Build for $1000 Canadian

[tokogaru]

Hey, so how does this system look? It'll be mostly for gaming, and programming. I'm fond of strategy games, like Dawn of War 2, Empire Total War and can't wait for SC2.

The following links are to NCIX.com:

Samsung SH-S223F/BEBS 22X Speed Plus Black SATA DVD Writer OEM
Antec Three Hundred
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H AMD790GX ATX
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 260 Core 216 55NM 576MHZ 896MB
OCZ FATAL1TY 550W ATX12V
OCZ Gold XTC OCZ2G10664GK 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-6-6-18
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition
Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283

It comes to $1050 CAD on NCIX.com if I buy all the parts as is, and after some price matching i got it down to $925. Not sure how good they are on price matching, since I've never bought anything from them before.

Will all these parts be compatible?
Anything I should change?
Also, have Blizzard games in the past run better on ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards?
And what kind of thermal paste should i get for the CPU fan?

 

[sassan]

Hey, so how does this system look? It'll be mostly for gaming, and programming. I'm fond of strategy games, like Dawn of War 2, Empire Total War and can't wait for SC2.

The following links are to NCIX.com:

Samsung SH-S223F/BEBS 22X Speed Plus Black SATA DVD Writer OEM
Antec Three Hundred
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H AMD790GX ATX
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 260 Core 216 55NM 576MHZ 896MB
OCZ FATAL1TY 550W ATX12V
OCZ Gold XTC OCZ2G10664GK 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-6-6-18
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition
Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283

It comes to $1050 CAD on NCIX.com if I buy all the parts as is, and after some price matching i got it down to $925. Not sure how good they are on price matching, since I've never bought anything from them before.

Will all these parts be compatible?
Anything I should change?
Also, have Blizzard games in the past run better on ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards?
And what kind of thermal paste should i get for the CPU fan?

Hello,

Change the Heatsink to this one http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=35847&vpn=SCMG-2000&manufacture=Scythe get a price match and you should get it cheaper.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14110AC4014&vpn=SCMG-2000&manufacture=SCYTHE here we go , wow that's a good price.

P.S. use www.shopbot.ca for lower prices.

Price matching is done as long as the price is in Canadian and that the website is varified by Visa. Product must be in stock to.

That power supply might cause problem get this one instead

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX
http://www.shopbot.ca/default.asp?orderby=p&p1=&p2=&kw=CORSAIR+CMPSU-750TX&position=search

Also blizzard games should run good on both so you will get similar results. Since your system is AMD you might want to do crossfire in the future if so get ati card.

For the cpu thermal paste get the Arctic Silver 5 or the Arctic Cooling MX-2 (this one is not electrically conductive)

Also change your DVD drive to http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12600DR0235&vpn=GH22NS30%20BLACK&manufacture=LG (PM)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=32234&vpn=GH22NS30%20BLACK&manufacture=LG%20Electronics#CustomerReviews

Overall it's a good build, and now since you have saved a bit get the Cooler master 690 but the antec 300 is great if you can get it around 60 dollars or so.

 

[tokogaru]

I based my build off of xthekidx's:

Which has a power supply of 550. Why go 750, would that not just be power not being utilized?

 

[sassan]

You chose the OCZ, which is not preferred for power supply.

He chose Corsair which is preferred

Seasonic, Corsair and PC Cooling and silent power and Silverstone are the best to get.

Go for either 750W Corsair or the 650W version. You will have room for upgradibility as well as room to overclock. Better to be safe

 

[aevm]

Good list, in general, except the PSU and GPU. Mind you, both are good products, just not a great match for the rest.

The GTX 260 GPU is made by nVidia. Wrong choice on a Crossfire motherboard. It's a good GPU, but it won't allow you to add a second one later. If you're interested in that, switch to HD 4870 and upgrade the PSU to Corsair 650TX.

The OCZ 550W is underpowered for the GTX 260 IMO (it has 37A combined on the 12V circuit, which barely matches eVGA's minimum recommendations of 36A and leaves no room for overclocking CPU or GPU or for adding TV tuners or extra hard drives or sound card or whatever). Upgrade it to Corsair 650TX.

Blizzard's games prefer ATI big time. I used to play Diablo 2 for years on an ATI card (I spent $100 on it in 2001), and it was acceptable. Then I spent $100 on an nVidia card, 3 years later, and expected a huge upgrade. Guess what, it sucked and I had to return to the ATI. Also, Diablo 3 will use Havok physics (supported by HD 4870 and later ATI cards). The GTX 260 and later nVidia cards support a competing standard called PhysX.

Of course, nVidia's cards shine in some games too. If you're interested in Crysis for example the GTX 260 will be better.

 

[tokogaru]

Okay, So I'll change the GPU to a Radeon 4870 1 Gig, and the PSU to Corsair 650TX.

Is there any significant differences between the Dark Knight and the Scythe, besides the price tag?

 

[sassan]

Your temps will be lower then the Dark Knight and better upgradibility and look at that price.

Only drawback is if your like me and hate noise during load it might be a bit noisy. But if your looking for price/performance the mugen 2 will do wonders for you.

I just realised your Antec 300 might not be able to fit the mugen 2, the mugen 2 is huuuuge. So If your planning on getting it you might want to do a research on that before you get it.

 

[tokogaru]

I guess how much noise can I expect? And is it only at startup?

And will the Dark Knight fit in the Antec 300?

 

[tokogaru]

How does this PSU stack up to the Corsair 650?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010

Its on Proximons list of recomended parts.

 

[sassan]

Here is some reviews for the mugen 2

http://www.ocaholic.ch/xoops/html/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=270&page=5 (noise level)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=211739&highlight=mugen (The temps are very close to the true which costs 40 or so dollars more)

http://www.pc-experience.de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=28437

If you want to spend a bit more go for the Noctua http://ncix.com/products/?sku=27130&vpn=NH-U12P&manufacture=Noctua it's silent during load

 

[aevm]

You could get the Antec 300 and a HDT-S1283. That combination definitely fits well together. The HDT-S1283 is like the Dark Knight, but usually cheaper because it doesn't include a LGA1366 bracket.

You shouldn't worry about noise with that setup IMO. Benchmarks show the 650TX under 40 dB and the HD 4870 under 52 dB. For example my setup (PC Power & Cooling 750W, 8800GTX) is rated at 44 A and 62 A respectively, i.e. worse than yours, and still I have no complaints. These are load numbers, you know, and at those times you have a game making noise anyway. Under idle conditions like surfing or watching movies you shouldn't hear anything, except maybe the airflow from the case fans.

 

[tokogaru]

I guess it comes down to if it fits. Is there any way to check that?

 

[tokogaru]

Do I need the LGA1366 bracket?

 

[sassan]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/2369-ocz-stealthxstream-600w-power-supply-review.html Here is the review for that one.

I would still go for the Corsair 650W if I were you, you get 5year warranty.

You don't need the 1366 bracket that's only for the i7 processors.

 

[aevm]

How does this PSU stack up to the Corsair 650?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010

Its on Proximons list of recomended parts.

It's a decent PSU (I'd say third quality). That's not an insult, mind you, it's just that there's a list somewhere that ranks PSUs and that's where the StealthXstream ended up. It's good, just not as good as those in the second tier. The 650TX is in the first tier.

Also, the StealthXstream has 44A, which is enough for one HD 4870 but really pushing it for two. The 650TX at 52A is a better fit for two of those cards.

Both PSUs are quiet. The StealthXstream has a blue light (which unfortunately can't be turned off).

 

[Guest]

no thats for i7

 

[aevm]

I guess it comes down to if it fits. Is there any way to check that?

Yeah. Here's a review from Newegg.com, about the Antec 300:

Pros: The simple design of this case makes for an easy and quick build! The vacant area to stuff excess cabling is great. Very easy access to clean the front dust filter screen. Used Scythe (780rpm) fans up front and an Antec Tri-Flow on the side-panel. Very quiet, even without soundproofing. The low-level LEDs on the bezel are perfect with no annoying glare. This is a perfect case for a builder on a budget, yet wants a strong chassis with good air flow. Xigmatek S1283 fits with no problems. I'm glad it came without a PSU, and the two rear Antec Tri-Flows are a nice touch. I like the numerous hard drive bays. I used up my smaller drives with room-to-spare!

 

[tokogaru]

It's a decent PSU (I'd say third quality). That's not an insult, mind you, it's just that there's a list somewhere that ranks PSUs and that's where the StealthXstream ended up. It's good, just not as good as those in the second tier. The 650TX is in the first tier.

Also, the StealthXstream has 44A, which is enough for one HD 4870 but really pushing it for two. The 650TX at 52A is a better fit for two of those cards.

Both PSUs are quiet. The StealthXstream has a blue light (which unfortunately can't be turned off).

I was wondering if the 650TX can even support two Radeon 4870 in crossfire? Does it have the required PCI-E power cables for two?