Please critique this system:

Yipee

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Mar 30, 2009
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Want to build a gaming system. Are the parts below fully compatible and have I made good choices on quality of ingredients?

Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power Power Supply

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 X2 100251SR Video Card

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Scythe SCORC-1000 140mm CPU Cooler

ASUS P5Q-E ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

 
the antec 1200 and the Antec CP850 PSU are combo bundled for combo price of $279.99

should I get the CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W and CoolerMaster HAF case for $250 (minus $20 more for mail-in rebate)??

would having the Antec PSU allow me future upwards mobility to add a Crossfire HD4870x2 that the Corsair PSU would limit me on?
 
650 watts will probably be ok for that set up but you might want to get a larger psu so you can add crossfire another gpu later. i'd go 750 or even 850 watts.
 
4870x2 in crossfire hmm

Radeon HD 4850 269 Watt
Radeon HD 4870 334 Watt
Radeon HD 4850 Crossfire (2) 421 Watt
Radeon HD 4870 X2 (R700) 437 Watt
Radeon HD 4870 Crossfire (2) 480 Watt
Radeon HD 4870 X2 (R700) Crossfire 740 Watt = Quad GPU the CPU will take a bit and add up everything else.

1000w will be acceptable doing quad gpu's most defenantly.

Now, IMO, I don't see why you don't just go i7. You wont denefit much getting more gpu's added on, you don't see anygames using that much.

Benchmarks wont increase much tri or quad as to using already an x2 4870.

Plus, you might need a HUGE monitor/HDtv for that crap or dual monitors.

I say 1 4870x2 + i7 FTW


 
Here is a build to consider for a few reasons. First of all that vid card is a low power consumption card which means a decent 750w psu will run two of those cards in SLI. The cpu cooler comes with MX-2 thermal compound, and the best part of this build is the case. Also that mobo is set up to run either SLI or Crossfire so you aren't limited to a brand of video card....it gives you options. With this build you will be somewhat "future proofing" if there is such a thing.... anyways this gives you something to think about.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 <--- some better pics of that case

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1 <---review and benchmarks of the gtx 285

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-932KKN $120.36
Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Gaming Case (Black)

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $99.99 Price After Rebate(s): $79.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply - CMPSU-750TX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386 $209.99
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-XTREM2 $32.64
Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREMERev 2 CPU Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125255 $339.99 ($309.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GV-N285-1GH-B GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $22.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,296.93 *(not including shipping and rebates)
 
That is a good build from why me, but I have an issue with the PSU. the 750tx is too light for GTX 285's SLI'd IMO, and overkill for a single GTX 285. I would go with an 850tx or 650tx.
 


In that case, the combo you linked for the Storm Sniper and the 850w Corsair would be the way to go, so he could SLI in the future.
 

Its an awesome deal. If I were looking to build a new system it is what I would get.
 
Thanks so much for all the feedback! I went ahead and ordered the below setup. This was prior to my seeing Why_Me's feedback (and everything after it). So... how'd I end up doing in the end run?

. 1 SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

. 1 ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

. 1 Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

. 1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

. 1 Scythe SCORC-1000 140mm CPU Cooler - Retail

. 1 LG Black LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20LK - OEM

. 1 G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail

. 1 CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

. 1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

. 1 COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail