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5930 Posts
On August 13 2011 01:18 ensign_lee wrote:
I really like that Lian Li Lancool. If I were you, I'd get that. It looks AMAZING, and the fact Lian Li usualyl puts forward a pretty good amoutn of effort to get the airflow in there optimized and what not.
Plus, they're usually quieter without sacrtificing cooling ability.
That's not really true...the Lancool cases are pretty cool to use but Lian Li aren't quieter nor do they have more optimised airflow. Lian Li hasn't created anything groundbreaking good in a long time. In fact, the Lancools are probably functionally their most attractive cases since it takes cheap thick steel construction and mashes it with their cool tool-less features. They have some nifty diminutive cases and some great looking cases but the actual design is fairly poor.
Their standard full sized ATX tower case designs can be extremely boring (they have reused the same raw chassis design for at least 2 years) or confusing (A04's rear 80mm mount...) so you're essentially paying for the glory of aluminum and ease of hardware installation. Even then they don't seem to understand that tool-less everything is not always good since their hard drive mounting system, while easy to use, is pretty abysmal at preventing vibrations.
Also their aluminum side panel thickness is simply too thin to properly prevent vibrations and dampen sound. The side panels are 2mm at best and frankly that's still far too thin to properly create a "quiet computing" experience...there is a good reason why the Mac Pro has side panels at least double that thickness.
A lot of these things you could consider nit picks but when you're paying $200-400 for a chassis, you expect it to be near flawness and come with all of the typical bells and whistles none of the cheaper cases get.
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On August 13 2011 02:04 Madoga wrote:
@Arnovic
Dont really know why you went through the trouble of looking at newegg, since you're not buying from there and the price settings in the NA is different. Would allso be nice to know if you want to overclock and what your future plans are for your computer(SLI/CF, upgrade cycle and so on). Allso it would be nice to know what games you are planning to play and at what settings you want to play them.
- AMD is currently outperformed by intel and it looks like(not sure) bulldozer wont really change that. I think its better to just get an intel CPU. That will allso leave you the option to (most likely) upgrade to ivybridge in the future. So you'll have a better CPU right now and your ugprade options are most likely better. Another option is to just wait for bulldozen (not that long anymore) and see how it performse.
- MOBO will need to be an intell mobo. Which one depends on if you want to overclock
- Hdd, dont go for the vertex 2, they are nutoriously unreliable. go for the crucial m4 if you want something relatively cheap and reliable. You could allso get a slower(cheaper) HDD, since you allready have an SSD for your most important programs.
- That PSU is overkill and imo overpriced. There are better options and besides that 400-500W will be enough for the videocard you have sellected.
- You can just take a 18 euro dvd/rw optical drive.
- You can save 12 ish euro without losing much performance by just going for the cheapest 1333 mhz 8gb ram kit.
- Dont know exactly what your expectations are, but the 6870 is a good card.
- If you want to overclock I'd get an extra fan for that case (or get another case) + you'll need an aftermarket CPU cooler. For example the xigmatek gaia (Azerty just has them newly stocked)
So what kind of cpu + mobo would you advise me to buy then? To keep it it the same price range or a bit more expensive. I dont really know a lot about intel and their stuff..
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If you want to overclock you could get an i5 2500k + Asrock p67 pro 3(mobo just got reduced in price to 83 euro).
If you dont want to overclock go for an i5 2400 or 2500 and an Asrock H61-u3s3.
Depending on how important and how much you video-edit, you might want to consider investing in the i7 2600(k).
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Difference is one has the Twin Frozr II heatsink and the other has the newer Twin Frozr III heatsink. Looks like Twin Frozr III is the obvious choice here since it's less expensive.
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I'm about ready to order a build that was recommended to me by Skyr a few pages ago. I made a few adjustments, so if anyone could look over this and make sure I haven't made any stupid mistakes, I would be extremely grateful. The people in this thread are extremely helpful.
Original Post
+ Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
500-700$
What is your resolution?
I'm not really sure, haven't bought a monitor yet.
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming, I have a laptop for school. I'd primarily like to play Starcraft 2/Diablo 3/The Witcher, and other new games with reasonably high settings.
What is your upgrade cycle?
2 Years
When do you plan on building it?
Anytime before December. I'm able to buy the parts and build it now, but I'm happy to wait a few months in order to get decent deals. If I could save maybe a 100$ or so I'd be willing to wait till the end of the year.
Do you plan on overclocking?
No.
Do you need an Operating System?
No, I can get a discounted one through my University.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No
Where are you buying your parts from?
Anywhere is fine, but I'd like to primarily focus on Newegg and Frys if there isn't a big difference between other retailers. I also live next to a Fry's microcenter as well, so I can drive there to get items as well.
Build
+ Show Spoiler +
All parts from newegg.com
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K @205$
ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard @ 75$
CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model @50$
XFX Core Edition PRO450W (P1-450S-XXB9) 450W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified @ 55$(45$ with rebate)
SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card 175$(155$ with rebate)'
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive @60$
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM @21$
=640$ - 30 rebates = 610$
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Is it a bad time to point out there's no case in that list?
It isn't technically mandatory, but they're handy to have.
Also, with an H61 board, a 2500k doesn't do you any good really, compared to a 2400 or 2500 non-k, since you can't OC on H61.
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Hahaha, I forgot to add in the case, it's in my shopping cart. It's an Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case that newegg is running a sale on. Thanks for the advice on the 2500k. I noticed it was only 15$ more than the 2400 so I figured I might as well, but if there's no change I guess I'll just save the 15$. There's no reason to have a 2500k if your not overclocking?
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@shew: No. Even if you refuse to build, that's pretty shit for price/performance.
As an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229270
Much better, for less. Still not that great, but it's better.
@Blindo
And the 2500k differs from the 2500 only in having an unlocked multiplier to OC with. 2400 is only marginally weaker than a 2500 or 2500k@stock, and won't be a big difference in most games.
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On August 13 2011 07:48 JingleHell wrote:@shew: No. Even if you refuse to build, that's pretty shit for price/performance. As an example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229270Much better, for less. Still not that great, but it's better. @Blindo And the 2500k differs from the 2500 only in having an unlocked multiplier to OC with. 2400 is only marginally weaker than a 2500 or 2500k@stock, and won't be a big difference in most games.
as long as I can play sc2 on medium at least and stream without any lag I'll be good 
will that graphics card hold up well?
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Thinks alot for the advice JingleHell. You just saved me 30$
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Not sure why you question the graphics card when the GTX 550 is better than the GTS 450.
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On August 13 2011 07:53 Shew wrote:Show nested quote +On August 13 2011 07:48 JingleHell wrote:@shew: No. Even if you refuse to build, that's pretty shit for price/performance. As an example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229270Much better, for less. Still not that great, but it's better. @Blindo And the 2500k differs from the 2500 only in having an unlocked multiplier to OC with. 2400 is only marginally weaker than a 2500 or 2500k@stock, and won't be a big difference in most games. as long as I can play sc2 on medium at least and stream without any lag I'll be good will that graphics card hold up well?
The one I linked, price/performance, is all around better for gaming, and probably similar or better for streaming SC2. You can get much better by building your own though.
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On August 13 2011 07:56 JingleHell wrote:Show nested quote +On August 13 2011 07:53 Shew wrote:On August 13 2011 07:48 JingleHell wrote:@shew: No. Even if you refuse to build, that's pretty shit for price/performance. As an example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229270Much better, for less. Still not that great, but it's better. @Blindo And the 2500k differs from the 2500 only in having an unlocked multiplier to OC with. 2400 is only marginally weaker than a 2500 or 2500k@stock, and won't be a big difference in most games. as long as I can play sc2 on medium at least and stream without any lag I'll be good will that graphics card hold up well? The one I linked, price/performance, is all around better for gaming, and probably similar or better for streaming SC2. You can get much better by building your own though.
I know i've built 2 computers before on my own without any troubles or anything, it's a lot of fun. But I'm going to be moving into a small dorm room and I don't want to have building a computer on my list of duties too, rather just buy one and not have the hassle.
I wouldn't have the space to build one anyway :/
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I have a question about SLI/Crossfire and PCI Express x16 slots. Will all motherboards default to running both PCI Express slots at x8 instead of x16 or is it just this board?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498
This motherboard has one at x16 and the second at x8, and both default to x8 if you use two GPUs.
On August 13 2011 07:38 JingleHell wrote:
Is it a bad time to point out there's no case in that list?
It isn't technically mandatory, but they're handy to have.
Also, with an H61 board, a 2500k doesn't do you any good really, compared to a 2400 or 2500 non-k, since you can't OC on H61.
I may be wrong, but the reason that motherboard is being recommended is being there are other chipsets that enable features you normally wouldn't see on a motherboard with an H61 chipset. I'm pretty sure you can overclock on it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236
"Supports Intel K-Series unlocked CPU"
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On August 13 2011 08:56 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +I have a question about SLI/Crossfire and PCI Express x16 slots. Will all motherboards default to running both PCI Express slots at x8 instead of x16 or is it just this board? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498This motherboard has one at x16 and the second at x8, and both default to x8 if you use two GPUs. On August 13 2011 07:38 JingleHell wrote:
Is it a bad time to point out there's no case in that list?
It isn't technically mandatory, but they're handy to have.
Also, with an H61 board, a 2500k doesn't do you any good really, compared to a 2400 or 2500 non-k, since you can't OC on H61. I may be wrong, but the reason that motherboard is being recommended is being there are other chipsets that enable features you normally wouldn't see on a motherboard with an H61 chipset. I'm pretty sure you can overclock on it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236"Supports Intel K-Series unlocked CPU"
Yeah, that means you can plug the thing in and have it work. Man, you must make sales guys on commission happy as hell. Supports the product doesn't mean it's a good idea. Hell, there's full tower cases that support mini-ITX motherboards, but you're generally throwing away money for no reason if you do that.
To answer your SLI question, it entirely depends on the motherboard.
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Both the Z68 and P67 chipset can only do x8 x8. Only higher end boards (basically flagship boards that cost over $300) such as the UD7, Maximums IV Extreme, Big Bang Marshal, etc are capable of full x16 because they're using a NF200 chipset.
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On August 13 2011 08:58 JingleHell wrote:Show nested quote +On August 13 2011 08:56 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +I have a question about SLI/Crossfire and PCI Express x16 slots. Will all motherboards default to running both PCI Express slots at x8 instead of x16 or is it just this board? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498This motherboard has one at x16 and the second at x8, and both default to x8 if you use two GPUs. On August 13 2011 07:38 JingleHell wrote:
Is it a bad time to point out there's no case in that list?
It isn't technically mandatory, but they're handy to have.
Also, with an H61 board, a 2500k doesn't do you any good really, compared to a 2400 or 2500 non-k, since you can't OC on H61. I may be wrong, but the reason that motherboard is being recommended is being there are other chipsets that enable features you normally wouldn't see on a motherboard with an H61 chipset. I'm pretty sure you can overclock on it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236"Supports Intel K-Series unlocked CPU" Yeah, that means you can plug the thing in and have it work. Man, you must make sales guys on commission happy as hell. Supports the product doesn't mean it's a good idea. Hell, there's full tower cases that support mini-ITX motherboards, but you're generally throwing away money for no reason if you do that. To answer your SLI question, it entirely depends on the motherboard.
I said I might be wrong, and I never said it was a good idea, so there's no real need for that...attitude. 
On August 13 2011 08:59 skyR wrote:
Both the Z68 and P67 chipset can only do x8 x8. Only higher end boards (basically flagship boards that cost over $300) such as the UD7, Maximums IV Extreme, Big Bang Marshal, etc are capable of full x16 because they're using a NF200 chipset.
Gotcha, thanks.
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EPT
