Pulled the Trigger on New System 9/12

[xBiffx]

So I got too bored today and decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on my new system. Here is what I got.

Intel 2500K
ASRock Z68
Corsair Vengeance 8GB
EVGA GTX 560 Ti
OCZ Solid 3 60GB SSD
WD Black 1TB 64MB Cache HDD
Lite-On DVD Burner
Antec EA-650W PSU
Antec Three Hundred Case

Total came down to $881.53. :biggrin:
That's with $9.66 2-day shipping, $20 in promo discounts, and $80 in mail in rebates.

All done through Newegg and I was taking advantage of the OCZ SSD Shell Shocker today.

I blame Tropical Storm Maria on this as I was supposed to leave Saturday for the Virgin Islands but flights got cancelled. This is what happens when I get free time I'm not supposed to get.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

haha. nice build!


take pictures!

 

[Puppies04]

Trust me you won't regret it, apart from a different brand mobo and a smaller ssd that is what i am gaming with atm and it rocks.

 

[xBiffx]

Gonna try Smart Response Technology and see how it works. Plan on using the entire 60GB SSD for caching. Think this might be better than just loading OS and a few programs on SSD and then having to micro manage the space myself. Any thoughts?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I dont even know what cacheing really does lol.

 

[paperwastage]

I dont even know what cacheing really does lol.

basically your computer uses the SSD as the buffer to the HDD...

however, i'd still just keep your SSD as the main OS instead of using as a cache. your "media/video files" HDD is a WD Black, which is pretty fast

read

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/intel-z68-chipset-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching-review/2

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4337/z68-ssd-caching-with-corsairs-f40-sandforce-ssd

The premise is borrowed from how SSDs are sometimes used in the enterprise space: put a small, fast SSD in front of a large array of storage and use it to cache both reads and writes. This is ultimately how the memory hierarchy works - hide the latency of larger, cheaper storage by caching frequently used data in much faster, but more expensive storage.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

meh

That Black drive is going to be really fast by itself! 64mb!

 

[notty22]

Good luck, first time I noticed that m/b. Looks solid for the price. I'm using the same case/psu. Similar type rig, you should look forward to some fun !

 

[mfenn]

You paid a little too much for the RAM and a lot too much for the HDD, but it looks good to me otherwise.

SRT has a little bit of up front configuration, but other than that it is a nice "set it and forget it" way to get some of the SSD experience. You will still get better performance by managing it yourself though.

 

[zCypher]

Looks like a sweet build to me, good luck with the OCZ I hope it turns out ok!

 

[lehtv]

That Antec 300 seems a bit out of place. Budget case on a mid-high end build? Come on. I would go for at least something that supports 140mm fans and some degree of cable management.

 

[titan131]

That Antec 300 seems a bit out of place. Budget case on a mid-high end build? Come on. I would go for at least something that supports 140mm fans and some degree of cable management.

What's wrong with 120mm fans? but I agree that some cable management would be nice. I really like the look of the 300, if I were CM I would be tempted to update it by adding cable management and a black painted interior but keeping the looks exactly the same. ^_^ On topic, I agree with everything mfenn said, the cheaper samsung F3 1TB is just as fast as the WD Black and 1600 ram is no faster than 1333 for gaming, but it's still a solid build.

edit: Also I personally would have gone for the Crucial M4 over the OCZ because of the problems some people are having with the new sandforce controller. But I think the problems only affect a small percentage of users so hopefully it will be fine, in which case it is probably the better SSD. I'm just very cautious.

 

[lehtv]

Err, 120mm are smaller? 140mm fans will give you better airflow for less noise. Lots of cases these days support them. A case with two 140mm fans on the top (or a single 200mm) would be optimal as exhaust.

 

[xBiffx]

Well I went with the Three Hundred because me current rig is in one. Now I can have two side by side.

I hear you on the OCZ. I was a little apprehensive but I went ahead since this was a Shell Shocker and ends up being $60. $1/Gb for SSD especially SATA III is hard to pass up.

 

[titan131]

Err, 120mm are smaller? 140mm fans will give you better airflow for less noise. Lots of cases these days support them. A case with two 140mm fans on the top (or a single 200mm) would be optimal as exhaust.

I know, but he is only running a 2500k and a single 560ti, so low rpm 120mm fans should be fine since his hardware isn't particularly demanding, but I guess having some 140mm fans would make it a little quieter so I take your point.

 

[Puppies04]

Gonna try Smart Response Technology and see how it works. Plan on using the entire 60GB SSD for caching. Think this might be better than just loading OS and a few programs on SSD and then having to micro manage the space myself. Any thoughts?

To cache or not to cache, that is the question. I suppose it comes down to personal preference. I chose to load my OS and most programs straight to the SSD (moved my paging file to HDD) and i am picking up another 120gb for my games folder.

That said it is really up to you.

 

[mfenn]

That Antec 300 seems a bit out of place. Budget case on a mid-high end build? Come on. I would go for at least something that supports 140mm fans and some degree of cable management.

I'd disagree with your choice of adjectives. A Three Hundred (normal price around $60) is not a budget case IMHO. It's solidly midrange IMHO, even if the design is a bit dated. Budget would be a CM Elite or some $30 Rosewill.

Along the same lines, I would not call a $900 build a "mid-high end". It's also solidly midrange. "Mid-high end" would be a single high-end GPU. High-high end is 6970 CFX or equivalent. We'll just let Tri-SLI, etc. been in the "lunatic fringe" category.

So midrange case with midrange build, sounds good to me!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, there's nothing shoddy about the Antec 300. Very solidly built, good cooling for 1-2 GPUs and an OCed CPU. Good price for what you get too. Fill it with fans and it stays very cool.

I used an Antec 300 to build my BIL's computer, Q9550 @ 3.5, 2x HD6870 cards, Antec TP-New 750.

 

[xBiffx]

I'd disagree with your choice of adjectives. A Three Hundred (normal price around $60) is not a budget case IMHO. It's solidly midrange IMHO, even if the design is a bit dated. Budget would be a CM Elite or some $30 Rosewill.

Along the same lines, I would not call a $900 build a "mid-high end". It's also solidly midrange. "Mid-high end" would be a single high-end GPU. High-high end is 6970 CFX or equivalent. We'll just let Tri-SLI, etc. been in the "lunatic fringe" category.

So midrange case with midrange build, sounds good to me!

This, except the part about solidly midrange. That hurts my feelings. I liked he mid-high end description better.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

HAF 912 isnt a budget case

 

[mfenn]

This, except the part about solidly midrange. That hurts my feelings. I liked he mid-high end description better.

Luckily this feeling can be solved with a liberal application of dollars! :awe: