Rip up this new build for me

[fowler1416]

I am sure I am overkill in some areas and underkill in others, so if you would, please help me figure this out. Budget is 1500 to 2000.... ish. Of course cheaper is better, but I want something that will last a long time as I am not a build hobbyist. I have been out of the gaming world for quite some time now and I am tired of it. Last clan I was in was for soldier of fortune II. Yikes!! I plan for this machine to be for gaming and video/image projects at home and general use. I will look in to overclocking as it seems I can get 4.0 with that chip/mobo combo from what I have read. but I am not a huge tweaker as I don't like to cause myself too many headaches. Anyways, here is what I have so far, and i like it, just wanted some feedback. All prices are from newegg.

Mobo - ASUS P6X58D Premium ($299.99)
chip - Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz ($288.99)
vid - SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 ($409.99)
hdd - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB ($99.99)
dvd/cd - SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R SATA 24x DVD Burner ($30.99)
case - COOLER MASTER HAF932 Blue RC ($169.99)
ps - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ($139.99)
mem - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) ($260.99)

that puts me at 1700.92 without cooling items or other stuff. I read that the coolermaster v10 might be a great cooler? but at $126 bucks? Is that way too much?

Thanks.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

What you have looks ok, but I'd suggest switching up on a few of the parts and using the savings to get an SSD for a boot drive.

For instance, the RAM you got is way overpriced for general usage. That's a mid-end benchmarking overclock kit. For general everyday use and gaming, get a moderately priced 1333 kit like this, or even this.

For your PSU, go with a 650 or 750W Corsair instead of the 850. Unless you're planning to get a second 5870 you don't have any need for an 850W PSU. 650/750 will be more than enough for you.

IMO that mobo is overkill, but it also comes with SATA 6 gb/s and USB 3.0, so it'd be future proof for certain. I'm not very informed about x58 boards though, so I'll leave recommendations for someone else to make.

For an SSD, the safe bet is to go with an Intel X-25 drive in whatever size you can afford (80 or 160 gb) and/or find. OCZ drives are pretty good too if you want to find a capacity in between the Intel drives. If you don't mind a super tiny drve, Kingston has a rebadged 40 gb Intel drive that's under $100 when you can find it in stock.

Cooler wise, don't get a V10. Its overpriced and under performing. On the cheap end, a Xigametek Dark Knight is a good cooler for under $50. On the high end, a Prolimatech Megahalem with a high performance fan or two will run you $80-$100. Other good ones are the Thermalright Ultra Extreme (commonly referred to as a TRUE), Coolermaster V8, and Noctua NH-U12 or NH-D14. I'd do some research and find what you like and what you want to spend. The temp difference between these is going to be a few degrees at most, probably not something you're going to notice unless you start trying to over volt your chip.

 

[johnnydrinkawater]

I would bypass the overpriced air coolers and go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181010

PSU is overkill unless you have an inkling of upgrading to dual 5870's

Also, that mobo has triple SLI/xfire, DDR3 2000, and turbo boost (not sure what that is). Ask yourself, "Am I really going to use that?"

You can save some bucks by going with something that has less features.

 

[Magusigne]

I am sure I am overkill in some areas and underkill in others, so if you would, please help me figure this out. Budget is 1500 to 2000.... ish. Of course cheaper is better, but I want something that will last a long time as I am not a build hobbyist. I have been out of the gaming world for quite some time now and I am tired of it. Last clan I was in was for soldier of fortune II. Yikes!! I plan for this machine to be for gaming and video/image projects at home and general use. I will look in to overclocking as it seems I can get 4.0 with that chip/mobo combo from what I have read. but I am not a huge tweaker as I don't like to cause myself too many headaches. Anyways, here is what I have so far, and i like it, just wanted some feedback. All prices are from newegg.

Mobo - ASUS P6X58D Premium ($299.99)
chip - Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz ($288.99)
vid - SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 ($409.99)
hdd - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB ($99.99)
dvd/cd - SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R SATA 24x DVD Burner ($30.99)
case - COOLER MASTER HAF932 Blue RC ($169.99)
ps - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ($139.99)
mem - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) ($260.99)

that puts me at 1700.92 without cooling items or other stuff. I read that the coolermaster v10 might be a great cooler? but at $126 bucks? Is that way too much?

Thanks.

Try to get to Microcenter to purchase that chip for 100 bucks less at 199.99

 

[fowler1416]

I don't have a MicroCenter near me. I chose the motherboard because of the USB3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s capability. As for the powersupply, I want to make sure I have enough in case I do end up picking up another vid card in the future.

I don't know much about ssd. ARen't they still pretty expensive? what benefits would I get from having one?

 

[MisterDonut]

You wouldn't need 850, unless you planned for 5970/5870cfx. If you still have room in your budget, you should shoot for watercooling. It'll keep the i7 healthy while overclocked. SSDs are fast and nice to have, but they don't have a lot of space, unless you're willing to shell out good money for 'em. My buddy's booting on two OCZ Vertex ($100 each), and he barely has room for his stuff. Caviar Blacks are two thumbs up .

 

[fowler1416]

water cooling scares the crap out of me for some reason. would like to stick with air cooling if I can. I might not get 4.0, but hope to get 3.7 or so.

 

[MisterDonut]

My friend's at 4.116 with the TRUE. Healthy temps, etc. Same guy with the SSDs o.o. Using Panaflos in push/pull

 

[MisterDonut]

Also, check out the Antec P183 or the new Zalman case. One of my friends is running his rig in an Antec P183, and he absolutely loves it. I'll also admit, I'm not much of a Coolermaster fan (Not saying they don't make good stuff ).

 

[fowler1416]

Also, check out the Antec P183 or the new Zalman case. One of my friends is running his rig in an Antec P183, and he absolutely loves it. I'll also admit, I'm not much of a Coolermaster fan (Not saying they don't make good stuff ).

i looked at that case too. I used to think I wanted it, but after reading about the HAF, it appears that it has better airflow. But I don't know any one with real world experience with these two compared side by side.

 

[MisterDonut]

I would guess that the P183 has the dampening benefit over the HAF, but I just remembered that he runs a watercooling loop so airflow isn't a big issue for him. External mounted radiators too.

 

[RaistlinZ]

You're paying like twice as much as you should be for RAM. Ditch that $260.00 stuff, seriously.

Can't fault you on the PSU. Corsair makes good ones and the 850 will last you a long while.

What kind of gaming do you intend to do? You can probably get a 5850 and just overclock it almost the same performance of a 5870, and save yourself $100.00 in the process.

Cases are a personal choice, so I can't tell you what to get there.

With the money saved, I'd definitely consider a 60GB SSD as a boot drive for your OS/apps, and keep your WD Black for primary storage.

 

[MisterDonut]

Forgot to mention the RAM. For half the price, you can get the OCZ Gold, and I bet you won't be able to tell a significant difference =/, or any other sub-$150 RAM for that matter.

 

[ronopp]

i looked at that case too. I used to think I wanted it, but after reading about the HAF, it appears that it has better airflow. But I don't know any one with real world experience with these two compared side by side.

I own a HAF-932 my system temps went down 8 degrees C just putting my equiptment in that case..... of course the cable management is a big key to lowering temps...mine was a cluster..bomb before switching.....I love the case

 

[ElliotGraham94]

the ram seems a little overkill, similarly the psu does, i say get the OCZ gold ram (like £50 for 4gb) and then an average 400w psu

 

[fowler1416]

I own a HAF-932 my system temps went down 8 degrees C just putting my equiptment in that case..... of course the cable management is a big key to lowering temps...mine was a cluster..bomb before switching.....I love the case

what did you do for cable mgmt?

 

[MisterDonut]

the ram seems a little overkill, similarly the psu does, i say get the OCZ gold ram (like £50 for 4gb) and then an average 400w psu

400w won't run the system

 

[fowler1416]

anyone know much about this for cooling?

CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181010

 

[MisterDonut]

The H50 is slightly better than a lot of the mainstream air coolers out there. I say mainstream because you never know of some secret company that comes out with a heatsink that will turn your computer into the ice age . But as far as the benchmarks I have read, it will cool it better, but at a higher price !

 

[ronopp]

what did you do for cable mgmt?

Had to order a couple of longer cables but basically I rerouted all connections except video power through the back of mobo tray that allowed most if not all the air flow to pull heat out of the case. need to upload pics if I knew how.......