21 replies to this topic

[Greight]

This is my first build that I will be doing for myself. I've upgraded older PCs throwing new parts in there so I know my way around. So far here is what I have:


Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $549.38
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2011-12-04 21:10 EST-0500)

I already have a case and PSU, I just don't have the rest of the parts. It's still a toss up between the Radeon HD 6870, GeForce GTX 560 Ti, or the GeForce GTX 460. It is basically coming down to never having a Radeon before, a more expensive NIVIDIA, and the less expensive NIVIDIA but less overall performance than the Radeon.

Also HDDs are insanely high in price right now (due to the flooding) so I'm on the lookout for something.

So what do I want to do with this rig? I want to something affordable but preforms well, has potential for upgrades down the line, and can handle streaming.

[Freelancer]

Those are solid specs, capable of running GW2 maxed surely.

Personally in regards to your questiom between the two graphics cards, I would wait for the 600 series cards due to be out at the end of this year/early next year, which will be before GW2 surely.

[Greight]

If the 600 series is just coming out, won't their cards be around $500+? I know the 580s are close to $500 now.

Or do you mean this more in a "wait till the new stuff comes out so the old gets a price drop" manner? If so, I could see the 560s dropping under $200 which would make my decision.

[AetherLemmie]

Yes I believe that would be the best course of action. That is what I did with my brother's computer as well. He got everything new but the HDD and the videocard, and is waiting for the price drops next year 2nd or 3rd quarter to get the last two. In the meantime I bought him a 120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD to tide him over in terms of where to install the OS and Skyrim.

XD It has now become a computer dedicated to skyrim, as I had an older HD4870 lying about unused. Skyrim still runs on ultra settings perfectly fine though, amazingly enough.

I also overspent on the cpu cooler though. I got him the Noctua NH-D14, just to be over the top xP.

[unff]

If you are going to go with a 560, grab one of the limited editions with the extra CUDA cores:

http://www.engadget....448-cuda-cores/

I wish I had waited a week before buying mine.

[Greight]

I actually have an old 8800 I could throw in temperarily and an old 160GB HDD I could reformat. Those would be temperary till I can pick up a cheap card.

Should I possibly get a small SSD to run stuff off and use the 160 HDD for music and such till prices come down? I know nothing about SSD but wouldn't want to spend more than $150.

[Aku]

Speaking of SDDs, would you recommend throwing your operating system on there?

[unff]

you should be fine using your 8800 pro and your current hdd in the interim assuming you aren't looking to play any new games you can't run currently.

Keep in mind that hard drives are going to be at a premium until at least summer due to the flooding in Thailand. This means that hdds and ssds are going to appear to be a lot closer in price until availability returns.

Watch for sales after the holidays / Q1 of next year and buy then.

Yes i would reccomend installing the os to an ssd.

[Greight]

Apparently Aku has an old 9800 he can lend me

On a side note, I know nothing about SSD and what brands to look for, etc. Any recommendations for a 60GB SSD?

[Freelancer]

Apparently Aku has an old 9800 he can lend me

On a side note, I know nothing about SSD and what brands to look for, etc. Any recommendations for a 60GB SSD?

Judge them by their speeds. A 60gb model won't offer much, you'd probably get more efficiency (speed/cost) out of a 128mb model at the very least.

I only recommend Crucial SSDs. There are others, but that's my 2 cents. I've installed literally over a hundred of them, I know their track record.

[unff]

Judge them by their speeds. A 60gb model won't offer much, you'd probably get more efficiency (speed/cost) out of a 128mb model at the very least.

I only recommend Crucial SSDs. There are others, but that's my 2 cents. I've installed literally over a hundred of them, I know their track record.

Don't like your Vertex?

The Crucial line is only a re-branded Micron SSD with better packaging to appeal to the retail customer. Since Micron only seems to be offering it's C400 series to enterprises through it's website, the Crucial is the only one you are going to find on sale through normal channels. Crucial runs Marvell controllers (C300 series uses the Marvell 9123, the m4 series uses the 9174) which offer good sustained read throughput but lag on any kind of sustained write (installing software, etc) whereas the OCZ SSDs use the SandForce controller which provides roughly 500MB/s in both directions.

If I were buying an SSD right at this second, I would put my money into a pair of Vertex 3 drives, and then throw them in a RAID0 configuration as soon as the fimware to do so comes available. Since I am not buying an SSD until some time next year (full disclosure: I own an OCZ 30GB SSD that is, sadly, only SATA-1 and slow compared to anything, even HDDs, that have been released within the last 3 years) I am free to wait until BiTMICRO releases their new controller, and OCZ straps them onto their drives.

My advice to you is to wait on a storage purchase until next year, but if you can't wait, make sure the drive you purchase is SATA 3, commonly branded as "SATA 6Gb/s".

[Freelancer]

I bought my vertexs (2) for speed in raid 0, like you said.

[Greight]

Does setting them up in RAID 0 make that much of a difference? They are SSDs with what I assume are good Read/Writes using SATA III

[unff]

Throwing two drives in an a striped array (raid-0) comes close to doubling the available throughput, since each drive can deliver a stripe at practically the same time. Granted, if you lose either drive, the array is toast and needs to be rebuilt, but I find that I replace drives long before they wear out or break, either for more storage or more speed. I already keep solid backups of crucial data, so losing the array just means I have to rebuild and reload. I figure I'd come close to 950MB/s with 2 Vertex 3 drives in a striped array, and while I really want to see that kind of speed sitting on my desk, I'm going to continue using my old SATA-1 RAID 0 HDD setup from a few years ago until either the pricing levels back out or the new SSD controllers force a price break on the SandForce controllers.

Although, I can almost guarantee you that they will announce SATA 4.0 about a month after I purchase something.

[Greight]

Although, I can almost guarantee you that they will announce SATA 4.0 about a month after I purchase something.

From what I know so far, this happens to anyone who buys any computer parts. Buyers remorse always sets in 6 months (if not sooner) after buying something when it becomes either dirt cheap or a new technology comes out and makes what you had a sad outdated mess.

Mainly, since HDD prices are sky high, I am looking into alternate methods to handle storage for the initial build of this computer (probably at the end of December-early January). I have an old 160GB HDD I can do a clean wipe on and in the place of a large HDD I planned on getting I am looking into a SSD alternate. Maximizing speed with SSDs using arrays is really something I don't want to do. I think just getting a good SSD would be more than enough speed I need without need to spend a small fortune.

Though please don't take this the wrong way. I do like the feedback and suggestions, they have gotten me to do some digging and thinking on my end which is invaluable. Thanks

[unff]

I stopped giving advice after the link to the new nVidia 560. Everything that followed was opinion.

[Freelancer]

I did it for the windows insta-on from depressing my power button. Ask lonnie. Turned off -> to count to 3-4 and i can login to teamlegacy.net. I had to also adjust my POST and bios to get the thing really moving.

Do i recommend it to others? NO. It costed me a lot of money, and that same money could have gone to better graphics card, more ram, or otherwise.

[Aku]

I did it for the windows insta-on from depressing my power button. Ask lonnie. Turned off -> to count to 3-4 and i can login to teamlegacy.net. I had to also adjust my POST and bios to get the thing really moving.

Do i recommend it to others? NO. It costed me a lot of money, and that same money could have gone to better graphics card, more ram, or otherwise.

That is ridiculously quick! I think that alone has sold me on getting a SSD in my next rig.

[Freelancer]

SSD's are there for loading times. Thats the easiest way I explain it. Load times with a good SSD are near non-existent.

[AetherLemmie]

Next thing we will see is Freelancer getting into the x79 cpu socket market, with their 4 channel ram and all that. will be funny when he updates his profile to show 64GB of ram =D. Totally not superfluous.