New PC Build Specs

[Psylence]

Hey guys just wanted to throw down some new specs for me new PC build. Let me know what you think!

OLD PC:
- CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Dual Core 2.2GHz)
- Memory: 2GB RAM DDR2
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 300GB
- Motherboard: Asus A8N-E
- Case: Antec Sonata II w/ PS

NEW PC:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-930 2.8 GHz
- Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB
- Graphics: XFX Radeon HD 5870
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM
- CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B
- CPU/Case fan: COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
- Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W
- Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two

I'm just unsure if the memory will be compatible with my mobo since the memory is 1600 Mhz and the mobo says it supports 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz.
If I do end up getting this rig I'll be live streaming my build for sure!

[xartin]

One thing i've got to say about the PSU... the cables on corsair PSU's are not modular so this will restrict air flow. I would highly recommend an enermax MODU 87 pro or a enermax revolution 85+ both of which have modular cable design. second I cant say i've heard much about the cpu heatsink and fan you've chosen but i do feel obligated to inform you about one that has gotten major reviews for keeping the most punished air cooled i7 systems under control. meet the last air heatsink you will ever buy.

Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V Review - Overclockers Club

XIGMATEK


Other note i wanted to mention... ncix has most of the components in stock cheaper than newegg. I would highly recommend them. they're a bunch of asians with insane deals on pc components that started out in vancouver canada

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 8-8-8-24 Core i7 Memory Kit - TR3X6G1600C8D In Canada. $202.99 cnd...

They have cheaper prices than every local retailer in Winnipeg. I frequently order online from them and resell the parts for profit it's that much cheaper xD


other note... Nyucka you from Manitoba? lol i'm in winnipeg =]

[burningforce]

everything looks great except for one thing, and that is the seagate harddrive. seagate is having all sorts of firmware and dying drives due to heat. I'll dig up the articles and see if they are the same drives and/or same quality.

my suggestion would be getting a Western Digital hard drive instead of seagate, but that is just a opinion on my part. If it were me I would either go for Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
or the lesser 1TB drive.

and yes the memory will work with the motherboard. they give you those numbers as a standard to use when matching memory with a motherboard. But keep in mind that the I7's have a max memory frequency of 1066MHz and anything more will overclock the memory controller. You will have to set the memory timings and frequency manually in the bios, It may have an XMP setting that you set to the desired number and will auto set the freq and timings for you. But you still have to go in the bios to do this. But it is very easy to do

Grats on the new system

[Psylence]

About the PSU, there are holes in the case that I will put the PSU cables in so they'll basically have no effect on airflow. It's funny that you recommend NCIX xartin because that is where I'm buying this rig from, just thought I'd link up to newegg.ca. I'm price matching everything and saving a boatload of cash and I am from Winnipeg!

I took a little digging into google about the seagates and it doesn't look good, I'll probably change to WD's hard drive instead. Thanks for the heads up!

Here's a link to an article on Tom's Hardware about the cooler:

CPU And Cooler : System Builder Marathon, June 2010: $2,000 Performance PC

Thank you for the heads up on the memory, I read a little about it and figured it would be cool but a double check is always nice!

What about this hard drive? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...Tpk=WD1002FAEX

I couldn't find the one you linked on NCIX.

[xartin]

The only major advantage of the western digital black edition currently is they offer a cheaper price on a sata III capable drive. All the firmware issues with seagate sata drives have been solved and only affected a small percentage of the 7200.10 series drives. The current models are 7200.12. I've never had one Seagate drive fail on me except a 7200.10 750GB sata 2 drive with a very close revision to the bad firmware

Link to the sata III western digital

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...20Digital%20WD

I proofread the review on the cpu cooler. another credit to the dark knight cooler? it ships with a fan designed for the heatsink with a white LED light in the fan housing. I own one so i'm a bit biased but man it looks sick reflecting off the black powdercoated heatsink

The fan is also VERY quiet. I can hear my fan on my BFG 275 GTX over the dark knight fan. It's almost silent. I used to be a huge thermaltake heatsink supporter but every thermaltake I ever owned was as noisy a small chainsaw.

The dark knight is nearly silent which for a 120MM fan is pretty nice.. it's currently seated on top of a Q9650 running at standard clock. The heatsink fins are a bit clogged with dust and temps are around 36 to 40 degrees celcius running at idle

Here's a link to a vid i made of the inside of my case with my android cell phone

http://img256.imageshack.us/i/video0011.mp4/

[Psylence]

I'll think about the CPU cooler, the fan I'm getting is a slick blue (I'm getting two of them one for the CPU and one for the side of the case) and I'll go WD since the seagate on newegg has been getting quite a few bad reviews.

[burningforce]

i have the artic freezer pro 7 and it does a ok job at cooling my cpu under heavy loads. And when I was trying to overclock, it handled the heat very well for a $20 cpu cooler. But I would not think too much on the cpu cooler, as long as it covers the cpu, is not that heavy, has a good fan(s) on it and fits in the case, then it should be good.

As for the seagate hard drives, they are still shipping drives that have the old firmware on it (at least on newegg they are) and the end user will have to flash the firmware to the newer one. Many users may not even know about the new firmware until it is too late ( thats if the drive becomes problematic).

And I would not put too much stock on the reviews on newegg, most, if not all the people who post a comment pretty much are experience and have a "very high" understanding of the technology they are commenting on :P

I usually take reviews and advice with a grain of salt. I do my "homework" and google around to see different websites reviews and comments on the product(s) I am considering buying. I then gather the info and see if the pros of buying/owning this product out-weighs the cons. But that is me, I like to know what I am getting into when it comes to expensive purchases :P

[Psylence]

Do you guys really think I need a cpu cooler? I mean the stock cooler should do fine, I'm not planning on doing any overclocking to this rig.

EDIT:
SYSTEM ORDERED!
Alright so I didn't get a cpu cooler, decided to stick just with the stock one. Right now there is no need for third party cooler. Even though it looks AWESOME I shall wait and see if I want it. I stuck with the Seagate drive since they do have a really good warranty on them. I can't wait!! I'll be sure to include pics along with when I'll be doing my livestream!

[Tim]

I have to chime in on the Seagate thingy. I have 22 1.5TB drives (yes, 22!!) with a lot of them running at 100% load in my NAS and so far no issues. I'm really scared that they break, but so far, no probs, and you'd think that 100% run 24/7 for month after month would cause a breakdown right?

[Psylence]

Yea no doubt Tim, thanks for the reassurance! I can't waiittt! GAAHAH!