Rig critique

[A5]

Usage: Gaming (Empire: Total War, Fallout 3) and longevity (it'll be awhile before the wife lets me do this again )

Budget: $1400

Country: USA

No brand preferences - just whatever gets me the best value.

No current parts, as I sold my old rig

I've read other threads - just making sure I'm not doing anything dumb.

Definitely going to overclock. Aiming for 3.6GHz everyday OC. Maybe 3.8 if I get a good chip.

When: About 2 weeks from today. Waiting on the next round of 4890 rebates

Antec Mini P180 - $80 at Newegg
MSI X58M - $170
Random Radeon 4890 - $170ish
Core i7 920 - $200 (yay Micro Center!)
Xigmatek S1283 "Dark Knight" - $39
G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3 1333 CAS7 - $95
1TB Caviar Black - $100
MS Keyboard - $14
Logitech G9 - $57 (or MX Revolution - $60)
Samsung SH-233L DVD Burner - $29
Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP - $432 (after tax)
Corsair 650TX - $80 after MIR

Sitting at ~$1500 after all MIRs and shipping. Not bad

 

[brblx]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371016

plenty of power, modular, 80 bucks. though you'll have more headroom with something like the corsair 650 for a tiny bit more money. you really don't need it, although it might be a consideration if you ever want to do dual 4890s (again, though, the 550 would cut it for that- a 650 would simply be insurance).

 

[A5]

Thanks.

Also forgot to add that I already have an OS.

 

[Lunyone]

I'd consider the Cooler Master 690 case over your selection. It can hold pretty much any GPU out on the market and has a built in cable tray to tuck your cables into. It runs pretty cool too w/3 120mm fans, which would normally add about $30 to your build.

I'd also consider the Corsair 450vx/550vx/650tx for your system. Any of them can power your current system. If you want some upgrade room, I'd consider the Corsair 750tx if your thinking of doing X-fire setup later. It's usually around $90-100 after MIR's, so that is something to consider. It does come with 4 x 6+2pin (8pin) PCI-e power connectors, so you won't need any adapters to power any GPU out on the market!!

Edit:
Ahhh, now I see that your looking for a micro ATX setup, right?? I just was looking at the Asus Gene mobo and realized that it was micro ATX board and matched up with the Antec 180 mini case that you selected, this would work. Not sure if the cooler you selected will fit into the case or not, but I see where you going.

 

[A5]

I'm not necessarily committed to a mATX setup, it's just what I'm going with at the moment to try to keep the WAF up. (That and the Mini P180 is $60 off right now - if it goes back to full price before I buy, I'll probably go with a normal ATX board and case). There's a CM RS-600 80+ PSU that's $40 off in a combo with the CM case - that looks like a good option to me if I end up going that route.

 

[Lunyone]

I don't recommend going to CM PSU's. They might be better than they used to be, but if your looking for a combo deal, I'd recommend getting the Antec 300 case with the 500w Earthwatts PSU. It's a bit spendy right now, but even the Antec Sonata III case w/500w Earthwatts PSU combo is a good one too.

 

[A5]

Made a few changes:
Went down to the MSI X58M ($170)
Changed monitors - Monitor 1 is now a Samsung T260 ($339 and $30 MIR) - Monitor 2 is a Hanns-G 22" ($150). Yes, I'd rather have 2 TN monitors than 1 IPS monitor, before anyone mentions it .
Also, Amazon is selling the MX Revolution for $55, so I'm getting that.
MSI Radeon 4890 is $130 after 2 MIRs at ZZF. Going with that if it stays down there.

Total price at the moment is $1380 after shipping and all MIRs. :thumbsup:

Still need to pick a PSU, though

 

[yh125d]

I'd get the Xigmatek. It's almost half as thick, weighs a lot less, and cools about the same. It is a tad louder at full RPM though since its fan goes to 1500rpm vs 1200 on the scythe. I have one though and its still quiet at 1500. Being smaller helps a lot when mounting too


For the mouse, I'd go ahead and get a G9. I have one and I love it. You just missed out on a deal for them being $20 AR, but you can still get them for $54 + free ship here (http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=LTG9LASER&)


The BP-550 recommended earlier would be a solid choice PSU. You changed a few things so I don't know what your PSU budget looks like right now but the Corsair TX650/750 would be good alternates with plenty of overhead if you crossfire in the future or step up to the next gen GPUs

 

[A5]

Thanks for the advice. I don't think I'll be going Crossfire (too loud/too much power), so I'll probably just go with the BP-550.

One thing with the Xigmatek is that it'll cost me an extra $10 for a LGA1366 mounting bracket, but the Mugen 2 has one included. What about the Sunbeam CCF? It's pretty much the same design as the Xigmatek, but the cooler and the 1366 mount are cheaper (total $30 after MIRs)...

 

[A5]

Well, the price on the Antec BP-550 just shot up to $90 (!) on Newegg, so it looks like the Corsair 650TX may win after all

 

[A5]

Decided to spend my monitor budget on a Dell 2408 instead of 2 TNs. Any other suggestions welcome!