Some advice on my new gaming pc

[falxfalx]

Hi,

I'm assembling myself a new system. I already got the components that I think I want. I listed as much info as I could think of and I'm hoping on your opinions.

Kind Regards,
Falx

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week (the closer the better)

BUDGET RANGE: 1500€

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (i'm not a harcore gamer, but I do play quite some games...)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: zercom.eu, cool-prices.nl, komplett.nl, alternate.be (that's where I get my prices from, for convenience I added the links to newegg.com, since I'm not going to assume you all speak dutch) ;-)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Belgium

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No (not in the close future, maybe some day as an upgrade, but even then)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080, 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I assembled all the parts I want to buy and was hoping that you could give me some comments:
Here's a list of the parts:


CPU: Intel Core i7 860
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214&cm_re=i7_860-_-19-115-214-_-Product

CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER HYPER 212 PLUS
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=cooler master 212

Motherboard: Asus P7P55D-E PRO
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621&Tpk=p7p55d-e pro

RAM: 4096MB Corsair XMS3 DHX TW3X4G1333C9DHX
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145198&Tpk=TW3X4G1333C9DHX

GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X HD5870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102861&cm_re=HD5870-_-14-102-861-_-Product

PSU: Corsair HX650W
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012&Tpk=hx650

Optical drive: Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE/RW22xSATA 6xDVD/Pack 1PK
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187&Tpk=SH-S223B

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS (2 times, no RAID)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284&Tpk=wd1001fals

HDD (near future): Seagate Barracuda XT (2TB en SATA-III 6Gb/s)
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506&Tpk=barracuda xt

Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001&Tpk=800d

So like I said, I get my prices from stores closer to my home. But it all totals at around 1500€ max (= 2208$)

What do you think? Any components you have a bad experience with, any tips you have. I'ld be very interested in listening to your comments!

edit: recoded the links, something went wrong, all ok now

 

[falxfalx]

My bad, I used the WYSIWYG - "url-button", I guess one should never trust a button and always do it the old fashion way all fixed now

 

[MadAdmiral]

Couple of suggestions.

That case is way too expensive. I suggest looking at the HAF 932. It's a full tower, and one of the best available. Another option would be the HAF 922. It's listed as a mid tower, but its only slightly smaller than the 932.

Ditch the WD HDD and find some Samsung Spinpoint F3s. These are some of the fastest (due to the 500 GB platters) and cheapest drives out. They are the best value out there. Or since you're buying 2, get the WD 2 TB. It's the only WD to use 500 GB platters.

Switch the RAM for these: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 CAS Latency 7. They'll be just as fast and 40% cheaper.

 

[falxfalx]

Hi MadAdmiral,

First of all, thanks a lot for the advice.
I have a few questions though:
I heard that the samsung spinpoints produce quite some sound? (I might be wrong though). Also, could you briefly explain what the 500 GB "platters" are, that you are refering to?
And then there's the RAM, I personally chose corsair, because it has the name to be fast. I don't know the G.SKILL ram, but I'll definitly take a look at them now!

Thanks for the tips, I'm already searching for more info!

 

[MadAdmiral]

The platters are the size of the actual disk in the drive. So the larger they are, the fewer heads required to be moving and the faster the data can be found. Basically, it's the amount of data stored in the same physical space. I don't think there's more noise. That could be from the F1, the last version of the Samsung drives.

Here are a couple of comparision charts on noise. Just filter it down to the ones you want to look at.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/Sound-Level,1032.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/Sound-Level,1033.html

Corsair is a good brand, but they know it and charge a HUGE premium for their RAM, despite performing the same as other brands. G.Skill is another big player in memory, and has a good reputation for quality and price.

 

[banthracis]

Go with Mad's RAM and HD suggestions. I assume you want the 2TB drive for media storage?

If that's the case then no need for an expensive high speed HD. Get a cheaper, more eco friendly 1.5TB Caviar Green. $109.99 which is ~$0.07 per GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136351&cm_re=caviar_green-_-22-136-351-_-Product


Also, I usually don't comment much on case choices, but that one your picked is really an overpriced.

Go with the HAF line or if you wanna premium aluminum case

CM Stacker $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119122

or TT Armor + $187.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133056

 

[falxfalx]

Nice, thank you both!
@MadAdmiral
So if I go for the G.Skill memory. Shouldn't I get another model than the ECO? I saw RipJaw for instance, and some other models.. Should I try to get CL7-CL8 or is CL9 still enough, so that I will never notice the difference?

@banthracis
Good suggestion to go for a more eco friendly drive for media storage and take the samsung F3 for high-speed drive.
I took the case; because I like the look of it and the ease of the cable management; It also got very good comments. I'm also buying a case with the idea of keeping it whenever I buy my next pc(parts) in the future.
But now that I took a look at the HAF case, I can see that it is somewhat overpriced. Though I still like the structure of the 800D along with the cooling capabilities (but then again the HAF has some great cooling too).
I'm going to take a look at those other 2 cases you mentioned.

 

[banthracis]

It's nice to wanna keep the case, but honestly, case tech changes a lot in a few years time. 3 years ago, PSU were top mounted, fans were 80mm on average, and HD were oriented pointed towards the front of the case. Since then placing PSU on bottom, and using larger fans has cut down on heat and noise, while changin orientation of HD has cut down on cable clutter.

My point is that tech moves fast, and cases become obsolete as fast as the other components.

The Eco series is basically Ripjaws running at a lower voltage. You're not gonna see any performance drop. As a general rule tighter timings is better. It makes a bigger diff in AMD systems, but honestly, the performance difference from 9-9-9-24 DDR3 1066 to 7-7-7-21 DDR3 1600 is pretty much unnoticeable unless you're runnign benchmarks.

 

[falxfalx]

My point is that tech moves fast, and cases become obsolete as fast as the other components.

I get your point, and you are right.

The Eco series is basically Ripjaws running at a lower voltage. You're not gonna see any performance drop. As a general rule tighter timings is better. It makes a bigger diff in AMD systems, but honestly, the performance difference from 9-9-9-24 DDR3 1066 to 7-7-7-21 DDR3 1600 is pretty much unnoticeable unless you're runnign benchmarks.

Ok thanks. So then the 1066 and 1600 is just refering to the clockspeed at which data is transferred right? So rule of thumb the lower the x-x-x-x timings the better and the higher (i.e. 1333 in my case) the speed the better (given that it stays compatible with my motherboard of choice)?

 

[1898]

Case: The SILVERSTONE RAVEN RV02 might be something for you.

The Eco series is basically Ripjaws running at a lower voltage. You're not gonna see any performance drop. As a general rule tighter timings is better. It makes a bigger diff in AMD systems, but honestly, the performance difference from 9-9-9-24 DDR3 1066 to 7-7-7-21 DDR3 1600 is pretty much unnoticeable unless you're runnign benchmarks.

I slightly disagree. The difference is not huge and sometimes almost nonexistent but especially in games you will notice it.

 

[falxfalx]

So in your opinion then 1898. For gaming which ram would be the better of the two?

 

[banthracis]

Um obviously take the G SKills ones. Same speed, tighter timings and $50 cheaper than the Corsair ones...

The only potential for debate is whether its worth it to go for the 9-9-9-24 timing 1600 G skills instead of the 7-7-7-21 1333 ones or shell out a bit extra for 7-8-7-22 ones.

Either way, my point is that if you're gonna put $50 extra into your system, you'll get a bigger performance increase by spending more on the GPU or processor rather than RAM.

 

[1898]

If you are willing to spend $10 more for approx 7? fps more go with DDR3 1600. Otherwise go for DDR3 1333 with low timings.

 

[falxfalx]

But I think my motherboard only supports DDR3 1333.
So if I'm right, purely theoretically speaking: 7-7-7-21 1333 is better than 7-8-7-22 1333?

And I do get your point banthracis, with better of the two, I ment of these two: 9-9-9-24 DDR3 1066 or 7-7-7-21 DDR3 1600

 

[banthracis]

lol ok lemme just end this confusion and say get

G SKill Ripjaw DDR3 1333 7-7-7-21 @ 1.5v $99.99 free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1680231318&cm_re=gskill_eco-_-20-231-318-_-Product


these are tried and true, 1.5v to avoid any potential issue in installation, tight timings, and 1333 speed for ease of OCing (it matches i5 FSB speed)

Technically all motherboards will work fine with ddr3 1600, it's just not officially supported so if something goes wrong the MOBO manufacturer can get out easy by saying its not supported, and the RAM manufacturer can get out easy by saying get a DDR3 1600 supported MOBO.

 

[falxfalx]

Ok thanks for the help, all of you, I appreciate it!