Doombringer Posted March 27, 2010 Posted March 27, 2010 Hello everyone, long time reader of reviews here - first time poster. Just a little introductory tidbit, I am a U.S. Marine UAV Operator currently deployed to Afghanistan, and I've reenlisted in-theater and therefore have received a sizable (tax-free) retention bonus. With said bonus, my intentions are to update my aging Home Office (~2-6 yrs of random hardware across the board) with a new desk, chair, gaming computer that should have at least 3 years of life and is "age resistant" vice "future proof", upgrading my home network, and getting a new TV and home theater system. Of course, my relative computer experience would have to be "medium" right now. I've built two computers; five years ago and last year, respectively, so I know the basics, but I've been almost entirely out of the loop for a year or so, and as such, have missed out on some of the more recent mainstream technological advancements such as SSDs, USB3.0, and SATA6.0GB/s (SATA III, yes?). Where I have questions, I will place them alongside the respective item in my virtual shopping cart. All prices are pulled from Newegg unless stated otherwise. So, with that said, here is my prospective build. Upper limit budgetary concerns aren't too much of a factor (looking for quality parts that will last me a long time), but I'd prefer to keep my entire Home Theater budget at less than $8k, to facilitate spending and savings elsewhere. Without further ado, tax write-off, ahoy! --- Computer Case // Silverstone Fortress FT02 - $239.99 Went for this one basically because of the unique rotated motherboard design, mixed with the upward ventilation system (3x 180mm fans FTW). I've heard rave reviews from a number of sources, and the case looks solid and large enough to use for the long haul. Decided to go with the windowless model for heat/noise reduction - that is, unless windows don't really make much of a difference in that department. Then I might just go for it so that I can easily see inside to make sure nothing is dirty... Motherboard // ASUS P6X58D Premium - $309.99 LGA1366 Intel socket, SATA 6.0GB/s (Is anyone even using this? What is it?), and USB3.0 for the near future. This very website had nothing but good things to say about it. Mine! CPU // Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz - $294.99 I hear these things have great overclocking potential, thereby increasing their value tremendously. I've never overclocked anything before in my life. I've been doing some preliminary research, but there's so much to learn, I hardly know where to begin. These forums should be a start... CPU Cooler // Noctua NH-C12P SE14 140mm - $71.99 If I'm going to overclock, I hear I'll need a dedicated cooler. Once again, this site offered some insight as to which cooler was right for me. Preliminary reading says that this fan should fit the case. Memory // Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1600 - $229.99 Apparently this is optimum RAM for overclocking, and 1600MHz CAS8 is good (though I don't quite understand what that means...). My primary concern with the DDR3 is the clearance; the Noctua CPU Cooler I'm looking at only leaves ~40mm of clearance over the MoBo, and I can't find dimensions for this stuff anywhere, but those heatsinks look iffy. Any suggestions? VGA // XFX Radeon HD 5970 2GB GDDR5 - $699.99 (link is to the Diamond model) Yeah, yeah. I know. It's a monster. Should last a while then, yes? Or is it smarter to go with Crossfire'd smaller cards for the additional inputs (I'm looking at a triple-monitor setup, for flight sims), or stick with the single card for the power consumption benefits? XFX's warranty is what's drawing me to them, and I can probably find the card cheaper than Newegg (which isn't technically listing their cards right now anyway, despite being a listed retailer on their website...). SSD // OCZ Vertex LE 100GB - $399.00 I'm reading that the random read/write capabilities of the Vertex improved dramatically with this newer generation of SSDs - therefore I'm leaning more towards this one than the regular Vertex (which has 20GB more storage for ~$40 less). In regards to SSDs, I've heard mixed things about installing both the OS and games on them. Some reviews I've read say that you should simply go with a low capacity SSD for your OS and put your games on a 7200RPM HDD. Others claim that the performance of games such as Crysis improve dramatically when installed on an SSD. What gives? HDD // Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM - $119.99 Pure storage, with the capability to run a decent game off of it (unlike its Green 5400RPM sister). I'm planning on potentially ripping DVDs/Blu-Rays onto my HDD to stream to the HDTV - is 1TB going to cut it for a "casual ripper", or should I upgrade? Optical Drive // LG Black Blu-Ray Combo - $104.99 I was looking at the Pioneer Burner, but I'm not sure I'll be doing much of that, and it's a ~$100 price hike. You don't need a Burner to Rip, correct? PSU // Rosewill Bronze RBR1000-M 1000w Modular - $129.99 Antec is calculating my wattage at 448w, with no overclocking. Newegg is less conservative, with a 748w estimate. Figure I'll play it safe and go with an 1000w, since I'm planning on having a number of high-end peripherals and monitors - but I've no idea if going that far is really necessary... OS // Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM - $139.99 Professional apparently has home networking gizmos that the Home version doesn't offer. Any other real reason to have Professional over Home? Subtotal - $2,741.89 --- Peripherals, Accessories, Furniture Monitor // ??? - $750 - $1,200 Can't decide if I want to go with 3x ASUS VH242H 23.6" 1080p monitors (and suck up the $100 Mini-DP adapter for the 5970), or a dedicated 9X X-Top Multi-Screen slimline triple-monitor setup w/ included stand. Is an extra $600 worth the reduced bezel when gaming on multiple monitors? Don't have much experience in that department... Would the 9X system's own software be recognized by, or conflict with, Eyefinity? Is the 5ms response time of this model of ASUS really that far behind the 2ms of the other, higher priced models? So many questions, so few answers... Keyboard // Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard - $176.95 Keyboard // Logitech G110 Gaming Keyboard - $74.99 Can't decide here whether the little LCD screen is worth $100... Probably not, I'm thinking... Mouse // Logitech G9x Black - $94.99 Mouse // Logitech G500 10 Buttons - $56.99 Can't decide whether the flashy look and ergonomic value is worth $40 and some extra buttons. Thoughts from anyone who has these? I've been a long-time fan of Logitech, having owned a G5 for about 3 years. Didn't like my brother's Razer much, so not too interested in those... Wireless Networking // ??? - ??? I've heard Wireless-N beats the crap out of Wireless-G in terms of speed. Price difference isn't that much (if one exists at all, from my rather shallow investigation). I'd imagine wired is still the way to go, regardless, so I might just stick with my current Linksys WRT54GS, but in wired format. Flight Sim Gear // Miscellaneous - ~$1,000 A CH HOTAS, Pedals, TrackIR5, and an MFD should round this out a bit... Desk // ROCCAFORTE Gaming Desk - $299 $299 for what is probably the single most well-organized desk for a flight simulation layout... --- Anyways, thanks for taking the time to look at this, review the build, and answer any of my crazy questions! Not looking to make a multi-thousand dollar mistake here, so I'd definitely appreciate the reasoned criticism and more prudent eye of those with far more experience than I. *Salute* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdy284 Posted March 27, 2010 Posted March 27, 2010 welcome to OCC, I'd make a thread HERE and introduce yourself that being said, obviously you've got the means so i'm going to change a few things: 1. ditch your CPU cooler, spend an extra $15 and get the best air cooler on the market Noctua NH-D14 2. ditch that crap PSU that could (meaning would eventually) end up killing your rig. Seriously, this is the LIFEBLOOD of your PC and the LAST place you want to skimp out. Corsair 1000HX (it's currently out of stock on newegg, but here is the link for it.) 3. The blu ray burner. Are you actually going to be burning blu ray movies? if you're not you can get by with a $30 DVD burner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psywar Posted March 27, 2010 Posted March 27, 2010 What he said Welcome to OCC! Good luck with your build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doombringer Posted March 27, 2010 Posted March 27, 2010 Thanks for the warm welcome, sdy284 and Psywar. Went ahead and created an introductory thread, as per your advice, and now I have just a few more questions to reiterate (I guess they got lost in the jumble, above). CPU Cooler My concern here was mainly whether or not I had the room for that fan. I was definitely leaning towards the NH-D14, but was unsure whether it would fit in my case and still allow for some headroom for the RAM... Does anyone have any advice as to how I could find this information out? PSU I'll definitely be grabbing that Corsair 1000HX, if it's as good as you say it is. Wasn't aware that the Rosewill was so sub-par - its' reviews seemed decent enough. I'll do some more research here. In regards to the PSU being the "lifeblood" of the machine, what exactly could kill it? I'm kind of confused about that. Blu-Ray The LG is only a Blu-Ray Reader, as far as I am aware. I wasn't planning on doing much Blu-Ray Writing, but was definitely planning on ripping Blu-Rays to my HDD to digitally stream to my television (vice simply purchasing a dedicated Blu-Ray player for my Home Entertainment System). --- and back to the top --- Case Do windowless models help much with sound or heat management? Motherboard What are your opinions on SATA III and USB3.0? Are there any devices out that even take advantage of either technology? I've heard that regular 7200RPM SATA 6.0GB/s HDDs are bottlenecked by their own RPM in this department... Memory Anyone know where I could find DDR3 without heatsinks, and/or dimensions for this stuff? I've searched a number of places but nowhere have I found whether or not this RAM is >40mm tall (thereby rendering my CPU Cooler unmountable). SSD Install OS + High-Performance Games on it? Or just the OS and "heavy" apps? I've heard both ways, with no definitive answers... HDD Is 1TB going to cut it for Blu-Ray Ripping? Or should I look into higher-capacity models or duplicates? Monitors Anyone know if the 9X X-Top monitors support Eyefinity? Are reduced-bezel (but more expensive) options really that much greater for gaming? --- Thanks for your valued time, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckles Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 From what I have read the Dominators will fit fine if you install the NH-D14 vertically. If you install it horizontally, you have to take off the top heatsinks on the memory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 welcome to OCC, I'd make a thread HERE and introduce yourself that being said, obviously you've got the means so i'm going to change a few things: 1. ditch your CPU cooler, spend an extra $15 and get the best air cooler on the market Noctua NH-D14 2. ditch that crap PSU that could (meaning would eventually) end up killing your rig. Seriously, this is the LIFEBLOOD of your PC and the LAST place you want to skimp out. Corsair 1000HX (it's currently out of stock on newegg, but here is the link for it.) 3. The blu ray burner. Are you actually going to be burning blu ray movies? if you're not you can get by with a $30 DVD burner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetfats Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 its' reviews seemed decent enough. I'll do some more research here. be careful where you get your reviews from. Places that sell products are notorious for inaccurate reviews as they are often cherry picked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilcliff Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) MemoryAnyone know where I could find DDR3 without heatsinks, and/or dimensions for this stuff? I've searched a number of places but nowhere have I found whether or not this RAM is >40mm tall (thereby rendering my CPU Cooler unmountable). this is from the corsair FAQ section on their websiteQ Edited March 28, 2010 by bilcliff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doombringer Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 @ feetfats, I got the reviews from Newegg. I generally read through a number of them to get a good sampling of the goods and bads, not simply the reviews that are posted on those websites advertising their product. Thanks. @ bilcliff, thanks for the link. I was originally considering the NH-C12 model (in my above build) due to the clearance and size, but it looks like the NH-D14 has the same clearance (44mm) as the NH-C12... Can I use Corair Dominator RAM with the NH-D14?The NH-D14 is a large cooler that extends over the RAM slots on most mainboards. While DDR2 Corsair Dominator don't fit underneath the cooler, DDR3 Corsair Dominator do fit when the removable top heatsink is taken off as shown below. Please also note that the NF-P12 fan can be moved upwards or taken off in order to improve RAM compatibility as shown here. Oddly enough, that Noctua FAQ answered my question about Corsair Dominator DDR3. Looks like the heat sink is removable in order to fit under large radiators like the Noctua models - does anyone know if removing the Dominator's heat sink will significantly impact the RAM's performance/cooling, or is it more or less for show? @ Chuckles, the Noctua FAQ for the NH-D14 says that you can only mount it one way with the included adapter... Can the cooler be installed turned by 90 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdy284 Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 mobo compatibility for nh-d14 http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compati...en#LGA1366_Asus also, what i had to do on my previous ECS mobo before i switched to my asus, i simply bent the edge of the very bottom fin on my noctua 90 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doombringer Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) Thanks for the chart and advice, sdy284. I'd have to concur with the 'bending of parts' strategy. The P6X58D looks pretty similar to the P6T6 WS in terms of distance from the CPU socket to the RAM slots, so I should be in the clear. Edited March 28, 2010 by Doombringer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 The 5970 card only needs about 300W maximum so if you want to save a little money, unless you intend to crossfire but I can't imagine why, ditch the HX1000W and go for something with a little less power. If you really want the HX1000W then go for it but a HX750W or HX850W would me more than capable. ... and by the way don't pay too much attention to the newegg reviews! You need to read "proper" reviews but the only problem is you won't find any on the Rosewill and that should tell you something! Cheers Paul Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now