Parts For First Build

[Zweihänder]

Hello, I was taking a look at the guides for building a PC and I chose some parts that could perhaps be good but I wanted some outside opinions. Here is what I have selected:

Chassis: Cooler Master HAF 932
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI LE
Processor: Intel i7 930
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 5850
Memory: Patriot Memory Extreme Performance DDR3 6GB
Power Supply: Corsair HX750
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB HDD
Optical Drive: LG Internal SATA Drive
Cooling: Corsair H50

So what do you guys think? Would it be decent? Any Change? After a bad experience with a custom PC manufacturer I decided it would be best if I build one myself, that and also I've been wanting to learn more about PC hardware and stuff. I am planning in the future adding a second 5850 and Crossfire it, will the Corsair 750 PSU be enough? or should I go with the 850W instead? I will be overclocking my CPU to around 3.2-3.5 GHz.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

That's an excellent build with great parts. EVGA has awesome support for their products and Corsair is always my PSU choice. That build would do you good for years to come.

The Corsair 750 is plenty for 5850's crossfired no need to get the 850.

[Capt. Fozdike]

Yep that looks excellent. You have some great parts there.

[mrcrusty]

The only possible issue I could see is you're not ordering from newegg like everyone else.

[Capt. Fozdike]

Perhaps he's not a Yank?

[Zweihänder]

OK sweet, thanks for the side info guy. I was planning to order them from Newegg but since Micro center carries the parts then i figure it should come out to the same price since prices are similar. I couldn't find a reference card 5850 on Newegg from a company that seemed to have good customer support so I found the XFX 5850 on tigerdirect which is the piece of the PC that i'll have to order online since Micro Center doesn't carry any 5850s.

[mrmouth]

Tax is always sticky, but if it works, it is great to have a Micro center nearby. The prices they sell CPUs at might actually put you out ahead even when factoring in tax. Although, the 930 doesn't appear to be one of those.

Unless it is a personal preference, I would go with the Antec twelve hundred, and it is a bit cheaper. The EVGA is sexy, but I would highly recommend the Gigabyte GA X58A UD3. Best bang/buck X58 board at the moment. And a LOT of bang/buck.

And yeah, Micro Center is actually quite a bit higher in price than Newegg, with the few things I have looked at. Ive had $1400 worth of parts sent at one time from Newegg. So dont worry about that. You can usually find all you need with free shipping. And Ive dealt with their customer service numerous times. Once you make sexy time with Newegg, they wont forget. Even price matching which they 'dont do'.

All the 5850's at Newegg are from reputable manufacturers. And a few are a bit cheaper than tigerdirect, which isnt a surprise. XFX is nice for the warranty (which I have), but they dont perform as well as the Asus 5850's.

[Zweihänder]

Hmm, so how does the Air flow in the Antec 1200 compare to the HAF 932? Which would you recommend for the parts I'm planning on?

As for the motherboard, would the Gigabyte really be better then the EVGA? besides Gigabyte having USB 3.0 which would be better, long lasting quality?

I really would prefer a reference model card 5850 (The ones with the blower fan) instead of the ones that Newegg currently have, with the different styles of cooling since I don't like so much that the heat doesn't get blown out of the back of the case. They do have 2 cards like that though, a VisionTek and a Diamond but from reading a couple of reviews on the VisionTek one I'm not gonna risk it and the Diamond is great and all but I would feel safer with an XFX, Asus or HIS but they just don't happen the reference model for the cards. They used to have a HIS one but I'm not sure what happened, it just says Currently Unavailable. The difference is only about 10-20$ at most so it's passing for a better warranty.

[mrmouth]

The 1200 is generally considered the best for air, of the widely available cases. And really, I saw the 932 again just this week while at a CompUSA (formerly TigerDirect), and it is just cheap. Looks cheap, feels cheap. IMO.

As far as mobos, a lot goes into it. I wanted an EVGA board when I built my i7-920 rig in spring of '09, but there were better options at that time. I went with Asus because they simply do the little things better, and Gigabyte is much the same. If you splurge on any of the top tier mobos, from any manufacturer, they are pretty much all of the same build quality. But there are still architecture/engineering differences. Asus and Gigabyte seem to really make the most of that. They dont cut corners.

Everything down to signal lines, which are the actual white lines (typically white) on the printed circuit board (PCB) that run to components themselves.

So in this class of board, there really is no sense in not going USB 3.0, considering the Gigabyte is less. But the Gigabyte is also packed with features. It is a 8 layer PCB (most are 6), with some great engineering. Just a very good board, and a steal when you factor in the price. It's big brother is roughly $150 more, and has almost every feature that board does. This is the board I would buy if I were in the $200 price range.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...gbps,2614.html

[Zweihänder]

From looking at reviews I'm probably gonna go with the Antec 1200, but I would rather take the EVGA motherboard. Thanks for the info though, much appreciated.

[mrcrusty]

A shame you're sticking to the EVGA MB. EVGA is a great brand, but I'd personally go for this Asus board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131641

[Zweihänder]

Oh man, Asus, everything from Asus I owned has always lasted me. I would definitely go wit the Asus, if only in Micro Center it wasn't $45 more than the EVGA. I'll have to think about it though since I have heard great things about Asus and that motherboard seems better and future proof, which is what I want since i don't wanna have to change motherboards a year from now.

[mrmouth]

That board was reviewed in the article I linked to. Accroding to them, the Gigabyte offers more, for less. But I'm a fan of Asus too, so I might make the same decision. And actually, the Newegg price is damn fine.

And come to think of it, if you want to run an H50, the Gigabyte will be an issue, as the H50 will block the first pci-e slot. Where on the Asus, it is much lower.

[Zweihänder]

Hey guys i got a question? Which would you prefer, GTX470 or HD5850?
Based on performance, features, drivers, heat and bang for buck which would be better? currently Micro Center has a 5850priced in the same range as the 470 so Price is not a factor. Also I tried finding benchmarks of the 5850 vs the 470 on Empire and Napoleon Total War and couldn't find squat, anyone know where i could find some?

[mrcrusty]

Hey guys i got a question? Which would you prefer, GTX470 or HD5850?
Based on performance, features, drivers, heat and bang for buck which would be better? currently Micro Center has a 5850priced in the same range as the 470 so Price is not a factor. Also I tried finding benchmarks of the 5850 vs the 470 on Empire and Napoleon Total War and couldn't find squat, anyone know where i could find some?

Performance: GTX 470
Features: GTX 470
Drivers: GTX 470
Heat: HD 5850 by a long mile
Bang/Buck: HD 5850 (GTX 470's generally are quite a bit more expensive)

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...=950&pageid=14

Closest I could find, it's GTX 480 v HD 5870, it won't give you accurate performance for the GTX 470 or HD 5850, but it will give you a good indication of their performance relative to each other.

[Zweihänder]

Hmmm, Well the price are even actually on MC so the only thing keeping me on the 5850 side is the heat produced by the 470, would the temperatures be fine in the Antec 1200? Also since those cards are more power hungry, would the Corsair HX750 still be able to handle 2 470s in SLI in case I decide to add another in the future (I will be overclocking CPU to around 3.2GHz, but not the cards)?

[mrcrusty]

Hmmm, Well the price are even actually on MC so the only thing keeping me on the 5850 side is the heat produced by the 470, would the temperatures be fine in the Antec 1200? Also since those cards are more power hungry, would the Corsair HX750 still be able to handle 2 470s in SLI in case I decide to add another in the future (I will be overclocking CPU to around 3.2GHz, but not the cards)?

You should be fine on both counts, especially if you setup your own fan profiles.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

If the prices are the same then I'd go with the GTX470.