help me buy a new comp

[datora]

.
You can knock ~$200 off that cart by going with some of the recommends I've  made:

RAM + PSU combo: $60 + $50 = $110 instead of $175, save $65

Case: $60 instead of $150, save $90

HDD: WD Caviar black 500 GB ($60) instead of 1 TB ($90), save $30


And, you could save a little bit more, like maybe go with a x4 core Deneb instead of x6 core Thubin for the CPU.

Meaning you could get a free high-capacity/performance SATA III SSD on that same $1200 budget (your mouse/keyboard would also be "free").  Just my first reaction.

Don't know if you're planning to buy a legit copy of Win7 or not; if you are, watch for an OEM copy for system builders.  The Win7 Pro edition goes on sale for ~$125 semi-regularly, and the Home ~$85, unless you're really set on Ultimate, or will go with "other" options.


I see your point about wireless network, but for me it's a non-starter: hard cable every time.  If you're going WiFi, very definitely learn how to use advanced options & encryption to secure your network; bandwidth thieves can cause you enormous legal problems, apart from any personal data that might get compromised.  Also, I'm not a big fan of wireless mice/keyboards.  Have has several and just don't like wasting batteries on them; pointless overhead cost.  But, your mouse/keyboard combo is actually a pretty good price, and your choice.


[ EDIT:  hmmm.  Noticed the aftermarket cooling block isn't in your budget yet.  There should also have been a discussion about a proper surge protector, &plus (maybe) a UPS back-up battery.  Both are excellent considerations. ]

[Nyking754]

.
You can knock ~$200 off that cart by going with some of the recommends I've  made:

RAM + PSU combo: $60 + $50 = $110 instead of $175, save $65

Case: $60 instead of $150, save $90

HDD: WD Caviar black 500 GB ($60) instead of 1 TB ($90), save $30


And, you could save a little bit more, like maybe go with a x4 core Deneb instead of x6 core Thubin for the CPU.

Meaning you could get a free high-capacity/performance SATA III SSD on that same $1200 budget (your mouse/keyboard would also be "free").  Just my first reaction.

Don't know if you're planning to buy a legit copy of Win7 or not; if you are, watch for an OEM copy for system builders.  The Win7 Pro edition goes on sale for ~$125 semi-regularly, and the Home ~$85, unless you're really set on Ultimate, or will go with "other" options.


I see your point about wireless network, but for me it's a non-starter: hard cable every time.  If you're going WiFi, very definitely learn how to use advanced options & encryption to secure your network; bandwidth thieves can cause you enormous legal problems, apart from any personal data that might get compromised.  Also, I'm not a big fan of wireless mice/keyboards.  Have has several and just don't like wasting batteries on them; pointless overhead cost.  But, your mouse/keyboard combo is actually a pretty good price, and your choice.


[ EDIT:  hmmm.  Noticed the aftermarket cooling block isn't in your budget yet.  There should also have been a discussion about a proper surge protector, &plus (maybe) a UPS back-up battery.  Both are excellent considerations. ]

i put the ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED on my list is it not good?

[kitamesume]

you already got 2TB of HDD and want to add in another 1TB? using it as an OS to boot? make up your mind lol.

IF, i repeat, IF you really want a phenom II x6, get the freakin 1055T, you could shave like 20$ off. you dont need a black edition to rip your clocks, the normal ones can still reach 3.5-4ghz, plus i can see that you have little to no interest in overclocking as well.

(click to show/hide)

one question though, why do you want a X6? its been like 2years? since the 6cores has been released and i still have yet to see a game that supports it, maybe after 5years or so then a couple of games that supports more cores would be made but what? its not like they wont support lesser cores >,> heck even the 2cores right now are enough to run seriously heavy games(crysis & metro).

[datora]

.

i put the ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED on my list is it not good?

Sorry, my bad.  When I read the list, for some reason I thought it was an extra cooling fan for the case.  From the quick read I just took at the feedback, you should be quite happy with the performance.  Installing a cooling block is one of the slightly tricky things you'll do on the build, and it is critical to get it right or the CPU will run much hotter than it needs to.  Strongly suggest you look through the feedback section at newegg for the product & search youtube for some instructional videos since you don't seem to have done this before.

When you apply the thermal compound, you don't need much, the rule of thumb is "a grain of rice" or maybe slightly larger.  When you spread it on your CPU/heatsink surfaces, make sure that you use something that leaves not even a particle of dust (a clean plastic spatula with smooth edge, for example) ... at the CPU-heatsink interface level, something half the thickness of your hair is like a giant boulder and can seriously degrade the efficiency of heat exchange at contact surfaces.


The Zalman is a solid name brand and it looks real spank, but you can save $42 by considering the XIGMATEK BALDER SD1283 120mm Long Life CPU Cooler ACK-I5361 I suggested earlier.  It will perform pretty much the same (from what I can tell), especially for this build.  The Zalman might run slightly quieter when the fan is at low speeds (the CPU is under low load and already cool), but at it's upper end it's actually slightly louder than the XigmaTech.

Another consideration: the XigmaTech uses a standard fan, which can be replaced by another ultra-silent one when it begins to go (pretty much all fans do after 2+ years).  Something goes wrong with the Zalman (unlikely, I admit, but ...) and you have to get the replacement from Zalman.  The XigmaTech, additionally, supports having two fans attached to it, if you need them: one pushing the air through with the other pulling the air through.  Feedback is mixed on how much extra cooling that provides, but the consensus is that it does provide extra capacity while remaining fairly quiet.


About the x4 core v x6 core: kitamesume makes a valid point.  However, I'm not gonna knock on you for going with it.  It's sexy, and only $20.  You'll get some epeen bragging rights on it, and you'll have the capacity on your system to explore and try to make use of it.  I think we'll see support for x6 core and up a bit sooner than kitamesume suggests.

But I'll add this on for thinking about.  By 2012 there will be established and stable bulldozer CPUs that will fit your board.  Some monster or another that kicks the Thubin x6 to the curb will be available for under $200.  So, in 12 months you may well be able to grab one for ~$160-180-ish, or maybe even under depending on the exact model.

I'm suggesting that something like a x4 core Deneb, like I grabbed a 965 3.4 GHz for $120 last week, is a rock-solid CPU that you can clock at 3.8 GHz and even 4 GHz with ease & safety.  It will eat pretty much any game you can throw at it alive and spit the bones out.  If some new gaming sweetness comes along by next June or so, you could then jump your CPU into the next generation and reset your rig's life expectancy into 2015-ish or so.

Just for thinking about.

[kitamesume]

guys, hold your horses, i think i found a great drive =D

[110$]Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

and

[110$]Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

its like buying 500GB of WD Black for 28$ each lol.

[datora]

.

url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136824][110$]Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive[/url]

its like buying 500GB of WD Black for 28$ each lol.

Dat's krezy demmed price!  Had seen these on special for $130 delivered not too long ago.  Still wouldn't want it for my boot drive, but for this price I might risk it.

Keep in mind ... this is a recertified drive.  Means it was returned for some problem (about 80%-90% of the time it is user error) and WD then checked it out, found nothing wrong with it, and is now reselling it.  For some tech I wouldn't trust very much, but for a WD Caviar Black HDD, I'd estimate it's probably a Good Bet.  It does have a shorter warranty period, so 90 days instead of 5 years, and add on shipping for a total of ~$118 delivered.

Not going to take it myself due to budget issues, but on a different day if I had the money to spare, I would very certainly take it for a really fast applications plus data drive.  I'd avoid it as my boot drive unless my options forced me to.



However, the reason I dropped by briefly is to give a heads' up on a Shell Shocker coming by in a few hours:

 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III - normally $117 delivered.

This is a very solid speed demon of an SSD.  The one small caveat is that it has pretty incredible READ numbers [ Up to 415 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s)], at the expense of WRITE numbers [ Up to 95 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s) ].  On modern SSDs you'd want to see ~250 MB/s to ~280 MB/s, or even maybe 315 MB/s, for write.

However, the read speed looks pretty legit, and it's blazing.  For 80% of most uses (OS boot, games, etc. for examples), those read numbers are the important part.  In my case, I want to be doing graphics, so having my Photoshop scratch disk on this is one of the benefits I'm looking for.  But, it's an SSD, so it'll spank the bolts off any HDD even if it may be "sluggish" in comparison to other SSDs.  The SATA III is nice bonus, even if it still won't saturate the SATA III capacity.

It's due to become available at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time, so that's 4:00 p.m. Atlantic.  I've noticed that sometimes they become available a few minutes earlier.

Now, t3h Question is:  how much of a Shell "Shocker" will it be ..?  Will they really cut it down under $90?   Like $75 or $80 ..?  $95 would be a bit "meh," even though a pretty good deal by today's standards.  "Under $90" will be much more interesting if it happens.

Gonna be watching this one with my cart all logged in and ready to go.  Could be gone within minutes if they really discount it deep.


[ EDIT:  One other quick point: the mean failure/service life on this is 1,200,000 hours.  Most of the other drives are 2,000,000 hours.  It will still take a loooooong time to wear out, but those numbers are a bit anemic compared to most others.  The question being: maybe 1.2 million is just more honest than other specs ..?

I'm not seeing any specific mention of TRIM support.  I'll be surprised if the drive doesn't have it, so for the moment I'm assuming it's maybe just an oversight on the listing.  Off to check Crucial's website for the detailed specs.


EDIT^2 a few hours later: New E-Blast out this morning dedicated to storage solutions, with Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black for $130, new & 5 year warranty, promo EMCKCHJ22 ... plus some other interesting things to look at.

And ... $99.99 delivered for the Crucial SSD on Shell Shocker.  Showed up about 1 minute sooner than 4:00 p.m. local.  Certainly a good deal, but not one I'll bite one ... if it had been a 90 GB drive, maybe even an 80, I'd have done it.  $100 too much for 64 GB, even at this performance; can waitz.  ]

[Nyking754]

hey for the oem hdds will i get a cable that connects the disk to the mobo or will i have to buy one?

[krumm]

hey for the oem hdds will i get a cable that connects the disk to the mobo or will i have to buy one?

They usually supply sata cables with the motherboard.

If not you can get them cheap at monoprice.com

[kitamesume]

if you can find a computer parts shop around your town then 99% i`m sure that it sells sata cables, and 1% that its garbage and doesn't even know what sata means.

@Datora
Demn 2x4gb DDR3 1333 sniper for 52$ *bangs head*

[Nyking754]

if you can find a computer parts shop around your town then 99% i`m sure that it sells sata cables, and 1% that its garbage and doesn't even know what sata means.

@Datora
Demn 2x4gb DDR3 1333 sniper for 52$ *bangs head*

good thing i live in nyc lol

[datora]

.

hey for the oem hdds will i get a cable that connects the disk to the mobo or will i have to buy one?

You'll need to have your own for OEM bare drives ... as said, your mobo will come with (probably 4), check the picture.  For the modern mobo you're looking at, they will be rated for SATA III 6 Gb/s.

I just bought three of these:

 - BYTECC 20" Serial ATA-150/300 Cable w/Locking Latch Model SATA-120C

The price drops when you buy several.  Search for SATA cable @newegg & there's ~400 hits; order by lowest price first and look for groups of prices for products; you can then compare what else is available and how many you need to buy to get a price drop.  Always nice to have an extra cable or three around; you never know when you'll need them.

So, I grabbed x3, @$2.89 each, and you get dinged for $1.99 shipping, plus $1 more for more than one ... so 3 or 7 or 12 & shipping is $2.99.  My total was $11.66.  Read the specs and you'll notice three things: 1) they are SATA II rated, 2) the locking connection and 3) they are 20" cables.  I urge that 20" cables are about optimum & minimum length for ATX case builds; 16" and under sometimes are very hard to route, especially 12" & 10" cables.  The locking clip on the connection is very nice: cables sometimes work themselves loose (vibration, heat, etc.) and these provide a secure, firm connection that you never have to worry about.

The SATA II rating:  well, my DVD burner doesn't need a SATA III cable, and two of the HDDs I'll use are SATA II rated ... so I will conserve my SATA III cables for use with SATA III devices.  In a pinch, a SATA III HDD can be connected to a SATA II cable and it will still transfer data at its maximum potential.  Might not get so lucky with a SATA III SSD.

And, yeah, Bytecc is quite a reliable enough name in cables that the quality is excellent.  I probably have used 30 of their cables in the past 18 months and they have all been very solid quality.


For SATA III cables, I have a couple of these that serve very well:

 - Rosewill SATA Black Flat Cable w/ Locking Latch 6, 3 and 1.5 Gb/s rate Model RC-18"-SA2-BK

When I got them last year, they were $2.49 each with $1.99 shipping for 2; price has gone up since then.  Very solid, well-made cables.  At 18" they just work with an inch or so to spare in a full-sized case ... thus my recommendation to try and locate 20" cables, Just To Be Sure.

[Freedom Kira]

I was told by the sales clerk at Memory Express that the cables are the same for SATA II and III, and that it's only the controller on each side that matters. I'm not sure how accurate that is, though, especially since my mobo came with different-looking cables for II and III.

[kitamesume]

the cables are the same, most likely your mobo provided a tad well shielded cable for the sata III.

[Jarudin]

http://www.maingear.com/

I'd get one of those if I lived in the US.

[raandomer]

tagging this thread for the laughs