Advice on $2000 system build

[adramaleck]

Wanted to get some feedback on my system build, trying to put together fastest system for approx 2 grand.

Primary uses will be gaming and use as htpc. Probably add another 5850 at some future point if I think I need it. Motherboard will support sata 3, usb 3, and new gulftown cpu's so it seemed to be most future proof for the money. Not too interested in RAID I assume the OS on the ssd and 2tb of storage for movies, music and such will be plenty fast and I can add drives as needed, and always add RAID in the future as I add more drives. Basically looking for top quality this is going to be my main pc for a few years so I want something with upgrade capacity, reliability, and SPEED. I am open to any and all suggestions and I am by no means an expert so if you could include why you might find another component better I would appreciate it. Graphics and memory are probably what I am least sure of. Will timings and latency effect performance enough to justify a $100 price difference I could use for a 5870 instead? I will over clock at some point but will not be going for 4ghz+. Since I want to go for stability probably wouldn't pus the 920 past 3.6 or so but I have never over clocked before so this is just a guess. Thanks in advance everyone.


EDIT - Forgot monitor will be a 40 inch 1080p sony bravia television. Will play games 1920x1080....Also have logitech z2300 speakers, I don't know if they would warrant a better sound card or not?





Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129043
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$40.00 Instant
$199.99
$159.99


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3EG HD203WI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152202
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$179.99


SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102857
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$309.99
$299.99


Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371024
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$30.68 Instant
$139.99
$109.31


CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145224
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$239.99
$229.99


ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131614
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$309.99


Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115202
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$288.99


COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103055
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$74.99


ASUS Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-08B1ST - Retail
Item #: N82E16827135203
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$109.99


Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Item #: N82E16820167016
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$289.95


Subtotal: $2,053.18

 

[tecmo34]

I would recommend making these changes...

G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231335
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$184.99


COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$29.99

Savings: $55, with NO performance decrease. You get tighter timings and a better HSF (IMO), all for less money.

 

[mavanhel]

+1 to Techmo's choices but also look into changing your case to the HAF 922. It's about half the price of the 1200 and overall a better case. Then again if you don't like the look of the HAF, then the 1200 is still a great price.

 

[Mr_E]

The build is solid and I think you will be happy if that is what you purchase and assemble. I'm running a similar build, assembled yesterday. Only differences are:

I went with the Sapphire 5870 versus your 5850.

I went with Cooler Master Hyper 212 HSF. It is half the price of the HSF you selected but it is performing excellently. I left the computer on overnight and the system tracker I left running showed the stock clocked CPU staying at 25-26 deg Celsius overnight. I'm not sure what the ambient of the room was though.

The fans on the case are audible, I have it sitting on the desk top and you can hear the air flow. If you turn all the Antec 1200 case fans up to high you can really tell a difference. Just to give you an idea, I turned up the fan when I started typing and as I am typing this sentence the board went down one deg C. The CPU did change.

RAM I went: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ. After reading up on RAM, I got the impression that the difference in performance couldn't really be felt outside a stress test, so I went with less expensive but still highly rated RAM.

I'm jealous of you Blu-Ray, I wanted one but I was over budget on what I bought so I will have to put it off. Since all the software I use is on CD or DVD I'll survive w/o it at the moment.


Intel SSD, I honestly don't think there is a better manufacture on the market at the moment. It is the one piece of the system that will undeniably make a noticeable difference because I've heard/seen videos of boot times cut by up to 75%. Sadly the price tag kept it off my build.

In closing, your build is great and really I'd be surprised if anyone had feedback outside of pushing their personal preference for a particular manufacture.

 

[Mr_E]

+1 to Techmo's choices but also look into changing your case to the HAF 922. It's about half the price of the 1200 and overall a better case. Then again if you don't like the look of the HAF, then the 1200 is still a great price.

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $159.99 + 14.99 shipping = ~$175.00

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $149.99 + $9.99 shipping = ~$160.00

As you can see right now through Newegg the Antec is running almost the same as the HAF. Also I'm sure part of the reason to go withthe Antec is the Cae/PSU combo.

Antec 1200 Case + Antec 850W PSU $239.30 + ~$26.00 shipping = ~$265.00

If you go with the HAF they don't have a Case/PSU combo at the moment and based on the level of parts he has choosen I'd guess he'd go Cosair PSU. So he has a couple of options:

1.) CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $169.99 -$10.00 Mail In Rebate = $159.99

2. ) CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power... - Retail[\url] $149.99 - $10.00 mail in rebate + $5.99 shipping =~$146.00

Therefore, if he goes with the same wattage PSU the HAF 932 + 850W PSU totals: $320.00
If instead he goes with the HAF + 750W = $306.00

I went with Antec case/PSU combo for the price and I am using the case right now. I've never used the HAF 932 so I cannot say how it compares, but I can testify that the Antec is nice. However I will say that Corsair makes a great PSU but in this instance I don't think it was worth paying the extra money because the Antec 850W is a good PSU.

 

[mavanhel]

Note that I said the HAF 922 which is the $90 after MIR.

 

[Mr_E]

Note that I said the HAF 922 which is the $90 after MIR.

Ah, missed that completely. I'm so use to the 932 vs 1200 recommendations that when I read it my mind just filled in the 3.

 

[a4mula]

I think it's a touch bias to say the 922 is a better case than the 1200. The 1200 will cool better, offers 3 additional bays, comes with a pre-painted interior, and every single fan has a controller.

1200 + Antec CP850 is as solid as a case/psu combo as you're going to find.

If you want savings, yet still keep everything the 1200 offers minus 3 bays, the pick is the 902.

CM has great cases. I recently purchased a 690 II Advanced, the 932 is still the best air cooling case performance wise out there. The Cosmos/S are wonderful, The ATCS 840 is all but perfect.

922 however.... just a gimped 932 with dust filters.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 1200 / CP-850 is real hard to beat at $270.....the CP-850 can match any PSU electrical performance wise and nothing can touch it acoustically. The $110 proce is ridiculously low.

HS wise, I'd look for something in the top 3 here:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The WD Black 2 TB is a good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)