New build opinions

[EdSurly]

I have 4 different setups I've created within my budget of $1400 and would like folks to take a look and let me know your opinions on the setups. I really don't know which one would be the best for gaming. I do want to future proof the machine as much as possible that's why I kind of shy away from the dual 6950 build...would really rather have a single card setup so I could have the option of X-fire or SLI with a more powerfull card in the future. Anyway, here are the links to the 4 builds;

X-Fire 6850 build. Total cost is $1317.92 + shipping for all

Single GTX 580 build. Total cost is $1357.93

Single 6970 build. Total cost is $1347.93

Single 6950 build. Total cost is $1317.75

let me know what you guy's think...did I make idiotic choices?

PS. I have a PC Power and Cooling silencer 750 powersupply so I should be good on that. I also have two hard drives (older) in my system that will be used for storage. Their old and slow but I figured I'd rather have an SSD and these hard drives than a little SSD and a new drive....

 

[tiraides]

If your PSU is more than three years old, then I recommend that you buy a new one. Along those same lines, consider a new 500GB or 1TB HDD as it will perform noticeably faster than your old drives.

Please answer the sticky questions so we can better tailor our recommendations to you.

 

[EdSurly]

Please answer the sticky questions so we can better tailor our recommendations to you.

Crap, I forgot about that.

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming

2) What's your budget?
$1400 with shipping and taxes

3) Where do you live?
Oklahoma

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
Case, CPU, Ram, HD, Video Card, Motherboard, Cooling

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 (3 1/2 years old)

6) Will you be overclocking?
Of course

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" Dell Ultra Sharp

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the month

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Crossfire or SLI support, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/seSATA, blue tooth
.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Windows 7 pro 64bit

 

[Dangman]

The single GTX 580 route is not a good buy at all so drop that.

Hmm, out of those, I'd go with the single HD 6950 2GB build or HD 6970 2GB builds but both could be improved:
- That HAF X case is not a good choice for the money. There are significantly better quality or bang for the buck cases out there:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$106 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$165 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$220 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$290 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case

Any of those cases would be a better buy than the HAF X.

- Mobo wise, if you don't need SLI, you can drop the mobo down to this mobo + CPU combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642516

 

[EdSurly]

The single GTX 580 route is not a good buy at all so drop that.

Hmm, out of those, I'd go with the single HD 6950 2GB build or HD 6970 2GB builds but both could be improved:
- That HAF X case is not a good choice for the money. There are significantly better quality or bang for the buck cases out there:

Any of those cases would be a better buy than the HAF X.

- Mobo wise, if you don't need SLI, you can drop the mobo down to this mobo + CPU combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642516

Ok, thanks for the input. I'll probably drop the 580 route. Cases seem awfully subjective to me, and I suppose they are...kinda like the Chevy Ford debate lol I want front USB3, few of the cases you showed had that. One of the reasons for the HAF X is the free shipping as well from Newegg. Most of those other cases you can add at least a Jefferson to the cost for shipping. Why isn't the HAF X a good deal at $190 shipped in your opinion? I'd like to have one of the Raven cases but not for the money including shipping. And I do want X-Fire or SLI capability as I said earlier for future upgrades.

One other thing, I'd really really like a full tower....for no other reason but I just "want" one lol

 

[Dangman]

Ok, thanks for the input. I'll probably drop the 580 route. Cases seem awfully subjective to me, and I suppose they are...kinda like the Chevy Ford debate lol I want front USB3, few of the cases you showed had that. One of the reasons for the HAF X is the free shipping as well from Newegg. Most of those other cases you can add at least a Jefferson to the cost for shipping. Why isn't the HAF X a good deal at $190 shipped in your opinion? I'd like to have one of the Raven cases but not for the money including shipping.

One other thing, I'd really really like a full tower....for no other reason but I just "want" one lol

IMO, the HAF X isn't a good deal at $190 because it costs more than the higher quality, quieter and better cooling Raven RV02 case does from Amazon.com. Remember that I lised that Raven case from Amazon.com where it's $160 shipped, $30 cheaper than the HAF X from newegg or Amazon.com. In addition, the quality of HAF X does not match or exceed the quality of the cheaper Lian Li, Corsair or Silverstone caselisted above from what I've seen first hand. In terms of space, it's really not that much greater than most of the cases that I listed. In other words, I simply don't see that HAF X being worth $190 shipped when better quality cases are available for less from other vendors. I don't see anything that justifies its $190 price.

There's really one situation that I'd be more than willing to recommend the HAF X: If you're planning on using 4 dual slot video cards, then the HAF X would be an excellent choice since it's the cheapest case out there that has 8 expansion slots needed to fit 4 dual slot video cards well.

Before they rolled out the updated the HAF 932 with USB 3.0, thed old HAF 932 case was $140 shipped, $50 cheaper than the HAF X and the only difference was USB 3.0 and an extra expansion slot for four dual-slot video cards. CM just recently re-released the HAF 932 with USB 3.0 hence the higher price for that case now. But more than likely in a month, when you're planning on buying BTW, it's gonna drop down to $140 shipped again. And at that point, the extra $50 for the HAF X isn't really worth it over the HAF 932.

 

[EdSurly]

Ok, thanks very much Danny! Asside from what you've said you don't see any issue with my MB choice or memory, SSD, cooler and such?