Dd build thread 1

[DoubleD1]

DD BUILD THREAD 1

Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?

I would like to spend under $2000, but budget is not the main constraint for me; I prefer a smooth running, rebust system over cost.


Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?

I'm still new so I will review your suggestions and adjust my build as I learn


Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?

Yes, I like to cruise the net, listen to my tunes and run a movie at the same time, sometimes even have a game going on at the same time.


Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?

I want to be able to play any game out there


Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?

I'm a mechanical engineer so I do install programs at home, ie AutoCAD, Bentley AutoPLANT, etc.


Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?

I don't know how to yet, but when I learn I will probably like the capabilities.


Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?

I think 500GB to 1TB, I would like to set up a good backup external hard drive setup to go along with this.


Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?

I don't think so


Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?

I would like to work with Windows 7.


Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?

No idea, easy usb access is a necessity as I use my flash drive all the time


Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?

I need to find a good mouse (quite wheel is a must, don't like the ones that click when you roll the wheel), and new keyboard suggestions would be appreciated.


Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?

No.


Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?

I have a nice monitor already.


Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?

Would love some recommendations.


Location: What country do you live in?

Canada.


Looking forward to hearing back,

Appreciate it!

[Tyree]

Read this thread for some ideas.
For heavy multitasking *AutoCAD, Bentley AutoPLANT, etc.* a Quad Core CPU is the better choice.

For heavy gaming, a Dual Core CPU is better.

[grimx133]

Windows7 Professional 32 bit OEM $171.35
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ture=Microsoft
You may want to go with 64 bit instead, if so it's about 5 or 6 bucks
cheaper.

Asus P7P55D Pro $188.82
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...nufacture=ASUS
Asus and Gigabyte make the best boards, I'm kind of an Asus sort, though.

2 x 2GB Corsair XMS3 1600Mhz. DDR3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 $104.99
Combo deal with purchase of qualifying motherboard, needs to be added to cart from the motherboard page, methinks.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=42530&...acture=Corsair

Intel Core i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading 8MB Cache Retail Box $354.99
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ufacture=Intel
The Core i5 750 is around a hundred cheaper, but I'm thinking this will
perform better with stuff like autocad.

ASUS Radeon HD 5870 850MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.8GHZ 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card $449.99
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...nufacture=ASUS
Currently the fastest single gpu card, at least until nVidia releases the
GT300 series cards.

Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply after rebate $162.99
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...acture=Corsair
Excellent psu, usually can get it for a bit less than this, it's all in the
timing eh. And it's quiet, very quiet.

Antec P183 ATX Tower Case Black $156.18
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ufacture=Antec
I suspect you don't want a "flashy" case. This one is fairly silent,
always a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA
Two of these would work well. 2 x 72.99 = $145.98
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...D&promoid=1059
Backups are much safer on an internal, rather than an external drive.
Storing data on a drive separate from the OS just makes sense.

Liteon IHAS124 24X DVD Writer SATA Black OEM $32.83
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...facture=Liteon
Well, a dvd burner is a dvd burner, plenty to choose from, and they're
pretty much all good.

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse 3200DPI USB2.0 1000HZ Weight Adjustable Black $110.28
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...cture=Logitech
I don't know how "clicky" the scroll wheel is, mostly they all are, to some
extent. Anyone I've heard talk about this one just loves it for a
gaming mouse.

Logitech Internet 350 USB Keyboard Black $37.44
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...cture=Logitech
Very solid keyboard. Youi can spend a hundred+ for a gaming keyboard,
but this one is quite decent.
$1915.84

This isn't including shipping, taxes, insurance and all that sort of stuff.
Depending on what part of the country you're located in, you may be
able to purchase quality components locally. Save a bit on shipping, as
well as convenient returns, should anything be faulty.

You can go either way when fine tuning a component list, I figure that
there's a lot of wiggle room here. Nice budget makes that so.

Ncix is where I mostly shop, they're out in BC and have some brick and
mortar locations there. www.newegg.ca is also good, the shipping can
take a while though. I usually find that with the exception of the odd
doodad, I can get a better price from ncix. They have a weekly sale with
limited quantities of items, some very good deals can be had there. I
didn't look at it when compiling this list, but it's probably a good idea, a
few swaps could cut a fair bit. The sales run every week from Wednesday
evening late, till the following Tuesday. Well worth your while to check
those out.

[DoubleD1]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the suggestions, I've done a quick review and I had some initial comments and questions.

Windows7 Professional 32 bit OEM $171.35
I believe I will go with the Windows 7, 64-bit edition

Asus P7P55D Pro $188.82
I like the mother board, I don't know much about them so your choice it number 1 until I hear of better, I'm a bit nervous about changing too much because I want to keep a nicely balanced & compatible system so it works well

2 x 2GB Corsair XMS3 1600Mhz. DDR3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 $104.99
Is 4GB enough ram?? It seems like it might be the item on the pc limiting the performance, but that's just the gut feeling of a guy with limited pc designing knowledge.

Intel Core i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading 8MB Cache Retail Box $354.99
I like the processor

ASUS Radeon HD 5870 850MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.8GHZ 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card $449.99
The video card seems to be the real prize in this system, I like the HDMI output, I have been a bit torn about buying a high quality video card that I can continue using to watch movies on my tv with, or just buying a PS3 and getting the media centre and getting a more basic video card... any ideas??

Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply after rebate $162.99
Looks good, can't go wrong with quiet

Antec P183 ATX Tower Case Black $156.18
I really like the case, I'm trying to go for a nice discrete look, I don't want lights flashing all over my office when I'm trying to keep it as low stress as possible. I realize this might sound odd, but can I use something like pantyhose on the inside of the tower case to cover the holes? I figure they could provide a low quality air filter for dust and keep the hide the blinking lights a bit.

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA
Two of these would work well. 2 x 72.99 = $145.98
I like your selection here, high speed hard drives are a must, I like the cost too. I have been wondering if they have any nice exterior hard drives like mac has come out with that are wireless and I can just leave around my home and backup all of my computers with through my router/network?. (I have 3 computers, My desktop for my games and more complex programs, my DJ laptop for my music, serato, and sound forge style programs, and my work notebook).

Liteon IHAS124 24X DVD Writer SATA Black OEM $32.83
As discussed in the video card reply, I'm not sure if I am going to use the pc alone and watch movies directly from it on my tv, or buy a PS3 and use the media centre program to connect to my pc. If I use the PS3 a basic burner like this one is good, if I use the PC alone then I would probably want a blueray capable device.

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse 3200DPI USB2.0 1000HZ Weight Adjustable Black $110.28
That is one sexy mouse

Logitech Internet 350 USB Keyboard Black $37.44
Pretty basic, I'd probably just keep the one i have, it works fine. I do have the keyboard you've suggested on all of the comptures at work, it is good.

General Comments
- I like the build.
- Although cost is not a big issue, I'm starting to realize that $2000 buys a pretty powerful computer and maybe I could save some money and still get what I wanted.

- Is there another video card that would be more appropriate if I used the PS3 combination to eliminate the HDMI output while still performing good enough to play the newest games?

- The tower is exactly the style I am looking for, something that can sit around and not drag attention to it, nice and modest. It would be nice to up the sexiness of it a bit, but the tower selected is good stuff

-I'm also interested in looking into a water cooled system to keep the noise low and pc life high, any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks a lot grimx133!

WRT
Read this thread for some ideas.
From Tyree
Was there supposed to be a link, or did I miss something?

[grimx133]

There's an interesting review of the P183 case at spcr, their only gripe was the top fan. Too loud, they say, and it runs good without it. The intakes have filters, they'll pick up a lot of dust bunnies, should see the filters on my 1200, doesn't take long to amass a fuzz collection. Better on the filters though. Not sure how hard they are to clean, but they look a lot easier because of the drive bay arrangement. With the 1200 I have to take off a whack of thumbscrews and slide the drive bay forward, then slide out the filters. The P183 filters are part of a hinged cover, looks like it'll only take a few seconds to pull a filter.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/antec-p183

4GB of ram will probably be fine, I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a full 4, people trying to use as much as possible find it difficult, if not impossible, to use more than 3GB. It's one of those things that you can add later if you need to. Normally it's better to not fill all four slots, ram can get a bit unstable then, but some voltage tweaking will mostly clear up those issues.

For the motherboard, any of the P7P55D series would work fine, it's just the feature set that you would look for. Personally, I like the Deluxe, but cost is more of a factor then, as it's almost 250 bucks. Or you could go the other way and get the plain model, it's nice too, and would meet your needs for 30 bucks less than the pro.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=43123&...nufacture=ASUS

The HD 5770 will also do a fine job at a lot less cost. It isn't the reigning single gpu king like the 5870, but it'll game nicely, as well as anything else you need it to do. At less than half the price.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=44880&...nufacture=ASUS

You can get a blue ray reader and dvd writer drive for just under 150. Been thinking of one of those myself, but hard to say when I'll try one. Blue ray burners are fairly pricey, they had one there for 280 or so. To watch blue ray movies, you need a monitor with high enough resolution, 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 will do that job. Something to think about, if your current monitor doesn't have that for a resolution.
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...%20Electronics

I don't use the G9 mouse, but they are very highly recommended, the gamer types really like them. Have 4 or 5 Logitech MX 518 mice here, they work perfectly for me. I also have a cordless keyboard/mouse combo that doesn't have the clicks in the scroll wheel. Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 and the corresponding keyboard 6000 V2. They work very well, but I would never use wireless for a game.

For backup, you can use some sort of NAS (Network Attached Storage), the prices go anywhere from relatively inexpensive, to huge. They have a two drive D-Link box on sale, but that's over today anyway. Plug it into your router, then it's accessible to all pc's.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=21719&...k&promoid=1059
Do a search for NAS, there are plenty of them out there.

Water cooling isn't always quieter than air, depends on the setup. There are still fans, and there's also pump noise to consider. A decent cpu cooler can help, and with that it all depends on the fan. I've got a Noctua one in the old wishlist, for next spring or so when I update this machine. Kind of pricey at 80 bucks, but not so much when you think that the NF-P12 fans are 20+ dollars, and it comes with two of them. One of the highest rated air coolers out there. I use the occasional NF-P12, among others, and Noctua makes quiet fans.
Noctua NH-U12P SE2
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=42819&...facture=Noctua