New build planned. Need general advice

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  1. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
       #1

    New build planned. Need general advice


    Hi guys.

    It WILL happen this time. I guaranty it. I saved money over the last 5½ months to make a 2000$ CAD budget for a brand new computer that will replace my current one.

    I will...
    * NOT be overclocking.
    * be playing some games from time to time.
    * be watching Blu-ray movies even if I hate those stupid DRMs.
    * NOT be setting up RAIDs
    * NOT be setting up CrossFire or SLi

    So here are the parts. All price are in Canadian dollars and from Newegg.ca

    -----------MODIFIED BUILD WITH RECOMMNADATIONS--------------

    Hardware name colored in red = changed. Hardware name colored in green = Added.

    CPU Core i7 950 3.06GHz - 318.99$ (Link)

    Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R - 189.99$ (Link)

    RAM Corsair XMS3 3x2GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 - 122.49$ (Link)

    SSD OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE90G 2.5" 90GB - 189$ (Link)

    GPU ASUS ENGTX460 GeForce GTX 460 1GB - 247.49$ (Link)

    Optical Drive LG UH10LS20 CD/DVD burning + Blu-ray reading support - 99.99$ (Link)

    Sound card On-board + HT-Omega Claro Halo - 164.99$ (Link)

    Case Lian-Li Lancool PC-K62 - 99.99 (Link)

    Power Supply SILVERSTONE DA700 700W (Modular) - 100.99$ (Link)

    Monitor Asus VW246H 24" 2ms - 229.99$ (Link)

    Accessories
    Cables Unlimited Anti-static Wrist Strap With Grounding Wire - 7.49$ (Link)
    Nippon Labs Premium 6 ft. HDMI to mini HDMI cable - 9.49$ (Link)
    Koutech IO-RC522 All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader / Writer - 10.99 (Link)
    Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - 9.99 (Link)

    -----------ORIGINAL BUILD-------------

    CPU Core i7 950 3.06GHz - 318.99$ (Link)

    Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X58-USB3 - 184.99$ (Link)

    RAM Corsair XMS3 3x2GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 - 122.49$ (Link)

    SSD G.Skill Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-80GBP2 80GB - 175$ (Link)

    GPU EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 460 - 254.99$ (Link)

    Optical Drive LG UH10LS20 CD/DVD burning + Blu-ray reading support - 99.99$ (Link)

    Sound card On-board + HT-Omega Claro Halo - 164.99$ (Link)

    Case Lian-Li Lancool PC-K62 - 99.99 (Link)

    Power Supply Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W (Modular) - 112.49$ (Link)

    Monitor Asus VW246H 24" 2ms - 229.99$ (Link)

    Accessories
    Cables Unlimited Anti-static Wrist Strap With Grounding Wire - 7.49$ (Link)
    Nippon Labs Premium 6 ft. HDMI to mini HDMI cable - 9.49$ (Link)

    --Software/hardware From Current build that will be transfered--

    Hitachi 7200RPM 500GB HDD (holds data)
    Western Digital VarRPM 1TB HDD (holds data)
    Eagle Arion speakers
    Samsung ML-2010 Laser Printer
    Canon LiDE 200 Scanner
    Keyboard (Logitech Media Keyboard Elite)
    Mouse (Logitech LX7)
    Windows 7 Édition Familiale Premium (Home Premium French)(full retail)
    Office 2007

    Questions time! EDIT : And those has been answered!
    1. Do I need thermal paste (or is there any pre-applied?)
    2. Is the SSD a good choice.
    3. Enough wattage from PSU?
    4. Is there any conflicts or known compatibility problems between two hardware (ex. RAM with Motherboard)

    So, do you have any other suggestions to this build? I can change parts as long as I stay UNDER the 2000$ mark. For the SSD, I would like no less than 80GB. I currently use 70GB on my current disk and well, 64GB is not gonna do it.

    Hope you guys will help me out through my first real build from scratch.

    Later

    EDIT

    Epic 900th post.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,127
    Win7U 64 RTM
       #2

    Hi Lebon14,

    I would choose this motherboard for the 6GB/s sata:

    Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

    James
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 409
    win7 Ult 64
       #3

    1. The included fan and heatsink for the i7 950 has TIM pre-applied. Since you wont be doing any OC you will be fine.

    2. The Phoenix Pro uses the SF controller which is very good but it is somewhat crippled by the firmware; for a little more money you could get the Corsair Force 100GB with no crippled firmware.

    3. With the components you have listed the PSU will be fine; if you later decide to double up the 460 and go SLI you would be better off with a little more horsepower.

    4. Your RAM selection should be fine once again with not doing any OC you will be fine.

    Will you be adding an additional drive; a spinning drive for you DATA, Backups, and such? If so I would recommend that you get a 7200RPM drive.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #4

    James Colbert said:
    Hi Lebon14,

    I would choose this motherboard for the 6GB/s sata:

    Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

    James
    Thx for the reply!
    I'll be taking this into consideration.

    Cheers.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,127
    Win7U 64 RTM
       #5

    Lebon14 said:

    Questions time!
    1. Do I need thermal paste (or is there any pre-applied?)
    2. Is the SSD a good choice.
    3. Enough wattage from PSU?
    4. Is there any conflicts or known compatibility problems between two hardware (ex. RAM with Motherboard)
    Sorry I missed these, and congrats on your 900th!

    1) Yes. You can search newegg for Arctic Silver. Follow the instructions. Be careful not to apply too much.

    2) Yes, but if you can afford another $50, you could get the 120GB version...you'll be wanting to place apps and games on this drive as well (you could partion it if you like):

    Newegg.ca - G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-120GBP2 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

    I can't speak to the quality of any SSD drive, given that I've not built a system with SSD in it yet.

    4) The RAM you've chosen is compatible with the board link in my earlier post. If you choose to go with your board, you can check for compatibility here:

    Welcome to Corsair :: Memory Configurator

    That said, I think building a new system without 6 GB/s sata would be a mistake.


    James
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Kipper said:
    1. The included fan and heatsink for the i7 950 has TIM pre-applied. Since you wont be doing any OC you will be fine.

    2. The Phoenix Pro uses the SF controller which is very good but it is somewhat crippled by the firmware; for a little more money you could get the Corsair Force 100GB with no crippled firmware.

    3. With the components you have listed the PSU will be fine; if you later decide to double up the 460 and go SLI you would be better off with a little more horsepower.

    4. Your RAM selection should be fine once again with not doing any OC you will be fine.

    Will you be adding an additional drive; a spinning drive for you DATA, Backups, and such? If so I would recommend that you get a 7200RPM drive.
    Thanks for answering my questions! About the firmware, does it matter THAT much?

    About the additional storage... look what I will be importing from mycurrent rig I don't need another one. I have plenty!

    James Colbert said:
    Sorry I missed these, and congrats on your 900th!

    1) Yes. You can search newegg for Arctic Silver. Follow the instructions. Be careful not to apply too much.

    2) Yes, but if you can afford another $50, you could get the 120GB version...you'll be wanting to place apps and games on this drive as well (you could partion it if you like):

    Newegg.ca - G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-120GBP2 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

    I can't speak to the quality of any SSD drive, given that I've not built a system with SSD in it yet.

    4) The RAM you've chosen is compatible with the board link in my earlier post. If you choose to go with your board, you can check for compatibility here:

    Welcome to Corsair :: Memory Configurator

    That said, I think building a new system without 6 GB/s sata would be a mistake.


    James
    Hmm... the Corsair Force heh? Well, I'm really tight now for any change. 50$ will pretty much remove any margin I have left. I chose the G.Skill because I heard that the Sandforce controller is very good.

    Btw, thanks for the link to the memory configurator

    About the thermal paste, I think I should buy some just to apply some to my current rig (that I will still use for decrapping other people's PCs and much later, as a media center) because I never apply some new in about 4 years.

    Thx for the replies!
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 2,259
    W7 Professional x64
       #7

    Intel stock fans are terrible, IMO. I would go with a more efficient, quieter cooler and apply arctic silver thermal paste.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    LiquidSnak said:
    Intel stock fans are terrible, IMO. I would go with a more efficient, quieter cooler and apply arctic silver thermal paste.
    Hi. Thanks for your input.

    Personnaly, I never had any problem with stock cooling. I always used that and it always its job correctly. Also, I don't see why I should put more money on a separate cooling fan when the CPU gives me one. Maybe it's quieter and more efficient but I am okay with stock cooling with what I will be doing.

    Cheers.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 536
    Windows 7
       #9

    What are you going to be using it for mostly? And which games?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 579
    Windows 7 64-bit Home
       #10

    CPU: If you wont be overclocking why would you go with the i7-920? I would go with a LGA1156 and save some money on the processor. i7-870 should do just fine if you arent planning to overclock. The 900 series of processors are the LGA 1366 socket. The newer socket does provide some benefits such as the 900 series being able to unlock the mulitplier for overclocking (you dont want) and being able to run 2 pci-e slots at x16 for SLI/x-Fire (which you dont want). Also I have read from others around forums that the 1366 socket is less stable and more for overclocking enthusiasts. Then you can switch to a LGA1156 socket MOBO and save a little cash. I have an asus board so I would reccomend them, but there is nothing wrong with gigabyte as far as i know.

    PSU: a 650W power supply will power 99% of all 1 gfx card systems on the planet, corsair is an excellent brand. The only reason to go for more power is if you plan to add lots of usb peripherals or more HDDS, etc... 620W should be fine.

    GFX: dont know much about the newer nvidia cards, i chose amd/ati so i read alot more about those but the 460 is up there among the top performers

    SSD: i know very little about SSDs except that they are expensive and fast
      My Computer


 
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