First Build, Uncorked AMD

[loukur]

Approximate Purchase Date: A.S.A.P.
Budget Range: Under $5k
System Usage from Most to Least Important: CASE Tools, business tools, gaming
Parts Not Required: mouse, OS
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences:
PSU Corsair Professional Series™ Gold AX1200 CMPSU-1200AX $279.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014
Case Thermaltake Element V Black Edition VL200K1W2Z $154.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133178&Tpk=VL200K1W2Z
MoBo ASUS Crosshair IV Formula N82E16813131644 $229.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644&Tpk=N82E16813131644
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Thuban, Six-Core CPU HDE00ZFBR $239.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913&Tpk=HDE00ZFBR
Cooler Corsair H70 Liquid Cooler, 120mm CWCH70 $109.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181013&Tpk=CWCH70
Memory Corsair Dominator® GT with fan CMT8GX3M2A2000C9 $234.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145330&Tpk=CMT8GX3M2A2000C9
Memory Corsair Dominator® GT (no fan) CMX8GX3M2A2000C9 $179.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145325&Tpk=CMX8GX3M2A2000C9
Video Card ATI Radeon HD 6970 100311SR $379.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102915&Tpk=100311SR
HDD A1 WD SATA 6Gb 10,000 600 GB WD6000HLHX $274.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136555&cm_re=WD6000HLHX-_-22-136-555-_-Product
HDD A2 WD SATA 6Gb 10,000 600 GB WD6000HLHX $274.99
HDD A3 WD SATA 6Gb 10,000 600 GB WD6000HLHX $274.99
Spare WD SATA 6Gb 10,000 600 GB WD6000HLHX $274.99
HDD B1 WD Caviar Black 1TB, 7200 RPM, 64MB Cache WD1002FAEX $89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533&cm_re=WD1002FAEX-_-22-136-533-_-Product
HDD B2 WD Caviar Black 1TB, 7200 RPM, 64MB Cache WD1002FAEX $89.99
BD RW LG Blu-ray Burner WH10LS30 $98.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136181&cm_re=WH10LS30-_-27-136-181-_-Product
BD R LG Blu-ray Reader UH10LS20 $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136185&cm_re=UH10LS20-_-27-136-185-_-Product
Monitor HP HP 2509m $269.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176126&cm_re=HP_2509m-_-24-176-126-_-Product
Keyboard Logitech 106 Key USB Wired Ultra-thin Illuminated 920-000914 Black $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126043&Tpk=920-000914%20Black
Backup drive WD 2TB USB 2.0 and 3.0-Windows/Mac WDBACW0020HBK $129.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136748&Tpk=WDBACW0020HBK
UPS APC 1500 VA 865 Watt 10 Outlets-UPS RS 1500 BR1500G $189.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101419
SATA Cable (6) 81" USB 6GB cables, right angle $35.94 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123288
Misc Black cable ties $4.49 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899997047&cm_re=black_cable_ties-_-99-997-047-_-Product

Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe later
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: Trying for very high performance disk and a lot of room for VMWware virtual machines. I wish this were a P67/i7 2600K
Questions:
I'm sick of Dell Hell, so I am going to build my own. I am sure there are beginner mistakes in this build.
I keep going back and forth between the Thermaltake Element V Black Edition and the Corsair graphite 600T. I think the Thermaltake looks cooler. Does anyone have experience with these two and can point out some differences beyond the specs?
Newegg has everything and has mostly better prices. Buy.com has better prices on a couple of things, but I had such a problem with them back in 2007 I have not used them since. They had zero service and did not even have a phone number to call. Has anyone had recent experience with Buy.com and service? Is there some other place to look for prices that I have missed? I looked at Tiger Direct and Superbizz, but neither have a lot of the stuff. Do most people buy from one source or split up their orders to the lowest price?
Anybody know how to buy 4x4GB memory and guarantee all the sticks are from the same lot?

 

[rolli59]

With that kind of budget why not an lga 1366 I7 9xx build?

 

[joelmartinez]

At least get a i7 950 system with tri-SLI and 2 gtx 570s to start and 3 later on, with that budget you might be able to afford the evga sr-2 with dual xeons

 

[loukur]

With that kind of budget why not an lga 1366 I7 9xx build?

I put together an X58 build and it was a lot of money for yesterday's technology. I would rather have the extensive SATA 6GB and USB 3.0 support of the AM3 motherboards.

 

[joelmartinez]

Look: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614&cm_re=p6x58d_premium-_-13-131-614-_-Product sata 6 and usb 3.0

 

[rolli59]

I put together an X58 build and it was a lot of money for yesterday's technology. I would rather have the extensive SATA 6GB and USB 3.0 support of the AM3 motherboards.

What are you talking about those things are available on LGA1366 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157189
AM3 is as much yesterdays tech as LGA1366 both platforms will get upgraded this year! LGA1366 is simply faster!

 

[loukur]

"What are you talking about..." Something I researched.
The board you mention has two (2) 6GB. I have fix (6) devices in the building required 6GB. That board will NOT WORK for this build.

You seem to be long on opinions and quick with a smart-alec retort, but are very short on facts.

Why do I waste my time posting here. Nothing but a bunch of losers.

 

[jprahman]

Are you planning on RAIDing those Caviar Blacks? I've heard that Caviar Blacks have a tendency to drop out of RAID arrays randomly. WD RE4 drivers do a lot better in a RAID setup and reportedly are slightly more reliable.

Depending on how many cores you want a Xeon setup might not be a bad idea. Also, keep in mind that Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge-E are slated to be released later this year, and they both will likely include 6-8 core models. Obviously that could be a long wait.

Also, that PSU is overkill unless you want two or three GTX 580s.

Newegg offers 16GB RAM packages with 4 X 4GB sticks, but I'm not sure that's a guarantee that they'll be from the same lot.

The way I look at it buying from multiple sites isn't going to save a lot of money because when you buy from multiple sites you get hit with higher shipping charges overall, plus it can be a bit of a hassle to buy from 3-4 different vendors. So unless you happen to find a part at a low enough price to offset any increased shipping charges it's probably not worth buying parts from more than 1-2 retailers.

 

[AstroTC]

"What are you talking about..." Something I researched.
The board you mention has two (2) 6GB. I have fix (6) devices in the building required 6GB. That board will NOT WORK for this build.

You seem to be long on opinions and quick with a smart-alec retort, but are very short on facts.

Why do I waste my time posting here. Nothing but a bunch of losers.

Good day to you sir..

 

[rolli59]

"What are you talking about..." Something I researched.
The board you mention has two (2) 6GB. I have fix (6) devices in the building required 6GB. That board will NOT WORK for this build.

You seem to be long on opinions and quick with a smart-alec retort, but are very short on facts.

Why do I waste my time posting here. Nothing but a bunch of losers.

Well your statement about yesterdays tech is simply wrong! AMD builds are good on a budget but Intel has the win on performance http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=100
But then again what do I know being a Looser!