My 2010 system build - critique welcome

[Ennui]

Hey guys, so it's been around 3 years since I last built or significantly upgraded my PC (just have added some RAM and upgraded graphics since then). I'm working on UDK development next year and I have some spare cash (meaning I have been eating cheap pasta for the past month or two) so it's time to upgrade to something a little more modern.

My old/current system: Athlon 64 X2 5600+, Geil 4gb (2x2) PC6400 DDR2 RAM, EVGA GTX 260 (216 core) 896mb, Gigabyte GA-M55plusS3G mobo, APEVIA X-alien case

I'm basically building a brand new rig since the only thing I'm saving is my PSU, which is a 1000w rosewill 80plus bronze certified PSU that I bought towards the beginning of the year when my old PSU died. Yes, I know 1000w is extreme overkill, but it was a $200 PSU on sale for $100 on newegg so I couldn't resist (plus I want to go SLI sometime). It's a sexy PSU though, blue LEDs and modular cables and all that.

Without further ado, components I'm planning on buying:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T socket AM3 3.0ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103858

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AM3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443

GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130570

RAM: 2 X Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2x2GB) 240pin DDR3 1333 (for 8gb total in 4 dimm slots)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134792

As for the case, I'm looking at these and haven't decided yet:

Antec Sonata Proto: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129086
Lian-Li Lancool PC-K58W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112238
Cooler Master HAF 932: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
Rosewill ARMOR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147047

I'm leaning towards the NZXT Phantom because it looks awesome (like a stormtrooper helmet or some shit). I also like the Rosewill ARMOR and I sort of like the idea of having a smaller case like the lian-li or antec up there. The Proto doesn't seem to have great airflow or cooling, though, and the Lian-Li Lancool has an open mesh grating on the top which is great for cooling but I'm not thrilled with the idea of dust falling directly onto my CPU and mobo... isn't your case supposed to protect your components? That's also ruled out because my current case has saved my computer 2-3 separate times when stupid people spilled liquid on it (cough girlfriend cough roommates cough)

Therefore it's mostly between the Rosewill Armor and the NZXT, so suggestions are super welcome. I'm not looking to spend more than around $100 on the case.

Comments, feedback, criticism, suggestions etc for the whole build is welcomed (and why I posted). Let's see who actually still reads this subforum...

 

[Krynn72]

The Cooler Master HAF is the case I have, and is easily, EASILY the best case I've ever owned. Judging by how its got over 1,600 reviews and is still rated 5 stars, I'd say its the best case a lot of people have ever owned. The airflow in it is ridiculous. I was using an Antec 300 before this, and switching my case dropped my video card temp 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. That said... it too has a fan on top, so if you plan on having stuff spilled on your computer, probably go with something else. As for dust though, surprisingly little gets in. The grating gets a bunch accumulated on it, but when I dust out the insides, theres not much in it.

And with the Geforce 4XX you'll definitely want to err on the safe side for cooling. That whole series gets wicked hot.

 

[Viperidae]

What are your primary applications?

The Phenom X6, like the i7, is overkill for just gaming. The i5 would perform better for gaming applications. It's splitting hairs, but it's something you might want to consider.

Same thing for 8 gigs. Unless you're doing crazy art stuff, I would stick with 4. On the topic of the ram, I also wouldn't go with Kingston. You've spent so much on everything else--why skimp out on ram? Ultimately the difference isn't huge, but it's called Valueram for a reason.

I won't comment on the [strike]ricer[/strike] stormtrooper case. Lian-Li is always a solid choice, and the Sonata is simple and unobtrusive enough. Rosewill... I have not heard anything amazing about them, and personally find them overpriced as Newegg's house brand.

Krynn's right--you'll want to consider non-stock fans. At the minimum a new cpu fan. Like this. Here's a solid, dependable, cheap intake fan. Similarly solid exhaust/heatsink fan (out of stock on Newegg).

 

[Krynn72]

Where's the CPU? From the old comp? What model?

Uh... the Phenom?

 

[Viperidae]

Whoops, didn't read my own post properly, nor Ennui's.

 

[Ennui]

What are your primary applications?

The Phenom X6, like the i7, is overkill for just gaming. The i5 would perform better for gaming applications. It's splitting hairs, but it's something you might want to consider.

Same thing for 8 gigs. Unless you're doing crazy art stuff, I would stick with 4. On the topic of the ram, I also wouldn't go with Kingston. You've spent so much on everything else--why skimp out on ram? Ultimately the difference isn't huge, but it's called Valueram for a reason.

I won't comment on the [strike]ricer[/strike] stormtrooper case. Lian-Li is always a solid choice, and the Sonata is simple and unobtrusive enough. Rosewill... I have not heard anything amazing about them, and personally find them overpriced as Newegg's house brand.

Krynn's right--you'll want to consider non-stock fans. At the minimum a new cpu fan. Like this. Here's a solid, dependable, cheap intake fan. Similarly solid exhaust/heatsink fan (out of stock on Newegg).

What RAM would you recommend? I generally always go for cheap RAM and haven't had issues, but maybe I just don't know what I'm missing. I wouldn't mind downgrading to 6gb of more expensive RAM if the performance is going to be noticeably better.

I decided to go with the 6 core phenom over an i5 with less cores because in addition to gaming I'm going to be doing a lot of rendering/baking/compiling/what have you of 3d models, environments, lighting etc since I'm developing a UDK game (unreal engine 3) next semester. Same reasoning for the RAM. I'm going to be running dual monitors eventually and I want to be able to have 3ds max + unrealed + winamp + firefox + whatever else running all at once. I'm also going to run folding@home so I'm not wasting all that power

Also thanks Krynn, you've bumped the HAF up my case list quite a bit. And Viper I know the NZXT is cheesy as ****, but I like being the dude with the flashy-ass absurd looking case. I'm mostly leaning away from the NZXT now because the manufacturing can be kind of shitty (I had a NZXT case a few builds ago). I'm leaning most heavily towards the cooler master now because of Krynn's rave review.

I've never tried using non-stock fans before, I'm a little intimidated by the idea of swapping them out, but if you guys think it's really worth it then I'll go for it

 

[Krynn72]

I wouldnt worry about the third party coolers just yet. With a good case it may not be necessary. I'd say just use the stock ones for now, and just check your temperatures to make sure they cool enough. Once summer rolls around you'll have a better idea of whether or not you'll need better cooling.

That is, unless you plan on overclocking straight away. Then I'd say get the better coolers now and just dont use the stock ones at all.

 

[VirusType2]

I would go with the i5-760, and here's why -

It's give or take in the rendering benches, and when it comes to games, it's sometimes 10 and 29 FPS faster.

It's also on sale through the 28th for $175 (Black Friday extended sale), so it's cheaper. EDIT: Nevermind, it's sold out at this price.

compare i5-760 & Phenom II X6 1075T for yourself: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=185

 

[Dinnesch]

What are your primary applications?

The Phenom X6, like the i7, is overkill for just gaming. The i5 would perform better for gaming applications. It's splitting hairs, but it's something you might want to consider.

I wouldn't cut back too much on the CPU, even if 'overkill' today, you won't regret it if you want to upgrade your video card in a few years(so it won't be bottlenecked). Think forward!

For RAM, I'd get it rated at at least 1600MHz for both Phenom II and Core ix processors. Makes overclocking much easier with non-unlocked CPUs.

Oh, and get yourself a Scythe Mugen 2 to keep your CPU cool.

 

[Quixoticism]

I am here to second the Core i5-760. But only if you need to upgrade now. If you can wait a few months then you can build with new architecture which blows the current gen away.

The Phantom is one sexy beast case!

 

[Ennui]

Alright, so here's what I ended up getting:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 3.5GHz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H 880GA SATA 6Gb/s USB3.0
GPU: same as in OP
RAM: A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Black

Basically, Krynn sold me on the HAF. I have a soft spot for huge solid cases (my case right now is an Apevia that is solid steel and weighs more than 40 lbs) and lots of HD space. I decided to drop to 4gb of memory and increase the speed to 1600. The motherboard is just a slightly different variant on the one I already had listed, which I basically bought because I could save $15 more due to a combo deal with the CPU.

As for the processor, I didn't want to wait a month for the i5 760 to come back (although after a bunch of benchmarking research it does seem like the best choice) nor did I want to shell out any extra dough for a good Intel mobo, but I was comparing the hexacore 1075T with the quadcore 970 (AMD's best quadcore, pretty new too) and the bang for the buck, especially for gaming, was just way better with the 970. The 1075T outperformed in a few areas but waiting an extra 10-20 minutes on some huge render isn't really going to bother me in the long run, and I'd rather be using those cores at 3.5ghz instead of 3.0. I also think the 970 is going to OC beautifully, some reviews mentioned getting it stable at 4.2ghz with stock cooling and with the airflow of the HAF it should be pretty sexy.

Just ordered all this crap from Newegg along with Windows 7 professional (I am actually really sad to be departing from XP... it's been a great run *sniff*), another 1TB HDD, and a new dvd burner because my 5 year old one only works on holidays and every other wednesday.