Just built an ironside computer (specs inside)

[korvisus]

so, i am trying to get my build reviewed by somebody to make sure it is going to do what i want it to do, and check to see if im missing anything important.



Case - Cooler Master Elite 311 Blue (Mid Tower)
Custom Airbrushing & Paint - None
Custom Airbrushed Gamertags - None
Additional Case Fans - None
Internal Lighting - None
AMD Processor - AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz (Triple Core)
CPU Cooling - Asetek 550LC High Performance Liquid Cooling
Liquid Cooling Tubing Color - Clear / None
AMD Motherboard - ASUS M5A78L-M LX Plus [VGA] {2 DDR3 Slots}
Overclocking Processor - Stock Speed
Memory - 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
Memory Cooling - None
Primary Hard Drive - [RAID 0] 2x Crucial M4 128GB SSD Read: 500MB/s Write: 175MB/s [Ironside Recommended]
Hard Drive Cooling - None
Secondary Hard Drive - 500GB 7200RPM
Secondary Hard Drive Cooling - None
1st Optical Drive - DVD Writer
2nd Optical Drive - None
Graphics Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti 1GB (Min. 450 Watt Power Supply)
Liquid Cool Graphics Card - None
[SLI / X-fire] Second Video Card - None
[SLI / X-fire] Liquid Cool Graphics card - None
Power Supply - Standard 600 Watt
Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Networking - Internal Wireless N 300Mbps
Fan Controller - None
Media Card Readers - None
Sound Card - Integrated HD Audio
PC Games - None
TV Tuners - None
Office Software - None
Monitor - None
Second Monitor - None
Mouse - Standard Mouse
Keyboard - Standard Keyboard
Speakers & Headsets - None
Packaging - [FREE] Advanced Packaging System - Custom foam to protect and secure internal components from shipping abuse
Wiring - [FREE] Professional Wiring - Cables will be organized to achieve maximum airflow
Technical Support - Life-time U.S. based technical support and customer service by our own in-house technicians
Rush Service - [Standard] Shipped Out in 2 - 10 Business Days
Video Demonstration - None
Warranty - Standard 3 Years Parts and 3 Years Labor

ive seen several threads on this site that helped me out, and im hoping i could get the same treatment, lol. Thank you in advance!

 

[korvisus]

ehr... i dont see an "edit" option... i forgot to say what i need it to do. basically just for playing games. i need it to perform for my school networking classes, but i figure if it can game efficiently, it should be able to handle school.

im not looking necessarily to run every newest game on 100% max graphics, i just want to be able to run anything i want to run, medium graphics is fine if im spending 700 bucks on the computer.

 

[Proximon]

No. You are putting money in all the wrong places.

The list says 2x Crucial M4 128GB in raid 0..... if that were true, it would cost about half your budget and would be a very bad idea. The motherboard won't even support those drives at full speed, and one does not RAID 0 those.

Here is a $600 computer for gaming:

■SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
■Rosewill REDBONE U3 Black SECC Steel USB 3.0, eSATA, 3x 120mm Fans Mid Tower Computer Case
■Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX ...
■AMD Gift - Dirt3 Game Coupon - OEM
■Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core ...
■G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
■GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
■Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G620
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
TOTAL: $600.22

That performs better than the list you provided. Pay someone $100 to put it together if you can't yourself. If you can read and follow instructions, upgrade the processor and video card a bit with the $100 and build it yourself.

 

[korvisus]

cant build it myself. too important to build myself. im relatively confident in my ability to do so, but if i screw it up, or find some simple obstacle that i cant immediately get over, that is a problem i need it for school as well as gaming. also, the SSD, is it better than a hd in that same system? because it is the cheapest option.

also, i dont know how people overcome the cost of shipping when building their own computer. having to ship everything costs plenty of money.

i prefer nvidia cards, what is the equivalent nvidia card for that build?

::edit::
also, i hate to add this as an afterthought, but thank you very much for your time.

 

[Proximon]

The price that is quoted there is the total shipped to me... so provided that you live in the continental US your total would be similar.

OK then, here is a quality build. You are still stuck with the 550ti, because NVidia doesn't compete well in this price range. The first decent bang for the buck GPU is the 560ti... out of your price range.

This is built from their "Home PC" selections, not the "gaming" selections.



Case - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (Mid Tower)
Custom Airbrushing & Paint - None
Custom Airbrushed Gamertags - None
Additional Case Fans - 1 x 120mm Blue LED Cooler Master Sickleflow High Performance Fan
Internal Lighting - None
Intel Processor - Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz (Dual Core)
CPU Cooling - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Included because it seemed to be the same price as the stock fan
Intel Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V [VGA DVI HDMI] SATA 6Gb/s USB3 {2 DDR3 Slots Max 1333MHz}
Overclocking Graphics Card - Stock Speed
Overclocking Memory - Stock Speed
Overclocking Processor - Stock Speed
Memory - 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Memory Cooling - None
Primary Hard Drive - 500GB 7200RPM
Hard Drive Cooling - None
Secondary Hard Drive - None
Secondary Hard Drive Cooling - None
1st Optical Drive - DVD Writer
2nd Optical Drive - None
Graphics Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti 1GB (Min. 450 Watt Power Supply)
Liquid Cool Graphics Card - None
[SLI / X-fire] Second Video Card - None
[SLI / X-fire] Liquid Cool Graphics card - None
Power Supply - Corsair Builder Series CX600 600 Watt 80 Plus
Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Networking - Standard Onboard Ethernet
Fan Controller - None
Media Card Readers - None
Sound Card - Integrated HD Audio
PC Games - None
TV Tuners - None
Office Software - None
Monitor - None
Second Monitor - None
Mouse - None
Keyboard - None
Speakers & Headsets - None
Packaging - [FREE] Advanced Packaging System - Custom foam to protect and secure internal components from shipping abuse
Wiring - [FREE] Professional Wiring - Cables will be organized to achieve maximum airflow
Technical Support - Life-time U.S. based technical support and customer service by our own in-house technicians
Rush Service - *If you select rush option and build time exceeds 5 business days you will be refunded for the service.
Video Demonstration - None
Warranty - Standard 3 Years Parts and 3 Years Labor

$707.40


As for the SSD thing.... Look, here is the actual price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448

If they are really going to hand you two free SSDs, go for it... but it's just not true.


I have never heard of this company btw... why not use Cyberpower?

 

[Proximon]

Cyberpower build



Case: Corsair Carbide 300R Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ front USB 3.0
Laser Engraving: None
Laser Engraving Message:
Internal USB Extension Module: None
Neon Light Upgrade: None
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
Noise Reduction Technology: None
CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-2120 3.30 GHz 3M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Freebies: None
Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel: None
Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking
Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant
Motherboard: * [CrossFireX] GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, Ultra Durable4 Classic, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x Gen3 PCIe x16, 3x PCIe x1 & 2 PCI (Extreme OC Certified) [+40]
Freebies: GIGABYTE GC-WB300D Exclusive Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi PCIe Expansion Card
Intel Smart Response Technology for Z77: None
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+80] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Freebies: None
Video Card 2: None
Video Card 3: None
Power Supply Upgrade: * 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+99]
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Data Hard Drive: None
Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None
External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None
USB Flash Drive: None
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: None
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
3D Vision Glasses: None
LCD Monitor: None
2nd Monitor: None
3rd Monitor: None
Speakers: None
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Pixxo KA-75W1 Destroyer Series 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard & Laser Mouse Combo
Mouse: None
Mouse Pad: None
Gaming Gear: None
Extra Thermal Display: None
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
Video Camera: None
Headset: None
Cable: None
Power Protection: None
IEEE1394 Card: None
Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USB Port: None
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
Office Suite: None
Games: None
Ultra Care Option: None
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 10~15 BUSINESS DAYS

 

[korvisus]

i have heard horror stories from cyberpower. i have yet to find one bad review of http://www.ironsidecomputers.com/ . in fact, all i have seen are people being extremely happy about their purchase and the customer service. supposedly they started as a local company in vegas, and are still based there, but now offer their services online with shipping. any component that they dont offer, you can put in a request for, and they will happily add it to your newly ordered computer.

i wont be using cyberpower or ibuypower, as ive not only heard the horror stories, but looking at individual computers, all the reviews i ever see are something not working out of the box, and then emailing or leaving a message with customer service and not hearing back. sometimes ever.

about the 550 ti, is it not a good card? what makes it inferior? just wondering. im new to video cards, so lay it on me, if you dont mind taking the time.

 

[Proximon]

Well, it's just not great bang for the buck.

I think this chart will tell it all:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-550-ti-review-msi-cyclone-ii-oc/17
That's an overclocked version.

For the same price you can get the better performing 7770.

This chart may not tell the whole story, but it's a good quick guide to performance:
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/NVIDIA+GeForce+GTX+560+SE/review

 

[korvisus]

the reason im so stuck on nvidia is that i used to have a dell laptop that had an 8400m gs nvidia card. that card played nearly everything i wanted to play, sometimes on the lowest settings, but that was fine. i had that laptop for around 5 years, maybe more. the entire 5 years i had the laptop, that gpu was running nearly everything i needed. hell, i played ME3 on it most recently. ran it perfectly fine. i know ME3 isnt the most graphics intensive game on the market, but i also was able to run fable 3 and skyrim as well. i know that the 8400m gs is a crappy gpu. nobody considers that card gaming quality, but it worked pretty damn well for me. i dont want another 8400m gs. it was great, but it had just barely reached its end of usefullness.

i dont really understand the lists, because every card is so amazingly far ahead of that old 8400m, that i dont know how to compare. The last new gpu i had was purchased 5-7 years ago, lol... so i dont know how to compare on a site like that.

this is why i picked that card:
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/NVIDIA+GeForce+GTX+550+Ti/games

when i look at this:
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/AMD+Radeon+HD+7770/games
i dont see much a of a difference.

thank you very much for your patience

 

[Proximon]

OK, then look at the GTX 560 (not the SE)

http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/NVIDIA+GeForce+GTX+560/games

These charts are bogus though. Where is the option to select a resolution? Without resolution, none of that means anything.

Far better to focus on two articles

CPUs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

GPUs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

 

[korvisus]

an update on those crucial ssds


Hello Aaron,

Thank you for your interest in our company. We do apologize for the inconvenience. The Raid Crucial SSD's on our primary hard drive option was mistakenly added. We had made a custom configuration on our website for a customer who wanted RAID Crucial SSD's and when we updated it for the customer it was unknowingly added to our main products as well. Other customers have brought up this issue and we have since removed the error. We thank you for reporting this issue, and if there is anything we can help you with of if you have any questions feel free to let us know.

Robert
Ironside Computers

 

[Proximon]

Nice of them to get back to you, I have to admit.