Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > DCC/Blu-Ray/Gaming System = Around $2,000 - Need suggestions

DCC/Blu-Ray/Gaming System = Around $2,000 - Need suggestions

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - DCC/Blu-Ray/Gaming System = Around $2,000 - Need suggestions

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
ecosvaldo   09-01-2009 at 03:53:20 PM

UPDATE (September 8, 2009) - Decided to go with an EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI motherboard and 2 OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 memory kit.



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Between now and September 30, 2009

BUDGET RANGE: Around $2,000 (CPU, computer case and heatsink not included with budget)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Digital Content Creation (2D and 3D Creation) / Watching Blu-Ray / Gaming once in a while

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System (already own from old setup), Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz Quad-Core Processor w/ D0 Stepping (already purchased from Microcenter for $199), COOLER MASTER HAF 922 Black ATX Mid Tower Case (already purchased from Newegg.com for $99), Thermalright TRUE Black 120 Rev.C CPU Cooler (already purchased from HeatsinkFactory.com for $64.99)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com, ZipZoomFly.com, Buy.com, Microcenter.com (have a store by me), Frys.com (have a store by me)

PARTS PREFERENCES: Only name brand products like Corsair (power supply), Western Digital/Seagate (hard drive), etc.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Must have at least 12GB of RAM, 1 hard drive for OS and programs, 1 to 2 hard drives for data (maybe in a raid configuration), possibly 1 hard drive for scratch disk (for Photoshop), like to have a quiet PC (replace all fans in computer case and get two quiet fans for CPU heatsink in push-pull method), like to get the best thermal paste compound for my CPU



Back in 2005, I built my first PC with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz Socket 939 processor, OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 SDRAM, 1 80GB hard drive for OS and programs, 1 320GB hard drive for data, a DVD-ROM drive, a DVD burner, and Windows XP Professional 32-Bit. And it's still going strong! Now four years later, I'm looking to upgrade big time! I'm slowly buying the parts for my computer and here's what I came up with for part of my shopping list:


EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ($289.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

(2) OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Low Voltage Triple Channel Memory Kit - Retail ($331.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W Modular Power Supply - Retail ($189.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

LG Black 8X BD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Reader & DVD±R Burner - Retail ($124.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162

(8) Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan - Retail ($71.92) - To be used as CPU fans for the heatsink and Case fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185058

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM ($109.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM ($49.99) - Boot Drive for OS and Programs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Retail ($89.99) - Data Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM ($6.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

TOTAL - $1,265.83



Any suggestions for the rest of the parts would be appreciated. Thanks!


Message edited by ecosvaldo on 09-08-2009 at 06:56:29 PM
Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
evongugg   09-01-2009 at 04:32:21 PM
- 0 +

Looks good. What is your video card?

You probably want 4-pin PWM fans, where possible. Especially for the heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185049

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
ecosvaldo   09-01-2009 at 05:12:58 PM
- 0 +

evongugg wrote :

Looks good. What is your video card?

You probably want 4-pin PWM fans, where possible. Especially for the heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185049



I'm waiting until ATI releases the new Radeon HD 5870 and 5870 X2 this month.

And as for that fan you found on Newegg, wouldn't the Scythe S-FLEX (Model SFF21F) or the one I chose (Scythe "Slipstream" ) the better option? And don't all case fans have a 3-pin power connector which include a 4-pin adaptor?

Reply to ecosvaldo
Transmaniacon   09-01-2009 at 05:36:47 PM
- 0 +

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

These new HDD are great, fastest 7200 drive out there, and they are much quieter than the WD HDD you selected.

I would suggest using these instead.


Message edited by Transmaniacon on 09-01-2009 at 05:37:25 PM
Reply to Transmaniacon
ecosvaldo   09-02-2009 at 02:37:37 PM
- 0 +

Another thing that caught my eye for motherboards is this EVGA one:

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ($299.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

Between this and the ASUS one I originally chose, do you think I should go for the EVGA one? I want as much computing power as possible when I create digital content (2D and 3D). Also, should I upgrade my power supply to 1,000 Watts since I'm planning to go with an SLI/Crossfire configuration later on? If so, I want it to be modular.

BTW, thanks Transmaniacon for pointing those hard drives out. I want it to be as fast as possible.


Message edited by ecosvaldo on 09-02-2009 at 02:40:02 PM
Reply to ecosvaldo
ecosvaldo   09-02-2009 at 06:56:26 PM
- 0 +

Which motherboard is better of the two? ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 or EVGA E758-A1 X58?

Reply to ecosvaldo
ecosvaldo   09-03-2009 at 01:58:34 PM
- 0 +

Anyone? ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 or EVGA E758-A1 X58?

Reply to ecosvaldo
ecosvaldo   09-08-2009 at 03:22:31 PM
- 0 +

I decided to go with an EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI motherboard and 2 OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 low voltage memory kit (updated my first post with links).

Does anyone else have any suggestions?


Message edited by ecosvaldo on 09-08-2009 at 06:57:39 PM
Reply to ecosvaldo
ecosvaldo   09-10-2009 at 03:38:40 PM
- 0 +

Are you kidding me? There's no one here who can provide me with suggestions or any help with selecting parts besides Transmaniacon and evongugg?

Reply to ecosvaldo
Transmaniacon   09-10-2009 at 04:01:18 PM
- 0 +

Both motherboards are solid choices, the Rampage is going to be more desirable for over clocking, but unless you are going for some extreme OC, its not worth the additional cost.

I would stick with the EVGA mobo you picked out.

Something you could consider is getting 2 of those 1TB Samsung F3 for Raid 1, if you do a lot of design work, it might be worthwhile to have a redundant system in case of a drive failure.

That 850W Corsair PSU is pretty powerful, and will run just about anything you throw at it. If you want to be able to run the top of the line GPU in Crossfire/SLI, and since you have the budget, you could go with the Corsair 1000HX. Its will handle whatever you throw at it, and its modular.

For thermal compound, I remember reading somewhere the Arctic Silver MX-2 compound performed better than the 5, but then again, unless your striving for record OC.

Reply to Transmaniacon
ecosvaldo   09-11-2009 at 03:36:53 PM
- 0 +

Hey Transmaniacon. Will these DDR3 memory sticks from Corsair work with the EVGA motherboard?

(2) CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Triple Channel Memory Kit - Retail ($279.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222

The reason I ask this is because the OCZ one I wanted to go with are out of stock on Newegg.

Reply to ecosvaldo
Transmaniacon   09-11-2009 at 03:58:07 PM
- 0 +

Yea the Corsair RAM will work fine with that motherboard.

Reply to Transmaniacon
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > DCC/Blu-Ray/Gaming System = Around $2,000 - Need suggestions
Go to:

There are 948 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.609 seconds
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?