Switching back to PC. Critique my build.

[y2hbk]

Hey everyone. The last PC I built was in early 2006. Since then, I have been on the Apple bandwagon. And while I have loved their products and my late 2009 iMac fits a great deal of needs - I am looking to rebuild my old PC that has been collecting dust with a few minor changes here and there. While even my PC still gets the job done, I would like to get a larger hi-res monitor and have the ability to play games at that higher resolution, 2560x1440. I might also be doing some work with photoshop and a little video editing. My main focus is geared toward gaming, however.

Example Games I Play/Will Play
-Neverwinter Nights 2
-Final Fantasy XI
-Starcraft 2
-Sims 3
-Civ 5
-Diablo 3
-Star Wars: The Old Republic

Old Build
Case: Antec Nine Hundred - Fans upgraded/added
MoBo - Asus P5Q Pro Turbo
CPU: C2D E6600 2.4GHz OC'd to 3.0GHz
HDD: Western Digital Velociraptor 10k RPM
RAM: 8GB Corsair PC2 6400
GPU: Ati Radeon HD 4850
PSU: Antec NeoPower 550W

New Build - Budget is $1500, with room to move in both directions. This does not include the monitor cost.
Case: Keeping case above
MoBo: Asus Rampage III - 1366 socket, USB 3.0, Enchanced audio, Crossfire & SLI options, OC-able ($299 - Newegg)
CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz ($199 - Microcenter)
HDD: Switch to SSD and use HDD as backup - Intel X25-M 120GB ($229 - Newegg)
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 8-8-8-24 ($149 - Newegg)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 ($249 - Newegg)
PSU: Rosewill BRONZE Series RBR1000-M 1000W ($129 - Newegg)
CPU Fan: ???
Accessories: Arctic 5 Silver Thermal Compound ($10 - Newegg)

Total: Right around $1265. What do you guys recommend for a heatsink/cpu fan? I have a Zalman in my old machine, but I know a few people with cooler master. Thoughts? Recommendations? Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[cpatel1987]

You would probably consider this a cop-out reply, but I really can't criticize your build. Its...perfect!

Microcenter by the way does price match Newegg, as long as the lower cost includes shipping, and of course they aren't losing healthy profits in the deal. They sell the Solid State drive and the Corsair memory. Again all depends on what loss they take. The arctic 5 compound is same price.
Is this the motherboard your getting? http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0345264. $239.99 there. I would talk to a manager, they are more inclined to price match everything if you buy everything together.

 

[BeCoolBro]

N

 

[BeCoolBro]

Sorry for the other post.I must have accidentally pressed the submit button.
Now for the build.It is very nice and it will suit your needs.I would go with the Asus sabertooth X58 because I don't think you'll go tri-sli in the near future.For the psu,rosewill isn't one of the best psu manufacturers.If you're planning to stay with one gtx 470,the Antec TP 650W will be just fine.If you're going to get another one for sli in the future,then the corsair hx850w would be a better choice.
For the cpu cooler,it depends on your oc expectations.For a 3.6-3.8ghz overclock,a Coolermaster hyper 212 plus with two scythe S-Flex 1600rpm fans in a push-pull configuration would be enough.For 4-4.2ghz a Prolimatech Super Mega with the same two fans would suffice although barely and possibly not while testing with Linx.
In case you decide not to keep your case,the NZXT Phantom is worth a look.

 

[y2hbk]

You would probably consider this a cop-out reply, but I really can't criticize your build. Its...perfect!

Microcenter by the way does price match Newegg, as long as the lower cost includes shipping, and of course they aren't losing healthy profits in the deal. They sell the Solid State drive and the Corsair memory. Again all depends on what loss they take. The arctic 5 compound is same price.
Is this the motherboard your getting? http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0345264. $239.99 there. I would talk to a manager, they are more inclined to price match everything if you buy everything together.

Thanks for the info! I didnt know about the price matching. I will def take it into consideration since I will already be down there for the processor.

Sorry for the other post.I must have accidentally pressed the submit button.
Now for the build.It is very nice and it will suit your needs.I would go with the Asus sabertooth X58 because I don't think you'll go tri-sli in the near future.For the psu,rosewill isn't one of the best psu manufacturers.If you're planning to stay with one gtx 470,the Antec TP 650W will be just fine.If you're going to get another one for sli in the future,then the corsair hx850w would be a better choice.
For the cpu cooler,it depends on your oc expectations.For a 3.6-3.8ghz overclock,a Coolermaster hyper 212 plus with two scythe S-Flex 1600rpm fans in a push-pull configuration would be enough.For 4-4.2ghz a Prolimatech Super Mega with the same two fans would suffice although barely and possibly not while testing with Linx.
In case you decide not to keep your case,the NZXT Phantom is worth a look.

Hmm, ok - good info. While I will only be running one GPU now, I may add another down the road. So I would like a hefty PSU. I really dont remember much about PSU's - so I just grabbed a high wattage one and threw it on the build for the time being. A lot of people seem to like the Corsair, so I think thats what I will wind up going with.

I had originally looked at several motherboards - but always came back to Asus again. Its what I have always used in the past. I did check out the Sabertooth but moved on to the Rampage for a few reasons.

1. The Rampage supported higher memory standards in terms of overclocking capabilities. Based on the reviews at newegg, more people seems to universally be happier with the CPU OC capabilities for this model as well.
2. It had an additional eSATA port which I would like to have.
3. It uses the SupremeFX X-Fi 2 audio chipset. I have never been too crazy with the Asus Realtek chipsets, and figured this would alleviate me needing to get a Sound card. I use a Logitch Z-5500 speaker setup.

But then for the Sabertooth, not only is it cheaper even compared to Microcenter, it also seems to have an additional 2 years on the warranty (granted after 3 years ill likely move on anyway, its still a nice option in case I sell on Ebay or create a 2nd build). Your thoughts??

For the fan, Im not familiar with the push/pull methods at all. Ive always kind of bought all-in-one configurations but this seems to be the way to go. I would just strap one fan on each side of the heatsink? And while I may not OC to 4+ in the beginning, it would give me some "future-proofing" to have that option.

What about this heatsink with the same fans? It seems to be cheaper and have better reviews. Will I be able to fit all of this into my case????
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242001

 

[ScrewySqrl]

IMHO you might as well ay the extra $100 for the 570.

 

[y2hbk]

IMHO you might as well ay the extra $100 for the 570.

According to passmark software the difference goes from a score of 2,953 > 2,962. Is there something Im missing? Thats not worth anywhere near $100 IMO.

Here is an updated list with pricing and now links. I removed the SSD to save $$ - I will stick with the raptor for the time being.

ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($299)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131666

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core ($199)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0346210

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler ($62)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242001

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan (x2 $30)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound ($10)

EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ... ($249)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D ($149)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224


CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply ($129)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Total: $1,127 - This leaves me some room for a SSD if the price is right. I might see what Microcenter has available when I go to pick up the CPU.

 

[GaresTaylan]

This is actually very similar to the build I was planing on putting together. Id be interested to see if anyone else has any comments on it?

 

[wortwortwort]

According to passmark software the difference goes from a score of 2,953 > 2,962. Is there something Im missing? Thats not worth anywhere near $100 IMO.

Here is an updated list with pricing and now links. I removed the SSD to save $$ - I will stick with the raptor for the time being.

The 570 doesn't sound like a banshee lives inside of your case.

The performance gains with a raptor will hardly be noticeable. The performance gains with a SSD will be huge.

Is it just me, or does that PC sound like overkill for the games that he listed?

 

[y2hbk]

The 570 doesn't sound like a banshee lives inside of your case.

The performance gains with a raptor will hardly be noticeable. The performance gains with a SSD will be huge.

Is it just me, or does that PC sound like overkill for the games that he listed?

Thanks for the help.

You should probably go back and read all posts if you are going to comment. While I appreciate the information on the 570 as it does seem like a great deal the more I read about it, will it really be needed for the games at the resolution I listed? The monitor I will be using is the Dell U2711.

I'm not buying a raptor. If you had read you would see that I already own it, whereas I don't have a SSD for use now. To save $$ - one isn't going to be purchased at this time. I have a SSD in my laptop - I'm well aware of the difference between the two.

I also stated that those are examples of games I plan to play - not all of them. I also stated I will be doing video editing which will require a powerful CPU and play games at 2560x1440 when available which will require a more powerful GPU. While I am certainly open to comments and suggestions, I would hardly call the build "overkill."

 

[BeCoolBro]

About the Sabertooth vs Rampage 3,I'm not sure that 1 e-sata port and a sound card are worth 100$ considering you can buy a better discrete sound card for less and you can use usb 3 which is as fast as e-sata.
Also, change the thermalpaste to OCZ Freeze if you can find some,as AS5 is overpriced.Even AC Ceramique would be nice although it is rather sticky and a bit hard to spread using the card method compared to AS5 and Freeze.Finally,I would get the CoolerMaster Silent Pro 850W instead of the 850tx because it is modular and will greatly help you with cable management.
Also the Prolimatech Megahalems is a better choice than the Super Mega I suggested,so that's better
Now finally the most important part of my suggestions.By all means avoid the corsair dominator RAM if you're going to install a large cooler like the Megahalems.Their heatsinks will interfere with it.You should get low profile ram,like these .Test have proven that the tall ram heatsinks are mostly a marketing gimmick as they give minimum differences in temperatures.

 

[y2hbk]

About the Sabertooth vs Rampage 3,I'm not sure that 1 e-sata port and a sound card are worth 100$ considering you can buy a better discrete sound card for less and you can use usb 3 which is as fast as e-sata.
Also, change the thermalpaste to OCZ Freeze if you can find some,as AS5 is overpriced.Even AC Ceramique would be nice although it is rather sticky and a bit hard to spread using the card method compared to AS5 and Freeze.Finally,I would get the CoolerMaster Silent Pro 850W instead of the 850tx because it is modular and will greatly help you with cable management.
Also the Prolimatech Megahalems is a better choice than the Super Mega I suggested,so that's better
Now finally the most important part of my suggestions.By all means avoid the corsair dominator RAM if you're going to install a large cooler like the Megahalems.Their heatsinks will interfere with it.You should get low profile ram,like these .Test have proven that the tall ram heatsinks are mostly a marketing gimmick as they give minimum differences in temperatures.

Great info once again, thanks!

After reading some reviews, I took your advice and changed the RAM and the PSU. The PSU not only runs cooler but the people agreed with you on the cables too.

The RAM had great reviews and had a lower CAS latency as well - so good looking out.

After looking at the fan you suggested earlier I started reading reviews and a lot of people were recommending the megahalem over the latter. Seemed like the way to go and it was cheaper.

I found some thermal compound here, arctic 5, so thats a purchase I wont need to make at all.

Finally the MoBo; I agree with your assessment on the eSATA. One should suffice with the USB 3.0 on board. And I doubt I will ever wind up running 3x GPUs. I think the things that have been keeping me from making the switch still is the rampage seems to be more accepting of higher OC'ing RAM and that improved on-board sound. Ill have to think about it some more and decide. I was wanting to pull the trigger sometime in the next couple of days!