Finalizing Build... suggestions welcome

S

stephen0983

Gawd
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
677
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and Folding@Home
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
400-450$ after taxes and including shipping. Closer to 400$ the better.
3) Where do you live?
Columbus, OH, near Microcenter
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, Case, PSU, Mobo
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
DVD burner, Blu Ray drive, 750 GB Seagate Barricuda, 4890 OC'd edition, and 9600GT for physix
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not right away, but yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
25.5" Samsung ToC, supports 1920x1200 w/built in HDTV tuner
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Buying from Newegg / Microcenter Friday morning. If I can save $$ with another e-tailer that's cool w/me
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
2 PCI Express 2.0 slots. Ability to unlock dormant cores in X2 550 a plus. RAID0 for future HDD upgrade. DDR3 1600 support. ATX, not microATX. Name brand (e.g. Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Vista 32-bit, holding out on upgrading for now (4890 won't support Direct X11 anyways)


Ok this is what I've got so far:

AMD Phenom X2 550 (91$ newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680&cm_re=x2_550-_-19-103-680-_-Product
Stock HSF (0$)
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-ud3h
A-data gaming series 4gb ddr3 1600 (combo 194$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.334349
Antec Earthwatts 650 (85$ at newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015&Tpk=antec earthwatts 650
Antec 300 (48$ after tax at Microcenter)

Total: 418$

Just wanted a second or third opinion before I give it the green light. I will likely get a H50 cooler in a few months, until then I won't OC

Q's regarding build:
The RAM is listed at 1.65-1.85 V, is that okay?
Should I install another fan for the case? If so, what size?
Is the PSU cheaper anywhere else? I read somewhere newegg prices PSUs high, maybe that article was outdated idk
The Gigabyte board lists the PCI Express 2.0 slots: 2, running at x16 or x8/x8 ... is that okay for my setup?
The board also supports DDR3 1666 OC'd, I shouldn't run into any problems there, right?

TIA.
 
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he RAM is listed at 1.65-1.85 V, is that okay?
Click to expand...

I strongly suggest against it, memory controller is build into the cpu and as such. Those voltages levels may shorten the cpu long term life or kill it.

Should I install another fan for the case? If so, what size?
Click to expand...

2x 120mm for the front of the case

Is the PSU cheaper anywhere else? I read somewhere newegg prices PSUs high, maybe that article was outdated idk
Click to expand...

Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $80

The Gigabyte board lists the PCI Express 2.0 slots: 2, running at x16 or x8/x8 ... is that okay for my setup?
Click to expand...

Yes

The board also supports DDR3 1666 OC'd, I shouldn't run into any problems there, right?
Click to expand...

No.
 
thanks for the quick response.

lt_shiro said:
I strongly suggest against it, memory controller is build into the cpu and as such. Those voltages levels may shorten the cpu long term life or kill it.
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I'm reading that that's true for i7 chips, but do you have a link you can share that's related to the AMD chip I'll be using? TIA
 
Another Q: I'm seeing some Asus boards have one PCI express slot at 16x and the other at 4x - would that 4x put a limit on my physx card? I'm guessing 16x/8x or 8x/8x is okay, but now I'm reading 4x from Asus... getting kind of confused
 
Ok I've made some big adjustments. First off all I've decided to keep my microATX case, and ditch the 9600GT for physx. I'm not really impressed by the technology that much, and less than half of games support it. I added an MSI board that I already took a good look at the manual for, and am impressed with the features it offers. I got better quality RAM. I bumped up to a X3 720. Really the only thing I haven't decided on is a HSF. My microATX case is probably too small for H50, which is out of my budget anyway.
Really my ideal HSF will cost 30-40$, and NOT have those cheap push pins. I really want something with a bracket on the bottom of the motherboard to screw it in place. I've had push pins break on me before, and then I can't even return the HSF because it's damaged... total bs.
If I can knock off 5$ from the PSU and put it towards the HSF that's fine.

Modified rig:
MSI 785GM-E51 (88$ newegg shipped)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130247&Tpk=785GM-E51
Phenom II X3 720 OEM (105$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103652&cm_re=x3_720-_-19-103-652-_-Product
G Skill 4GB 1600 1.5V (105$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=g_skill_4gb_ddr3_1600-_-20-231-193-_-Product
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power (80$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031&Tpk=Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W

HSF's I'm looking at:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134&Tpk=artic freezer 7 pro
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=CM Hyper 212 Plus
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...233003&cm_re=HDT-S1283-_-35-233-003-_-Product
 
Hyper 212 plus is the better option as it allows for push-pull and be re-used if you ever upgrade to different socket.
 
MC has a BYOC sale right now, so you can get the X2 550 + 785G EVO board combo with an additional $20 off. ;)
 
You could also buy a used X2 550 that is known to unlock and OC.
 
In fairness, most things that go wrong on a motherboard, you'd probably notice in a year anyway ;). For the most part, once you get all the hardware in place and are running it, it should run indefinitely with the parts they use on modern motherboards.

But it really depends on how much extra you are paying for a board with more warranty. All things being equal (including price), I'd take the warranty :D. But I wouldn't pay $20 more for a board with 2 extra warranty years.
 
Yeah I like Asus and everything, but MSI's bios looks great, I'm sure I can tweak to my heart's content in there, while saving 10 or 20$. And I also agree, 1 year is fine. Hell I'll probably upgrade the whole rig in a year anyways, it's kind of hobby for me yknow?
 
stephen0983 said:
Yeah I like Asus and everything, but MSI's bios looks great, I'm sure I can tweak to my heart's content in there, while saving 10 or 20$. And I also agree, 1 year is fine. Hell I'll probably upgrade the whole rig in a year anyways, it's kind of hobby for me yknow?
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I know...I used to build a computer every 6 months just for kicks ;).
 
Well I pulled the trigger tonight on everything but the monitor. Will probably get that in a week or two.
But man, I'm already dreaded the new PSU in the small microATX case, it's gonna be a nightmare making those two work together.
 
What case do you have again? I browsed quickly but didn't see it.
 
My last build had a huge cooler in it, the Artic Cooler Freezer Pro 7, so I'm not too worried about that. Just worried about the cable management part of it, it's gonna be a real tight squeeze. Good thing I live close to Microcenter because I may have to give in and buy the Antec 300 case. We'll see.
 
stephen0983 said:
My last build had a huge cooler in it, the Artic Cooler Freezer Pro 7, so I'm not too worried about that. Just worried about the cable management part of it, it's gonna be a real tight squeeze. Good thing I live close to Microcenter because I may have to give in and buy the Antec 300 case. We'll see.
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That's not a huge cooler ;). I'd probably stick to a cooler with a 92mm fan though. There are plenty of them out there. Ultima 90 comes to mind.
 
The AMD equiv of the AC F7 Pro would be the Freezer 64 Pro. Should be $20. If not, get something like the HDT-S963. The Ultima90 is great, but its also kinda pricey. I still have mine in my HTPC. :) Noctua has one, too, but its also pricey. I think the AC F64Pro or CM TX2 or TX3 would be fine if you can find them for $20 or less.
 
enginurd said:
The AMD equiv of the AC F7 Pro would be the Freezer 64 Pro. Should be $20. If not, get something like the HDT-S963. The Ultima90 is great, but its also kinda pricey. I still have mine in my HTPC. :) Noctua has one, too, but its also pricey. I think the AC F64Pro or CM TX2 or TX3 would be fine if you can find them for $20 or less.
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Definitely, in terms of price/performance the Freezer 64 is great. I've used them before. I used a Sunbeam version very similar also that was 92mm. I don't think I paid more than $20 for that also.
 
hmm i wish i would've seen these posts before friday morning, because i already purchased the cooler master 212 from amazon for 30$ with free shipping. it says AM3 socket is fine, and I don't think space will be an issue. i would've liked to save 10$ and go for one of your suggestions, but i don't think i'm going to return the 212, i'd have to pay return shipping.
 
stephen0983 said:
hmm i wish i would've seen these posts before friday morning, because i already purchased the cooler master 212 from amazon for 30$ with free shipping. it says AM3 socket is fine, and I don't think space will be an issue. i would've liked to save 10$ and go for one of your suggestions, but i don't think i'm going to return the 212, i'd have to pay return shipping.
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If it fits, that 212 is a better cooler than the AC Freezer 64 :). Probably worth the $10 difference.
 
indeed... i just wasnt sure the 212 would fit, since the case only has a 92mm rear fan, and the 212+ uses a 120mm fan.
 
Build's complete! Lol I had to return the Hyper 212 HSF and get a TX3, I really wasn't expecting the 212 to be so big. Oh well. Right now it idles at 32C and hits 49C at full load. Thinking about adding a second 92mm fan for push/pull config on the HSF. But Idk, my temps really aren't that bad. Used Artic Silver ceramique paste and I think that was a good call. Still need to do a longer stress test (e.g. 8 hour) to make sure I'm stable @ 3.6GHz

Oh, and I load up Crysis and play it fine on high details... turns out the game crashes every 20 minutes, it's totally unplayable. Like noone back in 2007 could play it so they didn't even bother fixing the bugs. Idk if it's Vista or the game, either way I'm a little disappointed. :( Though World in Conflict is rocking at very high details...
 
Yeah, that is a pretty big cooler for that case. I'd check your 8 hours stability or whatever you were going to do. If the game keeps crashing, there might be a problem with the OC.
 
Well after looking at a tom's hardware post I figurerd out how to unlock the 4th core... so now I'm back at 2.8GHz seeing if it's stable there. So far I'm 15 minutes in prime95 and no problems, will let it run 1 hour and then bump it up 100MHz (x0.5) and repeat until it crashes... my guess is it'll crash at 3.5GHz and be stable at 3.3 or 3.4 GHz but we'll see.

Yes I'll post pics soon, but right now am kind of excited so it's going to have to wait until I see what my chip is capable of.

@kirbryi - You have a good point. And I also realized my mobo only supports DDR3 1600 OC'd, and I didn't test the RAM so the Crysis crashes may be a RAM issue. I lowered it to 1333 (mobo approved) and am stressing all four cores now. But I'll have to try Crysis again once this is done. I do know it's not a GPU-overheating issue, because I manually turned the fan to 100%, and boy was it loud, but it still crashed.
 
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Well my SD card reader isn't working :( I took pics and everything and now I can't upload them. Strange.

Did add a second CPU fan for push/pull. Seems to drop load temps a little, maybe 3 C. Can't tell when it's unlocked to X4 though, the temps don't monitor correctly there
 
stephen0983 said:
Well my SD card reader isn't working :( I took pics and everything and now I can't upload them. Strange.

Did add a second CPU fan for push/pull. Seems to drop load temps a little, maybe 3 C. Can't tell when it's unlocked to X4 though, the temps don't monitor correctly there
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Yeah, I've heard that once you unlock the 4th core there are issues with the temp monitoring. Should show up in CPU-Z as the quad core model though.
 
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