Check my build?

[Hawks]

Wondering if you all have any suggestions for better/cheaper things for this build. I was originally aiming for under $1k USD but that didn't really work out. So now I'm just going for highest performance [general purpose use, some gaming/graphics editing] at lowest price. I've got to get peripherals and an OS, which adds like $300-400 unfortunately. I'm using http://www.newegg.com and http://www.amazon.com (only if it's cheaper than Newegg/Newegg doesn't carry it)

 

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan $54.99

 

Mobo: ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $279.99

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 $294.99

 

Heatsink/Fan: CORSAIR CAFA70 120mm Dual-Fan CPU Cooler $47.99

 

GPU: ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $169.99

 

PSU: Rosewill BRONZE series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,ATX12V v2.3/ EPS12V,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply $134.99

 

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $159.99

 

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card $79.99

 

HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $79.99

 

CD-ROM: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $16.99

 

External Floppy: Sabrent SBT-UFDB USB External 3.5-Inch 1.44 MB 2x Floppy Disk Drive (Black) $19.99 (Amazon)

 

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate $15.99

 

Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 - Loch Ness Gray $17.49 (Amazon)

 

Keyboard: Logitech K120 Black USB Wired Standard Keyboard $14.99

 

Monitor: Acer X203HCbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 50000:1(1000:1) $119.99

 

Speakers: Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM $22.99

 

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $139.99

 

Total: ~$1622

 

Questions:

Do I need a 1000W PSU? (No. 750W is sufficient.)

Can I get a cheaper motherboard or case that still fits my needs? (Yes, ASUS Sabertooth)

For general use, could I get a cheaper graphics card? (Yes, Raedon 5450)

Would my onboard sound card be fine for general use as well? (Yes, generally some issues)

What's the difference between Win7 Pro OEM and Retail, besides the price? (windows is dumb)

Is there anywhere I can get cheaper peripherals?

What [paid] AV should I stick on here, Kaspersky or Norton? Or neither?

[OldJoe]

1-Who are the parent company to rosewill power supply's? Furthermore it's 900w and such high numbers wouldn't be needed for your build.

2-Of course, do a bit of research instead of maybe just picking the most reviewed or well known.

3-If you're not gonna do "serious" gaming, pick a cheaper card.

4-For a sound card to make any different you need at least 100+$ +good speakers.

5-First google answer: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/fae7b2ab-c530-45e6-aeb3-cc55cf7b9231

6-You can choose cheaper parts.

7-MSE is fine.

[Pkmastachaos]

[hide]

Wondering if you all have any suggestions for better/cheaper things for this build. I was originally aiming for under $1k USD but that didn't really work out. So now I'm just going for highest performance [general purpose use, some gaming/graphics editing] at lowest price. I've got to get peripherals and an OS, which adds like $300-400 unfortunately. I'm using http://www.newegg.com and http://www.amazon.com (only if it's cheaper than Newegg/Newegg doesn't carry it)

 

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan $54.99

 

Mobo: ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $279.99

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 $294.99

 

Heatsink/Fan: CORSAIR CAFA70 120mm Dual-Fan CPU Cooler $47.99

 

GPU: ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $169.99

 

PSU: Rosewill BRONZE series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,ATX12V v2.3/ EPS12V,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply $134.99

 

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $159.99

 

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card $79.99

 

HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $79.99

 

CD-ROM: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $16.99

 

External Floppy: Sabrent SBT-UFDB USB External 3.5-Inch 1.44 MB 2x Floppy Disk Drive (Black) $19.99 (Amazon)

 

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate $15.99

 

Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 - Loch Ness Gray $17.49 (Amazon)

 

Keyboard: Logitech K120 Black USB Wired Standard Keyboard $14.99

 

Monitor: Acer X203HCbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 50000:1(1000:1) $119.99

 

Speakers: Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM $22.99

 

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $139.99

 

Total: ~$1622

 

Questions:

Do I need a 1000W PSU?

Can I get a cheaper motherboard or case that still fits my needs?

For general use, could I get a cheaper graphics card?

Would my onboard sound card be fine for general use as well?

What's the difference between Win7 Pro OEM and Retail, besides the price?

Is there anywhere I can get cheaper peripherals?

What [paid] AV should I stick on here, Kaspersky or Norton? Or neither?

[/hide]

 

I'm no expert, but I'll try and answer some questions and give some advice.

 

First thing I noticed is that your motherboard is supports triple channel RAM, and you chose dual channel. Probably won't work, so you'll have to find something else; something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

 

1000PSU probably won't be needed, seems overkill since your not going SLI/XFIRE: here's a good link to check http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html for future reference. 700W would be adequate.

 

I personally wouldn't spend that much on a motherboard either, as long as you can find something that supports the socket for the i7 chip you'll have more then you need. That's extreme overkill for this build. "general purpose use, some gaming/graphics editing" something within the 100-200 dollar range would be satisfactory. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665 something like that would offer expandability, and similar features for about $100 less.

 

Onboard sound is usually ok for most people. With the speakers you chose I don't see any point putting $70+ towards a soundcard, invest in some different speakers instead, or save the money all together.

 

OEM Windows from what I've read has limited support from Microsoft, should you have a problem the support lasts only for 90(?) days. Something about the licensing too. Not 100% sure about that one though.

Also, if you require a floppy drive perhaps you might want an internal one rather then external? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821121001&cm_re=internal_floppy-_-21-121-001-_-Product

If you don't intend to overclock either, the stock fan that comes with your intel chip should be satisfactory. Otherwise, if you want to save some money take a look at some AMD chips/motherboards, generally speaking they are geared towards people with a lower budget, but can still offer a sweet price/performance point. Especially if you don't care for overclocking/benchmarks.

 

I personally don't used paid anti-virus software anymore, but from personal experience I avoid Norton's like the plague.

Anyway, hopefully this helps some, all the best in your building experience, it's quite fun once you get all the parts sorted out.

[indy500fan]

1-Who are the parent company to rosewill power supply's? Furthermore it's 900w and such high numbers wouldn't be needed for your build.

 

Rosewill is Newegg.com's house brand. They are actually pretty good... But yeah I wouldn't get a 900W either for this build. I have a 750W in my build and it is completely adequate.

[OldJoe]

1-Who are the parent company to rosewill power supply's? Furthermore it's 900w and such high numbers wouldn't be needed for your build.

 

Rosewill is Newegg.com's house brand. They are actually pretty good... But yeah I wouldn't get a 900W either for this build. I have a 750W in my build and it is completely adequate.

Hm i see. But does Rosewill or Newegg actually produce their own power supplies at a factory or do they contract someone? That's what i meant, most contract builds are done by Seasonic and CWT. As i don't have that Rosewill brand here in Europe, i don't know anything about it (and i almost only read European IT-news sites) which is why i'm wondering, so i know what sort of quality it is.

[indy500fan]

No idea about that.

[MageUK]

For a start you have dual channel RAM and LGA1366 uses triple channel RAM.

 

700w PSU would be more than enough for this build.

[Hawks]

But does triple/dual channel RAM just mean that that's how many slots for RAM it has? Wouldn't dual channel still work in a triple channel machine, or am I just dumb? The reason I picked the RAM I did was because I wanted 8GB and nothing triple channel came in 8GB (just 6 and 24, I couldn't find 12 either, although I'll look for it.)

 

EDIT: I'm just an idiot, and the mobo has 6 slots. Will be getting one of the 12GB 6x2GB kits.

 

Alright so no sound card, cheaper mobo, cheaper graphics, but probably get retail version of 7.

 

Oh about the floppy: All the internal ones I could find were IDE, and my mobo only has SATA ports.

[Sbrideau]

Floppy drives? You want one? Unfortunately, they don't exist in computers anymore. Especially with the fact that we have USB keys now.

[Hawks]

Ya, which is why I've got some random external for kicks and giggles.

 

[spoiler=New List of Components]

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan $54.99

 

Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $199.99

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 $294.99

 

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100292DDR3L Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card $59.99

 

PSU: RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply $59.99

 

RAM: OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3F1600LV6GK $115.99

 

Sound Card: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card $29.99

 

HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $69.99

 

CD-ROM: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $16.99

 

Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate $15.99

 

Total: $929

 

 

 

External Floppy: Sabrent SBT-UFDB USB External 3.5-Inch 1.44 MB 2x Floppy Disk Drive (Black) $19.99 (Amazon)

 

Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop EX100 $28.80 (Amazon)

 

Monitor: Acer X203HCbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 50000:1(1000:1) $119.99

 

Speakers: Logitech S120 2.0 Multimedia Speakers $9.99 (Amazon)

 

 

OS: Windows 7 PRO 64 Bit System Builder 1pk $139.99 (Amazon)

 

Total: ~$1239

 

 

 

 

Decided to still get a ($30) sound card because of potential issues with the mobo and gpu. GPU is actually the same one I've got in the machine I'm working on. Innards of the computer are $919. I want to put Win7 Pro on it but at $200 retail/140 OEM it doesn't really seem worth it. Of course I think I can do $140 for OEM and the potential mobo fail issue would be okay. Slightly cheaper and faster 1TB HD instead of 1.5TB. 730W PSU.

[OldJoe]

Didn't find a single review about the psu in the first few pages or searching, so i can't say what quality it holds.

Also, if you wish to know, it's about 570w.

Personally i'd choose another brand and a product with longer warranty.

 

What games are you planning on with a 5450? Runescape and older games i guess.

 

Don't understand the need for a sound card... Oh well.

[MageUK]

Do you really need 12gb RAM, honestly?

 

Also, you shouldn't cheap out on the PSU which it definitely looks like you're doing. The PSU is one of the most important components, I would suggest this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

 

Or if you really want modular:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

 

And is a 5450 going to be good enough? What are you going to throw at it games-wise?

 

I'd also personally go for Corsair XMS3 RAM which you can get for the same price as the OCZ... never been keen on them for RAM.

[Pkmastachaos]

Didn't take too long to save you ~$400 did it? :smile:

 

I agree with OldJoe and Pure_MageUK on the issues they brought up though. The motherboard I chose would be capable of running a 7.1 setup should you ever want it, not to mention with the low end speakers it just doesn't make any sense to have a sound card.

 

Decided to still get a ($30) sound card because of potential issues with the mobo and gpu.

 

A graphics card will have no say in how a sound card or your speakers will perform, and the motherboard is capable of going beyond what you currently desire. But, if you deem it necessary to have a soundcard; by all means.

 

Something we all forgot to ask is how long would you anticipate holding onto this computer? While it seems you don't need a better graphics card/power supply/anything else right now, it might be a good idea to think about six months, or even a year or two from now. Especially since your dropping so much on that cpu.

[Tim]

Dont get Nortons. Use Kaspersky if you want Internet Security, otherwise go for MSE for Anti Virus - Free wise.

[Jernlov]

If you're going to be doing graphics work then why not waste less on stuff like CPU and get yourself a decent monitor instead.