CyberPowerPC vs. Home Build

[ever0095]

Hi guys,

It's been about 2 years since I built my last system, and intend on purchasing/building a new one on 2/15. I came across cyberpowerpc.com, have read great reviews, and was surprised that the cost seemed to be better than purchasing off newegg and building myself.

Max cost to be $1200. This system will be used for gaming and web dev/design. No need of any peripherals, just the tower. I have no preference re: AMD vs. Intel, but it seems from the articles/reviews I've read that the i7 920 is a good buy (especially with OC). The same is true of Nvidia vs ATI (no preference), but the ATI Radeon HD 5850 looks to be dead on for performance. I'll be opting for a single high end card to start, with the intention of going Crossfire down the road, once performance is sub-par on future games.

Here's the build on cyberpower ($1183):

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saving/show.aspx?id=2448614

Normally, I'd rather build my own system, but given that I've built 10 or so in the past, I wouldn't be doing it for the experience. In this case, it seems I'd be getting a system that's already been tested, at a lower price.

I'm looking for any suggestions on CPU, video, HDD (16 vs. 32 cache), mobo, cyberpower vs. building on my own, and of course avoiding bottlenecks. While I've been updating my knowledge on current hardware the last few weeks, I'm far from current on everything I should know to make this decision.

Thanks in advance!

-Dan

 

[Silvune]

600W for two 5850s isn't really recommended even when the PSU is of known quality, but XtremeGear aren't a brand I've heard touted as being good. And Coolermaster Silent Pro is one where I've seen multiple professional reviews say that voltage stability on a crossfire system was less than ideal. Does the xtremegear even have enough PCI-E connectors for two 5850s?
Personally I think it's better to build your own because you have much more control over the components (and the quality) that you put into your machine.
And if you do enough digging around on newegg I'm sure that you could get a Bloomfield build under $1200, this is the closest I could get while keeping it relatively simple.

i7 920 & Gigabyte GA-EX58A-UD3R Combo ($210 & $290 = $500)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.324969
Combo Total $479

HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850 & OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) OCZ3G1600LV6GK CAS 8 1.65V ($290 & $160 = $450)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339063
Combo Total $433 with £20 rebate.

If you're worried about getting the OCZ RAM to it's correct settings then get this instead: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) TR3X6G1600C8 G CAS8 1.65V $170, free shipping, $10 rebate

PSU: Antec Earthwatts 750W $110 + $6 shipping charge
if you like rebates: Corsair TX 750 $120, free shipping + $20 rebate.

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB $95

Case: Antec 300 Illusion $62, $10 shipping, $12 rebate. The Apevia Case that is in the CyberpowerPC build you linked ends up being around $80, if you want to get that.
DVD Burner: LG Black $25

Total: $1221 - This total has not taken into account any of the possible rebates and using the OCZ RAM & Antec PSU. As for a heatsink for overclocking, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus is around $30. To get it closer/under $1200 use the Corsair PSU, and take advantage of all rebates, which would save $36. You can also change the motherboard to the non USB3/SATA 6Gbps version: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R $190, free shipping, $15 rebate. With this you know exactly what you are getting, as well as high quality components across the board.

 

[ever0095]

Thanks for the response Silvune. After looking at the build you posted, I'm less willing to go with Cyberpower, given that the RAM and HDD are not specified. Looking at the price difference, I can only assume the unlisted components aren't great quality.

Any idea why the Asetek LCLC 120 from the cyberpower build isn't listed on newegg?


-Dan

 

[Silvune]

I read this rather brief review about it that said that Asetek only distribute them to OEMs. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/388/3
A good basic CPU watercooling unit that I know of is the Corsair H50, which is around $80 on newegg, don't know if this is up your street, but a possibility.

Unfortunately this would bring your total much closer to $1300. If $1200 is a hard budget then it would probably be a good idea to consider a Lynnfield platform, which is a good performer, probably not as good in the overclocking aspect as Bloomfield tho. And as long as the web design/development that you do isn't too RAM intensive then you could save around $50 by getting 4GB of fast low latency RAM.

At the moment I'm thinking that you would have to get an i5 750, unless you've have access to one of the stores that has various Intel processors at cheap prices ( Microcenter, Fry's?). If you can get them for cheap then you could stay with the i7 920 and be under budget or possibly get the i7 860 to allow for the savings from RAM as well if you still need to do that.

 

[ever0095]

Best answer selected by ever0095.

 

[Silvune]

Hey man, I read your other thread and I will post this here hopefully so that you're other thread gets more responses.
If you still want to be able to crossfire eventually, then unfortunately the OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W doesn't have enough PCI-E connectors for more than one 5850. While the the OCZ ModXStream (better than a GameXStream as far as I'm concerned) would be powerful enough to power crossfire 5850s it doesn't have the connectors for it. So perhaps if you buy a cheaper 600-650W PSU now, then when you want to buy another 5850 you could buy another PSU with it that will be able to do it.
And thanks for the best answer.