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New system build.

T

tulx

Senior member
Hello techies!

I'm about to buy parts for a new system, using a few from my previous build, and am looking for some last minute recommendations.

CPU and cooler: AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition and Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth 990FX AMD 990FX
RAM: Corsair Memory Vengeance LP Arctic White 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz (will add another 8GB later for a RAM drive)
Graphics cards: two XFX AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB (one from previous PC, one from eBay)
Storage: 120GB SSD Corsair Force Series GT
PSU: ZM1000-HP Plus (from previous build)
Case: Silverstone SST-FT02B-W

A few comments straight away:

1. The 960T is a placeholder for the 2nd generation Bulldozer CPU, if it will prove good enough.
2. Won't buy a HDD at the moment, since the prices are so outragous. Have a 1TB external one (USB 2.0 🙁 ).
3. No, I will not switch to a 2500k+CM Hyper+P8Z68 like everyone else and their dog... - I'm maintaining two AMD systems and switching the parts between them when upgrading.

Note that the links to scan.co.uk are just for illustration purpous. I'll be ordering the parts from Germany, where tech prices are still reasonable.

Opinions, recommendations? Anything you'd do differently?


PS - I'll post pictures of the finished system in this thread once I build it. 😉
 
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lehtv said:
Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 SSD is more reliable, not being based on a Sandforce controller.

Noctua D14 is simply put overkill. You'd be fine with a good single tower cooler like Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme + fan, Thermalright True Spirit, Scythe Mugen 3, Be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced, Thermalright HR-02 Macho, EVGA Superclock... the list goes on. Or you could get a twin tower for nearly half the price of D14.

The case seems a bit overkill to me.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input.
I'm buying the Noctua cooler because I will overclock both the 960T and the potential Bulldozer CPU as far as I can, plus, it will look great on the Sabertooth! 😀
Not sure if a CPU cooler can be "overkill". A lower temperature will always be better, especially when overclocking, right?

Regarding the case - my previous case was a Silverstone Raven 2. After that I will simply never be able to go back to a conventional case. Anyone who owns a Raven/Fortress case will know why.
The vertical mounting design feels just like was PC's were meant to be build from the start. I don't understand why Silverstone are the first to realize this (or at least implement it on the consumer market).

Storage: I've also looked at the Crucial M4 and Samsung 830 SSD, but the reliability argument is a slippery one. Judging by the user reviews on, say, Newegg, the Vertex 3 seems like a terrible product that is just broken, but there seems to be no metric data to back this up - no tests made by serious tech sites prove any of its supposed shortcomings. And the same goes for the SF controller, the "notorious" BSOD bug, which seemed to be extremely rare in the first place, has been fixed by a FW update...

Other than that, the Force GT is considerably faster than the two other drives. AND it's priced well.
But I'll still look into this. I was also thinking about a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe.
 
tulx - cpu coolers can be overkill for example would you rather pay 100 dollars for a max of 75c or 30 dollars for a max of 77c? Most people wouldn't justify an extra 70 dollars for just a few degrees when in all reality it really really doesn't matter in the long run. Especially because the only apps that will really push the cpu temps up high are stability testing software, other then that your temps should remain much lower in daily usage anyway.

I can also tell you from personal experience that the crucial m4's, especially now that they are shipped with the 09 firmware are VERY stable and very quick. I highly recommend them.
 
Not sure if a CPU cooler can be "overkill". A lower temperature will always be better, especially when overclocking, right?
Click to expand...
Sure, lower temperatures are better. But a different question, and more relevant at that regarding 'overkill', is whether the lower temperatures make a difference. Comparing coolers like these, the CPU's usable lifetime won't be affected by a few degrees of difference, provided your temperatures and voltages aren't crazy to begin with. It'll be obsolete by the time it ages too much physically.

Any of the coolers I listed should be able to do a max overclock at the max voltage regarded long-term safe, while keeping the CPU cool enough.

Other than that, the Force GT is considerably faster than the two other drives. AND it's priced well.
Click to expand...
How is it considerably faster? Are you referring to write speeds? Write speeds don't matter much with SSD's, that isn't what makes the system feel fast. What matters is access time, I/O performance and read speeds.
 
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tulx said:
I'm buying the Noctua cooler because I will overclock both the 960T and the potential Bulldozer CPU as far as I can, plus, it will look great on the Sabertooth! 😀
Not sure if a CPU cooler can be "overkill". A lower temperature will always be better, especially when overclocking, right?
Click to expand...

Better? Yes. Worth the money? Hell, no. Unless you think that spending 50% more to extend your CPU's life from 20 years to 30 years is a good idea.

tulx said:
Storage: I've also looked at the Crucial M4 and Samsung 830 SSD, but the reliability argument is a slippery one. Judging by the user reviews on, say, Newegg, the Vertex 3 seems like a terrible product that is just broken, but there seems to be no metric data to back this up - no tests made by serious tech sites prove any of its supposed shortcomings. And the same goes for the SF controller, the "notorious" BSOD bug, which seemed to be extremely rare in the first place, has been fixed by a FW update...
Click to expand...

Might want to do a little research before making those kind of claims. Go back and read through Anand's SSD reviews, he thoroughly covers the issue.

tulx said:
Other than that, the Force GT is considerably faster than the two other drives.
Click to expand...

No, it really isn't. You can't look at Sandforce's best-case fully-compressible workloads. You've got to look at the incompressible workloads which are much more common for desktop PCs because the majority of the files that you're working with are already compressed internally.
 
tulx said:
CPU and cooler: AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition and Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth 990FX AMD 990FX
Click to expand...

You should think long and hard before buying a set up where your cooler and mobo are twice as expensive as your CPU. Buying a really expensive setup with the hope that Bulldozer 2 will be amazing isn't future-proofing, it's folly. The only way to future-proof yourself is to save money to spend on future components.

tulx said:
RAM: Corsair Memory Vengeance LP Arctic White 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz (will add another 8GB later for a RAM drive)
Click to expand...

Only buy this particular kit if you can get it for a competitive price. Otherwise get the least expensive DDR3 1600 kit from a reputable brand.

tulx said:
3. No, I will not switch to a 2500k+CM Hyper+P8Z68 like everyone else and their dog... - I'm maintaining two AMD systems and switching the parts between them when upgrading.
Click to expand...

You really should just switch to a Sandy Bridge-based build. It is much faster for the same money as what you've picked out.
 
Thank you for your input, people!

I'll be reconsidering the SSD choice based on your recommendations. Unfortunately, the store I'm buying all the parts from doesn't offer any Crucial SSD's. I'll try looking for another store. I definitely want to but all the parts in one place to save shipping costs, since I'm ordering from abroad.
 
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Update: ordered the parts. I did indeed replace the Force GT 120GB with a Crucial M4 250GB. Thank you for the advice Wrex.
 
IMHO, the only SSD's worth considering are Intel, Samsung and Crucial.

Every other major brand (Kingston, Corsair and my God, OCZ) have failed on me.

I've considering biting on that new 120GB Sandisk for $125 with a SF-1200 controller (which is pretty mature by now) but after having so many 'off-brands' fail on me, including virtually every model of OCZ, it's hard to cut corners and save 20% over quality, proven reliable drives from Intel, Samsung and Crucial.
 
Samus said:
IMHO, the only SSD's worth considering are Intel, Samsung and Crucial.

Every other major brand (Kingston, Corsair and my God, OCZ) have failed on me.

I've considering biting on that new 120GB Sandisk for $125 with a SF-1200 controller (which is pretty mature by now) but after having so many 'off-brands' fail on me, including virtually every model of OCZ, it's hard to cut corners and save 20% over quality, proven reliable drives from Intel, Samsung and Crucial.
Click to expand...

Let's hope the 300€ Crucial proves its worth. 😉
 
tulx said:
Let's hope the 300€ Crucial proves its worth. 😉
Click to expand...

Make sure to update the firmware to the latest version once you get it. Even the Crucial is not immune to bugs, it's just more resistant than Sandforce. :awe:
 
mfenn said:
Make sure to update the firmware to the latest version once you get it. Even the Crucial is not immune to bugs, it's just more resistant than Sandforce. :awe:
Click to expand...

I sure will. As well as updating the Sabertooth BIOS.

PS - why am I taking tech advice from an oversized toad with two sets of reproducive organs and a tiger? Oh, right - I'm on the internet...
 
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