View Full Version : new build input plz
hey everyone, i've been reading threw this forum for quite sometime now, and finally thought i should register. so hello to all :) but on to why i'm posting
I'm looking to do some upgrading in the next little bit here, my current setup is showing its age lately and plan on turning it into a server here at home.
current specs:
amd 64 3700 sandy w/ zalman 9500
2gb corsair val select pc3200
evga 6800gt w/zalman 700cu
asus a8nsli prem
2x120gb raid 0 (going to turn into non raid)
1x300gb storage
going to add another drive or 2 for storage
I'm looking to spend around 2500$ CDN. going over that isnt that much of a deal, just not a huge amount. I do want something that will last a while, and hopefully be upgradeable(hopefully pick up quad core later on this year)
but anyway the parts that i've been looking at picking up are:
silverstone tj09 case
evga's 680i motherboard (is the striker worth it?)
intel c2d e6600
which would be a better cooler for the cpu AC freezer 7, or the zalman 9700, what about the tuniq tower from sunbeam?
corsair dominator 8500c5's (any other suggestions?)
probly going to go with 2 150GB raptors raid 0
video card i'm torn between
i've been looking at the 7950gt ko to use until some more dx10 cards come out(see what happens when ATI release's their r600's)
or going full out and picking up a 8800gtx to last me a while
psu (been looking at 3 different ones)
corsair 620hx (if i get the 7950)
silverstone zeus 750w
silverstone OP 1000w (if i decide to go sli later on with the 8800's)
any suggestions/changes you would have would be great.
also i've been contemplating watercooling but have no idea where to start with looking for parts(i have read the watercooling thread but there's just to much info and selection to go from). if anyone would be able to give a short list for some good parts to gget me started for the setup listed above, it would help a lot :)
bloodbanger
01-02-2007, 04:42 PM
SILverstone zeus FTW!!!
Striker is imo not worth it,the Evga board is in the same league and is cheaper
As a cooler try the scythe infinity you have the budget for it..otherwise go for the Arctic freezer:as good as the zalman for half the price
for the rest a nice rig:-)
welcome to the forums btw and a happy 2007
hey, thanks for the warm welcome and the input :)
are there any known issues with the scythe infinity/evga/TJ09 for sizes?
For the cooler:
The freezer 7 is the best bang for your bucks but it will trail the Zalman as the zalman will trail the tuniq the infinity is way to big (or I say giant) so I don’t recommended it + tuniq is better any way
Now to the memory:
I just took a look at NCIX and they got lots off good modules but it depend on one thing OC or NO OC
Mobo and PSU:
Exactly as what bloodbanger said
GPU:
Choice depends on how long you gona keep it (7950GT) and how easy you gona sell it
thanks kemo, i havent found to many sites in canada that carry the tuniq
is there anythign else that you guys see that needs to be swapped?
bloodbanger
01-03-2007, 03:40 PM
silverstone OP 1000w (if i decide to go sli later on with the 8800's)-->
really not necessary,even the 750 watt is a bit too much for Sli...
if you can't find the Tunic,stick to the arctic freezer,is also a pretty good cooler
memory is great but for me it's too expensive...and i don't really think you need the 8500...even a 6400/7200 is good enough
you really want a 680 board?there are good other boards...:Intel BadAxe2,Abit AWD9 max(could be wrong on this name,so don't shoot me)
I wish you a lot of fun with your rig,mine is almost the same,but i have to wait some more weeks(my tax-payment is on the way and i fear it lol)
yea i've been looking at the memory.. it is a little much but i dont want to skimp out on this setup as with my last one.. i'm getting paid quite a bit more with my new job..
mobo... what i really want is a board that will be stable and not have to many issues.. whether it be the 680i's the BAD(woops)axe or what not.. i havent taken a look that closely at the BAD(woops)axe, mainly been looking between the different 680i boards that are out..
the one combo i've been looking at has the evga board and 2gb corsair dominator pc26400 c4 for 659$ CDN..
would the timings from the 8500c5 make it faster then the 6400c4's? i keep reading posts about mem timings and keep getting confused as a donkey licking a turtle...
bloodbanger
01-03-2007, 08:11 PM
:eek: a donkey licking a turtle?i have a mental picture now and it's frightening:eek:
i'm a bit a noob on memory too,and i'm also confused about cas and memtimings and steppings,but i think that a Cas4 is better then A Cas5...
About the 680i:untill now they're not what they promised to be:quite a lot of them are pretty unstable,lots of Bsod's,weird problems...So for now i think it's best to go for another one...Like The BadAxe(and not battleaxe lol):ROCK stable,pretty good overclocker...
But as always it comes down to this:Waht you'd expect from a mobo and what's your budget...If you want it all go for the Striker Extreme if you need all the bling,otherwise go for a cheaper(and This does not mean a less good!!!)mobo
nn_step
01-03-2007, 08:17 PM
how long do you expect this rig to last and are you open to alternate upgrade paths?
What is your primary use for the Rig?
my bad on the battleaxe.. i was think about my gf's mo..... nevermind.. so anyways back to the build..
basically this machine is going to be for gaming mostly and i want stablity(OC'in or not) firstly, options to upgrade to quadcore later this year hopefully when the newer QX cores come out... basically i just want something that wont cost me like 4k.. i want a sensible upgrade..
hopefully with the components they'll last me mostly around 2 years or so.. like my current build..
i want to go with the raptors for some good speeds.. dont need a huge amount of storage(as i'm turning my current build into a file server). and scsi is way to much to setup at this point in time for me...
case wise i want something with good airflow and possibility of going water cooling.. been looking at the CM stacker 830 and SS TJ09 and TJ07.
so all i want is a good quality case, stable compnents either the 680i if its worth it or look at the badaxe board.. memory 2gb's for now.. till vista becomes worthwhile.. video card.. i think i might go with just the 7950 for now and wait till the price drops come for the 8800's (but we'll see what happens i might bite the bullet). what about the lga775 xeon's that are coming out, are they worth checking out?
enough of my ramblings.. if i make senes. then great.. if not.. sorry i'm on about 2 hrs of sleep and its 2am(weeeeeeeeeee spinny chair!)
also..
sorry about the donkey... he's just curious..
nn_step
01-04-2007, 12:14 AM
my advice then is to cut the amount of money you are planning to spend in half, which gives you more than enough for a good build now. Since so many things are going to have serious improvements in the next 9 months my suggestion is get Dual core (AMD or Intel, it doesn't really matter) a X1900XT, 2GB of Ram, and any case you want with a good PSU
so something along the lines of
EVGA Nforce 680I SLI Motherboard & Corsair Dominator 2GB Kit TWIN2X2048-6400C4D DDR2 Memory Combo http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21481&vpn=EVGA680i&TWIN2X2048-C4D&manufacture=CORSAIR
or
Intel D975XBX2 ATX LGA775 Conroe 975X
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21558&vpn=BOXD975XBX2KR&manufacture=Intel
intel C2D e6600 http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=19144&vpn=BX80557E6600&manufacture=Intel
some 6400c4/c5 2gb kit from OCZ/corsair
7950gtko from evga http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20665&vpn=512-P2-N635-AR&manufacture=eVGA
and say the tj09 and SS 750ZF
I don’t know what you have been smoking lately nn_step but the X1900XT is not an option at all even the 7950GT is not an option there is no point of spending 316CAD on such a card unless you can sell it for good price in 2-3months
Best thing to do is to add 160CAD and get E-VGA 8800GTS
For the memory the best PC6400 for overclocking at NCIX
Team PC6400 C4
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20991&vpn=TXDD2048M800HC4DC&manufacture=Team%20Group%20Inc.
don’t want overclocking just get the OCZ platinum
bloodbanger
01-04-2007, 05:33 AM
my advice then is to cut the amount of money you are planning to spend in half, which gives you more than enough for a good build now. Since so many things are going to have serious improvements in the next 9 months my suggestion is get Dual core (AMD or Intel, it doesn't really matter) a X1900XT, 2GB of Ram, and any case you want with a good PSU
and so we can wait forever...and that's is now something we don't wanna do...i'm already holding my purchase back for some months now...first there was C2D,then there was the 8800,now there are the first quadcores...I'm sorry but i don't have the eternal life..that' is one of the reasons we want a killer-machine now and not later...:D
hardware is impossible to keep up with lately,and i for one cannot afford a 6-monthly upgrade...
and so we can wait forever...and that's is now something we don't wanna do...i'm already holding my purchase back for some months now...first there was C2D,then there was the 8800,now there are the first quadcores...I'm sorry but i don't have the eternal life..that' is one of the reasons we want a killer-machine now and not later...:D
hardware is impossible to keep up with lately,and i for one cannot afford a 6-monthly upgrade...
His point is you got 3000$ today get a good PSU and whatever storage you need , 2GB of ram etc then for the CPU any dual core will do so you spend 1500$ today in six months add another 500$ and so on
We love to change parts a lot in XS
nn_step
01-04-2007, 05:43 AM
His point is you got 3000$ today get a good PSU and whatever storage you need , 2GB of ram etc then for the CPU any dual core will do so you spend 1500$ today in six months add another 500$ and so on
We love to change parts a lot in XS
Yep, you also have to remember the graphics performance that $500 can buy now is far more than $500 could have bought 9 months ago.
well i know things are always changing.. and lately.. very rapidly.. thats why i love being in IT.. but anyways..
i'm probly going to pick up a set of xtremeteam 6400c4-4-4-10's from ncix instead of those corsair's..
also i'm probly going to get the intel badaxe.. from what i've been reading its very stable for oc'ing..
are there any known issues with the badaxe and the team extreme's?
i'm probly going to pick up the 8800gtx just a single for the time being.. it should be enough i think(yes sarcasm :P )
i'm just going to get a wd 320gb drive or 2 for now.. then pick up some raptors in the next bit..
so my final build is going to be
SS TJ09 case
SS 750 ZF psu
intel badaxe mobo
intel e6600 C2D
evga 8800gtx
2x1gb team extreme PC2 6400 4-4-4-10
2x320gb WD 16mb sata2's
i hope that should suffice for the next little while..
anything wrong with that for a build?
bloodbanger
01-04-2007, 03:19 PM
seems a pretty nice rig,almost the same as mine in a couple of weeks,only i have another case...:cool:
So when you start overclocking,give me some feedback:toast:
PS:and don't forget to register your Evga card on their site,if you do it within 30 days after purchase you'll get a lifetime warranty!!
[XC] hipno650
01-04-2007, 03:38 PM
that is a nice rig man!!! but the seagate 320GB are better to get because of perpendicular recording tech. up to 20% improvement over other 320's and they also have the 16mb cache. but other than that it locks killer. would you be will to run WCG on it to help beat cancer and aids?
ill let you guys know how it turns out and what i get it up to..
umm i probly wont run it on my new build but ill take a look at setting it up on my server and let that chug away all day.. if thatll work better :)
does anyone know of any issues with the badaxe board with raid?.. i know the 680i was having a few, just wondering if the intel has any. thanks :)
k guys i'm in a predicament.. yea i hate spelling.. but anyways..
my buddy just got a x2 5200 and a crosshair and it's damn fast and running cool, he has a zalman 9700nt (black w/ green led) i'm just wondering if the e6600 would be that much quicker over the xs 5200.. from my build i had previously planned i'd only be switching the mobo and cpu to the x2 5200 and the crosshair..
his cpu is runing at 32 idle and 42 load.. has a cm stacker for case.. isnt OC'd tho just running stock..
so Intel
SS TJ09 case
SS 750 ZF psu
intel badaxe mobo
intel e6600 C2D
evga 7950gt ko
2x1gb team extreme PC2 6400 4-4-4-10
2x320gb WD 16mb sata2's
OR AMD
SS TJ09
SS 750 ZF
Asus Crosshair
AMD x2 5200
evga 7950gt ko
2x1gb team extreme PC2 6400 4-4-4-10
2x320gb WD 16mb sata2's
justin_c
01-11-2007, 08:45 PM
ive been recommending people who want to build a high end rig now, to cut their choices down. there is alot of new stuff being released. do away with the tj09 and striker. go with gskill and abit in9 680i. e6600 is fine. silverstone zeus 850w. 8800 gts or a x1900 if you can find one. x1950 pro is fine too. 7950 gt. i think, in my opinion, 680i and g80 releases were a flop. EDIT: just to stop the flaming, im talking stability/drivers/usability wise. not performance wise.
woops.. i shoulda read those builds more closely.. i'm going with a 7950gtko instead of the 8800gtx.