New PC Build

Hi everyone! I just wanted to get some input on a new PC that I plan on building over the next little while here.
This will be the first time I've actually built my new PC myself, so any tips from you Pros out there are more than welcome!

Taken from Hyperstrike's sig:
1) What will you primarily be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
***
Gaming(Currently CoH, Starcraft 2 and TOR when it comes out) and web browsing mostly atm.


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
***
$2000 CAN
Hopefully this includes shipping but I can throw a little extra for that if need be.

3) Where do you live? This is important as it affects what vendors you may buy from and how much shipping costs might be.
***
Alberta, Canada


4) Are you planning to buy or build?
***
Build


5) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need. If you're unsure what exactly you need, say so.
***
Case
Motherboard
CPU
CPU cooling unit
RAM
Graphics Card
Sound Card
Power Supply
Hard Drive
CD/DVD/Blue Ray Drive
Operating system



6) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
***
Not reusing any tower components but am keeping the same keyboard, mouse, monitor.

7) Will you be overclocking?
***
Have never overclocked anything before and its not a requirement for me.

8) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
***
Currently a 22" LG but I plan on buying a 24" a little ways down the road.


9) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
***
Over the course of the summer/fall I had planned on trying to catch some of the parts I am getting on sale. Not in a huge rush to get this put together.


10) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
***
Preferably USB 3.0 but other than that I'm not sure. Probably SLI support just for future.


11) Any specific must-have features? Must be able to max out Ultra-Mode? Must have 6+GB of RAM? Must have an SSD? etc.
***
Preferably be able to max out Ultra mode while maintaining a good fps
6 or more GB of RAM.
Can't think of anything else that is a must-have at the moment.

12) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to use?
***
nVidia


13) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to avoid?
***
None.


14) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? (Note: If your current OS came with your computer, odds are that it is NOT transferable.)
***
Not Transferable.
I would like Windows 7 64bit though.

Hello Great White North.

There are a few places up there mail order wise that's has equivalent places down here in the states. Or vice versa depending how you look at it.

There's NewEgg.ca, TigerDirect.ca, NCIX.com. The US ones are NewEgg.com, TigerDirect.com and NCIXUS.com if you were curious. Personally I'm a fan of NewEgg, they've never done me wrong down here.

Comparing the two NewEggs, prices are nearly identical which simplifies the whole currency conversion / budget thingy.

Several good ideas about what to buy.

TechReport's Spring 2011 System Guide
bit-tech.net's PC Hardware Buyer's Guide May 2011
ArsTechnica's System Guide: March 2011

These give several different configurations based on budget. It's as good of a place to start as any. These guides tend not to include the cost of the OS, which at NewEgg.ca is $110 for an OEM copy of Win 7 Home Premium SP1.

As for info on choices for the two major components in your system, I give you Tom's Hardware's Best Graphics Card for the Money: May 2011 and Best Gaming CPUs for the Money: April 2011. There are some useful tables at the end of each article that aligns similarly performing models from Intel/AMD and nVidia/AMD(ATI).

If you want a more specific comparison between to models of video cards I tend to use the Performance Summary from the latest high end videocard review at TechPowerUp.

For comparing CPUs in general I use the CPU Bench database at AnandTech. The GPU and SSD databases are also very useful, just be careful about the scatter plot (price Vs performance) as their automatic scanning of product price occasionally goofs on the very, very low side.

Currently ArsTechnica is running a series of guides about building a system. Part 1: Hardware, Part 2: Software, Part 3: Cases. No idea how many additional guides there will be in the series.

One word of advice, okay, more than one, don't go cheap on your power supply. It's easy to blow all your money on a CPU, memory, video card(s), nifty case, etc and forget about the thing that will power the whole kit and caboodle. Expect to spend $15 to $20 per 100 watts retail. Look for a PSU that is listed as ATX12V V2.2 or V2.3 and is certified as 80Plus or better (80Plus Bronze, 80Plus Silver, etc). The first is an indication of a modern power supply and the second is that the max power rating isn't just wishful thinking. A couple of good sites with PSU reviews are HardwareSecrets and JonnyGuru.

Lastly you can look at my out of date guide to computer components for other resources. My $725 rig is up to date buy my $1350 rig is in need of a serious overall ANY TIME NOW, I PROMISE.

Okay, I lied, this is lastly, when you get an idea of what parts you are thinking of using, post them and the various builders here will give you their two opinion of what you did right, wrong and alternatives you may not have considered.

Hope this helps some.

Hi Father Xmas!

Thank you for the reply and all the great links.
I haven't be able to go through all of them yet but here is a basic build that I threw together from Tigerdirect.ca.

NZXT PHAN-001RD Phantom Full-Tower Case http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=A406-2052

ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=A455-2997

Intel Core i7 950 Processor BX80601950 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...4&Sku=I69-0950

ASUS ENGTX570DCII/2DIS/12 GeForce GTX 570 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=A455-0574

Corsair CMP8GX3M2A1600C9 Dominator Dual Channel 8192MB http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...1&Sku=C13-6179

Corsair CWCH50-1 Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...7&Sku=C13-2528

Ultra X4 1200-Watt Modular Power Supply http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...7&Sku=ULT40323

LG WH12LS30K 12x Blu-Ray Burner http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...L49-1063%20OEM

Western Digital WD2001FASS Caviar Black Hard Drive - 2TB http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...Sku=TSD-2000WD

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT Operating System Software - OEM http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...2&Sku=M17-7302

That ends up being $2,284.83 but I realize I'm probably going way overboard on a few pieces. If anyone can help me streamline this or make alternate suggestions that would be great.

One thing I wasn't sure about was the power supply. The current one is 1200W with an 80+ Bronze rating, but they do have a 1050W with a 80+ Silver rating for $252.99 as opposed to the $298.99 for the 1200W. Would it be better to go with the smaller one with a higher rating? I can't actually see needing all 1200W.



As a sidenote, I was wondering how to condense my links and just have it appear as a word, rather than the whole url address.
/noob

Thank you for the help!

1: Liquid cooler is a waste of cash.
2: The 950 is essentially an outdated processor.
3: 1.2kW PSU is overkill. WAY overkill.
4: The x58 is designed for triple-channel memory configs. Legit triple configs are 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, 12 GB of RAM.

Recommend taking the money you don't waste and putting it into better components.

This link contains everything but your case. In the end you come out with a faster processor, faster GPU, appropriate memory config. All for about 150 less (which'll partly be taken by shipping).

Essentially:

i7 2600K (So you can do some light overclocking with the default cooler if the mood takes you.)
8GB of RAM (Plenty to start, and it's 2 4GB modules, so you can add 8GB more at a later date if you want. Picked low-latency "gaming" memory. Some money can be saved if you take the standard latency stuff. Have had VERY good luck with G.Skill modules. Every non-server unit I've built in the last 3 years has sported G.Skill.)
z68 Motherboard (This board is a combination of some of the better features of the H67 and P67 SandyBridge boards). I've actually gotten hands on one already and it works quite nicely.
SSD for OS disk and 2TB HD for storage (Will give you super-speedy OS loads and game/zone loads while still leaving tons of space for storing your electronic "junk".)
GTX 580 (Still the fastest single-GPU solution available.)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
BluRay burner with an 8MB cache as opposed to the 4MB cache. (Larger cache essentially means less chance of burning coasters with expensive media.)
800W CoolerMaster (Quiet PSU with 80Plus Gold Certification, Modular for less cable clutter)

Is this build "over the top"?

HELL YEAH!
ESPECIALLY for CoH. But this system should rock out on just about any game you throw at it for the next year or two (and still be a damn impressive system for several years after that).


Also to "condense your links".

• Type out the text you want to turn into a link first.
• Copy the URL from wherever you're going to link to.
• Highlight the text you're going to turn into a link.
• Click the link button and paste the link in there.
• Click OK.
• PROFIT!

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

I am going to disagree with Hyper on the Hydro cooler. I wouldn't just call it a waste of cash... it will keep even a stock processor cooler than the generic cooler that may come with your processor. The hydro series cooler also places the vast majority of the weight on the case and especially for a first build that is much more comforting than a brick hanging off your mobo. Many large after market coolers block taller RAM sticks from being used because the fancy heat spreads won't fit under the cooler, the hydro series in my experience has been a great product. Things to consider though the mounting to the CPU could be confusing so read and understand before installing... also the recommended direction for the fans pull air into the case not exhaust.

But with some minor tweaking you can get Hyper rig under 2k... I would suggest some thing along his build.

We will agree to disagree on the definition of waste. It is a shame that they won't be overclocking but... but, the hydro cooler will reduce the temperature even further than the stock cooler. The bounds don't need to be pushed to make it worth while.

It is not the best use of cash... correct. I think your build is on target without a CPU cooler... I even suggest following that guideline.

Waste I don't agree with,... adding it when you are not going to utilize it I don't agree with. The best use of cash... no. I am just saying its not a "waste" just because you are not pushing it to the limit. It will keep his stock CPU cooler. It is a good cooler that stays out of the way.

Thank you very much for the build Hyperstrike. I'm am liking the look of that a lot!

I was comparing prices between Newegg and Tigerdirect and found that currently for those parts that Newegg is cheaper. I've dealt with Tigerdirect before through buying a power supply but never had any dealings with Newegg. How are they for customer service, shipping, etc?

The reason I hadn't necessarily planned on overclocking was because I have had literally no experience with that before and while I'm sure there are some great resources out there on how to do it, it wasn't something I thought was absolutely necessary. Although the more I think about it, the more I may want to try my hand at it when I get the parts.

Thanks again Father Xmas, Hyperstrike and Dissolution for all the info! Very much appreciated.

And the cost difference between the K and non-K CPU is relatively trivial ($15 Canadian between the i7-2600 and i7-2600K at NewEgg.ca) so why not if you are building a tiny god of a gaming system?

I'm with Hyper about these self contained liquid cooling CPU heatsinks. This page from FrostyTech lists all the CPU heatsinks they tested, ordered from best to worst. Search for that Corsair (Hydro H50) and you will find 50 or so coolers that are better and a fair number of these are a lot cheaper and without the potential of leaking. Here's one for example.

Something that Hyper didn't point out with the Z68 chipset is Intel's new "use your SSD to automatically cache files from your main drive". Whether this would be a better configuration than having the SSD be your OS and current playing games drive I don't know.

The GTX 570 is roughly 15% slower than the GTX 580 but is over 30% less expensive (around $100 Canadian at NewEgg.ca counting the rebates). Something to think on.

The Z68 SSD caching option turns a regular hard drive into a ghetto hybrid, storing the most frequently accessed blocks. Unfortunately, it takes a couple of dry runs to really help, and you'll undo the work when you run something that the SSD hasn't cached. Considering how pricey the smaller SSDs are next to something like a 120GB Vertex 2, there is little incentive to go down this route, rather than getting a big SSD and managing what you install to it manually.

Yes, I'm know you configured an SSD for him Hyper, I was just pointing out a different way you can use it because it's a Z68 motherboard. The drawback naturally is it isn't as fast as a pure SSD and I would like to see some long term use studies to show how consistent the improvement is after a week of general use.

And since Hyper speced a 128MB SSD, it should take a while before something is bumped off of it due to lack of space. Tom's Hardware tested with a 20GB, 40GB and 256GB SSD, three pages starting here.

This should give you some data on SSD caching. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/i...ching-review/2

Thanks again for all the great info guys!
Takes a bit to digest it all and go through all the options but I think the PC build I'm looking at right now looks good.

I'll let you know how things look when I start getting my parts in.