Gaming Custom PC Build - Opinions?

[jceggbert5]

A friend and I are looking at building similar gaming desktops, and I thought I'd head over here to ask for opinions on the build...

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811322020 - $50

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128495 - $125

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817339025 - $50

His CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115072 - $320 (i7-2600k)
My CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115070 - $220 (i5-2500k)

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130661 - $200

His RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145343 - $32 (4GB)
My RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820233180 - $53 (8GB)

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148697 (I'm getting x2 for RAID1) - $55

What are your opinions?

Thanks,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Egg

 

[marcus134]

Case : cheap but plenty of ventilation, might be a little bit noisy, according to the other newegg customers, the fans are garbage
psu: it looks somewhat ok (kind of flaky though) but for 20$ more you can get yourself something from antec(620), corsair or silverstone.
mobo: nice chipset, however cheap mobo compared to the build, micro-atx when you could go atx you should also take a look at the p67 mobo
cpu: plenty of computing power
gpu: nice! The 6870 is equal in performance but consume less power at full load but it doesn't really matter.
ram: I personally had a lot of bad experiences with corsair's ram, you should go with kingston, crucial, ocz etc
Hdd: get yourself at least a wd blue series (or black) or a samsung F3 (or F1)

The difference between the p67 and the z68 is the smart response technology (ssd caching) the use of the built-in gpu (useless with your build) and overclocking of the said built-in gpu ( even more usless) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155
It could be advisable to put 20 to 30$ more considering that you might want to buy new fans if you go with the sentey case case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811112238
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811133183

 

[jceggbert5]

Case : cheap but plenty of ventilation, might be a little bit noisy, according to the other newegg customers, the fans are garbage
psu: it looks somewhat ok (kind of flaky though) but for 20$ more you can get yourself something from antec(620), corsair or silverstone.
mobo: nice chipset, however cheap mobo compared to the build, micro-atx when you could go atx you should also take a look at the p67 mobo
cpu: plenty of computing power
gpu: nice! The 6870 is equal in performance but consume less power at full load but it doesn't really matter.
ram: I personally had a lot of bad experiences with corsair's ram, you should go with kingston, crucial, ocz etc
Hdd: get yourself at least a wd blue series (or black) or a samsung F3 (or F1)

The difference between the p67 and the z68 is the smart response technology (ssd caching) the use of the built-in gpu (useless with your build) and overclocking of the said built-in gpu ( even more usless) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155
It could be advisable to put 20 to 30$ more considering that you might want to buy new fans if you go with the sentey case case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811112238
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811133183

How's this RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104239
or two of these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231310

And, here's a WD Caviar Blue HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136767

I found some $4 blue-LED fans at a local computer store: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0365890 - are they any good?

Is it imperative that we switch our PSUs now, or is that something that can take place in ~6 months or so when our wallets regenerate?

Also, I appreciate your case suggestions, but I still like the one in the OP for its design...

Do you have any specific MoBo suggestions?

Should I get a different cooler to overclock? (I'm not overclocking much, just from 3.8turbo to 4.2turbo for emulation...

And, for a monitor, I have a 46" RPTV with a DVI-D port in the back, and it can do 1080p

 

[marcus134]

How's this RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104239
or two of these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231310
Kingston are usually really good and reliable, but i can't say a thing for Gskill.

I found some $4 blue-LED fans at a local computer store: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0365890 - are they any good?
antec tri-cool fans are always a good place to start.

Is it imperative that we switch our PSUs now, or is that something that can take place in ~6 months or so when our wallets regenerate?
It doesn't make sense to spend on a new psu few months after you bought your computer, and that's the reason why I pointed you to higher grade psu. The psu you chose seems to be well equipped in terms of protection and even if the power rating is a bit over rated, considering the component you chose, it shouldn't be of much problem. However when a cheap power supply dies, it's not rare to see it taking other pricy component down, which is why you should never skimp on it. An extra 20$ can make you save 300$+ in the end.
Those are from much more reliable brands:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817194038 50$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371030 55$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817151094 60$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139027 60$

Do you have any specific MoBo suggestions?
in your price range:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131706
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128476

QUOTE(jceggbert5 @ Sep 18 2011, 01:49 PM)

Should I get a different cooler to overclock? (I'm not overclocking much, just from 3.8turbo to 4.2turbo for emulation...

the stock cooler should be able to get a few hundreds Mghz from the multiplier without problem, if you're limited in your budget you can always wait a couple of month before buying an after market cooler if the overclock or the temp you get are unsatisfying.

If you are looking to save a bit of money:
there's very little difference between a 2500K and a 2600K to justify a 100$ difference imo.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=288

as for the raid1, you can always buy the second drive later( giving a bit more money now), also if you are going raid 1 because it is some sort of easy back-up, you might have to reconsider.
Wikipedia

Correlated failures

The theory behind the error correction in RAID assumes that failures of drives are independent. Given these assumptions it is possible to calculate how often they can fail and to arrange the array to make data loss arbitrarily improbable.

In practice, the drives are often the same age, with similar wear, and subject to the same environment. Since many drive failures are due to mechanical issues which are more likely on older drives, this violates those assumptions and failures are in fact statistically correlated. In practice then, the chances of a second failure before the first has been recovered is not nearly as unlikely as might be supposed, and data loss can, in practice, occur at significant rates.[29]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID#Problems_with_RAID

 

[CCNaru]

That PSU is out of stock, and it doesn't have a brand... if the PSU fries, the whole rig goes along with it so get something reliable.

http://www.newegg.com/special/shellshocker...hellShocker-EB3
80+ Certified is good, check how much it is and grab one of those.

I've heard G.Skill sucks, get something else. also 8gb is overkill for now, 4gb should be good if you want to save a little bit of money.
edit: going to take Falcon's guide on this one, apparantly I was wrong; g-skill is good.

EVGA is overpriced. it's like the Alienware of GPUs. also if you play second life, Nvidia cards don't work unless it's ont he lowest setting, so get Radeon instead

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af150/...Guide/Guide.png

this guide is from 4chan /g/, and I've built a flawless PC that runs new games on high settings for 500 bucks with this (600 w/ monitor but they were on sale locally)

 

[Waddy101]

In my honest opinion I think it's an alright build, although if i were you i would consider getting a GTX 560ti, either the MSI Twin Frozr II/III or the MSI hawk.

 

[jceggbert5]

That PSU is out of stock, and it doesn't have a brand... if the PSU fries, the whole rig goes along with it so get something reliable.

http://www.newegg.com/special/shellshocker...hellShocker-EB3
80+ Certified is good, check how much it is and grab one of those.

I've heard G.Skill sucks, get something else. also 8gb is overkill for now, 4gb should be good if you want to save a little bit of money.

EVGA is overpriced. it's like the Alienware of GPUs. also if you play second life, Nvidia cards don't work unless it's ont he lowest setting, so get Radeon instead

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af150/...Guide/Guide.png

this guide is from 4chan /g/, and I've built a flawless PC that runs new games on high settings for 500 bucks with this (600 w/ monitor but they were on sale locally)

I am going with nVidia because I plan to get set up with a 3DVision rig within the next year. I mainly play Source games, but I want something that can also help me with emulation (Wii) and other games that I may buy in the future. I don't plan getting SL, ever.

Did you mean to link me to a toy helicopter?

Also, marcus, I need a MoBo with embedded graphics, to hold me over until I can afford the GPU in the spring.

 

[marcus134]

Also, marcus, I need a MoBo with embedded graphics, to hold me over until I can afford the GPU in the spring.

then:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128502
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131781
or the one you pointed out earlier:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128495

 

[CCNaru]

A toy helicopter...? it's a 520W 80+ certified Antec PSU for 35 bucks w/ MIR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371030

also SL uses opengl 3d rendering, so photoshop 3d work will crash (4 or 8 error) and nvidia isn't thinking about fixing it at all (been having problems for a couple of months now)

 

[jceggbert5]

So, from your suggestions, I have modified the build like so:


Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811322020 - $50 (same)

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115072 - $320 (i7-2600k) (same)

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136767 - $60 (getting 2x for RAID1)

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104239 - $60 (Kingston 2x4GB, for easy upgrade to 16GB later)

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130661 - $200 (same)

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128502 - $130 (ATX version of same (yay 3 more expansion slots))

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817339025 - $50 (Same, none of the ones you linked me will work, they have a fan that will be against the case)

Total: $930

I will get better cooling later, but this is good for a start. I have a copy of 7 Ultimate 64-Bit already (it is a legal copy and I have not used it on any other machine)

 

[Fishaman P]

So, from your suggestions, I have modified the build like so:


Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811322020 - $50 (same)

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115072 - $320 (i7-2600k) (same)

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136767 - $60 (getting 2x for RAID1)

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104239 - $60 (Kingston 2x4GB, for easy upgrade to 16GB later)

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130661 - $200 (same)

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128502 - $130 (ATX version of same (yay 3 more expansion slots))

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817339025 - $50 (Same, none of the ones you linked me will work, they have a fan that will be against the case)

Total: $730

I will get better cooling later, but this is good for a start. I have a copy of 7 Ultimate 64-Bit already (it is a legal copy and I have not used it on any other machine)

I can only see 1 thing wrong with that build: with the GPU and RAM you are using, an i7 2600K just wouldn't make sense. the i5 2500K performs nearly as good, and it costs $100 less.

 

[marcus134]

Same, none of the ones you linked me will work, they have a fan that will be against the case
actually, the bottom panel of the case is ventilated, so that configuration would allow the psu to draw cool air directly on it's component.
http://www.techreaction.net/2011/05/31/rev...x1-4284-v2-3/3/

Also, on other case that have this configuration, but a full bottom panel, they put the psu upside down, unless it's a really cheap ass badly designed case. And if you ever meet one case like this, you should avoid it at all cost cause that means that it was designed by a severely impaired individual or a retard and that you'll meet other complication while assembling your computer.

an i7 2600K just wouldn't make sense. the i5 2500K performs nearly as good, and it costs $100 less.
I also mentioned this earlier.QUOTE(marcus134 @ Sep 18 2011, 03:04 PM)

If you are looking to save a bit of money:
there's very little difference between a 2500K and a 2600K to justify a 100$ difference imo.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=288

but either this person isn't telling us everything about the purpose of this build or he really likes the idea of having high-end cpu. Cause, unless a big shift in game design, it probably won't be limiting games performance for the next 4-5 years whether he takes the 2500K or the 2600K.

 

[jceggbert5]

Same, none of the ones you linked me will work, they have a fan that will be against the case
actually, the bottom panel of the case is ventilated, so that configuration would allow the psu to draw cool air directly on it's component.
http://www.techreaction.net/2011/05/31/rev...x1-4284-v2-3/3/

Also, on other case that have this configuration, but a full bottom panel, they put the psu upside down, unless it's a really cheap ass badly designed case. And if you ever meet one case like this, you should avoid it at all cost cause that means that it was designed by a severely impaired individual or a retard and that you'll meet other complication while assembling your computer.

an i7 2600K just wouldn't make sense. the i5 2500K performs nearly as good, and it costs $100 less.
I also mentioned this earlier.QUOTE(marcus134 @ Sep 18 2011, 03:04 PM)

If you are looking to save a bit of money:
there's very little difference between a 2500K and a 2600K to justify a 100$ difference imo.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=288

but either this person isn't telling us everything about the purpose of this build or he really likes the idea of having high-end cpu. Cause, unless a big shift in game design, it probably won't be limiting games performance for the next 4-5 years whether he takes the 2500K or the 2600K.

Another friend of mine has an i5-2500k and a very similar GPU, and it cannot emulate the Wii at 1080p with a full 60fps consistently, whereas I have (yet another) friend that has a near-identical-to-this-build computer and he has absolutely no problems. I also want it to be as 'future-proof' as possible...

(and, on a side note, you get more ooh's and aah's if you have an i7, but that is not a motivating factor)

Plus, hyperthreading, which the i5 does not have, is helpful with virtualization, IIRC.

----------

The computer will be on thick carpet, so I don't think the vented bottom will be much help...

 

[jceggbert5]

Sorry for semi-double-post.

Do I need a cable rated for SATA3 to take advantage of the full speed, or can I use one of my SATA1-rated cables and still get the full speed?

 

[Originality]

SATA 3 cables are different, however you will get at least 2 with any SATA 3 equipped motherboard.

Emulation for the Wii depends on the settings and the games. If you don't change the setting per game, you won't get the best performance out of your hardware. The 2500 and 2600K are more than capable of giving great performance in emulation provided you know how to tweak the settings for each game.

 

[jceggbert5]

SATA 3 cables are different, however you will get at least 2 with any SATA 3 equipped motherboard.

Your statement about the SATA cables is a bit confusing, but here's what I get from it: SATA1 and 2 cables are the same, 3 are different? With that drive, should I even worry about not having SATA3?

 

[Originality]

Up to today, I've not been able to load newegg from France, so I've not been able to on your build. Even now its a pain to multi-tab on my phone.

WD blue 6Gbs will not see any perceivable difference in performance no matter which cable you use. Mechanical disk drives are not able to fully saturated 3Gbs.

 

[marcus134]

WD blue 6Gbs will not see any perceivable difference in performance no matter which cable you use. Mechanical disk drives are not able to fully saturated 3Gbs.

1. they're cheaper ( on newegg at least)
2. they're compatible with sata II controller
3. addition of newer NCQ instruction set (iNCQ which does something similar to QoS)

 

[jceggbert5]

So does that mean I'm going to have the ~same speed if I get a SATA2 drive with my SATA1 cable and my SATA3 MoBo as I would if I had a SATA3 drive, cable, and MoBo?

-----------------------

Up to today, I've not been able to load newegg from France, so I've not been able to on your build. Even now its a pain to multi-tab on my phone.

WD blue 6Gbs will not see any perceivable difference in performance no matter which cable you use. Mechanical disk drives are not able to fully saturated 3Gbs.

Have you tried a US-based proxy?

 

[marcus134]

Today's HDD are getting reading speed around 120 to 150MB/s with burst that may exceed 150 MB/s,
Considering the maximum transfer rate of 150MB/s of SATA I, there is an advantage in using SATA II over SATA I

also
1. there is no such thing as sata I cables

There is no such thing as SATA [cables] rated at 150mb/s or rated at 300mb/s. It is
just SATA cable. Don't get confused by the marketing definitions.
Sincerely,

Alexander C.
Seagate Technical Support

2. some (if not most) cables certified for the older revision of sata will also work in 6Gbps mode of SATA III
http://www.serialata.org/documents/SATA-6-...gbs-to-6gbs.pdf

By allowing SATA 6Gb/s systems the ability to
utilize the same connectors and cables as SATA 3Gb/s systems, most of the
modifications required to achieve 6Gb/s are confined to the PHY layerpage5

In the transition to SATA 6Gb/s, it will be important to use high-quality cabling.
Problems may be related to the use of cables made from marginal materials that
perform at the edges of SATA 3Gb/s tolerances, which could become a failure point at
the faster 6Gb/s signal rates.

Meaning: cheap/fake cables will fail, but we already knew that