Advice on new Build

[Zild]

Hi all,
In the process of building a new PC.
This is what i have so far

Asus P6x58D Premium
i7 930
Thermaltake contac-29 cooler
6g ddr3 1600 Patriot Gamer
WD SATA 1T hdd
Asus DVDRW
Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Nvidia 285gtx

Haven't decided on a case/psu yet, any suggestions?

Also, looking for an SSD...yet to decide but i'm leaning towards an intel x25m.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers!
Andy.

 

[Slinz]

Depends on what size SSD you want?
A friend has an OCZ Agility 2 and swears they are the best. Check this out:

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/the-best-hard-drives-and-ssds-for-your-money-summer-2010/

 

[fieldy107]

If your looking for a decent case/psu I would recommend antec cases and power supplies, even their cheaper cases are still built properly and solid. I wont use cheapy cases anymore since I had problems with a couple of them shorting out motherboards. Specs for your build look good though, good choice on asus motherboard I have always found them to be reliable.

 

[Pants]

Thought about an AMD build with a X6 processor? What will it be used for? PSU Corsair around 750 watts and case a Fractal R2, both would be nice and quiet.

 

[king_panther]

I'll be watching this thread with interest.
My current home PC is pushing 8 years now!

 

[Zild]

Not really keen on an amd, I know it has it's benefits etc. but I'm sticking with what I know.
Antec cases have always struck me as overpriced, I have no basis for that opinion. Thx for the suggestions, I'll do some reading!
Ocz ssd looks good. Am after a 128g just to run the OS and whatever flavour of the month game I'm playing :-

 

[VOLK]

Your CPU and mobo are solid choices.

Case: Cooler Master 690 Advanced II. Brilliant case. Lots of mesh, great airflow, dust filters. One of the removable HDD trays is built for an SSD straight outta the box. Can be optioned with a side window if you're so inclined. Lots of space for fans and radiators if you plan on making serious heat. http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/cooler_master_cm690ii_advanced/ Reasonably priced too. Won't fit Radeon HD 5970 as they're the size of a small Norwegian village.

HSF: Noctua NH-D14. One of the best air-coolers on the market, seem to beat the competition in most reviews. Funky colour fans have acoustically tuned blades to reduce noise. http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/noctua_nhd14/

I went OCZ for SSD, Vertex 2 60gb as I was had somewhat of a reduced budget. Fits OS and a few games with space to spare. SSD is a must have for any new builds, sacrifice other things if you need to. Installing and launching applications in seconds is worth every cent.

GTX 285 isn't directx 11, I'd opt for a pair of GTX 460s if you wanna stay with Nvidia otherwise a pair of Radeon HD 5850s. What's your budget?

If you only ever intend on a single card with single GPU, have a look at the Radeon 5870, I'm pretty impressed with mine so far!

As for PSU, once you've decided on all your hardware, chuck it all in here: http://www.antec.outervision.com/getCpuInfo?cpuID= to find out what your rig is going to consume. Most shops recommend over kill like 1000+ watt PSUs just because you're going to run two video cards when in reality a 750 could do the job just fine.

 

[king_panther]

Slightly in keeping with this thread, what's the lifespans on the SSDs? Seeing as they're being mainly used to hold OS, normally on a standard drive there's a lot of disk thrashing to be expected. Don't know how that situation presents when SSDs are present that's all.

 

[bradc]

I agree about the GTX285, it is a generation old now. Get a GTX460 or a pair of them, also make sure you get the 1gb models.

I like the Vertex 2 as well, I've got one of them as well.

For PSU, I'm a big fan of corsair, something around 750w or so will be fine for your build.

What is the price difference between the 930 and 950? Over here the 950 is $15 more than the 930, which is just a few old CPU's hanging around in stock.

 

[OVR444]

Case:
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTgwOA== (P183) IMO one of the best cases ever made. Great Cooling, insulated case for additional sound deadening, light weight but strong build.

Power:
Antec (1TW) True Power Quattro - http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NTk=
OR
OCZ (1TW) Z-Series - http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_z_series_1000w_modular

Personally, I run the P180 (older version of the case) and the Antec 1TW PSU. They have lasted me x2 upgrades and never skipped a beat. Some of the best hardware I have bought for quality.

 

[jet150]

Get a GTX 470 and you won't need to go SLI.

 

[BuzzPuppy]

I'm a fan of replacing the cards with a GTX460, if you want to go SLi, then go GTX460 since it scales better than two HD5850s in crossfire (I run x2 HD5850s in "Eyefinity").

The GTX470, whilst still an awesome card, is cut-down GTX480 (so has the inherent loud stock fan, heat, power consumption issues). The GTX460 is on a completely different architecture. There's also a reason why the GTX465 (a cut-down GTX480 again, like the GTX470) are being sold cheap... to get rid of stock when the GTX460 is a better card.

I run a Corsair HX750 PSU, with x4 PCI-E power connectors (both 6pin/8pin) as an investment for clean power to the cards and my overclocked i5 750 (4.4GHz).

 

[VOLK]

Holy crap Gav! 4.4! What HSF you using? Have you gone water yet?

 

[Slinz]

That's gotta be one toasty CPU

 

[VOLK]

CPU-Z screenshot or it didn't happen

Oh and to OP, just cut to the chase and buy an XFX HD 5970 Black Edition if you've got $800 odd to spend You won't be disappointed! Pretty sure they're still top of the heap for the single card multi gpu config.

 

[VOLK]

What is the price difference between the 930 and 950?

According to staticice.com.au there's a variance of $10-$20 between the two.

 

[Zild]

Unfortunatley the 285gtx is the only thing that i already have. I bought it second hand off of OCAU months ago for a decent price.

Apparently i7930 is discontinued. The shop I'm buying off suggested the 960 as an alterantive (yeah thanks, $300 price difference!)

Also, I'm after a large case, as I'd hope to run SLI in the future, so am leaning towards the CM 932haf.

Thanks for the input, any more is appreciated!

 

[Emu]

If you know what your looking for, head to your local Sunday Computer market. Found some good stuff up Brad's way in Newcastle (I have friend in Swansea)

I'm looking an AMD X6 "Black Edition" based system to replace my old Athlon X2 5200 based system.

 

[VOLK]

http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&bid=7&id2=13&sid=55455

 

[bradc]

Buy an i7 950, they are the same price as the 930. The 960's aren't available over here anymore, we can get the 970 (entry 6 core) and 980X along with the 950.

The gtx285 isn't a bad card, so don't sweat it!

Gav, your heat output won't beat one of my cpu's. One of these http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-ee-965.html

Running at 4533mhz and a slight increase in voltage it would chew up 16-18 amps on the 12v line, around 200w of power. It was insane, but great in the winter