First Time Builder Needing Recommendations

[Guest]

Hello Tom's Hardware Community. This is my first time building a computer and I'm looking for some insight into the components I've chosen. Let's get to it.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Early August. Two of the components are currently out of stock on newegg

BUDGET RANGE: $1600-$1800

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Lite Gaming (no FPSs), Web Design, Lite Video and Audio editing, Web Surfing and Movie Watching

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers and OS (Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:: Newegg.com, will be purchasing processor from Microcenter.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: I like Intel, Asus, ATI, Corsair and Western Digital, but I'm open to other options.

OVERCLOCKING: Possibly in the future.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Again, possibly in the future.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

Below is my current planned component list.

Case:
SILVERSTONE Fortress Series FT02B-W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163161

CPU:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

Motherboard:
ASUS Rampage III Gene LGA 1366 Intel X58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131658

GPU
SAPPHIRE TOXIC 100282TXSR Radeon HD 5850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102881

PSU:
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

RAM:
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

SSD:
Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XX 2.5" 80GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167027&Tpk=N82E16820167027

Secondary HD:
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

Optical Drive:
ASUS Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

CPU Cooling:
Corsair H50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010&Tpk=corsair%20h50

So that currently totals to around $1600. I could probably go a little over or under that price range. Here a couple of questions I have.

1) Is it silly to have a Micro ATX Motherboard in that huge Full Tower case?

2) Is the PSU too big or just right for what I'm building?

3) For my SSD I plan to install my games (Starcraft2, Diablo3, StarWars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2) and run all various Editing Programs. All videos and such will be on my secondary WD drive. Should I plan to install all the games onto the secondary drive as well?

4) Are their other components I should be looking at other than the ones I have chosen. I am most curious about Motherboard, PSU, GPU and RAM.

Thanks for all your future comments.

 

[lowriderflow]

It's entirely silly to buy a Micro-ATX motherboard. That case is insanely expensive... and most of the products you chose are overkill for your needs.

You dont need any aftermarket cooling, the i7 runs just fine on stock cooling... especially in a big, well ventilated case.
You don't need any special motheroboard since you're not doing any extreme overclocking or SLi setups, a $180 gigabyte would saffice.

$350 for that video card is alot... you can get a $230GTX460 that performs nearly identical.

a $60 600watt PSU will more than saffice for you. Alll in all, You could easily get this build down to 1000-1100 range with components just as good.

*also, look for combos on newegg. Can save $60-70 by combo'n things together

 

[Somebody_007]

The buils isn't bad and there is nothing to say that isn't mentioned in your questions so good job

1) Plainly: yes. That gives you limited pci ports. Meaning if you ever go 2 GPUs there is no option of a sound card, raid card, a third GPU or any other goodies. The cooling isn't as good as it is with a big mobo. ANd you obviously pay for compactness.

2) Is quite a bit too big yes. 650w will be more than enough. 750 if you plan on xfiring later on.

3) I don't understand the question really. If the SSD is full then yes install the less used apps/games on the HDD. If you suspect the SSD will be filled quickly and many apps will end up on the HDD consider a faster HDD. as that one is very slow.

4) mobo: as I mentioned an atx one would be better. Maybe a ga-x58a-ud3r or an ud5 if you want higher end.

psu: see above

gpu: kind of underwhelming for gaming but in essence it's a very good gpu.

ram: That's a good kit for sure but this G.skill kit will be fine for a far lower price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335&cm_re=G.skill_1600_6gb-_-20-231-335-_-Product

hope I helped

 

[Somebody_007]

It's entirely silly to buy a Micro-ATX motherboard. That case is insanely expensive... and most of the products you chose are overkill for your needs.

You dont need any aftermarket cooling, the i7 runs just fine on stock cooling... especially in a big, well ventilated case.
You don't need any special motheroboard since you're not doing any extreme overclocking or SLi setups, a $180 gigabyte would saffice.

$350 for that video card is alot... you can get a $230GTX460 that performs nearly identical.

a $60 600watt PSU will more than saffice for you. Alll in all, You could easily get this build down to 1000-1100 range with components just as good.

*also, look for combos on newegg. Can save $60-70 by combo'n things together

The case is expensive indeed, but IMO that's not really our decision. Cases are very personal and I reccomend getting one that performs well(obviously) and looks good(even if this comes at a much greater cost like here) instead of getting only what you "need" and neglecting looks.

true but stock cooling is very loud. And he said he might OC.

As for the GPU yes actually sorry for my previous post. A 460gtx would be a far better choice.

NONONONONO. Don't get an infamous brand psu. Stick with the big names and long warrenties. You wouldn't want a fried pc caused by you wanting to save a little bit of money. And 600w is fine though.

And yeah combos can shave it down a lot

 

[WR2]

1) This is just my opinion. Why use a huge full tower case unless you really need the space for your parts. You're paying 'extra' for stuff that doesn't help your system 'go fast'.

2) Your PSU is sized right for 3 normal HD 5850 cards and lots of other goodies. Although the Sapphire site says 600W PSU for 1 HD 5850 Toxic and 900W PSU for 2 of them. And it doesn't hurt to have extra power available anyway. Just $30 more than the 750W model.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=321
The other Sapphire HD 5850s get recommendations of 500w for 1 and 600w for 2 cards.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=286
When tested independently the Sapphire Toxic HD 5850s uses this kind of power: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2943/5
Thats only about 45watts per card more than the standard HD 5850.

3) For stuff you want to go faster, put them on the SSD.

4) A CPU cooler: CM Hyper 212+ / Thermalright U120eXtreme 1366RT / Thermalright TRUE Black 120Rev.C / Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme would all be good choices. True Black also needs a fan to go with the heatsink. The rest have fans.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008000&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=574|35-103-065^35-103-065-S01%2C35-109-021^35-109-021-TS%2C35-154-011^35-154-011-TS%2C35-109-022^35-109-022-TS

 

[mrhoshos96]

that's an overkill system for that kind of usage.

here is a build for $1,142.91 before rebates and it's sli ready

cpu+hsf: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.459537

gpu+freegame: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.456543

mobo+ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457831

case+psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.454718

ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

odd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136180

good luck.

 

[buzznut]

There's really no point in going with micro atx unless you have to because of your case limitations. Or some budget boards are less expensive in the micro form factor, in this case it doesn't make sense.

I agree on the points about the heatsink, mobo and 850W PSU. However I highly recommend you look at models from corsair, Antec in the 650W range. Corsair are well respected but don't have modular cables. I like to display my pc so I don't like all the extra cables.

I think you will find with the SSD you've chosen that if you put all those games on there you will run out of space fairly quickly. Also, SSD's run efficiently at 50% capacity the more you fill them the more performance you will lose. So yes, I think you should plan on installing some programs and games on a conventional hard drive. I would install maybe your top 3 games at a time.

I would look at a samsung f3 drive for your data.

 

[Guest]

Hello All,

Thanks for all the replies thus far. I knew this build was overkill but I'm trying to future proof as much as possible while still keep the system simple.

Let's start from the top.

Case:
The case I had originally picked for this build was the Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

I suppose I should revisit that option. I just came across the Silverstone FT02B and was really impressed with its internal design. But at $250 shipped it probably isn't worth it for what I'll be using it for. Though if I continue to save on the rest of the build I may splurge and pick it up.

Motherboard:
As recommended by somebody_00 and lowriderflow the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R seems to be a great slightly cheaper option. But now I'm starting to consider the ASUS P6X58D-E, any thoughts on this motherboard? It's only $30 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641&cm_re=asus_P6X58D-_-13-131-641-_-Product

GPU:
Again on the recommendation of lowriderflow I'm beginning to lean towards the GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333

PSU:
I think the downgrade to a 750w power supply would be a wise energy and financial saving. Probably will grab this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Thanks for all your posts, hopefully I'll hear from more of you on my recent changes.

 

[mrhoshos96]

a 650w will handle that system great and i would stiil get an i5/x4 955 for a much better value with no performance decrease.

 

[Somebody_007]

I woudn't get an i5/955. Sure they'll everything you can throw at them for a few years but after that a 930 will start to prove itself.

 

[Guest]

So is the Motherboard in today's Newegg Shellshocker a no brainer?

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

Or should I stick with the ASUS P6X58D-E? Is it worth the extra cash to help future proof my machine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641

And will a 750w PSU be enough if I were to add Water Cooling and SLI (2 GTX460s) in the future. If you guys think so, there's a promo code expiring today on the Corsair Modular 750w PSU that I was thinking about getting.