$2500 Build

Apathy

Apathy

Gawd
Joined
Oct 29, 2004
Messages
890
I am building a new rig after 4 years with my old one (see sig). I had an originial build, but with the help of [H], ive put together this new beast. I just want to make sure it couldn't be any better for the price.

Maybe someone has some suggestion that i haven't thought of yet. Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks.

either goto www.newegg.com -> public wish lists -> name of my wishlist: "apathys rig". i dont think its actually searchable yet even though i made it shared.

so check this out:

---COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKN3-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
---SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan (x5)
---ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
---SAPPHIRE 100221SR Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB (512MB x 2) 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
---CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply
---Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
---CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX
---SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
---Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
---Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
---ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T
---Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2C - OEM
---ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
---AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
---SENNHEISER HD 595 Headphone

one question. xp 64 or vista 64 or xp 32/vista 32? was leaning towards xp32 for sp3. heard 4gb ram will be properly addressed/used with sp3?
please specify which OS as well, pro, premium, deluxe.... etc.
apps: all good games. winamp, trillian/aim, teamspeak, torrent programs.
uses: games, music, internet, bla bla bla

total cost: $2,500.83
shipped via fedex express saver: $2,643.60
 
Its my understanding that the 4 gig limit is due to addressing on 32 bit systems, and as such its impossible to get around it. So if you are going with 4 gigs, you need a 64 bit system.

I also think the 4 gig refers to all accessible system memory, including the video card, so with 1 gig of memory in the video card, you will have even less ram accessible. I may be wrong though.

The good news is 64 bit OS's can recognize around 16 terabytes of ram, so we shouldn't be hitting that barrier anytime soon.
 
i thought i read somewhere that 4 gigs will be properly addressed in SP3 for windows XP. anyone know any further details about that?

otherwise, whats the good choice for now, stick with the stable XP and go for 64bit and worry about the lack of driver support, or go vista 64, worry about driver support and OS stability, and have 4gigs definitely addressed and used properly?

stupid question, if there are no 64bit drivers for the hardware/software i want to use, is there any alternative method for getting those programs to work on a 64bit os.

someone please tell me what the F to do. this is the most confusing part of putting tis rig together so far.

again, winamp, trillian/aim, new games, torrent software, and misc other stupid apps as i come accross them are my only priorities.
 
The 4 gig limitation in 32-bit Windows XP (and Vista) can not be fixed with a service pack. It is a simply a limitation regarding the nature of a 32-bit O/S. 32-bit Windows (XP and Vista) can address four gigs MINUS the sum total of all component memory installed in your system (i.e. memory in your video card.) In other words, it has one 32-bit memory map which can address up to four gigs of memory, including component memory. Component memory is addressed first because the system has to assume that a component must have access to all of its memory to function correctly. As this is not a requirement for system RAM, it is addressed after component memory, which is why 32-bit Windows will never see and utilize four gigs of RAM (note that there was an ugly hack to get around this, but it introduced significant driver and application stability issues, and has since been disabled in XP SP2.) With your 3870 X2 card, you will loose at least an entire gig of usable RAM if you choose 32-bit XP.

Your best bet is to go with Vista x64 and not worry about driver or app compatibility. Vista x64 has matured significantly, especially with high end hardware. You will almost certainly not have an issue using it in a home / gaming environment with any hardware or software. As such, it is easily the most recommended OS for new builds on this forum.

As for your build, it looks good, but it is pricey for what you are ultimately putting together. I am surprised to see a build for $2500 not include two video cards, for example. Keep in mind however, that SLI or Crossfire is only worth considering if a) you have the cash to get both cards now and b) you are pairing them with a monitor sporting a resolution of at least 1920x1200. SLI or Crossfire is never worth it as an upgrade path, as by the time you are ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely out perform two of your older cards in SLI/Crossfire. Furthermore, by selling the original card when upgrading, you can keep costs comparable to adding the second unit. The resolution requirement is there because a single high end video card is quite powerful enough for most monitors. Unless you are gaming at 1920x1200, a second card will do nothing.

You can cut costs significantly without affecting the performance of your rig by swapping the Maximum Formula for a P35 board such as the excellent Abit IP-35 Pro, Gigabyte DS3/DS4 series, or the ASUS P5K series. The only reason to consider an X38 board is if you are going with a Crossfire setup. Furthermore, now that Creative drivers have matured with Vista, there is little reason to get the pricier Auzentech Prelude. An X-Fi will perform just as well (if not better, since it is the real deal) and may cost over $100 less.

Good luck on the rig.
 
well to tell you the truth, my eyes are too terrible to be able to see any text at 1920x120.. Right now i can run up to 1280x1024 (I think is the highest), and typically i run my games at that res if i can get away with it. otherwise when im on the internet browsing i run at 1024x768 so i can read things without glasses. otherwise i will run games at the highest resolution that i can get on my monitor without sacrificing performance. gfx quality has always been important to me, and im not willing to sacrifice speed for image quality

keep in mind $260 of that price is for the sennheisers.

im sure that in the future there will be much better single card solutions, but how long from now is that, and how long until its really necessary to upgrade for a 3870 X2. ill get that second card when its necessary i suppose or when i have some extra cash in my pocket. thats another thing i am on the fence about though. I have been looking at 22" lcd wide screens for awhile, but after reading the posts about lcd lag for FPS type games, its making me consider pulling up my old 18" CRT instead of spending all that money on something that is going to make me a less effective killer.

as for the OS, you just made me change my mind and go with Vista 64bit. is there a special version i should be getting? ive seen home pro premium deluxe, some other names. no idea whats actually worth buying. is OEM a viable option for 64bit?
 
If you won't be gaming at high resolutions, then that second card will never be worth while. The wisest bet would be to drop the X38 board in favor of P35 and forget about Crossfire. Even the 3870 X2 is arguably a waste of money at 1280x1024. The most powerful graphic card solutions today are intended to be paired with high resolution monitors. For lower resolutions, such as 1280x1024, a single 3870 or a nVidia 8800 GT will run all current games just as well. Getting a more powerful card in the hopes that it will last longer doesn't usually pan out, as by the time games are available that require more juice than a 3870 or GT can deliver, a newer mid-range card will likely be available that will outperform the older top end. This can be observed today with the 8800 GTX / Ultra compared to the newer GTS 512 (which is significantly cheaper.) In some cases, the GTX / Ultra may prove to be a faster, but again only at very high resolutions. In other cases, the GTS 512 will match performance or outperform, and is a significantly better choice at 2/3rds the cost.

As for Vista, Home Premium is the one you're probably after. It's the edition best suited to home / gaming rigs. OEM is fine if you don't need Microsoft support.
 
Opteron 185
2 gig Corsair
Asus A8N-e
500w antec PSU
8800 gts 320
Sansung 226 BW 16 :10 (no lag btw)


A evga 8800gts 320 is $200 now. Maybe a matching Radeon card for you will be real cheap someday soon.

Also, newer games like Crysis now benifit from more video ram at 1600x1200, there was test maybe it was on this forum, or maybe guru 3d. The 8800gts 320 failed to keep up.My own experience with Crysis jives with their results. But I question whether SLI or Crossfire can take advantage and use the combined RAM from 2 cards. But the speed advantage is established i would guess

EDIT: oh no, it was Bioshock, not Crysis. Anyway, in the test at 1600x1200, the 8800gts 320 slowed with AA, but still played well witht the 640 version.
 
as i said before, i plan on gaming at the highest resolution possible with all gfx settings set to max without experiencing performance loss. if i dont notice the performance loss, im satisfied. dont care about benchmarks as long as it looks awesome and doesnt get choppy at all. ever.

i will most likely end up buying a 22" widescreen lcd just because my eyes suck and text crispness is important to me. running a dual monitor setup will happen regardless of whether or not i get the widescreen soon.

also will most likely end up getting a 2nd 3870 X2 card if the performance in games like crysis and supreme commander arent satisfying for me. choppiness and lag are not an option.

thanks for the suggestions and tips so far everyone. i really trust your input here on the forums more than anyone else when it comes to pc related technical info.

oh btw... creative x-fi, extreme gamer?
 
on second thought, im sorry, i cant buy a creative sound card or any of their products for that matter. all i remember hearing is driver problems and metallic sounding music. "tinny" was the word i remember. ive heard a lot of good about the prelude. unless i get overwhelming support for creative cards on this thread, i just cant do it to myself.
 
New rig went 4x2G, so had to go 64-bit this time around. Just updated my rig, and ended up switching to XP-64. Vista-64 (ultimate) was just flaky for what I was running. YMMV.

Previous system had 4x1G, with the 32-bit version of XP only seeing ~3.4G of RAM as usable by the system. If you plan to drop in 4G now - *everything* works with 32-bit XP. You just won't get to touch all of the physical RAM. I suspect Vista will chew up about a half gig with just normal OS stuff, so it may be a wash.

Went with the EVGA 780i SLI as I might go SLI. Running a Dell 3007WFP (30" @ 2650x1600) and Samsung 204t (21" @1600x1200) and can play Supreme Commander just fine on a single 8800gts (512M). Planning to update to the 98xx series cards when they show up (March?). Board supports 3-way SLI, but 2x will be more than adequate for what I play

I'm partial to the raptors for the main OS drive. They do run hot/loud, however...
 
Apathy said:
as i said before, i plan on gaming at the highest resolution possible with all gfx settings set to max without experiencing performance loss. if i dont notice the performance loss, im satisfied. dont care about benchmarks as long as it looks awesome and doesnt get choppy at all. ever.

i will most likely end up buying a 22" widescreen lcd just because my eyes suck and text crispness is important to me. running a dual monitor setup will happen regardless of whether or not i get the widescreen soon.
Click to expand...

A single 8800 GT or HD3870 will allow you to do this. If you get a 22 inch widescreen, a 3870 X2 may show its edge over a 3870 or 8800 GT, but an 8800 GTS G92 will work just as well and will cost less.

also will most likely end up getting a 2nd 3870 X2 card if the performance in games like crysis and supreme commander arent satisfying for me. choppiness and lag are not an option.
Click to expand...

As mentioned, you will no doubt be satisfied by a single card. A second card will do nothing for resolutions below 1920x1200. For gaming on a 22 inch, it's a waste of money.
 
been talking to a few people. really torn right now. after reading everything and taking a few days to reconsider OS options. i am going to have to absolutely go with XP 32bit. i will start with one 3870 X2, and if i upgrade to a 30", i will pickup that escond card if need be.

just as i type this i think about the advantages of 64bit vs 32bit. i will definitely not go with vista after some careful brainstorming. 32bit vs 64bit is still a fairly large dilemma for me though.

i will be ordering before the end of february, so i have some more time to think about it. driver support, stability, memory addressing.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
 
XP 64bit is more trouble than it's worth and Vista is quite mature at this point. Vista Home Premium 64bit, were I you.

You're over-spending a great deal for no real return in quite a few places. That case is probably the most blatant, and the fans.
 
the case is by far the largest portion of wasted money. it used to be 180$. the silver case is 180, not sure why the black is 80$ more. i want a big ass case with a stock wheel base. would prefer aluminum. barring an army of hammer wielding aluminum-nazi's breaking into my house and assaulting the case, i see it as an investment for the future. it has great air cooling without any modding necessary, removable mobo tray, wheel base, huge, black, etc.

i dont think ill ever need a new case after this one which is why im willing to pay so much for it.

the silverstone fans arent a definite, i might go with the deltas. probably just end up going for a couple of $5 - $10 fans when i actually order it. dont need to spend $75 when i could spend $25-$50.

after that the prelude isnt entirely necessary, but i hate creative, and i dont want to step back into m-audio for little to no reason. just want to try something new.

the crossfirex doesnt really need to be in there either since im probably going to be sticking with one 3870 X2 for awhile. however, i want to leave the window open in case crossfire remains useful for any extended period of time with in the next 2 years.

all in all i could probably shave off around $250 if i wanted to be really practical. but i dont care enough to do that when on the other end i am at least buying crap that will give me at least some sort of minimal increase in noticable performance.

anyone who wants to give me a comprehensive rundown on vista32/64 vs xp32/64 or send me a link comparing the two ill be more than happy to read whatever info you can give me.

another vote for vista64. im doing more research while here at work. still got a few weeks to make a final decision.
 
wheres the pics mate!? :p

looks like you and i have a very similar rig setup here.

any regrets about the pricetag?

what do you think about the g92 gts vs 3870 X2 now that its out?

why did you go vista ultimate?
 
Apathy said:
wheres the pics mate!? :p

looks like you and i have a very similar rig setup here.

any regrets about the pricetag?

what do you think about the g92 gts vs 3870 X2 now that its out?

why did you go vista ultimate?
Click to expand...

I forgot I didn't included it that forum. I went with Home Premium x64 not Ultimate x64. The feature that was offer in Ultimate was not something I need or care to have for $80 more.

Here is the album:
http://www.fileden.com/album/125027/40906
 
just became a $3012 build. $3209.98 shipped fedex express saver.

added 24" samsung ws lcd. deathadder mouse and mousepad, changed xp to vista64, downgraded from silverstone case fans to aerocool xtremeturbines, artic silver 5 thermal compound. sapphire isnt available right now so i went visiontek.

vOv
woops

revised build:


COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKN3-GP Black

(5) AeroCool XtremeTurbine-Black 120mm Case Fan

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustment - Retail

VisionTek 900209 Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB (512MB x 2) 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

SENNHEISER HD 595 6.3 mm stereo (3.5 mm Adapter) Connector Circumaural Stereo Headphone

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model

SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD

RAZER RZ01-00150100-R2M1 Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Optical DeathAdder High Precision Gaming Mouse - Retail

RAZER Pro|Solutions PRO PAD Mouse Pad - Retail
 
The decision to go with Vista x64 is the right one. You won't be disappointed.

With a 24 inch monitor and what you're already spending, you might as well get two 3870 X2s now, assuming you can up the budget some more. Again, Crossfire or SLI is a bad idea and a waste of money if you intend to get one card now and another later. Don't say we didn't warn you. If you aren't going with two cards now, then getting the Maximum Formula is a waste of money. A P35 board will perform just as well for half the cost.

As for fans, the best bang for buck out there are Yate Loons from Petra's tech shop. They're just as good as the Skythe S-Flex, they're whisper quiet, and they're $5. Also, regardless of your past experience with Creative, X-Fi drivers have finally matured, such that there really is no advantage to getting the considerably more expensive Prelude.

Lastly, why one 250 drive and one 500 drive instead of one 750 drive?

Good luck with the build!
 
Markyip1 said:
The decision to go with Vista x64 is the right one. You won't be disappointed.

With a 24 inch monitor and what you're already spending, you might as well get two 3870 X2s now, assuming you can up the budget some more. Again, Crossfire or SLI is a bad idea and a waste of money if you intend to get one card now and another later. Don't say we didn't warn you. If you aren't going with two cards now, then getting the Maximum Formula is a waste of money. A P35 board will perform just as well for half the cost.

As for fans, the best bang for buck out there are Yate Loons from Petra's tech shop. They're just as good as the Skythe S-Flex, they're whisper quiet, and they're $5. Also, regardless of your past experience with Creative, X-Fi drivers have finally matured, such that there really is no advantage to getting the considerably more expensive Prelude.

Lastly, why one 250 drive and one 500 drive instead of one 750 drive?

Good luck with the build!
Click to expand...

Yes, he should consider the P35 board and do not go with CF or SLI if you don't have the extra funds. Even then I would spend it on something else. Stick with Vista 32 or 64 is up to you. People complain about XP when it first came out too. If you do get x64 do not get XP. There are more drivers and apps and will be more in the future for Vista x64 than XP x64.
Auzentech had a MIR and IR not to long ago putting it at $170, $30 of the orginal price. Hopefuly they will have the sale again when you order.
What is the reason for one small drive and one large drive? You can always partition one big drive so incase you have to format one partition like reinstalling the OS you won't lose any data on the other partition. I would stay away from having to many HD in my case. The only reason I have more than 2 or 3 is because they came from my old build. I wouldn't go more than 2 HD. But it looks like that is what your doing already so it shouldn't matter what I said earlier.
For ram you can get any notable brand and they'll do you fine. Also do you need a Floppy Drive? When I build my system, I didn't install a Floppy Drive since I can use a CD or USB. Booting from USB is much better than booting from floppy imo.
Remember your final price is tax plus shipping not including rebates. The system I have now is easily over 3g.
Good luck on your build.
 
from what i remember, the bigger the hard drive, the faster it gets corrupted, the quicker it burns out and i lose all my data. the 250 will be for the OS and the more important apps on the computer. the 500 is for games/movies/music/porn.

as for mobo, going to look at some more of the non-xfire boards. is it really that bad though? i mean, is xfire and sli going to die that soon that getting a capable board to support the features will be completely obsolete?
 
The SLI or Crossfire technology itself will not die, but the actual cards you want to combine together will become obsolete soon enough such that getting the second card as an upgrade down the road makes no sense.

If you research either technology on this and other forums, you will no doubt see people posting the same advice again and again. Go with a Crossfire or SLI setup if and only if you have the resolution to support it (1920x1200 or better) and if you can get two cards now. SLI or Crossfire as an upgrade path is a bad choice and a waste of money.
 
primariliy because a single card solution will be the most likely inevitable future?
 
No one can speculate on the performance of technology net yet released, especially when there is little to no performance preview information available.

As I've mentioned before, SLI or Crossfire is a bad idea because by the time you are ready to get that second card, a newer card will be likely be available that will outperform two of the older cards in SLI / Crossfire. Why burden yourself with two cards, which limits your motherboard choices and creates for a more complex, hotter running system, when you can sell the original card and upgrade to the newer card for the same or less? Also keep in mind that prices rarely if ever go down on older models when a newer card is released.

If you can afford two 3870 X2 cards now, then by all means get two cards now. If you're plan is to wait and hope to buy a 3870 X2 card in six months for less money, you will likely be most disappointed with what you'll find from a price / performance standpoint.
 
Apathy said:
from what i remember, the bigger the hard drive, the faster it gets corrupted, the quicker it burns out and i lose all my data. the 250 will be for the OS and the more important apps on the computer. the 500 is for games/movies/music/porn.
Click to expand...

This is completely and utterly incorrect.
 
isnt the rule that if you have a big ass hd, say 750gb, and say 75% is full, wont the drive run much slower than it would if only 25% were in use? i thought big drives that were full of data got corrupted much easier.

is this just completely wrong?
 
Apathy said:
isnt the rule that if you have a big ass hd, say 750gb, and say 75% is full, wont the drive run much slower than it would if only 25% were in use? i thought big drives that were full of data got corrupted much easier.

is this just completely wrong?
Click to expand...

I don't know how or where you got this info but its not true, I don't think so anyhow. Why would manufacture make 500/750/1tb drive if this is the case. Most people will get 500gb to begin with and partition it to there liking. you can get a 320gb drive and that would be in between. I believe your first configuration is good, 250gb for os/games/aps and a 500gb for files.
 
No reason to buy any drive save the one with the best price to GB ratio when you buy... assuming you can afford it. Right now that tends to be 500 and occasionally, 750GB drives.
 
Yes, there is no performance penalty or increase whatsoever, if you keep up with your defragging every few months, from having the drive partially or completely full.

To determine the price to GB ratio, divide the price of the drive by the amount of GB. So if a 500GB drive is $100, you're paying 20 cents a gig. Which is an excellent price to GB ratio. 25 cents per gig is all right but try to find one for 20 cents a gig.

And some recommendations:
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $100
Samsung SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $104
Western Digital WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $155
 
well thanks guys for the hd rundown. cleared some things up for myself. threw out that bad info that i probably picked up in a bestbuy or compusa and never thought to actually see if it was true.

dissaude another myth for me please.

windows xp HOME does not utilize dual channel ram. xp PRO does?
 
Not true, but if you're building you shouldn't be getting XP anyway. Vista Home Premium 64bit is the OS of choice for those of us not playing the Linux game at the moment.
 
Apathy said:
windows xp HOME does not utilize dual channel ram. xp PRO does?
Click to expand...

The Dual Channel item is mobo dependent, not OS dependent. Even if I'm wrong about that, both OSes can and do utilize dual channel RAM. However, since you're using 4GB of RAM, I recommend Vista 64bit for all of the reasons already mentioned by Markyip1.
 
im going for vista64, was just trying to get rid of the rest of the stupid crap burned into my brain which i wasnt sure was true or not.

ive revised the build for (i hope) the final time.

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
VisionTek HD 3870 X2 1GB (512MB x 2) 512-bit (256-bit x 2)
AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
(2 of these) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
CORSAIR 620HX Power Supply
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA
SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" floppy
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830 ATX Full Tower Computer Case
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
Sennheiser HD 595 headphones
Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound
Razer Deathadder / mantis control mousepad
(5) Yate Loon 120mm case fans

is there really a reason that i should be getting yate loon 120mm case fans off of some other site, or is there something comparable that i can just get from newegg so i can order all the crap and have it all come together?



total cost: $2751.34
shipped fedex express saver: $2925.04

thanks for all the help and advice everyone. every reply and response suggesting this and that has really helped me put together a machine that i think i am going to be very satisfied. will be ordering this within the next 2 weeks most likely. will post some pics after i get it all set up. thanks again guys.

2 weeks left to tell me to stop and do something smarter :)
 
Any fan you get for $5 from Newegg will be horrible compared with the Yate Loons. Order some from Petra's Tech Shop, as many people seem to think Nexfan.com is the devil.

I really think you're over-spending on a few pieces, but if you've got what you want there, by all means...
 
silent-circuit said:
Any fan you get for $5 from Newegg will be horrible compared with the Yate Loons. Order some from Petra's Tech Shop, as many people seem to think Nexfan.com is the devil.
Click to expand...

I'm one of them. Granted they did give me an extra two fans for my trouble but damn, 3-4 weeks to deliver my fans? And only answered my six emails after I threatened to escalate things to the BBB? Geez. Horrible CS and shipping IMO.

Anyway, yes silent-circuit is right, Yate Loons are really that much better, in terms of price to performance to noise, than many fans available on newegg.com

If you want to save some money (even though you have a significantly large budget), pick up the parts elsewhere or choose alternative parts:
- G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $90 (The Corsair RAM you chose is NOT worth the extra price)
- Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $139
- Cooler Master Stacker RC-830-SSN3-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $150
 
danny, thanks for finding those reduced prices for me. going to look for a cheaper black version of the evo case. worried about non-name brand ram though. ive seen a lot of people using g.skill. corsair has my trust with its name. what happened to kingston? what about crucial?

yate loons from petras tech shop, alright.

silent-circuit, ive seen you reply in my last 2 threads about building this pc. noted that you see excessive spending in a few areas. just wanted to see what those were.

the case for $260, yea... expensive, could save $100 there. but the size, air cooling... dont think i can be persuaded here to change my mind. p.s. why the ass is the silver version of thise case ~$80 less?

the auzentech prelude, could save about $90 here. but i hate creative with most of my heart, and i want to try something other than m-audio which ive loved for awhile.

where else am i over spending?

g.skill really > than corsair?

im not looking to completely push the limits of this rig, however i will be OC'ing to at least 50% of the OC potential. not looking forward to decreasing lifespan of parts for slight performance increases.
 
I don't think I'd bother with the two harddrives. RAID 0 doesn't do much save reduce loading time.

I'd stick with the Revolution 7.1. It's a good card, and you'll have enough CPU and GPU power that you can spare a few FPS. I've never been impressed by EAX or any of the other Creative gimmick stuff.

The Corsair RAM kit is overpriced, as Danny said.

Danny's link saved you $100 on the case, so it's not near as bad anymore. Silver cases are regularly less expensive than the black versions, because they're less popular -- harder to get silver faceplate drives for one, and people like black components.
 
honestly, i know nothing about raid or what it means or what it does despite all the times ive come across it.

i just planned on using 1 drive for OS and other important apps. use the 500 for downloading torrents, games, music, other things.

doing reading now on the g.skill ram. all reviews/threads look good so far.

is the revo really worth holding on to from my old pc and dropping in the new one? i dont plan on using the old one for anything really. just going to be an alternate box that i may use for guests or something. it wont need the soundcard is my point.

i assumed the prelude/new generation of sound cards might offer something worth the price. especially since the fx6021's from altec lansing suck compared to the 5021's.

im absolutely not buying a silver tower. will wait to find a black one on sale for ~$150 - $200. the other thing that prevented me from looking elsewhere for the case would that it would add to the overall S&H costs ive i ordered the heaviest part (the tower) from another source.
 
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