Need input for system I'm building

[Racerboy]

I'm building a system for a buddy of mine and want some input as far as choices I've made. We are going to set it up for use mainly as a racing simulator. Here is what I have so far, let me know any changes you guys would make. Thanks!

Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
WD Caviar Black 1.5TB 64MB Cache
SAPPHIRE 100282-3CODSR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Powersupply
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80601930
LITE-ON Black BD-COMBO SATA Model ihes108-29 - OEM
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

[nibbler]

Don't need as high wattage power supply, for the same money as that I'd get the 650HX which is modular.

[acrobat]

Semi related:

Is the i7 930 worth the ~£60 over the 920? Would the 930 overclock higher?

[Skulltrail]

As above, plus you could save a bit by using either:

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...6Gb-s-RAID-ATX) £155.30

Asus P6X58D-E (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...3Gb-s-RAID-ATX) £170.57

Both still have USB 3 and SATA 3. Also with the RAM, you could use this for the same price but it runs on lower latency (6-8-6-20 vs: 8-8-8-24) and lower voltage as well: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...L6T-6GBPI.html

With the money saved on the mobo consider this: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/60GB-...-Write-275MB-s plus a 500GB Samsung F3 for storage. SSDs really do make a huge difference to load times as well as general usability.

Hope this helps!

[acrobat]

Isn't the 80 gig intel ssd better?

[Terbinator]

Isn't the 80 gig intel ssd better?

Yes, He's just looking at the wrong numbers

[Skulltrail]

Yes, He's just looking at the wrong numbers

I don't mean this obnoxiously, but what other indicators are there apart from the obvious sustained read and write performance and the IOPS (50,000 for the OCZ vs. 6,600 for the 80GB Intel in 4k random writes)? Both are MLC flash, the Intel has a lesser cost per GB, and the controllers are different.

I was under the impression the Intel was better in an enterprise setting, such as with databases and when dealing with file requests etc., but the Sandforce controlled SSDs were better suited to consumer applications, with more aligned read / write operations?

This will be useful for my future reference as am looking at getting an SSD in the next month or so.

[Terbinator]

No one but sales people think the Sustained reads/writes are worth arguing about with SSD's, comparing only the random write 4k's to the Intel's is a bit biased as well no ?
The Intel still remains the drive to be had under £200, maybe even circa £160 if current prices are to go about - not to mention the extra space you get.

[acrobat]

Yeah that intel one looks really nice. And yeah the space is the big thing for me. Even 80 gig will require me putting only the most important stuff on it, and the rest of my average games and stuff I will have to put on a normal hard disk. 60 gig would just be too hard I think.

I really want a SSD though. I read that they are going to come down in price a lot, later this year when a new generation comes out. I don't think I can wait that long though because I think my current main disk is on the blink so I need to upgrade about now. :/

[Skulltrail]

Just read this: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2899/1

Thought it made for a very interesting read, especially the stuff on page 3 and 11.

I stand by my origional thought that Sandforce based drives trump the Intel ones.

[jim]

Last time I read up on Anand, the SandForce drives were meant to be better than Intel's equivalents, but probably a bit too expensive for what they were.

I know a lot of the SandForce customers were planning to ditch the controller because it cost too much.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Vertex 2 Pro 100GB is currently £586 on Scan:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...source=froogle

It is somewhat on the expensive side IMHO!

[Terbinator]

Just read this: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2899/1

Thought it made for a very interesting read, especially the stuff on page 3 and 11.

I stand by my origional thought that Sandforce based drives trump the Intel ones.

And by the same rule the i7 980X trumps the X6 - One costs more than the other though, perhaps a lot more. The Intel, to me personally, is the better buy due to the performance you get from it and the extra space.

[Skulltrail]

The Vertex 2 Pro 100GB is currently £586 on Scan:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?W...source=froogle

It is somewhat on the expensive side IMHO!

Well spotted that it was the Pro and not the regular! I missed that bit!

[Terbinator]

Well spotted that it was the Pro and not the regular! I missed that bit!

I did wonder why you linked us to a preview