Red Cloud wrote:
> On Jul 29, 3:31 pm, Agent_C <agent-c-hates-s...@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
>> CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz - BX80623I72600K $289
>>
>> Motherboard - ASUS P8Q67-M DO/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 $129
>>
>> Memory - Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 KVR16N11/8 $43
>>
>> Case - Antec Sonata III 500 Black ATX Mid Tower 500W Power Supply $129
>>
>> SSD - Intel 520 Cherryville SSDSC2CW120A3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC
>> $144
>>
>> HD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
>> 3.5 $109
>>
>> Blu-Ray - LG Black 14X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM
>> 4MB $69
>>
>> Card Reader - nMEDIAPC ZE-C198 All-in-one USB 3.0/IEEE 1394/e-SATA $27
>>
>> CPU Cooler - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm $30
>>
>> OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit $139
>>
>> Much oblidged!
>>
>> A_C
>
>
> What advantages do you have for overspending on hardware stuff?
I think it would be better, to state the question diplomatically,
such as what the intention of the build is. Once you know the
intention of the build, then it's easier to make suggestions.
It looks like a premium business user setup of some sort. With provisions
to support the computer via an IT department, at night.
Issues:
1) P8Q67-M DO/CSM.
Very few reviews of the motherboard are available. Three reviews on
Newegg. Zero comments or questions in the vip.asus.com forum dedicated
to that particular motherboard model. A problem with unpopular motherboard
models, is getting support for them. The motherboard maker might not
do more than five BIOS updates on the web site, if the model is not
popular and nobody bought it. More BIOS updates are done, on popular
models. And user interest, helps provide solutions to problems, like
where to find the right driver etc.
Board has no downloadable user manual. You may need to download the
P8Q67-M DO manual and pretend it's a manual for the P8Q67-M DO/CSM.
I particularly don't like this. I won't buy a motherboard, unless I
can look at the (proper) manual first. If Asus had a pre-sales contact,
I'd ask for this.
Motherboard has Q67 chipset, which gives the possibility of AMT support
(for IT department to wake the computer or even reset it remotely when
the computer has crashed). This may also be a reason it's got an Intel NIC.
The BIOS file on such a motherboard, consists of the BIOS portion for
the CPU, plus a separate portion for the processor inside the chipset.
And then the question would be, how well does the included version of
AMT work, or is there some way to update it. AMT doesn't have much
purpose, if there isn't an IT department using/needing it. In which case,
more non-AMT motherboard models can be candidates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_A...ent_Technology
Motherboard has a TPM chip, good for BitLocker. With the caveats
that come with it. Surprisingly, TPM solutions aren't bulletproof
(if you're looking for guarantees). It's certainly true, that it's
hard to find a motherboard with a built-in TPM. Some have a header for
it, and then you can't find a convenient retail source of the TPM module.
Having the TPM chip right on the motherboard (or, part of the chipset),
means not having to deal with the details of finding one.
2) I7-2600K. While the motherboard has support for Turbo enable or disable,
the motherboard doesn't appear to be able to set the multiplier. If you
can't set the multiplier, there might not be a good reason to own a
2600K. Either change the motherboard to one that supports the "K" portion
properly. Or, change the processor. Note that, if you buy 2600K, you may
lose features like VT-d (IOMMU). It's one reason to *carefully* check the
ark.intel.com site for a processor, to make sure you're getting what you
want. Intel does some pretty silly things, in the name of market
differentiation. In some review I was reading, a user was complaining the
option was missing in a BIOS screen, and I suspect he may have had a 2600K
and Intel disabled it.
http://ark.intel.com/products/52214/...up-to-3_80-GHz)
3) Case comes with EarthWatts 500w power supply. Check the Newegg page for
the EarthWatts 500W supply before buying. One reviewer comments that if
his "cheap" UPS switches over to battery, the EarthWatts switches itself
off. This could possibly be due to active PFC on the power supply. At the
very least, if using a UPS, be prepared to have to buy a new one with
"close to sine wave" output. With the trend to the power supply makers
delivering PFC supplies to North America, this is getting harder to avoid.
Not all PFC supplies are a problem, but generally the active PFC method,
of making the current waveform look like the voltage waveform, is a problem.
If the UPS makes something that looks more like a square wave, when the UPS
is on battery, the active PFC power supply tries its best to modify the current
flow waveform. Which may lead to a little extra stress and strain.
Sometimes, buying a case without power supply is the answer. I think the
Sonata III I bought, might have been "sans PSU". Because I won't buy a case
that comes with a supply. I shop for supplies separately. The last (spare)
supply I bought, was an (inefficient) Sparkle, without PFC. Because I know
my UPS supply is crap (non-sine output).
4) nMEDIAPC ZE-C198
This device uses a mixture of internal and external connectors. You might not
get as much value from this purchase as you think. The motherboard selection,
has no USB3, so there's nothing to drive the USB3 ports as such, and the wiring
on the ZE-C198 is not intended to plug into a USB3 pin header. A simpler card
reader, without "thru connectors", might make more sense, and result in less
dangling (unused) wires inside the case.
5) Freezer 7
If selecting an aftermarket cooler, I'd try to get one that "blows downwards"
onto the motherboard. That's good if the VCore regulator gets a little warm
in normal operation. Or, you want to cool the chipset. Or the RAM is sandwiched
so close together, a little assistance in cooling is needed.
The computer case is big enough for a regular ATX motherboard, so using
a microATX for the motherboard isn't absolutely necessary with the case choice.
But the case might also be wide enough, you won't have to worry too much about
the vertical height of the CPU cooler.
If the purchase is prefaced on AMT support, I can see the choices made
ending up the way they are.
HTH,
Paul
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