how about this one???? i like it.

[mcucs]

ok here goes

case: Cooler Master atcs 840 silver alimunium ATX fullhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119186
power supply: Cooler Master silent pro 700w atx http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171037
motherboard: Gigabyte ga-x58a-ud3r http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
processor: Intel i7 920 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
ram: Corsair Dominator 6gb (3 x 2gb) ddr3/1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224
hard drive: Western didigital caviar black 1TB 7200rpm 6.0Gb/shttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
graphics card: Sapphire vapor x hd 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102868
tv tuner card: Hauppauge wintv-hvr-2250http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037
optic drive: LG black 10x blu ray burnerhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136181
operating system: windows 7 home premium @ 64 bithttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716
keyboard, mouse and monitor with speakers from existing computer.

my build will be used mostly as a media center pc (simultaneously running living room and bed room hdtvs..recording hdtv and video editing.

this will be my first build...so what do you think do all the components look compatable? anything seem overkill or underkill in comparision to the other hardware? any general thoughts????

a couple quick question i have...any recommendations on oem or retail for windows 7....what are the benifits and drawbacks with exception of price.. also any recomendations on a cpu cooler if i would decide to overclock cpu.

thanks in advance for any and all help. as i need it on my first build.

[RickyTick]

Awesome setup.

[mcucs]

first a breif history to my turtle-like paced first build.
around early january i deceided it was time to replace my 8 yr old antique pc with a new pre-built pc. after a little research i determened it was better to build my own. after a little more research and a lot of naivety i found this site and posted a proposed build (looking back on that i'm sure the experenced builders on this site found it comical). i recieved constructive advice as to better hardware and did a little more research............ this is when it all became clear to me my budget was to small and my knowledge base on computers was even smaller.....
4 months later after countless hours of sifting thru posts, blogs, threads, articles, reviews, and robs book. my knowledge base has gotten somewhat more versed and i also have $2000.00 cash in hand. so im thinking its time to take a honest shot at my first build


ok here goes....
ill list my hardware in an alpha numerical format with questions or concerns after the appropiate hardware, so answers can be easly posted.
please feel free to give any and all advice,criticism,or thoughts on any or all subjects..... all input will be greatly appreciated.

1. case: coolermaster storm sniper black edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194&cm_re=coolermaster_storm_sniper-_-11-119-194-_-Product
free gift. mouse: coolermaster sentinel advancedhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826570005&cm_re=coolermaster_mouse-_-26-570-005-_-Product
( purchased as cobo deal from newegg 4/26/2010) $99.99
my question here is regarding the case fans and fan controller on the case
first here are a few usefull links fan pigtail: http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11874 motherboard layout (page 7): http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-x58a-ud3r_e.pdf
a. i beleive i will need to purchase a 3 pin power to 4 pin molex connector to power fan controller and led switch from motherboard (sound correct)
b. i also dont think having all case fans hooked to the fan controller is a good idea.. i beleive i want to take some of the case fans and hook them directly to the mobo for automatic controll. i know i will need to purchase or make up some type of 3 pin power to molex and/or 4 pin power to molex connectors. however i'm looking for some insight for someone with experence with this as to which fan headers are to be used, do you suggest using the 3 pin or 4 pin headers. is installing the optional bottom fan in order?
note: just looking for some insight, this issue will probably be better addressed after i get my rig up and running and can monitor temps at peak usage.

2. psu: corsair cmpsu-750hxhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010
i have used extreme psu calculator v2.5 as well as a couple of others and inserted values on all fields to what ever i think may be possible for now and the future and 715w was my max. result(on neweggs calculator) i'm sure ill never load my pc this much.

3. motherboard: gigabyte ga-x58a-ud3rhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

4. processor: intel i7 930:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

5. ram: corsair dominatorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224
a. although i'll admit i know little to nothing about why one stick of ram is better than another with exception for timing, latency, and speed. the reviews sold me on this brand. am i making a mistake in bang for my buck? the way i look at it is that it only adds $40 to a $2000.00 build, thats about 2% of the price.

6. hard drive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
a. reviews here are terrible, however i'am looking for an inexpensive drive that will take advantage of my mobo sata 6gb/s speed. unless anyone can come up with a better alternitive i'll be going with this and if its not what im looking for then i'll simply purchase a different drive later and use this one for storage.

7. gpu: saphirre vapor x hd 5770http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102868
a.ok... im torn here i like rickyticks recomendationhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161302 the price is of coarse the kicker. would like to hear others thoughts...(it wont take much to push me to the his 5850 especially since its back in stock at newegg)
b. how about 2 5770?
note: $150.89 upgrade for the 5850 or a $176.97 upgrade for crossfire... $26.08 difference between 2 5770's and 1 5850

8. tv tunercard: hauppauge win-tv-hvr-2250http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037

9. optic drive: lite-on-black dvd/cdhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

10. key board: microfsoft digital media 3000http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109201&cm_re=microfsoft_keyboard_3000-_-23-109-201-_-Product

11. monitor asus vh242hhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052&Tpk=asus%20vh242h
a. any thoughts??? anything someone likes better?? simply want speakers w/ monitor, hdcp support, and cant be taller than 16.5 inches.

12. all in one printer/copy/scan/fax:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113454&cm_re=brothers_mfc-_-28-113-454-_-Product

13. operating system:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

current prices at newegg bring this in at right around $1900 today, plus with a little frugle shopping around and combo deals there is a little room to move on some of the hardware. or even a cpu cooler.

to be clear on 1 point the case and mouse are the only things i have purchased so far.

[Sean]

i cant realy help you on much, but i do know quite a lot about graphics cards.


since both the 5770 and the 5850 are DX11 cards, it really is up to you. im not going to recommend anything, just give you info and let you decide.


the 5850 is an awesome card, its entry level high end gaming card. its the 3rd best card on the planet ( many people will disagree with what i just said but, its true ). the only cards that are better than the 5850 are the 5870 ($499 ) and the 5970 ($699 ).

However, in a head to head test, a 5770 crossfire setup will out match a single 5850. itd be close with a 5770 crossfire and a 5870, although i think the 5870 would pull ahead, but only just.

any way, the rest of your build looks really good. keep asking questions and im sure another member ( Ricky Tick ) will be able to answer more of your questions.

Good luck!

oh! and to save you some money, try finding your components on Amazon.com, no tax and free shipping on most of their stuff. i priced out my build with new egg, vame to $1849 ( soemthin like that ), and got the same parts on amazon, brought my total down to $1614 heres my build if you are interested: the same pocessor, a $5970 and 6 gigs of ram.

Case: $55
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hu...2752573&sr=8-1

Power supply: $88
AZZA PSAZ-850B14 Dynamo 850W Power Supply (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/AZZA-PSAZ-850B...2751888&sr=1-1

Ram: $170
6GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333MHz) CL9-9-9-24 Triple Channel kit NQ Series
http://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-PC3-10...8&sr=1-3-fkmr1

Graphics Card: $700
SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102887

Hard Drive: $55
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152181

Optic Drive: $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151192

CPU cooler: $80
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 All in One High-performance CPU Cooler CWCH50-1
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Coolin...2753386&sr=1-1

Mother Board: $175
MSI X58M 1366 Intel X58 uATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-X58M-1366-...2757835&sr=8-1

Central Processor unit: $266
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-930 2.80GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail BX80601930
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processo...2844139&sr=1-1


total: $1614

[mcucs]

thanks for the input.

ive seen the same reviews, and benchmarks on the 5770 ,5850 and 5870s and i lean towards starting with 1 gpu . so crossfire is always an option later.
Im sure it will be the 5850 just need to talk myself into it.

also i have been following your build

[Sean]

you got it ;)

good luck my friend

[RickyTick]

thanks for the input.

ive seen the same reviews, and benchmarks on the 5770 ,5850 and 5870s and i lean towards starting with 1 gpu . so crossfire is always an option later.
Im sure it will be the 5850 just need to talk myself into it.

also i have been following your build

This one is on sale and has free shipping. Very nice deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150464

This one is quite a bit more and does not have free shipping, but it comes with MW2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161332

It's a tough call, it just depends on how much you're willing to spend, and how much of a hard core gamer you really are. :D

[mcucs]

i think i would go with the one in your high end build recomendationhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161302

also... between these 2 hard drives.....which would you recomend?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

the second is your recomendation...in your high end build
the first is the one i'm conserding simply because of the sata 6 gb/s as well as a little larger size (only $25 more) however the reviews are terrible....
what do you think
if i dont like it i can simply purchase something else and use this for storage.

[RickyTick]

I don't know why the reviews are so poor.
Here's a great review of the 1gb WD Black hard drive, and they mention the other Black drives as well.
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/18467

[mcucs]

thanks rickytick.... think ill go for it.

[mcucs]

take a look at this product http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119248


i have a coolermaster storm sniper case with a fan controller on the top panel and 4 case fans daised chained together...note these 2 links
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194&cm_re=storm_sniper-_-11-119-194-_-Product
http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11874 this is the "fan daisy chain"

I'am not sure i like the idea of controlling all the case fans from the fan controller. (taking to big of a chance that someone may slow them down without realizing the consequences)

so... it looks like with this product i could remove some of the fans from the "pre-wired daisy chain" then tie them into this wiring harness (with the help of some 3 pin to molex adapters) and use the mobo's automatic controll. And they would still be powered thru the psu. (note: i have 3 200mm fans and 1 120mm fan as well as a 120mm coolermaster blademaster pwm on the wayhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069&cm_re=coolermaster_blade_master-_-35-103-069-_-Product

does this look right??? or am i missing something?

[mcucs]

ok. everythings on it way.
here are my final decisions for anyone following this build

case: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194&cm_re=coolermaster_storm_sniper-_-11-119-194-_-Product) cooler master storm sniper (black edition).... $99.99
mouse: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826570005&Tpk=cooler%20master%20storm%20sentinel) cooler master storm sentinel....free gift w/case
case fan: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069&cm_re=coolermaster_blade_master-_-35-103-069-_-Product) cooler master blade master 120mm PWM...$9.99
power supply: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010) corsair hx series cmpsu 750 watt....$159.99
motherboard: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423) gigabyte ga-x58a-ud3r....$209.99
processor: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225) intel core i7 930....$288.99
cpu cooler: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055&Tpk=coolermaster%20v8) coolermaster v8....$69.99
thermal coumpound: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007&cm_re=artic_silver_5_thermal_compound-_-35-100-007-_-Product) artic silver 5....$9.99
ram: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224) corsair dominator 6gb ddr3 1600 (pc3 12800) tr3x6g1600c8d....$229.99
hard drive: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533&cm_re=western_digital_caviar_black-_-22-136-533-_-Product) western digital caviar black, 7200 rpm, sata 6gb/s, wd1002faex....$84.99
graphics card: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161302) his h585f1gd radeon hd 5850....$319.99
tv tuner card: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037) hauppauge wintv-hvr-2250....$123.99
optic drive: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335) lite-on 24x dvd writer black sata....$28.99
keyboard: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109201&cm_re=microfsoft_keyboard_3000-_-23-109-201-_-Product) microsoft digital media keyboard 3000....$19.99
monitor: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052&Tpk=asus%20vh242h) asus vh242h black....$199.99
printer: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113454&cm_re=brothers_mfc-_-28-113-454-_-Product) brothers mfc-795cw all-in-one print/copy/scan/fax....$129.99
wireless router: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124333) linksy wrt400n 802.11 a/b/g 802.11 n....$109.99
operating system: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754) microsoft windows 7 home premium 64 bit....$99.99
total price: including combined shipping..subtracting combo deals and mail in rebates.......$2127.69



also a few extras...
dvi to hdmi adapter: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999010&Tpk=n82e16814999010) H.I.S. dvi to hdmi with audio to drive a second monitor with audio....$9.99
anti static wrist strap: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899261005&Tpk=n82e16899261005) rosewill rtk-002....$3.49
kvm switch: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817399032&Tpk=n82e16817399032) keyboard/video/mouse switch, (so i can continue to use my old computer and keep desktop clean)....$19.99
sata 6gb/s cable: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123288&Tpk=n82e16812123288) okgear sata 6gb/s cable, as sata 6gb/s is backwards compatable to sata 3gb/s this may not have been needed....$5.99
PWM fan splitter: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119248&Tpk=n82e16812119248) rosewill 12 inch pwm fan splitter....$3.99
still looking for a little insight on this splitter... looks to me that you can hook up you case fans to your psu (for power) and then your motherboard (for pwm control). meaning the fans are powered thru the psu and not the motherboard. if this is possible i would like to purchase 2 more 120mm pwm case fans to replace my top 200mm exhaust. any thoughts?????

hope i got everything covered, including all the little extras needed for a complete build.......anyone see anything missing to get me up and running please YELL-IT-OUT...i'll be listining.

[Sean]

damn dude! everything looks outstanding! good luck, keep us updated, take pictures!

[mcucs]

installing hardware was a breeze...... no problems at all.


take a look at her. (http://mcucs-computerbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/blog-post.html)


still trying to get all the drivers correctly installed. (especially for the his radeon hd5850, for some reason i lose them after there installed...or im not installing them correctly) but i'll get em sooner or later.

anyway, for a first time computer illeterate builder like my self so far so good.



note: complete specs are listed above.




thought a quick post was in order.......

[RickyTick]

She's a thing of beauty!! :D

I'm totally sold on the black interior case. Love it!!

[Sean]

wow man, superb job! great job on the cable management, everything looks great! now you gotta run Benchmarks!!!

get " speedfan " to monitor your CPU temps, and get " Prime95 " to run stress tests on your CPU, and get " FurMark " to stress test your GPU and check its temperatures at stress levels. Then, if everything is okay and stable, get " 3dMark " and " PCmark " to compare your system to other systems and see where it stands.

Also, get " CPU-Z " and take a screen shot in the CPU tab and post it here.

Were you planning on over clocking your CPU, with that CPU cooler, overclocking is completely possible...