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With MUCH revision and consideration, new build - Intel this time.

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Ok I've been going back and forth constantly, but here's my new intel build. Please review. Oh, and this is to be a primary gaming build. upgradable mobo. eventual crossfire.

Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760

2. ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
show details

2. CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
show details

2. SAMSUNG 24x DVD Burner - Bulk SATA Model SH-S243N/BEBS LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total: $1,033.92

If you can do better, show me. And please explain. This is my max price. maybe like 20 bucks more.

More about : revision consideration build intel time

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Here's a review of the cooler (from what I gather the SCMG-2100 is just a SCMG-2000 with an LGA 1156 compatible bracket):

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_conten...


The performance is pretty good, but it isn't very efficient for its enormous size.


I like the Zaward Vapor 120 with its quality construction, smaller size, and better performance:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Newegg seems to overcharge for CPU coolers:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/ite...
http://www.amazon.com/ZAWARD-Vapor-Compact-Cooler-ZCJ01...

Non Crossfire/SLI variant:

GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 + Intel Core i5-760
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3
SAMSUNG 24x DVD Burner
HIS H587FN1GD Radeon HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W + LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...


$1,020.93

+ CPU cooler

IMO by the time the 5870 will be not enough for the games, all the current cards will be obsolete and you'll have to change the card anyway.

Hi Muckle, I'll go along with mosox on the 5870 part. But you need a 850 Watt PSU to be able to XFire that in the future.

CPU: $210 Core i5-760

Mobo : $180 ASUS P7P55D-E Pro or it's younger sibling - $150 ASUS P7P55D-E.

The Gigabyte mosox linked is also a cost effective solution. Though it doesn't have SATA 6GB/s, you might actually not even need it.

RAM : $98 G.skill

HDD : $75 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB - Will be $60 with promo code.

The Spinpoint series is faster & cheaper than the Cavier Blue. But if you wanna go with WD, go ahead. It's just as good.

GPU : $369 SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5870

PSU : Because you said "Eventual XFire" - $110 CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX

ODD : $18 Samsung DVD Burner

Case : You case is excellent. But just in case you wanna save 25 bucks - $45 Rosewill CHALLENGER Gaming ATX Mid Tower Case

HSF : Only if you OC. Otherwise, the stock Intel HSF should be more than good enough. The Scythe is good. Another option - $30 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Total = $1035 + shipping for this fully 5870 CrossFire enabled system with the Gigabyte combo.

Best solution

I'll comment again...:) 

I say stick with exactly what you posted.

Lot's will recommend the Spinpoint f3, as would I, but I personally have that exact HDD in the rig I use day to day, so I can't argue with that because it's been nothing but great to me.

Your DVD burner is fine.

Case is just as much about personal preference on the looks as anything, so if you like it keep with it.

The CPU/Mobo is a good deal, and the Mobo is reliable as well as awesome...

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_p7p55d_pre...

Like I've said in all of your threads you're PSU/Ram combo totally rocks.

The system you posted as is will easily handle anything you throw at it right now, and leaves you room with crossfire/OCing capabilities to squeeze every second of life out of the rig.

Also, the 5850 may not be obsolete when crossfiring it with another 5850 brings about a noticeable difference w/ your rig, you never know. But with your config you're prepared.

Also, if you read that review. The Pro comes with it's own dedicated USB 3.0 controller, so enabling usb 3.0 comes at no cost to any other components. With the premium version enabling the USB 3.0 could limit other pieces of hardware in your system. Plus the i5760/Mobo combo deal is only 17$ more for the pro than the premium, well worth it IMO.

Also if you're going to get the Gigabyte Mobo get the UD3 that will come with SATA 6GB/S. It doesn't cost much more. Personally I would stick with the Asus one, it gets great reviews everywhere and I've had great luck with Asus.

IMO, don't sacrifice 100$ in upgrades on your PSU (downgrading from 850W to 650W) Mobo (losing the SATA 6 Gb/s or USB 3.0) using brands your prefer, or getting a case you like (looks are important don't kid yourself) just to squeeze in the 5870.

Lastly, I don't know much about that cooler, taking a look at Wielanders list is a good idea imo.

Otherwise I say stick with what you got!!! Hope that helped. :bounce: 



sp12 said:
Yeah, but the Corsair TX is a worse OEM. So the XFX is both cheaper and nicer.


@ muckle

If you want a modular, super efficient one, the HX is more than good enough. sp12 can't keep comparing the Silver rated XFX with the Bronze rated Corsair for features & call it cheaper at the same time. Can't have it both ways.

The bronze rated CorsairTX is $40 cheaper than the silver rated XFX, which is the exact same price for the silver rated modular CorsairHX.

Actually if you're really finicky 'bout power consumption, you can go with the Gold Rated CORSAIR AX850

Corsair TX850 Review - "Not only have they gone out and made the PSH platform into an excellent performer at the very top end of what it's capable of, they've produced yet another unit that will have enthusiasts far and wide using the word "Corsair" in every other sentence - Total Score 9.5." - jonnyguru.com

CorsairHX850 Review - " fantastically efficient, 12V ripple suppression second only to a very few high end unit, very, very stable regulation, good value - Total Score 9.6." - jonnyguru.com

Corsair AX850 Review - "When we put this all together, we get a total score of 9.1, and thus the unit gets a "jonnyGURU recommended"." - Jonnyguru.com

Corsair HX850 Review - "Corsair HX850W is a very good choice for the very high-end user that wants a power supply with the best internal components and very high efficiency. Pricing for this power supply isn’t bad for a superior product, costing less than Seasonic M12D 750 W. The seven-year warranty – probably the highest in the industry – is also another reason to pick this product over competitors." - hardwaresecrets.com

XFX 850 - overclock3d.net review

Enough said.

WTF are you talking about. The XFX is on sale for 107$ right now. I can and do have both. The Silver XFX is cheaper than the Bronze (and silver) Corsair. It scored higher and had better Vreg than the silver on JG, and is significantly nicer than the TX.

http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-3463938-10521304?sid=eg3og...

107$ 150$ at 15% off and an MIR.

The Corsair TX (bronze) is 3$ more expensive, worse efficiency, and non-modular. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

While the HX (silver, modular, but still not as nice as the XFX) is 43$ more than the XFX. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

sp12 said:
WTF are you talking about. The XFX is on sale for 107$ right now.
So much for being civil. This is what happens when people can't compete on logic & facts. They resort to abuses & lies.

The abuse, I've quoted. The lies are as follows...


Lie no. 1. -
sp12 said:
It scored higher ... on JG
The JG review awards exactly the same score - "9.6" to both the silver rated units, not "more" as you've claimed.


Lie no. 2. -
sp12 said:
The Corsair TX (bronze) is ... worse efficiency, and non-modular.
You can keep crying hoarse that the XFX is more efficient than the Corsair TX, but they are in different catagories. The TX is a bronze rated unit and the silver XFX comparo is with the silver HX. It's not Corsair's fault that XFX doesn't make PSU's across the range. You don't compare a F150 with a 911, now do you? They are meant for 2 different purposes.

You are just making a laughing stock outta yourself by criticizing Corsair. It'll always be priced at a premium I suppose, but just looking at that overclock3d review, you'll know why. A Lancer Evo might match up to a Merc / Beemer on the track, but will it become one any time soon?

Anyways, I'm unsubscribing to this thread. Can't keep on going like this.

On average they scored the same. It only scored worse on aesthetics, but had higher performance (vreg, output quality). Even then it's irrelevant when it offers that at 40$ less.

If you can get a silver PSU for less than a bronze, why shouldn't I compare it? If I can get a silver PSU nicer than the HX for less why shouldn't I compare it?

To be honest I think you're a troll at this point. Obviously you can't go on like this because your argument doesn't make sense.

sp12 said:
On average they scored the same. It only scored worse on aesthetics, but had higher performance (vreg, output quality). Even then it's irrelevant when it offers that at 40$ less.

If you can get a silver PSU for less than a bronze, why shouldn't I compare it? If I can get a silver PSU nicer than the HX for less why shouldn't I compare it?


Unless money is no object to you, maybe? :??: 

I don't know, I can't even imagine.

I'm confused. Let's reign it in and look at it this way. Is the Corsair 850tx a decent power supply or no? Good consumption and enough for crossfire with 5850's?

Also, my case/dvd burner combo sold out. I need a new case recommendation... Cheap, functional, well ventilated. I'm not really worried about flashy looks.

muckle said:
I'm confused. Let's reign it in and look at it this way. Is the Corsair 850tx a decent power supply or no? Good consumption and enough for crossfire with 5850's?

Also, my case/dvd burner combo sold out. I need a new case recommendation... Cheap, functional, well ventilated. I'm not really worried about flashy looks.


The corsair will be able to do everything you need it to, Crossfire eventually, some small OCing if you want to.

RE: PSUs Let's go over it...

XFX PSU = 149.99 * .85 = 127.49$

Corsiar PSU = 129.99$

Both have a 20$ MIR so throw that out since Muckle never said he intended to use the rebate. Don't forget the Ram however...

Corsair combo comes w/ better factor timing settings than the Ram w/ the XFX combo would come with, at the same price for the Ram, because the Corsair combo comes w/ 5$ more off.

In conclusion...You'll for sure never notice the difference in the PSUs. Maybe a few cents on your electricity bill, so yea, you'll never notice, remember to turn a light off once or twice and you've got that covered. Corsair comes w/ better Ram, which you probably still won't notice much, but you stand a better chance of noticing. And if all other things were even, the Corsair PSU looks better and comes in a cool little bag inside of the box and the Ram that comes w/ it looks better w/ your Mobo too. Really this is all just splitting nails here, just stick w/ what you've got IMO. The price and performance differences are extremely tiny (more effecient PSU, 2$ price difference, better ram) so IMO. Go w/ which combo you think looks better as weird as it sounds, there aren't any other very distinguishable features. FWIW I've almost exclusively put Corsair PSUs rigs I've built, I know their both seasonic PSUs but hey, I would still go with the Corsair best PSU company you'll buy from on Newegg.

Ah, it's in a combo. That changes things, the price for that ram+PSU is right.

In that case they're about even. The ram in the corsair combo isn't really nice (1.65 voltage), but that price looks great. For 5$ difference between the Corsiar and XFX combos I don't think you can go wrong with either. I will add that the XFX is modular, which is probably the most noticeable difference you'll actually feel.

I think this build is in a good place then. I'm probably going to keep the PSU+combo because it's a good deal and they're quality items.

Two components I'm not set on are the heatsink and the HD.

I really don't know much about heatsinks, someone recommended this one and it seems fine. If someone can suggest a cheaper one of equal quality that would be great. Seems like an area I could save a few bucks.

Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Also, regarding the HD - I'm having trouble finding clear comparisons between these two. I keep hearing the spinpoint is better but that doesn't make sense to me as it has a smaller cache and SATA rate.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

or the

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Both drives use 500 GB platters, which is currently more important than anything else. Due to packing more data into a platter, more data can be read in the same amount of time, and less seeking needs to happen. The cache size matters very little. Based on what I've seen on Tom's benches, I believe that the Spinpoint is a little faster at sequential reads/writes, while the WD drive is a little faster at random reads/writes.

As far as SATA, no consumer mechanical hard drive even saturates SATA II. SATA III/6.0 Gb/s on a mechanical hard drive is purely marketing.

From Anandtech's review of the new WD Velociraptor. Speaking about a 10,000 rpm Velociraptor, Anand says "Average read/write speed over the drive's capacity is around 130MB/s. The minimum sequential speed you'll see is around 90MB/s, while the maximum is over 140MB/s. The burst speed here is only 213.6 MB/s, which isn't enough to saturate 3Gbps SATA...While hard drives are starting to embrace the 6Gbps standard, it's simply not necessary from a performance standpoint."

In the end, it comes down to a microsecond or two either way on sequential (Spinpoint slightly faster) vs. random reads & writes (WD slightly faster). Which is a difference you're not going to notice. With the 1 TB Spinpoint F3 on sale for $60 until tomorrow ($75 regularly), compared to $90 for the WD1002FAEX, the Spinpoint F3 is better value (as is the Seagate 7200.12, normally $75).

coldsleep said:
Both drives use 500 GB platters, which is currently more important than anything else. Due to packing more data into a platter, more data can be read in the same amount of time, and less seeking needs to happen. The cache size matters very little. Based on what I've seen on Tom's benches, I believe that the Spinpoint is a little faster at sequential reads/writes, while the WD drive is a little faster at random reads/writes.

As far as SATA, no consumer mechanical hard drive even saturates SATA II. SATA III/6.0 Gb/s on a mechanical hard drive is purely marketing.

From Anandtech's review of the new WD Velociraptor. Speaking about a 10,000 rpm Velociraptor, Anand says "Average read/write speed over the drive's capacity is around 130MB/s. The minimum sequential speed you'll see is around 90MB/s, while the maximum is over 140MB/s. The burst speed here is only 213.6 MB/s, which isn't enough to saturate 3Gbps SATA...While hard drives are starting to embrace the 6Gbps standard, it's simply not necessary from a performance standpoint."

In the end, it comes down to a microsecond or two either way on sequential (Spinpoint slightly faster) vs. random reads & writes (WD slightly faster). Which is a difference you're not going to notice. With the 1 TB Spinpoint F3 on sale for $60 until tomorrow ($75 regularly), compared to $90 for the WD1002FAEX, the Spinpoint F3 is better value (as is the Seagate 7200.12, normally $75).


Sound advice.

Anybody have any suggestions on the heatsink?

and regarding the case, I think I could prob save a few bucks there too w/o loss of functionality.

I'm lookin at these two Antecs..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submi...|11-129-042^11-129-042-TS,11-129-066^11-129-066-TS

Not dead set on these, either. I don't care about looks, I want a case with good ventilation that will fit everything, obviously... I need plenty of room for the video card, etc.

muckle said:
Sound advice.

Anybody have any suggestions on the heatsink?



You can look at this chart to get an idea of cooler performance:

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=251...


The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is $5 cheaper ($35 shipped); it's at least as good at cooling and much more efficient (considering its size). It was a much better deal at ~$25 a while back, but I still think it's a better option.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Again, Newegg seems to overcharge for heatsinks; it's $29.27 at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-B10-212P-G1-Univ...


The Hyper TX3 at $20 isn't nearly as good, but it's still an upgrade from the stock heatsink and fan:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-910-HTX3-G1-130-...

$37 from Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


I don't think any of the cheaper coolers (or even most of the other coolers in this price range) would offer enough of an improvement over the stock heatsink to warrant purchase.
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