$2500 / Buying this week / Mostly Gaming mmo/rts

[gauche32]

I could use a little help analyzing the items I have chosen, as well as suggesting cooling options.
I have $2500 saved, and if necessary will save a bit more for quality cooling, and in the near future monitor / speakers.
I am worried mostly about the cooling solutions for this, and am a novice at building any but the easiest computers.
I will paste what I came up with this far.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119214
COOLER MASTER Cosmos Pure Black Aluminum / SGCC ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811119214
249.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152185
x2 raid 0
89.99ea
179.98

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814019
ABS Majesty series MJ1100-M Continuous 1100W@50°C ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified, Single 12V Rail, Modular Flat Cable ...
Item #: N82E16817814019
169.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3C1600C7
Item #: N82E16820145286
199.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.373678
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100281VX-2SR Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814102872
459.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614R
Open Box: ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131614R
229.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.373678
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80601930
Item #: N82E16819115225
294.99

 

[gauche32]

I will be overclocking within reasonable limits, to speed it up without lowering the lifespan hopefully.

 

[Somebody_007]

for cooling I'd go for a noctua d14 very high end and quality

 

[vznoobie12]

Generally, it looks pretty good .

Obviously, the case is a personal preference, but you do have way cheaper options without taking losing much, if any, features or cooling. HAF 922 and Antec 1200 come to mind. Corsair's "newest" case (economy version of the 800d) is also at the same price point when shipping is added, which is IMO a more sleek look.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139002&cm_re=obsidian_case-_-11-139-002-_-Product

1100 is overkill and a brand name PSU at 750/850w will be more than needed WITH crossfire AND any O/Cing you have planned.
Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=corsair+850w&x=0&y=0
Antec's TP 750 is awesome as well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025&cm_re=antec_tp-_-17-371-025-_-Product

Since you are comfortable with o/c'ing, take a look at these sticks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226116&cm_re=mushkin_blackline-_-20-226-116-_-Product
They are cheaper than the XMS3s and have, in my experience, overclocked extremely well. I've had no problems posting at 1.5v and 1.52v the two times I've used these in a build... which is plenty of room for overclocking as I've had no problems hitting 1600 w/o any changes to the timings. The heatspreader design also works well with fan clearance if, for example you take somebody_00's cooling advice and stick a third fan on the nh-d14 (yes, 3 fans)... which I also recommend. Just a little fyi .

Not sure if you meant to do this but the mobo you have picked out is open box. Not trying to insinuate anything about newegg's open box quality control, but really... with a $2500 budget, I think you can afford a brand-spankin' new one.

I'm neutral on Vapor-X's cooling design. I've read cases where cooling improved and others where the difference is not noticeable or is marginal. Personally, if it were my money I'd look into picking up a regularly priced 5870 at ~$400 and sticking thermalright's new gpu cooling solution in it.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3637/quick-look-thermalright-spitfire-vrmr5
Pretty sure you can pass the factory O/c with that and its in the same price range.

If my brain isn't failing me, it seems that you have some budget leftover. Saving for a monitor and speakers is fine, but you can also afford a SSD if you so choose. An x25-m or force f100 would be pretty sexy.

As a disclaimer, you should by all means know (especially with the gaming preferences you have chosen), that you could easily run MMOs and RTS games with an i5 750 or PII955 rig. It'll save you money that you could pool towards multi-monitors or speaker needs. Just another FYI, I do not mean to dissuade you from the 930 since it looks like you saved the money for this purpose exclusively.

GL.

 

[gauche32]

Thanks for the replies. I was looking at Noctua as a cooling option, due to the relative quiet of their fans, and good reviews (although I am getting most of the reviews from the newegg egg crap lol) I have looked up quite a bit on tom's.

The problem with choosing other cases beyond the one i chose, is it comes with sound deadening in it already, and seems to have better cooling reviews? I have had a hard time with that portion of it. I believe I have a 900 already, and although it is a nice case I wasnt impressed with just about any feature, it was just like a more expensive blah case.

1100 is overkill and a brand name PSU at 750/850w will be more than needed WITH crossfire AND any O/Cing you have planned.
Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=corsair+850w&x=0&y=0
Antec's TP 750 is awesome as well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371025&cm_re=antec_tp-_-17-371-025-_-Product

I was thinking of going with another 5870 in the near future, and adding 1 or 2 hd for storage, and didn't want to be pushing the power supply to anything near max for the purpose of not having as much heat generated, aka fan spin slower? I will try to find another gold cert at 800ish and look at that.

Since you are comfortable with o/c'ing, take a look at these sticks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226116&cm_re=mushkin_blackline-_-20-226-116-_-Product

I will check out the sticks you suggested, leaving for work in 5 =P.

Not sure if you meant to do this but the mobo you have picked out is open box. Not trying to insinuate anything about newegg's open box quality control, but really... with a $2500 budget, I think you can afford a brand-spankin' new one.

Good call on the Mobo, I wasnt really sure what the difference was. Something tells me its probably $50 more for the boxed version.

As for replacing the stock cooling on a normal 5870, I was just hesitant to do that due to lack of confidence in my ability to do it without breaking something.


I will ponder the idea of SSD. Although I have read up on the subject it seems the speed of those units is lacklustor after every sector on it has been used once? I didn't try to make myself an expert on the subject but everyone gripes about the "used speed" but I fully understand the immense speed increase when it is NEW. It wont be new for long especially at the tiny capacity I will have to purchase =P. Mmo's may be low end but a full installed wow is 20g gigs, win 7 is large, and 1 or 2 more games already puts a 128 at half capacity?

Thanks again for the responses, I hope I get some more while at work today. Typing on this site on a p4 700 megs of ram because my old rig is dead is torture haha. Who knew internet browsing could be so slow?!

 

[Somebody_007]

Yeah I had little time so only mentioned to buy a d14. But I have some other issues. Most are the same ones as vznoobie12 such as the open box mobo and cheap brand psu. I would go a little higher than 750 though I'd go 850. And I wouldn't go water cooling since buying one that could compete with the d14 will cost you 300-400 dollars. An ssd would increase boot times but someone is yet to convince me since they really are insanely expensive. ( depending on wether your budget includes periphirals or not would make e reccomend one or not). I would stick to the 930 though since its very future proof with tripple channel memory. also how about the insanely fast 998805 mushkin redlines as ram ( they clear the d14 I have both in my case). And maybe a 470 gtx instaed of a 5870 if you like nvidia?

 

[coldsleep]

I will ponder the idea of SSD. Although I have read up on the subject it seems the speed of those units is lacklustor after every sector on it has been used once?

Generally that's older SSDs and it's more when there's minimal free space. Since TRIM has been implemented by multiple vendors, things are a lot better. Of course, each SSD differs, and you'd want to read tests of whatever you are thinking about buying to make sure it doesn't have significantly degraded performance.

Anandtech's SSD Relapse is a good, recent article on SSDs that should get you most of the info you need to know.

 

[antisyzygy]

I understand that you have saved 2500 USD for a PC, but honestly, you can get a kick ass PC for 1200-1500 dollars that will last for a few years. Then you can use the 1000 to upgrade it over time when better hardware comes out. Keep in mind that in the future you will want a better GPU, and maybe a new CPU, additional Ram or a SSD. SSD's are not worth the expense at this point in time, and new GPUs and CPUs will be coming out next year.

 

[gauche32]

Thanks again for the replies.
I am going to stick near the budget, I did save to get this much, but I tend to like to get it over with, not buy mediocre and upgrade mediocre. I would rather have above average to high end now, and worry about it again in 2 years.
I think in terms of cooling, the noctua idea is a good one, it is what I was considering. I am not sure the coolmaster type case i chose is the best option if I am not going liquid cooling, so I will have to rethink that.
For 998805 mushkin redlines, I will read about those. I tried to choose a real brand name for the ram, which I had heard of and had good reviews. I hadn't heard as much about the Mushkin line, though I did notice it.
Lastly, PSU. I wasnt aware the brand I chose was sort of a no name brand. The specs looked nice. I will try to find something 850-1000 that is silver or gold cert. Although I know on a few parts I am wasting a lot of $, or spending a lot, I prefer having the computer be at least somewhat efficient, esp when not under load. The gold cert just seems to make sense to me, more efficent use of the power it draws sounds nice haha.
I guess for now I will find a boxed motherboard, stick with the 930, consider noctua cooling (so many to choose from, and i can't seem to find the best ones on popular sites like newegg).
I am unsure on the case, I don't mind spending relatively more on a case, and prefer to spend more to have one made of sturdy parts, with better design for cooling and noise reduction.
My primary 4 concerns. Obviously speed, noise, cooling, and quality. I realize most of these things are what everone wants so.. =P.
THanks again. Sorry for being overly wordy, I type fast and get carried away.