Carpal Tunnel Clan

Update 11/25

CPU: Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop $174.99

Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 $29.99 + Rebate = $14.99

MOBO: ASRock P55 EXTREME4 $144.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $49.99

Boot Drive: G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-120GBP2 $186.99

Storage Drive: Seagate Barracuda LP ST32000542AS $69.99

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133326 $179.99 + Mail-in = $149.99

Monitor: SAMSUNG BX2331 $179.99

Case: Antec Lanboy air Red Black / Red Computer Modular Case $189.99

BD Burner: LG WH10LS30K $79.99

+$2.99 shipping

total = $1,289.89

Grand Total (after rebates) = $1,244.99

I'll be adding up to 10 120mm red fans after I get everything together and I'll also be picking up this mouse. Keyboard is staying the same. Eventually I'll add more monitors and another card for sli. I'm going to keep my current 550W psu until I do sli.

I'm challenging anyone to come up with a more powerful setup for less. And no you can't replace the case

******EDIT****** IN CAPS FOR EMPHASIS: I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT INTEL SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING COMING OUT.. SANDYBRIDGE I THINK, DO SOME RESEARCH ON THAT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED******/EDIT******

What do you plan on doing with your computer? Do you plan on overclocking? Just looking at that list of components I'd change a few things..

First, the CPU, memory is exactly what'd I get at this time.

The motherboard you chose is nice, but are you going to be using all the features? (i.e. overclocking or SLI) If you're going to use neither I'd rather get this instead http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131634. *EDIT* This motherboard should be fairly good at overclocking, so base your decision on whether or not you plan on running 2 cards in the future*

I really don't think SSD's are worth it at this time.. wait till the tech gets cheaper. This drive is one of the better balances of capacity, speed and price.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136533 .. I can't bring myself to spend 200 bucks on an 80gb drive.. but I haven't used a computer with an SSD drive, maybe its godly? I'd still wait though.

As for the graphic card, I'd get an AMD 6850 right now, a really good alternative to this card that is lower in price is the Nvidia GTX 460. The 5770 seems dated now that the new generations are out, and especially at a 1080p resolution you're gonna be struggling a bit. I was going to pick up this card myself (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102912) but decided to wait for prices to come down.. severely inflated due to demand.

I only buy Seasonic powersupplies, they're more expensive but, I've never had one fail on me and they're overall just excellent quality units. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151098

I have no comment on the monitor, I'd get one with LED backlighting though, and of Samsung or LG brand.

That case.. umm.. no. You're wasting your money *sorry*, although if it makes you happy, get it cause thats all that matters. Personally I'd go from a minimal simplistic case like the Antec Solo, but from your choice of the lanboy you probably don't share my tastes ahah.. keeping that in mind this might be better for the money, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129096, you don't really need tool-less accessibility, it's a nice feature to have but, you're honestly only to open up your case up to clean out dust, which doesn't require any removal of components so.. I don't think its worth the money.

_____________________________________________

Now to respond to the lower portion of your post.. I've never liked Razer mouses, didn't like how it felt in my hand, although of course thats personal preference, I've always used Logitech mice, had a 510, then 518, G5v1, then now the G500.. which I love.

Of course with a motherboard to support SLI/Xfire, you need to have 2 video cards.. if you're only planning on getting one card, then you're wasting money on a feature you won't be using. I don't like using 2 weak cards, I'd rather have one powerful one, hence my motherboard suggestion only has one PCI-E slot. That 650W psu should have no problem handling 2 5770's.. again I wouldn't go that route. In regards to your 550W.. what model is it?

Thanks for the thoughts Oopsies! The sandybridge is coming out next year some time and it's likely to be pretty expensive, besides the savings of buying something now I'm not sure how much longer my current rig can hold out. I was looking at that motherboard too but I will be adding extra cards in the future when I feel I'll need the upgrade. The over clocking isn't important to me right now but in the future when apps will need the extra power in a couple years I might want to so it's an upgrade path worth preparing for to a certain extent.

I know those SSD's are a lot but from what people are telling me and what I'm reading it's like a new experience with how fast windows and apps load etc. Additionally, I like my internal hard drives as boot drives only. I like my storage external in case I need it on the go, so a 2Tb USB 3 is what I'm looking for in that regard.

I think I will take your advice on the videocard too. I'll be keeping an eye out for a good deal on that one. I noticed you suggested a 560w power supply, I already have a really nice 550w on my current rig that I just bought less then a year ago actually. Do you think that's enough power for this current setup? How about if I add a second card?

I thought that monitor had back lighting. Damn, well still for the money and size it might be worth it, it's something to think about though. As far as the case goues I dunno I'm really sold on a modular case design. I like the idea behind it and I wanna give it a shot.

Thanks for the input!

oopsies is the new tech demi-god.

Hail the oop!!!

Go into Tech Talk.

two comments:

I got the i5-750 for my work computer back in spring semester. I have not been disappointed and imagine that the 760 is also worth a recommendation.

I had the same feeling about SSD but I sort of hope you get it. I'd like to hear some feedback about just how much of a difference it makes. Do you have another larger SATA harddrive to use for storage, or is 80 really enough?

hirschigrad06 wrote:Go into Tech Talk.

way to step up and set him straight.


I vote hirschi for admin of the year

Skally right now I'm using a 1Tb External HD but I'm at max capacity so a 2Tb is in order at the moment, but if I have to I'll just get rid of some files in order to bring the size down until I can afford that upgrade. For the moment I'm just focused on required parts for the pc.

I can't answer your question of "Do you think that's enough power for this current setup? How about if I add a second card?" until you give me the exact model of your unit. You mentioned 550W but, there are more factors involved in a "quality" power supply than just the amount of wattage.

Seconded!

Hmph.. honestly I would not use that unit, I just did a quick google and found the review of the 750W version.. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ ... view/902/7 and it didn't exactly perform to specs.

Another thing to keep in mind is that since you said you'd like the option to expand your rig by inserting another card for SLI/Xfire operation.. If you decide to go with the AMD 6850, and I believe the Nvidia GTX 460 BOTH REQUIRE two PCI-E power connections.. therefore your PSU needs to have at least 4.. or you could just use molex converters but, I've never used one of those so can't comment on whether or not that negatively affects power distribution.

Here's a review of the Seasonic unit.. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... y&reid=202

There of course are other units that are much more affordable than the Seasonic I linked that are more than adequate:

This one only has 2 PCI-E connections:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371035

Stumbled across this pretty good deal, $30 bucks off w/ promocode and a $20 mail in rebate. I recall a lot of Corsair's units used to be made by Seasonic.. not sure if thats still the case, this unit actually has 4 connections and a more than adequate wattage rating:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139010

*EDIT* btw I still recommend that Seasonic unit.. I've only ever used Antec, Corsair, and Seasonic units.

The PSU I was going to go with above in the bundle deal was for several reasons. To start, with the bundle deal, instant and mail in's i'd be getting the PSU next to nothing. It has 100 more watts than my current and it has 4 pci-e, which would at least have me setup for two cards. But the main point here is the PSU isn't really costing me anything.

I can't justify spending $100 and getting basically the same setup I already have now for free. If the PSU I have is enough watts to accommodate everything and I have two pci-e connector's I should be fine. When I decide to go for crossfire I'll just have to factor in another PSU as well, that's all.

*EDIT*

Also after doing some searching I'm not sold on that 6850. I'd be going up by maybe a variable 40% performance gain but paying almost twice as much. In addition, that 5770 not only uses just 1 power connector but is half the size. Meaning crossfire mode might even be doable with my current PSU.

Hey man, good to see you building a nice new rig. I think I might be able to do better on that cpu, hit me up on pm.

Also, a bundled PSU scares me. Do your research on the model it comes with. Lastly, please, please do a bit of reading as to the ram you might need. 8GB might be overkill for what you're doing. I had 8gb at one time and switched back to 4GB, no noticeable dif. You can save some money on those parts and get a better GPU. That is where you want the money to go. I think that I would go for a 5850/6850 or 460 1GB at least. You need a bit more GPU power to handle that bigger screen with decent eye-candy.