Yet another build review....

[TheGreyOne]

Hi yall, I have decided to go nuts and build my first desktop from complete scratch (already pieced togeather a barebone desktop for the wiff.) and would like any input yall got. The only thing I am wondering about is my grafix card. I do moderate/heavy intense gaming and my wife's 9400gt barely covers some of my games. Anywho here are my "most wanted" parts. (budget of 2200 with monitor and o/s but would like it to be less).

Motherboard: MSI X58 Platinum

CPU: intel i7 920

PSU: V2 Viotek 700W

RAM: STT D3-1333 6GB (3x 2GB) CL8 Triple Channel Memory Kit

Case: NZXT Zero (Black/Silver) Full Tower Case with Side-Panel Fans

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB (two)

DVD: Samsung's SH-S202J/BEBN

GPU: something under $250



Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130220

CPU: http://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=689

PSU: http://3btech.net/ewv2vi7020pi.html

RAM: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=WA133UX6G8

Case: http://www.buyxg.com/store/item.asp?key=cs-211-110

HDD: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2203982&Sku=TSD-750AS


DVD: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3809071&CatId=4

GPU: undecided........

 

[worshipme]

Looks like you hunted around for the best prices. It looks pretty good, I'd go with it.

 

[wol-va-rine]

Looks like you hunted around for the best prices. It looks pretty good, I'd go with it.

that psu scares me, 700w that cheap...? um, no, get a decent name brand psu, there is usually always a sale on one of the known brands of psus, people need to learn to stop skimping on the most important part (the backbone) of their build...

 

[worshipme]

I made a mental note to say something about that PSU, but I must've forgetten by the time I started typing.

@ OP, you don't need to spend a lot more on the PSU, but something of a little better quality, even if the rated wattage is lower would be more reliable. OCZ StealthXStream 600W.

As for the GPU, it depends on your monitor's native resolution.
1280x1024 - 9800GT or HD 4830
1680x1050 - HD 4850/GTX 260/HD 4870 512MB
1920x1200 - GTX 260 216 (seriously Nvidia, get your naming sorted out) or HD 4870 1GB
2560x1600 - HD 4870 X2

 

[TheGreyOne]

that psu scares me, 700w that cheap...? um, no, get a decent name brand psu, there is usually always a sale on one of the known brands of psus, people need to learn to stop skimping on the most important part (the backbone) of their build...

Thank you for your input, I'll see what I can find.

 

[culexor]

Yeah, like most of the people above said, you need a PSU from a more reputable company, considering the one you chose is 700W and only $40. That already raises a red flag, along with the unknown brand name. I'm not saying that it will fry your computer, but you are at a much higher risk of that happening with a lower tier PSU. You also don't need that much power. Regardless of what GPU you decide to get (unless it's a GTX295 or something, but even then it could probably handle it) you only need like 550-650W. As for brand names, I suggest going with:
PC Power & Cooling
OCZ
Cooler Master
Corsair
SilverStone
ABS
Thermaltake
Antec

As for what to choose within that criteria, you want to look for one with a high rating, and with several reviews. As for certifications, you want to look for (not completely necessary though) PSU that are 80PLUS certified and SLI and/or CrossFire ready. These PSU's have been tested for efficiency and for stability, etc.

As for Modular PSU's this is completely your choice. Modular means that you can disconnect some of the leads directly from the PSU so there are less unused cables inside of your case. This is strictly to reduce clutter, and does not affect the performance of the PSU at all (neither negatively nor positively). If you don't care how your case looks on the inside, or you already have a good enough cable management system in your case, you don't necessarily have to worry about getting a modular psu, but it is always nice to take out what you don't need.

Hope my post helps.

 

[wol-va-rine]

Yeah, like most of the people above said, you need a PSU from a more reputable company, considering the one you chose is 700W and only $40. That already raises a red flag, along with the unknown brand name. I'm not saying that it will fry your computer, but you are at a much higher risk of that happening with a lower tier PSU. You also don't need that much power. Regardless of what GPU you decide to get (unless it's a GTX295 or something, but even then it could probably handle it) you only need like 550-650W. As for brand names, I suggest going with:
PC Power & Cooling
OCZ
Cooler Master
Corsair
SilverStone
ABS
Thermaltake
Antec

As for what to choose within that criteria, you want to look for one with a high rating, and with several reviews. As for certifications, you want to look for (not completely necessary though) PSU that are 80PLUS certified and SLI and/or CrossFire ready. These PSU's have been tested for efficiency and for stability, etc.

As for Modular PSU's this is completely your choice. Modular means that you can disconnect some of the leads directly from the PSU so there are less unused cables inside of your case. This is strictly to reduce clutter, and does not affect the performance of the PSU at all (neither negatively nor positively). If you don't care how your case looks on the inside, or you already have a good enough cable management system in your case, you don't necessarily have to worry about getting a modular psu, but it is always nice to take out what you don't need.

Hope my post helps.

+1 to all the brands that cornholio mentioned, I tend to stay clear of modular because I'm a cheap bastard and they cost more, with that kind of budget, I would look at saving a little $ on other parts to afford a high quality psu, this is a good deal, one of many at Newegg that would be able to power just about any system...

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Best bang for your buck PSU: Antec Basiq BP500UB 500W - $39.99

Something with a little more "umph": OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W - $74.99 ($49.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate) w/Free Shipping

For a GPU under $250, I would go for something like one of these:

XFX GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB - $244.99

POWERCOLOR Radeon HD 4870 1GB - $224.99 ($209.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)

 

[TheGreyOne]

Thanks for the help yall, I do believe I'll switch to the OCZ ps, and a HD850 for the gpu. That will bring my total up to 1600 for the whole 9 yards.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

I don't know about the HD 4850 for a "moderate/heavy intense gaming" rig. My father in law has one in his new system and isn't impressed with in the least. At least opt for one of the lower cost HD 4870's or even something like an EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ Superclocked Edition 512MB.