X6 1090T Gaming Rig - Advice & Thoughts Needed Please :)

[LifeOnMars]

I've been out of PC gaming for a few months, but now I'm back, from outer space. Anyways, here is my proposed build for the end of this month. Advice & thoughts needed please

Case -Antec 300
PSU -XFX 650W XXX Edition Single Rail Modular PSU
MB -Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 890FX
CPU - AMD 1090T (Aiming for 3.8/4 ghz oc)
Cooling - Corsair CWCH50
Memory - Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Memory Kit CL7 1.7V
Hard Drives - 2 x Western Digital BLACK 640GB Hard Drive SATAIII 7200rpm 64MB Cache
Optical Drive - LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive
Graphics Card - Gigabyte GTX 460 Super OverClock Edition 1GB
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Gaming Keyboard suggestions needed

Note - I already have the processor (recieved today ) and I already have a Dell monitor which I'm more than happy with @1680x1050.

Questions -

1. Are there particular SATA 3 cables I will need for the hard drives as they are OEM and I only have SATA 2 cables?

2. Suggestions for quiet but effective fans for the Antec 300

3. RAID 0 - I have a slower hard drive which could be used for storage so would I install the OS and games on the raid setup? Also, any clash if I am running the older drive via sata 2, is that possible?

4. The sbridge on this board is known to get hot, what size fans can i place on it to help the cooling?

General thoughts on the build are also welcomed
Thanks guys.

[LifeOnMars]

aNY HELP PLEASE GUYS

[streetfighter 2]

Looks like a decent computer (depending on how good of a deal you can get on the components). I'm sure most people would tell you to get an SSD for your system drive; not me though. I like storage in vast, vast, vast, inexplicably vast quantities. At newegg the 1TB version of the HDD you picked is 11.1GB/USD compared to the 640GB which is 9.1GB/USD. I don't know if the prices are similar in the UK but that's a huge difference. Why no DDR3 1600MHz? Also in the states the CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX is around the same price (or cheaper) than the XFX 650W XXX Edition and I'd pick Corsair over XFX any day of the week.

1) So far as I know the only difference is that the SATA 3 standard stipulates a locking mechanism on the connectors...
2) Quiet? I don't know the meaning of the word. You'll have to wait for someone else to answer it.
3) I would suggest using the Raid 0 array for the files you use most because it will improve their load time. For most people that's just games and virtual memory but putting your OS there is fine too. The Clash is a great band and has nothing to do with mixing SATA I, II or III drives, even when rocking certain Casbahs.
4) No idea with this particular board. Generally SB chips fit a 40mm fairly well. I have no idea how you could mount it though...

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

aNY HELP PLEASE GUYS

NO.

[Swamp Monster]

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

AMD 1090T (Aiming for 3.8/4 ghz oc)
Cooling - Corsair CWCH50

I think this cooler won't be sufficient for that overclock, but I could be wrong.

[monte84]

the southbridge gets a but warm, but certianly not hot. Dont think you would have room for a fan with a dual slot vid card intsalled in 1st pcie x16 slot.

[CJCerny]

Not trying to flame, but I guess the real question you should ask yourself is why you are trying to build a 1090t gaming rig at all. If you read the processor reviews here on TPU, you'll see that, in most games, the i5 and i7 still turn out better frame rates, even with fewer cores.

[scaminatrix]

I can help answer a couple of your questions.
1. Boards that support SATA 3 should come with at least a couple of SATA 3 cables. My C4F came with 2 of them, and 4 SATA 2 cables.
Although, has anyone here bought a board that supports SATA 3 but didn't come with any SATA 3 cables?
4. I got one of these for the NB on my old board and it works wonders. People may say it's loud, but it's not at 100% speed it wasn't the loudest part of my machine; and I'm 99% sure the board you picked has fan speed controlling capabilities anyway.
It took the temp of my NB from around 54c to 43c (load)

[Fourstaff]

You should consider the 6850, and instead of that Corsair cooler, you should go for something more standard like CNPS10X. They cool just as good with less. The rest is fine, but you might want to drop the board down 1 notch to the UD3.

As for keyboard, I like my G11, and I tried the Sidewinder x6 and I think I will like it once I get used to it. Other recommendations include the logitech Illuminated - I heard people talking good things about it.

[LifeOnMars]

Originally Posted by Swamp Monster

I think this cooler won't be sufficient for that overclock, but I could be wrong.

Can anyone else confirm this? I want a nice, stable overclock and don't want to worry about it once sorted.

[LifeOnMars]

I aim to go to a higher res at some point so the numbers will even out more when it gets to GPU bottleneck , I have also seen a fair reviews which show the 1090T to take the lead....even above the 980x. TBH it's all much of a muchness as most top tier processors can play any game at decent fps when coupled with a worthy GPU.

I understand when I go to a higher res monitor that the 460 GTX may struggle which is the time it will be relegated to a nice physx unit and I will get a beefy ATI card.

Originally Posted by CJCerny

Not trying to flame, but I guess the real question you should ask yourself is why you are trying to build a 1090t gaming rig at all. If you read the processor reviews here on TPU, you'll see that, in most games, the i5 and i7 still turn out better frame rates, even with fewer cores.

[LifeOnMars]

Originally Posted by scaminatrix

I can help answer a couple of your questions.
1. Boards that support SATA 3 should come with at least a couple of SATA 3 cables. My C4F came with 2 of them, and 4 SATA 2 cables.
Although, has anyone here bought a board that supports SATA 3 but didn't come with any SATA 3 cables?
4. I got one of these for the NB on my old board and it works wonders. People may say it's loud, but it's not at 100% speed it wasn't the loudest part of my machine; and I'm 99% sure the board you picked has fan speed controlling capabilities anyway.
It took the temp of my NB from around 54c to 43c (load)

1. Good to know, do you know anything about running sata 3 drives and sata 2 drives side by side?

I'll certainly consider that fan as, like I said, I'm looking for a nice stable system

[LifeOnMars]

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

You should consider the 6850, and instead of that Corsair cooler, you should go for something more standard like CNPS10X. They cool just as good with less. The rest is fine, but you might want to drop the board down 1 notch to the UD3.

As for keyboard, I like my G11, and I tried the Sidewinder x6 and I think I will like it once I get used to it. Other recommendations include the logitech Illuminated - I heard people talking good things about it.

I have just read in a magazine about the new Logitech keyboard that's being released/released already? got a very favourable review so I will look into that .

[LifeOnMars]

BUMP Anyone know of compatability issues running SATA 3 drives alongside SATA 2?

Changing my mind on the GPU to a GTX 460 Superoverclocked GIGABYTE. Apparently runs like greased lightning, can handle 1080p gaming, keeps cool and quiet and also is cheaper.

As far as the CH50 cooler goes, I have also heard a few people say that the pump is noisy? Can anyone who has it confirm/deny this please

[scaminatrix]

No issues here, I'm running 4 x 500GB WDC Black's (SATA 2, not in RAID) and a 1TB WDC Black (SATA 3) and all is fine.
Can't help with the 460 or H50 though.

[LifeOnMars]

That memory your running looks shit hot Scam.....what's the code for them and how do they run/perform mate?

[scaminatrix]

Not very well for the amount they cost, unfortunately. Paid £140 for 4GB and watched them go straight down to £100. They are these ones.
They run at 1600 CL7, but at 1933 they are at CL9. I should edit my specs actually
I can't complain really, at 1933 they are blazingly fast

[LifeOnMars]

Ha ha, still, like you say....nice speed

[cadaveca]

Are you really set on AMD cpus?

[LifeOnMars]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

Are you really set on AMD cpus?

Already have the CPU - 1090T. Why Cad? Are you now gonna say its crap performance compared to intel?

[cadaveca]

No, it's not crap, but...Intel is a wee bit better. I just recently changed platforms, so I've had to change my perspective, given recent pricing changes in both camps.

AMD has more grunt, core-wise, at the same price, basically, but few apps use all the cores effectively.

[LifeOnMars]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

No, it's not crap, but...Intel is a wee bit better. I just recently changed platforms, so I've had to change my perspective, given recent pricing changes in both camps.

AMD has more grunt, core-wise, at the same price, basically, but few apps use all the cores effectively.

Ok that's cool then, I guess I pretty much knew that anyway. I'll be happy if games are smooth enough and I'm sure I will be happy with multitasking/multicore supported software performance. Hopefully games will start utilising more and more cores soon so that I can reap the benefit for a little while. Still....who am i kidding, I'll probably have it a year and upgrade again After all, I'm a TPUer It's a prerequisite of being a member.

[@RaXxaa@]

On such a system i would cut on the price on some components if price is limited and change the gpu cuz the 460 is a bit slow for aspect of your sytem and IV formula board?

[LifeOnMars]

I would not consider the GTX 460 slow, not when its overclocked, Also, the motherboard I have chosen is highly rated and has good feedback from alot of users. Remember, i'll only be at 1680x1050 res for a while, the 460 will handle that with ease.

I am however, umming and ahing over cooling for the processor and a different case. Ideally, would like a reasonably quiet experience so any help there would be appreciated

[Fourstaff]

You should consider AMD's graphics card given that the board supports Crossfire but not SLi

[Frick]

Originally Posted by Fourstaff

You should consider AMD's graphics card given that the board supports Crossfire but not SLi

Was going to say that.