New build, need some advise

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Seldorin

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Alright so I've been having some trouble with my computer that is 3-4 years old and have had to get it repaired/several parts replaced multiple times, so I figured it's time to make a whole new build and start fresh. (And yes I'm aware I misspelled advice in the title..)

So on to the questions..
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, some photoshop, web browsing/email/schoolwork, etc, but mainly gaming.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Less $2,000 after taxes/shipping.
3) Where do you live?
Washington State
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except for a sound card.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My sound card (HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card) and a 250gb HDD from my previous build for storage, don't need that much space.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, planning to OC my CPU to around 4ghz, not sure what else I'll be OCing to what, but I plan to.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
A 23" and a 22" I believe (Running at 1920x1080 and 1680x1050)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as I can, pretty much. Since I can't really play any games on my current computer the way it is.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Raid and SLI support to be on the safe side, not exactly too sure what crossfire is.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, I'll be using Windows 7 Pro x64


Now on to what I'm considering (Edited based on what people have recommended):

Case:Lian Li PC-B25F (Went from looking at the Antec 902 to the Lancool PC-K62 and then finally to this one. My current case is Lian li which I'm very pleased with, and this case looks good, seems to have great airflow, and is also made from aluminum)
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium (I like the idea that this is pretty future proof, though I only upgrade every 3-4 years anyways, so do I even need this mobo or would another one be better suited?)
PSU: Seasonic M12D SS-850 (Originally planned on a Corsair HX850, then was informed of this one and figured why not. How would the Seasonic X750 compare? Is it strong enough for what I am planning to use?)
CPU: i7 920 (Hoping to get this as a D0 Stepping and OCing it to 4ghz+)
HDD: Corsair P128 SSD (This seems pretty comparable to intel's x25-m SSDs, and cheaper price per gig)
Heatsink/CPU Fan: Corsair H50 (It seems to be a big debate between this and other air coolers such as the TRUE and Noctua, and I can't really decide. This seems like it will do what I need, and it looks easier to deal with, I'd love some feedback regarding this, though)
GPU: XFX 5870
RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (Saw a different model number for $20 cheaper but didn't have many reviews, is there going to be any difference?)

Total cost is about $1,770. If I had snagged it earlier it would've been around $1,670. The tigerdirect BCB just went down from 15% to 8% which is a good $100 regarding the parts I would be ordering there.

Figure I'll need to buy a dvd burner, but those are straightforward and cheap, so I'm not worrying about them.

Looking at this build, is it solid? And am I getting the best performance for that budget?
Oh, and disregard the current build in the signature, that's newer than what I will be replacing.
 
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Seldorin said:
As for the RAM and GPU...that's where I'm stumped. For RAM I'm figuring 6gb, trichannel, at 1600mhz DDR3. The problem is I really don't know what to pick, here. Is 7-7-7-20 really that much better than 8-8-8-24, or is 8-8-8-24 good enough, and if so, which brand/type? I've been looking at Corsair's and they've got three different types for the same timings. Dominator, Dominator GT, and XMS3, which one do I pick?
Click to expand...
There's no real world performance difference between 7-7-7-20 and 9-9-9-24 at all. So basically any set of timings would work. Never buy Corsair's Dominator lines as they're horribly expensive but does not offer that much to justify the costs. Their XMS3 line is all right.

Seldorin said:
Then the GPU.. I could get a 5870 for about $350, but what I was thinking was to look for a BFG or EVGA GTX 280/285 and then hope the new GTX 300s come out within the 90/100 day step-up programs, which is what I think I'll end up doing, but since the release date for the new nVIDIA cards is unknown, it seems a bit risky.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't try it. Especially considering all the rumors of low yield for their GPUs. So I'd recommend going with the HD 5870 for now. I mean think about it: You're gonna pay MORE money (the ATI HD 5850 is the closest equivalent to the GTX 280/GTX285) for LESS performance on the HOPE that Nvida MIGHT release their GPUs in Q1 2010 considering that rumors are saying that Q2 2010 is more likely.

PSU wise, the Corsair 850HX is a poor buy, even with Bing Cashback, considering that you can get the higher quality Seasonic PSU for less:
$140 - Seasonic M12D SS-850 850W Modular PSU

HSF wise, ditch the Zalman. Not that good of a HSF. These HSF are better choices for the money:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$40 - Thermalright Cogage TRUE Spirit HSF
$45 - Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm HSF

Case wise, the Antec 902 is not that good of a case considering how cramped it is. Check out some of these more roomier cases:
$70 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$120 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
 
Yeah, I was just looking at the XMS3 again and it's almost $100 cheaper, so I'll probably go with that.

The 850HX is only about $10 more expensive than the one you linked, which isn't that big of a deal, and just doing a comparison on newegg, the specs seem close. Why would you say that the Seasonic is better?

I was rethinking my heatsink/fan, too, and have read some good things about the Corsair H50. How would that compare to the ones you suggested?

As for the 902, the main reason I picked it was because of all the fans it has, and the big fan at the top, which I figured would help with airflow since my computer lives under a pretty stuffy corner desk, my room is usually around 80 degrees, too. If one of those other cases would allow me to OC to what I'm aiming at (4ghz), and keep things cool at the same time, that would be great, since I must admit I hate the way the 902 looks, and much rather prefer cleaner looking cases.
 
Seldorin said:
The 850HX is only about $10 more expensive than the one you linked, which isn't that big of a deal, and just doing a comparison on newegg, the specs seem close. Why would you say that the Seasonic is better?

I was rethinking my heatsink/fan, too, and have read some good things about the Corsair H50. How would that compare to the ones you suggested?

As for the 902, the main reason I picked it was because of all the fans it has, and the big fan at the top, which I figured would help with airflow since my computer lives under a pretty stuffy corner desk, my room is usually around 80 degrees, too. If one of those other cases would allow me to OC to what I'm aiming at (4ghz), and keep things cool at the same time, that would be great, since I must admit I hate the way the 902 looks, and much rather prefer cleaner looking cases.
Click to expand...

The Seasonic is more efficient, quieter and doesn't have the loose heatsinks screws like the Corsair.

The Corsair H50 is a good HSF and cools slightly better than the HSF I listed.

I'm fairly sure that most of those cases will allow you to hit 4Ghz with good temps.
 
The Seasonic M12D is 80 Plus Gold rated, which is the highest level of energy efficiency available. Seasonic is also a major OEM power supply manufacturer, and several Corsair PSU models are actually Seasonic-built PSUs.

The Corsair performs well, but high-end CPU coolers like the Noctua NH-U12P or TRUE outperform it when it comes to high overclocking. However, you can obtain a decent overclock (to around 3.4GHz, if not higher) using the H50, and it's comparatively quieter that most fan-based CPU coolers during normal operation.

If you don't like the 902, don't get the 902. The Cooler Master RC-690 costs less but offers more space than the 902.

There's no noticeable performance difference among CL7, CL8, and CL9 RAM, so don't spend more money on lower latency (CL7 or CL8) RAM. Instead, ensure that your RAM is capable of running at 1.5V at DDR3 1600 speeds.
 
Well I think I'll go with the H50, since I think the watercooling it gives will be better than a normal air cooler for where I store my case, and I'm pretty sure I'm settled on RAM, now. All that's left is a case, and making sure everything is the way I want it before ordering. What is beginning to bother me though is that I've already been looking at cases for a good 4+ hours at least, and I still can't decide on one.

Quick question though, and I know it's probably been asked a bunch, but is there any difference between OCZ and Corsair in regards to ram quality?
 
Corsair is better in terms of RAM "quality," as OCZ lists many of its 1.65V RAM sets (that runs at the limit Intel recommends for safe operation) as "low voltage" RAM. However, G.Skill performs just as well as either brand yet it sells RAM that run at 1.5V.

If nothing else, get RAM that runs at 1.5V. Off the top of my head, G.Skill, Mushkin, and Crucial make 1.5V DDR3 RAM, though there may be other manufacturers.
 
Okay so I finally put together a full build I'm thinking of and would like to know what everyone thinks about it. Is it the best performance for the $1700 or $1800 I'm putting into it? Are all the parts suitable for my wants/needs? I do ~not~ want to deal with actual watercooling, the H50 is as close as I'll get.
 
its a solid build personally tho im not a fan of the case only because its expensive and very Dull. but other then that its good
 
Well I mean I could get the PC-P50 instead, since that is pretty much the lancool pc-k62 but made in aluminum, but I'm not too fond of the plain black mesh looking front, and figured the PC-B25F looks a bit more clean/crisp. Still not too sure on which I'll be picking. I was told to stray away from windowed cases since they can be heat insulators, and often don't always look that great, depending on what LEDs are in the case. I've spent hours looking at all sorts of different cases, seems like the case is the hardest thing to pick.
 
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