Long Lasting SFF or MicroATX PC 2´300 USD MAX

[mcborras]

HI THERE !!

I NEED EXPERT OPINIONS, I want to make the best decision on buying my dream personal system


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: in less than 6 months

BUDGET RANGE: 2´300 max including shipping

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Encoding, Decoding, low-moderate rendering, serious multi-tasking, moderate gaming, surfing the webzz, Burning/watching Blu-rays, I have a tendecy to keep the PC on for long periods without shutting down even if its only in idle.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, OS, speakers, TV tuner, audio card, external HDD drive, Surge protector, any other software


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: any site, but shipping to mexico would be nice, I hear NEWEGG is a good place


PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CORE i7 950, Geforce GTX 295 GPU(is it stable??)HDMI is a must, Logitech MX air mouse, AT LEAST 6gb of ddr3 ram, Asus Rampage GENE or the SX58H7, Blu-Ray Burner

OVERCLOCKING: Not really interested

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI only if I really need to, single by now

MONITOR RESOLUTION: I´ll be using a 32" Samsung 1080p HDTV (can´t remember the series)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As my thread says, I want to invest in a build that can last me about some 3plus yrs aprox without any uber necessary upgrades, I would also like it to be Micro-ATX or Shuttle small form because of the space I have assigned for it.

Please feel free to correct me in anything you see fit, this would be my first build ever, HECK! Im still not sure how to apply the thermal compound haha

Any thermal compound would be okay? how about TUNIQ?

In case I go with a MicroATX case, wich PSU would do the job? I was thinking a 700W would do the job, good thing the SX58H7 has the PSU included

If not using the SX58H7 wich case would be the best ? I dont care much about adding more upgrades inside it, I just want it to last and be reliable haha

Also I was thinking of getting a 15´000RPM HDD or would a 10´000rpm 300gb Velociraptor do the job just fine?
I would go single HDD and use an external Drive Wich I already own, SSD drives are still too expensive for my taste


THANX IN ADVANCE GUYS!!

 

[Redline24]

Do you mean $3000 USD? $300 USD will barely buy you a computer, let alone any of the items you listed.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see that you mean $2,300 USD.

 

[mcborras]

YEAH!

2300USD

is the max I want to spend

but of course LESS IS BETTER

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ always max your budget with a PC.

1) a 950 will offer little improvement over a 920, especially when it comes to overclocking.

2) a GTX 295 in an M-ATX case, I don't think so, if you want it to last long then get a 4870 X2 which outputs less heat and if ATi don't block it, it should support DX11, or wait for the ATi DX11 40nm cards as these will output at lot less heat than the GTX 295 and come close to it in performance while only using 1 GPU.

3) you won't get much more from a rampage gene than an MSI X58M which costs a lot less and performs a bit better in benches.

4) for a TIM try OCZ freeze, it's currently the best TIM on the market.

5) look at the PCP&C 750w PSU, it's quiet and has the PCIe connectors you might need for the foreseeable future.

6) a high rpm drive in an M-ATX build? you do know they say not to put them in laptops for a reason, they output a load of heat, not to mention a 3.5" 1TB drive is just as fast, if you're spending that much money on a HDD, get either an SSD or a samsung 1TB F1 RAID.

 

[mcborras]

thanx great advice

I thought the CORE i7 950 was a good middle ground,

, okay soooo the catch here is to get the least heat , I really liked the idea of having a GTX gpu, after reading on newegg, it seems most people have had heat problems more often with the 4870x2 than the GTX gpu´s , how about those gtx 285, not worth the trouble?

(I thought that heat was only an issue if I thought to overclock it, wich isnt the case, hehe I guess heat is always gonna be an issue with M-ATX)

whoaaa I thought the Rampage GENE was the best out there

How about that Arctic Silver ?

I read on the newegg site that most useres comment that the PCP&C 750w PSU is a bit too long, will that be an issue?
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I guess the shuttle is out of the question then, right??

also wich case is the best option heatwise? I like the fragbox case from falcon-northwest but that thing seems overpriced to me


Wich DRR3 rams should I get for better performance and less heat? I think 6gb is good enough

 

[Helloworld_98]

2) well as long as you get the tri-fan version you should be OK.

3) according to anand it isn't the best anymore, and for $180 for an SLI supporting mobo, the X58M is a great deal M-ATX or not.

4) OCZ freeze beats AS5 by around 3-5C.

5) it shouldn't be, and most high wattage PSU's are long anyway.

6) look at the silverstone TJ08 if you don't mind spending a bit of money, or a coolermaster 340 with 2 high-performance 120mm fans as it basically has the same inner structure.

7) look at 1600mhz dimms with CL8 or below.

 

[mcborras]

the Tri-fan version almost seems non existent maybe it got discontinued, I havent found a single place where they sell the freaking thing haha, not even newegg! besides I also found it it takes 2 and a half spaces, HUGE INDEED haha :lol:

what are the alternatives?



I´ll stick with msi for the price, havent heard if the onboard audio is better than rampage gene, but I guess there isnt much difference



OCZ freeze is also cheaper!



I liked the Silverstone TJ08 mostly because of the 4 usb ports hehe (I like front usb and audio ports)
the Cooler Master 341 only has 1 120mm fan on the back and seems to need at least 2 other fans in it.

what other cases do u recommend? usb&audio front ports, good cooling/airflow system, or are any of those 2 good to go?



I found the CORSAIR XMS3 6GB to be fair in price, specially comparing them with the CORSAIR DOMINATORs 170usd!!
what do you think, are this a nice choice?



also wich Blu-ray reader/burner has the best perfomance? I get the feeling this drives are still too buggy
are all blu-ray readers/ burners region free?