2010 PC Olympics

Phimp

Gawd
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
596
Every four to five years I piece together a new computer, this monumental event is known to me as The PC Olympics.

Last time I ended up with a 3700+ 2.2Ghz San Diego cpu, 2GB DDR400 PC3200 memory, nForce4 mobo, evga 7800gt, three 250GB WD HDD's in Raid-0, all thrown into a giant CM Stacker with Danger Den water cooling for the CPU with a 2x120 radiator.

it has had a good life but it now chugs along with some 1080p mkv bluray backups, and won't even attempt to play my 1080p video files from my camcorder.


The New Build:

I picked up a new TDX water block from DangerDen for AM3 chips with some new tubing/etc.

Threw another 2TB drive onto the order for my WHS Box and ended up just under $1K which was my aim.

I know I could have saved a few bucks here or there like $30 less for the 1075T instead of the 1090 but I figured for an extra thirty bucks, why not bump up, even if performance isn't that much of a difference.
The MSI 460GTX looks promising because I'm dB-conscious, so it being praised for it's quietness drew me in. (water blocks for a 460 are $$$)

Oh, also I'll be using my trusty old Antec TrueBlue 480w PSU but I suspect I may need to upgrade that soon, but not entire sure...

Any comments/suggestions to the order? Everything has already been ordered but if there's something horribly wrong I don't mind swapping it out with a return =p
 
Upgrade that PSU. It's too old and does not have enough amperage on the +12V rail to power your system for long. I recommend this as a budget upgrade:
$59 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU

Also, for $5 more, you could have gotten a significantly faster SSD:
$145 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD
 
If I were to budget $90-100 for a new PSU, what would be your recommendation?
I want to be able to potentially add another 460GTX, hard drives, etc.

I saw the Crucial C300 when I was pricing SSD's but was using AnandTech's benchmarks to compare my options; they seemed pretty evenly matched, with the Vertex 2 taking the lead in most tests. Although most of the benchmarks only include the larger versions of each drive but I am assuming that performance is somewhat similar between the different sized models in the same line-up.
But if it's actually a much faster drive then I'll order it and return the Vertex 2.

Thanks for the input thus far Danny, I always seem to trust other guys with the same first name as me =p

Edit:
How about the Antec EarthWatts EA650 for $70...
or the Antec NEO ECO 620C for $70 after a $15 MIR?
 
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I saw the Crucial C300 when I was pricing SSD's but was using AnandTech's benchmarks to compare my options; they seemed pretty evenly matched, with the Vertex 2 taking the lead in most tests. Although most of the benchmarks only include the larger versions of each drive but I am assuming that performance is somewhat similar between the different sized models in the same line-up.
But if it's actually a much faster drive then I'll order it and return the Vertex 2.
I was basing my recommendation off this thread here:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1564216
How about the Antec EarthWatts EA650 for $70...
or the Antec NEO ECO 620C for $70 after a $15 MIR?

I would go with the Antec Neo Eco 620C since it actually has more power than the Earthwatts on the +12V rail despite the Earthwatts being rated higher wattage wise. Another good choice is the Corsair 650TX 650W PSU or the XFX 650W PSU (either one will work).

Thanks for the input thus far Danny, I always seem to trust other guys with the same first name as me =p
:D As do I man, as do I. :)
 
I'm placing the order for the CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX right now.

I think I'll stick with the Vertex 2 for now and possibly pick up the Crucial C300 in a couple weeks & test em both out & use the lesser driver for my WHS box.

Thanks again for the input man!
 
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