[Boav]

Been itching to build a new rig.

I already have a monitor (24" Dell - 1920x1200), mouse, keyboard, and a spare Win7 Home Premium 64-bit for OS.


This is what I have put together.

LIAN LI PC-E8B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $109.99
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - $199.99
Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH160G2R5 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $424.99
Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM -$19.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $159.99
OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK - $109.99
GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $119.99
XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - $389.99




TOTAL: $1534.92


Any thoughts?


The only thing I am worried about is whether the 5870 will fit in the case.




Boav

[Fozzik]

Aren't there cheaper SSD options now that run just about as fast as the Intel drives? That's a HUGE amount of money for a really small amount of storage.

The vid card might be ok fitting in the case, just because of where the first PCI-e x16 slot is located (if the card is long enough to reach the drive cage, it looks like it might sit right above it). Hard to say, though. You might have to remove the drive cage all together.

Kind of a weird motherboard... who needs two floppy connectors these days? Is that for a printer port or some breakout card? The layout looks pretty good, though...if you can deal with the color. *bleh*

The motherboard doesn't list that RAM speed... I'm sure it will probably do it, but you'll likely have to fiddle with the settings in the BIOS to get 1600 speeds.

750W is a lot more power supply than you need, which isn't the worst thing in the world...but you might be able to save some money and get a 550-650W power supply, which would still be plenty of power for that system. Like $50 after rebate -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139012

[Fozzik]

I haven't been following SSDs too closely, but this looks like a better deal...$120 or so cheaper. It's a bit smaller, but also appears to be faster.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227395

Anyway...I feel like they are still far too expensive to be a good deal, and from reviews I've read it still sounds like they are a little weird when it comes to long-term performance (lots of inconsistencies and tricks you have to know), but it could just be me being an old fart and not getting with the times.

If you've got the money. *shrug*

[rabb1t]

I'd go with the OCZ Agility. It's been a while since I've researched the controller thingies, but I think the Vertex uses an older one. (The Agility is the one targeting mainstream, I think the Vertex is targeting server use.) It shows as faster than the X25-M, but it's only faster in some things. The X25-M is pretty much the most uberest drive all reviewers are comparing to. I'd only recommend the X25-M if money is no object. If money is important I'd say save it and put it towards Eyefinity. The difference in speed will be so small in actual performance that the X25-M won't be worth the price increase for like 90% of the gamers out there.

I would actually recommend against that motherboard. If you look closely the second slot is only running at 4x speed, meaning you can't ever run more than one graphics card. (The site says it can run with Crossfire, but at 4x speed your second card is going to be seriously gimped.) Consider the following change...
Evga P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR $135 post rebate
or
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P $170 post rebate (super expensive due to the new 6 gig Sata connectors)
... if you do keep your current motherboard choice, there is no real reason to get that strong of a PSU since you won't really be able to run more than one graphics card.

- - -

I would also make the following (crazy) change suggestion.

Take out the 5870 -$400
add / replace with

XFX 5850 $310 (the 5850 gets like 90% of the FPS of the 5870)
Dell P2210H x3 $600
Belkin 6' display port cable $29
Cables to Go 6' DVI cables x2 $24

Modifications = +$563

Big price change, but uuuuuber.

[Fozzik]

Multiple widescreen monitor makes no sense to me. A lot of people where I work have that setup... it's just takes up a lot of desk space and you can't really see things all at once without turning your head. Once you get past a certain point, you are only engaging the edges of your periferal vision.

It might be useful for giving a more realistic look to a flight simulator or racing game, but for most other kinds of gaming or computer use I find it really annoying to have to turn my head to focus on what's happening at the sides. Because of how close we sit to our computer monitors, only so wide makes sense.

[rabb1t]

Immersion! Having your peripheral is the point.

Batman Arkham Asylum
Dragon Age
Crysis
Call of Duty 2
WoW
Heaven benchmark

It's like the old-school days at the arcade where you get to sit in one of those cockpit like games.