New build, final, ready to order, please look over...

[Shargrath]

Main use is gaming followed by web browsing. Budget is between $900-$1000. Using ZipZoomFly since NewEgg shipping rates are outrageous now. Want to know how this looks as I think I've finished tweaking it.


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CPU : AMD HDZ955FBGIBOX Phenom II x4, Black Edition 3.2Ghz,8MB Cache,125W,45nm 3.20 GHz AM3 4 x 512KB Desktop Processor Retail

Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AMD 790X AM3 Phenom II Socket AM3 5200 MT/s PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail

RAM : CORSAIR TW3X4G1333C9DHX 4GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) DDR3 Memory Retail

GPU : XFX HD-489A-ZDEC Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail

HDD : WESTERN DIGITAL RE3 WD3202ABYS 320GB SATA II 7200 RPM 16MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk

PSU : CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX TX 650W Power Supply Retail

Case : THERMALTAKE VH8000BWS Armor+ MX Aluminum Mid Tower Case Black Retail

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How does this build look guys? Any comments? I am pretty much ready to order now. Some of you may wonder why I picked a RE3 WD Hard Disk, and thats because it is said to have better reliability than other models and I'm tired of faulty hard disks.

Thanks for anyone sparing a minute to comment...

 

[Shargrath]

Anyone?

 

[mmntech]

Go with DDR3-1600 instead of DDR3-1333. The Phenoms have a bus speed of 200mhz so you want matched ram.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231193

Also, a 320gb HDD is kind of chintzy considering that the rest of your stuff is all high end. 1tb drives are under $100 these days, it's worth it. Even a 500gb drive would be better. Other than that, I don't see any issues. Just remember to tack an OS onto your budget.

 

[Blain]

I wouldn't buy a WD RE3 drive unless I was building a RAID array.
Go for the WD Black version.

 

[Shargrath]

Thank you guys for the feedback, it is really appreciated.

To answer your concerns.

I am getting the WD RE3 because based on reviews it seems to have best reliability. I dont care much about Hard Drive speed and I don't need 500GB of storage. I have a 250GB drive now and I rarely use more than 50GB of space on it. I am sick of drives breaking and from reviews I read, the newer Samsungs (I have a samsung) are not reliable. I had nothing but trouble from Western Digital's other drives (Caviars), but the RE3 is said to be reliable and thats why I am going for it.

Thanks for the RAM suggestion. I'm going to have to look it up on ZipZoomFly since I am not using NewEgg (NewEgg has apparently decided that $100+ is a good rate to charge for shipping and I dont want to use UPS because I want my stuff to come in one piece lol).
As for OS, I will be using Windows 7 Release Candidate until Windows 7 comes out and then buy that.

Once again thanks, anymore suggestions are welcome!

 

[Shargrath]

Wait, wouldnt DDR 1600 not work with the motherboard?

The mobo says it is DDR1333...

Im confused...

 

[Blain]

There are 4 different WD classes of HDs...
Green
Blue
Black
RE3

Read some reviews on the Black, then buy it. While the RE3 will work as a desktop drive, it's designed to be used in a RAID array.
The Black is the drive to buy.
I won't say any more...

 

[Shargrath]

I cant trust Western Digital regular drives after experiencing so much trouble with their other drives. I am not alone either in having reliability trouble with them. Whats wrong with having that drive if it will work? I read its the most reliable of the WD models (pretty much the only WD I can try and trust).

Like I said, the crap I got from WD before was enough to make me not want anything to do with their standard drives. A drive should NOT stop working after a couple of months of use...and this seems to be a standard feature on WD drives, except for the RE3 models...

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Shargrath
I cant trust Western Digital regular drives after experiencing so much trouble with their other drives. I am not alone either in having reliability trouble with them. Whats wrong with having that drive if it will work? I read its the most reliable of the WD models (pretty much the only WD I can try and trust).

Like I said, the crap I got from WD before was enough to make me not want anything to do with their standard drives. A drive should NOT stop working after a couple of months of use...and this seems to be a standard feature on WD drives, except for the RE3 models...

I'm sure you have the statistics to back that up right? What's your sample size? Did you sample all types of WD drives?

 

[Shargrath]

Well maybe they completely changed how they do business, but I still hear bad things about them. The last WD drive I had was over 4 years ago and then all the WD's that I had before that also gave me trouble all the time. I just didnt know any other manufacturer back then. I havent tried a WD in 4 years, but I still hear bad things about them. For instance a person I know had a fairly new WD drive stop working. He called WD to RMA it and they told him since it's an OEM drive, they arent covering it and he should contact the website he bought it from. The website obviously does not cover RMA's after a month and tell to contact the manufacturer. WD gave him the finger.

 

[Shargrath]

Any last minute suggestions?

 

[yh125d]

WD is fine now. No worries on the black edition, its one of the most popular and most often recommended drives on AT, and there aren't any reliability problems to speak of

 

[Shargrath]

Originally posted by: yh125d
WD is fine now. No worries on the black edition, its one of the most popular and most often recommended drives on AT, and there aren't any reliability problems to speak of

Well I am getting the RE3, enterprise edition.

Has a longer warranty...

Also seems people have less problems with them.

Thanks...

 

[theAnimal]

The Black edition also has a 5 year warranty.

 

[Shargrath]

Thank you everybody for your help!

Your input has been very helpful, and I placed the order tonight...

Here's what I went with,

1 x (10010088) GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AMD 790X AM3 Phenom II Socket AM3 5200 MT/s PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail @ $109.99

1 x (10010262) XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail @ $197.99

1 x (10009555) CORSAIR TW3X4G1333C9 4GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) DDR3 Memory Retail @ $82.99

1 x (10010076) WESTERN DIGITAL RE3 WD3202ABYS 320GB SATA II 7200 RPM 16MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk @ $70.99

1 x (10010385) AMD HDZ955FBGIBOX Phenom II x4, Black Edition 3.2Ghz,8MB Cache,125W,45nm 3.20 GHz AM3 4 x 512KB Desktop Processor Retail @ $245.00

1 x (10007112) CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX TX 750W Power Supply Retail @ $109.99

1 x (10008513) THERMALTAKE VH8000BWS Armor+ MX Aluminum Mid Tower Case Black Retail @ $128.99

Thanks. Heres hoping ZipZoom dont rip me off!