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New Build - Need Help

R

rwb360

n00b
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
8
Hey guys,

I haven't built my own PC in about 4 years so a lot has changed. It seems like this hardware is changing faster and faster! Anyways, here is what I have got on NewEgg configured right now.

I am looking for feedback! Are these good compenents? Do you forsee any problems with them working together? Any suggestions to get a better bang for my buck? What is the bottleneck of this system?

I will be using it for work mostly using office applications, web browsers, etc. I need something that loads applications fast for quick multi-tasking. I will be using 4 monitors too.

Thanks in advance!



Shuttle Prima XPC SX48P2-Deluxe Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel X48 Black Barebone - Retail
Model #:SX48P2-Deluxe
Item #:N82E16856101072
$569.99

SAPPHIRE 100270SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #:100270SR
Item #:N82E16814102809
$334.99

OCZ Intel Extreme Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X16004GK - Retail
Model #:OCZ3X16004GK
Item #:N82E16820227341
Return Policy:Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
$153.99

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Model #:BX80601920
Item #:N82E16819115202
Return Policy:processors (CPUs) Return Policy
$289.99

OCZ Solid Series OCZSSD2-1SLD60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II Solid State Disk (SSD) - Retail
Model #:OCZSSD2-1SLD60G
Item #:N82E16820227373
Return Policy:Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
$275.58


Subtotal: $1,652.53
 
Ummm....I really hope you didn't pull the trigger on anything after making this post....

You DO realize that a Core i7 chip won't work on an X48 motherboard right?

Hell, do you NEED an X48 for you're doing? That looks like a massive waste of power to me.
 
King of Heroes said:
Ummm....I really hope you didn't pull the trigger on anything after making this post....

You DO realize that a Core i7 chip won't work on an X48 motherboard right?

Hell, do you NEED an X48 for you're doing? That looks like a massive waste of power to me.
Click to expand...

What he said plus I really really doubt that video card is gonna fit.
 
Well shit I am glad I made this post. Like I said, I haven't built a PC in about 4 years. Please give me more feedback. What CPU do you recommend? I would like to play some games on it, but it will mostly be used for work purposes.

Thanks again.
 
rwb360 said:
Well shit I am glad I made this post. Like I said, I haven't built a PC in about 4 years. Please give me more feedback. What CPU do you recommend? I would like to play some games on it, but it will mostly be used for work purposes.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Well, first, need to ask a few questions.

You said you needed this for work? Do you mean for a home office or do you mean literally at your place of business (which could be your home, I don't know)?

You said you were going to be running 4 monitors? Have you purchased them already? Do you need 4 monitors strictly for the screen space? Do you think you might be able to get away with something like 1 or 2 30-inch monitors instead? Running 4 at the same time might get a little tricky.

Since you made this post in the SFF forum, and looking at your initial post, you'd want to keep this an SFF build correct? (otherwise, you'll have to move this to a different forum)

Since you were willing to throw over $1,600 at this build, I imagine money is no object to you (or at least, your budget is good)? Or were you actually looking to spend less? Or is your budget strictly $1,600 or around there?

Lastly, what kind of games will you playing?
 
King, it's for a home office.

I am running 4 on my current machine. They are 19 inchers. I have a 24 inch on my other computer but it almost seems to big to me. I like the multiple smaller monitors better.

Yes, I would prefer to keep it a SFF build.

My initial budget was $1,000. But after seeing the new I7 and SSDs, I think that budget got blown up. I would like it to come back down, but need some advice. Perhaps I don't need the I7

I mostly like older games that don't take much GPU power but would like the capability of playing anything.

Thanks for the help!
 
rwb360 said:
King, it's for a home office.

I am running 4 on my current machine. They are 19 inchers. I have a 24 inch on my other computer but it almost seems to big to me. I like the multiple smaller monitors better.

Yes, I would prefer to keep it a SFF build.

My initial budget was $1,000. But after seeing the new I7 and SSDs, I think that budget got blown up. I would like it to come back down, but need some advice. Perhaps I don't need the I7

I mostly like older games that don't take much GPU power but would like the capability of playing anything.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Okay. Since you're running 19-inchers you don't need much GPU power at all.

You said you hadn't built a new PC in 4 years, is it safe to you assume you'll be keeping this system for that long? If that's the case, Core i7 isn't really a bad idea, but there are currently no mATX i7 boards available. So a quad-core (for lots of multi-tasking) Core 2 or Phenom II system should be good.

For 4 19-inchers a 4850X2 is way too much. You could certainly get away with a pair of Radeon HD4670s instead (I'm sticking with Radeons since that was your initial choice).

SAPPHIRE 100256L Radeon HD 4670 1GB
$94.99 x 2 = $189.98

19-inchers use a 1440 x 900 resolution I think. Thats not a challenge at all for modern graphics cards. On top of that, Sapphire will be releasing a revision of the 4850X2 that should be shorter along with some other tweaks. If you feel a 4850X2 would be better, wait for the revision to appear.

DFI LP JR P45-T2RS
$149.99

This board has 2 x16 slots and is mATX (there are no AMD mATX boards with 2 x16 slots that I can find, so its an Intel Core 2 system you'll be building).

COOLER MASTER Centurion 541
$44.99

SFF cases aren't my specialty, but this looks good. Hopefully someone with a better eye can come along and give suggestions.

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX
$109.99

A modular power supply keeps things tidy, its also very useful for the small space of an SFF machine.

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
$39.99

The great thing about Core 2 is that DDR2 memory is so cheap. You could even go ahead and buy two of those kits and max out the board's 8GB capacity. You don't need to though, 4 gigs is still plenty.

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB
$79.99

An excellent boot drive. We're still well under your $1,000 budget, so you can throw in a 1TB drive for storage too.

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB
$119.99

or

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB
$94.99

Both have good reputations. Pick whichever one looks nicer to you.

Current Total: $714.93 (assuming an even $100 for whichever 1TB you pick)

You still have $285 left, since you already have your monitors. That's enough for this quad-core:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
$282.99

Total: $997.92

And that should be everything, at least from me. Others who post here can probably give other suggestions.

With ATI's newest drivers, you can use Crossfire mode over multiple monitors now (same with SLI now). You don't NEED Crossfire mode enabled to run multiple monitors though (I don't think), just if you want the GPUs to work together for more performance.
 
The board I had originally picked out said it supported the new I7 processors. Did you notice that?

Also, I would like to keep the SSDs. Do you know of any reason not to other than the cost?
 
rwb360 said:
The board I had originally picked out said it supported the new I7 processors. Did you notice that?

Also, I would like to keep the SSDs. Do you know of any reason not to other than the cost?
Click to expand...

Shuttle Prima XPC SX48P2-Deluxe Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel X48 Black Barebone - Retail
Model #:SX48P2-Deluxe
Item #:N82E16856101072
$569.99

This Shuttle you picked uses an X48 motherboard. X48 absolutely does not support Core i7 chips. Core i7 support is not listed on Newegg or on the Shuttle site.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101072
http://global.shuttle.com/product_detail_spec.jsp?PI=971

That OCZ drive is part of a series that uses a less than optimal JMicron controller. SSDs using the controller typically have high read speeds, but pathetic random write speeds. If you intend to use it as a boot drive, I expect you won't be impressed with the performance given the number of random writes an O.S. will put on the drive.

And, frankly, 60GB really isn't alot. If you insist on getting it, I will still recommend getting a second hard disk for storage.
 
rwb360 said:
The board I had originally picked out said it supported the new I7 processors. Did you notice that?
Click to expand...

It's a X48 chipset. The ONLY chipset that currently supports Core i7 CPUs is the X58 chipset. However, the X48 chipset does support Core 2 Duo CPUs.
 
Do you guys know of any SFF machines with X58 chipsets? Also, what about SSDs with faster random write speeds?

Thanks,
Rob
 
DDR3 will work with the X48 right?

Also, what do you think about SSDs for the boot drive and then a larger one for files, etc?
 
Here's a lower end version of the card you picked: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102813

It's got less RAM, but it's got quad DVI, so if you get something small like that Shuttle case it will fit. Although the Shuttle only has 450w of power, which probably isn't enough for the 4850 X2

What are your requirements for this build? Ie case size, number of drives, so on and so forth
 
rwb360 said:
DDR3 will work with the X48 right?

Also, what do you think about SSDs for the boot drive and then a larger one for files, etc?
Click to expand...

If the motherboard supports DDR3 RAM, yes you can use DDR3 RAM with X48 chipsets. But there's no point to using DDR3 RAM with X48 chipsets since Core 2 Duo systems do not take advantage of the higher bandwidth offered by DDR3 RAM. In other words, you would not notice a difference between DDR3 and DDR2 RAM in real world usage.

Current SSDs aren't worth their prices yet IMO. Their performance increase over mechanical hard drives aren't high enough to justify their increased costs.
 
EGO, I just need something that can play some games and is great for multitaking. I typically have 10 applications and 20-40 windows open at a time. I like the idea of SSDs because they use less enegery, run quieter and are faster, not just that they are faster.
 
Really, for right now, I would say that the SSD is largely a waste. I mean, if you get a good one, you could shave your boot times down significantly. However, shave what... 15 seconds off of a 45 second boot time? Personally i don't think it's necessary, and with the way that Win7 has behaved for me, boot times are going to come down anyway.

I really like King Of Heroes' build. The great thing is that you are gaming on a 19" monitor (I assume you will not be using ALL four for gaming), so you don't really need a high end video card. Pairing a 4850 with a 4350, or a nice 9800GTX/GT with a 9400 (and not cf/sli-ing them.)might be the most economical/least wasteful way to go.
 
The hard drive noise wont much matter if your running a big card like you picked. Are you looking to be silent?

If so, you can build something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133045 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136055 - Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104035 - Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161253 - 2x Video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887001 - Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214 - Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130 - CPU

If you don't care about the noise, then you can build something a little cheaper
 
EGOvoruhk said:
The hard drive noise wont much matter if your running a big card like you picked. Are you looking to be silent?

If so, you can build something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133045 - Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136055 - Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104035 - Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161253 - 2x Video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887001 - Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214 - Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130 - CPU

If you don't care about the noise, then you can build something a little cheaper
Click to expand...
p5e-vm would be a better board for that quad, and its cheaper but if corssfire is a must then the dfi board is the obvious choice
 
You guys are great! Thanks for the help so far! What is the fastest non-SSD drive out there? I don't need it to be huge. I only need maybe 200 gig of space for now.

Thanks,
Rob
 
western digital 640gb wd6400aaks (blue model) or the black model of the same hard drive.

black has more cache and two processors while the blue has less cache and one processor, benches show that the black is very little improement on the blue so the choice is up to you.
 
rwb360 said:
You guys are great! Thanks for the help so far! What is the fastest non-SSD drive out there? I don't need it to be huge. I only need maybe 200 gig of space for now.

Thanks,
Rob
Click to expand...

The WD Velociraptor is the fastest HDD out there (correct me if I am wrong) but very noisy.
 
rwb360 said:
You guys are great! Thanks for the help so far! What is the fastest non-SSD drive out there? I don't need it to be huge. I only need maybe 200 gig of space for now.

Thanks,
Rob
Click to expand...

Fastest non-SSD consumer grade drive is the Velociraptor 300GB at $230. However, the WD6400AAKS and WD6401AALS 640GB drives isn't that much slower than the Velociraptor yet costs $75/$80, about 70% less. That extra performance increase is not worth the extra 70% increase in price.

Hmm, gimme a few minutes to come up with an alternative build
 
The Western Digital Raptors are fast, but pricey. I'd go with the F1 Samsung King of Heroes suggested. I've got the 750GB version, and it's pretty fast
 
OK, here's the alternative build:

Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $80
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 CPU - $280 FS
DFI Lanparty JR P45 T2RS Intel P45 mATX Motherboard - $150
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40 FS
2 x HIS Hightech H465P512P Radeon HD 4650 512MB PCI-E Fanless Video card - $160
Silverstone NT06-E HSF - $51
Corsair 520HX 520W Modular PSU - $110 FS
---
Total: $871 plus tax and shipping

It's pretty much a combination of King of Heroes' build and EGOvoruhk's build. I chose the Q9550 because it's only ~167Mhz slower than the Q9650 yet is $60 cheaper. That extra 167Mhz is not worth the extra $60. I also went with the G.Skill DDR2 800 RAM set since A) it's significantly cheaper than the Corsair Dominator RAM and B) you won't notice a difference between DDR2 800 and DDR2 1066 RAM outside of overclocking.

The Silverstone SG02B-F is a better constructed case IMO and it doesn't come with noisy 60mm fans. The Corsair 520HX is a significantly better quality PSU than that old FSP Zen PSU and is a pretty quiet PSU:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article692-page1.html
 
I have the SUGO2-BF and love it. I use it as a HTPC, but it could easily house a full system. The only issue with SFF systems, keep in mind, is CPU cooler and PSU clearance/proximity. You really need to do your research and plan well if you want to OC.
 
Does anyone know if the 4850 X2 would fit and work in any shuttle or other SFF case?
In particular the SP35P2

thx


EGOvoruhk said:
Here's a lower end version of the card you picked: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102813

It's got less RAM, but it's got quad DVI, so if you get something small like that Shuttle case it will fit. Although the Shuttle only has 450w of power, which probably isn't enough for the 4850 X2

What are your requirements for this build? Ie case size, number of drives, so on and so forth
Click to expand...
 
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