Ph?bus' Build Thread

[Ph?bus]

Hey there, I should have caught this thread before starting a separate post. Anyways, I've decided to hold out for the SB following your advice and I'm wondering if you can help me prepare a build for its arrival.


1a. What is your budget?
Roughly want to keep it around $1000
1b. What is your postal/zip code?
90006
1c. US or CAN?
US
1e. When do you plan on purchasing?
Post Jan 9 2011 for obvious reason.
2a. What is the main purpose of this computer?
Gaming and entertainment
2b. If work and gaming, specify which is more important.
Gaming
3a. Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes
3b. If yes, what is your goal?
Moderate amount without affecting stability. Not concerned about 3dmark scores and all that.
4a. What do you need in this build?
Everything minus the GPU(evga GTX 470), primary HD(Intel 40GB SSD), and monitor.
4b. How much harddrive space do you need/want?
2TB slave HDD for storage.
5a. How long do you plan on keeping this computer?
Roughly 3 years?
5b. If you?re planning to upgrade this computer down the road, let me know.
Most likely not.
6a. In a case, what is more important? Looks, cooling, or sound? I would like if you picked out a case.
Size, cooling, noise level, and cable management are important to me. Some of the cases I have been considering are: CM HAF X, Azza Hurricane, NZXT Phantom, and Silverstone RV-02.

Near perfect application. You should have flipped the bold sections, though.
I will do this when Sandy Bridge actually comes out. I think you should sell that 470 before you get this computer, and get a 570. It's on par with a 480, and that's on release drivers. Nvidia drivers actually net better performance each release. See if you can get into the Step Up program.
I can tell you used to be into computers more. You don't have to slave drives anymore.
Out of those cases you picked, I would actually drop the HAF X down to the 932, unless you really want the X, or the NZXT Phantom.

 

[EpicurusEpicurus]

Unfortunately the GTX 470 doesn't qualify for the Step Up program. With that being said, I'll probably look into the 570 later down the road if the price is reasonable and if the upgrade is worthwhile.

As for the NZXT phantom, are you suggesting that I drop it from my consideration also?

Thanks for looking into it.

EDIT: I have a quick question. Let's say my computer is overclocked a substantial amount. Is the computer constantly running at the overclocked speed at all times regardless of idle/load or is OC'ing merely raising the maximum frequency at which the CPU is allowed to run during load?

 

[Ph?bus]

Unfortunately the GTX 470 doesn't qualify for the Step Up program. With that being said, I'll probably look into the 570 later down the road if the price is reasonable and if the upgrade is worthwhile.

As for the NZXT phantom, are you suggesting that I drop it from my consideration also?

Thanks for looking into it.

EDIT: I have a quick question. Let's say my computer is overclocked a substantial amount. Is the computer constantly running at the overclocked speed at all times regardless of idle/load or is OC'ing merely raising the maximum frequency at which the CPU is allowed to run during load?

Ah. That sucks. You should look into the 570, though. It's beast for the price.
No, I'm saying that would be one of my picks out the options you gave me.

It depends on what settings you have enabled. But general overclocking rules say you turn off Speed Step, as it causes instability. So it would be running at that high frequency, but it wouldn't be taking up that much energy. It wouldn't be putting out a substantial amount of heat, if that's what you're wondering. As long as you don't go overboard on the voltage, it should still last for at least 8 years.

 

[EpicurusEpicurus]

I'm kicking myself for jumping the gun on the GTX 470 but there's not much else I can do since I dropped about a good $350 for it back in August. It's not that bad right?

Thanks for clearing up the OC question.

 

[Ph?bus]

I'm kicking myself for jumping the gun on the GTX 470 but there's not much else I can do since I dropped about a good $350 for it back in August. It's not that bad right?

Thanks for clearing up the OC question.

No, it's not bad by any means. It's just the 570 is a nice step up from it.

No problem.

 

[Mewn]

Are you still doing this Ph?bus? Or have you stopped making builds for people.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

I believe he is. As am I and several others who frequent the forums. Just post up what you are looking for in here or make your own thread.

 

[skyrocket586]

1a. $2500 USD
1b. shipping irrelevant
1c. neither
1d. Just need parts list
1e. Beginning of next year
2a. Gaming and physics simulation
2b. Gaming
3a. Yes
3b. 4 - 5 GHz
4a. Lots of cores, lots of ram, reasonable graphics (dual screens), Lots of fun!
4b. 2 tb
4c. not fussed
5a. as long as possible
5b. Only graphics
6a. Cooling
6b. No problem
6c. dual 24" 1080p

Edit: Oh whoops, just saw how out of date this thread is. if this is still a thing then would love some help, if not then i will make a new thread later

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

2 x Asus 24" Led Monitors = $350
2 x gtx 670 = $800
3770K = $340
BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 = $130
Corsair 650D case = $160
2x8gb ddr3 1600 ram = $100
Corsair AX850 or Seasonic X-850 = $180
2TB 7200 rpm hdd = $120
128gb ssd (crucial m4 or samsung 830) = $100
Dvd Drive = $20
CPU Cooler = $100

Now, this comes in under budget. It will be an impressive system. I splurged on a couple things that don't necessarily need to be there such as a 80 plus gold fully modular power supply. You could easily go with the likes of the TX850 V2 and save yourself a god $50 or so.

I included a very nice corsair case. This is a little on the expensive side, but I feel it is one of the best cases on the market. Great size for ease of build, lots of rubber grommets, side facing hdd cages, decent amount of fans (though they aren't the greatest), and sleek looks. Obviously this is personal preference. Corsair does have some decent looking cheaper models as well that aren't bad options such as the 500R, 400R, or even the new C70 Vengeance series. A great cooling case is the Haf 932 or the newer Haf X. It is more of a gamers case that is very large and provides awesome cooling. It has a lot of plastic though which I am not a huge fan of.

A pair of gtx 670s is about the best you can do for gaming. You will be set for awhile there.

SSDs are becoming quite affordable now with sales occurring frequently of late in the US. The two drives I listed are very reliable and fast and on sale have been found for under $100. You could even go to a larger 256gb allowing you to put even more programs and games on it and this would then run about $200.

I chose a 3770k for now which is a great cpu. It has 4 cores/8 threads. The hyperthreading should be useful for physics simulations. I had initially put a 3930k in there which has 6 cores/12 threads, but this is about $230 more, and then it requires a more expensive mobo (about $100). It does allow you to do more ram, and the additional cores/threads could be useful, but for the price, I don't think it is worth it. It also wouldn't allow you to do 2 gtx 670s which will be huge for gaming.

This is just a rough idea using newegg for pricing, so they could obviously vary a bit depending on where you are actually located.

 

[skyrocket586]

Thanks very much for that, certainly looks like it would do well and comes in under budget! the 4 core / 8 threads should do fine as that meets the standard requirements for the physics program. I will be building at the beginning of next year so maybe the prices shall drop even further. here's hoping. I'l probably make another post then just to get a fresh opinion but this is a great guide. thanks again

 

[IDigitalDeadI]

Whose posting in this thread? Its soooooooo old lol

 

[Ph?bus]

Thanks very much for that, certainly looks like it would do well and comes in under budget! the 4 core / 8 threads should do fine as that meets the standard requirements for the physics program. I will be building at the beginning of next year so maybe the prices shall drop even further. here's hoping. I'l probably make another post then just to get a fresh opinion but this is a great guide. thanks again

Building at the beginning of next year? Post again ~1 week before you are actually going to buy and build the whole thing. New parts will come out, and they will change the prices.

 

[Mewn]

1a. What is your budget? $1000
1b. What is your postal/zip code? 73099
1c. US or CAN? US
1d. If you’re neither, please give a website that I can use.
1e. When do you plan on purchasing? A month or two from now, maybe later.
2a. What is the main purpose of this computer? Gaming, newer games that are coming out, want to be able to play them on max settings
2b. If work and gaming, specify which is more important. Gaming
3a. Do you plan on overclocking? Nah
3b. If yes, what is your goal?
4a. What do you need in this build? I wanted to build a completely new pc
4b. How much harddrive space do you need/want? 1tb
4c. If the budget allows, would you prefer more harddrive space or an SSD? don't care
5a. How long do you plan on keeping this computer? dunno
5b. If you’re planning to upgrade this computer down the road, let me know. possibly
6a. In a case, what is more important? Looks, cooling, or sound? I would like if you picked out a case. cooling and sound
6b. I will strictly not choose keyboards or mice. nope
6c. If you need a monitor, list what size and resolution you’d like. nope

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

1a. What is your budget? $1000
1b. What is your postal/zip code? 73099
1c. US or CAN? US
1d. If you?re neither, please give a website that I can use.
1e. When do you plan on purchasing? A month or two from now, maybe later.
2a. What is the main purpose of this computer? Gaming, newer games that are coming out, want to be able to play them on max settings
2b. If work and gaming, specify which is more important. Gaming
3a. Do you plan on overclocking? Nah
3b. If yes, what is your goal?
4a. What do you need in this build? I wanted to build a completely new pc
4b. How much harddrive space do you need/want? 1tb
4c. If the budget allows, would you prefer more harddrive space or an SSD? don't care
5a. How long do you plan on keeping this computer? dunno
5b. If you?re planning to upgrade this computer down the road, let me know. possibly
6a. In a case, what is more important? Looks, cooling, or sound? I would like if you picked out a case. cooling and sound
6b. I will strictly not choose keyboards or mice. nope
6c. If you need a monitor, list what size and resolution you?d like. nope

The landscape might change a little bit in a couple months, at least for the gpus with the release of the rest of nvidias 6xx series. The 660 Ti might be a viable option for you. CPUs probably will be the same, but this should give you a rough estimate of what to expect.

$220 3570k or 2500k
$120 asrock z77 extreme4 or asrock z68 extreme3 gen3
$45 8gb ddr3 1600 ram
$80 or less for psu
$90 1tb 7200 hdd
$100 case
$300-400 gpu
$100 windows 7?
$20 dvd burner?

I don't know if you need the OS or a dvd drive (you could use an old one if you have one already), so that could save you a little to apply elsewhere. You could go with either ivy bridge platform or sandy bridge depending on whichever is a better deal at the time. If they are about the same, then go for the newer ivy bridge. I realize you said you didn't want to overclock, but overclocking these cpus is so easy, I think it is worth the $15 or so to get the unlocked processors. It is basically free performance which you can gain later on when the system starts to become a little dated therefore prolonging the system life.

For gpu, depending on if you want to spend a little more, you could go with a gtx 670 or a 7950. The 670 is currently at $400 and the $7950 can be had for $310 after a MIR atm. When nvidia releases the 660 Ti which should happen next month, this may turn out to be a gem like the 670 was in comparison to the 680. Only a little less performance for a substantial discount in price. We will have to wait and see though which isn't a problem for you.

For psu, you could get away with a 500W or 550W unit. I would look at an 80 plus bronze or better efficiency. If you don't plan to add a second card for sli/crossfire in the future, this would be fine then. However, if you think you might want to add a second card, you will need a little more juice such as a 750W unit. A great unit there would be the Corsair TX750 V2.

For case, this is really a personal preference. You could look at something from Corsair, though they are a little pricy. However, they are quality units that are easy to work with. They are usually fairly quiet and cooling is decent as well. The 300R is the cheapest unit which might fit your remaining budget. If not, you could go with the Cooler Master Haf 912. Antec also has some decent $50 units. NZXT also has some $40 units such as the Source 210 or the Gamma. So look through and see what interests you.