discussion Need advice on parts selection and purchasing

[Neutronium]

My PC is reaching it's 6th birthday. Unfortunately now it's showing signs of senility (eg: slow with new applications, hardware crashes randomly, the integrated LAN doesn't seem to work), so it's time for a new machine.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, gaming (current games, PS2 emulation), MATLAB, programming, surfing the net, watching TV shows and movies.


2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Originally I've decided $1200 before taxes, but I can add another $400 if need be.


3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Canada, most likely out of province and definitely NOT from TigerDirect.


4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

I'm a bit peeved with AMD/ATI concerning their poor fglrx drivers. I've used WD since my first build. I'll give EVGA a shot.


5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

The floppy disk might get cannibalized. I'll be using my 19" CRT. Still love that thing.


6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Veeediot has a similar build, but he already has bought his CPU for some odd reason.


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Not likely to overclock for the meantime.


8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

This month.


Here's the build. I've taken the prices off of pricecanada.com. Ill see if I can price compare with NCIX.com.

PC 2009

NZXT Tempest Black Case $ 130.00
PSU? $ 100.00
EVGA X58 Motherboard $ 356.29
EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 280 Video Card $ 349.00
Intel i7 920 CPU $ 352.24
RAM? $ 125.00
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA2 Hard drive $ 132.82
SUBTOTAL $ 1,545.35
TAXES (GST) 5%
TOTAL $ 1,622.62

Didn't bother to add the DVD-RW and the new keyboard and mouse yet.

So what should I get for the PSU and the RAM?

Thank you.

 

[Soultribunal]

PSU = NCIX.com - Buy PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad 750W ATX V2.2 EPS12V 24PIN SLI Active PFC Power Supply Black - S75QB In Canada.

Or

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair HX620W CMPSU-620HX ATX Triple 12V 50A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 2X PCI-E - CMPSU-620HX In Canada.

They are both really good PSU's, seeing as how you are staying away from Tiger ( I always suggest Ultra PSU's but I am learning as I go , and if you check a lot of peoples sigs they use the 620HX from Corsair.

As for the Case, I personally Love that one from NZXT. I find, like some other things, there is a love hate relationship with certain companies.
NZXT falls under this catagory. They are hit or miss , but I, in my opinion thing the Tempest is very nice. I use the Apollo myself.

I am going to break the mold though in my next suggestion.

Case = NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA - RC-690-KKN1 In Canada.

A good alternate if you consider it.

Best of luck, I like the rest of the gear you've picked.

ST

 

[JMCD]

I have and love the Tempest. As for the memory here's a link NCIX sent me this morning. NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D 4GB 2X2GB PC2-8500 DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-8500C5D In Canada.

 

[Neutronium]

Thanks Soultribunal, Ill consider the Silencer PSU. The case has an odd shape with non-oblique angles, but it seems to be well engineered. How loud are the fans though? Not that it matters, since I'm more of a headphonophile.

But what about the RAM? The max I can put in it is $200. Should run at 1.333 Ghz.

Also, how should I purchase this configuration. Should I buy it as a system for NCIX, or just a collection of the parts? Are there any discounts involved usually?

 

[Soultribunal]

JMCD = right on the money for the Case and Memory even in my opinion.
Like I said, nothing wrong with the Tempest, its a great case with lots of possibilities.

The fan noise isn't that bad in the one I saw, and played with. Run them on your MB's headers and life will be fine, or throw em in a Fan Controller for added versitility.

I use Corsair myself, and have never had an issue with it. So, if you can find some Dominator, go for it.

However, that link there has ddr2 Dual Channel .
For an i7 build, here is a good link at NCIX

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X3G1600C8D 3GB DDR3 3X1GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit - TR3X3G1600C8D In Canada.

It is 1.6mhz RAM but, correct me if I'm wrong anyone, it should work just fine for you.

ST

 

[Neutronium]

Hey JMCD, how subjectively loud is the Tempest?

JMCD = right on the money for the Case and Memory even in my opinion.
Like I said, nothing wrong with the Tempest, its a great case with lots of possibilities.

I've already grown to its design. I also like the Hiper Osiris.
One problem though, the

The fan noise isn't that bad in the one I saw, and played with. Run them on your MB's headers and life will be fine, or throw em in a Fan Controller for added versitility.

I'm not a really big fan (no pun intended) of fan controller because I feel this should be left to an automatic control system (thermostat) in case the case(...) gets too hot. Don't motherboards come equipped with this feature?

I use Corsair myself, and have never had an issue with it. So, if you can find some Dominator, go for it.

No problem, Ill try it out. I hear Mushkin is good but I'm not familiar with any of them

However, that link there has ddr2 Dual Channel .
For an i7 build, here is a good link at NCIX

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X3G1600C8D 3GB DDR3 3X1GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit - TR3X3G1600C8D In Canada.

It is 1.6mhz RAM but, correct me if I'm wrong anyone, it should work just fine for you.

ST

Oooh that seems like good RAM. Thank you.

 

[Soultribunal]

Hey, I've always believed in sticking with what you like. I grew to the Apollo even though it had its flaws. The Tempest is a fine case.
Yeah MB's Ramp up speeds in the PWM Fans on the CPU's and Fans on the headers as needed. Although, call me different, but I always need the 'feel' of control so I like having a physical unit take care of that for me.
Again, personal taste.

Mushkin Memory is used by 40% of the population here with many many success stories, on there Redline and XP lines of Memory. SO by all means, I am sure you could use that as well, and others would agree with that decision.

Out of curiosity, what are you using to cool the CPU?

Regards,
ST

 

[The Notorious SMALL]

If you've got the cash switch the GTX 280 with a GTX 295

 

[Neutronium]

Hey, I've always believed in sticking with what you like. I grew to the Apollo even though it had its flaws. The Tempest is a fine case.
Yeah MB's Ramp up speeds in the PWM Fans on the CPU's and Fans on the headers as needed. Although, call me different, but I always need the 'feel' of control so I like having a physical unit take care of that for me.
Again, personal taste.

That's what manual overrides are for on thermostats. That feeling of control when you need it. :bleh:

Mushkin Memory is used by 40% of the population here with many many success stories, on there Redline and XP lines of Memory. SO by all means, I am sure you could use that as well, and others would agree with that decision.

Hmmm... I just noticed that those corsair 1600 are 1 GB sticks. I think I would rather go with the 2GB x 3 arrangement at the 1333 Mhz clock. Not likely to overclock the ram.

Out of curiosity, what are you using to cool the CPU?

not sure at all.


The Notorious SMALL:

Can't switch to GTX 295, no cash for that. But I guess I can add one on later via SLI, right?

 

[Soultribunal]

No worries if you want to go the 2gig x 3 arrangement, was just searching out options.

I would concern yourself with finding a decent CPU Cooler for that LGA1366 Chip however. I've never been a fan of trusting the Stock Cooler with anything I own. I am sure most people will agree with me that its the first thing they decided after picking up a Chip/MB combo.

For the Fan/Thermostat Control. For me, I have used INTEL boards my whole life, and none of them let you play with those controls in either the BIOS or 3rd Party Software (at least not in my experience, I could be wrong) so I used Hardware to work around that.

NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin XP XP3-12800 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit - 998681 In Canada.

Thats a good Mushkin Kit , 3 x 2gig XP Brand, but it is $100 over what you wanted to spend on Memory.

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit - TR3X6G1600C8D In Canada.

That is the Same in a Corsair Kit. In the end, performance wise the difference between those two kits is $15, I would get the Muskin (this comming from a Corsair Fan no less, just a lot of feedback from members here). The Memory Clock is the same, the Timings are the same, but if you ever want to sometime in the future Overclock the lot, I believe the Mushkin is better for the task.

My two cents as always,

Good Luck
ST