again guys!

It doesn't really matter how the rails are divided up. Technically speaking the ATX 2.3 (pretty sure it's 2.3) requires at least two rails, but only having one doesn't really hurt anything. And of course XFX is going to say that their way is better Also, modular doesn't matter in a high-end machine because you're going to end up using all of the cables anyway.

 

[Draiko333]

It doesn't really matter how the rails are divided up. Technically speaking the ATX 2.3 (pretty sure it's 2.3) requires at least two rails, but only having one doesn't really hurt anything. And of course XFX is going to say that their way is better Also, modular doesn't matter in a high-end machine because you're going to end up using all of the cables anyway.

Haha good point with the marketing ploys. Though I must say their 5 year warranty is promising. I was debating between the two and I'm thinking I'll go with the XFX all the same... Unless of course someone recommends against that.. which has been the trend with a lot of my choices lol. I appreciate it though. My computer has changed completely from my original build and yet it's much better for a lower price.

 

[mfenn]

Haha good point with the marketing ploys. Though I must say their 5 year warranty is promising. I was debating between the two and I'm thinking I'll go with the XFX all the same... Unless of course someone recommends against that.. which has been the trend with a lot of my choices lol. I appreciate it though. My computer has changed completely from my original build and yet it's much better for a lower price.

Yeah, the XFX is perfectly fine, just letting you know that it doesn't matter too much which quality PSU that you choose.

 

[Draiko333]

Update:

Trying to figure out which case would be best for me now. I've built up quite a list since I've been looking around last night. The HAF 912 seems to be a nice, cheap choice. I've also been looking at the HAF922. I'll just list my now gigantic list of choices below as I've gotten myself more confused than ever over which case to choose:

1. NZXT Hades
2. Coolermaster Haf 912
3. Coolermaster Haf 922
4. NZXT Tempest Evo
5. Azza Fantom 900
6. Azza Solano 1000
7. Lancool PC-K62
8. Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition
9. Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced

I believe the Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced is too short to fit the 69xx series however. I'm not so sure about the rest. I also had the Antec Nine Hundred Two on my original list but that was also too short and had no ventilation on the bottom for the PSU.

I'm undecided on if I'll ever want/need a 69xx card.. or if maybe I should even wait and get that over Xfire 6870s. I've had a few people suggest I just hold tight for a while.

I'm guessing for the most part the cases are pretty equal and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.. but if I could knock a few off the list that would help a lot.

So close to having this built... yet so far away lol.

 

[Raswan]

Update:

Trying to figure out which case would be best for me now. I've built up quite a list since I've been looking around last night. The HAF 912 seems to be a nice, cheap choice. I've also been looking at the HAF922. I'll just list my now gigantic list of choices below as I've gotten myself more confused than ever over which case to choose:

1. NZXT Hades
2. Coolermaster Haf 912
3. Coolermaster Haf 922
4. NZXT Tempest Evo
5. Azza Fantom 900
6. Azza Solano 1000
7. Lancool PC-K62
8. Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition
9. Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced

I believe the Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced is too short to fit the 69xx series however. I'm not so sure about the rest. I also had the Antec Nine Hundred Two on my original list but that was also too short and had no ventilation on the bottom for the PSU.

I'm undecided on if I'll ever want/need a 69xx card.. or if maybe I should even wait and get that over Xfire 6870s. I've had a few people suggest I just hold tight for a while.

I'm guessing for the most part the cases are pretty equal and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.. but if I could knock a few off the list that would help a lot.

So close to having this built... yet so far away lol.

Where'd you read that the Antec 902 is too short? The reason I ask is the Antec 902 was well-reviewed by Anandtech and on newegg, and I've been using it for about a year. Keeps my case significantly (10*C) cooler than my old Thermaltake, and I've never seen anything that precludes running a single 6870 in it especially if you aren't at the same time trying to pack it full of hard drives. I was going to go ahead and recommend it to you actually, but if anyone else knows something about putting a 6870 in it that I should know (since I myself am going to be getting one in the next couple of weeks), please share!

Also, and I don't know/see what you are planning on playing specifically, but afaik unless you are planning on overclocking the 6870 is going to be a fine match for the i-5 760 for most everything. If you're overclocking I can understand going xfire, but (and others can correct me if I'm wrong here) looking at the benchmarks for most games that cpu and video card give solid performance. Of course, depending on specific games (I know WoW is esp. cpu-intensive and others are equally geared for gpu) this might change things for you, but I don't know how much.

 

[Draiko333]

Where'd you read that the Antec 902 is too short? The reason I ask is the Antec 902 was well-reviewed by Anandtech and on newegg, and I've been using it for about a year. Keeps my case significantly (10*C) cooler than my old Thermaltake, and I've never seen anything that precludes running a single 6870 in it especially if you aren't at the same time trying to pack it full of hard drives. I was going to go ahead and recommend it to you actually, but if anyone else knows something about putting a 6870 in it that I should know (since I myself am going to be getting one in the next couple of weeks), please share!

Also, and I don't know/see what you are planning on playing specifically, but afaik unless you are planning on overclocking the 6870 is going to be a fine match for the i-5 760 for most everything. If you're overclocking I can understand going xfire, but (and others can correct me if I'm wrong here) looking at the benchmarks for most games that cpu and video card give solid performance. Of course, depending on specific games (I know WoW is esp. cpu-intensive and others are equally geared for gpu) this might change things for you, but I don't know how much.

Sorry! I didn't mean to say the 6870 wouldn't fit. As far as I'm aware it doesn't have the room for a 5970. I think it has something like 10 or 11 inches of space and the 5970 is like 12? And I'm assuming the 69xx series will be about the same length as the 5970. I don't know yet if I'll even ever upgrade to the 69xx series or not; I just like being safe rather than sorry.

Hmm as for gaming: I plan on playing WoW, Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins, and SC2 atm. Of course I'd like to be capable of playing later generation games as they are released without having to once again upgrade my entire system. So I figured having Xfire from the start keeps me safe for a longer period of time. And as mfenn so kindly pointed out; I'm better off having that done from the get-go instead of buying the second 6870 later down the road. Though if my CPU is just going to bottleneck me and make the Xfire part moot I may as well drop it back to a single card. Is that the case here?

 

[Raswan]

I know WoW really taxes the cpu, so I just wanted to make sure you knew that an i-5 with dual 6870s wasn't necessarily going to guarantee ultra high gaming with no lag. Go here for data on different games and check your cpu and video card against what res you want to game at. Should give you a pretty solid idea of what to expect.

But with an i5 (benchmarks show it performs just about as well as an i7 in everything) and one 6870, my thoughts are you'll be fine with all of those games at high settings. The extra 6870 will realize you additional performance in some games (like SC2), so it's up to you to decide if it's really worth it.

 

[Davidh373]

an i5 will be 10x what you need to run WoW... I run it smooth on a C2D laptop with 2GB RAM... An i5 is also the highest benching gaming processor aside from the 6 core i7 970 at $700 and the 980X at over $1k... which isn't cost effective for gaming...

 

[mfenn]

Sorry! I didn't mean to say the 6870 wouldn't fit. As far as I'm aware it doesn't have the room for a 5970. I think it has something like 10 or 11 inches of space and the 5970 is like 12? And I'm assuming the 69xx series will be about the same length as the 5970. I don't know yet if I'll even ever upgrade to the 69xx series or not; I just like being safe rather than sorry.

The 69xx will almost certainly fit. Why? Story time:

The 6850 and 6870 were actually designed as midrange cards, not high end ones. They were originally going to be called the 6750 and 6770, but ended up being so close to the existing 5850 and 5870 in performance that AMD decided to call the the 68xx series. Dumb, I know. However, that meant that the "real" high-end 6850 and 6870 cards (aka Cayman) would have to be bumped to 69xx series. The current 5970 is actually yet another class higher (dual-GPU), which is why it is 12".

Moral of the story: Expect the 69xx cards to be about the same lengths as the 58xx cards.

As for the case, pick whichever you like the best. They will all perform pretty much equivalently.

 

[Draiko333]

I'm more concerned about future games than my current list when it comes to my Xfire setup to be honest. I know my current list should run well enough a single card, though I would enjoy the extra performance in SC2 all the same.

I actually wasn't aware WoW was so CPU intensive. That kinda makes me think I'll want to be overclocking my CPU sooner than I expected. Did you mean to provide a link to a site which provided the data on different games? Or you mean check around these forums?

Well the fact the this i5 is the best current CPU for gaming under $700 makes me feel really good about that selection lol.

Interesting story mfenn haha. Alright well that's really nice to know... I guess I'll just choose which one I like best in that case. Thanks.

(I'm pretty sure I've now settled on everything but a case, so I'm soon finished!)

 

[betasub]

I'm more concerned about future games

If you choose a 6970, you'll be a getting a "future graphics card" to play all those "future games"

 

[Draiko333]

If you choose a 6970, you'll be a getting a "future graphics card" to play all those "future games"

Lol you make a good point. When is the 6970 set to be released? Any idea what it might cost?

 

[Raswan]

I'm more concerned about future games than my current list when it comes to my Xfire setup to be honest. I know my current list should run well enough a single card, though I would enjoy the extra performance in SC2 all the same.

I actually wasn't aware WoW was so CPU intensive. That kinda makes me think I'll want to be overclocking my CPU sooner than I expected. Did you mean to provide a link to a site which provided the data on different games? Or you mean check around these forums?

Well the fact the this i5 is the best current CPU for gaming under $700 makes me feel really good about that selection lol.

Interesting story mfenn haha. Alright well that's really nice to know... I guess I'll just choose which one I like best in that case. Thanks.

(I'm pretty sure I've now settled on everything but a case, so I'm soon finished!)

Sorry about that. Here's where I look for performance reviews:

http://www.techspot.com/reviews-software.shtml

And I agree with David--unless you're wanting to spend a whole bunch more, the i5 is your best bet. And while I am also currently running a C2D, but with 4 gigs of RAM, and WoW is hardly "smooth" even at 1280x1024 during big BGs or in Dalaran, the i5 should do you fine, and even better should you OC it.

 

[mfenn]

If you choose a 6970, you'll be a getting a "future graphics card" to play all those "future games"

Exactly! In this business, if you worry about the future too much, you will never do anything. Sure, a 6870 will eventually be outdated, but at that point you will just buy an 8870.