$3000 build - basic questions

[ExistNY]

Hi All,

First, components I plan to purchase:

Lian Li PC-V1100 Plus II Aluminum Case Black
Antec NeoPower 650 Blue
ASUS P5E3 Premium
Intel Q9550
SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB (x2 Raid 0)
Crucial 4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 memory module
ACER - P243WAid 24"
Plextor PX-810SA

Now, commentary:

When I was a teen back in the mid-late 90s, I built my first computer. Sadly, I was on a tight budget. Now that I am all grown up and making my way in the world, I can afford to live out at least one of my teenage fantasies. I plan to build an all-purpose, solid, fast, quiet, and sexy rig for about $3000. I plan to use it for the occasional video game, photo/video editing, as a blu-ray player (once prices dip a bit), and dvr (I understand this to be a cheap component, so I left it off my list below). I am not a hardcore gamer, so I don't plan to overclock or water cool. I already purchased one component: a Lian Li V1100 Plus II case. Therefore, the case is a sunk cost and does not factor into my budget.

Seeing how I have not built a computer in about a decade, I am looking for very simple, straightforward advice for someone with minimal computer building experience. Basically, given the amount I plan to spend, I want to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid, like pairing a quality MoBO, Processor, and video card with bottleneck ram or a weak PSU. Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

CASE: Lian Li PC-V1100 Plus II Aluminum Case Black - I selected this one because (a) It looks cool. I am a nerd, but I don't want a giant alien head announcing this fact to all visitors; (b) it's supposedly very quiet

PSU: Antec NeoPower 650 Blue (Is this enough? I selected the NeoPower because it's supposedly very quiet and not because of the gimmicky blue light, although I need some splash of style)

MOBO: ASUS P5E3 Premium (I thought long and hard about this one. I was undecided between this board and the Asus Rampage Formula. I definitely want to go with Asus because the internet reviews have convinced me that their boards are constructed really well and are generally very stable. The Formula seems to get the better reviews (anyone have any idea why?) but I like that this board can accept DDR3. If there is any component that I refuse to be cheap with, it's the motherboard. However, like I said before, I am not a hardcore gamer and I do not plan to overclock my expensive components. I want great, reliable, and mostly quiet performance. I am well aware that nehalem is coming out, but I've also followed computers long enough to know that if you wait for that great new product just around the corner, you'll never build anything.)

CPU: Intel Q9550 (Please recommend a good fan!) -- Since I don't plan to overclock, the QX9650, etc. are all out. This one seems like the best deal of the bunch, but I could be easily convinced to go with a Q9450, since there does not appear to be more than a marginal difference between the two.

VIDEO CARD: SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 -- Three reasons for this: (a) X48 supports crossfire, so ... just in case (but then I would need a big, loud, obnoxious PSU ...), (b) I made this decision before the 280s dropped in price -- I can be convinced to switch, (c) ATI generally works better with Intel chipsets, no?

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB (x2 in Raid 0) -- I am kind of tickled by the thought of 2 TB harddrives running in Raid 0. If this is stupid for any reason, please let me know! That's why I am posting here! I am not worried about data safety -- I am generally good about backing up. The other option I considered is the Velociraptor, but I understand that to be very loud -- that's a no-no for my build. I know RAID 0 will increase the noise/heat level, but I'm willing to accept that if I gain a significant data access advantage. I am a photo enthusiast and do deal with large RAW files -- would RAID 0 be a sufficient speed boost for me?

RAM: Crucial 4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 memory module - - Just chose this because it's compatible with my MoBo, and it's at 1333mhz so it shouldn't be a bottleneck. I read that the P5E3 has some compatibility issues with RAM modules -- anyone have any experience with that? Also, I know Windows 32bit only recognizes 3.2gb; I am OK with using 64bit with this build.

LCD: ACER - P243WAid 24" -- Highest rating on NewEgg; reasonable price. Anyone have any qualms/comments/input? I want lots of LCD real estate, but I'm unwilling to make my apartment look like a Goldman Sachs trading floor (ie, I don't want numerous smaller LCDs dotting my desk). I am willing to pay extra for the sleek look of a big ol' 24" LCD, but not THAT much extra, so the $650 price tag is kind of scary.

DVD/BURNER: PX-810SA - I remember Plextor being "da bomb" in 1998, so...just doing my teenage fantasy thing.

Thanks again for all of your input. I really appreciate it.

 

[shadowthor]

q9550 is going to drop price soon, so i would wait, but since you can get the q9550, I would consider getting the Q9650 when it is released (during price drops).

 

[Noya]

Newegg ratings are like a joke. Read some of them. Half of them are made up and half are from idiots...maybe 2% know what they're talking about.

Not overclocking is idiotic and a waste of money. Higher-end hardware is meant for overclocking. Save some money and get the 9450 and a 120mm tower cooler.

$3,000 and you don't have a separate hard disk for the OS or even a basic OS/"scratch"/storage setup for editing?

I would wait for the 4870 X2 ($500'ish) at your monitors 1900x1200 res.

I would also go for an x38/x48 motherboard and ditch the DDR3.

I would also ditch the Antec PSU for a PC power and cooling.

Plextors are overpriced. My first CD-RW was a plextor in 1998 also (I was 15) and while it still worked when I sold the old Compaq I put it in, they're not worth the money IMO.

Blu-Ray drives are like $200, well worth it if you have a 1080p monitor. Grab a TB hard disk for them, download a ripping program and sign up for NetFlix. Delete movies when your done watching and you won't run out of space.

I would also jump to a 28" monitor at your budget and since you plan on watching movie on it.

 

[dirtmountain]

Since you mentioned quiet, here's a good site
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Well a few things. I'd go with a Corsair 750w or even the 1000w (if it's in budget) they're very quiet . A higher rated PSU will be quieter, noise usually ramps up under load and it will give you headroom if you decide to add that second 4870 or a 4870x2. Review of the Corsair 1000w
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=89
Since you aren't overclocking, but looking for quiet here's a good review for quiet coolers.
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
For quiet case fans these are good
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010110573+50002108+1372826143&name=Fluid+Dynami

 

[ExistNY]

Newegg ratings are like a joke. Read some of them. Half of them are made up and half are from idiots...maybe 2% know what they're talking about.

Not overclocking is idiotic and a waste of money. Higher-end hardware is meant for overclocking. Save some money and get the 9450 and a 120mm tower cooler.

$3,000 and you don't have a separate hard disk for the OS or even a basic OS/"scratch"/storage setup for editing?

I would wait for the 4870 X2 ($500'ish) at your monitors 1900x1200 res.

I would also go for an x38/x48 motherboard and ditch the DDR3.

I would also ditch the Antec PSU for a PC power and cooling.

Plextors are overpriced. My first CD-RW was a plextor in 1998 also (I was 15) and while it still worked when I sold the old Compaq I put it in, they're not worth the money IMO.

Blu-Ray drives are like $200, well worth it if you have a 1080p monitor. Grab a TB hard disk for them, download a ripping program and sign up for NetFlix. Delete movies when your done watching and you won't run out of space.

I would also jump to a 28" monitor at your budget and since you plan on watching movie on it.

Noya, thank you for the reply. First, not overclocking isn't "idiotic" for me since I am not a gamer. My objective isn't maximum performance; it's reliable, long-lasting performance. Overclocking speeds up your system at the expense of reliability ( there's no such thing as a free lunch). In any case, I really don't feel like adding more voltage to $3000 worth of computer parts -- I'm a pretty conservative builder.

Second, please educate me: what is a scratch drive? I do have two harddrives set up in Raid 0 in my configuration. What advantage does adding a scratch drive have? This isn't sarcasm -- I would like to know. Does you system run faster if you dedicate a HD to the OS and keep all your files in a separate drive?

Third, I know my timing sucks, but I'm of the philosophy that waiting just a little bit longer for the latest and greatest hardware means I never build a system. If I wait till august for the 4870x2, then why not keep waiting for Nehalem? In any case, do you really feel that a gigantic, hot-running, noisy as all hell, super beast of a card is right considering everything about my set up (notwithstanding the fact that the 4870 I selected IS a gigantic, hot-running, noisy card ... but surely it's less of each than the 4870x2 will be)? Remember, I am not a gamer and I'm not looking for maximum performance: just really good, reliable, somewhat quiet performance.

The ASUS P5E3 is an X48 board, so I guess we agree on something =).

Why would you ditch the antec? Is it not powerful enough? I thought Antec makes solid PSUs?

Where did you find a $200 blu-ray player? That's intriguing. Also, I forgot to mention, I have a 42" LCD in the same room as my PC, so I plan to use an HDMI to DVI setup -- thus, no need for anything bigger than a 24"

Thanks again for your input, I appreciate it.

 

[ExistNY]

I would also go for an x38/x48 motherboard and ditch the DDR3.

I've been wondering this for a while: is DDR3 a bad purchase because DDR3 ram itself is doomed or because current boards don't utilize it fully? I would be happy to save 100-200 bucks going with ddr2 ram, but I thought then I would have a bottleneck, running a q9550 on an X48 chipset. I guess the bottomline questions is does having a board that accepts ddr3 in anyway extend the useful life of the board? Thanks.