First shot across the bow has been fired!

[Jefke]

Thanks for the input guys. I really do appreciate it.

As far as the cpu is concerned, I know alot of people prefer intel. I have always had AMD cpu's and have never had an issue. I think both/either are probably going to be fine. The performance rerviews I've seen are similar, with the edge going to Intel, but the price point going to AMD. From what I've read about the Scorpius platform, I like the idea of the basic components being from the same manufacturer and working as a trifecta. It is supposed to unlock a higher level of performance, but it could just be BS, IDK. If I stayed with this mobo and card, and just changed the cpu, it would be mismatched and who knows if that could lead to issues or not? I'm not 100 % on it yet.

 

As far as the case veneering, I may change my mind there too. I just discovered a new product that is really exciting. The vengence CT in military green with almost the same specs as the 500r I was first looking at. I may just go with that.

 

Well, the endless battle between Intel and Amd (which,if you check the power, Intel wins with ease)

Personally I always went with AMD (got a phenom II x6 1090t @ 4.0gHz atm), but I probably will switch to intel when Haswell arrives (it's then about time for a new build ^^), because to be honest I was/am disappointed in the performance of the bulldozer serie.

 

DONT buy an AMD CPU! go for a i7 and if u think thats too pricy go for the i5 its so much faster and more reliable than AMD CPU's

 

I call bullshit sorry ^^, been building pc with AMD cpu for years now (I agree i5 2500k is the ultimate gamer cpu, no doubt about that). i7 are just too powerful for most people (depends of what you do with the pc), not worth the money. Amd is a cheaper platform to build with (mobo also tend to be cheaper => not always the cause though, got myself a 180euro AMD mobo ^^). If I build a gamerpc I rather spend more on graphics than on cpu, only thing you have to make sure of in that specific case is that the cpu isn't a bottleneck for the GPU. Which with a amd phenom II x4 serie and higher almost never will be the case (in non-crossfire/sli setups that is ^^)

 

 

 

Just some other questions (out of intrest):

 

-Why going with an amd 6950 when the 7850 cost about the same, performs stock clock about the same, lower temp, less power consumption (also couple of great stock overclocked cards on the market, sapphire being pretty cheap with his oc that performs pretty good). See: CLICK and CLICK (just intrest here)

 

-Did you considered an SSD? If yes which brand and how much gb ^^

 

-Ow, I read you considered modding the case: I want pics when done . I recently started to mod, no pics though cause only modded some old cases, still practicing with the fretsaw

 

 

EDIT: lol, wall of text .

 

 

EDIT 2:

 

almost forgot why I original started this reply

I saw you go with the corsair h100, I recommend changing the fans, those things are loud

 

My all time favourite (and with me lot's of people on the internet) radiator fans: Scythe Gente Typhoons 1850 rpm

 

I have those in push/push config on my corsair h80 (temporary until I put full liquid cooling system in), which are set to work on 750 rpm and 1000 rpm (=> less noise when different speed, not that much temp difference : 39°c atm in idle, with overclock)

Edited June 28, 2012 by DrJoske

[soulJAHmon]

Wow, thanks for the input. Yes I see a great battle between amd and intel. I agree intel is better but amd is cheaper. I'll probably switch to intel if I can afford to. This is my first build and I'm new at all this. I've been studying all over the internet for many hours every day for three weeks now, and I still haven't got it all down confidently. My budget will probably be no higher than $200 apiece for the mobo, gpu, and cpu. Which means I'll probably have to go with AMD. But if I can swing the i5 2600k, and either a hd6950/6970 (7950 is considerably more ($300 range)OR gtx 560 Ti, and a decent mobo for close to that budget, then thats what ill do. Who knows how long till the next intel strcture (Haswell?)comes out and what it'll cost? It might be awhile for me anyway, so I might just wait it out. I also like the saphire hd 6950/70 look plus at least right now, newegg was throwing in a coupon for BF3, but I'm not ready to take advantage now anyhow. I like the cards with 2 fans, which would line up nicely with the fans on the h100, probly more efficient straight up airflow. I'm fairly confident the case I've chosen will do the push-pull config also.

 

SSD- Im going to shoot for a 60-100gb for the operating system, and then add a 300-500gb hard drive. (don't wanna spend more than $80-$100 on either one of these). Not sure about brand, I dont know who the best makers are, but i do know the caviar black by (scandisk?) has a five year warranty, which boosts my confidence in it.

 

I'm in love with this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821 for the intel OR

this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131736 for the amd

Both also have a 5 yr warranty and hi tech parts. I'm also infatuated with this case (at least its the best in my budget): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

I may or may not veneer it. I think I could make it really something to behold. I might even get my boss to let our paint crew shoot it in one of our paint booths with the same finish that we do to the teak paneling in the pilothouses of our yachts. In my mind's eye its stunning! But we'll see. I can mock it up when the case arrives and then see if it looks like I think it will before I do anything permanent. I also might swap the clear window out and make a new one with a piece of lexan polycarbonate (literally bullet-proof!) that I have in the garage to house (2) 200mm fans.

 

The truth is I am a big fan of quality parts and making my build as future-proof as I possiblly can in every way possible. Thats why I'm investing right up front in the good radiator, extra fans, and roomy, flexible case with lots of potential, so I can have it go the distance.

So, I need to build the funds up and then buy the primary 3 (cpu/mobo,gpu) all at the same time. I'll just get the best I can afford at that time I guess.

Anyway, thx again for input and suggestions, I am still learning and your experienced voices are important to me. And i will post pics along the way so you can share my journey.

[Jefke]

Used that sabertooth mobo (amd version) in one of my recent builds (I budget was around 800 euro = 800 dollar according many :@) and if you are looking for a rock solid mobo, don't look further. I was amazed by it ^^

 

Personally I got an asus crosshair V formula, got it to compensate some problems with an other asus board.

Wouldn't recommend it though, too expensive and I had back then a lot of problems with memory settings and stuff (problems which are fixed with later bios upgrades I may add, got that mobo when it released).

 

About that case: go for it! I fell in love on the work corsair do with their products. One of the few manufacturers which really finish its products into details (sharp edges en stuff like that). Even in the more price friendly case (which I pretty often use and which seems to be raised in price from around 60 euro/dollar to 80 :s => corsair carbide serie)

 

- Haswell, not really worth waiting for. It's planned to release somewhere next year (around march I thought it was). Those will cost around the same what the Ivy Bridge cost atm (i5 3450, ...). Ivy Bridge being the last architecture released (well that's not the whole story around intels system, but that would go too far ).

 

-About ssd: pretty much any brand will do the trick, the only major difference really is the benchmark scores. In daily use it's flat out faster than normal HDD, only in benchmarks there are difference. Personally I don't go with ssd which have sandforce controllers in it, this due to the fact those had in the past some major problems. Which have been solved by now to be fair, it just don't feel right for me ^^. In my build builds I most of the time go for the crucial m4 serie (always been nice SSD for the price, although ssd tend to be close priced to each other lately) or the samsung 830 series, but like I said there isn't much difference between the brands. The best thing is reading comments about reliability on the internet, because that's the major concern.

 

Side note: the bigger the ssd, the faster it is (logic result of having more flash chips).

 

-Buying a HDD can be prettty dam expensive since the flood in Thailand (dam miss the times I bought 1tb for 40 euro )

 

K, going to quit now. I got the feeling I'm writing a book again

 

 

EDIT: slight correction of myself in previous post I can't no longer edit, although I think it was clear what I meant to say ^^:

 

I have those in push/pull config on my corsair h80 (temporary until I put full liquid cooling system in), which are set to work on 750 rpm and 1000 rpm (=> less noise when different speed, not that much temp difference : 39°c atm in idle, with overclock)

Edited June 30, 2012 by DrJoske

[LA_Kings_Fan]

Hey SOUL ... nice ...

 

an AMD HD-6950 2GB GPU is nice, I have the Sapphire TOXIC edition and was able to UNLOCK mine to a 6970 and OC it, beastly GPU for the money and well worth it.

I'd honeslty suggest considering Intel for the CPU and MoBo over AMD though, but AMD is cheaper so it's always a trade off ... you can check out my rig here - http://fearless-assassins.com/topic/19961-new-matx-gaming-rig-im-working-on/

 

... as far as a WOOD PC Case idea ... just make sure you have LOTS of ventilation as wood will insulate and keep the interior warmer than Metal or plastic would.

 

But here are some Ideas others have done ...

 

 

 

 

 

I really like this one with the Asian flair ...

 

[Jefke]

Hey SOUL ... nice ...

 

an AMD HD-6950 2GB GPU is nice, I have the Sapphire TOXIC edition and was able to UNLOCK mine to a 6970 and OC it, beastly GPU for the money and well worth it.

I'd honeslty suggest considering Intel for the CPU and MoBo over AMD though, but AMD is cheaper so it's always a trade off ... you can check out my rig here - http://fearless-assa...-im-working-on/

 

 

You can't unlock then anymore though...

Shame as it is, but AMD locked it (I did it a few times for friends of me)

[LA_Kings_Fan]

You can't unlock then anymore though...

Shame as it is, but AMD locked it (I did it a few times for friends of me)

 

Yes you can ... all depends on luck of the draw and the quality of the Card you buy ... though the stock of NEW HD-6950's has become rather scarce.

I'm Thread Mod of my TOXIC Club over on OCN - http://www.overclock...mational-thread ... and we have about an 85% successful unlock rate for that model of card, the MSI Power Edition / OC Twin Frozer 3 is another great HD-6950 with very high success of Un-Locking. These 2 cards are better than a AMD Reference versions of a 6950 also, they're really BEASTS GPU's and some of the best bang for your buck graphics cards on the market at the time they were released.

 

He might have to buy USED to get one of these cards, as they are hard to find now with the 7xxx's series cards out on the market though.

Edited July 7, 2012 by LA_Kings_Fan

[Jefke]

Yes you can ... all depends on luck of the draw and the quality of the Card you buy ... though the stock of NEW HD-6950's has become rather scarce.

I'm Thread Mod of my TOXIC Club over on OCN - http://www.overclock...mational-thread ... and we have about an 85% successful unlock rate for that model of card, the MSI Power Edition / OC Twin Frozer 3 is another great HD-6950 with very high success of Un-Locking. These 2 cards are better than a AMD Reference versions of a 6950 also, they're really BEASTS GPU's and some of the best bang for your buck graphics cards on the market at the time they were released.

 

Last time I had bad luck with it, sometimes you have luck indeed.

The one I know is impossible (personal experience): the sapphire 2gb one which was bundles with dirt 3

 

I decided to no longer try it (the 7850 = 6950 and less power consumption and stuff, but the 6970 beats it so technical it's still worth trying to do it, I'm just tired of the bullshit when it fails), I just overclock it for them and they are happy.

Edited July 7, 2012 by DrJoske

[LA_Kings_Fan]

I guess I should point out too ... that the OCN site is a great place to learn about computer info, overclocking, specs, products, news, reviews and just general computer knowledge SOUL ... I've been on the site for about 2 years and really learned A LOT on how to build my new rig ... couldn't be happier. I REALLY suggest spending some time there reading and looking around.

 

http://www.overclock.net/

[Jefke]

Pressed the wrong button :facepalm:

 

anyway, yeah I know that site. I lurk it sometimes.

 

+I wouldn't buy the 6950 to unlock it, too big of a risk (personal opinion though)

Edited July 7, 2012 by DrJoske

[LA_Kings_Fan]

+I wouldn't buy the 6950 to unlock it, too big of a risk (personal opinion though)

 

Like I said depends on the particular card model you buy ... but yeah in general the lesser quality cards, like the Sapphire DIRT3 Edition and MSI Basic TwinFrozr 3, and all XFX cards, etc ... yeah they all are lucky to have a 50:50 chance ... the Sapphire TOXIC and MSI PowerEdition/OC TF3 are EXCEPTIONS to RULE and are GREAT CARDS, but hard to find these days.

 

IF you just want something CHEAP an AMD HD-5770 /or 6770 are great cards for under $100, the HD-6950/70's in about the $200-$250 range, if you're willing to go $300 plus might as well get a newer HD-7870 or GTX-570, $400 range an HD-7950 or GTX-580, $450-500 range an HD-7970 or GTX-670, $500+ range a GTX-680.

[soulJAHmon]

Ya, nice, earlier I started to really shop the HD7850s. I looked hard at the hd 6950, 7850, gtx 560, 560Ti, 560Ti 448, and the at the gtx 570 too, and its real nice and comes highly regarded, but my gut tells me to go for HD 7950. Pound for pound, with price in mind, and my design ideas, I think it would be about perfect. I want my card to run cooler and quieter. Those are important factors to me. The nvidia cards just run hotter and louder, and have higher price tags to go along with the slightly better performance. But in the end, I need to be satified with what I build, and the GPU is just one part of the overall look and feel that will make me proud of my first build project. The xtx hd 7950 on newegg is about $280. think thats my goal card for now. However, I will continue to shop them until its buy time.

 

And yes, I'm pretty convinced now that i'll go with the i5 2500k sandy cpu and the sabertooth intel version mobo. Then if I want to upgrade later I can still go to ivy and step up to i7-xxxx and it will fit the socket on that mobo.

 

Then in the future I can choose to crossfire 2 hd7950s or buy 1 much better card, without worrying that ill over tax my 750watt psu.

 

Those wood cases are off the hook man! Love it, but I wasn't gonna take it that far. I was thinking about simply adding a 1mm thick teak veneer to select portions of the case, then putting a super snazzy high tech clearcoat on the teak. More of a dress-up than a complete case build. The case I bought already looks bad-ass gentleman style. I can't wait to get my grubby hands on it. Should arrive on tueday this week.

Edited July 8, 2012 by soulJAHmon

[soulJAHmon]

Well, sorry I've left ya hangin', but life crept up ad bit me in the butt for awhile,however,......My Christmas present this year from my wife was a card saying that it's ok with her if spend my 2013 tax refund on the build, SO, I'm stoked now and looking forward to tax time.

 

I have alot of needs, and I'm not sure how much it'll be, but I think it's gonna cover the mobo, cpu, memory, gpu, and monitor.

 

I'm thrilled

[LA_Kings_Fan]

Congrats soul ... there's some great stuff on the market, and building your own rig is super easy. Takes a little bit to work out all the software, set-up bugs at first, but nothing you can't handle.

Keep us posted and if you need advice, this site http://www.overclock.net/ is really the place to look, aside from asking here of course.

 

We expect pics of the build when completed ...

 

oh crap, just thought of something, with a new rig Soul will be that much better at COD 4 ... shoot there goes my KDR ... time for me to look into upgrading my GPU

[soulJAHmon]

First off, I'm disappointed that my plans of building a new rig continue to be dashed to pieces on the rocks. Even though I have acquired the necessary permissions from wifey, the money keeps evaporating. I thought I was going to be receiveing about $1800 in tax refund, because that's about what I get on an average year. However, after being laid-off and taking unemployment money w/out taxes taken out, and having my wife finish school, so no school deductions, and having worked some side jobs w/out taxes paid, my refund disappeared, ALMOST. I should still get about $350. SO, the question is............

 

What parts of my system are currently bottle-necking me, and what is the smartest thing to do with the money? I have a few leading ideas, but cannot decide.

 

A. save it, don't buy anything with it yet

B. buy peripheral/s like maybe a new monitor for about $150, CD/DVD drive, memory, or storage and save the rest

C. buy the best cpu/mobo combo that i can get, and replace only that for now

D. buy the graphics card that i want, the XFX HD7870 DD black for about $260

E. do something else

 

Now i figure my goal is to try to improve my setup a little, and to get by for one more year, until next year's tax refund. At that point, I should be able to finish the build completely, at long last.

 

So, here's my complete system as-is right now.

 

GPU: XFX Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS, http://www.cnet.com/...7-32328758.html

MOBO: Asus M3A78, http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/M3A78/

CPU: AMD Athlon 64x2 dual core 3800+, 2.1 GHz, http://www.cpubenchm...ore 3800 &id=77

CASE: Corsair Carbide 500R arctic white, http://www.newegg.co...&Tpk=500r white

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 liquid cooler, http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835181017

PSU: Seasonic X-series 750 Gold, http://www.newegg.co...onic x 750 gold

OP.SYSTEM: Windows XP Pro, SP3

MOUSE: Logitech G400, http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826104577

CD/DVD DRIVES, have 2 of them, they both are old and sucky, and use the thin , wide sata cables that clog air-flow in the case

INT.HARD-DRIVE, WD Caviar SE 160 GB, http://computers.pri.../m27995023.html

EXT.HARD-DRIVE, wireless, Buffalo LinkStation LS-CH500L 500GB NAS

RAM: Mushkin 996533 (2- 1 GB sticks), http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820146673

MONITOR: KDS USA model 786N (circa 2004), 15", boat anchor w/pretty lights

 

So, please put your awesome brain powers together, marinate on it awhile, and help a brother out with some mind-bullets of devastating awe-inspiring PC-Buld advise.

Edited January 31, 2013 by soulJAHmon

[Ol Smoke]

OMG.....so sad now...

PSU and cooler arrived great! but, the case didn't. I talked to UPS and NewEgg and apparently it got lost or stolen. Tried to re-order it but the refund hasnt gone thru so I can't yet. Ugh, I'm like a kid who woke up on Christmas morning, only to discover that it's still November. ); >.<

Had this happen once when I owned the shop. I ordered some stuff and among them was two standard cases. Everything but the cases arrived as usual by UPS. So we tracked the cases and it showed

that they had shipped and were in Portland ready for delivery. A search of the Portland shipping dock and no cases. So UPS paid the bill and I got two more cases. About three or more weeks later, my

UPS driver shows up, with two cases. I never ordered them. Then I started back tracking and they were the two lost cases. When I ran the UPS number, they had been shipped to Arizona to another

store there with a similar name as mine. What happened was the place I ordered them thru hit the wrong name line and sent them there. But, the quirky thing was, it was also printed on my order sheet.

But the UPS label put the Az store on the shipping label. What a mess. Since UPS had paid for them, I contacted them and they said to keep them. Whoo hoo!