$1,500 critique

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vroom_skies

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming, photoshop & general use.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $1,500 give or take $50.
3) Where do you live? Connecticut
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, GPU, MoBo, Ram, SSD, PSU, Case & accessories/ fans.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Monitor, Soundcard, dvd drive, data drives, speakers/ headphones and keyboard & mouse.
6) Will you be overclocking? Prob a light clock, but nothing to intense.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? Nothing much beyond the basics.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Win 7 Pro 64 bit

Here is what I've been playing around with so far.
CPU $280
MoBo $140
RAM $255
GPU $420
SSD $180
Case will be the Antec P180 Mini (if I can find one) $135
PSU- I'm not to sure on quite yet. I'll have to finish searching that out.

Thanks
Bob
 
You're overspending on the RAM. And that mobo costs $170. Try not to factor in rebates until you actually get them. Also, you can do better in the CPU, mobo and RAM department:
$470 - Intel Core i7-930 CPU + Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R X58 ATX Motherboard Combo
$220 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
---
$690 plus tax and shipping.

$15 cheaper than the setup you posted but now you can upgrade to 12GB or more RAM in the future and you have a longer CPU upgrade path.

SSD wise, for everyday OS usage, Intel's SSD is king:
$220 - Intel SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SSD

PSU wise, I'd recommend these:
$110 - Antec Truepower New TP750 Blue 750W PSU
$150 - Corsair 950TX 950W PSU
 
Thanks for the info Danny.
I'm normally very much a performance over looks kind of guy, but I'm loving the way dominator ram looks, so well see.
The MoBo would have to be an matx board and due to that the 1156 build has the potential of being a fair amount cheaper. I'm not to worried and the longevity of the socket, since when it's time to upgrade I'm not going to be putting money into a dead socket.
I don't see my self being short on ram with 8gigs. Never less there are 1156 matx boards that support up to 16gigs.

Noted on the Intel SSD. Are there any ssd's with a minimum of 60gigs that preform better then the Intel for the same price or less?

Thanks for the recommendations on the PSU's. I'll check them out.

Thanks
Bob
 
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vroom_skies said:
The MoBo would have to be an matx board and due to that the 1156 build has the potential of being a fair amount cheaper. I'm not to worried and the longevity of the socket, since when it's time to upgrade I'm not going to be putting money into a dead socket.
Click to expand...
mATX it is:
$295 - Intel Core i7 930 CPU
$170 - MSI X58M LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
---
$465 plus tax and shipping. Still cheaper than your Core i7/pP55 route.

But the Antec P180 mini isn't exactly a mATX case. In fact, it's the same size as many ATX cases out there. So any chance of you switching to an ATX case considering that the size differences is nil?

vroom_skies said:
I don't see my self being short on ram with 8gigs. Never less there are 1156 matx boards that support up to 16gigs.
Click to expand...
Umm, the problem is that you have to pay for 4GB sticks of RAM to get that much. With the X58 route, you have two extra RAM slots which means a much cheaper RAM upgrade route.

vroom_skies said:
Noted on the Intel SSD are there any ssd's with a minimum of 60gigs that preform better then the Intel for the same price or less?
Click to expand...

For random read/writes, nah, the Intel is the best.
 
Note I said potential, not that it was with the current spec (furthermore that combo isn't even cheaper).
1156 matx boards are down in the $70's, which if I were to end up getting one could save a fair amount.
I'm well aware of the size of the P180 Mini and that's fine with me.
Frankly it would be a rare occasion when I need more then 8 gigs, so I'm not in the least bit worried.

Noted again on the ssd.

Thanks
Bob
 
vroom_skies said:
Here is what I've been playing around with so far.
CPU $280
MoBo $140
RAM $255
GPU $420
SSD $180
Case will be the Antec P180 Mini (if I can find one) $135
PSU- I'm not to sure on quite yet. I'll have to finish searching that out.

Thanks
Bob
Click to expand...


For the most part I like it other then the expensive ram that doesn't match.. yes I meant aesthetics.. Gskill, Patriot & crucial all make good ram to match in red so I would look elsewhere based solely on that unless you can find the dominator in red.

Edit: also the Intel drive is a way better drive imo.. Plus price per GB is better (2.75 per gb rather then 3.00 per gb for the one you listed above)
 
RANDOM WRITES dude., not writes.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
meh still say the corsair nova is the better overall value price performance, at that capacity
 
Corsair Nova is Indilinx controlled, but uses faster flash, making it faster than the older indilinx based drives (OCZ Vertex/Agility/Solid2). [/edit]

The Intel X25-M SSDs have fast small random write speeds and high IOPS, but have slower sequential speeds. Conversely, the Indilinx based drives have faster sequential speeds, but slower small random write speeds and lower IOPS. When you setup the Indilinx drives in RAID0, the small random write speeds/IOPS increase enough to more than compensate for the single drive's deficiency. Likewise, when you RAID0 Intel drives, the sequential speeds increase more than enough. Small random write speeds and high IOPS are more important for the avg desktop user than sequential speeds. For single SSD usage, the Intel is a better choice because of this. However, Indilinx based drives' small random write speeds are still faster than mechanical drives, so even in a single drive config, it's still a good choice if you can't afford the Intel drive. http://ssd.alphaq.org
 
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enginurd said:
Corsair Nova is Indilinx controlled, as is OCZ Vertex/Agility/Solid2.

The Intel X25-M SSDs have fast small random write speeds and high IOPS, but have slower sequential speeds. Conversely, the Indilinx based drives have faster sequential speeds, but slower small random write speeds and lower IOPS. When you setup the Indilinx drives in RAID0, the small random write speeds/IOPS increase enough to more than compensate for the single drive's deficiency. Likewise, when you RAID0 Intel drives, the sequential speeds increase more than enough. Small random write speeds and high IOPS are more important for the avg desktop user than sequential speeds. For single SSD usage, the Intel is a better choice because of this. However, Indilinx based drives' small random write speeds are still faster than mechanical drives, so even in a single drive config, it's still a good choice if you can't afford the Intel drive. http://ssd.alphaq.org
Click to expand...
Not to derail this thread any more, but the controller isn't an effective way to judge the drive's performance.

Look at this comparison and notice how the 4 Indilinx IDX110M00 controlled drives performed. The Corsair stood out from the Crucial, Patriot and Mushkin by a huge margin, even if it wasn't always in a positive way.
 
Konway said:
Not to derail this thread any more, but the controller isn't an effective way to judge the drive's performance.
Click to expand...
It used to be, lol, back when I first wrote that statement. But yes, the flash and firmware also play major roles in SSD performance.

Konway said:
Look at this comparison and notice how the 4 Indilinx IDX110M00 controlled drives performed. The Corsair stood out from the Crucial, Patriot and Mushkin by a huge margin, even if it wasn't always in a positive way.
Click to expand...
Ahh, didn't notice it's using Intel's 34nm flash. I'll have to look into it more. Thanks for the link, threw it into my queue; I've been waiting for some spare time to read the sandforce reviews, lol. I also admit my above summary is a bit outdated now (it was written end of summer '09 :p).
 
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Thanks for all the extra info on ssd's lol. Though I'm quite certain I'll be going with the Intel.

I have a question I've been mulling.
I've been having a hard time choosing between the Intel 860 & the AMD 1090T. The prices are quite comparable, with the 1090T build being around $30 more on average. Now from what I've read the 860 still has a decent advantage at stock clocks. However I'm planning on OC'ing either chip to high 3's/ low 4's. Granted that makes both the chips faster, so you'd assume the 860 still gets the edge.

Though this is where I'm having trouble. My upgrade cycle seems to be four years if not longer. When I upgraded last time, we were on the move from single to dual core cpu's and I opted for an AMD X2 series. So as time went on I was better able to utilize those dual cores even though the tech was becoming dated. So in lieu of that, I know hexa cores aren't being used to much, though if I'm on a four plus year cycle, would it not be the better move? I don't see the 1090T when OC'ed being an issue with gaming, as all I really want is around 60 frames. So while the 860 seems to be the better chip today, I can't help but feel the 1090T would be a better match for me given the circumstances.

BTW- The added power & heat aren't really an issue for me.

Any opinions would be great.
 
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