Antec Mini P180 Build

[tommyxv]

Just finished ordering the parts last night from Newegg. This system is not for gaming. Web/Graphic design only. Suggestions and Comments??

Antec P180 mATX case
Asus Rampage II Gene mATX
Core i7 920 w/ Corsair H50
12GB Corsair Dominator 1600 Ram
2 x 300GB WD VelociRaptors Raid 0
2 x Asus EN9600GT Silent cards (Running 1 30" & 2 20" monitors)
LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner
Corsair 1000HX PS
4 Scythe S-Flex E Fans

My only concern is the video cards getting too hot becuase they are pushing the 3 monitors. I will have a case fan blowing across them.

 

[Dangman]

Well you definitely overpaid for the RAM. Even for heavy overclocking, no Dominator RAM has ever been worth the purchase price. You could have saved ~$170 with a cheaper RAM set but still offers the same performance, same quality, and same overclocking capability as the Dominators. Like three sets of this RAM:
$79 - OCZ Obsidian OCZ3OB1600LV4GK 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600

The PSU is a very overkill for that kind of setup. You could have gone with a cheaper and modular 500W to 600W PSU and still have enough headroom for future upgrades.

I would have gone for a RAID 0 SSD setup that would have been far faster than Velociraptor RAID 0 and would leave you enough money for a storage drive or two. They also would have been silent as well.

So all in all, while you didn't get bad parts per se, you could have gotten equal and fitting parts for significantly less money while getting a faster and more responsive system via the SSDs.

 

[SOSTrooper]

Well, the PSU is about 500W more than it needs to be. But since you already ordered it, I guess more power to you, literally. The video cards will get warm, but if you are not going to run intensive games and that you also have a good case fan blowing at them, I think they should be fine. I would have gotten an Intel SSD plus a WD Black/Seagate 7200.12/Samsung F3 for storage if you needed the speed for both storage and OS purpose.

 

[tommyxv]

The Ram wasn't too bad. I got $40 off with the MB combo deal and used a $40 off coupon...so I did save $80 on the ram. Plus I have some mail in rebates totaling another $90. The drives i got for $200 each. I thought about SSD's but I just am not 100% sold on them yet.

The PS is def overkill, but If I decided to get a pair of 5870/50 cards down the line to Game, then I know the power is there.

And after I saw this pic...I just had to have it.

 

[engiNURD]

I agree with Danny 100%. You saved $80 but you could have saved $90 more.

http://www.alphaq.org/enginurd/hdd/ocz_vertex.html ... no amount of RAID with VRaptors will ever come close to a good RAID0 SSD array. A single SSD would still blow the VRaptors away. Your computer is as fast as your slowest component... which are currently your hard drives.

 

[Adidas4275]

i have the case, it is nice...... wiring is okay... not perfect but managable.

i agree go SSD with a i7 build

 

[ordovician]

I agree with Danny 100%. You saved $80 but you could have saved $90 more.

http://www.alphaq.org/enginurd/hdd/ocz_vertex.html ... no amount of RAID with VRaptors will ever come close to a good RAID0 SSD array. A single SSD would still blow the VRaptors away. Your computer is as fast as your slowest component... which are currently your hard drives.

This has already been discussed, but some people fail to see it that way. Heck, an intel 80gb G2 and two 1TB drives would be cheaper and faster than the raptors.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1468063

Also...

1) Why are you going SLI? If you're not gaming I see little point to having anything above a Radeon 4670. Heck, at least a 4670 has HDMI audio. SLI makes no sense to me whatsoever, even if this were a gaming rig. The amount of money you payed for those 2 9600GT's could haev EASILY payed for a single GTX 260, 275 Radeon 48xx, 5770 which would CRUSH two 9600GT's in real-world gameplay.

2) PSU is much more than what's needed. The 650w would have been fine, if not overkill.

3) Ram was a rip-off.

Overall I think it's a beauty of a system, don't get me wrong. It's a total waste of money though. I could have built twice the computer for the same price.

 

[dotCapone]

1) Why are you going SLI? If you're not gaming I see little point to having anything above a Radeon 4670. Heck, at least a 4670 has HDMI audio. SLI makes no sense to me whatsoever, even if this were a gaming rig. The amount of money you payed for those 2 9600GT's could haev EASILY payed for a single GTX 260, 275 Radeon 48xx, 5770 which would CRUSH two 9600GT's in real-world gameplay.

He isn't going SLI. 2 graphics cards does not mean SLI. He is using them separately to drive 3 displays.

A lot of this seems like overkill to me, but it doesn't really matter what we think, as long as you like it. I hope you enjoy your rig!

 

[ordovician]

He isn't going SLI. 2 graphics cards does not mean SLI. He is using them separately to drive 3 displays.

A lot of this seems like overkill to me, but it doesn't really matter what we think, as long as you like it. I hope you enjoy your rig!

Ah, gotcha. I forget intel mobos don't have decent onboard gfx to drive extra monitors Still 9600GTs? Seems wasteful, especially when 1) you dont need anything over an ~8500gt for non-gaming, and 2) a 5770 can output to three displays (I think?).

 

[tommyxv]

Got the build done last night....

And the eye that protects the new P180 system..