Suggestions for new build?

[jeffinak]

I am getting ready to head out for commercial fishing season, and have already been planning a new build for once i get back. As I am making upwards of 10k in the month I will be gone, price is not so important a factor, though I would still like to keep the price-point somewhat reasonable. This will be my second "from scratch" build, first with a working knowledge of computer hardware. Below is a list of my "shopping cart" on Amazon.com (sticking with them as they are the only retailer i can find that will honor their free shipping to Alaska) I am pretty open to suggestions, though I am pretty set on an ATI/AMD combo simply from a price per performance standpoint.


Case- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OEBILK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=AZ8ZZL30AH7DI

MoBo- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NYDTJY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

CPU- Phenom 2x4 955 black (really no need for the 6 core)

RAM- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JO7CZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

PSU- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G702RI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Video Card- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZGIUK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Boot Drive(s) 2x in RAID 0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036ILEI0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Data Drive(s) 2x stand-alone http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CCS266/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

CPU cooler- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GWMEZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&m=A23NVCSO4PYH3S

Disk Drive- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026IADEC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=AN8LN2YPKS7DF

Card Slots- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00109Y2DQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Case Fans- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026ZPFBG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K

OS- Win 7 x 64 ultimate

I do believe I managed to get this all together with free shipping on everything


this system will be connected to my 42" LCD tv for movies and games (when the wife and kids will let me play on the big screen) and a 23" monitor for gaming and any other uses, TV running at 1080p and the 23 incher running at 1920x1080. Main uses are of course family entertainment but i would like to be able to run modern games at decent to high settings. as mentioned before i am looking for any suggestions, though I am pretty set on using AMD/ATI for CPU and graphics, though with intended purposes in mind will i be alright sticking with the 8 gigs of RAM or should i bump it up to 16 gigs for a bit of future proofing, as well as will this single video card be able to handle everything on its own, or do i NEED to think about crossfire a bit more?

 

[mlcaouette]

By the time you get back AMD's bulldozer cpu's will be out. If you were gonna purchase today intel sandy bridge is the way to go.

 

[jeffinak]

Are we that close to Bulldozer? I will only be on the boat till the first week of July, and i am trying HARD to stay away from overpriced intel and nvidia parts. No argument that Intels performance will be better, but the cost is just not worth it to me.

 

[Silvune]

None of the uses you have stated frankly even justifies 8GB imo, so definitely don't go up to 16GB as RAM usage won't go up that much in the near or medium future.

I don't know anything about Coolmax, therefore I don't trust them. I would much prefer to have the positively reviewed Antec Truepower New TPN-650W 80Plus Bronze for ~$80:
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Truepower-TP-650-650-Watt-Certified/dp/B001RTPMLK/ref=sr_1_15?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304517342&sr=1-15

 

[jeffinak]

I myself am not very knowledgeable when it comes to different psu makers, after a bit of research on my end I did find this PC P&C which is very highly reviewed and (seems they rate their PSU at a minimum available wattage where most are rated with a max wattage rating) while its not modular, I can live with that if it means more durability and/or a longer life of my PSU.

which of course bring me to my next question on whether this 550 will be enough power for my build or if I should opt for the 750

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017XEGCM/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i4?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1JVQN75CHEDW97CXJYK6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S34B9U/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1JVQN75CHEDW97CXJYK6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846


thanks in advance for all the help


I suppose I should mention that in addition to the listed parts I be moving my current 1 tb and 750 gig hard drives into the new build as well, so long as SATA ports allow

 

[Silvune]

No, you don't need a 750W PSU for even two 6850s, I wouldn't be surprised if someone could run a system with three 6850s on a good 750W PSU. So 500W is enough for a system with one 6850.

The motherboard you chose while likely crossfire certified, is probably not that suitable, or worthwhile performance-wise, for adding a second fast graphics card as the second PCIe slot will have x4 lanes available rather than the desirable x8. I think the 6850 is probably too fast for an x4 connection, but I have not seen any evidence for this, recently anyway, so you may wish to check up on this for yourself.

Anyway my point is that you will be fine with a 500W PSU. However the PCP&C 500D is quite an old power supply by now. So one of the disadvantages it has is lower efficiency, especially compared to newer units. Also the 80mm fan lends itself to being noisy, again in comparison to something like the Antec Truepower New 650W, which would be well worth the extra cost if it was still available at $80. If you are willing to spend $90 then the Corsair 650TXV2 is probably going to be the best option from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004LB5AZY/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304686839&sr=1-6

Modularity doesn't have any impact on life span of PSUs these days.

 

[cmadrid]

First time I've heard the i5-2500k get called overpriced 8-o

I believe the Bulldozer chips come out in June, not 100% on that. Sandybridge is much better priced than the older intel chips.

 

[jeffinak]

crossfire isnt really too much of a concern to me, as i understand the 6850 is pretty much a 5770 with a 256 mb bus instead of a 128, and my current rig is running a 5770 which handles my need and then some as is

the corsair does seem to have everything I need, (a brand I'm familiar with, all the connections I need, and then some, and a decent price point) 90 bucks isnt bad at all, considering it would be 150+ if bought locally

my needs arent so much now that I get to thinking about it, I like to play movies on the big screen for the fam while I run my games on the 23 incher (1920x1080 resolution)

as far as the pricwe point on the 2500, I' m not very up to date with Intel gear, my two current machines are running a 955 black and a 740 black respectively, which both handle whatever i ask of them rather well, (in fact in might just be in my head, but the 740 seems to run a bit quicker in addition to a whole lot cooler, so going much above 150 for the cpu, which may or may not run at 3.0 or better stock (and stock clock speed is important as I dont really know much about overclocking) just seems a bit much for me, especially since i got my 740 for only 80 bucks, even without unlocking the extra core its a sweet piece of silicon

 

[Why_Me]

I am getting ready to head out for commercial fishing season, and have already been planning a new build for once i get back. As I am making upwards of 10k in the month I will be gone, price is not so important a factor, though I would still like to keep the price-point somewhat reasonable. This will be my second "from scratch" build, first with a working knowledge of computer hardware. Below is a list of my "shopping cart" on Amazon.com (sticking with them as they are the only retailer i can find that will honor their free shipping to Alaska) I am pretty open to suggestions, though I am pretty set on an ATI/AMD combo simply from a price per performance standpoint.


Case- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OEBILK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=AZ8ZZL30AH7DI

MoBo- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NYDTJY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

CPU- Phenom 2x4 955 black (really no need for the 6 core)

RAM- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JO7CZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

PSU- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G702RI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Video Card- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZGIUK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Boot Drive(s) 2x in RAID 0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036ILEI0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Data Drive(s) 2x stand-alone http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CCS266/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

CPU cooler- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GWMEZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&m=A23NVCSO4PYH3S

Disk Drive- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026IADEC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=AN8LN2YPKS7DF

Card Slots- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00109Y2DQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Case Fans- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026ZPFBG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K

OS- Win 7 x 64 ultimate

I do believe I managed to get this all together with free shipping on everything


this system will be connected to my 42" LCD tv for movies and games (when the wife and kids will let me play on the big screen) and a 23" monitor for gaming and any other uses, TV running at 1080p and the 23 incher running at 1920x1080. Main uses are of course family entertainment but i would like to be able to run modern games at decent to high settings. as mentioned before i am looking for any suggestions, though I am pretty set on using AMD/ATI for CPU and graphics, though with intended purposes in mind will i be alright sticking with the 8 gigs of RAM or should i bump it up to 16 gigs for a bit of future proofing, as well as will this single video card be able to handle everything on its own, or do i NEED to think about crossfire a bit more?

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice <--- check this out please

btw I live in Dillingham, Alaska and our commercial season for herring opened up a few weeks ago, but salmon (reds) is getting read to rock and roll!

 

[jeffinak]

setnetting out of Togiak actually, heading out from anchortown next week or so

 

[Why_Me]

setnetting out of Togiak actually, heading out from anchortown next week or so

My wife was in Togiak last week...and I graduated from Service in Anchorage...years back...lol. btw what's your budget and I'l post a build on here for you that should suit your needs.

btw do you plan on over clocking and running dual vid cards sometime in the future ?

 

[jeffinak]

I'm looking to spend right around 12-14 hundred, I dont really forsee a need for more than one 6850, especially if my 5770 handles things for me fine, overclocking might come into play leter on but thats prolly moe just for the sake of learning how to do so properly more than an actual need

 

[cmadrid]

You should consider a 6950, it will last you for some time.. They have made overclocking the sandybridge K processors pretty simple, so that shouldn't be hard for you to figure out

 

[Why_Me]

I'm looking to spend right around 12-14 hundred, I dont really forsee a need for more than one 6850, especially if my 5770 handles things for me fine, overclocking might come into play leter on but thats prolly moe just for the sake of learning how to do so properly more than an actual need

ok...this build I posted is way more than you wanted...but wtf..you only live once and Battlefield 3 is due to come out soon. Actually with your budget I could fit in two builds...one for the movies, and a gaming build. If you want two builds for under $1,500 let me know. This way you don't have to split time with the family for movies and gaming.

http://enterbf3.com/ <----- Battlefield 3

RAID 0 these days is dying out for the most part. SSD's in RAID 0 don't give you any advantage that your eye will ever notice...it's spendy for what you receive. One decent size SSD, and one decent size h/d and your good to go. This build down below allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI, it also allows for over clocking. That SSD down below is the newer SATA III btw.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=288 <----- AMD Phenom II X4 955 vs Intel Core i5 2500K benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WK3KKQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer USB 3.0 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window and Black Interior (SGC-1000-KWN1)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODI/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304810533&sr=1-8 $104.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms 750TX v2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.637592 $224.98 FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1TWWNJ6MGD42EHSEZ661&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 $224.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5 Processor i5-2500K 3.3GHz 6MB LGA1155 CPU BOX80623I52500K

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $29.51 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Technology-RealSSD-Solid-CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1/dp/B0039SM0AS/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304810834&sr=1-1 $237.49 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Crucial Technology 128 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 Series Solid State Drive CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304810724&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304810608&sr=1-1 $24.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-PCI-Express-N560GTX-TWIN-FROZR/dp/B004JLNZXU $249.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
MSI GeForce GTX560 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card N560GTX TI TWIN FROZR II OC

Total: $1,246.92

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304811391&sr=8-1 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) OEM System Builder DVD 1 Pack

 

[jeffinak]

while looking at the benchmarks I cant argue the performance difference between the 955 and the 2500k, but at a $75 price difference, nearly a $150 difference over the 740 that handles all my needs and then some (even before unlocking the 4th core) same with the gtx560, $75 difference and any performance gains at all would most likely not be noticed as its already overkill. I didn't know though that the benifits of raid 0 were so small when using ssd, if using one instead of 2 will free up a sata slot for another 2 TB than I cant really argue with that=) While home premium is probably fine for what I intend to do, I prefer using windows dream edition (cracked, loaded with a few extras, and best of all free) other than that, we could slap in a Blu-ray player and it looks pretty good from here

 

[farsuka]

There is really no need for you to any ssds, you'll be fast enough with a few spinpoints or whatever you decide to use in raid0 that you will not need any SSDs.
Honestly if you're considering spending that much go intel, a last gen i3 outperforms anything that AMD has on the current market.
http://mersenne-aries.sili.net/bench.php?cpu=&l2=&orderby=fft2048

 

[jeffinak]

again, I am NOT saying intel wont perform better, but to me the HUGE cost difference for the small increase in performance just isnt worth it, not when my $80 phenom 2x3 740 does everything I need with room left to spare (besides that i simply like rooting for the little guy, no intel and no invidia for me) its not so much a matter of best performance (as my needs arent that intensive) , as performance to cost ratio, if its not too far out I may end up waiting for bulldozer, possibly just to watch the prices drop on the phenom 2's even and get myself an even better deal

 

[Why_Me]

again, I am NOT saying intel wont perform better, but to me the HUGE cost difference for the small increase in performance just isnt worth it, not when my $80 phenom 2x3 740 does everything I need with room left to spare (besides that i simply like rooting for the little guy, no intel and no invidia for me) its not so much a matter of best performance (as my needs arent that intensive) , as performance to cost ratio, if its not too far out I may end up waiting for bulldozer, possibly just to watch the prices drop on the phenom 2's even and get myself an even better deal

Then like you mentioned ...wait for Bulldozer to see what it benches because buying on an AMD atm with your budget is the equivalent of pissing your money down the toilette. The only peeps that are buying AMD's atm are ones with budgets of sub $500, and peeps from third world country's that don't have access to a Sandy Bridge cpu and mobo.