Building a new rig..

[Luse]

Hey guys, I've been pondering about building a new rig for a while now and I have decided on a prelim setup.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.563645

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591

 

What do you guys think, I Really am trying to stay under 700 being a college student and all. So please if you guys have any ideas or suggestions, throw them this way!

 

Thank you for looking!

[Fabri91]

It looks to be quite a nice system for the given budget, however I'm not sure about the PSU...I would take a unit from another maker, but that is because I don't really know Zephyr as far as PSUs are concerned...a modular 650W from Corsair might be considered.

[Luse]

It looks to be quite a nice system for the given budget, however I'm not sure about the PSU...I would take a unit from another maker, but that is because I don't really know Zephyr as far as PSUs are concerned...a modular 650W from Corsair might be considered.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Fabri91,

 

I am wondering if it's really worth if for the quad core? Or maybe just to stick with a dual core CPU but go for a higher speed?

[Pyroflash]

Quad core for future proofing, and go with AMD, they are cheaper. Thermaltake and corsair are probably the best as far as PSU's are concerned. ASUS for Motherboard, Corsair for RAM, WD for HDD. EVGA is the best GFX card manufacturer, and the optical drive really doesn't matter. Mine was $14 and it works just fine.

[Luse]

Any Suggestions? Thanks for the info!

[Udat]

For optical drives?

 

Sure; tried and proven: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

 

If you can squeeze one of theese into that bugdet, I'd highly recommend it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600094002%20600107147&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20560%20Ti%20%28Fermi%29

Edited February 25, 2011 by Udat

[KaspeR32]

Quad core for future proofing, and go with AMD, they are cheaper.

 

 

I think that is a great setup for the money.

 

Depending on how fast you want to get it though, the i3-2300 should be arriving soon which will compete directly with the AMD X4 955 and for a similar price.

 

But again..

 

"Despite its position in the pecking order, Phenom II X4 955 offers the best gaming value. It is a true quad-core processor with a sizable 6 MB L3 cache. But even more impressive at this price is its unlocked multiplier. From our experience, the great majority of Phenom II X4 955 processors can run just as fast as the Phenom II X4 975 with a simple BIOS multiplier change from 16x to 18x. That's an easy way to put this $140 processor on par with a stock ~$210 Core i5-760 when it comes to gaming."

 

Can't go wrong with your setup!

[power5]

That is a good start. I would not pick up the 460 though. Watch the sales. 6950 2gb have been hitting $230. Hell yesterday NE had a 5870 2gb eyefinity 6 for $180. Both of those should destroy the 460. When you say your budget is $700 does that include an OS and monitor? What components do you need?

 

$140 955

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

 

$69 MSI 770 atx

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290

 

$79 DDR3 1333mhz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

 

$250 6950 2gb

No link, wait for a sale post on www.hardforum.com

 

$79 Antec PSU 750w

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026

 

$39 500gb Seagate HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

 

$20 Optical

 

Total $675ish and will blow my computer away.

 

If you have a few extra bucks you could even run an x6.

[Luse]

That all sounds great, except for the video card. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

No ATI, Their drivers are pure shit, and have been. I agree with what you say, the hardware is far ahead, but their drivers are lacking and it's the only weak point, and it's bad when the weak point is such a strong one.

 

Anything compareable within price range for Nvidia?

 

 

That is a good start. I would not pick up the 460 though. Watch the sales. 6950 2gb have been hitting $230. Hell yesterday NE had a 5870 2gb eyefinity 6 for $180. Both of those should destroy the 460. When you say your budget is $700 does that include an OS and monitor? What components do you need?

 

$140 955

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

 

$69 MSI 770 atx

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290

 

$79 DDR3 1333mhz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

 

$250 6950 2gb

No link, wait for a sale post on www.hardforum.com

 

$79 Antec PSU 750w

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026

 

$39 500gb Seagate HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

 

$20 Optical

 

Total $675ish and will blow my computer away.

 

If you have a few extra bucks you could even run an x6.

[KaspeR32]

No ATI, Their drivers are pure shit, and have been. I agree with what you say, the hardware is far ahead, but their drivers are lacking and it's the only weak point, and it's bad when the weak point is such a strong one.

 

I have had the ATI 5770 1g for sometime now and it's served me very well. From WoW and BF:BC2 to DCS Black Shark and A-10c. But I understand you being hesitant. Some people have just had better luck with Nvida, I've had good luck with both.

 

Anyway,

 

I think a few other people suggested this but the 560 Ti is around $250.

 

And I don't know much about the ~$189 GTX 460's, but I would assume waiting for a good deal on a 560 Ti would be worth the wait.

[Luse]

I have heard very good reviews on the 460 Series, And at the price of 130, It's a steal. My budget is 700-750, But if I can save money and build the same system, then it's worth it because books aren't cheap! :thumbup:

 

Do you have any idea on how long it would take for the Ti to drop down below lets say 170?

 

I have had the ATI 5770 1g for sometime now and it's served me very well. From WoW and BF:BC2 to DCS Black Shark and A-10c. But I understand you being hesitant. Some people have just had better luck with Nvida, I've had good luck with both.

 

Anyway,

 

I think a few other people suggested this but the 560 Ti is around $250.

 

And I don't know much about the ~$189 GTX 460's, but I would assume waiting for a good deal on a 560 Ti would be worth the wait.

[EtherealN]

One note on the 460: I'd caution against going for the 768MB vRAM versions. It seems most games are taking as standard the 512->1GB step, and I have seen some serious performance impacts between 768MB 460's and their 1GB cousins. (In the realm where the 768 one wasn't really playable in those games, while the 1GB did pretty good with them.)

 

170 dollars for the 560Ti's will probably take a couple months at least, but in my opinion they are definitely worth it. To me it seems to sit right in the sweetspot of value for money. (Which is why I bought one for myself. :) )

[power5]

You can buy what you choose, I was just giving suggestions. The reference 6950 can be unlocked to 6970 specs and be OC in most instances. So for the steal price of ~$250 you get a 2gb 6970. 560 and 6950 are about the same price and performance. Both can overclock pretty well and improve performance significantly. No idea what your monitor setup is, but I doubt you will be using eyefinity. So, if you do not want ATI in your setup, grab the 560 when they get to your budget price. If you need to save a few bucks, you could drop down to a propus AMD CPU. This is the athlon 2 x4 which has no L3 Cache and a 3ghz clock. its not a BE so OC will be a little harder but I would still bet you can get to 970 speeds. Depends on cooling. That $40 you save can be put towards the GPU.

[Luse]

Thanks for the info Ether,

 

Do you have any suggestions besides the 560, I have very limited time and it's rough enough trying to pay for this and tuition etc!

 

 

One note on the 460: I'd caution against going for the 768MB vRAM versions. It seems most games are taking as standard the 512->1GB step, and I have seen some serious performance impacts between 768MB 460's and their 1GB cousins. (In the realm where the 768 one wasn't really playable in those games, while the 1GB did pretty good with them.)

 

170 dollars for the 560Ti's will probably take a couple months at least, but in my opinion they are definitely worth it. To me it seems to sit right in the sweetspot of value for money. (Which is why I bought one for myself. :) )

[EtherealN]

A 1GB 460 would be the other suggestion. I can't really recommend anything from the "red team" in good faith since I'm not familiar enough with them.

[revalence]

If you don't need a very powerful GPU, why don't you go for a GTS 450? Good reviews, and good price too.

[Wolve]

Dropping my two cents in here, too.

 

The Phenom II 955BE is definately worth its money, I´ve got one running at 3,8 Ghz with a Scythem Mugen 2 as a cooler, on the same voltage as on 3,2 ghz. Its running at 1.375 V. So it delivers a lot of bang for the buck. The 460 SE? Isn´t that the Slow Edition? I would not take a SE version. The 560Ti delivers a lot more performance, some of the Members in the german LockOn Forum own those and they have been full of praise for them.

 

The Big Question about OC is the Options of the Mainboard and the cooling abilities of the Case. And a good Cooler, too. So if you want to overclock, and owning an 955 BE there is no reason not too..........;) you should put in a good cooler like the scythe Mugen 2. The fans of the case seem a bit weak too. Oh and forget about Fans in the side-panel, they only disrupt the airflow. So what are you willing to spend on the Case? How should it look? Weight? Windowkit or no windowkit? Should it look rather reserved, classy elegant or can it look more extreme?

 

I would guess LianLi is out of the Question;) . Another tipp is to always replace the fans in a a Case, they are rarely really good. Usually its not wise to buy the cheapest case, they only give you trouble while building...........that does not mean you have to buy a case for 200-300 Bucks though! :) I have a slightly modified PC-7FNW (window Kit and the topcover with 2 x140mm, Lighting, different fans and a Fan Controller) so i did not buy an ultra expensive LianLi

 

So how about the Antec Three hundred? its just 20 Bucks more, question though is the noise level of the fans. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

 

A Fan Controller is something you might want to plan in as a later addition, its very nice to turn the fans silent while working, i use the Scythe Kaze Master Pro, great value. Not the most expensive but its got good features for the price and its not to flashy.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Wolve
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