[Kawzman]

after a couple weeks of researching, posting, and getting my first stab at this build run through the wringer by the community, i've come back with the following as my second attempt at finalizing this my second build ever. prices include tax and S&H except for newegg and directron which is outlined at the bottom.

I haven't placed any orders yet but will do so late tonight as i don't want to miss out on some of the specials that will end very soon. suggestions/comments? i'm particularly looking for some guidance for an ups. i posted a thread in another forum but have yet to receive a reply.

im' going to wait another week or so before ordering the q9450 and a few other things to see what the q3 price drop brings.

Antec 1200 ATX Full Tower - $169.99
http://www.directron.com/twelvehundred.html

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 - $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128336

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 - $329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115042

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme - $49.99
http://www.directron.com/u120e.html

2x YATE LOON 120mm 4 Blue leds - $21.51 (one for case side door)
http://www.casemodwholesale.com/d12sm-124b.html

Arctic Silver 5 - $5.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

2x VisionTek HD 4850 - $189.99 x 2 ($379.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129112

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 - $106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197

5x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB - $84.99 x 5 ($424.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288
Matrix RAID: RAID0 37.5GBx4 (150GB), RAID5 462.5GBx3 (1.388TB) and 462.5GB for parity, Hot Swappable Drive 500GB

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134

WD My Passport Elite 320GB External - $154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136237

Antec TPQ-850W - $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371009

CyberPower Systems UPS 1500VA/900W - $177.09
http://www.provantage.com/cyberpower...d~7CYPR030.htm

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - $129.99
http://www.directron.com/70sb088600002.html

Logitech Z-5500 Speakers - $205.62
http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...i_sku=40503841

SAMSUNG SH-203 CD/DVD Burner - $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151153

SABRENT Internal Card Reader - $10.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820300608

SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive - $7.49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821103203

Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit OEM - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116493

Total Newegg Shipping: $23.05
Total Directron Shipping: $28.92

Total cost: $2890.53

cheers,

kawzman

[ou_phidelt]

Originally Posted by Kawzman

after a couple weeks of researching, posting, and getting my first stab at this build run through the wringer by the community, i've come back with the following as my second attempt at finalizing this my second build ever. prices include tax and S&H except for newegg and directron which is outlined at the bottom.

I haven't placed any orders yet but will do so late tonight as i don't want to miss out on some of the specials that will end very soon. suggestions/comments? i'm particularly looking for some guidance for an ups. i posted a thread in another forum but have yet to receive a reply.

im' going to wait another week or so before ordering the q9450 and a few other things to see what the q3 price drop brings.

Antec 1200 ATX Full Tower - $169.99
http://www.directron.com/twelvehundred.html
I haven't seen many people with this case yet. It looks to be nice but can't say much otherwise.

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 - $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128336
Good board.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 - $329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115042
The old Q9450 vs Q6600 debate. It's a toss up depending on your needs. You sound like you have done your research so I'll assume this is the best choice for you.

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme - $49.99
http://www.directron.com/u120e.html
Best cooler out there but with downsides. I am sure you have heard complaints on the quality of the base. Just be prepared for a lapping session as it does not seem they are listening to the complaints of the consumers on this one.
2x YATE LOON 120mm 4 Blue leds - $21.51 (one for case side door)
http://www.casemodwholesale.com/d12sm-124b.html
I suggest you get these from Petras Tech Shop. Unless something has changing petras is the only place to get genuine yates. I would also suggest getting the plain black ones, most reviews I have seen tend to complain of lower quality and inferior performance from the LED models.
Arctic Silver 5 - $5.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007
Still my personal favorite.
2x VisionTek HD 4850 - $189.99 x 2 ($379.98)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129112
Best bang for the buck multi-card set-up at the moment.
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 - $106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145197
I would go with the 1066 G.Skills, same performance with a cheaper price. I am also not a fan of the heatsinks for possible clearance issues. That case should have plenty of air flow to keep them cool.
5x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB - $84.99 x 5 ($424.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288
Matrix RAID: RAID0 37.5GBx4 (150GB), RAID5 462.5GBx3 (1.388TB) and 462.5GB for parity, Hot Swappable Drive 500GB
That is a heck of a set-up. Consider the WD 640GB drives. They are a bit faster with a bit more storage, though $10 more a piece.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134
How is this fitting into you storage solution?
WD My Passport Elite 320GB External - $154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136237
Same question
Antec TPQ-850W - $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371009
Not my personal favorite but should do the job.
CyberPower Systems UPS 1500VA/900W - $177.09
http://www.provantage.com/cyberpower...d~7CYPR030.htm
No idea here, I'll leave it someone more knowledgeable in this area.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - $129.99
http://www.directron.com/70sb088600002.html
Again not my forte.
Logitech Z-5500 Speakers - $205.62
http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...i_sku=40503841
Nice speakers.
SAMSUNG SH-203 CD/DVD Burner - $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151153
Good choice.
SABRENT Internal Card Reader - $10.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820300608

SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive - $7.49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821103203

Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit OEM - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116493
Do you need Ultimate? If not just save the cash for something else.
Total Newegg Shipping: $23.05
Total Directron Shipping: $28.92

Total cost: $2890.53

cheers,

kawzman

It looks good, I don't really have any critisisms just some options to consider. What is the purpose of this computer? I am really intrigued but your storage selection. You have to post some HD benches when you get it up.

[Kawzman]

Best cooler out there but with downsides. I am sure you have heard complaints on the quality of the base. Just be prepared for a lapping session as it does not seem they are listening to the complaints of the consumers on this one.

It honestly came down to that cooler and fan and the Noctua NH-U12P Ultra Silent CPU Cooler - $60 (http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/noctu...pu-cooler.html).

That is a heck of a set-up. Consider the WD 640GB drives. They are a bit faster with a bit more storage, though $10 more a piece.

I looked at the specs and i was curious how the wd's are faster if the Barracudas have a faster avg latency of 4.16ms vs 4.2ms. the Barracudas have 32mb of cache vs 16mb.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - $99.99, is for backing up everything; ghost images, video, pix, etc...

WD My Passport Elite 320GB External - $154.99, is for the fire safe to hold all the critical stuff.

Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit OEM - $159.99 is to get all the goodies just because i can.

[Psychotron]

Looks very nice!
haha i miss monterey..i use to live in salinas..
nice avatar haha

[Kawzman]

i'm actually no longer there. i'm on the road on vaca in the middle of transferring to nas fallon, nv. i'm missing the 65-70 degree summer temps already.

[Psychotron]

yeah me too...here in AZ its 111°F...yeahh not cool..
but yeah, thats gonna be a pretty nice set up.

[ou_phidelt]

Originally Posted by Kawzman

It honestly came down to that cooler and fan and the Noctua NH-U12P Ultra Silent CPU Cooler - $60 (http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/noctu...pu-cooler.html).



I looked at the specs and i was curious how the wd's are faster if the Barracudas have a faster avg latency of 4.16ms vs 4.2ms. the Barracudas have 32mb of cache vs 16mb.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - $99.99, is for backing up everything; ghost images, video, pix, etc...

WD My Passport Elite 320GB External - $154.99, is for the fire safe to hold all the critical stuff.

Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit OEM - $159.99 is to get all the goodies just because i can.

I actually like the 120mm Zerotherm right now. It performs very close to the TRUE but with much more consistant quality. The downside being you can't replace the fan.

As for the HD's take a look in the storage sub-section. The WD's are ruling the roost right now. Their big advantage over the Seagates are a higher platter density. With that many drives the Seagates still are not a bad idea due to the longer warranty, that is a lot of potential for failure with five drives in a RAID.