My next system build, could use some feedback..

[wirelessfender]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11351891

Going to be using windows 7, and I plan on adding a blue ray burner and more hard drives to the raid 5 config in the future, and possibly another 5870 when it comes time to upgrade the graphics. But for now this is what I picked out as my next system build. I plan on playing a lot of different games such as Crysis, MW2, LFD2, Mass Effect 2.. and whatever.. but I'm really hoping this system will shine for crysis. I plan on Overclocking the CPU to around 3.8-4.0+ ghz. Probably will Overclock the GPU as well..

Give me your feedback!

Thanks,

-Anthony

 

[MadAdmiral]

Might want to refer to the link in my signature. We need at least a budget.

HDD: Ditch WD entirely. Right now, the Samsung Spinpoint F3 is cheaper, faster, and just plain better.

PSU: 850W is a little high, even for Crossfire/SLI. I suggest the 750W version, and just get the regular one, not the modular. The bottom mounted case eliminates the need for a modular PSU, as all the excess cords are laying on the bottom of the case.

Cooling: I know it's really good, but that HSF is really expensive. A Coolermaster Hyper 212 is $30, and is only about 2 degrees warmer.

Case: I like Antec, but the HAF 922 is only $80 right now. I don't see the reason for either the 900 or 1200. The HAF is big enough, and lots cheaper.

Mobo: I don't really like that board, as the USB 3/SATA III boards are in that range. I like to recommend the Asus P6X56D Premium.

RAM: You need triple channel RAM, not 2 dual channels. Here's my favorite set: G.Skill PI 3x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $165.

 

[mavanhel]

Well, there's a few problems here. First off, refer to the link in my signature so that we can better help you. We definitely need to know your budget for this system.

As for your parts: 1. Do not go with the Caviar Green as a your boot drive. It quite slow and you won't see the response that you'd like from it. I'd suggest the Samsung F3 Spinpoint (either 500GB or 1TB flavour).

2. Your RAM is dual channel. The x58 platform takes triple channel ram, so you should replace that. (Try to aim for something with CL = 7).

3. The 850W PSU is overkill unless you plan on Xfire in the future (which it looks like you do with that mobo).

4. That HSF is quite expensive. For half the price you can get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 and it's a very good cooler.

Just one other thing (that is only my personal preference): I don't much care for wireless mice as the reaction time is (albeit by a nearly insignificant amount) slightly lower than a wired mouse. I am a big fan of the Logitech MX518, but like I said, it's more personal preference.

 

[wirelessfender]

Thank you for the feedback, I'm going to look into all these suggestions. As for the Budget, the total for everything I picked out already is pretty much it. estimated $2,250.

I appreciate the triple channel memory suggestion, That didn't even cross my mind. I think I just followed one of toms hardwares system builds with that memory, I'll have to look again maybe the motherboard they used didn't support it...

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Putting anything other than the CP-850 in that box (Antec 1200 is CPX Form Factor) is a crime.....CP-850 is $45 cheaper, equal / better performance and much quieter than the Corsair HX-850.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

The Antec CP-850 is a superlative power supply by almost any standard. Its electrical performance is up at the level of its more expensive brethren, the Signature 650 and 850, and Seasonic's flagship, the M12D-850: Voltage regulation is extremely tight for all the lines at all loads, and the ripple noise is amazingly low.

The noise performance is excellent, with the <400W performance matching or bettering virtually every PSU tested thus far. Above 500W load in our heat box, the noise level goes over 40 dBA@1m, or about the norm for PSUs rated this high. It has the virtue keeping itself extremely cool, however, cooler than any other PSU we've tested at such high loads. Our atypical spot check with a room ambient thermal test showed the CP-850 would reach only 24 dBA@1m at 700W load in a 27°C working environment. This is ridiculously quiet for such high power output.

For the quiet-seeking computer gaming enthusiast, the CP-850 (along with any of the three compatible cases) is something of a godsend. Fantastically stable power, super low noise at any power load, long expected reliability due to excellent cooling, modular cabling, and all at a price that's no higher than many high end 6~700W models.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

Performance (40% of the final score) - okay. Let's figure this out here. On second thought, what's to figure out? We have an Antec 850W that performs better than a Signature that appears to cost less than a Signature. We have a unit that was promised to do 80 Plus standard, but ended up doing Bronze. No, the unit didn't quite match the Signature in terms of voltage stability, but it came real close. And to be honest, the differences in voltage readings were so small you could put them down to connector resistance. And since the ripple and noise suppression more than made up for the slightly less stable voltages... 10.

If the CPX form factor catches on, the CP-850 will be flat out untouchable. It is completely unmatched by any ATX unit on the market I can think of. You'd have to spend twice as much as this thing costs to find the next best thing, performance wise. I'd like to see some better capacitors in there, but you just can't fault the CP-850's performance here.

I don't know how Antec managed something this awesome for such a low price, but they must really want the CPX form factor taking off if this is the performance we're getting.

The Magahalems comes with thermal compound.....not the best, but neither is AS5. The Megahalems is a kick butt cooler......using one in a 1200 myself (well my con is). Looks like you need some fans for that CPU HS tho.....could try one of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214001&

But gonna want a PWM fan if you want to gang them on the MoBo CPU fan header.

As for the HD, get any 500 GB per platter drive. WD's 2 TB model has 500 GB platetrs but otherwise your limited to the Seagate 7200.12 and SPinpoibt F3. Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns.

The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum) and pick out which one performs best for your intended use:

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)

 

[wirelessfender]

Thank you JackNaylorPE! That information was extremely helpful! I'll definitely be using that power supply instead, and that fan you linked looks really good too! 67cfm at 18db is great!

 

[coldsleep]

Could you explain what you intend to use RAID 5 for?

Quick breakdown of RAID usage by home users:
RAID 0 - fast boot drives, a/v editing space, slight boost to gaming
RAID 1 - data redundancy for storage, minor boost for load times
RAID 5 - best for storage only, likely gaming slowdown

 

[MadAdmiral]

RAID 5 is a way to protect against 1 drive failing. Basically, it puts 2 drives in RAID 0, and then uses the third to protect from 1 drive failing. It allows a user to continue operating as if 1 drive hadn't been lost (with lower performance). The failed drive can then be replaced and rebuilt, restoring all of the data and performance.

Or so I understand...

 

[coldsleep]

This wikipedia article does a good job of describing how RAID 5 works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_5#RAID_5 -- It's similar to RAID 0, but all 3 (or more) disks are used to store data, with calculated parity data (WARNING: uses CPU cycles on not-gaming-stuff) placed on the disks.

If we have 3 disks, and have data A, parity bit C, it would look something like this:

Disk 1   Disk 2   Disk 3
    A       A       C
    A       C       A
    C       A       A

If any one of the disks fails, you can recover the data by using the 2 remaining disks.

RAID 0 is going to be slightly faster than RAID 5 on reads, and RAID 5 is going to be a good deal slower on writes. RAID 5 gives you the most storage for your money with data protection. RAID 0 gives you the most speed & storage for your money, but with no data protection. Assuming you're doing some writes at some point during gaming, RAID 5 is going to be slower than RAID 0, and it could possibly be slower than a single disk with no RAID.

 

[wirelessfender]

JackNaylorPE, that CP-850 only fits on the Antec Case, I think I'm going to go with the Cooler Master HAF 922. Do you recommend any standard ATX PSU's?

 

[wirelessfender]

I like RAID 5 because of the redundancy, As of now I'm actually thinking of getting a solid state drive to install the OS on and maybe a few games/applications with whatever space is left over, and then storing all my media on the hard drives with the RAID 5 config. I have a terrabyte of media as of now and its growing, I also plan on getting a blue ray burner and keeping copies of my blue rays in the future, so I'm going to probably fill all 5 bays with as large of a hard drive as I can find.

Wich brings me to choosing a hard drives... I think the $300 price tag I see for most 2TB drives is rediculous. The Samsung Spinpoint F3 2TB drive is only $180. Any opinion on those? I'll probably get 3 of them for RAID 5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152202

 

[wirelessfender]

Triple Channel Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220363

 

[wirelessfender]

Revised Wish List: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11351891

Just looking into a solid state drive for the OS now..

 

[MadAdmiral]

For $25 more, you could have the same board with USB 3.0/SATA 6 GBps ports. Might also want to look into the cheaper 5970s. I think there's usually one for about $650. I don't believe there's much difference besides what you could do yourself.