My Most Expensive Build Yet

[james1701]

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
2 ASUS EAH5870/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Logitech G19 Black USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard
Microsoft C8G-00004 Xbox 360 Common Controller
G.SKILL Trident 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9T-6GBTD
LOGISYS Computer CLK12RD2 12" DUAL RED COLD CATHODE KIT
LOGISYS Computer CLK4RD2 4" Dual Red Cold Cathode Kit
ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7980X
3 Scythe GentleTyphoon D1225C12B4AP-14 120mm Case Fan
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound
CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler - Retail
Logitech Z-2300 200 watts RMS 2.1 Speaker System




Does this look like a solid build? Do you see any conflicts? I plan to use two the Typhoons on the H50, and the third for the optional graphics card fan in the case. I hope to get this rig to last me for 4 to 5 years, except for the graphics cards, I know those will have to be replaced, but I hope the rest will last me as long as my Q6600 has. The thermal compound is a free one with the fans and will not be used.

 

[mfenn]

Can you clean up the formatting a bit? It's kind of hard to tell what's going on.

 

[james1701]

My total cost is about 3300.00 before MIR's. I am not too worried about the price, I just want to make sure everything will play nice together. I already have some ssd's, and hd's. I will use the monitors and mouse I already have.

 

[mfenn]

Yes, everything should work fine together.

I'm sure you know that you can get 90% of the performance for 50% of the price. I'm sure that you also know that you would be better off building a $1700 system now and putting the other $1600 in the bank for a new system or at least a substantial upgrade in a couple of years. Since your Q6600 rig looks so reasonable, I'm really sure that you know that building a monster system is a terrible idea if you're looking to get the best bang for the buck over a long period of time.

Some of the more ridiculous items that I could point out:

• 980X. if this is a gaming rig, that $1000 CPU is going to perform like a $300 one.
• 1000W PSU. Two 5870's in CFX draws about 650W for the total system. But you say, "Think of the future!" Lemme quote my good buddy superccs who said it better than I.
  

  PSU power with the improvements in effeciency component power consumption has sort of hit a glass ceiling and rarely will you need something greater than a 650W unit.

  He was talking about a single GPU rig, but the same holds true (albeit at 750-850W) for dual GPUs.
• DDR3 2000. The gains you get these days from overclocking RAM are truly minimal. A set of DDR3 1600 with normal heatspreaders is all you need
• Corsair H50. Performance is kinda abysmal for the price. You'd be better off with something like the Noctua U12P or D14.
• Rampage III Extreme. Pretty much the most worthless $150 spent in this whole build. There's really nothing that a $370 motherboard can do that a ~$220 can't.

There, now my conscience won't bother me tonight. 🙂

 

[james1701]

My 6600 died, so its time for a new one. I would have rather had an Antec 850 Signature, but the Corsair is on sale for almost 30.00 cheaper right now. I guess they are trying to sell out with the new models getting read to hit next week. Its not so much future proof, I think its a good power supply at a good price right now.

I do rip and convert dvd's and soon BR disks, and a lot of gaming and pron 🙂. I thought about going AMD, and waiting for Bulldozer, but then I thought, what if the performance is just a little more or the same as a 980X. That would leave me with about the same cost as the initial Intel purchase only with 6 months to a years wait.

I also like to overclock and do a lot of benchmarks.

The funny thing is when I bought my quad, many people said, you only need a dually, the quad was useless. Now its not, and the six core is getting used in the newer games already. I believe there is less wait for software for a six core now than there was for a quad when I first built that system. I hate upgrading every year or two, except for the graphics card and some little items. I don't expect it to be the performance king for all that time, but I do want it to hold me over like my trusty Q6600 did.

 

[mfenn]

The funny thing is when I bought my quad, many people said, you only need a dually, the quad was useless. Now its not, and the six core is getting used in the newer games already. I believe there is less wait for software for a six core now than there was for a quad when I first built that system. I hate upgrading every year or two, except for the graphics card and some little items. I don't expect it to be the performance king for all that time, but I do want it to hold me over like my trusty Q6600 did.

And they were right. Time change, it's better to keep your rig with the times instead of blowing a bunch of money trying to stay ahead.

A six-core is also only 50% more cores, not 100% more like single to dual and dual to quad. Is that really worth 3 times the cost? Especially when you can get a good quad now with a reasonable mobo and a good octo and reasonable mobo when SB/BD come out? For the same total investment I might add.

Anyway, you should really look into something besides the H50 because it is gonna suck for overclocking. Also, I don't see how you can really argue for the 1000HX on price when the 850TX, 850HX, and Seasonic X750 Gold are all cheaper and will do what is needed.