New Computer

thump186 · Feb 2, 2009

Hi guys new to the forum been lurking for a little bit. Wife finally gave me the ok to build a new one to replace my dell gx280. Here is a list of my plans so far just curious what you all think i need to keep it under 1500. Plans for it are gaming(ghost recon, call of duty,brothers in arms ect.) Photoshop and fireworks work, and some mild audio work using adobe audition.

NZXT Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

COOLMAX CTI-700B 700W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

G.SKILL 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-3GBNQ

HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 HDP725025GLA380 (0A35399) 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Sony Optiarc Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1675S

LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner w/ SecurDisc Tech Black SATA Model GH20NS15

ASUS V-Nardo 80mm 2 Ball Unique Fan Duct for VRM Care

or

XIGMATEK AIO-S80DP All-in-one liquid cooling system

already have

MSI N9600GT-T2D512-OC GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
plus 2 external hd one sata one ide
also dedicated surround sound for just my gaming.

Neuromancer · Feb 2, 2009

Most of it looks good.

Asus cooler definitly not...

Xigmatek AIO... dunno

Would just get hte Xigmatec 120mm rifle cooler. About 35 on the EGG IIRc. Best bet on a budget.

Also, why on DVDROM and one DVDRW? I would just get 2 RWs... not much of a price difference I think, and gives you more options.

thump186 · Feb 2, 2009

Thanx Neuro thats the type of things i need to look at. As for the 1 burner i've had issues trying to add a second burner to systems i always seem to have issues with 2 burners like there is always a conflict.

wingman99 · Feb 2, 2009

maybe don't get the same model of DVD RW

fast96se · Feb 2, 2009

looks good for the most part, GL with your new comp =)

Neuromancer · Feb 2, 2009

thump186 said:
Thanx Neuro thats the type of things i need to look at. As for the 1 burner i've had issues trying to add a second burner to systems i always seem to have issues with 2 burners like there is always a conflict.

Interesting. I have never had dual dvdrws in a system before so did not know about any problems.

Just out of curiosity, where they both IDE drives on the same cable?

jason4207 · Feb 2, 2009

PSU: I'd go for a Corsair or PC P&C 750W. They are usually right around $100 AR. Not for the extra 'Watts', but b/c of the proven reliability and superior build quality. I'm not familiar w/ Coolmax.

HDDs: The WD 640AAKS is on sale right now for $60. The 250GB drives are not very cost effective per GB compared to the higher density drives right now. Try to keep your $/GB ratio below $0.10/GB if you can.

RAM: How much does that set cost? I've seen some good deals on 2x3GB lately. Are you using a 32-bit or 64-bit OS?

Cooler: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 1366 or Xigmatex 120mm cooler mentioned above.

Case: Not sure on how good that NZXT is w/ airflow, but I like the Antec900 or Thermaltake Armor or Armor+.

Do you plan on overclocking?

Sunburn74 · Feb 2, 2009

change the case. you have no idea how important a good case is. grab something with lots of large quiet fans.

Neuromancer · Feb 2, 2009

Sunburn74 said:
change the case. you have no idea how important a good case is. grab something with lots of large quiet fans.

That is exactly what he picked

The NZXT Zero takes a antec 900 slaps it across the face, eats it, poops it out and then steps on it when it comes to cool and quiet.

Absolutely the coolest running case I have ever had.

Little tight for long vid cards, but no worse than a 900. I like EATX cases myself though.

doz · Feb 2, 2009

Definately second jason on the PSU. Get a good quality PSU. You arent running SLI or XFire, so a GOOD 500 watt PSU would be enough (500 watt quality > 700 watt junk).

And I agree, look at a Xigmatek 1283, Sunbeam, or TRUE for cooling for air.

Also, look at a 640gb Western Digital HDD. Would be much better than 2 Seagates IMO.

BlackEdition · Feb 2, 2009

yeah, if you get a bigger hard drive, it is likely to run faster than the 250's that you have listed...

with more space on the hard drive, the platters are denser which allows more information to be gleaned from each revolution of the platter.

i haven't looked in depth at the 250's that you've listed, so they may very well have platters with equal densities (in which case, both hard drives would have the same performance)...

the cost per gigabyte is soo cheap these days that you could spend just a few bucks more than those 250s and get much more... i second the idea of getting the 640gb wd...

thump186 · Feb 2, 2009

Thanks for the advice guys. Plans are to over clock in the near future but not right out of the gate. I'm a tech guru at heart. I did alter plans a bit last night as i think i'm going to get a 1tb drive for storage and an 160gb for my OS which is 32 bit vista sp1.

DFI LP DK X48-T2RSB PLUS LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - 199.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 - 339.99

2x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL6D-4GBNQ 89.98

and just switched psu

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply 99.99

henzo · Feb 2, 2009

thump, i just ordered the corsair 750 psu and it was only $109 after rebates on the egg.

thump186 · Feb 2, 2009

henzo said:
thump, i just ordered the corsair 750 psu and it was only $109 after rebates on the egg.

thanx looks like i'm off to fry some egg.

JamesXP · Feb 3, 2009