new Cyberpower build - give me some tips?

[nikko]

Let me start by saying, I have pretty much been in computer hibernation for the last three years, so I don't necessarily know what the latest and greatest is. Below is the system I built (but have yet to order) based largely on advice I got here. For the record, I plan on using this system primarily for gaming (resolution 1920 x 1080).


• Case: NZXT H2 Classic Silent Mid-Tower Gaming Case
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
• Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
• Motherboard: * GigaByte GA-Z68A-D3-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
• Intel Smart Response Technology for Z68: 60 GB ADATA S511 SATA III 6.0G/s Gaming MLC Solid State Disk
• Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
• Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card
• Power Supply: 700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply
• Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD 1TB x 2 Raid 1 • Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional


If anything jumps out at you as being a bad idea, please let me know. That said, my questions are:

1. Re: Intel Smart Response Technology. Is it worth the upgrade? Is there anything I need to know in order to use it?
2. As far as the audio goes, is there a huge difference between the onboard audio and say a Creative Labs Xi-Fi card? For what it's worth, I will mostly likely be using headphones.
3. Do I need to add any extra cooling or noise reduction options? I have no plan to overclock.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[DaveSimmons]

> 1. Re: Intel Smart Response Technology. Is it worth the upgrade? Is there anything I need to know in order to use it?

There's an article about it on the main AnandTech site under CPUs. It seems more useful if you already have a spare SSD around -- if buying new I'd probably get a normal 120 GB intel 320 or 510 as the boot drive instead (with a 1 TB data drive for extra stuff)

> 2. As far as the audio goes, is there a huge difference between the onboard audio and say a Creative Labs Xi-Fi card? For what it's worth, I will mostly likely be using headphones.

Not to me. Onboard audio is much better than it was 5-10 years ago.

> 3. Do I need to add any extra cooling or noise reduction options? I have no plan to overclock.

No. It -might- be worth getting the i5-2500K instead of the 2500 as "future proofing" since you're getting a Z68 motherboard. The 2500 can't be overclocked, only the K version.

Stock cooling is fine for a reasonable overclock if you get the K then decide to overclock in a couple of years to stretch out the system life a little.

 

[DesiPower]

I agree with DaveSimmons, 2500K for sure, price difference is like $20 and in exchange you get greater overclockability and better IGP (which may be used by Virtu iinm)

 

[mfenn]

If CyberPower sets up SRT for you (which hopefully they will since they are installing the OS), then it is a decent extra.

Overall the build looks fine. The PSU is about 150W overkill, but Cyberpower won't sell it to you any other way.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Cyberpower likes to...be on the safe side with PSUs

 

[Soulviper]

i suppose that in my search of knowledge, i didnt see one, build your own on this thread. After talking it with dad, he said that a lady should be just as able to do geek stuff as a man. what we came up with was that dell = devil. lol. actually, that there are no real upgrade paths once you get a dell and looking at cyber and digital storm, they use real world parts.
he said i can make or buy my own and he would toss 1k to help me with my budget.

thanks for the help so far.. still working on my next rig!

 

[mvbighead]

So are you suggesting that you would consider building your own? If so, I would highly recommend it as you'll save a good amount of money and get parts that fit exactly what you want.

 

[Meghan54]

I'd take another long, hard look at the AData SSD. Their SSD's, so far, have not been the longest lasting SSD drives at all; failure rate is second only to OCZ, another brand I'd steer clear of if looking for reliability.

 

[Meghan54]

For the record, I plan on using this system primarily for gaming (resolution 1920 x 1080).



If anything jumps out at you as being a bad idea, please let me know.

THIS:

• Power Supply: 700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply

I only say this because when the Thermaltake TR2 power supply, one that's not known for being a quality unit, is a significant costly upgrade to the XtremeGear unit, you know the default XG power supply is probably junk, despite its high output rating (never mind many, many junkie power supplies rate their output at peak instead of continuous output.....)


I guess the $1200 or so Cyberpower is going to charge you for the build isn't too bad, but some of the parts choices are questionable.....the SSD, the power supply, the motherboard (better choices out there for about the same cost.)

 

[T_Yamamoto]

We can help you make your own. it is fairly simple