$1500-$1800 GAMING build!

[herbaltylenol]

Hello,

New build, ALL CANADIAN ONLY PLEASE! CANADIAN CANADIAN CANADIAN CANADIAN CANADIAN CANADIAN

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week. Tomorrow even.

BUDGET RANGE: $1500-$1800 CANADIAN

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: GAMING. GAMING. GAMING

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: DVD Drive, Windows 7

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.canadacomputers.com, www.ncix.com, www.newegg.ca

OVERCLOCKING: Yes to OC, no to CF/SLI.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Quiet + CANADIAN + able to OC good + NO CF EVER.

HDD: Samsung F3 Spinpoint 500 GB ($70 after tax...I can get Seagate 7200.12 for $45 after tax and everything. Worth it for extra quiet + performance?)

CPU: i5-750

HSF: Scythe Mugen 2 For quietness.

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Can this get me to 3.8-4.0ghz (it's not the UD3R)? Or is the Asus P7P55 LX better? Or how about Asus P7P55D-E better? 5% chance of me ever CFing...would like to reduce price where possible (obviously)

Case: Antec P183

PSU: Antec CP-850

RAM: Gskill ECO CL7 DD3 1600 or Gskill Ripjaw CL7 DDR3 1600 or Gskill Ripjaw CL7 DDR3 1600 what's the diff? Eco seems better due to low voltage requirement.

GPU: Which of these 5870s?

Monitor: Asus 25.5"

NOTE: Getting most parts from Canadacomputers cause I'll be able to get a discount! How does it look? Namely out of the list of 5870s + the mobo choice?

 

[herbaltylenol]

Anybody? I need to send in list soon!

 

[Somebody_007]

psu and case are way overkill. If you want to xfire later get 750wat otherwise 650. As for the case just get a cheaper one I can't tell you which since taste is personal. Which 5870 you get doesn't really matter just check price and warrenty( exept special editions like the vapor-x or toxic, .. those are obviously better) Don't know about mobos in that price range srry and I don't knnow about the ram either. But the eco want overclock so well due to low voltage I think.

 

[herbaltylenol]

Thanks for the reply. But I'm going for quiet, and that case is highly recommended @ www.silentpcreview.com

That PSU is really cheap for its Wattage, a 650watt or something Corsair will cost like $10-20 cheaper only. The CP-850 is highly praised @ Johnnyguru + it's really quite too.

The new 5870s have non-ref PCBs which run quieter + cooler, but stock ones can be overvolted. Not sure which to get ugh.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/gskill_eco/6.htm Says that Gskill ECO has even more OC potential than normal DIMMs.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/28434-g-skill-eco-pc3-12800-cl7-memory-review-5.html

And there were some forum posts on overclockers.com (or .net) that stated the ECO was good for OCing.

But you guys tell me otherwise, and I'll switch to Ripjaws.

 

[herbaltylenol]

Sittin' here pressin' F5!

 

[herbaltylenol]

Last bump, going to sleep.

 

[Somebody_007]

well then it is better for OC I don't really know it was just an assumtion. And about the 5870's I don't know thats just personal preference. I would get a 850 too but it still overkill .

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Case and PSU are excellent choices....while way more power than you need, the combo is quite often cheaper than equivalent alternatives. The following would be equivalent Quality units in the 650 watt range

$170 Antec SG-650 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=019075
$122 Corsair HX650 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=025887

MoBo - Yes, you definitely want the Asus over the Gigabyte. Although you list it as only a 5% chance for XFire, if you add a 2nd GFX card on the Gigabyte, your USB and SATA III speeds get crippled.

RAM - I always recommend avoiding RAM modules w/ tall heat spreaders like are found on the Dominators and Ripjaws. Would recommend one of these:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-core-i7,2582-4.html
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145285

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The 2 TB WD Black and XT from Seagate are good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. 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):

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

Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.

Monitor - I'd get the 1920 x 1200 one.....nice viewing moves or games in 1920 x 1080 window and having that 120 pixel window at bottom of screen to access other programs
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047&Tpk=Asus%201920%20x%201200

GFX Card - I'd lean towards one of the Asus (voltage tweak, CU version runs 20% cooler) or the Saphire off that list.

HS - The Mugen came in 3rd in the latest test......For silent running, check out the Armageddon

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

 

[herbaltylenol]

Case and PSU are excellent choices....while way more power than you need, the combo is quite often cheaper than equivalent alternatives. The following would be equivalent Quality units in the 650 watt range

$170 Antec SG-650 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=019075
$122 Corsair HX650 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=025887

Yep, I'd rather just get the 850 watt which is quiet too...near the same price as the Corsair one

MoBo - Yes, you definitely want the Asus over the Gigabyte. Although you list it as only a 5% chance for XFire, if you add a 2nd GFX card on the Gigabyte, your USB and SATA III speeds get crippled.

The cheapest Asus that can handle Crossfire + USB3 + SATA3 is the Asus P7P55D-E but it costs $15 more...and I don't know...the only chance I'll ever CF is if a 5870 comes down to like $50 in 3-4 years

RAM - I always recommend avoiding RAM modules w/ tall heat spreaders like are found on the Dominators and Ripjaws. Would recommend one of these:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-core-i7,2582-4.html
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145285

The Corsairs + Crucials seem not that great. While the Corsairs are a decent price, reviews say getting the specified ratings + speed makes the system unstable, while the Crucials seem overpriced.

I've read like 40 i5 builds here (and the stickies!) where people ALWAYS recommend the Ripjaws

The Gskill ECO series (the one linked in the main post) doesn't have a tall heatspreader, and from what I'm reading, the 1.35v allows for more OC room. Even if I wasn't going to OC the ram...it seems better than Ripjaws due to low profile, no? Costs only $5 more.

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The 2 TB WD Black and XT from Seagate are good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. 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):

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

Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.

Yeah I only want a 500gb HDD. 1TB is already too much, and 2TB is overkill. They seem equal tbh, Seagate is slightly ahead in Gaming (which I want), while the Samsung is slightly ahead in being quiet (which I also want ). If the discount comes through, then the Seagate will be $25 cheaper than the Samsung, and I don't know, $25 for a bit more quiet doesn't seem worth it, so I'm leaning towards Seagate atm.

Monitor - I'd get the 1920 x 1200 one.....nice viewing moves or games in 1920 x 1080 window and having that 120 pixel window at bottom of screen to access other programs
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047&Tpk=Asus%201920%20x%201200

Yep, getting that monitor

GFX Card - I'd lean towards one of the Asus (voltage tweak, CU version runs 20% cooler) or the Saphire off that list.

The card I want is the 5870, so the AsusCU version doesn't exist Sapphire only has 1yr warranty though, but the cheapest as well. What do you think, save $20-30 here + the HDD, and put it toward the mobo?

HS - The Mugen came in 3rd in the latest test......For silent running, check out the Armageddon

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

According to Tom's own analysis of HSFs it seems as though the Mugen 2 was overall best for it's value/OC ability/noise. It's $15 more expensive than the Hyper 212+, but offers a better OC + lower noise.

Thanks, and I'll appreciate any more replies!

 

[herbaltylenol]

MadAdmiral/Proximon/techmo3/Alvin Smith...

Anyone post some feedback

 

[herbaltylenol]

Come on, someone give some advice or feedback!

 

[herbaltylenol]

Bump again

 

[herbaltylenol]

At least mobo advice? Gigabyte P55A UD3 vs. Asus P7P55D-E?

 

[herbaltylenol]

Choosing Gigabyte mobo here, since Asus one seems exactly the same but slightly more expensive. Asus one doesn't cripple the x16 PCI-E slot when using USB3/SATA6 though...but meh, from what I'm reading, x8 is enough for a single gfx card anyway, no need for 16x.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The cheapest Asus that can handle Crossfire + USB3 + SATA3 is the Asus P7P55D-E but it costs $15 more...and I don't know...the only chance I'll ever CF is if a 5870 comes down to like $50 in 3-4 years

Spend the $15. The asus is the better board

The Corsairs + Crucials seem not that great. While the Corsairs are a decent price, reviews say getting the specified ratings + speed makes the system unstable, while the Crucials seem overpriced. I've read like 40 i5 builds here (and the stickies!) where people ALWAYS recommend the Ripjaws

You will also find it's the most commonly listed one that interferes with heat sinks. The frequency of the Ripjaws recommendation is really solely because they come up 1st on newegg when listed by lowest price. While $10 is 10 bucks, I don't take that as an indicator of quality.

Yeah I only want a 500gb HDD. 1TB is already too much, and 2TB is overkill. They seem equal tbh, Seagate is slightly ahead in Gaming (which I want), while the Samsung is slightly ahead in being quiet (which I also want ). If the discount comes through, then the Seagate will be $25 cheaper than the Samsung, and I don't know, $25 for a bit more quiet doesn't seem worth it, so I'm leaning towards Seagate atm.

Ummm .... low numbers wins in sound test ....the Seagate'S 36 dB is 4 times quieter than the F3's 41

Tom's own analysis of HSFs it seems as though the Mugen 2 was overall best for it's value/OC ability/noise. It's $15 more expensive than the Hyper 212+, but offers a better OC + lower noise.

Yes, the Mugen did well in THG's test but the Mugen didn't have to face the Megahalems in that test....Mega has a 1.75 C advantage here

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4

ProlimaTech Megahalems ................24.29°C over ambient
Thermalright Venomous-X................24.47°C over ambient
Scythe Mugen-2 SCMG-2000............26.03°C over ambient

Both are good choices but that's almost 2 degrees C which might mean a 4.2 Ghz OC instead of a 4.0

 

[herbaltylenol]

Hey thanks for your reply. Yep I've switched to the Seagate + Asus mobo.

But I've decided to stick with G.Skill ECO series (really low profile + low volt) and the Mugen 2.

Megahalems just don't seem worth it...2C for $15 seems satisfactory at best...I'll only be overclocking to 3.8-4.0Ghz max, maybe even just 3.2-3.4Ghz and let Turbo Boost crank it up during games or whatnot.

Thanks though I'll report back on my findings.

 

[herbaltylenol]

Well, I didn't receive any meaningful discount...came out to $1900, and they offered $35 off that : \

So instead, I ordered everything but the heatsink (out of stock) off of www.ncix.com

One thing I'll say to anyone that orders from there: They will Pricematch EVERYTHING!. I just googled all my parts, like "buy xfx 5870 Canada" or "buy i5-750 Canada" and these websites that compare prices from online vendors came up. Parts were available for cheap at some sketch sites, but it turns out Ncix will Pricematch them

So in the end, after taxes and what not, I saved about $120 over the Canada Computers price.

Thanks everyone! Again, I'll post back with results.