Could Someone Inspect This?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510
First off, I've never custom built a system so I''m a bit overwhelmed by all the numbers and tech talk I been reading. I've put together most the components I would like for the build and I wondered if anyone who knows their stuff could make sure they don't see any glaring problems. Things like compatibility especially. I'd hate to spend hundreds on a component only to find it won't fit with the rest of my stuff. Here's my component list so far.

1. Processor - Intel Core i7-2600k. ($329.99)

2. Motherboard - ASUS Sabretooth P67 B3 TUF Edition. ($229.99)

3. RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB PC 12800 DDR3 16MHz 4x4096mb. ($214.99)

4. GPU - Diamond Radeon HD 6970 2048MB GDDR5 PCIe. ($415.99)

5. Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB, 7200 RPM, SATA 6G, 64 mb cache. ($159.99)

6. Cooler - Corsair Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler. ($59.99)

7. Case - Cooler Master HAF 922M ATX Black Mid-Tower Case. ($89.99)

8. Optical Drive - ASUS Internal 24x CD/DVD drive. ($25.99)

9. Power Supply - Ultra X4 1050 watt modular. ($199.99)

10. OS - Windows 7 Home Premium

That's the setup I've cobbled together with my limited understanding. Does anyone see compatibility issues or other major problems with this build. Am I missing anything major? Will this setup be a solid gaming machine? Feel free to make any suggestions, but I'd like to stay in the current price range.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Rusting In Peace

Rusting In Peace

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2009
1,048
0
19,460
You could really, really, really do with providing links for each of the components!

Once you do this I'll have a look.

Off the bat:

That power supply seems somewhat overpowered for this system? Extra wattage is good for future upgrades but far too much and you'll just consume more electricity that you need to. Even if you don't care for the "green" factor your electric bills will be higher than they need to be.

With > 4GB of Ram you need to use a 64bit OS to utilise it. So ensure that Windows 7 is 64bit!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
eloric

eloric

Distinguished
Mar 13, 2010
848
0
19,060
Welcome Newcomer,

You are spending a lot of money here. May I ask what you intend to do twith this machine? If you are just a gamer, then maybe you can cut back on some of the components and still get some fantastic performance.

For example, the most you would reasonably need for a CPU is an i5-2500k. There is $100 right off the top!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Espada

Distinguished
Jul 9, 2009
363
0
18,810
Everything looks fine but I would check with maybe not that big of a psu.
1)psu look a little power hungry just like the other guy said ( I say get a good brand 800W maybe even 700W double check with other people)
2)If you game dont really think you need that much ram, im a gamer Ive never used more than 3gb so if something save some money and get 2x4gb for dual channel
3)2tb hdd is good do you really need that much space, I would try to get an ssd +hdd
ssd are awesome I have one and game loads up fast and saves boot time. Sata 6gb hdd wont make a real world performance get a regular 2tb 7200rpm for your music movies and most of your games.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510


Yes, I am going to be playing so some graphic heavy games. However another thing I use a lot is Adobe CS5 which I've been told will work much smoother with more RAM. I know some of the components seem to be overkill at this point, but I'm also trying to future proof it a bit in case I ever want to go really extreme. I probably don't need that processor at this point, but I've heard good things about it and I really don't mind the extra $100 if it will keep my system up to par with the current technology a little bit longer. Thanks for your reply.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510


Thanks for the answer! So the power seems too much? I know none of the other components needs it on the list, but do you think in the future they might become necessary? If I ever wanted to do something crazy like really nice dual graphics cards, they would take a lot of wattage wouldn't they. Basically I just want to buy a power source that will be fine over the long haul no matter how much I may upgrade in the future. As for the RAM, I'm also really big into Adobe CS5 and I've heard that RAM has a big impact on how well that will run. I'll look into a more reasonable hard drive if the SATA 6G won't really make a huge diff.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Espada

Distinguished
Jul 9, 2009
363
0
18,810
yea corsair 850tx should be fine with those even if you decide to crossfire but think about it. Im guessing the resolution your gonna be gaming is 1920x1080 correct? 6970 should be able to max those for like 2 years down the road for almost all games. Most prob last 3 years by that time theres gonna be a new and better card your gonna wanna get that will outperform 6970 is sli. Okay that being said "future proof" yes the psu i suggested should last. Are you the type of ppl that dont upgrade until your comp dies or every 5 years? Because my future proof is the next 1-2years lol. So i get whats best out then upgrade if necessary.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
eloric

eloric

Distinguished
Mar 13, 2010
848
0
19,060
OK, to make a big bad ass machine you really should have an SSD. Make sure it has decent speed and size - say 120 GB like this one: G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series for $242. Put your OS and applications on this drive. Watching windows boot in less than 10 seconds makes you fall in love with your SSD a little more every day......but I digress.

You are probably not going to use more than 8GB of RAM even in the most intensive application of Adobe CS5. Besides, if you do find that RAM is your bottleneck, it is one of the simplest things to upgrade. Chances are if you need more memory in the future, it will be better and/or cheaper anyway.

As for power, you could get an 850 watt model, and still run two of those 6970 graphics cards. Unless you think you are going to a triple GPU configuration, don't spend your money there. Antec, Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, Silverstone, Cougar and Sparkle Computer all make decent power supplies.

If you want 2TB of hard drive, then definitely buy two 1TB drives and stripe them in Raid 0. It will make them twice as fast. BTW, 6Gbs hard drives are useless, since today's drives don't even utilize 3 Gbs - I do not know why manufacturers sell them. Get either WD Caviar Black or Samsung Spinpoint f3, your choice. Using Raid is as easy as reading a mobo manual - don't bother with the Windows OS version.

Your motherboard is built solid, and looks fantastic. Your choice of case is perfect, and you will enjoy building with it since it has so many very nice features. Make sure you get a 8 pin power extension so you can wire it up behind the motherboard for good cable management.

Newegg has your video card for $338.

One last item: the Corsair Hydro H50 looks good on paper, but is not as good as air. If you really want to go that route, step up to the H70 version for $95. Better yet, Prolimatech Megahalems with an Excalibur fan seems like an awesome combination to me.




 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510


Thanks for all your suggestions. One thing about the Prolimatech Megahalems with Excalibur fan. It says it is designed to go on a LGA1156 socket type, however the motherboard I chose is LGA1155. Does this make them incompatible or will it still work?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

SteveGP

Distinguished
Mar 5, 2011
23
0
18,510


The H70 is a really good cooler but it's downside are the fans that come with it. These things are LOUD. I had it installed for about a week and I couldn't stand it anymore. I ordered 2 replacement fans (Gentle Typhoon) for $40 and now I'm a lot happier. I paid $80 for the H70 and $40 for the 2 fans. $120 is too much to spend for this cooler, IMO, but I didn't want to go thru the trouble of returning it so I just replaced the fans. You might want to consider a good quality air cooler or even put in a full blown water cooling system for this price. An alternative is Noctua NH-D14.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510

Thanks for the suggestion Steve. Again though, like what the other guy suggested, it says it is compatible with a LGA1156 socket and the motherboard I'm getting is LGA1155. Would it still be compatible?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

SteveGP

Distinguished
Mar 5, 2011
23
0
18,510



Yes, I believe the 1155 & 1156 are interchangeable in regards to CPU coolers. I bought the MSI P67 motherboard and the H70 fits perfectly even though it only said it's 1156 compatible.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

JTS66

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2011
8
0
18,510


Cool. Thanks a lot for your help.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

SteveGP

Distinguished
Mar 5, 2011
23
0
18,510



No prob, good luck with your build. And I highly suggest you follow the other poster's advice and get an SSD as your primary drive. I finish by i5 2500K build a few weeks ago and the only thing missing is an SSD. It's like night and day when you compare a HDD to an SSD. I can't go back to using a regular HDD anymore. I'm gonna wait a few more weeks and hopefully the new OCZ Vertex 3 drives come back in stock. I'm hoping the price drops from $300 to the inital $250 that OCZ had said the drive would cost.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Espada

Distinguished
Jul 9, 2009
363
0
18,810


tottally agree with you I bought an ssd for my laptop for saving battery purposes. I thought ssd only boots fast no need in getting it didn't wanna get in the "hype". Now I despise using my desktop now all my games boot slower it takes about 2-3x to boot up to the desktop than my notebook. The specs on the notebook vs desktop is day and night but that ssd oh man i love the ssd.
Specs on Desktop
i7 950
gtx 460
6gb ddr3 ram
7200rpm boots up in about a 1min or so
Specs on Laptop
i5 480m
amd 6550
4gb ddr3 ram
ssd+hdd boots up cold boot little less than 25secs
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
eloric

eloric

Distinguished
Mar 13, 2010
848
0
19,060
Sorry it took so long to get back: LGA 1155 and LGA 1156 have the same hole placement, so there is no compatibility issue. That was a very good question.

I noticed that you have not custom built a machine in the past. here are two very good references to make sure your build is smooth and enjoyable:

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a PC by Tecmo34. Print this out and read it before you start, then read it again! If you follow the instructions carefully and take your time, your build will be stress free.

If there is a problem with your machine after you are finished, then this is the guide will help you get them solved: PERFORM THESE STEPS before posting about boot/no video problems! by shortstuff_mt and jsc.

Have fun!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jb6684

jb6684

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2011
1,554
1
20,460
Just information, the size of your power supply does NOT determine how much Electricity your system will use.....

If you hook up a KillAWatt meter to your system, let's say you draw 300 watts from the wall....

- using a 500watt power supply, you'll draw 300watts from the wall.........

- using a 750watt power supply, you'll draw 300watts from the wall.........

- using a 1000watt power supply, you'll draw 300watts from the wall.........

- using a 1250watt power supply, you'll draw 300watts from the wall.........


What DOES effect how much Electricity you use it the EFFICIENCY of the power supply you have....

If you draw 300watts from the wall with an 70% efficient supply....

- then using an 80% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 262.5watts from the wall

- then using an 85% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 247watts from the wall

- then using an 90% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 233watts from the wall

- then using an 95% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 221watts from the wall

- then using an 100% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 210watts from the wall (Sorry, no such thing as a 100% efficient supply but as you can see this is all the power your components actually are using....)

SOOOO, Higher efficiency is a good thing. The higher the Efficiency the less electricity you waste..... (and that waste usually takes the form of heat generated by the power supply....)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

SteveGP

Distinguished
Mar 5, 2011
23
0
18,510



Yeah, I hear ya. I have an Intel SSD in my 5 years old laptop and it runs so much faster then my new Sandy Bridge gaming computer. It almost makes me want to just buy the Crucial C300. But the Vertex 3 performance numbers are just too awesome to ignore. I figured I can wait a few more weeks to get one since I've already waited 3 weeks. I might as well get the best & fastest at this time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rusting In Peace

Rusting In Peace

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2009
1,048
0
19,460


False!

The efficiency ratings do not apply across the entire load of the PSU. They are measured at various load percentages.

So two PSUs, with varying wattage but with the same efficiency rating, will not use the same amount of electricity!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jb6684

jb6684

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2011
1,554
1
20,460
Ah, now your splitting hairs; but I didn't claim the efficiency rating for the supply covered 0% load to 100% load..........


The actual specs are: (which you can see are really PRETTY flat across the load range 20% to 100%...)

80 PLUS Test Type 115V Internal Non-Redundant 230V Internal Redundant
Fraction of Rated Load 20% 50% 100% 20% 50% 100%
80 PLUS 80% 80% 80% Not defined
80 PLUS Bronze 82% 85% 82% 81% 85% 81%
80 PLUS Silver 85% 88% 85% 85% 89% 85%
80 PLUS Gold 87% 90% 87% 88% 92% 88%
80 PLUS Platinum 90% 92% 89% 90% 94% 91%
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rusting In Peace

Rusting In Peace

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2009
1,048
0
19,460
Ah, now your splitting hairs
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but you made the bold claim! :D

80 PLUS Platinum 90% 92% 89% 90% 94% 91%
Click to expand...

Curious! I never knew there was a Platinum rating. I've only recently seen a handful of PSU manufacturers manage gold.

If you draw 300watts from the wall with an 70% efficient supply....

- then using an 80% efficient supply instead you ONLY draw 262.5watts from the wall
Click to expand...

To split hairs further, you've said "from the wall" twice which is confusing. I think you mean 262.5 watts is available to the system. For example, if you system needs 300W, an 80% efficient PSU must draw 360W from the wall.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom