Yet another build to rate - plus a bonus question

[Spinxx]

Hi

I just discovered this great forum. The last couple of days I have been poking arround, reading, and I have ended up with the below build. The build is geared towards gaming, mostly WoW and SC2 atm, but it should also support other games. I game in 1600x1200 and would like all the pretty stuff turned on. Ofc. it will also be used for surfing, email etc, but I dont expect that will cause any problems.

The budget is... flexible. I want to hit the sweet price/performance point where I get some fast stuff that can keep me going for a while, but where I dont pay insane amounts of money for the last boost.

MB: Asus P7P55D PRO (I like Asus, price seems OK and it has SLI support)
CPU: Intel Core i5 760
Graphics: Inno3D GeForce GTX 480 1536MB
Memory: Corsair XMS3 2x2048MB DDR3
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-850HXEU1
SDD : OCZ Vertex 60 GB - SATA-300
HD : Got an old Samsung Spinpoint 250gb disc I will reuse (Its a bit slow, but think it will be OK, considering its just storage).
Case: My old Lian Li.
OS: Windows 7 home premium 64bit.
Keyb, mouse, monitor, speakers: Reused from my old system.

I am pretty set on the P55 platform and I would like to keep it Intel/Nvdia this time. I dont expect to overclock much, maybe turn the graphics cards up to 700 MHz but not much more than that.

The bonus question is about is the SDD. Its an old generation one, but is the real life performance of the new ones so good to justify the increase in price? The only SSD real life thing I could find was http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-vertex-turbo-ssd-review-test/11, but its an old article. I know of the Anandtech storage bench, but I dont see how I can use the numbers as they are replaying storage only access. What really interest me is the real life performance in my daily used applications and games.

I will be bying the parts in Denmark.

Anyway, are there any obvious mistakes I am missing to hit the sweet price/performance spot that I am aiming for and what parts should I reconsider?

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your feedback.

-- Spinxx

 

[Spikesoldier]

looks good although i would advise with a bang for the buck build to get the higher video card than two lower video cards. reason being that you can drop another one in (at depreciated prices) later on when you need it. same thing goes for ssd's.

i would also advise for 1600x1200 resolution and with eye candy turned on to get the 1gb version instead of 768mb.

 

[mfenn]

I second getting a single higher-end GPU. You won't have to deal with the SLI headaches and your system will use less power overall. If you do stick with SLI, make sure you get the GTX460 1GB because the whole point of SLI is to run at high res with a bunch of AA and 768MB is just not enough (remember 2x768MB does NOT equal 1.5GB usable).

Also, I would go with the Agility 2 60GB because it is only $30 more and much faster.

 

[Spinxx]

looks good although i would advise with a bang for the buck build to get the higher video card than two lower video cards. reason being that you can drop another one in (at depreciated prices) later on when you need it. same thing goes for ssd's.

i would also advise for 1600x1200 resolution and with eye candy turned on to get the 1gb version instead of 768mb.

Hi Spikesoldier. Thanks for your response.

Which single card solution do you think I should look at instead of dual 460's? I guess the obvious choise would be a 480, but thats arround the same price as dual 460's and 2 460's seems to have higher performance?

-- Spinxx

 

[Spinxx]

I second getting a single higher-end GPU. You won't have to deal with the SLI headaches and your system will use less power overall. If you do stick with SLI, make sure you get the GTX460 1GB because the whole point of SLI is to run at high res with a bunch of AA and 768MB is just not enough (remember 2x768MB does NOT equal 1.5GB usable).

Also, I would go with the Agility 2 60GB because it is only $30 more and much faster.

Hi mfenn, thanks for your response.

As you see in my previous post, I am in doubt of what the alternative to 2 460's is. If I go with 2 460's then I'll take another look at the 1GB versions.

Regarding the SSD's, do you think there is a noticeable real life difference between the Agility and the Agility 2? And if I should go with a newer generation solution, is there an alternative to Agility 2? I cant find an Agility 2 here where I live (Denmark).

-- Spinxx

 

[Sp12]

I third a single higherend GPU, especially for 16*12 resolutions. The 470 has gotten very cheap recently, and is on sale at newegg for 270 USD after rebate.

Granted, I doubt you can purchase from Newegg in Denmark, but look around for deals.

 

[mfenn]

Hi mfenn, thanks for your response.

As you see in my previous post, I am in doubt of what the alternative to 2 460's is. If I go with 2 460's then I'll take another look at the 1GB versions.

Regarding the SSD's, do you think there is a noticeable real life difference between the Agility and the Agility 2? And if I should go with a newer generation solution, is there an alternative to Agility 2? I cant find an Agility 2 here where I live (Denmark).

-- Spinxx

The problem with SLI is that you don't always get your performance boost, especially with newer games (due to driver and profile issues). If you can get a single GTX 480 for the same price, I would definitely go with that. It will be a little slower, but a single-GPU is always much less headache.

OCZ is usually pretty good about concurrently launching products in US/Europe, so I'm surprised that you can't find an Agility 2 in Denmark. Nevertheless, you should update your OP to indicate that you are not in the US.

 

[Spinxx]

Hi again

Ok, sounds like the SLI way is the wrong way for me. I want something stable that works without too much hazzle. However it must also be reasonably fast, so I updated the original post to reflect a Geforce 480 and a bit larger PSU.

Still in doubt of the SSD, newer generation drives seem more expensive here and I have yet to find a benchmark that shows that 50% extra cost equals 50% extra real life performance.

Thanks a lot for the input so far!

-- Spinxx

 

[mfenn]

Hi again

Ok, sounds like the SLI way is the wrong way for me. I want something stable that works without too much hazzle. However it must also be reasonably fast, so I updated the original post to reflect a Geforce 480 and a bit larger PSU.

Still in doubt of the SSD, newer generation drives seem more expensive here and I have yet to find a benchmark that shows that 50% extra cost equals 50% extra real life performance.

Thanks a lot for the input so far!

-- Spinxx

You could stick with the 750W PSU as well. A GTX 480 actually draws less power than the two GTX 460 would have.

Strange that the SSD pricing is so bad in Denmark. They are within a few bucks here in the US You should probably stick with the Vertex 1 in that case. You might also look at an Intel x25-m 80GB. It will cost a bit more than the Vertex 1, but us 20GB bigger and has overall better performance.

 

[Athadeus]

I'd say just one GTX 460 1gb is plenty for 1600x1200. I mean, you did mention value, and as far as future proofing, having an extra $200 left over will help you future proof a lot more than a GTX 480, especially since you would really be pushing your limits with SLI 480s on 850 watts.

 

[Spinxx]

Hi

Ok, I took the 850W as it might be nice to have the option to upgrade to either dual 480 or simply a better card later on. The price diff from 750 to 850 is pretty small, however if a 850 is not enough for 2 480's then I may need to reconsider.

Regarding single 480 or single 460: I know I said value for money in my first post and 480 is an expensive card. However as I read the benchmarks, getting a nice graphics card is what makes the biggest effect on overall framerates. It looks like I will almost get double framerates on 480 vs. 460 and now I am spending money, the last $200 seems like a small price for double performance?

I'll take a look at the intel x25-m 80GB SSD.

-- Spinxx

 

[Athadeus]

Newegg's power calculator says 908w for a system like yours with SLI 480s. I have not heard of anyone that did them with less than a 950w PSU, but just maybe you could do 850 with no overclock, or even undervolting your i5.