Computer Build - Need Advice

[Pkmastachaos]

So, yup. Since I've saved up a decent amount of cash I've decided to FINALLY upgrade from my old computer. I've only used

prebuilts up until this point, but I'm looking to get around to building my own. Hopefully with T&C's help.

Budget is $2000CAN (1,928.57 USD // 1,521.24 EUR); I don't need a monitor/keyboard/mouse etc. Just the case/insides.

 

Primary uses will be for schoolwork, gaming, and photo editing. At this point I don't think I'll be looking into

overclocking, since I don't know how, or plan to purchase a water cooling system just yet.

However I tried to plan ahead in case I decide to in the future.

 

 

I've picked out an idea of what I might get from Newegg, but I'll admit I'm not the most computer literate, especially when

it comes down to all the advanced stuff. So I could really use help from people who know what their doing. I'm not entirely

sure on if all parts will be compatible with one another so I could use a keen eye for details here as well.

 

 

Any and all constructive criticism is welcome! Questions too!

 

 

 

Preliminary List: (NEWEGG.CA)

 

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1 x COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

1 x MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

 

1 x GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power

 

1 x AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

 

1 x CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

 

1 x Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

1 x Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

1 x Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

 

1 x LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

 

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

 

**Regarding the PSU/RAM, would they work with an AMD chip?

**Thoughts on going the AMD chip?

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Updated List:

 

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1 x COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

1 x MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

 

1 x GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

1 x CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

 

1 x AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

 

1 x CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

 

1 x OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX40G 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

1 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

1 x Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

 

1 x LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

 

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

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Cost at this point would be $1,415.38CAN. So, I have just under $600 to play around with if needbe. I'll be purchasing from

Newegg.ca, so if suggesting a part, if you could send a link to the part on that site would be great.

 

Thanks Tip.it.

[OldJoe]

I'd get a modular psu at that price range.

[sheep455_is_the_best]

Your build looks quite nice, the processor will work with both the PSU and the RAM, no reason it shouldn't.

 

HDD and SSD:

I would get a Vertex 2 SSD instead of the Intel one, the Vertex 2 is a very fast SSD:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227610

 

The HDD I would get Samsung Spinpoint F3, great drive at a great price:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

 

 

As OldJoe mentions, you could get a modular PSU, you plug in only what cables you need, making less of a mess inside the case.

This PSU is almost the same as you chose, it is just modular:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

 

 

The rest of the build looks good, the GTX 460 is a great card for the money, and if you ever need more graphics power, they scale VERY good in SLI, which your motherboard supports. It would just be a matter of buying another one, if you ever need it.

Remember to use the 8-pin power connector on the motherboard, they cover up 4 of them, this is only for people who only have a 4-pin cable, if you get either the TX or HX PSU, you will have 8-pin, which is better.

 

Have fun :)

[Pkmastachaos]

I'd get a modular psu at that price range.

 

As OldJoe mentions, you could get a modular PSU, you plug in only what cables you need, making less of a mess inside the case.

This PSU is almost the same as you chose, it is just modular:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

 

I was actually looking at this exact same model, I couldn't really decide if I needed a modular or not that's why I chose this one. But I'll admit for an extra ~$20 it would probably be worth it. I like the idea of keeping the case nice and clean too, thanks.

 

 

 

Your build looks quite nice, the processor will work with both the PSU and the RAM, no reason it shouldn't.

 

HDD and SSD:

I would get a Vertex 2 SSD instead of the Intel one, the Vertex 2 is a very fast SSD:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227610

 

The HDD I would get Samsung Spinpoint F3, great drive at a great price:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

 

The rest of the build looks good, the GTX 460 is a great card for the money, and if you ever need more graphics power, they scale VERY good in SLI, which your motherboard supports. It would just be a matter of buying another one, if you ever need it.

Remember to use the 8-pin power connector on the motherboard, they cover up 4 of them, this is only for people who only have a 4-pin cable, if you get either the TX or HX PSU, you will have 8-pin, which is better.

 

Have fun :)

 

 

Appreciate the advice!

 

The SSD you suggested looks like a beast compared to the Intel one. Write speed is like 7x faster! The money I save from the hard-drive you suggested could easily be put towards the SSD too.

 

I've never used more then one graphics card at a time, is it easy enough to set up and would it make a noticeable difference?

 

Thanks for advice so far guys.

[sheep455_is_the_best]

I've never used more then one graphics card at a time, is it easy enough to set up and would it make a noticeable difference?

 

It is not hard to setup, it is just installing two cards instead of one, and connecting them with a SLI-bridge (which comes with your motherboard), but I would only suggest it as an upgrade possibility.

A single GTX 460 shouldn't have problems with medium-high gaming.

Setting up two of them in SLI would not mean 200% (aka double the power), but they scale exceptionally well (I believe in the region of 180-190%).

 

Still, I would only recommend it as an upgrade option in the future, I would just buy a single card first and later upgrade with another if needed.

[Laura]

Appreciate the advice!

 

The SSD you suggested looks like a beast compared to the Intel one. Write speed is like 7x faster! The money I save from the hard-drive you suggested could easily be put towards the SSD too.

 

I've never used more then one graphics card at a time, is it easy enough to set up and would it make a noticeable difference?

 

Thanks for advice so far guys.

If I may offer some advice as a current owner of an SSD. The Vertex 2 only offers a higher sequential write speed but lags behind in random write times. The Intel G2 drive is superior in the case of the latter. I would seriously reconsider the Intel drive just because of this, as it is frequently used more often by consumers (ie: OS writing files, downloads, etc).

[Pkmastachaos]

If I may offer some advice as a current owner of an SSD. The Vertex 2 only offers a higher sequential write speed but lags behind in random write times. The Intel G2 drive is superior in the case of the latter. I would seriously reconsider the Intel drive just because of this, as it is frequently used more often by consumers (ie: OS writing files, downloads, etc).

 

I'm not quite sure I follow. What's the difference between the sequential and random?

[shawn3090]

Sequential = Writing files continuously in the drive.

 

Random = Jumping around the disk to write files (IE defragmentation)

[Laura]

If I may offer some advice as a current owner of an SSD. The Vertex 2 only offers a higher sequential write speed but lags behind in random write times. The Intel G2 drive is superior in the case of the latter. I would seriously reconsider the Intel drive just because of this, as it is frequently used more often by consumers (ie: OS writing files, downloads, etc).

 

I'm not quite sure I follow. What's the difference between the sequential and random?

Sequential is when the drive is "warmed up," per se, where a large volume of data is written in succession. To give an example, moving large files within the drive will make use of the fast sequential write times (taking videos, moving videos or large apps, etc). However, when you give a quick command to the OS the drive responds with a very fast random read/write (copying small files, cache/swap files, etc) because the data is written all over the drive. If you're just wanting an OS drive, then you for sure want a drive with fast random read/write times (well, emphasis more on the read times, as I'm assuming that you're keeping other files on the HDD). The reason manufacturers generally don't state random read/write times is because most consumers are not informed about the difference between the two, and sequential almost always ends up with the higher number.

 

Here's a comparison of my G1 SSD and my prior 5,400 RPM HHD, if you're interested. It shows the difference between the sequential and random times.

 

 

I know that my explanation probably leaves a little to be desired but I learned through experience with one of the JMicron controllers. If you're interested on a more in-depth clarification, take a look at this article. The SSD comparisons are dated to be sure, but it's good info.

[jasignhagj]

At that price I'd personally go for a core i7 950, but that may just be my inner fanboy speaking.

 

This card has better specs for the same price, and has an easy overclocking tool should you decide to try it.

EVGA Superclocked 460 1gb

 

Id also go for two cards in SLI, they blow a 480 out of the water, and still cost less than $500. It would make far more of a difference in overall performance than a SSD, especially in gaming (Crysis at 40+ fps @ 1900x1200)

 

Grab another RAM kit too, 4GB is low these days, especially for Photoshop.

[noble_aloof]

I'm no computer wiz but i'd recommend going for the combo deals. for about $1750 my build consists of:

 

antect 1200 case

1000w power supply

27'' widescreen

intel i7-860

16gb of ram

ddr5 1gb graphics

1tb hdd

blue ray drive

USB3 mobo

[Pkmastachaos]

Quite a few replies since I was last here. Thanks for all the advice so far guys, as expected valid points were brought up I didn't even think about at the time or didn't even know about. :thumbup:

 

 

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Sequential is when the drive is "warmed up," per se, where a large volume of data is written in succession. To give an example, moving large files within the drive will make use of the fast sequential write times (taking videos, moving videos or large apps, etc). However, when you give a quick command to the OS the drive responds with a very fast random read/write (copying small files, cache/swap files, etc) because the data is written all over the drive. If you're just wanting an OS drive, then you for sure want a drive with fast random read/write times (well, emphasis more on the read times, as I'm assuming that you're keeping other files on the HDD). The reason manufacturers generally don't state random read/write times is because most consumers are not informed about the difference between the two, and sequential almost always ends up with the higher number.

 

Here's a comparison of my G1 SSD and my prior 5,400 RPM HHD, if you're interested. It shows the difference between the sequential and random times.

 

 

I know that my explanation probably leaves a little to be desired but I learned through experience with one of the JMicron controllers. If you're interested on a more in-depth clarification, take a look at this article. The SSD comparisons are dated to be sure, but it's good info.

[/hide]

 

Thanks for the heads up on SSD drives, the article you provided was pretty helpful along with a few others I found I think I have a better understanding of how they work. After looking through some other articles I can see although the Intel drive may lack in sequential it really does make up for in random read times. And from what I understand as long as if I'm not constantly queuing up downloads onto the SSD sequential doesn't really matter all that much. I intended to install the OS (Windows 7) and maybe some more popular applications I use onto the drive (as you rightly guessed) but that's about it. So random read/write speed would be a better route to go then.

 

What are your thoughts on the initial Intel SSD I picked out; The Intel X25-V? I don't really want to spend more then ~$100 or so on the drive, so going the Intel X25-M route is out of the way for now.

 

[hide]

At that price I'd personally go for a core i7 950, but that may just be my inner fanboy speaking.

 

This card has better specs for the same price, and has an easy overclocking tool should you decide to try it.

EVGA Superclocked 460 1gb

 

Id also go for two cards in SLI, they blow a 480 out of the water, and still cost less than $500. It would make far more of a difference in overall performance than a SSD, especially in gaming (Crysis at 40+ fps @ 1900x1200)

 

Grab another RAM kit too, 4GB is low these days, especially for Photoshop.

[/hide]

 

Impressive GPU, although I'm not quite sure about using two of them just yet I'll definitely keep it in mind. I'll probably end up getting another couple sticks of ram, price seems alright. Although I'm not a heavy photoshop user it'll come in handy in the long run. I'll get around to updating my build list shortly.

 

 

[hide]

I'm no computer wiz but i'd recommend going for the combo deals. for about $1750 my build consists of:

 

antect 1200 case

1000w power supply

27'' widescreen

intel i7-860

16gb of ram

ddr5 1gb graphics

1tb hdd

blue ray drive

[/hide]

 

I was considering this, although I found myself either not needing certain parts or wanting more of something else (often the case); which is why I decided to go this route.

 

---

One other question, does anyone have an estimate on shipping costs from Newegg? I have all these items in a wish list currently and don't have an idea if that shipping costs might push me over budget.

 

Once again, many thanks T&C.

[jasignhagj]

Put it all in your cart, and enter your postal code at the bottom. My $1400 build has about $50 in shipping, the case is the most expensive part.

 

Id go for the extra 460, but you can always get one now and grab another later. SLI cards only have to be the same chipset, so any 1gb model will do, just know that the cards will run at the speed of the worst card.

 

One warning about RAM, certain kits perform poorly when two are installed. Ive only heard of the problem in OCZ RAM, but I'd do a little research first.

[Laura]

What are your thoughts on the initial Intel SSD I picked out; The Intel X25-V? I don't really want to spend more then ~$100 or so on the drive, so going the Intel X25-M route is out of the way for now.

It's a bit slower than the X25-M, but it's pretty solid; I don't think you can go wrong with an Intel controller.

 

However, it might be worthwhile to take a look at some of the benchmarks out there for each SSD. I tried looking for the 40GB Vertex 2, but I didn't find much.