New rig :) first timer

[IgnitedX]

Hi everyone! Been reading the forums for a while, thought it's time for my first post. So I've been snooping around looking for good parts for my first gaming pc since my vaio laptop isn't cutting it and my rage has finally boiled over...

These are the parts I have in mind, tell me what you think and any suggestion is welcomed ...and yes I am considering OC'ing this, which is why I'm on this awesome forum and not some other random forum

CPU
i7 930

SSD
Intel X25M 80GB

Motherboard
ASUS P6X58D-E http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=ASUS_P6X58D-E_X58-_-13-131-641-_-Product
Gigabyte X58A-UD3Rhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...128423&cm_re=X58A-uD3r-_-13-128-423-_-Product
I can't really decide between the two, I'm tending towards the P6X58D-E right now. Any advice would be great!

GPU
I'm looking for something in the $200 range right now. I'm thinking that I can get another one for crossfire/SLI later on if I need it. Minimum requirement for this rig right now is to be able to play SC2 on ultra in 1080p... not too sure if a $200 card is enough. Please comment

RAM
Looking at some 3x2 GB sticks at around $100. I read that the latency play some role but not very noticeable so I kinda ignored them when looking for RAM. There's three that are equally attractive to me at the moment. Help me choose!
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220&Tpk=TR3X6G1333C9
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998585
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226040
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223

Cooling
Corsair H70
Read the new review and everything looks good to me. One thing that really stuck out to me is the radiator and the 2 fans hanging around the back of the case. Other than that, I think I'll be going with this one, unless there's a better alternative of course.

Case
Antec 900
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...129058&cm_re=antec_900-_-11-129-058-_-Product
OR
Antec 600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...129073&cm_re=antec_600-_-11-129-073-_-Product
I'm purely going for looks/price on the case. I like the flashy LED's and the fact that the PSU is on the bottom. Probably going for the 900 since it looks better in my opinion (and probably some extra's since its a higher number/price? I don't know...)

PSU
Antec TPQ-850 850W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009&Tpk=quattro 850w
I hope this is enough power for the parts I'm going to be running. Picked it off the recommended PSU list..


I don't really have a storage hard drive on the list. I'm just gonna be using my external 500 gb for now. Maybe get one when I have more money
But yeah, do tell me what you pros think about this. If anythings obviously wrong, PLEASE do tell me! Any comment/concerns welcomed! thanks everyone!!

 

[psionic98]

First off to the forums!!

Now down to business. I edited within your comment in yellow!

Hi everyone! Been reading the forums for a while, thought it's time for my first post. So I've been snooping around looking for good parts for my first gaming pc since my vaio laptop isn't cutting it and my rage has finally boiled over...

These are the parts I have in mind, tell me what you think and any suggestion is welcomed ...and yes I am considering OC'ing this, which is why I'm on this awesome forum and not some other random forum

CPU
i7 930
Fine chip, if you have a microcenter near you its cheaper or I think the 950 is within the same ballpark pricewise and has extra multiplier (not always useful in oc, but you can get lucky)
SSD
Intel X25M 80GB
Don't know much about ssds, so I'll let someone else commeent.

Motherboard
ASUS P6X58D-E http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=ASUS_P6X58D-E_X58-_-13-131-641-_-Product
Gigabyte X58A-UD3Rhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...128423&cm_re=X58A-uD3r-_-13-128-423-_-Product
I can't really decide between the two, I'm tending towards the P6X58D-E right now. Any advice would be great!
Both will overclock well with that chip. It really comes down to personal preferences. EVGA is also another popular board for ocing. Also depending on what color scheme you might want in your case can help make decisions easier.. its hard to re-color a board!

GPU
I'm looking for something in the $200 range right now. I'm thinking that I can get another one for crossfire/SLI later on if I need it. Minimum requirement for this rig right now is to be able to play SC2 on ultra in 1080p... not too sure if a $200 card is enough. Please comment
I've played sc2 on ultra, but not 1080 with my oc'd 5770.. I doubt it would hold up on the higher resolutions. What you should think about is the future of the rig. SLI/Crossfire is fine and dandy, but sometimes its more of a headache and you do not always get the returns you'd hope for. What most recommend around here is buying 1 good card now and worry about SLI etc later. Its harder to sell 2 cards to get 1 good one later when you need to upgrade. Just stick with teh 58xx ATI or 460 or better nvidia and you should be fine w/o SLI/Crossfire for a good year+

RAM
Looking at some 3x2 GB sticks at around $100. I read that the latency play some role but not very noticeable so I kinda ignored them when looking for RAM. There's three that are equally attractive to me at the moment. Help me choose!
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220&Tpk=TR3X6G1333C9
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998585
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226040
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223
First off latency does play a role in selection, however, 1366 mobos can handle better clocked ram. Look for some PC3128000 (DDR3 1600) It may go above 100, but some g.skill cas9 can be gotten for 130ish i think.

Cooling
Corsair H70
Read the new review and everything looks good to me. One thing that really stuck out to me is the radiator and the 2 fans hanging around the back of the case. Other than that, I think I'll be going with this one, unless there's a better alternative of course.
The corsair H50/H70s are closer to high-end air cooling than water. THey can be quieter, but not by a very big margin like you can with a true water cooled system. In my humble opinion, go for a Megahalem with 2x scythe sflex fans and you'll likely be in the same ballpark with cooling/fan noise as that H70 unit.

Case
Antec 900
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...129058&cm_re=antec_900-_-11-129-058-_-Product
OR
Antec 600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...129073&cm_re=antec_600-_-11-129-073-_-Product
I'm purely going for looks/price on the case. I like the flashy LED's and the fact that the PSU is on the bottom. Probably going for the 900 since it looks better in my opinion (and probably some extra's since its a higher number/price? I don't know...)

The 900 is bigger in general. You'll want some extra room, again in my opinion! Cases are basically whatever floats your boat. some have good water cooling areas, some are great for air cooling and of course some look really really cool and couldn't keep your system cool if you left the door off.

PSU
Antec TPQ-850 850W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009&Tpk=quattro 850w
I hope this is enough power for the parts I'm going to be running. Picked it off the recommended PSU list..
Thats a fine PSU, but more than you need and possibly would need even with SLI/Crossfire. Your system above here can run off of a 550 (tightly, but possible), but I'd go with a 650. It should have more than enough power for now and having a 2nd higher-end card down the road. If y ou really want a bunch of overhead I wouldn't go above the 750 mark.


I don't really have a storage hard drive on the list. I'm just gonna be using my external 500 gb for now. Maybe get one when I have more money
But yeah, do tell me what you pros think about this. If anythings obviously wrong, PLEASE do tell me! Any comment/concerns welcomed! thanks everyone!!

Aside from that, looks good!

 

[Cuiiey]

Firstly
The Intel X25M is one of the fastest SSD's that I have ever used. it is a great choice!

For Graphics, i would choose the 5850 beats the 460 and just gets smudged out by the 470. But if you can find a 470 for around the same price i would get that. I have no idea how newegg works cause they don't ship down under

for water cooling i would not recommend either the 900 or 600. Probably go for the 1200 if i were you buts thats just my opinion

Everything else looks fine and dandy though

 

[IgnitedX]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I actually went ahead and ordered the GPU and PSU today since they were on sale.. I guess I'll just pick up my parts one by one, the store is like 3 blocks away from my work place anyways.

So I went with XFX Radeon HD 5850 Black Edition and Antec Truepower Quattro 850W for $250 and $90, respectively, after rebates. Paydays on Friday so I figure it wouldn't hurt to go a little over my $200 budget on the GPU if it's going to save me some headaches later on!

I just need to decide on the RAM sticks now I guess, I'll poke around for a bit before deciding on those.

One thing I'm somewhat worried about is the graphics card not being able to fit into the Antec 900 because I read somewhere in one of the review that someone had trouble with that. If anyone knows anything on that please let me know! I'll research a bit more before going with the case.

Cheers!

 

[MattNo5ss]

For SSD I would go with the newer SandForce controller, they are much better than the X25-M. So, something like the OCZ Vertex 2. The 80GB X25-M is ~$195 with 250MB/s reads and 70MB/s writes, but the 90GB Vertex 2 is ~$210 ($180 AMIR) with 285MB/s reads and 275MB/s writes.

As for the RAM, you wont notice a difference between 1333MHz and 1600MHz. The 3 sets you listed are exactly the same except for the brand name, and those brands are reliable ones. So, you can't go wrong with any of those three. How high are you hoping to OC your CPU?

 

[IgnitedX]

I'm not too sure on how fast I'm going to be clocking the thing. Not really an answer but I'd want it as fast as possible keeping noise and temperature at a reasonable level. Are most people doing 4.0+ GHz with 930's around here?

 

[MattNo5ss]

I asked b/c if you want to go to say 4GHz then your multipliers would go like:

181*22 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 181*8 = 1448 or 181*6 = 1086
191*21 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 191*8 = 1528 or 191*6 = 1146
200*20 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 200*8 = 1600 or 200*6 = 1200

I would go with DDR3-1600 so you can get the most out your RAM. Not that you'll notice the speed difference, but if I were to buy RAM I'd want to run it as close to the rated speeds as possible so I wouldn't feel like I wasted money on it. If you got DDR3-1333, then you would have to make it to 222 bclk to get the most out of the RAM while keeping the CPU to at least 4GHz, which would be tough for 24/7.

 

[IgnitedX]

I asked b/c if you want to go to say 4GHz then your multipliers would go like:

181*22 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 181*8 = 1448 or 181*6 = 1086
191*21 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 191*8 = 1528 or 191*6 = 1146
200*20 = 4GHz, then RAM would be 200*8 = 1600 or 200*6 = 1200

I would go with DDR3-1600 so you can get the most out your RAM. Not that you'll notice the speed difference, but if I were to buy RAM I'd want to run it as close to the rated speeds as possible so I wouldn't feel like I wasted money on it. If you got DDR3-1333, then you would have to make it to 222 bclk to get the most out of the RAM while keeping the CPU to at least 4GHz, which would be tough for 24/7.

I see... Okay, I'll go with the 1600 ones then. Now another question regarding memory: is it worth an extra $20 for lower latency? For example... these two:
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34654&vpn=TR3X6G1600C9&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1101
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=52325&vpn=CMX6GX3M3C1600C7&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1101

Not saying that I'm stuck between these two, I'm open to other brands too. Just using these as an example. Thanks!