Planning a build - Advice sought!

ixoy

I'm looking to build a new PC with a budget between €700 - €1000 (excluding OS). It'll be an everyday use PC that I'd like to think would last four years no bother (as my current PC did) and do the usual. Game wise I'd like to think it could take anything currently out there and be secure enough to cope with what's coming down the line.
I don't need a monitor, keyboard or mouse so that leaves:

Processor: From reading here, it would appear there's no need to get an i7 processor, but just the i5.
Then it gets a bit confusing - is it worth getting a quad-core @ 2.66Ghz URL="http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=492762"]i5-750[/URL or, for a little bit more, a dual core @ 3.33Ghz URL="http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=579457"]i5-661[/URL? They both support the same socket, so I imagine they're equally future proofed.
Or is AMD better than either?

Mainboard: There's a huge variety in choices and I've no brand preference (except I hear MSI are poor). Is it worth paying €188 for this or worth getting something a bit cheaper such as this Gigabyte model? I can't see any noticeable difference.
I'm assuming any of these will cope with the latest graphics card. Beyond that I'd only know of a need for USB ports (14 seems fine) and a HD and DVD/Blu-Ray.

Hard-Drive: Pretty easy to get, but is there anything to watch out for? 1TB sounds about enough storage space.

Blu-Ray: Is there any software out for the PC that would really merit Blu-Ray? Seems I'd be better just getting a Blu-Ray player for the TV and going the standard DVD-R/W route for the PC.

Case: I got an Antec Sonata II last time which I wasn't that fond of (PSU died). Is there much to cases these days beyond appearance? Cases are generally cramped enough but should a midi tower suffice (I don't expect to be adding many internal devices).

Memory: Is 4GB sufficient? I'd have imagined so, so 2x2GB stick would work with room for future expansion (which would be dependent on my choice of OS).

O/S: Is it worth going with 64-bit Windows 7 over 32-bit? 64-bit would allow me to over the 4GB limit but does it introduce other compatibility problems? Or are there no 64-bit issues?

Graphics Card: Everything seems to be PCI-E 2.0 so I'm assuming it will be that way for a while yet. Now I'm completely clueless in this are: what would let me play games at near max. resolution smoothly and be future proofed? Is there a decent guide as it's the one area that appears critical for good game performance.

Other bits and pieces: Is an extra cooler generally a good idea? I've had over-heating issues before but I'm somewhat convinced that's just to my installing the heat sink poorly and not just the generic fan.
I'd also like to get some speakers - not for use with other systems. Seems that'd cost me about €60.

Thanks!

jonny72

You're on the right track with those parts and that budget.

Just to get a feel for things, go to hardwareversand, choose English and go play around with the PC configurator
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/pcconfigurator.jsp?pcConfigurator.gpOnly=0

Just remember, choose a graphics card first and then spec the power supply, theres a bug in the builder that only allows you choose a 700+watt PSU when you go with a stronger graphics card (when in reality a 550 or 650 watt PSU would be fine)

In your budget the i5 750 processor is fine, gigabyte motherboard (something like a UD5), 4 gigs ram, 1 tb samsung F3 harddrive, corsair PSU, Xigmatek or Coolermaster case, ATI 5850 graphics card for gaming, and you can find a real nice pair of speakers on there, great selection.

Its very good for juggling the parts, learning the basic prices and getting a feel for it. Half the fun is building the thing (even though that particular site will do it for you for 20 quid) and the other half is the anticipation of getting those sweet shiny parts.

Always check back here just to make sure the ram and the motherboard you get are compatible. If you have some time, check out reviews of the i5 750 and the ATI 5850, on sites like anandtech.com and xbitlabs.com.

game4it70

Processor:
i5 750 is the way to go as its quad core.There are not to many games that make use of quad at the momemt but in the lifespan you have planned for this pc quad is a must imo.

Mainboard:
There are quite a few to choose from but i would stick to this for your build as its a decent all round board and has Usb 3.0 if and when you need it.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=508058

Hard-Drive:
Look no futher than the samsung F3.Very good value for money and extremely fast for a mechanical drive.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=496258

Blu-Ray:
Not got a clue:p

Case:
Loads of decent ones on the market atm but its down to personal taste alot of the time so hard to say really.
My opinion is you need to spend a decent amount though (60e-100e+) to get one that has good airflow and has a solid build quality.

Memory:
4gb is ideal for gaming and unless your doing some very intentsive tasks it will be enough.

O/S:
Windows 7 64bit is the way to go.I use it and have found no "driver issues"

Graphics Card:
Your choices will depend on what resolution your monitor is and what you game at.
Ati if far above Nvidia atm for "bang for buck" and the likes of a radeon 5850 may be ideal for you as its a very powerful card and will last a good while imo.
Ati have a few new cards coming out in the next couple of weeks so its worth waitng imo to see whats what.
Nvidia also do have new cards coming out in march (well maybe) so there may be a bit more competition in the pricing then.

Cooling:
Aftermarket cooling is a must imo for two reasons,noise and heat.
With a good cooler you will also be able to overclock you cpu to at least 3.5ghz without must difficulty.

Power supply:
You will need a good one.They give you more stable wattage to your components and are also cooler and quieter.
Depending on what graphics card you decide on i would say you will need around a 650w one.Corsair and Be Quiet are two very good brands.


If you pick out the parts i'm sure we can help advise you on them.

ixoy

I've had a look around at that hardwareversand sight - quite decent, even if their English is a little ropey at times. I managed to spec a build for €1,000 exactly! And then I lost it...

The research did prompt some questions:

One thing I'm wondering about - is SLI / Crossfire a thing to watch out for? I saw some benchmarks of the Radeon 5850 which suggested it was great as a single GFX card but didn't perform quite as well in Crossfire. Am I really likely though to need multiple graphics card? My current monitor doesn't support high resolutions although I imagine I'll be replacing it in under two years. Other than that the card seemed to get some very decent reviews and I imagine its support of DirectX 11 is important for future proofing (DX11 is Windows 7 only, right?)

The mainboard suggested with USB 3.0 seems to loose USB3.0 abilities when running SLI/Crossfire abilities. Not that it matters too much probably since nothing else seems to support USB3.0 nor any devices yet (from my understanding).
When looking at the Gigabyte models can I assume UD3 and UD5 are merely different lines, with the higher number the more powerful (roughly speaking)?

Case wise, the CoolerMaster HAF 922 URL="http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=461645"]link[/URL looks very decent and got good reviews. With such a case, is there a need for an additional cooler for the CPU or is the flow in the case sufficient?
Having said that CPU overheating has been my biggest issue, although am I right to believe the need for thermal paste has decreased with newer models?

Power supply - is there any reason not to err on the side of caution and just go 750W? Why would you go lower?
Brandwise - I got a replacement Corsair PSU for my current PC (stupid Antec one died) and found it very neat and tidy to install, so I'd go with them.

RoyalMarine

if your not going to replace the monitor soon, then i wouldn't waste your time with crossfire/sli.

any of the 5 series cards from ati will do perfectly.

heck, they run eyefinity off of 1 58xx card gaming.

ScumLord

I'd recommend gigabyte motherboards without blinking an eye, they're very good and durable, if your looking for a computer that will last then gigabyte really do fit the bill.

In my opinion the motherboard is something that can't be overlooked and is worth spending the extra money on quality. A good motherboard can (and should) serve you years and years. You should look for a board that has the future in mind get one that's able to handle the latest spec of processor so even if you buy a processor that isn't all that hot now the motherboard will have the scope for upgrading.

Basically build around the motherboard and don't get distracted by bells and whistles.

opus

I went with pretty much the spec on this thread, came to ~€925 from Komplett for an i5-750, 4Gb ram & a Sapphire Radeon 5770 graphics card.

ixoy

Almost there! Appreciate opinions on what I'm looking at now and, if possible, help answer a few further queries:

Processor: i5 Quad Processor i5-750.
Reasoning: Seems good value and, checking benchmarking figures on sites like anandtech, holds up well against the i7.

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 URL="http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=508058&view=detailed#ProductTabs"]link[/URL
Reasoning: Has USB 3.0 and Serial ATA-600 support, so it's future proofed.
Question: Has only 2 PCI-E slots versus 3 for the UD4. I'm assuming it's nothing to concern myself with.

Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5850
Reasoning: By nearly all reviews I've read, a very strong card that stands up well against the more expensive ranges.
Question: There's lots of different brands for the 5850 - MSI, Sapphire, etc. Is there any difference here? Is it just software or more?

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 Midi Tower Black
Reasoning: It looks pretty, seems to have lots of room, and has some excellent reviews.

Power Supply: Corsair HX 650W PSU
Reasoning: Have a Corsair PSU and I like the detachable cables offered by the HX series.
Question: Will a 650W PSU suffice for my system here? Any reason not to get a 750W PSU for only a few euro more?

Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler
Reasoning: Saw this on another thread and it got good recommendations.
Question: It says it supports 1156 socket-types but, under the list of supported processors (here on Komplett), it only mentions Core i7, not i5. Just an omission?

Memory: Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1600MHz 4GB CL8
Reasoning: Used Crucial before and this one seems fine. Selected through the Crucial memory selector so should work with my mainboard.
Question: There's (at least) a gazillion types of compatible memory. Anything wrong with the one I chose?

Hard-Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2
Reasoning: Wanted a 1TB driver and it was recommended above. Reviews point out how quiet it is and a good data transfer rate, so I'm sold.

DVD Drive: Sony DVD±RW burner DRU-875S
Reasoning: Plenty to chose from. This was the only one I noticed that was explicitly Windows 7 certified.

Speakers: Creative Inspire T6100 URL="http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=325447"]link[/URL
Reasoning: Umm, they're cheap? Have to better than my 13 year old Boston acoustic ones.
Question: Any reason why at least half the 2.1 speaker sets are dearer? Is the quality actually poor on these (can't help but notice the model came out about 5 years ago but then there mightn't be a big leap forward in speaker technology).

Phew! Any feedback appreciated and thanks for the pointers so far.

jbloggs

Off the components you have listed I would change the following:

Instead of the Crucial ram, I would suggest 4GB G. Skill Ripjaw PC3-12800 am using this with a Gigabyte P55 UD5 which works well with it.

Would go for slightly better cooler, suggest the Zalman CNPS10X Quiet

lmimmfn

If you plan on overclocking the 5850( seriously its a matter of moving a few sliders and running a test to make sure the temps dont get too high ) i would recommend an Asus brand one as the warranty includes overvolting( which is very easy to do with MSI Afterburner and the performance gains are excellent ), its also flashed with higher maximum clock settings than the other brands.

opus

ixoy wrote: »

Almost there! Appreciate opinions on what I'm looking at now and, if possible, help answer a few further queries:


Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler
Reasoning: Saw this on another thread and it got good recommendations.
Question: It says it supports 1156 socket-types but, under the list of supported processors (here on Komplett), it only mentions Core i7, not i5. Just an omission?

I had that exact cooler delivered yesterday & written on the box is that it supports Core i7, i5 & i3.

ixoy

Thanks for all that - I might just switch in the different memory there.

I'm still not sure whether to go for UD3, UD4, or UD5 Gigabyte mainboards - I may just throw a die.

Now to look to ordering it - the most difficult bit seems to be trying to find the damn 5850 card, particularly if I'm going to go vendor specific (such as Asus recommended above). Joyful times this week!

Dublin_Gunner

ixoy wrote: »

Thanks for all that - I might just switch in the different memory there.

I'm still not sure whether to go for UD3, UD4, or UD5 Gigabyte mainboards - I may just throw a die.

Now to look to ordering it - the most difficult bit seems to be trying to find the damn 5850 card, particularly if I'm going to go vendor specific (such as Asus recommended above). Joyful times this week!

You can order one [5850] from Peats in town for cheaper than on Komplett. Just a heads up

The P55A UD3 would be a perfect board. Its reasonably priced, great features (inc SATA6gbps, USB3), and supports all of your other components. And you don't need 3 PCI-E 16x slots if you're only running 1 gfx card.