Buying a new PC : Specs Help

indyadvant

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Grabbing a new PC guys, looking for advice on my setup. I want to make sure that everything is compatible (my first time building one on my own) and that all of the parts I have chosen are ideal. Here are my components:

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

XCLIO Blackhawk Color Black Finish 0.8 mm SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Full Tower Extreme Cooling PC Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103037


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136496
Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391
ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227424
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G2000LV6GK

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

Looking forward to hearing from you.
 

indyadvant

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Okay that doesn't seem to be a problem. Thanks!

Do you think I'll need a better cooler for my CPU? I feel like I'm spending more than I should be overall as well- looking at other people's builds mine seems a bit overpriced, anyone agree?
 

indyadvant

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I am seeing a build on the builds by usage page at:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/269162-31-recommended-builds-usage

This seems like an ideal build as well with quite a different set of parts. I am wondering if the direction I'm going with my part set is ideal or not- I don't want to grab my PC and two weeks later wish I waited until I "knew" it was perfect. lol

It is as follows:

Enthusiast: $1,342.89 Updated HDD
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor Model HDT90ZFBGRBOX
MOBO: ASUS M4A89TD PRO AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s AMD Motherboard
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
HSF: COOLER MASTER Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU ... - Retail
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive]
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
GPU: XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - Retail
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

This build will allow you to play games at max settings at a monitor resolution of 1920x1200 or higher...
 

gordon_81

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right now the intel i7 950 is a better choice over the x6 1090T, the 950 is $300 now, however the 1055T is good value for money read this article http://www.anandtech.com/show/3877/asrock-890fx-deluxe-full-review-and-an-investigation-of-thuban-performance-scaling however f you have the money the i7 950 is worth it, also the gtx 470 right now is good price vs performance it runs hot and is power hungry, but with the psu you are getting you are fine and as long as you are not overclocking as it runs hot, also the i7 930 is $199 at microcenter
 

gordon_81

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go for this gtx 460 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518&Tpk=gtx%20460%20hawk, according to somebody 007, Linus OCd it pat 5870 levels and was comparing it to a gtx 480, there is nothing that is really wrong with your build, i would just change the hdd to a samsung spinpoint f3, and get your i7 930 at microcentre or go for a i7 950, and i would go for that modular xfx power supply suggested earlier, otherwise good build for a 1st timer :)
 

indyadvant

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Alright, sounds good. Thank you so much for the info gordon- you have been extremely helpful! I'll let you know how things turn out :)
 

indyadvant

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Alright, this is my build in the end. Just confirming that everything is good to go.

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1


ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $24.99
1


XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817207003
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $15.00 USD Mail-in Rebate $129.99
1


ASUS P6X58D Premium ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813131614
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy -$30.00 Instant $319.99
$289.99
2


Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822136533
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $199.98
1


OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Low Voltage Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820227424
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy -$41.00 Instant
$20.00 USD Mail-in Rebate $207.99
$166.99
1


OCZ Diesel 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Item #:N82E16820227331
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy $15.99
1


ASUS GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 Video Card
Item #:N82E16814121391
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy $239.49
1


PQI U172P 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (Black)
Item #:N82E16820141545
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $14.99
1


Link Depot DVI-AVGA-ADPT DVI To VGA Adapter
Item #:N82E16814998101
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $4.99
1


XCLIO Blackhawk Color Black Finish Extreme Cooling PC Case
Item #:N82E16811103037
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$41.00 Instant $176.99
$135.99
1


Creative Fatal1ty Circumaural Gaming Headset
Item #:N82E16826158082
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $59.99
1


Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
Item #:N82E16819115211
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy $329.99
2


Nippon Labs 18" (1.5 ft.) SATA II Cable with locking latch
Item #:N82E16812816027
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $13.98
 

indyadvant

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Hmm, I need two hard drives, one as C: and one for storing media.

There is a sale going on at newegg currently with the following drive:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152173&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL091810CA&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL091810CA-_-EMC-091810-Index-_-InternalHardDrives-_-22152173-L04A

It only has 32mb cache and is 5400rpm, but is 50$ cheaper, so I'd be saving 100$ if I get two of these.

What are your thoughts guys? Will these drives be the slowest part of my setup- not ideal.. Let me know!
 

indyadvant

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Hmm, I'm still thinking about going with the Samsung:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

over the Western Digital:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

I've had bad experience with WD, and I could use the $, but I am wondering if my build will suffer at all with the Samsungs over the WD.

Also, I think I'm gonna cahnge my Mobo to this:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188068

Over:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

I can save 80$ and I haven't read any problems.

Also, I'm thinking of going with the 192bit 460:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

Over the 256:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391

How much more will I get out of the 256? I run a lot of apps and whatnot, I do game, but my focus is loading VSTs into RAM and video editing.

What are your thoughts?
 

coldsleep

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In what way do you think the build will suffer by going with Samsung? Both drives use the same size (500 GB) platters, and cache size matters very little. The SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface on the WD1002FAEX does nothing, as neither drive can saturate SATA II...a WD Velicoraptor 10k rpm drive can't saturate SATA II. The drives perform pretty equivalently.

There isn't a lot of talk about that EVGA mobo, but it seems decent.

Do you game at all? If not (and your applications don't make use of CUDA), there's no reason to get a 460. If you do game, the 1 GB 460 does perform better than the 768 MB version, usually about 2-5 fps better, though it depends on the game and the resolution. See this Anandtech bench, for example.
 

indyadvant

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As the weakest part of my build I mean, I don't want one part of it dragging me down, you know what I mean?

Yes I do game a lot, but the "ultimate" frame rates are not my priority. This is why I'm thinking of saving a little money and going with the 192bit card instead of the 256, that sound ideal? err..

And does my new Mobo look fine? There isn't much feedback on it, though it seems pretty good.

I'll go with the Samsung drives if I can be assured that the rest of my build wont be hindered by slow access times to my hard drives for example.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
 

coldsleep

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I don't really have much to add from my previous message. The disks & mobo look good, the graphics card is really up to you and your budget.

1) The Samsung Spinpoint F3 drives are just as fast as the WD WD1002FAEX. (Benchmarks will likely show the WD slightly faster on access times, while the Samsungs are slightly faster on streaming reads/writes...it's mostly a wash.) I don't know what makes you think they're slow. According to this Tom's bench, the Spinpoint has a 13.6 ms read access time, while the closest WD model has a 12.4 ms read access time. That's not something you're ever going to notice. (Admittedly, the WD1002FAEX isn't on there, but the improvement from the FALS to the FAEX isn't going to be so amazing that it completely crushes existing numbers.)
2) The motherboard looks good, it appears to have all of the features one would need.
3) The 1 GB version performs better (see the link, check out the various game benchmarks), whether or not it's worth the additional price is only something you can determine. Most reviewers think the 1 GB is the one to get, which is probably what I'd go for, but if budget is a concern, that is a significant savings.
 

indyadvant

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coldsleep

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It really depends on what you're using it for. I wouldn't expect to see huge differences in most games. For other applications, the 950 will do better on loosely-threaded apps, while the 1090T is likely to do better on well-threaded apps.

See this comparison for a basic overview.
 

indyadvant

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Wow that link was extremely helpful coldsleep! Thanks!

Okay so I've decided to go AMD and replace Intel, I'm wondering that because the 6core is somewhat new technology, that perhaps I may be better off to go with the 4core? I don't know why I feel like this, I'd just like a confirmation that the 6core is good to go, it has like 300 posetive reviews.

As far as the motherboard goes I really have no idea which to go for, I'm thinking something like this:

GIGABYTE GA-890XA-UD3 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-128-438&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

But it looks like people are reporting some problems- having to update their bios or DOA. Though I do enjoy a lot of usb ports... I don't know if I'll have to change my ram out too if I get this beast as my ram is 2000. Can you perhaps recommend me a solid mobo to fit my 1090T? I have some listed here:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007624%20600007943&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICED&PageSize=20



But I can't find a "perfect" one, lol, 8 usb ports is key and 4 ram slots would be ideal as well, I'm thinking of going to 12gigs with the extra $ I'ma save by going AMD. Other than that I think I'm good to go, yes? :)
 

coldsleep

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Sorry, was out of town. It really depends on what you're doing. The 6 core is going to be great for productivity, it's not going to be significantly better than a 4-core Phenom II X4 for gaming.

The Gigabyte board should be fine. I don't really trust newegg reviews. It looks like the rev 2.0 board supports the X6 processor. How you verify that you're getting that over the rev 1.0 board, I don't know. :p And are you counting the USB 3.0 ports in your total? By my count, that mobo has 10 USB ports.

Assuming gaming and no crossfire, you could just as easily get this GA-870 motherboard. If you want to be able to crossfire in the future, this ASRock board is fairly popular.

As far as RAM, you could drop it down some, but there's no real need. The RAM you have will run fine at lower clock speeds as well.

There's no reason to get more than 4 GB for gaming right now, I'd look at getting either 8 GB (4x 2 GB sticks or 2x 4 GB sticks) or go straight to 16 GB (4x 4 GB sticks) with an AMD board.