When was the last time you purchased a new desktop PC? Or have you switched to the "laptop computer generation"? Or even worse, have you gone down to the "dark path" of using those mass produced, style over quality (lack of character),
and massively over priced Apple stuff?
No matter what you are using for your computer solution. At the end of the day, custom built desktop PC will always produce better performance and faster in speed over laptop or Apple computers any day.
The problem is, not many people know how to build a high end, custom PC. Having recently acquired a new PC after my 4 year old rig died due to power supply failure, I have re-entered the world of custom PC building and did some research, and I will like to share some information on the config of building a high end, custom PC for all your home computing solutions (server, gaming, movies, internet, music, work etc..)
All for the cost of under 2000 Australian dollars.
You might ask, why not just buy Apple? Well, after playing around with Apple Mac Pro online config, I found out to buy a Mac Pro with the roughly the same CPU power, but only with 50% of graphics power compare to the PC I am about to configure for you, it will cost you at least $4300 dollars!!
I know! What a rip off! Paying more than twice the price for something that is not as fast... that is why I've always thought going down the road of Apple = going down the path of the "dark side", flashy but with no real value.
So without further delay, let me get started in my guide.
Before I start with my config, I will show you the config of my new PC, then compare the config of the PC I am recommending. So you can see the differences.
My PC Built:
CPU: Intel i7-2600k@3.4GHz, socket LGA1155 ($332)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe motherboard, socket LGA1155 ($299)
Graphics card: 2 x Gigabyte Geforce GTX570 (in SLI) ($372 each, so $744 altogether for two cards in SLI)
RAM: 4 x 4GB (16GB) Corsair Vengeance low profile heat sink RAM ($164)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 high performance CPU cooler ($90)
Case: Silverstone Raven RV01 ($192)
Power Supply Unit: Antec Quattro true power 1200w PSU ($267)
HDD: 4 x 2TB HDD running in RAID O. I didn't have to buy HDD, because I already have them.
Total cost = $2088
My computer has exceeded the $2000 limit by 88 bucks, and this is without HDD. If I had to buy HDD, the total cost would have gone up to $2300 at least. This because I deliberately purchased a more expensive motherboard, and bought an overkill 1200w PSU, and a massive heatsink the size of a small turbine. However, now that I have put my PC together, I realized that if I were to do it again, I could have configured a PC with the almost identical performance, but with a better tower case at a lower price, to save some money.
Intersection:
You might wonder, why using the LGA1155 CPU and not the new LGA2011 CPU? Currently, there are three types of Intel LGA2011 CPU being released. The i7-3820 ($327), i7-3930k ($680), and i7-3960x ($1270). The motherboards for LGA2011 are within the range of $300~$500. With the top of range LGA2011 CPU (i7-3960x) having a performance increase of roughly 25% over the LGA1155 i7-2600k. (source: Passmark ).
In case you haven't noticed, the new LGA 2011 i7-3960x cost over $1000! And that is just the CPU. To build a full PC with the i7-3960x will cost you almost $3000! So unless you are rich and loaded with cash to spend, I would say LGA1155 is still the best buy for your money.
As for the LGA2011 i7-3930k, at $680 it really isn't Worth your money (the motherboard and CPU will cost you $1000 already!) Here is another review from bit-tech where they tested the i7-3930k, and reported that most general PC users should still stick with LGA1155 (article from bi-tech)
The general consensus here is, for most general PC users. It is better to stick with Intel i7-LGA 1155 CPU, especially the i7-2600k (or the i7-2700k). As the i7 LGA2011 are aimed for enthusiasts with nothing better to do than to spend their money. The i7 LGA 1155 are still the best for its costs.
As for the LGA2011 i7-3930k, at $680 it really isn't Worth your money (the motherboard and CPU will cost you $1000 already!) Here is another review from bit-tech where they tested the i7-3930k, and reported that most general PC users should still stick with LGA1155 (article from bi-tech)
The general consensus here is, for most general PC users. It is better to stick with Intel i7-LGA 1155 CPU, especially the i7-2600k (or the i7-2700k). As the i7 LGA2011 are aimed for enthusiasts with nothing better to do than to spend their money. The i7 LGA 1155 are still the best for its costs.
So here is the config I would recommend, for a 2011 high end PC under $2000:
The config I will recommend for you:
CPU: Intel i7-2600k LGA1155 ($332)
The i7-2600k is extremely overclockable, not only it is already very fast at stock speed. But its unlocked function allows you go overclock to 5GHz per core.. provided that you have a good CPU cooler. The 2600k is still one of the best CPU on the market.
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 ($178)
This motherboard is almost as good as the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe, and almost $110 cheaper too (I wish I can exchange my MB to this one.. too late).
In case if the sales person tell you to buy the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 motherboard, which cost $420.. DO NOT fall for it.. the G1 Sniper 2 has some additional features but most users are not likely to be utilizing them. Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3 is all you need. I promise!
Graphics card: 2 x Gigabyte Geforce GTX570 (in SLI) ($372 each, so $744 altogether for two cards in SLI)
The Geforce GTX570 is a very powerful card. However, to ensure that your PC can stand up to the the test of time in future generation games. I recommend multiple GPU setup. So do not hesitate! Grab two Geforce GTX570, it's worth it!
According to this benchmark test (source: Guru3D), two GTX570 out performs two ATI Radeon 5870 by 28% (at Apple store, one Radeon 5870 will cost $500, so two Radeon 5870 will cost $1000! Why is Apple selling something not as good for higher price? I don't really know). Two GTX570 also outperform one GTX580 by 43%, and one GTX580 will cost you $580 by itself. Yes, two GTX580 will out perform GTX570 by 10%, but you will also need extra $300 to buy those! So in my opinion, in terms of costs and performance, the GTX570 SLI is the winning combination.
RAM: 2 x 4GB (8GB) Corsair Vengeance low profile heat sink RAM ($82)
After I installed 16GB, I realized with the current level of software. No home PC user is ever going to need that much RAM, unless you are planning to setup RAM drive. So just get 8GB is enough!
IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!
A side note with RAM. When you buy RAM, MAKE SURE to buy RAM that come with low profile heat sinks (no protruding fins and such). This is because most awesome CPU cooler only have RAM clearance of less than 45mm, while RAM with high profile heat sink usually have height of approximately 50mm. This means the RAM is going to be in the way to your CPU cooler! This can be a very disappointing experience!
CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo ($48)
After I read some reviews, it turned out that this CPU cooler is really good for its price. Unless you are planning to overclock your i7-2600k to over 5GHz per core, I would say the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo is more than enough for most overclocking situations.
Case: Silverstone Raven RV03 ($164)
In my new PC, I used the Silverstone Raven RV01, which is an older generation case released over 2 years ago. The Raven RV03, was released a month ago, and after reading some reviews. I almost wish I can return my Raven RV01 and get this one instead! Not only it is cheaper by $30, but the Raven RV03 also features improved cable management, more HDD hot swap bays and such! With the Raven series trademark of 90 degrees rotated motherboard orientation, for stacking effect cooling.
By rotating the motherboard by 90 degrees, this means the output connectors for mouse, keyboard, USB, video are on the top of the case. All the Raven cases share this unique design. The case has two fans at the bottom to suck/push up cold air for cooling the PC components. And because hot air rises due to its lower density (PV = nRT, as temperature T goes up, the volume V goes up. Since the mass flow rate of the air remains constant, the density reduces), there is a fan on top of the case to pull the hot air out of the case.
Theoretically, the Raven should produce superb cooling effects to your PC components. From different reviews, the RV03 has been greatly improved since RV01, and the cooling effect is really good. Watch this video for demonstration of stacking effect.
Therefore, Raven RV03 is in my opinion. One of the best full tower cases in 2011. Even better than Coolermaster HAF942, because RV03 looks better as well.
Power Supply Unit: Antec 900w high current power supply ($156)
HDD: 2 x Hitachi 1TB Deskstar 7200rpm HDD running RAID 0 ($115 each, so $230 all together)
The reason why I am using RAID 0 in this config is because RAID 0, is stripe set, higher bandwidth = great speed. But note that in RAID 0, is one drive fails, then the entire array will be stuffed. Meaning higher chance of data loss.
If you want redundancy, you can setup RAID 1 (mirroring) instead. However, remember that if you set up RAID 1, you will only have one hard drive storage space instead of two. Because everything is mirrored to the second hard drive.
Or you can just not use RAID at all, the choice is yours.
Note that this PC config leaves room for future upgrade to SSD (Solid State Drives), when they become cheaper.
Total cost = $1964
So here it is, this is my 2 cents in, for $1964 AUD you can get a very high end PC for the best quality home PC solution in 2011 and beyond!
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