No budget multimedia/gaming rig build.

[Viceroy]

This build's ultimate purpose is to be used for mainly for gaming and multimedia downloading/burning/ripping/playback. I have stated that this build has no budget restrictions. This is true, however that is not to say that I am willing to spend excess amounts of money for hugely diminished returns on bleeding-edge merchandise. I am satisfied with the product that is currently at a great value but is not underpowered. For instance, my GPU of choice is the Radeon 5850. It is less powerful than the 5870, but also much less expensive. It is also slightly more expensive than a 4890, or 2x4870 CF'd, but also a much more solid and versatile performer. The perfect balance of power-pricing for me is the Radeon 5850.

---Potential purchases---

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
$97 taxed/shipped
Low latency and low voltage make up for its low speed, which can be easily overclocked. I will consider purchasing a second set if 4gb seems insufficient.

GPU - Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850
$265 taxed/shipped

ODD - HP Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 24X Multiformat DVD Writer
$35 taxed/shipped
This one does everything but Blu-ray. If you can find me a better one or a cheaper one, chime in.

$397 total

---Recently completed purchases---

***New*** Case - XCLIO Windtunnel Fully Black Finish 1.0 mm SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case
$98 taxed/shipped

PSU - ENERMAX ERV1050EWT Revolution85+ 1050W SLI/CrossFire Active PFC Modular 85 Plus Silver Certified Power Supply
$150 taxed/shipped

HDD - Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache
$75 taxed/shipped

CPU - Intel Core i7 Processor i7-860 2.80GHz 8MB LGA1156 + Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 Socket 1156/ Intel P55/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ A&GbE
$335 taxed/shipped

VDU - Dell UltraSharp U2410 24 inch 1920x1200 6ms 1000:1 HDMI/DVI/VGA/DisplayPort Widescreen LCD Monitor
$524 taxed/shipped
Really phat screen with badass features and picture. Demands high-power GPU so I can take advantage of its awesomeness.

Audio A - Altec Lansing BXR1121
$20.00 taxed/shipped
If you haven't heard these before then you are missing out. For the quality of sound I can't believe they only retail for about 25 dollars.

Moose - Razer Salmosa
$27.00 taxed/shipped

$1229 total

***New*** ---Optional purchases---

***New*** Mouse - My current mouse, the Razer Salmosa, is somewhat unsatisfactory to me. I bought it on the prerequisite that it would be ideal for fingertip gripping, when in fact the dynamics of the mouse seem more befitting a claw grip or even a palm, and this is just not what I wanted at all. If held with fingertips, the Salmosa buttons are too difficult to depress (due to being nearer to the butt end), the chassis shows marks very easily, and the mouse itself is just much too long to be effectively maneuvered like a fingertip mouse should be.

If you have any suggestions for mice that you think I would like, please let me know.

***New*** Keys - Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
$50 taxed/shipped
Keyboard needs to have backlighting, or whatever it is called where a light comes on beneath the keys so they can be seen easier in a dark room. The keys must have space between them and must have noticeable depression (so no laptop keys). It absolutely must NOT have all the noobish bling like a dumb little LCD screen or 50 programmable buttons I'll never use. If you have any suggestions for boards you think I would like, or if you think the G11 is perfect for me, let me know.

***New*** HDD - I already have a 1tb drive listed in my completed purchases, but I am considering several options that would involve different/additional HDDs.

One would be purchasing a 10k RPM drive, particularly the Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive. Newegg is running a combo deal right now where they are throwing in a power supply along with the VR, and giving you 2 bucks just to take it off their hands. I have no use for that PSU on my machine, so I figure I could sell it on Ebay for about $70, thus bringing the practical price of a 300 GB WD VR down to $150. Another option would be to take identical drives and run them in RAID, but this would practically necessitate that I sell my current drive and buy faster ones (I am going for speed here, after all). Yet another option would be the one included in the following quote:

Another option is to buy a 32MB cache 1.0 or 1.5 TB drive ( $90 to $140 typically , Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 series in particular here ) and "short-stroke it" to only 300 ( or 700 ) GB, using the fastest part of the platters only ( restrict cylinders to only allow access to outer cylinders/tracks of the platters, so that the drive is forced to only r/w to the fastest parts of the platters ( the middle to outside of the platters, larger circumference of platter = higher data throughput there ), making inner portion of the platters inaccessible. Once you do this, the performance is on par with VelociRaptor ( even slightly better in certain benchmarks ) for about half the price of the VelociRaptor.

All of the options look tempting and viable to me. I thank you for any insight you can offer me in this matter.

********

That's it for the potential purchases for now. Please give me any opinions you have-no change is too small. I've spent a lot of time on this build because I want it to be as perfect as it can be, so please spare no detail. I am all-ears.

Thanks a bunch

~Viceroy Trepanation

 

[Viceroy]

I just gave the OP an update. I'll be back to respond tomorrow evening.

 

[Viceroy]

I just gave the OP an update. I'll be back to respond tomorrow evening.

 

[Wile E]

If you do a lot of video encoding/ripping/trancoding, the 920 is worth the extra few dollars. It would be 15-20% faster in most of those tasks, but I don't believe it will be 20% more expensive. It has hyperthreading, whereas the 750 does not. Not to mention, X58 is just the all-around better platform. Ram would also have to change to a triple channel kit. If encoding performance isn't important to you, your setup still looks good, but take it from someone who encodes a lot, the faster stuff is worth it in the long run if encoding is a priority.

 

[Viceroy]

the 920 is worth the extra few dollars

HT is so overhyped it can be called a conspiracy at this point. 4 cores is already overkill, and getting even MORE at the cost of performance in every other area is just a dumb decision to make.

x58 may be a better platform, but it would necessitate a CPU other than the i5 750, and quite frankly I just do not see that as a viable option at all.

 

[RejZoR]

HT was useless back in Pentium D days because rarely any program used 2 CPU's or 2 cores.
Only that i remember was some MPEG2 encoder and Quake 3 Arena. But today, pretty much ALL programs support more cores. Same goes for games. And thats why HT shines almost everywhere. Yes, even in games, there are gains from HT.

 

[AhokZYashA]

about the Altec BXR1121..
the sound quality is just crap..
Altec VS4121 is MUCH MUCH MUCH better in terms of sound quality..
if you don't have budget restrictions..
then Bose Companion 5 is the best option for 2.1ch Speaker..
or Logitech Z5500 5.1ch speaker

about the other stuff..
is very nice if just for multimedia encoding/burning/ripping.

 

[MoonPig]

If it's no budget and you plan on using it to download (I'm guessing this would be overnight) i would get a 5850 or 5870. Their damn powerful and their idle power consumption is amazing.

Also, go i7 + X58. Much better.

 

[Tatty_Two]

HT is so overhyped it can be called a conspiracy at this point. 4 cores is already overkill, and getting even MORE at the cost of performance in every other area is just a dumb decision to make.

x58 may be a better platform, but it would necessitate a CPU other than the i5 750, and quite frankly I just do not see that as a viable option at all.

Less so these days, simply take a look at the ripping or encoding performance tests say for a movie, compare 4 to 8 threads and then realise how much time is lost with the 4.

Having said that, thats a nice setup you have planned, I would perhaps lean towards the HD4890 than the 4870, they are just more capable cards for little extra in price, although the GTX260 should also be considered IMO if the price is right.

 

[Viceroy]

about the Altec BXR1121..
the sound quality is just crap..

No, it is at least 65% as good as the 250 dollar z5500's. You just assume more expensive things are always better because you are inexperienced.

Also, go i7 + X58. Much better.

No. the i7 920 is obsolete.

 

[RejZoR]

And why is i7 920 obsolete? It's a kick ass quad core.

 

[troyrae360]

No, it is at least 65% as good as the 250 dollar z5500's. You just assume more expensive things are always better because you are inexperienced.


No. the i7 920 is obsolete.

if somthing is 65% as good that means the other is 35% Better, thats a massive improvment IMO

Dont forget this guy is filthy rich and has no budget restrictions

i7 920 Obsolote? What are your your specs then?

 

[WarEagleAU]

I know this is odd but I would have went with the 1366 build if you are going Intel. Sometime next year, they will be moving to hexcores (I think I Read that right) and the upgrade path is there. With the 1156 you will not be able to go that route but Im not sure if you want to. Personally a 920 is a more preferred choice (seeing as you wont do AMD). Graphics card is fine but high unless that is for 2. Id go a 4890 or 5850. Case, not bad, but the Corsair 800D is awesome. PSU, nice selection but one of OCZ Gold series would have been awesome.

 

[Yukikaze]

No, it is at least 65% as good as the 250 dollar z5500's. You just assume more expensive things are always better because you are inexperienced.

No. the i7 920 is obsolete.

You just assume that if something is newer it is better - because you are inexperienced.

 

[MT Alex]

I'm not sure what kind of help this guy wants. He obviously has his own opinions, and they are abrupt and strong.

 

[Yukikaze]

I'm not sure what kind of help this guy wants. He obviously has his own opinions, and they are abrupt and strong.

The kind of help that tells him that he is right, I suspect.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

The kind of help that tells him that he is right, I suspect.

in that case...
OP your right on everything. You have picked the parts to build the perfect rig NOTHING can top it and no way can it be improved.. I don't deserve to even be in your thread your so great...

If you didn't notice i hate assholes like him who think they know everything

 

[3volvedcombat]

Someone Tell him the facts.
i7 920, is tripple channel interface/ win right there.
i7 920 has hyper threading, benchmarks on many many programs go check them out it rapes.
i7 920 over clocks so dam well if you get a good stepping it luls.
the cons, are that the motherboards for 1366 arnt supporting sata 3 and nothing is sata 3 yet either.
the i7 920 is rape in conclusion, its just faster more threaded proc, that utilizes really high speed ddr3 ram at 4.0Ghz at low voltage with triple channel bandwidth allowing for more memory in the slots? thats faster then a slightly faster renamed q9550.
The gaming computer isnt going to cut it stock thats why i said 4.0Ghz, if you want unbeatable by standards grab a at least a xiggy s1283 or better in air cooling, or go water for 150+ dollars and overclock the i7, so easy on even auto settings so far ive been hearing on gigabyte boards

HD 4870 is good but were the hell is it coming from at 289.99 lmao!!1

Maybe your in diffrent states i couldnt notice on your status under your name.

but you can grab a HD 4870 on newegg from XFX for 147.99 dollars
you can get a HD 4890 for 180 dollars,
an HD 4850x2 for 220 dollars
and HD 4870x2 for 340 dollars
all on newegg

WOOPS I FAILED :/
EDIT: your getting 2 HD 4870s great, there fast i got 120 fps on grid lmao

Its alright i dont mind this dude, are challenge is to convince prove it .

 

[Rapidfire48]

I'm not sure what kind of help this guy wants. He obviously has his own opinions, and they are abrupt and strong.

You read my mind.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Whats the point of this thread?

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Viceroy is just reposting the same topic again after everyone pretty much ran off & ignored him in his last thread.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103917

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Viceroy is just reposting the same topic again after everyone pretty much ran off & ignored him in his last thread.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103917

Then close one.

 

[Wile E]

HT is so overhyped it can be called a conspiracy at this point. 4 cores is already overkill, and getting even MORE at the cost of performance in every other area is just a dumb decision to make.

x58 may be a better platform, but it would necessitate a CPU other than the i5 750, and quite frankly I just do not see that as a viable option at all.

Except that in encoding, your are 100% WRONG about Hyperthreading. It is, in FACT, 15-20% faster at encoding with hyperthreading enabled vs disabled. Encoding uses all available cores. You get the same benefits from all other fully multi-threaded apps as well.

In the process of making those gains, you lose no performance anywhere else.

So lets recap- it shows significant 15-20% gains in all multithreaded apps, including encoding, yet takes no performance hit anywhere else.

Sounds like a small price hike for a good benefit to me.

No, it is at least 65% as good as the 250 dollar z5500's. You just assume more expensive things are always better because you are inexperienced.

His statement has nothing to do with experience. Those speakers he chose are all better. If you are not an audiophile, the speakers you chose are likely fine for you. If you are an audiophile, they are junk, plain and simple. Audiophiles will spend more money to get the slightest of quality gains. It's worth every single penny for us.

Most audiophiles don't go for the 5500's either tho. Although I do challenge you to find a surround setup with decoder that sounds as good for $250.

Don't go assuming that just because somebody is willing to spend more money on speakers it has to do with experience. It has more to do with taste in sound, of which you are apparently indifferent, judging by your selection of sound components. Kudos to you for that tho, it's a hell of a lot cheaper. Just my headphones cost more than your entire audio setup. lol.

No. the i7 920 is obsolete.

It's nowhere near obsolete. in fact, the 750 is already more obsolete than the 920 you have chosen look past. The 920 is the better cpu, period. It's on a vastly superior platform with more upgrade potential, is faster than the 750 in many tasks, yet is never slower than the 750.

So tell me, how is the 920 obsolete, or the 750 better, especially if the 920 is within the budget constraints?

Seems to me you need to do a little more research.

What really confuses me about you is, you claim that people are inexperienced for paying so much extra for small improvements in sound or cpu performance, yet you spring the big bucks on an S-IPS screen. So many people are perfectly happy paying 1/3 that price on a 24" Tn-Film that looks 65% as good, yet you don't hear them calling you inexperienced for buying that kick-ass panel. Try to apply the same logic used on your screen to the sound and cpu, and you'll better understand the reasoning behind our suggestions.

 

[Viceroy]

I thank you for all of your input. I just gave the OP an update, so check up on it my ninjas.

 

[Wile E]

Why would you get an 860 when you could get a 920 and X58?

Meh, whatever, I give up. Either way, hope you enjoy the build.