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A guy I know from another forum and used to play Diablo 2 with is looking to build a new system (computer, monitor, speakers) and I'm planning on suggesting the following to him. I don't know him irl, but he's been a great guy when I've been gaming with him and I'd like to make sure he gets the best use of his money. Was hoping to get a few extra opinions before I make the suggestions. I'm pretty clueless on the monitor and the speakers, especially, though I think the rest is reasonable enough. Open to alternatives on everything, since I've only been looking into this stuff for a couple months.
Specifics are pretty vague but he's looking for something "fast, reliable, all-purpose that can run anything I throw at it programs/game wise for ~6 years while looking cool." In the case of the monitor, he said something in the 22-24" range. Budget is $2k, with a hidden extra $500 if needed.
Monitor: ASUS MS226H with this HDMI cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812339005 Stand looks pretty damn funky, and I don't know if that's a good deal to begin with. Looks were definitely part of the choice here. He said he hadn't even considered being able to use multiple monitors, so, as long as price isn't out of hand, I'll probably suggest he get two so his mind can truly be blown.
Speakers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006 Literally no clue here. I long ago confiscated the old speakers that came with my parents expensive comp from 1998 and they've performed as good as or better than others I've run across, so I haven't looked into the specifics.
Not sure if he needs mouse/keyboard. If so, I'll probably just direct him to a store where he can try them out - the best of each is shit if it doesn't feel good for you.
Processor: i5-750 Budget could probably afford a 1366 socket processor, or the i7-860, but I don't think the gain in utility would be enough in this case for the cost.
(Optional; I strongly, strongly doubt he's going to overclock and will be telling him to disregard this advice and go with the stock HSF if he doesn't, but just for completeness) CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 with this thermal paste: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 Again, open to suggestions
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55 LX Chose it because it didn't have Sata 3/USB 3. Odd reason, maybe, but I don't see it adding utility because I doubt he'll be using the added bandwidth of either, and I have no idea what expansions he might want to do in regards to Crossfire/using the x1 PCI, so I don't want to tie up either of those with USB/SATA connectors that probably aren't needed. Dissenting opinions and alternatives definitely welcome.
DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030 Another instance where I can't really tell the difference for the most part. Not sure of the movie watching needs, so the DVD Burner seems a good suggestion, he can add-in/replace with a Blu-Ray drive if he so chooses.
Case: Looks are subjective and all, so I just went with solid cases and we'll see on the looks. Haf 922 and Lancool PC-K62.
SSD: X25-M 80GB Giving this as an option because it really seems wrong dropping this amount on a new system and not getting an SSD
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 Caviar Black 1TB
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180 G.Skill, 4GB kit
Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883 Radeon HD5870 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121372 Gefore 470. 5850 is an option, but the 470 is <$50 more and outperforms it almost across the board. If I suggest dual HDMI capable monitors, the 5870 would make more sense, because of the full HDMI setup and the ability to use DVI->HDMI adaptors, right?
Power Supply: Corsair 850HX Overkill for the setup here, but he'd be able to Crossfire the 5870 later if need be.
Keeping in the optionals and going with the HAF and 5870, that totals: $1783.78. Might need an extra knickknack or two (extra SATA cable and/or zip ties...maybe even a DVI to HDMI cable) but it still comes in under the budget with the one monitor. With two monitors, it comes in right at budget.
So how'd I do? Good build? Shite? Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated! Pointing out where I could save a little with little loss in utility (just as a for instance, I feel the 750 outperforms the AMD 965BE for this role because of it's non-gaming performance advantages, though the potential upgradability of the AM3 socket may sway me ... feel free to try if you're in that mind frame!) would be great, and remember he does have a little splurge room over the $2k limit if you can think of something that's a notable upgrade for the money. Of course, coming in under budget is something to be appreciated too, I'm sure.
I'll add here that he really wanted to buy an already built machine, but I'm doing my best to convince him otherwise. If he does go down that dark, money-wasting path, then maybe this will at least be useful to somebody else.
Thanks for any help!
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Looks good. If I were you I'd invest in a decent case. Lian Li does ok but they're not my personal favorite.
I would go with this:
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&cm_re=haf_932-_-11-119-160-_-Product
(Writing this I realize that you mentioned the HAF922, I don't know much about it but I know the 932 is really awesome to work with and for airflow)
The motherboard is a great choice.
The CPU is very good for the price.
The SSD makes me jealous
The HD is probably the best thing out there as far as hard drives go
The PSU can be found for significantly cheaper than that I would expect... I've seen it for about $120 somewhere, otherwise great choice - if there's something you don't want to cheap out on, it's the PSU.
Ram looks good - since he's not OC'ing I'd suggest you grab whatever's cheap from a brand you like. RAM overclocking is almost useless unless you're a cool kid on hardware forums.
DVD is the same, grab the cheapest thing from a brand you like. That looks alright
As far as GPU, I would personally go with the 5870 (Well 5850 in my case) for the time being. I've been using Nvidia for a while but I'm definitely shifting to ATI soon - not very happy with Fermi's prices.
Cheers.
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Yeah if you're going with that psu and that graphics card along with planning to crossfire then i'd def go with the 932 Haf full tower over the 922 mid tower.
Also that optional cpu cooler is a poor performer esp at that price, it's nice to see someone not choosing arctic silver 5 which is shitty imo becuase it has like a 6 month curing time for it to start working... the one you have is a good choice
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
this one is better along with you can strap 2 high quality low rpm fans on it and have a pretty quite pretty cool set up, just need to buy an extra fan bracket.
I'd also consider higher quality ram for a few bucks more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321
i don't think the mobo supports the extra low voltage but it does bring you the speed at your lowest voltage. It's usually more important i you want to oc with a good cpu cooler one that you can usually oc on something good like 20-40% and keep it cool and quiet. I have my older 775 system oced up from 3.0 to 4.0 and it stays quiet and cool due to a good case with good fans and a good cpu cooler.
Don't care much for the circle used for that monitor to stand it up along with glossy finishes unless you work in a dark room but w.e
Everything else seems fine did you include your OS?
i7-750 is the right move in games it performs on par with a 965 and out performs it everywhere else that isn't games
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would you recommend an i3?
i5/i7s are too expensive for me TT
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6 years is a long time. you would probably benefit a lot from the i7 860 or phenom ii x6 if you seriously want to go 6 years without upgrading.
i3s are good chips. HT helps out in multithreaded apps and they can clock very high.
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For 6 years picking a slightly-better CPU now won't make that much of a difference.
Going on 1 computer for 6 years is a bit crazy though =P
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Yeah 6 years is forever in computer terms, but it was his timeframe, and is probably somewhat hyperbolic. Though maybe not - I'm hoping that, if not, the setup I suggest will still provide a decently usable machine by that time, but obviously that's really hard to predict. At the very least, I'm trying to set it up so upgrading bits and pieces (mainly RAM and Graphics) is possible. I actually haven't read up on the phenom x6 yet, so I'm going to go do that. I completely forgot it had been released!
@Djzapz: Thanks for the comments, and good catch on the 932! The way you feel about the SSD is kind of the way I feel about the whole rig: jealous. My planned build is like half this much, and I'm still having to save up for that!
@semantics: Thanks for the CPU cooler advice. And that RAM definitely looks better. I've heard people having problems with DDR-3 1600 on 1156 builds, so I was only looking at the 1333 since he's unfamiliar with the whole process. But they were probably mucking things up on their end, and the timings on that RAM looks too good to pass up at that cost. Not sure how I left out OS, haha, thanks for the catch!
Yeah, the more I look at that monitor the less I like it. Thinking about suggesting this instead: ASUS VH242H. Built-in speakers are garbage, but that shouldn't be a big issue. Just a touch more expensive, so I can still suggest that he get two, as well! Definitely still hoping for comments on the monitor, though.
@Drive: Like mahnini said, i3s are good chips, especially for gamers. If you can at all afford it, I'd go with a p55 motherboard and a dedicated graphics card, though, since trying to add a dedicated card on the integrated graphics motherboard gets dicey with the Intel setup. However, AMD may give you better return on your investment - I just haven't done enough looking into that part of the market to know - at that price range. Regardless, i3 should serve just fine for budget gaming.
Pending a change of setup following looking into AMD's six-core processor: counting in the afore-mentioned monitor change and making it a pair of them, going with the HAF 932 and the 5870, adding in Win 7 *slaps head* and leaving off the CPU cooler/thermal paste, the current tab comes to $2035.08. Not looking too bad at this point.
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The hyper 212 comes with a fan, you'll only need 1 more fan.
If he's planning on using this computer for that long, then he should get an i7-860, especially if it's in his budget.
My main problem with this computer is that a 5870 is a little excessive to play games at 1680x1050, i'd prefer that video card if you're playing at 1920x1080 / 1920x1200 or higher
I assume that you/your friend don't live near a microcenter?
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microcenter and frys love good old discounts. esp if you live in one of the states that takes taxes on Internet goods.
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On April 29 2010 13:08 KOFgokuon wrote:
The hyper 212 comes with a fan, you'll only need 1 more fan.
If he's planning on using this computer for that long, then he should get an i7-860, especially if it's in his budget.
My main problem with this computer is that a 5870 is a little excessive to play games at 1680x1050, i'd prefer that video card if you're playing at 1920x1080 / 1920x1200 or higher
I assume that you/your friend don't live near a microcenter?
Yeah but you need to buy the bracket for it, my friend strapped 2 scythe kumas to his lol nearly doubled the size of the cooler but with the push pull of it his oc is cool and so are his vrms on his mobo.
i7-860 would be a good choice if you do other things then game that require cpu like encoding,or heavy duty photo/video editing etc., even after a few years games are unlikely to be too well threaded to use the 4 extra virtual cores to any positive effect.
his budget is 2k but when you factor in he wants a monitor and other things it's closer to 1.5k for just computer parts. In terms of just gaming his build is fine, good cpu and gpu and hdd so load times and game play would be just fine.
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EPT
