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11-25-2009, 07:28 PM
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#1 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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New build components help
Hi,
This is my first post here and my first time attempting to build my own PC. I need help selecting compatible and reliable components. For a good start I borrowed these general questions: 1) What will you be doing with this PC? 3D design/modeling, AutoCAD/Visio, photo editing, video editing, web browsing and Netflix watching, some light gaming. 2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? Around $1200 not including software, peripherals, case or monitor. No 3) Where do you live? California 4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Motherboard CPU + Cooler RAM Videocard(s) Hard Drives Power Supply 5) Will you be overclocking? Not sure. 6) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? I have a 24”1920x1200 and a 1080p TV. 7) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Within a Month 8) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. I'd like RAID 1 for storage. Crossfire or SLI support if necessary. Also good onboard audio (digital audio out). 9) What OS do you plan to use? Windows 7 64 bit. Other notes: I would like to have an 80GB SSD for boot and applications and (2) 1 TB drives in RAID 1 for storage. No preference between AMD/Intel. This computer will serve as a workstation / HTPC. Now for my questions: 1) Video cards list their max resolution as 2560 x 1600. Should I assume this is for 2 monitors each if they have 2 DVI ports? 2) If, in the future, I decide to add 2 more monitors can I add any video card (mix) or to I have to match the one I have? 3) How can I do a new install of Windows 7 if I don’t have a DVD drive connected to the mobo? Thanks |
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11-26-2009, 12:39 AM
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#2 |
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1. Yes, if you had 2 monitors capable of using that resolution, you could drive both of them at that resolution with a dual head card, and it doesn't matter whether you use VGA, DVI, or HDMI.
2. No match necessary, you just need 2 cards *without* a Crossfire or SLI bridge. However, you should use cards with the same chipset family to avoid driver issues. 3. You can use an external DVD drive connected through USB - all of today's motherboards support USB boot. However, aren't you going to want a SATA DVD burner as part of your build? |
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11-26-2009, 10:16 AM
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#3 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Thanks GLC,
I have thought about the DVD burner part and the only time I really need a DVD drive is for loading programs. However since most applications can be downloaded, this will be rare. USB 2.0 speed is all I need. Plus I have a very non-standard case and desk setup which does not have a 5.25" drive bay. How can I install the USB DVD drivers before installing the OS, or would I not need to? Also what recommendations do you have for the hardware? Thanks |
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11-26-2009, 01:42 PM
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#4 |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,358
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Something like this will work for your budget and for what you need to do:
2 X Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284 $219.98 ($109.99 each) CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 $89.99 2 X G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231180 $189.98 ($94.99 each) ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131404 $149.99 Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115214 $279.99 ATI 100-505552 FirePro V3750 256MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195077 $139.99 Subtotal: $1,069.92
__________________
Core i7 2600K @ 4.2GHz | Corsair H100 w/ Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Med. Flow & AC MX4 | 4 x 4GB Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 | HIS 1GB HD6870/ HIS IceQ X Turbo 1GB CF | Asus P67 Sabertooth | OCZ Vertex 3, WD Velociraptor 150GB & Seagate 1.5TB in Tt iCage | LG 22X DVD+/-RW | D-Link DWA-556 | Corsair TX 750W | Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 | Windows 7 HP 64-Bit | LG Flatron L246WH-BN 3D Mark11: P8491| 3D Mark Vantage: P30840| 3D Mark06: 29912 |
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11-26-2009, 03:16 PM
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#5 |
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Today's motherboards support direct USB boot. No drivers needed, just hook up the external DVD. Here's my recommendation:
Reader only: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106329 Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827190020 These are slim drives, and do not require external AC power, they are powered through the USB port. |
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11-27-2009, 10:34 AM
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#6 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Thanks guys,
I have never done a RAID setup. Is it difficult for a first-timer? The hard drives recommended are not RAID editions... "The WD Caviar Black SATA drive is not a RAID edition drive. It is normal to experience dropouts in RAID arrays with desktop drives." Would it be easier to setup a software RAID? |
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11-27-2009, 11:04 AM
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#7 |
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Instead of RAID 1, I'd recommend you put the second drive in an external housing and use it for doing dedicated backups. The problem with RAID 1 is it only protects you against a hard drive failure, it does NOT protect you against file corruption or malware. With a dedicated backup on an external, you can do a restore if you have either a drive failure or a major issue with the internal drive. There are excellent software packages that allow you to keep complete drive images and daily backups on the external.
What you might want to do is have 2 internal drives - a smaller one for the OS and your software, and a large one just for your data. |
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11-27-2009, 11:26 AM
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#8 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Hi Masaki,
Why did you recommend the G.Skill 1333 memory over the less expensive, but faster G.Skill 1600? Thanks! |
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11-27-2009, 11:36 AM
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#9 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Thanks GLC,
Yes, I am looking at the 80GB Intel X-25M for OS and software. So from your recommendation what I am thinking is I will have 2 1TB internal (no RAID). One of the TB's will be my photo/video/music storage and backup the 80GB SSD. The other TB will backup the first TB (thereby also backing up the SSD again). Is this a good plan? What backup software do you recommend that can handle this configuration? Thanks! |
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11-27-2009, 11:44 AM
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#10 | |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,358
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Quote:
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11-27-2009, 11:46 AM
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#11 | |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,358
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Quote:
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11-27-2009, 12:20 PM
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#12 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Ok,
I have assembled the components. I changed/upgraded some items, but followed the overall recommendations: Part Model HD1 Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 34nm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820167016 HD2 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284 HD3 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS Motherboard MSI P55-GD80 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130238 Processor Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131404 Memory G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231189 Video Card SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-858-_-Product DVD Drive Rosewill Model ROD-EX001 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827190020 Power Supply CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...e_Premium.html Heat Sink ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118046 Backup Software Acronis True Image Home 2010 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...nc.-_-32200012 Thanks so much for your help so far. Please let me know if I need to change anything. |
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11-27-2009, 12:29 PM
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#13 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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I have gone a little over budget ($1600) but that is to be expected.
Newegg seems to be out of the X-25M. I can find it from other vendors, but the price is higher ($280 vs $214) So I can get a different SSD, wait for them to come back in stock, or order it from another vendor and hope it is the new 34nm and not the older 40nm x-25m version. |
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11-28-2009, 12:33 AM
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#14 | |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,358
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Quote:
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11-28-2009, 09:51 AM
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#15 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Thanks Masaki,
I decided to go with the heat sink because the PC will be in my living room and I am trying to keep the noise down and performance up. I have considered using a workstation graphics cards (I currently have an older model Nvidia Quadro FX). But the Radeon supports 3 monitors and has 1GB of GDDR5 memory. I know it won't be optimized for 3D CAD, but my models are not too complex. |
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11-28-2009, 04:40 PM
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#16 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Newegg has a 1.5TB Seagate drive for $20 less than the 1TB Western Digital.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148337 Any reason not to get the Seagate instead? |
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11-28-2009, 05:16 PM
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#17 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Another question. Since I will be using the SSD for my boot drive, will it be possible to install windows 7 and then download and update the Intel firmware without erasing the drive?
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11-28-2009, 05:20 PM
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#18 | |
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Member (8 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 188
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11-29-2009, 07:26 PM
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#19 |
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Member (1 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1
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I've just spent the last few weeks researching components for a new system build of my own and came up with one similar to what's quoted.
I built my current system back in 2004 without much hassle, but with the old dog starting to show its age I have decided to have it put down and start over. Having built my own system once before I'm fairly confident that I can pull off again. Before I take the plunge I thought it wise to ask someone a little more computer savvy take a look at what I am proposing and get feedback. Since my specs are so similar to what's already under discussion, I thought It might be OK to post them here and see what people think. Hope you don't mind! MSI LGA 1156 3xSLI/CFX Intel P55 ATX Motherboard P55GD80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-238-_-Product $179.99 Intel Core i7 Processor 2.80 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I7-860BOX http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance $279.99 SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...9535050&sr=1-1 $170.58 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231279 $124.99 Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB Bulk/OEM RPM SATA II WD1001FALS Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance $99.55 CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CMPSU-...7&sr=8-1-fkmr0 $89.99 I'm not too sure about which CPU cooler to go with, but am considering one of the following: Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 Hyper 212 Plus 775/1156/1366/AMD/AM2/AM3 Universal Direct Contact Heat-Pipe 120mm Fan CPU Cooler http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance $73.83 Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 All in One High-performance CPU Cooler CWCH50-1 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance $29.99 Have yet to decide on a case, but am considering the NZXT TEMPEST Enthusiast Steel ATX Midtower-Retail as it seems to have plenty of ventilation and mounting space for the H50 should I decide on that as my cooler. http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-TEMPEST-E.../ref=de_a_smtd $99.99 I'm also considering the Samsung 2233SW 21.5-Inch Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor... or maybe two http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance $174.84 Most of the parts are there now. I just need to mull them over a bit longer then consider the smaller parts: keyboard, mouse, memory card reader, DVD-Drive etc... and of course finally, there's the part where I tell the wife that we're expecting another baby.... Cheers all! :-) |
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11-29-2009, 07:49 PM
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#20 |
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Please start your own thread for your build. Thank you.
- Admin - |
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12-02-2009, 09:48 PM
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#21 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 11
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Thanks again everyone for your help. I have ordered all the components and am excitingly awaiting their delivery.
There are plenty of videos online on how to put the components together, but not as many for what to do next. Do you all know of any good guides to starting up, commissioning and optimizing the PC once I have it assembled? Thanks |
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12-02-2009, 10:05 PM
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#22 | |
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