New PC build (gaming)

[EDO219]

I was going to suggest a custom machine from DigitalStorm since they have an A+ BBB rating, 10% discount currently, and a 4 year parts and labor warranty. However, Modena's hypothetical build is superb for the money.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A few things:

1) What's wrong with the HDD?
2) The card reader ends up being cheap when in combo with the HDD.
3) What's wrong with the Burner?
4) I trust MSi and this 460 touted better specs.

1)It's slower than the competition, although cheaper; not worth it IMHO. This HDD is a better choice.
2)That's if you buy it with the Seagate drive, which I don't recommend.
3)Nothing, just that you can get that Sony drive for slightly cheaper with free shipping. No real discernible performance difference either.
4)Better specs? It's just overclocked, and has a custom cooler, which this GTX 460 also shares, although the MSI is clocked higher. Still, IMHO it's not worth the $30 or so extra over the Gigabyte card, especially since you can OC the card yourself too. And from experience, Gigabyte is as good a brand as any, barring maybe eVGA, who're still king when it comes to reliability.

It's still upto you though.

 

[ramonsterns]

1)It's slower than the competition, although cheaper; not worth it IMHO. This HDD is a better choice.
2)That's if you buy it with the Seagate drive, which I don't recommend.
3)Nothing, just that you can get that Sony drive for slightly cheaper with free shipping. No real discernible performance difference either.
4)Better specs? It's just overclocked, and has a custom cooler, which this GTX 460 also shares, although the MSI is clocked higher. Still, IMHO it's not worth the $30 or so extra over the Gigabyte card, especially since you can OC the card yourself too. And from experience, Gigabyte is as good a brand as any, barring maybe eVGA, who're still king when it comes to reliability.

It's still upto you though.

How is the Spinpoint faster? It has the same specs. I'm not doubting you here, I just want to understand how you can tell.

Alright, revision time:

DVD Burner
(1)(2)Video Card
PSU
RAM
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO

(1)
$1008~
$1094~ w/tax & shipping

(2)
$1033~
$1121~ w/tax & shipping

Not entirely convinced on the graphic card change.

 

[Modena]

I'd go with a different board, it looks low-quality, and I don't know how reliable Biostar is. For $25 more you can get this quality board.

MSI P55-GD65 LGA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130239

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

@ramonsterns, the SpinPoint F3 has a large cache, only two 500GB platters (lower no. of platters = lower seek times) and a superbly-programmed drive controller, among other things, which help it eclipse other drives in performance. Check out some reviews, and see for yourself.

@Modena, Biostar's T series boards are among the high-end boards out there, and are superb overclockers. The MSI is actually inferior, in terms of OC performance, and also has a smaller warranty coverage period as well.

 

[ramonsterns]

@ramonsterns, the SpinPoint F3 has a large cache, only two 500GB platters (lower no. of platters = lower seek times) and a superbly-programmed drive controller, among other things, which help it eclipse other drives in performance. Check out some reviews, and see for yourself.

Oh, I see. The website doesn't tell me how many platters it has, but that's good to know, thanks.

I still want to get a few more opinions on the graphic cards, though.

EDIT: I found this. What do you think?


DVD Burner
PSU + Video Card
RAM
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO

$1018~
$1108~ w/tax & shipping.

It would look like that. What do you guys think?

 

[Modena]

If you look at this review you'll see that the Set-up I recommended will out-perform that single GTX460 by a ton. They mention no issues with the card and they tested it through a ton of games. Because IMO the rig setup you have there isn't optimum for gaming with the budget you set.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/

 

[ramonsterns]

If you look at this review you'll see that the Set-up I recommended will out-perform that single GTX460 by a ton. They mention no issues with the card and they tested it through a ton of games. Because IMO the rig setup you have there isn't optimum for gaming with the budget you set.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/

Why isn't it optimum? Also, I don't like ATI/AMD cards. I don't feel the money saved is worth the headache later with the iffy drivers. Not going through *that* again, I tell you that.

 

[Relic]

Hey Ramon this is what I would do,

CPU - Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz - $205
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 - $140 after MIR $130
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB - $64
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F3 - $70
GPU - GIGABYTE GTX 460 1GB - $200 after MIR $190
PSU - XFX 650W - $100 after MIR $70
Optical Drive - LITE-ON DVD Burner - $26 The one you selected was OEM which won't have a SATA cable for installation, so I chose a retail drive. The board I chose does come with two but it's nice to a have an extra one in case you need it.
Case + OS Bundle - Storm Scout + Windows 7 - $150 after MIR $140 By the way good choice on the Storm Scout, as an owner of one I have to say I very much like it :grinthumb.

Total = $955 after MIR $895

As you can see I made a few changes some more on personally preference. One being I think the Gigabyte motherboard would be a better choice and RAM wise I don't think you really need 8GB initially as 4GB should serve you well. For a video card as we discussed earlier with a 1440x900 resolution you won't be taking full advantage of your GTX 460, but as long as you put that left over money towards a new monitor you should be fine. Regarding the vendor choice I agree with Rage, unless you plan on fully using the MSI card with overvolting/clocking, I think the Gigabyte one will be plenty & save you some money.

@Modena His resolution is 1440x900 so whatever card he chooses will be virtually identical. However the 6850 is pretty awesome and as an owner of one I love it .

I don't like ATI/AMD cards. I don't feel the money saved is worth the headache later with the iffy drivers. Not going through *that* again, I tell you that.

Sorry to hear that, as an AMD/ATI user I don't find myself with any overbearing driver issues. I'd say the problems of the past have been rectified at least from my experience, however if you are an early adopter of new hardware this may be a different case but this goes for Nvidia too.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

@ramonsterns, hmm, that looks extremely good for the price, especially with the discount and rebates. IMHO, go for it. It's too fantastic an offer to pass up. Also, AMD has no driver issues anymore as far as I know, so don't let that dissuade you. However, I'd recommend going with whatever's cheaper and non-factory-OCed. Overclocking is pretty easy and can be done yourself, so paying extra for it doesn't make sense to me from a price vs performance POV.

Regardless, if I were to get an NVIDIA card, I'd get it from eVGA if possible. They're the top dog right now, so to speak, with XFX and BFG's exit from the NVIDIA OEM market. Gigabyte's not far behind either.

@Modena, the HD 6850 matches the GTX 460 1GB in performance. The HD 6870 surpasses both, quite obviously. The OP cannot go wrong with either.

@Relic, the SpinPoint F3 is cheaper than the WD, and offers higher performance and larger capacity; I'm just sayin'. Also, this PSU is a higher efficiency, modular version of the 650TX, and it costs exactly the same as well, down to the rebate. Lastly, won't getting the 768MB version of the GTX 460, be better, since the OP won't be needing the 1GB VRAM at the resolution he intends to game at?

 

[ramonsterns]

For a video card as we discussed earlier with a 1440x900 resolution you won't be taking full advantage of your GTX 460, but as long as you put that left over money towards a new monitor you should be fine.

I already have a 22" monitor.

EDIT: Sun at the beach, the PSU Video Card combo is gone/

 

[Relic]

@Relic, the SpinPoint F3 is cheaper than the WD, and offers higher performance and larger capacity; I'm just sayin'. Also, this PSU is a higher efficiency, modular version of the 650TX, and it costs exactly the same as well, down to the rebate. Lastly, won't getting the 768MB version of the GTX 460, be better, since the OP won't be needing the 1GB VRAM at the resolution he intends to game at?

I didn't really bother to look at the HDD, most of my personal drives are Western Digital and I have no experience with Samsung drives. However I have quite a bit of other Samsung electronics and they've not disappointed so I will have to check out the F3's in the near future.

You're completely right regarding the PSU from XFX, I completely forgot about that one since we lasted talked about it and I agree it's better.

For video cards, ya I think a 768MB would be a better choice to start with, but if he upgrades within the next couple months I don't see why not investing in a 1GB initially.

 

[Relic]

I already have a 22" monitor.

So you won't be gaming at 1440x900? If that's the case then no worries the 1GB will serve you well.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

^, seconded.

 

[ramonsterns]

So you won't be gaming at 1440x900? If that's the case then no worries the 1GB will serve you well.

I have been gaming with it since I bought this computer 3 years ago.

Alright, so this is what I have so far.


DVD Burner
PSU - (More power, same price) EDIT: ****ing Newegg removed the discount.
Video Card
RAM - If I want to bump the resolution up a bit, will 4gb be enough?
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO - Has 2 slots in case I can afford a second card in the future, also cheaper.

$939
$1020 w/tax

Should I invest in a CPU cooler or more fans?
Is RAM with lower Cas Latency worth it? Like this

 

[madboyv1]

Gonna chirp in here, Owner of the Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB and 1TB, and the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (four of them) and F4 2TB. All four drives are great, but as mentioned the Samsung drives are cheaper, and to my experience run cooler and just work faster (transfer speeds). Both the 1TB and 2TB samsung drives are faster than the Black 640GB, and the Black 1TB is the loudest and hottest of the four.

The only real advantage (if you want to call it that) with the WD Black drives is for the extra price you get an extra 2 years in warranty, but as posted previously [link] I argue that isn't really worth it considering what you end up trading for those two years.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Then go with the XFX 750W PSU instead; it's essentially identical to the Cooler Master one, but modular.

RAM has no correlation or impact on performance at any resolution. VRAM does however.

 

[ramonsterns]

Then go with the XFX 750W PSU instead; it's essentially identical to the Cooler Master one, but modular.

RAM has no correlation or impact on performance at any resolution. VRAM does however.

Modular meaning the cables aren't attached, right? That might be necessary with a mid-tower.

What about Cas Latency? I tried reading into it but it might as well have been in Taiwanese. All I understood was the lower the better, but I want to know if it's worth the price or if it makes a difference at all.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Lower latencies don't make for any noticeable difference in performance. The only time lower latency RAM matters is when you'd be overclocking.

 

[ramonsterns]

Lower latencies don't make for any noticeable difference in performance. The only time lower latency RAM matters is when you'd be overclocking.

So why the difference in prices?

If I go with a cheap set with good reviews, I should be good to go, right?

Out of all these (or any other you think is better) which one would you pick and why?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Lower latency RAM that runs reliably at high frequencies involves more work to produce, so they cost more.

I would recommend buying from the "Big Three" companies (Corsair, Crucial or OCZ) for best results. As long as it's from them, you're good to go IMHO. The only difference is that for the "Value" kits from these companies will come without heatspreaders (basically HSFs for the RAM). I only buy RAM that has heatspreaders, and I suggest you do the same too.

Out of those, I'd buy the G.SKILL RipJaws kit solely for its great heatspreader design.

 

[ramonsterns]

Is the heatspreader a really big issue? I was planning on buying a couple of 120mm fans to stick on the side panel.

Also, some OCZ stuff has been getting really bad reviews, should I still trust it?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I wouldn't trust Newegg reviews. Most of the people don't know what they're talking about.

I have an OCZ kit and I highly recommend it. So would other people on this forum, I imagine. Even if you do have issues, you could just return it and get a new one ASAP.

As for heatspreaders, it's subjective. I prefer buying RAM with heatspreaders, but if you don't want to, that's upto you, especially if you're going to cool it via a fan.

 

[ramonsterns]

Alright, this is what I have so far (from advise, suggestions, etc.):

OS + Case
Windows 7 64-bit + CoolerMaster Stormscout

MOBO
Biostar P55

CPU
i5 2.88 Quad Core

PSU
XFX 750w

RAM
Mushkin Enhanced (2x2gb)

Video Card
MSi 460 (Non-Overclocked)

HDD
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB

DVD Burner
LITE-ON

$995
$1084 w/ tax

I picked the Mushkin over the G.SKILL RAM because I didn't particularly like the color scheme (I know, what am I thinking?) But they both have the same price and specs and both have good rep for reliable hardware, so what the heck.

I also want to buy 1 or 2 extra 120mm fans to make sure it stays well ventilated, do you guys have any suggestions?

 

[TomSEA]

With the adjustments that Relic has suggested, this is damn close to my system which you can see in my profile.

I've had it for about two months and is without a doubt the best rig I've ever built. If you can spare the coin, I'd go for an SSD drive to hold the OS. A 60GB SSD will do the trick. It is really nice to be able to turn on the power and in 8-10 seconds be able to actually start doing some computing.

Currently I'm running all games (Fallout: NV, Civ V, Dirt2, MW4, etc.) at max settings (including max AA and resolution) and have not suffered a single slowdown, and I haven't even O/C'd the cards or CPU yet.