In-depth description of my 2nd build

Do note my build list before reading on.

After almost ten years, I finally am doing my second, from-scratch, pc build. My first from-scratch build is an old Pentium 4 based system that my mom still uses. It works well for her needs and has been upgraded with a cpu here, and some ram there over the years. The system I am replacing for myself though, is a Pentium IV 3.2 ghz Northwood, with 2 gb of DDR1-400 ram, and an HD 3850 AGP card. These were used in a Dell 400sc case. I bought this server back in 2008 on a cheap deal, and the video card in 2009 (im sure the P4 bottlenecked it). And up until a couple months ago, this system played the games I needed it to (COD4, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and 2012, MLB 2k games, etc) So basically current gen sports games and some older shooters here and there.

However, the 2013 sports games started getting sluggish, so I finally decided I needed to move ahead towards processors with more cores. I wanted to get everything on the cheap, as I don’t have much disposable income at the moment. So I did a ton of research. I used many forums and PC sites as guides…but definitely found Toms Hardware CPU hierarchy and GPU hierarchy charts to be my main reference.

I first had to figure out my computer needs. I wanted a PC that allowed me to play good looking games that moved well for a few years, and I also wanted to be able to do potentially do some audio and video editing work on my PC (I got sick of using other peoples PCs or the college PC for that kind of work). 

So I figured a workstation would be a good bet…plus Ive always wanted to dabble in dual processors. Plus workstations gave me the benefit of extra Ram slots…and desktop motherboards tended to only have a few which can sometimes mean more expensive ram as the capacity sizes increase. I also noticed that server parts were SUPER cheap on ebay in comparison to their desktop counterparts. Its surprising how expensive server components are upon their release...yet they become super cheap, even cheaper than their desktop equivalents after a few years.

After a good bit more reading, I decided the HP XW6600 series of workstations would be what I would build from. The component prices were great, and according to the hierarchy charts and benchmarks Ive seen, the Xeons in those machines aren’t too far down the list once you find their corresponding desktop version. Anyways, to decide on which version and CPU I should get, I referred the the CPU hierarchy reviews, and picked from the tier which contained Toms Hardware’s budget favorite…the Phenom II X4 965. It had good price for performance and based on its tier, I saw that the Core2Quad Q9650 was in the same performance range.

Now for those who don’t know, Xeons are essentially, higher binned desktop processors with multi-cpu capabilities. Basically they are exactly the same as many desktop processors in performance 1 vs 1. The Q9650’s server counterpart was the Xeon E5450. From benchmarks, reviews, and videos Ive seen, they both are roughly equivalent in performance in almost all tasks 1 versus 1 (except in server/workstation situations, because obviously 2 Xeons will beat a single desktop CPU).

However, they were not equal in price. The Q9650 goes for over 120 bucks on ebay or other used marketplaces easily. Two E5450s on the other hard go for 85 bucks together. And even when you factor in heatsink fan costs, the single Q9650 is around 140 to 150 shipped, versus 145 shipped for two Xeons with heatsink fans. I was happy with this CPU selection, because I was well within good budget gaming performance range, and I could do other workstation tasks well. Also, dual Xeon benchmarks appeared to rival benchmarks of higher tiered single CPUs, and most of all…the price was very hard to beat.

Moving on, I went with an 800w power supply, that I got for a great price. Its HPs XW power supply, and I was forced to go with it due to proprietary voltage pinouts. I wanted an ATX power supply, but HP motherboards wont work with ATX voltage pinouts without some modding. And Im not handy with electrical modding. Either way, you cant beat 30 bucks for an 800w PSU. Nvm the fact that Dell and HP make great PSUs. The 250w rated Dell power supply that came with my 400sc, easily power 2 hard drives, 2 optical drives, and the HD3850. According to some, Dell and HP underrate their PSUs

Next was ram. I was able to obtain 16GBs of DDR2-5300F 667 ram for 50 bucks shipped. I know its older generation ram, but lets be real. CPU and GPU are the main factors in gaming. So Im not taking a hit there. Plus when it comes to workstation tasks,  Fully buffered 667 DDR2 speed isn’t terrible. Itll be stable…and again…desktop prices would be twice as much for the amount of ram I wanted.

For the GPU selected, I referred to the GPU hierarchy list. The GTX 650 TI Boost was the clear favorite for the budget gamer…and had a great price to performance ratio. So I did some sleuthing while looking over the tier it was in. I settled upon the PowerColor HD 7850 2GB. Card has good performance on par with the Ti Boost and it had the best deal at the time a few weeks ago. It was $175 shipped, with a $20 rebate I could use plus AMDs game bundle. After selling the bundle and redeeming my rebate, the card cost $120. Great price for a card, plus in the future I may Crossfire it with another once its price drops a good bit. Not sure if the XW6600 motherboard supports it though. But can you imagine? These well performing Xeons with Crossfire and 16gb of ram? I should be able to through games and editing processes on this computer for a good amount of time.

I know I cheaped out on the hard drive and its not super awesome or anything….but I just needed something above 200 gigs that was Sata 3.0 gb speed. I can always upgrade a little later. Plus Ive never had issues with the super old hard drives I used in my old machine. The Dell I just took apart had a 10gb main hard drive and an 80gb drive for storage. Talk about budget haha. The 10gb drive was my first hard drive I ever owned. It dates back to 2002 or 2003. I just never took the time to upgrade and move the things I had on it. The 80gb drive was merely my supplemental for the games I played. I never had space issues as once I got bored with a game, Id delete it. And speed was never an issue with the games I played, as I made sure to keep good free space. So again, this experience made me know what my needs were, and Ill upgrade the 220gb Hitachi sometime soon if I need to. But feel free to chime in on this part.

Now to explain a few little things. I had to obtain a cheap security torx screw key set to take the mobo standoffs off the XW6600 board. I then obtained a cheap corded drill in order to screw new standoffs into the Antec Soho server case I got. I would have gotten the original XW6600 case…but they were hard to find and overpriced. So I did research in order to find a server style case big enough to house the extended XW6600 motherboard and its large PSU. This will likely be a case I keep for a very long time, unless I sell the entire computer. The case is very roomy and has good airflow...and I can always mod it too.

 And the little things like cables, antistatic bags, leftover screws and washers, and tools I do include in the cost of the build…but these things are clearly items I can use in future PC builds and future non related handy work. So for the price, they paid for themselves.

Also, the Antec case is coming with a 600w PSU, motherboard, CPU, heatsink fan, Ram, video card, usb card, and sound card installed. It arrives in a few days. The seller couldn’t tell me exactly what the components were, as they are a reseller business and not too PC savvy. But the components do look older, though Im not sure how old. However, im going to flip those components all on ebay as a bundle for someone who wants a good deal. They can probably put that stuff in a case and have a cheap browsing PC. That right there should really cut down the cost of the case. Shipping was a killer buying it, but I had my heart set on that particular case….and its got nothing but stellar reviews over the years.