New Build; Critiques and Questions

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Spankbot-5000

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
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I'm going to be building a new PC for the release of Windows 7, and I'm hoping you guys can provide any critiques and answer a few questions I have. This is just a quick build I whipped up last night, so things aren't set in stone:

Case - Antec P183
PSU - Seasonic X-750/Corsair HX750
MOBO - Asus P6TD Deluxe
CPU - i7 920/940/950 Quad Core Processor
Memory - Corsair DDR3 1600 XMS3 6GB
HD - Western Digital 640 GB Caviar SE16
GPU - ATI 5870 x 2
Sound - Auzentech X-FI Forte
DVD - Liteon IHAS324 DVD Burner
HSF - Prolimatech Megahalems Cooler
Paste - Noctua NT-H1 Compound
CPU Fans - Scythe Gentle Typhoon x 2

Some of the items have multiple options, as I'm not sure which one I'll go with. I'd like to get the Seasonic PSU, but it keeps getting pushed back, meaning we'll probably see it up here in Canada well after it comes out in the US. If I can't get it, I'd go with the Corsair unit, as I've been very happy with the HX650 in my other computer. As for the CPU, any of those three choices suit me fine, and my choice will likely just be based on price and any deals I can find with CPU/MOBO/Win 7 combos when Win 7 comes out. For the video card, I'll likely wait a bit and see what arises on Sapphires front with the Vapor-X 5870 cards expected in the next month or so. Also, I didn't list any case fans as I'm going to rip out those annoying Tri-Cools and replace them with some extra Noctuas I have lying around.

As for my questions, first, will the Megahalems fit fine in the P183 case, no height problems or anything? Second, on the P6TD the PCIe x4 slot is the first slot right before the main x16 slot. The Auzentech Forte should fit in fine there as it's single slot, but does anyone know if this is for sure, or if the fit next to main video card will be extremely tight/unworkable?
 
First, we have a set of questions in a sticky thread... please answer those that are still unanswered. ;)

You can't go wrong with either of those PSUs. Sell the Tri-Cools... they sell pretty easily on the FS/T forums. I doubt you'll find the 940 or 950 cheaper than the 920, but eh, it may happen, in which case, go for it... otherwise, the 920 will most likely be your best buy, depending on your answers to the questions in the sticky.

The Forte should fit fine unless the card you get has some obnoxious cooler taking more space than needed on the "backside" of the card.
 
Answers to questions in the sticky:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
- All of the above
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
- Budget is variable. Not unlimited, but I'm prepared to pay for the parts already listed. (whatever they cost, I haven't scoured prices yet)
3) Where do you live?
- Canada
6) Will you be overclocking?
- Sometimes. I will overclock, but on an irregular basis as more of an experimentation thing rather than a permanent overclock.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
- Already have a 30" Samsung LCD.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
- Next two months or so.
 
variable budget? where's lowteckh when you need him? :eek:

What resolution is your 30"?
 
Let me rephrase Question #2: What's the most that you're willing to spend on this system?
 
My 30" is 1920x1200.

And I guess if I had to pick an upper ceiling on price.... I don't know, $3000. I know I can get the parts listed for cheaper than that, but I'm really just picking a number I wouldn't want to go over for no reason in particular. Price usually isn't a deciding factor when I build a PC; if I really want to have a specific part, I'll pay what it costs. Conversely, if I find a part I've picked is priced really high, I may step back a bit and pick something a bit cheaper if it's a not a part I'm too concerned with.

My main concerns really were the questions about fit. I already know the parts I've picked are "good", I was just curious for any real-world experiences with said parts if any stand out as crap I should avoid for some unknown reason not listed in most reviews.
 
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Which games do you play? Which level of visual/graphics quality (low, medium, high, max) do you normally play them in?

Even though you've said that you would use your system for everything, which task (e.g. gaming, Photoshop, video/3D editing) would you be using this system the most for?
 
Pretty much play everything, all genres, and like to play with everything on max quality at max res. I'm willing to forgo some things like PhysX compatibility, as I'm an ATI man and would rather spend the money on a DX11 card. DX11 will probably go farther than PhysX will in the end anyways, despite Nvidias strongarm handling of PhysX.
 
The build that you've posted in your OP looks fine, then.

May I ask why you're pursuing the P6T Deluxe?
 
Partly because the P6TD is the most current revision of the P6T boards by Asus, and partly because the price difference at NCIX/DirectCanada between the P6T boards is negligible. The only one cheaper is the SE model, admittedly by almost $100, but all other boards are in the $330 range there. It's even cheaper than the P6T Deluxe V2, despite that board being older and somewhat less refined.
 
The older "versions" of the same board family work just as well as the newer/better "models," and if you don't have a need for so many features, can save you quite a bit of money. At first glance, I'd say that the P6T SE would fit your needs much better than the P6TD. Besides CrossFire, which features do you really need in a motherboard?
 
The P6T SE would be an excellent choice, but I don't like the fact it only supports ATI Crossfire and not Nvidia SLI. I may be an ATI guy, but I don't want to cut myself off from half the GPU market should Nvidia produce something truly compelling for me.

That, and the power-handling, stack-cool 3, and all around better cooling and components on the P6TD are worth that extra bit of money for me.
 
Okay, then... the better cooling and components argument I can agree with.

... But why not the "normal" P6T? How much less would the P6T cost compared to the P6TD?
 
I'm just doing a quick search here because I'm at work, but at NCIX the P6TD is only about $15 more than the base P6T board.
 
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