Building a new computer, help/info needed!

[QUOTE=essenbe;2284702]

Britton30 said:

...The trick is reading the reviews and determining who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't. There are also a few shills thrown in too. But, I do my research there and will continue. I know of no place who has more reviews on any piece of hardware than newegg. Just read carefully.

That's true of reviews almost everywhere. What you say about NewEgg is definitely true.

I bought quite a bit from Newegg (and still buying) and I go by the reviews. Of course you'd have to take it with a grain of salt but I go by the dates and look for runs of bad batches in a time period.

For example I was looking for a HDD and I was looking at WD Blues and WD Blacks since they are popular but when I saw a run of bad batches in the reviews it wasn't a good time to buy 'em. I found a Seagate Constellation 1TB that only had 4 reviews in a span of months but it was 5 eggs all the way. Some even bought more than one drive and all praised highly of 'em. It cost more but I got my money's worth. I don't mind spending more for something that's gonna keep and have a longer warranty (5 years).

I built my system over two months ago, at first with an Intel Celeron G540 and 2 x 2gig Gskill 1600 mems on an Asrock H61M-DGS mobo. It's only gonna run the mems at 1066 but I like to over rate the mems for stoutness. Later I upgraded to i3-2105 and 2 x 4gig Corsair Vengeance 1600 mems now running at 1333. My power supply is a Corsair CX430 which is a third generation PSU and working well.

Britton30 said:

I hope th OP realizes the good recommendations here and see through the smoke and mirrors.

Don't worry, I believe I've gathered what I needed. The whole PSU discussion seems to have gone through the roof, past the moon, and into another nebula since I last checked the thread, but oh well, I've still gotten enough information and knowledge to make a decision suiting my needs and desires.

I want to thank everybody that have bothered to take time from their busy lives to help me on my way towards acquiring myself a new computer, and I apologize to those that have offered advice without me replieng. I was planning to answer every single post but the response to the thread was rather overwhelming, which is not at all a bad thing, 'cause like I've said many time before already, I'm very grateful for all the help and advice I've received.

I'm gonna mark this thread as solved, as it has served it's purpose; Answering my question and increasing my knowledge as what to look for when it comes to today's components.

But this probably won't be the last you guys hear from me, oh no!
There's still the overclocking and what not after I've assembled everything, and who knows, I just might be back for some more advice and information.

Well that's all folks, again, thanks for all the help and have a good day/night!


- Drops

I'm sure you got the info you needed to start your quest. :)

We'll be here for support when you decide to OC your system just a little bit, then a little bit more, then you go for a healthy overclock, then you push it to the limit! It's a sickness, especially when you see how easy it is to overclock that cpu. Quite a bit of knowledge floating around here, and most of us are happy to help. Also, not every thread turns out like this, so when you run into a problem or want advice, just ask!

I was looking for a HDD and I was looking at WD Blues and WD Blacks since they are popular but when I saw a run of bad batches in the reviews it wasn't a good time to buy 'em. I found a Seagate Constellation 1TB that only had 4 reviews in a span of months but it was 5 eggs all the way.

I read through this entire thread and didn't bounce up once out of my chair feeling that you had been given any bad advice. However:

What you said about WD HDD is emphatically not correct. I have 25 TB of them now (1, 2 and 3 TB'ers), and many more purchased over the years - both green and black. Never a problem with them - and I use them hard (awful pun I know, and completely unintended).

Seagate? Well, I wish to be popular on this forum, so I won't go into how they really are for the very low end of the mass market. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Barracuda excepted (from what I read but have never needed to buy).

I run a business so, despite multiple on site and in the cloud backups, HDD failures are not something I really want to happen. Until I ever see one fail, I will stick with WD.

Re PSU, all I can say is forget minimum requirements. BUY BIG! My 850 watters are the smallest I have ever used for myself; usually 1,000 watters. Why? I don't want them to be stressed. I want them to relax, do their jobs effortlessly and enjoy a long life.

Know that ABC Product "Gold" often means somebody's fudging on the specs. Stick with Seasonic. They make the best and don't screw around with the ratings. Corsair PSU's are said to be the best but in reality are hit and miss. I got 3 here that "missed" - Dead out of the box. (2 430 watt PSU's and the infamous TX650W, which really got a lot of hate mail). Seasonic manufacturers their own PSU's. Corsair and most other makers Do Not.

As of 2013 here's who really makes Corsair power supplies (please note that although I do not trust my life to Corsairs PSU's, I do trust my life to their RAM - got lots of that too.)

Corsair
AX-650 – Seasonic
AX-750 – Seasonic
AX-850 – Seasonic
AX-1200 – Flextronics

CX-400 – Seasonic
CX-430 – Channel Well(CWT)
CX-430 v2 – Channel Well(CWT)
CX-500 – Channel Well(CWT)
CX-500 v2 – Channel Well(CWT)
CX-600 – Channel Well(CWT)
CX-600 v2 – Channel Well(CWT)

Gaming Series GS600 – Channel Well(CWT)
Gaming Series GS700 – Channel Well(CWT)
Gaming Series GS800 – Channel Well(CWT)

HX-450 – Seasonic
HX-520 – Seasonic
HX-620 – Seasonic
HX-650 – Seasonic
HX-750 – Channel Well (CWT) (DSG platform)
HX-850 – Channel Well (CWT) (DSG platform)
HX-1000 – Channel Well (CWT)
HX-1050 – Channel Well (CWT)

TX-550M – Channel Well (CWT)
TX-650 – Seasonic
TX-650 v2 – Seasonic
TX-650M – Channel Well (CWT)
TX-750 – Channel Well (CWT) (PSH(older) platform)
TX-750 v2 – Seasonic
TX-750M – Channel Well (CWT)
TX-850 – Channel Well (CWT) (PSH(older) platform)
TX-850 v2 – Seasonic
TX-850M – Channel Well (CWT)
TX-950 – Channel Well (CWT) (DSG platform)

VX-450 – Seasonic
VX-550 – Channel Well (CWT) (PSH platform)

Corsair (known for its memory products) made a big impact with their initial Seasonic-built HX series. All products since have been top notch and are among the best performing, quietest, and best value PSU's. The Seasonic models are generally quietest, but all models have excellent performance. The AX series is the latest and greatest series.

Remember: PSU manufacturers are some of the best and brightest liars in the world.

Hmm.. no mention of a CX430 V3? It's what I have.