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Critique / help my build! Buying soon

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Hi guys,

I've already chosen the CPU, RAM, GPU and HDD. I need some help selecting a mobo, case, and fan.


Main purposes: rendering, photo editing, light gaming, multitasking.
The rendering and photo editing is why I'm going for the 2600K and the 8GB of memory. The only game I play now is SC2 so a GTX 460 should be fine.

Already have: monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard
Purchase date: ASAP, latest at end of January.

CPU: $280 i7 2600K
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

MEMORY: $77 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

GPU: I want a single 1GB GTX 460. Looking at:
$170, $20 MIR EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

HDD: $70 1TB 7200RPM SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: Something on the order of 60-80GB. I do want an SSD now, but am willing to wait up to the end of January if that changes things.

Mobo?
I would like the opportunity to upgrade in the future (either another 460 for SLI, or just replace it with a better single card).
Anyone have recommendations for P67 boards that won't be used for SLI? If I do choose the SLI route (potential, in the future), I'd probably go for the Asus P8P67 Pro for $190 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...

PSU? How much wattage would I need for 2 x GTX 460? What if I end up upgrading to a higher end single GPU later?
Case?
Case fan? -- do I need one?
HSF? -- do I need one?

If I spend $150 for SSD, $200 for mobo, $200 for case/fan/cooling, total comes out to $1147

So what do you think I should get for the mobo? Will 460s in SLI in the future be worth getting a SLI mobo? Do you have any recommendations for case/cpu/fan?

Thanks guys!
Sherwin

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You can get Samsung Spinpoint F3's for $55 on Amazon, Fry's, or even Newegg most of the time. You shouldn't have to pay $70 and should save that $15 for your graphics card.

Don't buy a SSD if all you can afford is a GTX 460. Save every dollar you can for a better card. Get a GTX 470 for $225 and a 750W PSU to power a future SLI. I highly recommend a good brand PSU (read johnnyguru reviews).

Spend the extra $25 and get good RAM. 1600MHz CL9 or better.

Case: I love my Azza Solano 1000R I got for $80 in July. And a good cooler only cost $40. So you can put the extra $80 you save here towards your graphics as well.
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dalauder said:
You can get Samsung Spinpoint F3's for $55 on Amazon, Fry's, or even Newegg most of the time. You shouldn't have to pay $70 and should save that $15 for your graphics card.

Don't buy a SSD if all you can afford is a GTX 460. Save every dollar you can for a better card. Get a GTX 470 for $225 and a 750W PSU to power a future SLI. I highly recommend a good brand PSU (read johnnyguru reviews).

Spend the extra $25 and get good RAM. 1600MHz CL9 or better.

Case: I love my Azza Solano 1000R I got for $80 in July. And a good cooler only cost $40. So you can put the extra $80 you save here towards your graphics as well.


Thanks for pointing that out about the GTX 460 SE.

I CAN afford a better card, but I don't feel like I need it for now. Money isn't really a problem -- I seriously considered going for a GTX 570 also. But all I run is SC2 (for now), and that can be maxed with a GTX 460. I would be running two monitors though (1920*1200 and 1680*1050). And I heard the GTX 470 runs hot.

Here's my take on what I need out of the gpu: it would be fantastic to have a a high tier one -- I'd probably play more modern games if I had one -- but it's not necessary. I am a casual gamer. I don't mind playing 2 year old games (if they're good), but when I run something, I do like having it at high quality. If I get a GTX 460 now, I can either go for SLI later or get a better card all together (any thoughts on SLI?)


I've read again and again that RAM is where I should be cutting costs -- how much is the difference between 1600 and 1333? I plan on overclocking in the future to extend the 2600K -- does that affect my decision?

Thanks again for the answers.

Best solution

^ If causal gaming, then IMO the GTX 460 is good enough, but you should know that Nvidia is going to launch GTX 560 on Jan 25th most probably around $250, and it should end up faster than the GTX 470, but should consume less power and give out less heat,...
And if you dont play often then with a single powerful card - No SLI hassle, less power consumption and for most of the MMOs, you wont need that much power or they dont support,...
A good GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CASE - For a single card, a very good mid tower would suffice and my suggestion would be this case -
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU -
Corsair 650TX - Though you wont need this much power, but still a very good one for the price
$10 coupon code: EMCKJJG23 (expires 1/19)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD - 2 of these in RAID 0
OCZ Agility 2 60GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Mobo - Without SLI, this would be a very good option -
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM - I would suggest this one if you might overclock in the future -
Crucial 8GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Reason -
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/8gb-ddr3-ram,2542-8...

Hi gkay09, thanks for the very helpful response.

I think it makes sense to wait for the GTX 560 then -- that seems like exactly what I would want. If I'm getting a GTX 560, I think I'll probably go for non SLI and hopefully the GTX 560 can last me for a while before I upgrade. Question though: would 650W be enough to run this set up with SLI'd GTX 560s?

As far as putting the SSDs in Raid 0 -- I don't think I need 120GB for my system drive. Though I have to say, that is a very good price. Doesn't RAID 0 also increase the chance for failure, if one of the drives fail? Is RAID 0 easy to set up?

Thanks again for the other suggestions.

gkay09 said:
^ If causal gaming, then IMO the GTX 460 is good enough, but you should know that Nvidia is going to launch GTX 560 on Jan 25th most probably around $250, and it should end up faster than the GTX 470, but should consume less power and give out less heat,...
And if you dont play often then with a single powerful card - No SLI hassle, less power consumption and for most of the MMOs, you wont need that much power or they dont support,...
A good GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CASE - For a single card, a very good mid tower would suffice and my suggestion would be this case -
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU -
Corsair 650TX - Though you wont need this much power, but still a very good one for the price
$10 coupon code: EMCKJJG23 (expires 1/19)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD - 2 of these in RAID 0
OCZ Agility 2 60GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Mobo - Without SLI, this would be a very good option -
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM - I would suggest this one if you might overclock in the future -
Crucial 8GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Reason -
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/8gb-ddr3-ram,2542-8...

Well to answer any questions on SSD RAID 0ing here ya go.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251230-32-ssds-raid-q...

I personally don't recommend RAID 0 if you use SSDs because should you plan to transfer the SSD over to your next build or something, the life is decreased by almost 1/2 vs if you didn't RAID at all.

Now as for my suggetions, they are all located in mah siggy :D 

http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore

Or there ^

As for the 560, the pricing is probably going to be $250 but it could be 300$, probably not though. Anyway, if you were looking at your GTX 460 SLI, it is basically the same price as CF 6850s and tbh CF 6850s perform better than 460s in SLI actually.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6970-rade...

As you can see, it comes out on top most of the time with a higher minimum fps as well. Just browse through the benchmarks, the 6850 is usually on top. So a single 6850 usually comes out on on top as well, just letting you know.

^ That PSU might be just enough for 560 SLI without any overclocking, if overclocking CPU/ GPU, then 700W+ would be safe,...

Mobo - That Gigabyte board will not support SLI, so the ASUS PRO would be the bettter option,...

SSD - RAID 0 mainly for OS and apps so even if you encounter failure, you can install it back...
Though chances of failure high compared to a single drive, but the performance increase is a good trade-off,...
And the mobo has RAID, so after connecting the 2 drives, you have to go into the BIOS and set RAID 0,... See the mobo manual, should have some info how to enable it,...

TRIM may not work on RAIDed drives. A single 80GB-128GB should be sufficient.
Blizzard games apparently work better with nVidia cards, so a GTX460 is probably the way to go (vs. a HD6850). Buying a stronger GPU now is probably not worth it, especially if you're willing to play on less-than ultra settings (in the preview, even "medium" looked decent in SC2). You may not even need a GPU that strong, but the GTX460 sits at a price/performance sweet spot.
If you need more than 1TB for data, get more 1TB drives for RAID-5. I have read that the larger drives (e.g. 2TB) are still experiencing unusually high failure rates. Take that fwiw; sorry I don't remember the specific references.

Hi Gkay09,

I read the link about memory and overclocking. I am a bit confused though. It seems like latency (not clock speed) is the deciding factor; would the Crucial 2x4GB you suggested make much of a difference if I plan on OCing the cpu (not the memory)?

Thanks,
Sherwin

gkay09 said:
^ That PSU might be just enough for 560 SLI without any overclocking, if overclocking CPU/ GPU, then 700W+ would be safe,...

Mobo - That Gigabyte board will not support SLI, so the ASUS PRO would be the bettter option,...

SSD - RAID 0 mainly for OS and apps so even if you encounter failure, you can install it back...
Though chances of failure high compared to a single drive, but the performance increase is a good trade-off,...
And the mobo has RAID, so after connecting the 2 drives, you have to go into the BIOS and set RAID 0,... See the mobo manual, should have some info how to enable it,...

Question about the case:

I'm also looking at these two:

$80 NZXT Apollo Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$70 LEXA S Crafted Series Black Steel Mid Tower Chassis
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OEBILU/ref=pd_lpo_...


They are cheaper than the Cooler Master 692 you suggested, and I like the look more. Is there a particular reason you chose the Cooler Master? These cases come with quite a few fans. I'm going with the Gigabyte mobo with either a GTX 460 or 560; would the stock cooling be fine? Do I need to purchase a HSF or case fan?

Oh Also I LOVE the look of the $140 NZXT Phantom:
http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Crafted-Tower-Steel-Chassis/...
I think the ~$60 difference is almost justifiable it's just so pretty. But it seems like more of a gaming case with lots of room + good cooling and I won't be using it =/


Thanks again,
Sherwin



gkay09 said:
^ If causal gaming, then IMO the GTX 460 is good enough, but you should know that Nvidia is going to launch GTX 560 on Jan 25th most probably around $250, and it should end up faster than the GTX 470, but should consume less power and give out less heat,...
And if you dont play often then with a single powerful card - No SLI hassle, less power consumption and for most of the MMOs, you wont need that much power or they dont support,...
A good GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CASE - For a single card, a very good mid tower would suffice and my suggestion would be this case -
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU -
Corsair 650TX - Though you wont need this much power, but still a very good one for the price
$10 coupon code: EMCKJJG23 (expires 1/19)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD - 2 of these in RAID 0
OCZ Agility 2 60GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Mobo - Without SLI, this would be a very good option -
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM - I would suggest this one if you might overclock in the future -
Crucial 8GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Reason -
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/8gb-ddr3-ram,2542-8...

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