New High-End Build Advice

[xstayxtruex]

With my recent stroke of luck in getting a decently paying job, I'm deciding on a new build to last me 2 or 3 years like my current one has done (An AMD Brisbane was decent for a budget build back in 1Q '08)

My new build is as follows:

Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 650D
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K
VGA: MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III (grabbing another for Xfire later on)
PSU: Corsair Professional Series 850w 80+ Gold +3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@70A, -12V@0.5A, +5VSB@3A
RAM: G.Skill RipJaw 8GB 4x2GB 7-8-7-24-2N @ 1.6v
Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS 9900MAX

Now about the storage. I'm completely aware that SSDs are the way to go on a high end build, but I'm trying to keep my build sub $2K at the same time.

I could compromise else where in my build to make room to get an OCZ Vertex 3, but I kind of like my build where it is.

I'm looking for inputs on either getting x2 150GB SATA II VelociRaptors w/ 16MB cache to make an RAID0 array, or getting a single 600GB SATA III VelociRaptor w/ 32MB cache.

I'm getting a 1TB Caviar Black HDD for music/storage/etc.

But as it stands, RAID0 16MB cache SATA II vs single but more capacity @ 32MB cache SATA III

Any ideas?

[entropy13]

Can you squeeze a bit more money for the video card, a HD 6970 or GTX 570 I guess?

Is there a specific reason you would choose an AMD card over Nvidia?


Performance-wise the 6970 and 570 are ahead of the 6950, but the 570 matches the 6950 in price over performance.


I'd choose the 600GB, but that's just me.

[Paulieg]

You could easily do a 120GB SSD and stay in budget. It's worth it, trust me. Makes for a 12-16 second Win 7 boot. Everything else will load much quicker too. I don't think I could ever go back to OS platter drives. You also need to switch coolers IMO. If you want a smaller footprint, go with a Venomous-X. If size is of no concern, do with a Noctua D14. Everything else looks quite good.

[yogurt_21]

Originally Posted by Paulieg

You could easily do a 120GB SSD and stay in budget. It's worth it, trust me. Makes for a 12-16 second Win 7 boot. Everything else will load much quicker too. I don't think I could ever go back to OS platter drives. You also need to switch coolers IMO. If you want a smaller footprint, go with a Venomous-X. If size is of no concern, do with a Noctua D14. Everything else looks quite good.

if all he's using it for is an os drive why not go 60gb? for the price difference he could grab 2 additional caviar blacks and run them in raid 5 for storage, games, etc.

you'd still have good boot and load times.

[xstayxtruex]

I decided to go 6950 because of the lower temps and power consumption, the twin frozr III's overclocking headroom (im eventually going to throw a water loop in there), the advanced multi GPU scaling compared to the nvidia 500 series cards, and the possibility to unlock the shaders was another selling point. Also PhysX games are fine played without it imo.

The cooler choice is based off a personal aesthetics/footprint/performance ratio. Tower coolers to me are ugly bulky things, and the Zalman cooler's performance is only about 1C over the closest tower competition. On some reviews it's actually better at cooling than the Venomous-X and Noctua NH-D14 shown here . It is a little loud, but like I said, I'm eventually going to build a water loop and the air cooler will be irrelevant.

I was planning on using the RAID array for the system root + games, while the 1TB was for anything that doesn't need fast burst rates. Is there any gain out of putting games on the array or the SSD in your guy's experience ?

[markd87]

xstayxtruex

I would have to echo what Paulieg said. I created a similar build to your proposal (although a bit bulkier) and I almost scrapped the SSD. I am glad I decided to keep it. My computer boots in around 15 seconds and I installed my heaviest applications on the SSD to remove any bottlenecks. I got an OCZ Vertex II 60GB for around $100. I probably should've gotten the 120 GB, but the 60 easily fits my OS and my most important applications. In regards to the Corsair Professional Series PSU it's obviously a very good PSU, but you could probably get a little bit more bang for your buck with the XFX 850W Black Edition at $130 after mail-in-rebate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817207001). I initially selected the same Corsair PSU and ended up choosing the XFX in order to save some money on recommendation. It has performed perfectly, and it is rated for better power efficiency than the Corsair.