System From Scratch

[Multiplicity]

All right. It has been a long while for me since I built up a system straight from scratch. My old desktop is... well... old and I am going to build up a system straight from scratch. I could use some advice, if any of my choices are not totally sound. As for budget, I can afford to be a bit pricey as I do want a system that will last me for a while. This whole setup, including the shipping, totals a tad over $2,000 (a bit under if I get in all the mail-in-rebates). There are a few things that I did not include, and does not matter too much. Anyway, here goes:

Case: NZXT Guardian 921 CS-NT-GD921-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146050

Motherboard: EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

GPU: EVGA 896-P3-1267-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130400

PSU: ZALMAN ZM750-HP 750W Continuous @ 45°C (Maximum Continuous Peak: 850W) ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Modular LED Heatpipe-Cooled SLI P - Retail $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379006

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Mem: G.SKILL 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-3GBNQ - Retail $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231224

HD: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A35155) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145167

Monitor: Acer H213H bmid Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 LCD Monitor - Retail $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009157

Mouse:RAZER Lachesis RZ01-00170100-R3M1 Banshee Blue 9 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser Gaming Mouse - Retail $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153017

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Retail $134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102019

Speakers:Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail $76.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006

 

[aford10]

If you have the $$, you should really consider getting the 10k RPM Western Digital raptor or velociraptor hard drives. I have the 150GB raptor X, it has much improved performance over the 7500 drives. You can get them on newegg.com for about $1 per Gb.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The Velociraptor would offer a speed increase, but avoid the old Raptors (like the Raptor X mentioned above). The current 640GB 7200RPM drives are just as fast as the old Raptors due to very high data density. It's also a good idea to avoid Hitachi drives. You're best off sticking with Western Digital or Seagate. This Western Digital drive is only $10 more than the one on the original build and would be worth every penny.

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 $119.99

You could drop the sound card initially and try the 8-channel onboard sound. You can always add a sound card later if you need to.

 

[Multiplicity]

Hm, I have been considering the Velociraptor for the past day or so since I've read others recommend it. The price of the 300 gig one would bring me over the 2 grand mark I want to spend. However, since my father is supposed to ship my old desktop to where I live, I could use the X-Fi Professional board that is in it and opt not to buy a sound card from NewEgg. I can use the onboard sound for now until then. If I opt not to use the Velociraptor, I'll definitely will use that WD Caviar since it is actually the same price ($10 off) as the Hitachi is. I also modified my original build a little bit to have the 950W Coolmax power supply since NewEgg is giving a very good deal for $119 and the reviews are largely positive for that power supply. It also has more PCI-E connectors too.

 

[lunyone]

Here's what I'd consider:
* 640 gb WD AAKS HD would be a good fit for speed and cost!!
* Your PSU is way overkill for your build, but if you want to keep your options open for possible upgrades, I'd consider the PCP&C 750w PSU for less $:
$110 - $40 MIR = $70!! Has 60A on the single 12v rail and comes with 2 x 6 pin and 2 x 6 + 2pin PCI-e power connectors, so you'll be able to hook up any SLI/Xfire GPU setup if you so desire!!
PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
* With the PSU savings I'd consider getting 6 gb's of DDR3, this will make you more future proof. Or you can just hold onto the savings on the PSU and use it for upgrading the GPU.
* I'd consider the 4850x2/4870 1gb/gtx 280 GPU's if you want a bit more GPU power. The 4870 1gb is neck and neck with the gtx 260 216 core, so it'll depend on what games you play if you get better performance or not.

 

[Multiplicity]

If I switched to the 640 WD HD, and used the 750 Watt PSU, it'd definitely lets me put more money into a GTX 280 card and I'd go with upgrading my GPU over getting more memory at this point in time. However, the PSU you mentioned is no modular, and I have taking a liking of a modular design PSU. While my current build may not be power intensive, I was trying to make a build to make way for upgrading later (going dual SLI, etc.). So I am thinking I'd stick to the 950W since it is also a good deal and is modular in design.

Hm, guess this raises the question. Is going with this 640 hard drive and going to the 750 Watt PSU (maybe I can find a cheap 750 Watt modular one) to give me more budge to get a GTX 280 better than going with the Velociraptor and going with the GTX 260?

 

[Multiplicity]

Well, I decided to go on and purchase my parts. I took the suggestions into consideration. I opted with the PC Power and Cooling PSU as I did like the 12v @ 60A pretty sweet and has plenty of PCI-e connectors. Price is hard to argue with too. I also got the 640 gig WD hard drive since it seemed to have the best value for its performance. I also did not get a sound card as I can simply take what I have in my old computer since it is relatively new still. Finally, I opted with getting the GTX 280. I had to go with CORSAIR for my memory since the G.Skill went out of stock (grr) with the 3 gig sets of DD3(1600). It was only five bucks more, so I decided to go with it instead of waiting.

I also bought my PC monitor from Amazon.com since they charged only 15 bucks to ship it to my APO address. NewEgg wanted to charge like... 50 just for the monitor alone. Crazy, but they don't ship 19" monitors or larger to APO addresses, anyway.

I'd like to thank you three for helping out giving me suggestions. They've helped.

 

[lunyone]

Glad I could help. Let us know how the build goes!

 

[Multiplicity]

I have an update.

Over the course of the last several days, I have been getting the occasional package. Boy, it's tough to stare at most of my hardware without a case, memory, and an operating system still en route. Anyway, I put all the hardware into the case, hooked up all the cables, and decided to boot it up to see if I can get it to boot properly. It did all that since it's whining that it doesn't have an OS, obviously . I downloaded some version of Linux called Fedora and put it on my rig. It is working, so I must have done most of the setup correctly.

I've run into a bit of a snafu though. The DVD+RW drive is an old fashioned IDE drive instead of a SATA. I totally did not pay attention to that. Unfortunately for an EVGA X58 board, squeezing a GTX 280 onto the first PCIe slot with the IDE cable port right on the end of the motherboard does not work so well without space problems. Soo, I had to use the second PCIe port (middle one) for the time being. Definitely going to have to replace the DVD drive with a SATA version since the IDE cable is way too clunky and gets in the way of my 280.

So, any recommendations on a decent DVD+RW SATA drive? Don't need Blu-Ray since my laptop already has one equipped. Not sure if I want to return the drive to NewEgg to get another one because I am APO so I don't want to wait without a DVD drive available.

Question two... what is the best way of making the cables all nice and neat? My case is a cluster... you know what.... of cables all over and kind of unsure how to get them to look neat and orderly. The unused cables I already bundled together and used the zip tie thing that was originally around the PSU's connectors and stuffed that part away.

 

[foolycooly]

If you don't mind lightscribe (which everyone seems to hate for some reason):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

If you don't want lightscribe, this seems to be the most popular model:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263

 

[Multiplicity]

Thanks. I will take those products into consideration.

Hm, I might have encountered another issue here. I am looking at my BIOS screen right now. Under PC Health Status, the CPU temp is reading a steady 83-84 degrees Celsius. From doing a few Google searches, this does not seem to fall under the normal range of temperature for an i7 while idling. Can someone give me advice here? Yes, I am using the stock heatsink/fan, but I had no intention of overclocking right away, so I did not opt for an after market cooler right away.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Those temps are too high! You need to check to ensure all four pins are FULLY seated. Based on those temps, the CPU cooler isn't installed correctly. That CPU shouldn't even hit those temps at full load.

 

[Multiplicity]

Nevermind my aforementioned problem in last post. I double checked the push pins holding the heat sink down. Now it is reading 46.5 degrees Celsius.

 

[Multiplicity]

It feels like it has been too long since I built my last PC... Good amount of things have changed since then. *Mutters about neverending evolving technology.*

 

[Multiplicity]

Update: Well, my sound system is defective. Won't even turn on, so I have to RMA it back to NewEgg (don't have access to a printer here at home, so I'll have to ship it back next week).

Second, the onboard NIC's do not work properly. I keep getting an unrecognizable network problem and I tried to use a lot of solutions people gave on the eVGA forums and elsewhere. So I am possibly going to have to get a NIC card from a local store. This has been frustrating not being able to get my new desktop on the Net.

 

[kubes]

Did you try installing the drivers that came with the board? Ussualy those can get it at least on the net. also if your behind some sort of a firewall plug directly into the cable modem instead of the router. That atleast would eliminate the router being the problem.

another way to test to see if you're getting internet connection is to go to c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe and type in: ipconfig /all This should tell you if you have an ip address or not.

46.5 degrees isn't to hot, but its not to cold either. Might want to keep a close eye on this as you start to strain your pc. Might need to completely take the heat sink off apply new thermal greese and reseat the sink. If at any times your above 70 degrees you should have a red flag going off.

 

[Multiplicity]

I tried a lot of suggestions from people of other forums, including the latest and greatest drivers. I am going to try one more suggestion, using Ubuntu 8.10 640bit since the person suggesting it seems to swear that it'll confirm if it is a hardware issue. I am not too hopeful it'll solve things, but it's worth a try anyway.

I'm aware that the temp I have now on my CPU is not the best since I am using the stock heatsink and fan (which everybody attests is a pile of steaming cow pie). Been testing some games on it (Fallout 3, The Witcher, and Brothers in Arms), and the max temp it reached so far is 66 Celsius. Eventually, I will be grabbing an after market cooler in a month or so.