What do you guys think?

[raolc]

Hello all,


Over the past few weeks I decided I wanted to build my first PC!

Here is what I came up with:

-Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D Dominator 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit
-Western Digital 450 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive WD4500HLHX
-Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5
-Cooler Master HAF X - Full tower - extended ATX ( ATX / PS/2 ) - black - USB/FireWire/Audio/E-SATA
-EVGA X58 SLI Classified Mainboard 170-BL-E762-A1
-Intel Core i7 Processor i7-930 2.80GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail BX80601930
-ASUS ATI Radeon HD 5850 1 GB 256-bit GDDR5 DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort CrossFireX Support PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card EAH5850 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5


My most basic and important questions are:

1) Most importantly, do all of these parts work together?
2) I have an old HP pc, about 4 years old, it has a dvd rom. Should I reuse this or are the new ones better? Any recommendations?
3) Other than a few fans and the dvd rom, am I missing anything else?

and here's my checklist of requirements

I am not a hardcore gamer, but occasionally I like one of the new games, so I want to be able to play any new game at the best settings possible. Can I do that with this computer?

i love my music. Currently I have a 5.1 speaker set up on my laptop, and I'm happy. This computer should be able to use that, and even a 7.1 speaker system, with out getting a sound card, right?

I'm impatient. I want everything overall to be fast! Will this hard drive install things quickly? Will the ram help? Any bottlenecking going on? Any wasting of money for no noticeable gains?


I know those are a lot of questions, but this also a damn expensive purchase so I'd like to make sure I get this right the first time, and thats where I need your expert opinions

Thanks in advance!

 

[batuchka]

I am not a hardcore gamer, but occasionally I like one of the new games
Any wasting of money for no noticeable gains?

1. If you merely want to dabble into some games and dun render/encode then i dun even see the need for a quad chip/expensive platform in there to be honest @@

2. Consider something like AthlonII X3 + 768 GTX 460?
The Game Rundown: Finding CPU/GPU Bottlenecks, Part 2
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/game-performance-bottleneck,2738-16.html

Conclusion: A Trend Toward 3+ Cores

The average optimal number of CPU cores suggested by the test results is 2.75, showing a clear trend towards at least three CPU cores.The question of whether the CPU or GPU is most important is easily answered. If you don't have a multi-core CPU, then upgrade it. If you have a dual-core CPU at around 3 GHz, then invest your money into a graphics card, as most games are GPU-limited. This is not something that will change with new DirectX 11 games.

3. Negative on any V.Raptors : if u wanna splash go for 60GB Sandforce SSD + mechanical Hdds for storage

 

[raolc]

I guess occasionally was an understatement. I work a lot, on my computer, but when I'm not working I enjoy escaping into a video game. For those reasons I feel that in the area of mb/processor/gpu I don't want to go lower than what I have.

I also forgot to mention I enjoy having multiple monitors. With this computer I want to have 3, possibly even with one of them playing a video game at max settings. I feel that is more reason for me to stick with my cpu/gpu.



As for my hard drive situation, I was thinking I'd have a vraptor to install my OS, video games, and for my work (software engineer). If possible I also wanted to recycle my pc's hard drive for the other storage like media.

SSDs seem appealing, but for that space/price I can't see myself buying one at the moment.

 

[rwpritchett]

SSDs seem appealing, but for that space/price I can't see myself buying one at the moment.

Do the math.

450GB Raptor = $270

vs.

OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 60GB = $145 ($125 after MIR)
Samsung F4 2TB media drive = $110 ($95 today with promo code)
Total = $255 before MIR, without promo code

Cheaper, faster, and you get over 4x the storage space.

 

[raolc]

Do the math.

450GB Raptor = $270

vs.

OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 60GB = $145 ($125 after MIR)
Samsung F4 2TB media drive = $110 ($95 today with promo code)
Total = $255 before MIR, without promo code

Cheaper, faster, and you get over 4x the storage space.

you're right...

so what would you put on the SSD? the OS and video games? everything else on the HDD?

Thanks for the help, I wasn't even aware of SSDs before your replies!



also no one said anything about the compatibility of my parts, does this mean I'm ok?

and can someone confirm that I don't need a sound card? and what about my dvd rom, should I re-use my pc's old dvd-rom or get a new one?

 

[rwpritchett]

Yes, all of your parts look good to me. Good quality and compatible. You don't need a soundcard, the motherboard audio is good enough. Go ahead and re-use your DVD rom if you want. A new one is only $20, so not a big deal either way. If you are still running an IDE drive, you may want to upgrade to SATA.

Anything you want to launch very quickly goes on the SSD. Naturally the OS which will eat up ~20GB. There are a lot of tricks to save SSD space such as disabling hibernation... that will save you the amount equal to your RAM (in your case 6GB). The big thing when it comes to SSD's is the controller... do your research. SandForce drives are among the best, Intel is good too.

If you think you need a bigger SSD, you can adjust the media drive budget and maybe squeeze in a 80-120GB SSD.

 

[The_Lurker]

Looks to be a good build. Was just wondering the date you plan to build as ati 6xxx cards are out soon and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday 6 Weeks away might be able to save on some of them parts. Might be worth a little wait.

 

[raolc]

Looks to be a good build. Was just wondering the date you plan to build as ati 6xxx cards are out soon and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday 6 Weeks away might be able to save on some of them parts. Might be worth a little wait.

a friend convinced me to drop the hd5850 and get the gtx470 instead, so here is my complete updated build

-ViewSonic VA2702W 27-Inch Full HD 1080p
-Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch (HDD)
-OCZ Technology 60 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch (SSD)
-EVGA GeForce GTX470 1280 MB
-Cooler Master V8 Nickel Plated Copper Base Aluminum Fins 8 Heatpipes Core i7 1366 CPU Cooler
-Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D Dominator 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7
-Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750-Watt TX Series
-Cooler Master HAF X - Full tower
-EVGA X58 SLI Classified Mainboard
-Intel Core i7 Processor i7-930 2.80GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU


1) anyone against dropping the hd5850 for a gtx470? is the hd6000 series worth the wait? (friend said for my mobo, its better i go with nvidia)

2) i never found black friday/cyber monday to save me alot of money, it just gives me a headache more than anything. but I never tried shopping for computer parts on those days, so would you strongly disagree and have me wait?

 

[The_Lurker]

Well even if you didn't go with ati having the HD6xxx out may force Nvidia to do a price drop. I would say its worth the wait for the ATI cards as its like a week away. As for a longer wait till Black Friday and Cyber Monday its yes and no.If you google Black Friday,Cyber Monday the ad are out a couple to a few weeks before the BF,CM dates.
I know newegg aways has some dang good deals on just about anything.Im not one to stand in line for hours on end but I love to be up till the morning hours doing my shopping online.

 

[raolc]

Thanks everyone, making great progress here!

I guess the question is, nvidia or ati?

On one side it seems like ATI is out performing nvidia (by far) for cheaper.

On the other side I'm told the difference is nothing, and that I should go with nvidia since it will work better with the rest of my set up.

Your opinions, please?



Also, sort of an off topic question. I notice people stacking like 2 or 3 gtx470s, and I wonder why? I'd expect my set up with one gtx470 or one HD5850 should be good enough for the newest games in highest settings. Why do people use 2 of them then? Isn't one already more than enough?

 

[raolc]

Best answer selected by raolc.