Evaluate My New PC?

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
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Dec 22, 2008
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Here's my new PC that I am considering ordering and putting together.

I think I did a good job picking parts, but keep in mind that I am a total hardware idiot (and all around an idiot).

Click Here for the Public Wishlist on Newegg

Or here are the individual parts:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-940 Bloomfield 2.93GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601940
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2K5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R
ASUS PCE-N13 IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express Wireless Adapter

Thoughts? Think I'm overpaying/not paying enough for a particular part? Any part you'd suggest I'd buy instead of one listed? Or have I completely screwed up compatibility on my items? I'm probably going to buy from newegg/amazon because sometimes amazon has better prices on things than newegg and vice versa.
 

Mr. Happy

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 16, 2008
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First thoughts,
SSD in my opinion may not be worth it just yet. Only a few support all the functionality that they SHOULD have standard. They work differently in the way data is organized compared to a traditional disk drive, for example degragging is never done on an SSD, but rather trim. Some of intel's support the features you want, but to get plenty of storage as well the price is simply too high!

For a little bit more you could get FOUR of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 and put them in a RAID 1+0 (redundancy inside striped) that will give tremendous fault protection and a speed increase. They are 7200 rpm w/ 64mb cache, sata 6.0gb, so very very fast for a HDD, and will each individually have a longer life than the SSD, plus you get sixteen times the storage.



ASUS makes good motherboards but I think you will be happier with an ASRock, ASUS's child brand intended for system builders and boutique's. It isn't as flashy, i.e. the PCB won't be as brightly colored and it may not have as many features but they are cheaper and more stable and just as well made. ASUS is well made, ASRock is better made.
 
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Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
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Dec 22, 2008
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First thoughts,
SSD in my opinion may not be worth it just yet. Only a few support all the functionality that they SHOULD have standard. They work differently in the way data is organized compared to a traditional disk drive, for example degragging is never done on an SSD, but rather trim. Some of intel's support the features you want, but to get plenty of storage as well the price is simply too high!

For a little bit more you could get FOUR of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 and put them in a RAID 1+0 (redundancy inside striped) that will give tremendous fault protection and a speed increase. They are 7200 rpm w/ 64mb cache, sata 6.0gb, so very very fast for a HDD, and will each individually have a longer life than the SSD, plus you get sixteen times the storage.


ASUS makes good motherboards but I think you will be happier with an ASRock, ASUS's child brand intended for system builders and boutique's. It isn't as flashy, i.e. the PCB won't be as brightly colored and it may not have as many features but they are cheaper and more stable and just as well made. ASUS is well made, ASRock is better made.

Yeah I'm totally with you on the SSD thing, and last night I would have said the same thing, but I had dinner with my family, where both my brother and my dad are much more hardware savvy than I am, and explained to me that having an SSD is a good thing because in the tech world, the connection between your harddrive and the rest of the PC is the last great bottlenecking obstacle that computing has to overcome. And typically I wasn't prepared to buy an SSD because I still don't think the prices are right for what you're buying yet.

Now though, I think I'd be ok without the SSD, given what you're suggesting is a good alternative--I'd rather not spend that much for one, and just wait for them to get cheaper and more efficient.

As far as the MOBoard goes, can you link me to maybe an ASRock that's just as good as the ASUS I want to get? Or even better, since I might be saving some $ on the SSD I might not buy. I picked the ASUS for the popularity, reviews and price range (and compatability).

And YM, I want to buy an EEE Slate, but it's a luxury item, and I can't really justify buying it without having a better PC first.

EDIT: A few things I did want to ask was about the Case's fans--do you think the Antec 300 is going to keep the thing cool enough, or should I think about investing in another case fan? I have no problem spending extra money if I need it. And the other thing was about a thermal compound to use when installing the CPU...or should I even bother? Almost 6 years ago now when I build this last PC I just stuck the thing on like you're supposed to and never had a second thought about it. It's been fine ever since--thermal compound: good idea or waste of time and money?
 
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Boylee

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Apr 29, 2008
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Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
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Dec 22, 2008
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That's an i5, did you mean to link me to something else?
 

Freyja

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Jul 31, 2009
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The i5 2500K is what I just bought. It's a i7 in everything but label. Its a i7 2600K without hyperthreading, which you don't really need. And It even beats the 2600K in some benchmarks. It's unlocked, can get amazing speed and I've heard it called "The best gaming CPU". Ignore the i5 part. That's not important.

See. I'm like, super tech savvy after all that research I did :D
 

Ravidge

Grand Vizier
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May 14, 2008
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The new NZXT H2 case has impressed me, I don't own one, but from what I've seen it's a very clever and silent design.

Any specific reason you went with the 1366 socket instead of the newer 1155 (sandy bridge tech)?
Ranked in speed it goes something like this:
Model | Socket | Price
Overclocked i7 2600K|1155 |$240
i7 980X|1366|$1,050
Overclocked i5 2500K|1155 |$225
i7 2600K|1155
i7 975|1366
i7 870|1366|$290
i5 2500K|1155
i5 750|1156

I recommend a i5 2500K, and that you overclock it (it's simple since the K model is built to be overclocked!) The price for for the performance you get is comparable to the older i7's $1000 range. Really good value, even if you don't go nuts on the multiplier in bios

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html (just one of many charts, but this one had prices!) Doesn't list the overclocked stats, but goes to show that the pricing for the i5-2500K and i7-2600K is just ridiculous for the performance it puts out even in it's untampered state. (hit the price performance button)

Personally I don't think SSD is worth it. But it's really individual, it really does speed stuff up and it's very pleasant to use a computer that responds quickly.
Comfort vs price really.

I like corsair PSU's, I would pick one that is modular though, It's just so much easier to work with!

Can't see any GFX card in your link list... so I'm doing some generic suggestions here:
GTX 560 Ti or Radeon 6950 are fairly cheap and same-ish performance (good by any standards), if you want to step up a bit GTX 570 or Radeon 6970 are quite powerful but leaning into the more expensive range (you pay more for less improvement, but it's still good). If you have a lot of money buy 2 of any of the above and set them up in SLI/CF. Crossfire scales slightly better with multiple cards currently, so to get the most performance, you should pick from ATI (radeon cards).
 
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grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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If you do get 2 GFX don't ever install NAM (I'm assuming it's an SLi related feature as it came as a recommended option for my old 2x GeForce 7900's). It's a waste of time and causes issues with internet protocals; particularly P2P. It requires a complete format to uninstall otherwise just uninstalling the software wipes your IP and you cannot connect to the internet. It prevents hardware acceleration which i didn't understand at the time but was something i actually wanted to do (when i also got more monitors) at the end of my machines life span (ending up being 1 more reason to upgrade to my current one).

Although i did note a difference in performance when running 2 GeForce 7900's, one card's heat caused the other to overheat where they were stacked in the case so i later ended up running off of 1. If you do run SLi seriously make sure you have quality cooling; i'm not just talking loads of fans, make sure there's good airflow throughout the case. Like keeping your PSU leads all pinned together and out of the way.
 
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RavenStryker

Former Alias: †Blade†/Xi.Cynx
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Nov 25, 2008
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I am a HUGE hardware buff and I do believe that you are not "overpaying" but instead "mis-selecting" the proper parts.

First thing that stuck out is the Power Supply. That is THE number one thing you never want to skimp out on. It may be... 80 plus certified but it is not bronze, silver, gold or platinum. Corsair is a good brand that is what I have but make sure at the minimum it is bronze certified. This one right here for a few bucks more, it's 100% modular which will keep your case a lot cleaner and it GOLD certified, this PSU will also power dual graphics cards as my friend has a 650w and powers two 6950's unlocked to 6970's perfectly fine.

$139.99 - Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

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Next on the list is the RAM, you had dual channel RAM and a tri-channel motherboard. This is not good. You want to make sure that you get triple slot and it'll actually cost you LESS than what you are paying for the dual. Again, corsair is a good brand but definitely over chosen. I had corsair for my first RAM but have since moved on to cheaper better solutions. This G.Skill RAM is the one of(if not the most) stable RAM you can get and I currently have 12GB of this in my system right now with an i7 920@4GHz. Can't ask for much more than that out of RAM for this price. Now grant it when I bought it, it was $164 for 6GB. If that tells you how much the price has went down on these bad boys. If you want, pick up 2 sets and pay $120 free shipping :) Not bad for 12GB.

$69.99 - RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

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CD/DVD Combo is not a big deal, you picked a good brand I love Samsung, but for the same price this LG will get you 2x better DVD-R and DVD+R speeds. :) Again, free shipping!

$18.99 - CD/DVD Combo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

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Ahhh, the HDD... right now in my HUMBLE AND HONEST opinion a SSD is still to much $ for the GB. You can get equally good performance a MUCH better price and get a HELL of a lot more storage space. Now take these Samsung F3 500GB HDD's for example. I myself have 4 of these in RAID 0 and short-stroked down to 250GB. Now I don't know if you know what that means but the main point is that I can READ and WRITE just as fast as a SSD but have the opportunity for 2-3x the storage capacity if done correctly. These are single platter 500GB hard drive which give optimum performance. I still love my good ol' WD though, so if that is the case then the second link is probably the best choice you can make for the price.

$49.99 - Internal Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

$69.99 - Alternate - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

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The intel i7 processors are BEASTS but don't let the naming fool you, the i7 940 actually performs worse than the i7 920. for the $30 price difference I believe you would be happier and much more satisfied with OC ability with it compared to the 940. Just a hint, if you have a local Fry's or Micro Center stop by there to pick up the processor as it will be a HELL of a lot cheaper(were talking $75-$100 buck or so). If you don't have one by you though then newegg will be your friend. Like I said, with the RAM I pointed out to you and that processor you can achieve an Over-clock of 4GHz on that bad boy easily. =)

$299.99 - Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

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Your motherboard is a good choice but not the best for over-clocking. The ASUS motherboards are a "tad" overpriced for their performance. The EVGA boards have a BIOS in them that makes Over-clocking simple and easy. I also think that the color of the motherboard look more bad-ass if I can say so. It's a little cheaper than the ASUS you had picked out and give better performance, why not? =)

$209.99 - Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188068

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Can't really go wrong with Antec , they are a great brand, quality and have amazing prices on their cases. The 300 is a good choice for a smaller case that is very quiet and has great airflow. I can only suggest here as this is another personal opinion but you can alway go for the one with the blue LED fans for $5 less and still has free shipping or you can take a look at the FRACTAL case which is just plain beautiful and once you see it, it will be hard to say no... that is, unless you can't justify pay double the price for that case, but honestly... you really get double the quality. :)

$54.99 - PC Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

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In saying that you did an overall good job on picking your parts for being hardware retarded. Lol. You had a few mess-ups but that it bound to happen when building your first PC. Believe me, you don't want to know what my first one looked like. Haha. I hope that this served as a good guide on educating yourself as well as everyone else. This was an emergency announcement from †Blade†.... I'M OUT! :O

$109.99 - Alternate PC Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352002
 

Freyja

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Jul 31, 2009
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I still believe a SSD for at least your system files is a good idea. After my sister went through 3 regular hard drives in 6 months because they kept dying, she would have loved a SSD for her important stuff.
 

RavenStryker

Former Alias: †Blade†/Xi.Cynx
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Nov 25, 2008
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I still believe a SSD for at least your system files is a good idea. After my sister went through 3 regular hard drives in 6 months because they kept dying, she would have loved a SSD for her important stuff.

3 Hard Drives in 6 Months! They had to of not been mounted incorrectly or just a bad brand/batch. I have only had 2 regular HDD go bad on me in the past 5 years. :closedeyes:

Maxtor = Fail
Hitachi = Fail
Toshiba = Fail
Seagate = Aiight
IBM = Aiight
Western Digital = Great
Samsung = Great
 
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Freyja

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Jul 31, 2009
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They where mounted by the factory, and they where whatever apple uses, I believe it was samsung.
 

Boylee

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You were right btw Rexy, me calling it an i7 was erroneous.

Pretty much everything Blade has said is spot on but I still recommend an intel i5 2500k over anything else.

Quote from here:

The Sandy Bridge lineup gives us some of the easiest conclusions to write that we've ever come across: the new range of Intel CPUs renders almost every other processor redundant and pointless. Only if you need incredible performance in multi-threaded applications should you look beyond the Core i5-2500K for your next CPU.
 

Rexy

The Kwisatz Haderach
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Dec 22, 2008
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Thanks for all the thoughts guys, everyone brings very legitimate points to the table. I'll comb over everything before I make my final choices. I'm leaning toward the i5 2500k, but I still haven't made up my mind yet.
 

What Is Schwa

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 13, 2008
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Man I'm sick of buying power supplies. Every few years I throw down $100+ on a super fancy ass power supply and the next time I go to upgrade my system it is somehow outdated: Connectors aren't the right style for the hard drive or mobo, or some other wankery.

I used to justify it by telling myself the price was worth it because I'd have it forever. That sure as shit isn't true. My next purchase is going to be on the ass end side of crapville.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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Man I'm sick of buying power supplies. Every few years I throw down $100+ on a super fancy ass power supply and the next time I go to upgrade my system it is somehow outdated: Connectors aren't the right style for the hard drive or mobo, or some other wankery.

I used to justify it by telling myself the price was worth it because I'd have it forever. That sure as shit isn't true. My next purchase is going to be on the ass end side of crapville.

Whilst i share that pain i try not to complain because i only update every 5 years, which on a technological time scale is OLD and salvaging gear would only mean parts of my computer wouldn't be compatable with the demands of current software.

Think of it this way, getting a quality PSU means you can upgrade pieces of your hardware "as you go", for say a new GFX card (that would inevitably require more power) if your old one croaks (factories will often give you the opportunity to upgrade with store credit as an alternative to replacement), or an additional HD and not worry about hitting your voltage limit. Not so many years down the line; expecting something to last forever is silly and 5-6 years is a reasonable time scale for updating for someone on a budget, but they should expect to upgrade everything bar maybe a previously top of the range processor and still working HD's.

Buying a PSU that did more than it's job instead of one that simply did what was necassery meant i could throw in a second HD when i needed/wanted to, or a second GFX card and run it in SLi for next gen games.
 
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Freyja

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Jul 31, 2009
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Go for a modular PSU. It helped so much in my build this morning. You can take out cables you don't need which is extremely useful.
Also, the i5 2500K is amazing. I don't see why you'd use anything other than that, the extra $100 or so for the i7 2600K won't get you anything. The i5 beats the i7 in most of the gaming benchmarks anyway. And no games use hyper threading.

And my SSD loads stuff really fast!
 
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Boylee

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Apr 29, 2008
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Man I'm sick of buying power supplies. Every few years I throw down $100+ on a super fancy ass power supply and the next time I go to upgrade my system it is somehow outdated: Connectors aren't the right style for the hard drive or mobo, or some other wankery.

This is the advantage of buying a quality, modular PSU, you just need new cables if power connectors get updated.