|
When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. |
So i'm buying a new desktop, and i've lost track of whats good etc. I found this computer:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AM3 motherboard (SATA3 & USB3.0) CPU : Phenom II X6 1090T Ram: Kingston 8GB DDR3-1600 HyperX DualChannel RAM Harddisk: Western Digital 1TB S-ATA3 6Gb/s Silent (7200rpm) GPU: ATI Radeon HD6950 1GB DDR5 PCI-E Power: 700W ATX Silent 17dB
price is around 1400USD, mind you i live in Denmark (taxes etc etc) money well spend or no?
|
On April 19 2011 02:37 mcJ wrote: So i'm buying a new desktop, and i've lost track of whats good etc. I found this computer:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 AM3 motherboard (SATA3 & USB3.0) CPU : Phenom II X6 1090T Ram: Kingston 8GB DDR3-1600 HyperX DualChannel RAM Harddisk: Western Digital 1TB S-ATA3 6Gb/s Silent (7200rpm) GPU: ATI Radeon HD6950 1GB DDR5 PCI-E Power: 700W ATX Silent 17dB
price is around 1400USD, mind you i live in Denmark (taxes etc etc) money well spend or no?
No. Intel's Core i5 2500k is in the same price range as the Phenom X6 1090T and it destroys it in most if not all applications, see here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20
1600MHz RAM is not necessary for the majority of tasks, see here: http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377
A 700W power supply is not necessary for a single graphic card configuration.
For a prebuilt, I think you can do better for the price.
|
Hi again, after some further research I changed some parts of the build. I'm quite convinced with most stuff (more, or less - at least I don't feel like something will be a bad choice), but I don't know, which motherboard to buy. They all seem so small. First of all my first post, here, in case you need some general info, then the tower I already have and the rest of the system, as I imagine it, right now.
All prices in Euro:- CPU i5 2500K 175
I can use the 2500K, which is cheaper, than the 2500 on a H67-mobo, can I? If not, I'd stick with the 2500, since the difference in the board-prices are bigger. Or would do you really think the 20 Euros difference to the 2400 are not worth it and buy the 2400?
- Videocard Gainward GTX 560 Ti Phantom 217
I read many tests now and came to the conclusion, that most models don't differ that much (at least, the not, or only slightly overclocked ones). I maybe should have read more on the HD 6950, but I didn't have enough patience in the end. From what I've seen the Nvidia reference card is hardly beaten concerning noise and temperatures, the Gainward Phantom is one of the cards that is a little less loud, so I choose it.
- RAM 8GB Mushkin Silverline 65
deconduo convinced me - it's just really cheap...
- HDD 500GB Western Digital Caviar Green 32
- SSD 64GB Corsair Performance 3 130
I find it hard to get much information on the newer SSDs, but what I found on this sounded quite good. From what I heard, the best controllers would be the Sandforce 2000 ones, but the only SSDs I found, which use them are from OCZ, whose smallest SSDs have 120 GB and cost 250+... This one here can use SATA3 6GB and is only 5 euros more expensive than the 60GB Corsair Force, skyR recommended.
- PSU 480W be quiet! Straight Power CM BQT E8 78
From what I've read it's really, really silent. I'm not quite sure, if 480W are enough, since deconduo recommended a 650W one. If not, I'd take the 580W psu from the same series.
- CPU Cooler Scythe Mugen 2 33
Not spent much time on searching for coolers, but from what I found out, this one is quite silent. The question will be, if it fits on the mainboard.
- Some DVD-Player
The mainboard now gives me headaches, most of them seem so small, not only the distance between the RAM-Slots (where I'd prefer four) to the CPU, but often also the distance between the PCIe-Slot and the CPU. I like my old ASUS board, so I'd prbably buy an Asus P8H67 for 105 Euro, as at least the videocard-cpu-distance seems large.
I'd be grateful for advices to any of the parts, but especially the motherboard.
|
@ Loki: Look for ATX instead of micro-ATX. Different form factor. If you're mostly seeing only 2 memory slots, then you're looking at micro.
|
What is your budget?
My budget it between $1750-$2000 but if i can get something cheaper that has equal performance it would be fine
What is your resolution?
1920 X 1200
What are you using it for?
Mostly 3d solidworks assemblies as well as some high end gaming like crysis 2 and shift unleashed 2 as well as sc2
What is your upgrade cycle?
3-4 years. plus if it can still handle the software
When do you plan on building it?
late july early august
Do you plan on overclocking?
I do not have a lot of experience in overclocking but i would really like to try if it can improve performance
Do you need an Operating System?
Yes windows 7 home-premium
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
maybe if it can increase my upgrade cycle by at least 1/2 year
Where are you buying your parts from?
Mostly NCIX.com but also canada computers or tiger direct if they have better prices
Any help would be greatly appreciated as i have only ever bought pre-built computers and am not really sure how to go about researching components and compatability.
|
@Mr.Loki
Look at the performance difference between the core i5 2400 and core i5 2500 for yourself here and decide if it is worth it: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html
Yes you can use a core i5 2500k on an H67 motherboard and it would make sense in your case since it is cheaper than the core i5 2500.
The DIMM slots and CPU socket is close yes and some tower heatsinks will block you from accessing the first DIMM slot or prevent you from using RAM with tall heatspreaders. The Mushkin Silverline doesn't have tall heatspreaders so this shouldn't be an issue.
The Corsair Performance 3 is a good choice of an SSD.
The distance between the CPU socket and PCI-E slot should not be a concern for you.
480W is more than enough for your configuration.
@GrymReaperz
Come back in July or August when you plan to build. It would be useless for me to give you a configuration now since AMD is set to release their next generation processors in June and prices will have changed a lot in three months.
Just a word of advice though, SLI is a horrible upgrade path. Don't plan for it unless you are guaranteed a free or heavily discounted graphics card in the future.
NCIX offers pricematching and a bigger selection than its competitors so you can buy all your parts from them.
|
my budget 1300 tops no vid card resolution is 27inch 1920 x xxxx (w/e hd is)
I will need everything else other than the video card. I'm going to continue to use my 260GTX until I can afford a really good card. I would rather not compromise on everything else to try to do all...
Suggestions on Motherboard that supports sli? Also how much PSU will I need...eventually I will add a 2nd vid card a ssd. I also want a bluray/dvd player not a burner...I don't burn stuff sorry.
|
@Mr.Loki:
480W is plenty and that particular power supply is pretty good too. It's also quiet, especially at the kind of loads (less than 300W) that you will be putting on it. See here: http://www.itocp.com/htmls/68/n-1468.html
@purecarnagge:
What are you using the computer for? Does the budget include the operating system? $1300 is already a high enough budget not to compromise on anything and get a new high-end video card as well as a decent SSD. How much PSU you need depends on which graphics cards, CPU, etc. you are getting. Unless you're aiming for SLI GTX 580, around 750W is plenty. Something like SLI GTX 560 or Crossfire HD 6950 would run fine on 650W.
|
Hey, I want to ask what people think but won't make a new thread for it. I think it's pretty! 4.5ghz running under 55C, 24hr prime95 stable. This thing is pretty amazing. Apologizing in advance if I'm misusing the thread =P
BTW to those who advised me to take the 750W, I did end up taking the 850W but it was only $5 more and I like the head room in case I end up going SLI. It already consumes 560W under max load too.
Here are the specs.
Case: NZXT Phantom EATX Red DVD Drive: Samsung SH-S223C 22X DVD Hard drives: WD Green 2TB + WD Black 1TB SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 Extended Sandforce 120GB Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Pro ATX P67 CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Cooler: Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H70 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 RAM: G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL Ripjaws 8GB PSU: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 80PLUS
|
On April 19 2011 07:28 Myrmidon wrote:
@purecarnagge:
What are you using the computer for? Does the budget include the operating system? $1300 is already a high enough budget not to compromise on anything and get a new high-end video card as well as a decent SSD. How much PSU you need depends on which graphics cards, CPU, etc. you are getting. Unless you're aiming for SLI GTX 580, around 750W is plenty. Something like SLI GTX 560 or Crossfire HD 6950 would run fine on 650W.
sc2, gaming primarily. I wouldn't mind being able to use fraps and edit gaming vods but thats not a huge priority. I want to show up watch GSL, play World of Tanks (shouldn't be a problem) and run SC2 pretty well...atm I get lag in certain instances like when a bunch of models come on my screen or start of the game when your sending your probes to the minerals...its brutal lag/loading. OS needs to be part of the 1300.00 budget.
|
|
Thanks thats awesome. Yeah I didn't want to do sli right away just wanted to make sure it had the capabilities...
|
Hey guys! So this is my first time building a computer, but I do have some experience (replacing ram, hard drives, etc.). Well, here goes.
What is your budget? 500-600 dollars. What is your resolution? 1280 x 1024 What are you using it for? Mainly gaming (sc2). I would like to be able to run it comfortably at medium/high. Upgrade cycle: 3 years. When do you plan on building it? Late June. Do you plan on overclocking? Maybe the processor/gpu, but I would like to avoid it if I could. Do you need an Operating System? No, I already have a 7 pro licence. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where do you plan on buying? Newegg.
So I feel pretty good about physically putting it together, but software/driver installation intimidates me. Are there any good guides you could direct me to? Thank you in advance!
|
Thank you all, again.
Now I just need to wait, till the SSDs will be in stock again -.-*g
|
5930 Posts
|
On April 19 2011 13:57 flavorless wrote: Hey guys! So this is my first time building a computer, but I do have some experience (replacing ram, hard drives, etc.). Well, here goes.
What is your budget? 500-600 dollars. What is your resolution? 1280 x 1024 What are you using it for? Mainly gaming (sc2). I would like to be able to run it comfortably at medium/high. Upgrade cycle: 3 years. When do you plan on building it? Late June. Do you plan on overclocking? Maybe the processor/gpu, but I would like to avoid it if I could. Do you need an Operating System? No, I already have a 7 pro licence. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where do you plan on buying? Newegg.
So I feel pretty good about physically putting it together, but software/driver installation intimidates me. Are there any good guides you could direct me to? Thank you in advance!
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge + GIGABYTE H61 Motherboard - $187 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622953
Asus nVidia GeForce GTX 460 768MB Overclocked - $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) Shell Shocker - $75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Antec EarthWatts Green 430w PSU - $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034
Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5TB HDD - $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136513
Samsung DVD Burner - $20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192
Antec Three Hundred Case - $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
Total: $597
It does go a bit overboard, though. You can easily find cheaper cases (although shipping is important to keep in mind) for about $10-20 less. You can also drop the 8GB and go to 4GB, which would save $35 (the motherboard doesn't support 1600, but it'll just downclock and still be compatible, if you're wondering). The hard drive can also be 500GB for ~$20 less, and the graphics card can be stepped down to maybe Radeon 5770 to save another $40, if you want. You can also step down to a 380w PSU for $10, although there would be a little less room for upgrading.
The system is just a baseline for what you can get for $600, minus tax and shipping.
Drivers, really, you just do some searching (preferably on the manufacturer's site) to find the latest/best ones.
EDIT: Blast, beat to the punch.
|
I just wanted to stop back in to tell everyone that I am happily typing on my brand new desktop that I built myself! (On my brand new, mechanical keyboard -- a Tenkeyless Leopold with Cherry Browns -- too!)
I just grounded by touching the back of the computer case like one of my friends did when he built his. In the end, I got it up and running pretty damn easily, almost instantly solving the one problem I had with a cable. Some things were weird (never knew you would have to push things so hard into the motherboard), but, overall, it really wasn't too bad.
I am now reveling in the fact that I have a nice, high-powered system that auto-detects ultra settings for everything, haha. The seemingly unlimited HD space and everything in one OS is a godsend to me. I also got lucky and, since it was right after my 21st birthday, my uncle bought me a 60 GB OCZ SSD that I put the OS on along with SC2 and any programs that I'll install. I'm still going through the download/install/transfer process (iTunes library should be finished in around 20 minutes), but it's bearable thinking I have a new system to put it all on (never mind that, randomly, I have a break from school work until classes end and finals start!).
So thank you, TL, for helping to steer me down this path and giving me advice along the way. skyR, you were a great help and I also want to give a shoutout to those of you who pointed out the amazing deals I got (2x4 GB G.Skill RAM for ~$70 and the i5-2400+Radeon HD 6870 combo). <3 you all!
|
If building in late June, wait around. A quad core (two module) AMD Bulldozer CPU might be a good option, but we don't know anything about that yet.
|
just curious about the 560ti: which card has the best heatsink? ive seen a bunch of them, like msi's twin frozr ii, asus' directcu or something and now gainward's phantom thingy. from purely a cooling standpoint (not db) which is the best?
|
Okay guys, so my computer should be here soon and I just want some friendly advice on what I should do as soon as I get it. Stuff such as, what programs to install (like adaware and such) and if I should modify anything? Configure fan speed or I don't know lol.
Also, if any of you guys would have advice on what I could do to save my laptop from being rendered useless, I would also appreciate it. I made a thread here
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=214258
|
|
|
|