New build parts advice

[richjb]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 7-14 days

BUDGET RANGE: 1500-2000 Before / After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, internet, general home use

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (e.g.: newegg.com, other trusted sites)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (USA)

PARTS PREFERENCES: by brand or type (e.g.: I would like to use an Intel CPU & ASUS Mobo and full tower case)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes / Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: (re-use current monitor at this time)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (e.g.: Need to have a window, I would like a quiet PC)

COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119150

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136555

EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549

COOLER MASTER GX Series RS750-ACAAE3-US 750W ATX12V v2.31 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171053

CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model CMT6GX3M3A2000C8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145318


ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Average Rating
4 out of 5 eggs4/5(90 reviews)
ROG, Support SLI/CrossFireX, SATA 6 Gb/s+ USB 3.0 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Comments:

I have never built nor do i know much about the process, but I am tired of spending ~ $2000 for pre-built moderate PC that is outdated in a couple of years and then need to get another.

I like nvdia, but not opposed to ATI if it get me the most bang for my $.

I did not include an optical drive, but need a CD/DVD burner type.

I did choose the Rampage III extreme - figuring it would be upgradable for a while. I am hopeful that this build would last a long time, while doing some upgrades over time. If this Mobo is too much and can get something almost as good for a little less I am open to that as well.

I have a spare internal HD for data storage

I was also looking at a cyberpower build that was pretty close to these specs (maybe a few less highend parts) for ~ $1800.

If I am missing any necessary components please let me know

Thanks in advance for any comments...

 

[sp12]

What resolution is your monitor? IMO you're buying some interesting parts...

No computer will be able to game on high for more than 2 years at most. IMO I would get an i5-760 build with a P55 mobo and upgrade in a year.

Specific components:

Raptor should be tossed for a Samsung f3+small SSD for the same price.

470 is expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48|14-162-049^14-162-049-TS%2C14-127-501^14-127-501-S01%2C14-125-320^14-125-320-TS

PSU is mediocre, XFX black edition 750 is the same price, nicer, high efficiency, and modular.

This ram kit is nicer and 100$ less. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

 

[Mr Pizza]

Get two 150gb velicoraptors it is way faster when in RAID 0, thats when they shine. A single velicoraptor is the same speed as a 70$ 7200RPM

When you say maybe overclocking is that a yes or a no.

 

[hunter315]

A few things in your build arent good picks, either they are over priced or just arent good units.


The dominators are very expensive and memory is rarely a bottleneck, DDR3 2000MHz CL 8 will give you maybe 2% better performance than DDR3 1600MHz CL7 but will cost you about 80% more, i suggest the Gskill Pi Series instead, they are still very good, fast, but a lot cheaper too since you arent paying for the dominator name or the 2000MHz rated chips.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

The 600GB raptor is a waste, for that price you can pick up a fast 1TB drive and a small SSD boot drive. Im not up to speed on SSDs, someone else can suggest a good one, but a 1TB Caviar black isnt going to be much slower than a 600GB Raptor but will cost a lot less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533&cm_re=1tb_caviar_black-_-22-136-533-_-Product

Do NOT get a GX 750, it failed two reviews at jonnyguru so its now on my blacklist right next to a few raidmax units. After promo code and rebate the XFX 750W unit comes out to be cheaper and it is much better, 9.7/10 at jonnyguru, and its modular.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750

The Superclocked GTX 470 isnt a very good deal, its quite a bit more than a basic GTX 470 and not a ton faster. You can pick up a 5870 combo'd with the XFX 750W unit for only slightly more than that GTX 470
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492866

edit: im typing slow today

 

[richjb]

What resolution is your monitor? IMO you're buying some interesting parts...

No computer will be able to game on high for more than 2 years at most. IMO I would get an i5-760 build with a P55 mobo and upgrade in a year.

Specific components:

Raptor should be tossed for a Samsung f3+small SSD for the same price.

470 is expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48|14-162-049^14-162-049-TS%2C14-127-501^14-127-501-S01%2C14-125-320^14-125-320-TS

PSU is mediocre, XFX black edition 750 is the same price, nicer, high efficiency, and modular.

This ram kit is nicer and 100$ less. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

I dont have a very good monitor right now, but will upgrade it in the future (Hanns-G HW191D)

The issue I keep having is when I start with the mediocre computer I dont even start to game on high.

I am not sure about a SSD, a friend has gone through 2 of them.. not sure the exact problem... something like froze up and was unusable. With that being said I dont know anything about SSD's

 

[hunter315]

Only a 19", then skip the raptor/SSD, just pick up the 1TB Caviar black and spend the extra $200 on a nice large monitor to exploit the power of the graphics card, i would keep the 19" around for dual screening, it works rather well, but a larger higher resolution monitor will make gaming more enjoyable.

 

[richjb]

Get two 150gb velicoraptors it is way faster when in RAID 0, thats when they shine. A single velicoraptor is the same speed as a 70$ 7200RPM

When you say maybe overclocking is that a yes or a no.

I dont know much about it so I would be hesitant to do some OC'ing, but one I learn more about it would try it.

 

[Mr Pizza]

I dont know much about it so I would be hesitant to do some OC'ing, but one I learn more about it would try it.

Hmm.. well if you aren't doing 4ghz eventually then the rampage iii is a waste,

 

[richjb]

Only a 19", then skip the raptor/SSD, just pick up the 1TB Caviar black and spend the extra $200 on a nice large monitor to exploit the power of the graphics card, i would keep the 19" around for dual screening, it works rather well, but a larger higher resolution monitor will make gaming more enjoyable.

Thanks.. that is a good idea, I can get this HD and a monitor. I can use my other internal HD for data, and the new for OS, programs etc...

In my current space I would not want to get bigger than ~ 24". What are some decent brands and basic specs I should look into?

 

[richjb]

Hmm.. well if you aren't doing 4ghz eventually then the rampage iii is a waste,

I guess I am trying to get some high end parts to allow upgrading without a major rebuild. If there is another MB that has good potential for less $$ (rampage ii gene????)

 

[hunter315]

The Rampage series is their highest end boards for overclocking, if you just want a good solid board a P6X58D Premium will be just as good except it will be missing some of the special OCing features that the Rampage has to make it a bit easier but you will still get the same performance and OC potential from it, and it costs almost $100 less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

it can also combo with the 950 to save $15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.495202

ASUS also makes some pretty nice monitors, this one is pretty close to the $200 range and is nice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236095

 

[richjb]

Going back to not knowing much about building a PC... does anyone have any thoughts on a Falcon Northwest rig? I put one together using some "not so high end" components.

Chassis
Talon Standard
Black
Power Supply
750 Watt Modular

Motherboard
P7P55DE Pro

Processor
Core i5 760 2.80GHz

Processor Cooler
HeatSink/Fan

Processor Overclock
No Processor Overclock

Memory
4GB (2x2GB) 1333MHz DDR3

Video Card
Radeon 5770 (1GB)

Sound Card
OnBoard Audio
Networking
OnBoard
Ethernet

Hard Drive
1TB 7200RPM 6GB/s

Optical Drive
24x DVD Writer

Media Reader
Internal Media Reader

64Bit
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium
Warranty
1 Year Warranty Parts
and Service

$1366 plus S&H

I know most of you are the build it yourself type, but is this a decent deal? I can still purchase the new monitor and wont feel so bad if I upgrade in a year or two.

 

[sp12]

You could build that yourself for ~900$ or so.

It's pretty hard to kill an SSD. Did he set AHCI mode in bios? Is he using Windows 7? He may have been using an off brand.

I agree with everyone else here -- take some of that budget and get a nice monitor. IMO either an IPS or 120hz could be had in this budget. Monitors don't lose value like computer parts do.

 

[richjb]

Okay, I am close to settling on the following set up. What other parts am I missing to get this right (fans, etc.)?

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Writer - Bulk - LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333

COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119150

A friend has this case and he loves it, any thoughts on this vs. another case?

NZXT Sentry-2 5.25" Touch Screen fan controller
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992005

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Asus ML238H 23" 1920 x 1080 2ms Full HD Swivel and Tilt adjustable LEDBacklight LCD Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236095

XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003

G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642

After rebate and combo deal this Mobo was only $80 more than the P6X58D

XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150490

Now the GPU is still something I am struggling with... the PSU & GPU was a combo deal until the GPU went out of stock this morning. I could still go either way on nvdia/ati, but dont know which MFG's to stay away from and which series is best for the money.

I could just buy this card somewhere else... like
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?id=27306&r=p

Total without GPU is $1557.00
GPU ~ $400.00



I would like to thank all who have commented thus far. I have never tried to do something like this, but after spending what feels like the last 50 hours reading posts/articles on TH and shopping I am starting to think its possible.

 

[sp12]

This is all strictly in my opinion:

This monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236092&cm_re=120hz-_-24-236-092-_-Product

This OD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040

Expensive case.

These mobos are just as nice for 99% of builds http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%20600007887%20600036417%20600054094%20600054621&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&CompareItemList=280|13-130-294^13-130-294-TS%2C13-188-068^13-188-068-01%23%2C13-131-665^13-131-665-TS%2C13-128-423^13-128-423-TS%2C13-157-189^13-157-189-TS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.374114

 

[richjb]

wow that is a $500 monitor