Slowly but surely, I'm learnin' this here fancy stuff

Big Daddy Rhino

Big Daddy Rhino

Member
I'm an aging Warcraft nut that has very little computer expertise. The knowledge is slowly seeping in and I'm grateful for that, but I'm still so novice. I want to learn all about PC build, repair, compatibility, performance, blah blah blah. So, here are some things I'll ask and share.

Other than loitering in these forums, is there a place I should go for a how-to?

I am building a PC for the first time, as well. I've got a couple of buds to hold my hand in whom I've got total confidence. However, I always welcome new input and points of view. This is the build with which I am going:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146060
NZXT LEXA S LEXS - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121387
Intel BOXDP55WG LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard

Vid Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549
EVGA 012-P3-1472-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) SuperClocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106
Thermaltake Black Widow W0319RU 850W ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V v2.91 CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116368
Intel Core i7-875K Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220436
Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
(I'm buying two 2-packs for 8gb total)

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136296
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

I'm looking to overclock the processor (with help from friends), so I'm also getting this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106123
Thermaltake SpinQ Performance Series cooler with ultra-lightweight aluminum and six heatpipes-
Just for a little insurance.

Oh, and a new monitor, too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001431
SAMSUNG P2770FH ToC Rose Black 27" 1ms Full HD HDMI LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 70,000:1

I have a DVD drive and and windows 7 already no need to post those, they're so trivial.

So, there it is. My first. What do y'all think? If you're going to make suggestions for alternative components, know this. I'm already over budget, so DOWN is the only direction to go in price. :) I'm very excited to hear some feedback. I'm more excited to get this rig on my desk and crank all my WoW settings to Ultra. Sure will beat the heck out of my AMD dual core and 9500gt.
 
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BurningSkyline

BurningSkyline

New Member
That looks perfectly fine to me. If you want to get the price down you could always go with an AMD Black Edition processor. (Unlocked, Just like the 875k.)

You could switch out the RAM though.

EDIT: If you can, Wait a bit. There will be new processors VERY soon from Intel, and some new stuff in Q2 or Q3 this year from AMD.
 
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Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
^ That

Socket 1156's replacement launches in two days. Socket 1366 is also getting replaced, but later on, so those will live on for a little while...

Also, the GTX 470 has a lot of competition around it, including its replacement. A GTX 570 would be much better, though it's significantly more expensive. An 800MHz+ factory overclocked GTX 460 would also be a better alternative, since they run cooler and take up less space, while performing on roughly the same level or better. On the AMD side, a 6870 would be slightly less expensive and slightly less powerful, but would also use less power and run a lot cooler. A 6950 would be in between the 470 and the 570 in both performance and price, and stands a good chance of unlocking into a 6970.
 
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Big Daddy Rhino

Big Daddy Rhino

Member
I've just now seen the Sandy Bridge processors and it appears that an i5-2500k will do everything an i7-875k will do, for about $100 less. No word on the 1155 mobos, though. I don't have my money just yet (another week, or so) so we'll see what's available when the deposit is made.
As far as GPUs, I suppose I'll have to rethink my GTX470 if I can make substantial savings on CPU.
 
tech savvy

tech savvy

Active Member
Drenlin said:
while performing on roughly the same level or better.
Click to expand...

ive never seen better (stock vs stock, and vice versa), close maybe...but not better.tho the 470 does run really hot and consum lots of power compared to the 460.the 470 is only $50 more than a 460, but that extra $50 gets you a good boost in performance over the 460.i personaly think the 470 is at a sweet spot at cost and performance ratio.here is some benching on 460 vs 470. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/180?vs=160
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
^ This beast should be faster than a stock 470, with some overclocking room left over:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130581

EVGA somehow managed to get a nearly 26% core OC on that thing. :eek:

Granted, it's expensive for a 460, but it's still cheaper than most any 470.

edit: Although, if he's going to have another $100 to play with, both points are moot... :/
 
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Big Daddy Rhino

Big Daddy Rhino

Member
^ lotsa poor reviews on that card. I think I'd rather have a card that doesn't have to run balls out to get performance.

Seriously, is a GTX 470 such a bad card that it doesn't merit a thumbs up from the peanut gallery?
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
You can' go by Newegg reviews...they don't mean a thing. I mean obviously if it's got 6000 reviews and 1 star then it's worth looking into, but for the most part, a sizable portion of the bad ones are just idiots who don't know what they're doing.

That said, if there IS a problem with those, then these three have a good track record and still roughly match a 470 for performance:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127534
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162056

The 470 isn't bad by any means, no, but it is a space heater compared to cards with similar performance. I was just throwing some more options out there.
 
Big Daddy Rhino

Big Daddy Rhino

Member
I'm getting a case with quite a bit of ventilation. Plus, I'm getting a CPU fan that looks like a Chevy small block. Also, I only play WoW (not too much of a load), I think I'll be okay.
 
linkin

linkin

VIP Member
You haven't chosen a powersupply, so here's my recommendation:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7207002&cm_re=xfx_650w-_-17-207-002-_-Product

or if you prefer without the green fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7207007&cm_re=xfx_650w-_-17-207-007-_-Product

I'd also get a different motherboard. Intel branded boards have limited overclocking/tweaking options which can be bad, because most if not all RAM above 1333mhz requires to be manually set (Due to CPU only officially supporting that speed), unless the RAM has XMP profiles (which are not perfect, and some RAM doesn't have them)

So here's my choice of motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=lga_1156_motherboard-_-13-131-634-_-Product
 
Big Daddy Rhino

Big Daddy Rhino

Member
There is a PSU, look again... I'm getting one with a little more oomph, so I don't have to upgrade my PSU when I upgrade the rest of the rig.

I will consider the mobo. But with the 1155s coming, I may replace the whole CPU/mobo altogether.
 
Drenlin

Drenlin

Active Member
Big Daddy Rhino said:
There is a PSU, look again... I'm getting one with a little more oomph, so I don't have to upgrade my PSU when I upgrade the rest of the rig.

I will consider the mobo. But with the 1155s coming, I may replace the whole CPU/mobo altogether.
Click to expand...

The Thermalake Black Widow is part of the TR2 line, IIRC...I'd avoid that.

The cheapest good quality 850W I see is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151100

It's a Seasonic M12D unit, but in OEM packaging, which means that it comes with next to nothing apart from the PSU itself...you'll need to find a nice thick power cable elsewhere.

The "other" best deal right now is this XFX. Same guts as the one above, but prettier and with all the trimmings. The rebate doesn't hurt, either.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001

The Seasonic M12D platform is near-legendary as far as PSU's go. It has great performance all across the board.


If you want a really high quality unit, this Corsair AX850 would do the job nicely:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

It's based on the Seasonic X platform, and is nearly identical to the Seasonic X-850. Don't get me wrong, the M12D ones are really, really good, but this is even better. They run silently most of the time, and the stability is just amazing.


Reviews:
XFX 850W BE- http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=165
Corsair AX850- http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=197
Seasonic M12D 850W- http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=127 (the guts of the first two units come from this)
 
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