Buying my first desktop computer since 2006

S

Sontek

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 15, 2001
Messages
420
In 2006 I built a pretty solid machine and it has held up pretty well since I don't play video games or anything, and have a fairly modern laptop that does anything the desktop can't.

BUT! I feel its time to finally get a new one and things have changed a tiny bit since 2006 and I haven't kept as up to date as I would have liked.

So, here is what I've built so far on NewEgg:

Intel Core-7 Ivy Bridge-E 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116939

ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118074

ASRock X79 Extreme9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157285

G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231628

PNY GeForce GTX 770 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133500

Mushkin 240GB Solid State HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226371

Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 3TB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

Fractal Design ATX Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352030

Fractal Design ATX 650W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817580009


I'm looking for feedback on if these are good parts that will work well together and will perform well. I primarily do python programming and linux administration/virtualization so the goals of this box is to be able to spin up multiple Linux VMs and test applications on them.

But now that Valve has started releasing games on Linux I'm going to try to play CS:Go and Dota2 (or any others, but these 2 look the most interesting so far).
 
Please answer the following questions so that we can help you better:
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.


But for the most part, there are some big improvements needed for that setup.
 
What Dangman said.

On a preliminary basis though...the Zalman coolers are form over function. They look much cooler than they perform.
 
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Max Budget: $2300 (There is wiggle room, but lets try to keep tax and shipping included)

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Northern California, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need all the parts that I've listed in the post so far (Case, PSU, RAM, HDD, Motherboard, CPU, Heatsink, Video Card, and Hard Drives). I do want 2 harddrives, a larger one for storage and a smaller SSD for OS.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I will not be reusing any parts, this will be a clean build with everything new.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I currently don't have plans to overclock. I may tinker after its all up and running but the modern hardware is already way faster than what I'm currently used to.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I currently have 2 Dell U2713HM-IPS-LED 27" monitors, I will use those for awhile but have been looking at some of the 4k screens and would be interested in getting one in the future.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Plan on ordering In the next couple days, just need to do more research.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
For the motherboard I need RAID (planning on adding in 4 3TB hdds later on and using it as a SAN). SATA 6GB/s will be good. Don't need eSATA or onboard video. UEFI isn't important and depending on if its using secure boot could cause me issues since I run Linux.

SLI isn't top priority but support for it does allow me to add extra power without a new build later on.

I would like to strike a good balance of power + quiet since this will be in the living room.
 
Last edited:
Skripka said:
What Dangman said.

On a preliminary basis though...the Zalman coolers are form over function. They look much cooler than they perform.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I saw somewhere that they were recommending Zalman so thats what I put on there. I couldn't find one without the LED. I'm definitely not looking for style here (made sure to get a case without a window).

I was looking for something fairly quiet but good at keeping the CPU cool
 
All right working down the list:

That HSF really isn't all that good. Since you wanted low noise, I recommend this HSF:
$79 - Noctua NH-D14 120mm and 140mm HSF

You haven't really said anything that would justify getting that AsRock Extreme9 motherboard. In addition, I know first hand that motherboard doesn't support Ivy Bridge CPUs right off the bat. So I recommend this cheaper Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboard instead since it meets your stated requirements and will support IB CPUs off the bat. :
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061XSBZG/?tag=extension-kb-20

That RAM is a bit overpriced. Not to mention the tall heatsinks will interfere with many tall HSF out there. So I recommend this RAM instead:
$150 - Kingston HyperX Red 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

No, lower timings aren't worth the extra money since you won't notice the difference.

That video card is a bit overkill for the games you've listed. Even with your high resolution, DOTA 2 and CS:GO aren't anywhere near GPU demanding to require such a high-end card. The few PC games that would require such a GPU aren't available for Linux and won't be available for Linux for quite some time. Even in worst-case scenario in Linux gaming, this GPU is all that you need:
$250 - eVGA 02G-P4-2765-KR GeForce GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card

As for the SSD, I recommend this higher quality, faster, and larger sized Samsung SSD instead:
$140 - Samsung 840 Evo Series 250GB SSD

As for the PSU, I recommend these more reputable PSUs instead:
$86 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
$105 - Seasonic G Series SSR-650RM 650W Modular PSU

Then again, if you really want quiet, this PSU is a good choice:
$150 - Seasonic SS-660XP2 660W Modular PSU
 
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Sontek said:
Dangman, Thanks for all the info!

Do you have recommendations for decent cases? Right now I have this one chosen:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352030

but was also looking at:
http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Gami...id=1395551835&sr=8-1&keywords=rosewill+throne
Click to expand...

I don't recommend that Rosewill since it's more than likely similar in quality to the Rosewill Thor case. The Thor isn't that good of a case from a quality standpoint. As for the Fractal, it's an ok case. But I recommend the mid-tower version rather than the Full Tower version.

If you want cases designed to be low noise, I recommend these:
$95 - Fractal Design Define R4 Arctic White ATX Case
$112 - Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl ATX Case
$114 - Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey ATX Case
$110 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$130 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case

If you don't mind a bit of noise, then I recommend these cases:
$72 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$93 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$105 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$250 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case
 
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I have the previous version of the Fractal Design define XL case you are looking at. Its quite a quiet case, and also does well with cable management. There is a good amount of space between the plate the main board mounts to and the case cover, so there is plenty of room to run cables behind the mainboard. You can even use a non-modular PSU and still have a nice clean case. Just hide the extra cables behind the mainboard. Another nice perk is filters on all the intakes. The Define case is very similar, just smaller. There is one down side to this case though. It's made of steel with sound insulation so it's quite heavy.
 
Just updating in this forum in case other people read and try to get the same parts, the Noctua NH-D14 IS NOT compatible with the LGA 2011 out of the box. You are required to get a separate mounting kit:

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=40&lng=en

I'm searching around to see if this is available locally and will update if it is but I would suggest not purchasing the NH-D14 with the LGA2011.
 
Sontek said:
Just updating in this forum in case other people read and try to get the same parts, the Noctua NH-D14 IS NOT compatible with the LGA 2011 out of the box. You are required to get a separate mounting kit:

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=40&lng=en

I'm searching around to see if this is available locally and will update if it is but I would suggest not purchasing the NH-D14 with the LGA2011.
Click to expand...

Technically it is: There's a separate package/bundle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00631QFG8/?tag=extension-kb-20

Sorry man, I forgot that there was a separate package/bundle. If you ordered it from Amazon, just return it and get the above.
 
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Dangman, yeah I found that now, but I purchased the one from the link you recommended and it is not
 
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