YABHT (yet another build help thread)

J

Jason

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2003
Messages
490
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
my really old system finally crapped out on me, so i'm in the market for a machine that can pull double duty between everyday desktop use and htpc use.

on the desktop side of things, i will be doing some casual gaming. by casual i mean that i like to play the latest and greatest games, but i'm okay with running said games at less-than-cranked settings. i'll also be doing some video/audio encoding/transcoding and the machine will see some moderate photoshop use. of course, i'll be doing all the common desktop tasks as well, such as browsing/e-mail/office type stuff.

on the htpc side of things, i want smooth 1080p playback and hdmi audio. i'm mostly interested in being able to play blu-ray rips, mkv's, h264 encoded stuff, etc. i also would looove to be able to do full screen hulu in hd. i know the latter is an adobe flash player issue more than anything else, an issue that's being addressed in the current 10.1 preview. initially i hope to be outputting to a 28" hannsg lcd monitor via hdmi, but further down the road when my budget allows, i will be purchasing at least a 37" hdtv.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
i'd like to stay as close to $1000 USD as possible (tax and shipping included), but i realize this will be cutting it close given the desire for a monitor, so i'd be willing to bump up to $1200 USD at the absolute most.

3) Where do you live?
pennsylvania

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
i'll need everything. cpu, cpu cooler, motherboard, ram, vid card, hdd, optical drive, psu, case (and any additional cooling fans that may be needed for the case)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
i have a mouse, keyboard and set of speakers. (all of which are aging, but i've gotta save some dough somewhere, right?)

6) Will you be overclocking?
i may possibly get a bit adventurous somewhere down the road, but for the foreseeable future, overclocking is not a concern.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
i have a 19" lcd (1280x1024), which i can live with for now if the cost of the 28" hannsg (1920x1200) is going to eat up too much of my budget and force me to cut corners elsewhere. also, further down the road when i get an hdtv, i'll hook up this system to both the tv and whatever lcd i have.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
i can hold out for holiday deals or i can build it tomorrow. the [h] in me wants a new system pronto, but i realize holding off can keep money in your pocket. at the absolute latest, i woud like to have the system built by the first of the new year.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
i don't believe i'll find use for any special features. i would build a media storage server before i went with a raid setup in this system. i don't game heavily enough to warrant a crossfire or sli setup. i suppose good onboard audio would be a plus, but i'm more interested in getting a discrete vid card to handle the hdmi audio.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
i do not. i intend to purchase a win7 pro x64 oem license.

outside of fulfilling my needs requirements, my biggest concern is longevity combined with a solid upgrade path. i want a system that will last me a good long while (say a year or two) before having to upgrade, and then when i do go to upgrade, i don't want to have to go down the "replace your cpu/mobo/ram all at once" route.

the system that just crapped out on me was a p4 2.4b (socket 478) with a gig of rdram, yes rdram. yeah... we're talking all the way back to the 850e chipset days. this new build is going to be a super mega ultra insane turbo boost for me. i'm pretty stoked!

i hope i've covered all my bases here and explained myself as thoroughly as possible. i do not have a particular build in mind just yet. i've been trying to catch up on what's what on the hardware front. as you can tell by the prehistoric age of my last system, i'm wayyy out of the loop. i still haven't gotten past reading reviews on the latest cpus and getting myself up to speed on what's good in the world of gpus. and then there's the issue of which case and what psu and, well, you know how it goes.
 
How badly do you want a new monitor? It is possible to include one -- plus an OEM copy of Windows 7 Professional -- within your (max) $1200 budget, but you may have to settle for an AMD Phenom II X4 build, which takes third place in the performance race behind Intel's Core i7/X58 and Core i5/P55, respectively.
 
i'd rather the performance now. i can always wait until tax season to splurge on the monitor. besides, it's ultimately more important to me that i save up for an hdtv, and i can always game on that. plus, i'll obviously need the hdtv to really enjoy the htpc side of the equation.

i've been looking at newegg combo deals, and man oh man, my head is spinning! i quickly came to the same conclusion, though. the monitor just has to go on the back burner for now.
 
this seems to be the best i've been able to do thus far. it's a core i5-750 build. please feel free to pick this apart and make adjustments. i'm all for saving money, and i'm not a fan boy, so i'm open to amd cpu's and nvidia gpu's if they'll give me more bang for my buck.

there are two things i haven't included. first off, i have no idea what to go with as far as a HSF unit for the cpu. perhaps the stock cooler will suffice. i simply have no idea. need some guidance there. second, i see that the antec 300 comes with two fans (140mm top-mount and 120mm rear-mount), and it has room for an additional three 120mm fans (two front-mount and one side-mount). i'm not sure if i'll need the additional fans for cooling, but if so, i'll need guidance there as well.

$329.98 - Intel Core i5-750 + Windows 7 Professional x64 1-Pack OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282355

$240.98 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P + G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289730

$101.98 - Corsair 550VX 550W PSU + Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.291418

$209.99 - Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102841

$54.99 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

$59.95 - Antec 300 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Subtotal: $997.87
Shipping: $26.86
Grand Total: $1,024.73

so how'd i do?

i took a bit of a stab in the dark on the vid card. not sure if the 4890 (or more specifically, that particular model) is going to be overkill. it's the most expensive component in the build. went with the 500GB seagate after reading enginurd's comments on platter density elsewhere in the gen hardware forum. i have a 1TB western digital external for backup/storage, so i think 500GB will be fine for now. would really love to go ssd but it's just too pricey. have to save that for a future upgrade. i'm also not 100% sure on the mobo. after reading a few roundups, i settled on the gigabyte ud4p. i've had a few gigabyte mobos in the past and never had any complaints. and last, but certainly not least, is that psu going to be sufficient? i spent a bit of time over at jonnyguru before settling on the corsair brand. i initially wanted to go with a 620hx modular, but i couldn't justify the price increase. plus, there weren't any good combo deals that went along with it. same goes for the non-modular 650tx.
 
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Any particularly reason why you want Windows 7 Pro?

I'd ditch the Sapphire card for a XFX card since XFX has far better customer service and lifetime warranty:
$200 - XFX HD-489X-ZSFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB PCI-E Video Card

The Corsair 550VX would be more than enough for that setup. Ditch the Antec 300 and go with this roomier case instead:
$50 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case

Other than the above, looks fine to me. The above changes should drop your total price by about $20 or so.
 
Heh, even with the newer mechanical drives, you'll see an improvement over your old system, so no real need for an SSD just yet. :p

The VX550 is good. The CX400 would be enough... but you have room for more than enough in your budget, so stick with the 550W. :p Modular is a luxury, and since you're on a tight budget (considering all the parts you need for your max), non-modular is a good way to save some cash.

If you don't need all the features of the UD4P, then consider the UD3L instead, to save some cash.

You'll want at least one intake fan, but I'm not sure which position fans the 300 comes with. If you need more, stick with tried and true, good ol' cheap Yate Loon 120mm low or medium speed fans. ;)

Are you near Philadelphia/St. Davids? If so, there's a Microcenter there, and they have the 750 for $150 in-store. They may also pricematch newegg, so ask if you go.

As for HSF, I'd suggest the Cooler Master Hyper 212+, but if you're not OC'ing, its not really needed unless you just want a more quiet cooling solution than stock.

What features of Pro do you need that aren't included in Home Premium?
 
@Danny Bui:

it turns out i don't need win7 pro. i was mistaken with regard to a particular program i'll be running frequently. i was under the impression i'd need the "winxp mode" feature of pro, but after receiving some clarification, it turns out the program runs just fine under home premium. i'll definitely be going with the cheaper option.

as for the vid card you recommended, it doesn't have hdmi out. that's a dealbreaker given the htpc usage planned for the system. would i be able to get away with a 4670 perhaps? or is that a little too weak for the gaming side of things?

with regard to the case, i chose the antec 300 for two reasons. one, i've used antec cases in the past and have been very happy overall. two, i like a very plain-jane clean aesthetic. the coolermaster you linked me to is just a tiny bit too flashy for me. i don't like that "centurion" logo that's stuck on the front. one final thing, as far as i can tell, the coolermaster doesn't have a washable filter, while the antec does. i like this feature. i would definitely be interested in a roomier case, but only if it conforms to my (admittedly) picky tastes.

@enginurd:

i went with the UD4P over the UD3L primarily because of the better on-board sound on the UD4P. this goes along the same lines as the need for hdmi out on the vid card. given the planned htpc usage of the system, i want the best sound i can get without having to go with a discrete sound card. i also liked the extra 6Gb/s sata on the UD4P which could be put to use in the future.

as for the fans on the antec 300, it looks to me as though the top-mounted 140mm is for intake and the rear-mounted 120mm is for exhaust. there is room for two front-mounted 120mm fans and one side-mounted 120mm fan, all of which would be for intake i assume. i'm not worried about noise, so do you think it's worth getting the three additional fans for intake? or perhaps you're in the same camp as danny bui and would recommend another case altogether?

i'm currently 3 hours away from philly, but wouldn't you know it? i'm moving there at the end of the year! would it be worth holding off on buying the system until i'm all settled in and can spend a day over at microcenter? would i really see that much savings?

thanks for the HSF recommendation. i'm not all that worried about noise, but i would like to have the overclocking option should i decide to go that route sometime in the future.

already answered the question about pro versus home premium. :p

thanks for the input, fellas. keep it coming!

oh, and one last question. this goes out to the community at large. is core i5 the best i can expect given my budget? or is there some crazy way i could swing a core i7 build?
 
here's the updated build with win7 home premium instead of pro, as well as the added HSF and three case fans. i wouldn't mind trimming a little fat somewhere from the overall cost, but i'm not sure where to do so.

$294.98 - Intel Core i5-750 + Windows 7 Home Premium x64 1-Pack OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282347

$240.98 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P + G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289730

$101.98 - Corsair 550VX 550W PSU + Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.291418

$189.99 - Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102841

$54.99 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

$59.95 - Antec 300 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

$29.98 - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ HSF (out of stock at the moment but i can wait on the re-stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

$6.99 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

$23.37 - Yate Loon 120mm x 25mm Medium Speed Fan (x3) (looking at getting these from frozencpu, but yikes! that's a lot of money for three fans!)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6173/fan-343/Yate_Loon_120mm_x_25mm_Fan_D12SM-12.html

Subtotal: $1,003.21
Shipping: $34.79
Grand Total: $1,038.00

i can't quite get an accurate shipping total with the cooler master hyper 212+ being out of stock. i added its cost to my subtotal, but i can't add it to my newegg cart to see how it would affect shipping. also, the shipping on the yate loon fans is $7.57. that's outrageous! i'm wondering if there's a better/cheaper place to buy them from. or perhaps i don't even need them in the first place. oh yeah, and the sapphire vapor-x 4890 dropped in price from $209.99 to $189.99. not sure how long that will last, though.
 
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Build looks good.

If you know someone who has a valid .edu e-mail, you can get Windows 7 Professional for $30.

Also, I would go with Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 instead of the Arctic Silver 5. About 1 degree lower temperatures (on average) and no curing time.

Otherwise good build.
 
Jason said:
... i also liked the extra 6Gb/s sata on the UD4P which could be put to use in the future. ...
Click to expand...

SATA600? I don't see that as a listed feature on the spec page. Am I missing something? :eek: (/me want sata600, lol)
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=3161

Personally, I don't care much for the Antec 300. Cases are subjective, so get what you like. I prefer the RC-690, which is on sale right now for $65 shipped, with an additional $25MIR -- much more elegant look, IMO, over the 590 and 300.

Yah, shipping on the fans can get pricey compared to the cost of a single fan, but thats because the fans are so damn cheap. :p 3x D12SL-12 should be $9.60 + around $6.75 for shipping (for me, at least).

If you can wait until the end of the year, go for it. I'm not sure if the savings would be worth it or not, as I'm not sure how much you can save aside from the $50 for the i5, if staying with the i5. The i7 920 is only $200, but an X58 board would be significantly more expensive, as would a triple channel ram kit instead of dual channel. BTW, the i7 860 is $230.

What's your current and/or planned audio/speaker setup?
 
@PC_User:

ooo! thanks for the student discount idea! my girlfriend's still in school and would qualify.

and thanks for the recommendation on the thermal paste. i only went with arctic silver because i remember it being a top brand way back when.

@eginurd:

doh! i was initially looking at the ASRock P55 Deluxe (which includes a SATA600 card) before i settled on the Gigabyte UD4P. getting too easily confused in my old age, hah.

is it possible to turn off the blingin' LEDs on the 690? the only lights i need are power and hdd. anything more is just gaudy. also, i see this case has a ton of options for additional fans. any suggestions as to how many to throw in it and where to stick 'em?

i priced the three yate loon's with screws included. this added $0.89 per fan. do i need the screws or will a case come with its own? and where did you find these fans at that price? that's the kind of price i was expecting.

you sort of read my mind with the comment about the i7-860. i7-920/X58 is just out of the question. too much added cost. but after a bit of research, i figure as long as i'm going LGA1156, i might as well bump up to the i7-860.

as for audio, currently i have an aging set of Logitech Z560 pc speakers. it's a 4.1 system. i have a custom built 7.1 setup planned for my home theater. my brother-in-law is an acoustical engineer, and he builds awesome speakers at rock bottom prices for friends and family. :D
 
i'm still really unsure on the 4890, btw. of all the uses of this system, gaming is probably the least important. is a 4890 overkill?

if i dropped down to a 4670, the savings would make it a lot easier to bump the CPU up to an i7-860.
 
Consider this. This includes free shipping on everything. I did not include the HSF, Fans and Thermal compound but, you can throw that in.

Intel Core i5-750 + Coolermaster RC-690 both for $249.98 ($25 MIR) w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.281799

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 + GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P both for $238.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289726

MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit + Lite-On 24X DVD Burner both for $126.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282290

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W for $79.99 ($30 MIR) w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB for $169.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150457

This Radeon 5770 will be sufficient for your needs even at 1920 x 1200 res. Since you are not crazy about AA and AF as much, you will gain more fps. Plus, it will make a nice HTPC video card with 2 x DVI, HDMI and Displayport. On top of that, it's an XFX brand so.. you get the lifetime warranty compared to a brand like Sapphire or HIS.

Seagate Barracuda 500GB Sata HDD for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Total: $920.91 w/free shipping

As far as the Hanns-G monitor, buy it from Costco.com. Forget NewEgg since they have an 8 dead pixel policy. Anything less than 8 and they will not take it back. At Costco, you have 90 days to exchange or return for a full refund.

Hanns-G 28" for $299.99 w/free shipping & handling
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...680&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C
 
i admittedly don't know much about memory. is anything gained/lost by switching from the G.Skill to the Corsair?
 
Well. the G.Skill RAM that you selected does have a lower voltage of 1.5v as oppose to the Corsair at 1.65v The G. Skills should allow you to O/C a bit better. It's just $2 more so.. if you want to stick with the G. Skills you can. I was just trying to cut as much of the budget as I can hehehe. Plus, I figured your not someone who is crazy into O/C so.. the Corsairs will still give you a decent O/C. But, it's only $2 more so.. you might as well stick with the G. Skills
 
another question for the guru!

is it worth it, in terms of real world performance, to bump up to the i7-860? there's isn't a combo deal for it which included the CM-690 case, and after some consideration, i'm leaning toward that over the Antec 300.

i'm also going to talk to my girlfriend tomorrow about the win7 student discount. if i can save a bunch on the OS, it might render the i7-860 upgrade cost essentially moot.
 
The Core i5-750 lacks hyperthreading support. Therefore, if a software program does take advantage of HT then the Core i7-860 will be even faster because it does support HT.
 
man, you folks are awesome. i seem to be continually whittling down my options to the point where i'm hitting that perfect sweet spot, stretching my budget just as tight as she'll go and getting every last ounce of bang for my buck. thanks for all the help!

so check out this core i7-860 build:

$363.98 - Intel Core i7-860 + Corsair 650TX 650W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282118

$240.98 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P + G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289730

$179.99 - XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 (out of stock at the moment but i can wait on the re-stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

$54.99 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

$64.99 - Cooler Master RC-690 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

$29.98 - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ HSF (out of stock at the moment but i can wait on the re-stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

$18.94 - Arctic Cooling MX-3 Thermal Compound (price includes shipping from frozencpu.com)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9...mance_Non-Conductive_Thermal_Compound_4g.html

$31.99 - Lite-On 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

$29.99 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium w/ Student Discount (big thanks to PC_User for reminding me of this!)

Subtotal: $1,015.93
Shipping: $0.00 (woo!)
Grand Total: $1,015.93

other than the small shipping cost of the Arctic Cooling MX-3 from FrozenCPU.com, everything else from the egg has free shipping. i figure the three stock fans in the Cooler Master RC-690 will suffice for the time being, so i've cut out the cost of the Yate Loon's. i can always keep an eye on my temps and buy fans down the road. the only thing that concerns me about the 690, though, is that gaudy blue LED fan. if i can't turn off or disconnect that LED, i'll have to find another case.

as for the vid card, the one i'm looking at is $10 more than the one you linked me to, HardwareGuru. it seems to be a slightly more polished version with a shroud over the pcb. and it mentions "Juniper XT" in the product name. i'm not exactly sure what this means. i only decided to go with this card because of the overall polished look and the shroud. if the two cards will perform exactly the same and i'm just throwing away ten bucks, please let me know.

i'm hoping the student discount for windows 7 will allow me to get the 64-bit version. if not, there goes a bunch of my savings.

last thing that i'm a little worried about is all these combos and deals disappearing or getting all jumbled up while i'm waiting around for a few of these parts to get re-stocked. this is an especially big concern considering black friday and cyber monday are just around the corner. fingers are crossed that i won't get screwed. who knows though, maybe come cyber monday there will be even better deals to be had.

i just can't believe these kinds of deals are even out there in the first place. this turned out to be cheaper than both of my original core i5-750 builds. sweet!
 
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oh no you didn't, shiro.

just went balls to the wall figuring out that i7-860 build and now you go and give me yet another option!

i used to be indecisive, but now i'm not so sure.

edit: if i switch to the x3440 i'll save a total of $25 (as a result of losing the cpu/psu combo deal). not bad! the question is, how does the x3440 compare to the i7-860?
 
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Jason said:
i used to be indecisive, but now i'm not so sure.
Click to expand...

LOL!

Anyway definitely get the Xeon CPU that lt_shiro recommended. It has the same specs and features of the Core i7 860 but $50 cheaper and only ~270Mhz slower. Even compared to the PSU/CPU combo deal you linked to, it's still $25 cheaper. You're not gonna notice an iota a difference between the two CPUs performance wise. Can you tell the speed difference between 65.3MPH and 65MPH when driving? That's how small of a difference we're talking about.

as for the vid card you recommended, it doesn't have hdmi out. that's a dealbreaker given the htpc usage planned for the system. would i be able to get away with a 4670 perhaps? or is that a little too weak for the gaming side of things?
Click to expand...
Umm dude, the XFX HD 4890 has a DVI to HDMI adapter that also outputs video. And yes the HD 4670 is weak for gaming IMO.

As for the two XFX HD 5770 models, performance will be exactly the same. The Juniper XT was the original code name for the HD 5770. It also denotes a launch HD 5770 card as well. So save the $10 and go with HG's XFX HD 5770.
 
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yeah, HardwareGuru turned me on to the 5770. i'm planning on that now. it's a no-brainer at that price. looks like the xeon is a no-brainer as well.

have a question regarding the 5770, though.

is is it worth waiting for this one to be re-stocked?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

or should i get this one? (which is $10 cheaper and is in stock, but doesn't have the shroud)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150457

edit: just saw your edit, danny bui. that's kind of what i figured. so that shroud is just for looks eh? no window in my case, so i won't see the card very often anyway!
 
Whether or not it's worth waiting for a more aesthetically pleasing card is up to you. Performance, cooling, and warranty wise, they're the same. If you want a better look, wait. If not, buy.
 
That XFX Radeon HD 4890 video card as well as the XFX Radeon HD 4850 does not come with a DVI to HDMI adapter which is weird. The XFX Radeon HD 4770 however, does include a DVI to VGA and DVI to HDMI adapter. I guess maybe it's just not listed on NewEgg or not shown in the picture.
 
Danny Bui said:
Anyway definitely get the Xeon CPU that lt_shiro recommended. It has the same specs and features of the Core i7 860 but $50 cheaper and only ~270Mhz slower. Even compared to the PSU/CPU combo deal you linked to, it's still $25 cheaper. You're not gonna notice an iota a difference between the two CPUs performance wise. Can you tell the speed difference between 65.3MPH and 65MPH when driving? That's how small of a difference we're talking about.
Click to expand...
we're talking about the stock speed with turbo disabled though, right?

what happens when turbo comes into play and the i7-860 ramps up to a much higher frequency? according to the intel spec sheets the x3440 will bump up to 2.93GHz with turbo, whereas the i7-860 will bump up to 3.46GHz. then we're talking about 530MHz between the two.

please note, i'm not too sure about how this turbo boost stuff works, so the comparison i've just drawn might not be valid. in fact, i'm probably all out wrong. all this multi-core, multi-threaded, multi-channel business is just getting too confusing for your casual joe schmoe pc enthusiast. or at least it's too confusing for me, heh.

i'm not much of an adventurous overclocker. i'll likely keep my cpu at stock speeds for a good long while and only resort to overclocking as a means of extending the lifespan of my purchase. i believe it is for this reason that you're pushing the x3440 over the i7-860. i think i have just enough of a grasp on the situation to glean that much from our discussion thus far.

am i correct on this point? or am i even more confused than i thought?

edit: this thread (and more specifically the data sheet posted within it) is what has me a little turned around on the turbo issue. however, it's also pretty clear from that thread that the x3440 just makes more sense than the i7-860 if you're unwilling/can't afford to go i7-920/X58. is that correct? i just want to be sure i'm understanding all of this properly. i've been absorbing wayyy too much data lately. information overload like whoa.
 
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I'm not sure if you can turn off the front LED on the RC-690 (mine's still in its box, lol). However, instead of finding a new case, you can simply replace the fan. :p The prices for the fans I posted earlier were from jab-tech.com.

The i7 860 is $230 @ MC, but if you're not waiting til you move closer, definitely get the Xeon instead. Turbo boost is simply automatic OC'ing... its the opposite of Enhanced Intel Speed Step Tech (EIST). The binning on Xeon chips is probably slightly better than on the mainstream parts due to the enterprise environment requirements, so that should help the Xeon OC just as well as the 860 despite the lower multiplier.

I wouldn't wait on the good deals (eg. the CM RC-690 for $65 w/ free shipping and $25MIR for a total of $40AR is a good deal, IMO).
 
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and there are absolutely zero problems with dropping a xeon into the gigabyte ud4p? i don't need a server mobo or ecc ram?

i'm sorry if these questions are starting to get annoying. i admit, i'm getting a little lazy. i could find these answers with just a little bit of searching. i'm just worn out from all the research, so it's easier to trust you folks. you know infinitely more than i do.
 
You bring up very good questions.

Jason said:
and there are absolutely zero problems with dropping a xeon into the gigabyte ud4p? i don't need a server mobo or ecc ram?

i'm sorry if these questions are starting to get annoying. i admit, i'm getting a little lazy. i could find these answers with just a little bit of searching. i'm just worn out from all the research, so it's easier to trust you folks. you know infinitely more than i do.
Click to expand...
 
good deal! between the mx-2 and the x3440 i'm going to be saving an extra thirty five bucks or so. i'm not going to overclock very much if at all, so i doubt i'll miss that extra 1C from the mx-3 anyway. i'm going to keep my eyes peeled between now and cyber monday as well. i figure i might just be able to bring the whole thing down below $900. :eek:

here's the latest build:

$239.99 - Intel Xeon X3440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117225

$240.98 - Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P + G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289730

$179.99 - XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 (back in stock!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

$54.99 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

$25.99 - Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

$64.99 - Cooler Master RC-690 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

$89.99 - Corsair 650TX 650W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

$29.98 - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ HSF (back in stock!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

$9.90 - Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound (price includes shipping from jab-tech, thanks again PC_User!)
http://www.jab-tech.com/Arctic-Cooling-MX-2-Thermal-Compound-pr-3863.html

$29.99 - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional w/ Student Discount (big thanks to PC_User for reminding me of this!)

Subtotal: $966.79
Shipping: $0.00 (woo!)
Grand Total: $966.79

the case and psu each have mail-in rebates, so technically the final price will be $921.79 AR.

that is just awesome. thanks sooo much to everyone who contributed. i knew good 'ol [h] wouldn't let me down. :)
 
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definitely!

i'm sure i'll have no trouble going overboard with pics. it's been quite a long time since my last build, so i want to savor this one. going to take it nice and slow and cross all my t's and dot all my i's.

hopefully all of these parts will be ordered by monday at the latest, which means i'll be able to start building by next weekend.

woo hoo!
 
quick update:

had an unforeseen issue with my finances which forced me to hold off on buying a bit longer than i would have liked. just got all the parts ordered for this build today. i missed out on all the black friday and cyber monday deals. :(

after adding three scythe slipstreams as replacements for the stock case fans, as well as a scythe kama pwm for the hyper 212+ and an extra tube of mx-2 (two tubes in total because i hear the hyper 212+ takes quite a bit of grease) the final price for the entire build comes in at $1,048.86.

now comes the fun part! all my components should be here by the beginning of next week. only thing is, there was an issue with my girlfriend's .edu email. i tried calling the ms store in order to get the full retail dvd of win7 pro and they said the email domain was restricted. apparently this means that her school's bookstore sells copies of win7 directly, but still at the discounted price. i won't be seeing my girlfriend until the end of next week. so while all my parts will be here, my os won't. i'm going to build it anyway in the meantime and then just sit there and ooh and aah for a week.

after all, if you build it, the os will come. :)
 
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