New Build: Is this about right, or should I change things?

Fussgangerzone

Planning to build this, or soemthing like it, soon.
If anyone spots anywhere I'm wasting money, or omitting something essential* I'd love to hear it.

*I already have mouse, keyboard, wireless card and dvd drive, as well as speakers, etc.

deconduo

Yeah, you need to make lots of changes.

-Half your stuff is out of stock
-LGA1156 is a dead socket, Sandy Bridge is much better.
-You need dual channel RAM, not triple channel
-You want a 7200rpm drive, not a green one
-Graphics card is overpriced.

I'd go with something like this. Its unfortunate that the Fractal R3 is out of stock, as its a really good case. The CM 690 II Advanced is quite good as well though.

Total build cost: €697.03 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3), Intel P67, ATX, DDR3 €112.19
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €30.59
Sapphire HD6950 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DUAL MINI DP €197.81
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.05
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Midi-Tower PURE Black, ohne Netzteil €84.65

Fussgangerzone

deconduo wrote: »

Yeah, you need to make lots of changes.
-Half your stuff is out of stock

I don't mind waiting a bit longer for stuff that will be resupplied. It's not a time-sensitive build, and I hope to be looking at this for four or five years if I can. (I knocked five years out of my last build, though I wasn't building that one with games in mind)

deconduo wrote: »

-LGA1156 is a dead socket, Sandy Bridge is much better.
-You need dual channel RAM, not triple channel
-You want a 7200rpm drive, not a green one

I'm glad I asked. One of my first pc's was a Compaq, the parts were near-obsolete when it was bought, never mind when I wanted to doll it up.

deconduo wrote: »

-Graphics card is overpriced.

I had my doubts there.

deconduo wrote: »

I'd go with something like this. Its unfortunate that the Fractal R3 is out of stock, as its a really good case. The CM 690 II Advanced is quite good as well though.

Total build cost: €697.03 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3), Intel P67, ATX, DDR3 €112.19
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €30.59
Sapphire HD6950 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DUAL MINI DP €197.81
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.05
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Midi-Tower PURE Black, ohne Netzteil €84.65

That looks pretty good to me. I'm willing to wait a few weeks for the Fractal R3 though, I'm keen on it.

deconduo

If you're willing to wait for parts to get in stock again, I'd pick up this motherboard instead of the MSI one. Its much cheaper:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43133&agid=1601

Fussgangerzone

deconduo wrote: »

If you're willing to wait for parts to get in stock again, I'd pick up this motherboard instead of the MSI one. Its much cheaper:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43133&agid=1601

Sounds like a plan. It's just as good for my purposes though?

Monotype

The biggest difference is the support for two graphics cards with the MSI board.

Fussgangerzone

Monotype wrote: »

The biggest difference is the support for two graphics cards with the MSI board.

So in 2 years I could buy a matching card pretty cheap, and add that, instead of buying a more contemporary/expensive card, and get comparable performance?

Monotype

Yes, but you'd want to bump up the PSU to 650W for two 6950s. The XFX 650W was the best value on HWV last time I checked.

It depends on how the market goes as sometimes by the time it comes around to upgrade, a single card can be better than two.

MRTULES

deconduo wrote: »

Yeah, you need to make lots of changes.

-Half your stuff is out of stock
-LGA1156 is a dead socket, Sandy Bridge is much better.
-You need dual channel RAM, not triple channel
-You want a 7200rpm drive, not a green one
-Graphics card is overpriced.

I'd go with something like this. Its unfortunate that the Fractal R3 is out of stock, as its a really good case. The CM 690 II Advanced is quite good as well though.

Total build cost: €697.03 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3), Intel P67, ATX, DDR3 €112.19
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €30.59
Sapphire HD6950 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DUAL MINI DP €197.81
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.05
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Midi-Tower PURE Black, ohne Netzteil €84.65

How do you post the parts like this? I'm sure I read it in another post but can not find it. Sorry to hijack but didnt feel it warranted a new tread.Thanks

Monotype

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056303834

Burgo

Monotype wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056303834

Really should be a sticky :pac:

Fluffy88

I agree :P

EDIT: Sorry sol, just couldn't resist.

Fussgangerzone

Total build cost: €898.98 + €30 shipping
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.05
Samsung SyncMaster BX2440 LED €225.41
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €83.63
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €174.57
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €30.59
Sapphire HD6950 1G GDDR5 PCI-E DL-DVI-I+SL-DVI-D / HDMI / DUAL MINI DP €197.81
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Silver Arrow €89.75

Woohoo! Got it! (the script working that is)
Lovely stuff once you get it going.

The Silver Arrow case seems to differ from the Black Pearl in looks alone.
Added a monitor. Any thoughts on it?

Fluffy88

You want to take that script and use it on http://www.hardwareversand.de/ or which ever site your using then it will output the post for you.

Just follow the instructions in the first post of the thread.

Monotype

You paste that into your address bar when you are on the shopping basket page. Then it will give you code to copy and paste.

Fussgangerzone

Okey dokey:

Total build cost: €1,089.91 + €30 shipping
Sapphire HD 6950 Dirt3, 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express €220.27
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.06
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €178.63
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €85.67
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Silver Arrow €89.75
Samsung SyncMaster S24A350H €183.59
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch €84.09
D-Link DWA-547 Rangebooster PCI Adapter €30.89
A4Tech pro. PS/2 Gaming Tastatur X7-G800 €23.11
Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse €39.94
Samsung SH-222A bare schwarz IDE €23.09

So the graphics card is gone, the one I've picked seems to be the next one up, twice the ram, for an extra 23 or 4 quid, so I thought, why not?

I've added a monitor, windows, a wireless card, a dvd drive and a mouse and keyboard.
My dad wants my old machine, so instead of gutting it, I'm going to wipe it and install ubuntu.

What does anyone think of that mouse and keyboard? The keyboard reviews well on Amazon, German Amazon anyway, no reviews on the UK site. The mouse is recommended, so seems like a reasonably safe bet.

Tij da feen

Fussgangerzone wrote: »

Okey dokey:

Total build cost: €1,089.91 + €30 shipping
Sapphire HD 6950 Dirt3, 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express €220.27
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W €52.06
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €46.19
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €178.63
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €85.67
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Silver Arrow €89.75
Samsung SyncMaster S24A350H €183.59
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch €84.09
D-Link DWA-547 Rangebooster PCI Adapter €30.89
A4Tech pro. PS/2 Gaming Tastatur X7-G800 €23.11
Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse €39.94
Samsung SH-222A bare schwarz IDE €23.09

So the graphics card is gone, the one I've picked seems to be the next one up, twice the ram, for an extra 23 or 4 quid, so I thought, why not?

I've added a monitor, windows, a wireless card, a dvd drive and a mouse and keyboard.
My dad wants my old machine, so instead of gutting it, I'm going to wipe it and install ubuntu.

What does anyone think of that mouse and keyboard? The keyboard reviews well on Amazon, German Amazon anyway, no reviews on the UK site. The mouse is recommended, so seems like a reasonably safe bet.

Don't buy that keyboard. It has a german layout so unless you like to mix things up and screw up your typing, don't get it :P.

Fussgangerzone

Tij da feen wrote: »

Don't buy that keyboard. It has a german layout so unless you like to mix things up and screw up your typing, don't get it :P.

That. Would have slowly driven me insane. Thanks. I think I'll just buy a keyboard from an anglophone supplier.

I don't know if you're familiar with hardwareversand, but would I typically need to buy cables separately for hooking it all up?

Monotype

You should get everything in the line of cables but you'll usually get 2 pin power cables for the PSU and monitor and you'll need three pin ones. These are the kind you'll find at the back of any computer, monitor or even electric kettles.

Fussgangerzone

Monotype wrote: »

You should get everything in the line of cables but you'll usually get 2 pin power cables for the PSU and monitor and you'll need three pin ones. These are the kind you'll find at the back of any computer, monitor or even electric kettles.

That's good to hear. I have this rig ordered now. Just have to wait 9,000 years for the bank transfer, then it shouldn't be long.

Monotype

Hmm... I just spotted something.

The DVD drive is a IDE drive and you'll need an SATA one.

Since the money is already on it's way you could email to swap it rather than cancelling - there's a load of SATA drives for cheaper and you could pick one of the more expensive retail box ones or get a cheaper one and throw in a case fan or two to make up the difference.

Fussgangerzone

Monotype wrote: »

Hmm... I just spotted something.

The DVD drive is a IDE drive and you'll need an SATA one.

Since the money is already on it's way you could email to swap it rather than cancelling - there's a load of SATA drives for cheaper and you could pick one of the more expensive retail box ones or get a cheaper one and throw in a case fan or two to make up the difference.

Crumbs. I went with your second idea. Thanks.

Fussgangerzone

Just an update for the curious, I've had this machine up and running since last Tuesday, and I'm damn happy with it.

Everything runs well, and the only fancy-ish game I've played on it so far (Fallout New Vegas) defaults to Ultra High Graphic Settings (I had to go and tell my girlfriend when this happened, so excited was my inner budget pc gaming child). It runs nicely too. (Portal 2 next)

The monitor is a joy to behold, but I'd warn people that there's no tiliting it, so make sure it's the right height for your environment.

I love the case, I added two extra fans for the craic, so it's not as quiet as it would be, but it's still nice and low, and cold. There's plenty of elbow room for the build. And there's eight drive bays, which I consider a target now.

I really like the mouse, it's my first gaming mouse, so I've nothing to compare it too, but it has a lovely feel, and I enjoy the sensitivity buttons and the (clicky / no-clicky) scroll-wheel button. Weights come in a fancy little case too, which is over-the-top, yet fun.

A nice plus is the xfast usb software that came with the board. It emans you can transfer regualr usb much quicker, about 30mb a second off an old usb stick.

A few things that might be worth sharing:

The Sapphire HD6950, is a bit big, which is fine, but I had issues connecting some jumpers which sit underneath the inside end of it. Sound jumpers are underneath, power jumpers very close. If you connect the jumpers before the card, you'll be grand. But they're very close. (I suspect that might be the normal way to do it anyway).

There's a "HD audio" connector (for the headphone port on top) from the case, which goes to exact opposite end of the case using this particular motherboard. I couldn't find a way of connecting it easily across the front of the mainboard, but passing it behind, there's a little hole (for this very purpose, maybe) you can get it through and it connects, though there is very little wiggle room.

The mainboard setup cd has an "install all" option on it, which I naively assumed would be "all the things you need". It's not, there's soem crapware bundled in. It didn't take that long to remove, but it offended me greatly.