Gaming Rig build

[jbm715]

I have (finally) finalized what parts I am going to buy for my new build. I have never actually put a computer together in its entirety so I am really excited to get this started. I was hoping someone could look over what I'm ordering to make sure I'm not making any dumb mistakes in part compatibility. Here is my newegg public wishlist.


I decided to go with a 950w psu because I want to SLI later and not have to worry about not having enough power.

 

[sadams04]

Looks good overall.

HD - You are spending $220 on three drives. Not sure what configuration you are considering, but at that cost you can get into an SSD+HD setup. An OCZ Agility 3 60GB for boot / OS and Samsung F4 2TB for apps / storage would come in under $200. Just food for thought...

PSU - 950w is large, but good if you are planning on adding a second GTX 570 down the road. Change that to a 650w / 750w if you will stick with a single GPU.

Optical - For $10 more you can get a Blu-Ray burner...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226

 

[jbm715]

Thank you for showing me the blueray burner! I am definitely going with that.

I will be adding a second gtx 570 eventually. I originally had two 560 TIs, but I realized that I should go with a "slower" gpu (compared to the 560s in sli) so I can upgrade later.

The 250GB hdd is for the OS and the two 1TB hdds are for a raid 1 setup. I need some type of security that all my code, pictures, etc won't be lost because a drive failure. I will eventually get an external so I can backup the data from the raid setup.
I have some reservations about getting a SSD. I know any OS is going to be doing a lot of reads and writes and I'm afraid of an SSD dying a lot quicker than a standard hdd. Eventually I might get one, or maybe a 10,000rpm drive.

 

[sadams04]

In that case I would pick up one Samsung F3 1TB drive for the OS, and two Samsung F4 2TB dries for the RAID setup. At $65 and $80 respectively, $225 gets you double the storage.

The WD Black are good drives, however overkill if in a RAID setup for storage purposes. Stay away from the WD Blue as they are not great performers. The Samsung F3 1TB and F4 2TB are very good drives... both fast and reliable.

I understand your reservations about an SSD, but would tell you to forget about them. The lifecycle of an SSD is more than the life of an average PC. ...just don't throw a heavily used database on them. An SSD will perform better than a 10k RPM drive.

 

[jbm715]

In that case I would pick up one Samsung F3 1TB drive for the OS, and two Samsung F4 2TB dries for the RAID setup. At $65 and $80 respectively, $225 gets you double the storage.

You can never go wrong with more hdd space. What is your opinion on Sata III vs SATA II? I can look up all I want about the differences, but as far as experience, I have no idea if the benefits are worth it.

 

[sadams04]

For an SSD the SATA II vs SATA III debate is more real as SSD speeds can take advantage of the adiditional bandwidth of SATA III. For a traditional mechanical / spindle drive this doesn't matter as much. The fastest spindle drive won't completely saturate a "slower" SATA II connection.

 

[jbm715]

Best answer selected by jbm715.

 

[jbm715]

I've gone ahead and added 2x2TB and 1x1TB hdd to my order.

Thank you so much for your input/help!

 

[sadams04]

No problem. Enjoy that build!