New build suggestions

Looking to put together a pretty high end machine for my girlfriend for about 800 euro. It has to include all the components including case and monitor. She plans to use it for high end gaming and 3D animation. Any suggestions for a decent build?

Serephucus

Don't have time to link you to any of this, but:

i5 2400, 1TB Samsung, H61M-VS mobo, 8GB DDR3, 560Ti, Superflow 550, BenQ G2420.

Should get you a decent system. You'll have to throw in Windows, DVD drive, keyboard, mouse, etc. But the main stuff's there.

Monotype

Total build cost: €784.15 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155| €184.21
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX| €88.73
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9| €33.60
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz| €31.61
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)| €48.29
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W| €52.02
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)| €76.58
Powercolor HD6850 1024MB Dual-DVI/HD1M2I5| €126.06
Edifier 2.1 System M1350| €19.23
LiteOn iHAS122-18 schwarz SATA| €16.94
ASUS VW228N| €99.78
Revoltec Wired Gaming Mouse W102| €7.10

Windows is German version; you can use the key and download the English version, I can give you a link later. Don't know about mouse so you can pick something else.
I'd imagine 3D animation requires a lot of processing power so picked the 2500K. The graphics card is okay for HD gaming but she'll need to turn down the detail a bit with that - Would the animation software be heavy on the graphics card?

Don't get a keyboard from there as it's German layout.

deconduo

Item|Price
Total build cost: €791.51 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2400 Box, LGA1155|€159.34
MSI H61M-E33 (B3), Intel H61, mATX, DDR3|€54.35
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€33.60
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)|€48.29
Club 3D Radeon 6870 1024MB, AMD Radeon HD 6870, PCI-Express|€149.37
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz|€31.61
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.02
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€16.79
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€85.84
Samsung SyncMaster B2430L|€141.36
Microsoft Optical Mouse 200|€4.88
CREATIVE A60|€14.06


Edit: Ninja'd by mono

Serephucus

I specced an NVIDIA card thinking that it might use CUDA. If it doesn't, you'd be much better off with the AMD one.

Monotype

Yeah, I was thinking of CUDA alright and had added a 560ti but I thought that CPU power could be very important. A plain 560 wouldn't push the budget by much (+€30).

Serephucus

And I would have mentioned a 560, but I thought it was less powerful than the 6870. Upon further inspection, they're almost identical performance-wise, so the 560 would get my vote, assuming CUDA support.

deconduo

Serephucus wrote: »

And I would have mentioned a 560, but I thought it was less powerful than the 6870. Upon further inspection, they're almost identical performance-wise, so the 560 would get my vote, assuming CUDA support.

The 560 doesn't support CUDA, just the 560 Ti :pac:

http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-gpus

You could go with the 550 Ti, but considering its about the same as the 6770 for €20 more, probably not worth it :P

Thanks for the suggestions. Found out that the vat can be claimed back on it so that gives a bit more money to play around with.

Monotype

deconduo wrote: »

The 560 doesn't support CUDA, just the 560 Ti :pac:

http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-gpus

You could go with the 550 Ti, but considering its about the same as the 6770 for €20 more, probably not worth it :P

Wow, that's crap.

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. Found out that the vat can be claimed back on it so that gives a bit more money to play around with.

Is that Irish VAT or any EU VAT? HWV's low VAT is one of the reasons why they're such good value. Scan probably have the best ex VAT prices, but given your previous experiences with them, you probably wouldn't be a hurry to use them again.

If it's just Irish VAT, dabs or komplett + memoryc might be better than HWV + VAT. Well, maybe not dabs as going by a lot of people's experiences, you could be along time waiting for them to processes stuff like that (although I've used them maybe 4 or 5 times and they've been fine).

Monotype

Monotype wrote: »

Wow, that's crap.



Is that Irish VAT or any EU VAT? HWV's low VAT is one of the reasons why they're such good value. Scan probably have the best ex VAT prices, but given your previous experiences with them, you probably wouldn't be a hurry to use them again.

If it's just Irish VAT, dabs or komplett + memoryc might be better than HWV + VAT. Well, maybe not dabs as going by a lot of people's experiences, you could be along time waiting for them to processes stuff like that (although I've used them maybe 4 or 5 times and they've been fine).

Scan are defiantly off the table, didn't even get so much as an apology from them for my order being well over a week late, though that said if they are substantially cheaper then I'd consider it s there's no real rush on with this build. Looking at komplett and there seems to be some good offers and will take a look at dabs. Even with all the horror stories concerning them I have to say that my last order for a 3D Vision arrived promptly.

Back working on this build, some things came up (death in the family and other unrelated events) but now I'm aiming to get this build done in the next few weeks. Going to go behind her back and prepare it for as an Anniversary, Birthday and Christmas gift.

Got a copy of Windows 7 for her all ready and thinking of going with the GeForce GTX 570 card, figure it'll add another 100 euro to the price

Monotype

If you're not aware, hard drive prices have gone through the roof. Would an SSD have enough space to cover you until prices come back down?

Monotype

Monotype wrote: »

If you're not aware, hard drive prices have gone through the roof. Would an SSD have enough space to cover you until prices come back down?

I'm well aware, went to buy a new 2TB drive a few weeks back and when I saw the price I nearly died. I have an old 500GB that I'm going to throw in it for the time being.

Okay just found out that I can now build a machine up to 1000 euro in price so any suggestions to make this a real kick ass piece of work, all ready got a mouse, keyboard and Windows 7 so there a good bit of extra money to play around with. They also want to use scan to place the order with as they used them before and like the site.

Monotype

2500K + GTX 570 + Gen3 Z68 board should fit into that budget. You could bump up the PSU to 650W.
Have a look to see if there's cases you/they would like. Something like the fractal design R3?

Monotype

Monotype wrote: »

2500K + GTX 570 + Gen3 Z68 board should fit into that budget. You could bump up the PSU to 650W.
Have a look to see if there's cases you/they would like. Something like the fractal design R3?

Just looking at cases, from what I understand the budget can be played around with and 1000 isn't the max, if an extra 100 or 200 would build a better machine then I'm to go for it. It's going to be used for 3D animation, editing, fx work and high end gaming.

Eamonn Brophy

Deleted User wrote: »

Just looking at cases, from what I understand the budget can be played around with and 1000 isn't the max, if an extra 100 or 200 would build a better machine then I'm to go for it. It's going to be used for 3D animation, editing, fx work and high end gaming.

if you plan on doing the above then bump the i5 up to an i7, either the 2700k or the 2600k, and get a nice aftermarket cooler so you can overclock to 4.5ghz or so.

Looking at this atm, may go for a different case but don't want anything to imposing.

Eamonn Brophy

1. You don't need 16gb of ram, get a more expensive 8gb kit with lower voltages and better timings, higher performance 8gig kit will you better than the 16gigs. Size isnt everything!

2. 850w is not needed for this build, 700 would be fine, look at getting a modular 700watt one (you could go as low at 650 and be fine, 570 still uses two 6 pin connectors + the pci lane which only draws (75 wattsx3))

3. With that monitor you wont use the extra horsepower of the gtx 570, you'd get almost identical performance with a 6950 or a 560ti, 1gig versions are fine for single display setups.

4. Try and find a monitor in 1920x1080 if you want to use the 570 to potential.

5. the only real diference between the i5 2500k and i7 2600k, is hyperthreading. useless for gaming but good for video editing etc. if you're interested in this feature, go for the 2700k as it's not much more.

6. remember where you cut down something that you dont need, you can put that money on something esle (bigger monitor, nicer case etc.)

7. You've no aftermarket cooler. You've chosen a k model cpu, I'm assuming you're interested in overclocking, if not, dont get a k model, if so buy a coolem master 212 cpu cooler (pretty cheap, high performance.)

Shop around, check out dabs, ebuyer, amazon.co.uk, aria and komplett for the best deals you can (Amazon usually offer free delivery and have the lowest prices imo)

These are all kinda nitpicky stuff but with the price of building it's all noteworthy!

PseudoFamous

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

7. You've no aftermarket cooler. You've chosen a k model cpu, I'm assuming you're interested in overclocking, if not, dont get a k model, if so buy a coolem master 212 cpu cooler (pretty cheap, high performance.)

Well, the Intel boxed heatsink is actually pretty decent, you can get a 2500k to run stably (albeit a tad warm) at 4.2gHz with it. Its absurdly loud though.

Eamonn Brophy

PseudoFamous wrote: »

Well, the Intel boxed heatsink is actually pretty decent, you can get a 2500k to run stably (albeit a tad warm) at 4.2gHz with it. Its absurdly loud though.

It's usable indeed but at a higher budget build like this I dont see the point in cheaping out there on something that might give you quite a performance boost for a small amount of money.

This is what I'm looking at atm...



Only 8GB is going in this machine, the other 8 was intended for another machine.

Eamonn Brophy

Looks bang on to me, All bases covered, no superfluous parts or powerhouse bits. Will do exactly what you intend it to!

i5, 8gigs and a 570 @ 1080p is going to look NICE man, enjoy

Monotype

How about the Z68A-G43. It's a Z68 Gen3 board so you'll get Z68 features, PCI-E 3 and guaranteed compatibility with Ivy Bridge processors.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z68a-g43-(g3)-intel-z68-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-(vga)-dvi-d-atx
The downsides are no firewire or optical sound on the back if they are important.

I'd get different RAM. Faster RAM makes very little difference on this platform. The annoying thing about that vengeance RAM is that the heatspreaders are ridiculously high which will interfere with bigger CPU coolers. They're not needed as RAM doesn't get very hot anyway.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-15v
This would do if you really want the 1600MHz RAM.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-cerulean-blue-pc3-12800-(1600)-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

Next, the PSU. Interesting, I don't remember seeing xclio available around Europe before. I remember them being recommended but I can't find any solid reviews. I also suspect that it may be an old model. The Antec TPN 650W seems to have been knocked down in price so that's a good PSU to go with.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-psu-antec-truepower-new-modular-82eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx

ShadowHearth

Monotype wrote: »

How about the Z68A-G43. It's a Z68 Gen3 board so you'll get Z68 features, PCI-E 3 and guaranteed compatibility with Ivy Bridge processors.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z68a-g43-(g3)-intel-z68-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-(vga)-dvi-d-atx
The downsides are no firewire or optical sound on the back if they are important.

I'd get different RAM. Faster RAM makes very little difference on this platform. The annoying thing about that vengeance RAM is that the heatspreaders are ridiculously high which will interfere with bigger CPU coolers. They're not needed as RAM doesn't get very hot anyway.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-15v
This would do if you really want the 1600MHz RAM.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-cerulean-blue-pc3-12800-(1600)-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

Next, the PSU. Interesting, I don't remember seeing xclio available around Europe before. I remember them being recommended but I can't find any solid reviews. I also suspect that it may be an old model. The Antec TPN 650W seems to have been knocked down in price so that's a good PSU to go with.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-psu-antec-truepower-new-modular-82eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx

sup. somehow magicly you are just going around my thread, where i am biulding my own pc, but i hope OP wont mind if i ask you here.

the mobo you linked is cheaper and has PCIe 3.0? more support for different ram etc. would i be better off with the mobo you linked then this one?
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z68a-gd55-(b3)-2-x-pci-e-x16-sli-and-crossfire-x-ready-4xddr3-up-to-32gb#ProductFeatures

Monotype

I'll post in your thread to keep stuff in one place...

Eamonn Brophy

Monotype wrote: »

How about the Z68A-G43. It's a Z68 Gen3 board so you'll get Z68 features, PCI-E 3 and guaranteed compatibility with Ivy Bridge processors.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z68a-g43-(g3)-intel-z68-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-(vga)-dvi-d-atx
The downsides are no firewire or optical sound on the back if they are important.

I'd get different RAM. Faster RAM makes very little difference on this platform. The annoying thing about that vengeance RAM is that the heatspreaders are ridiculously high which will interfere with bigger CPU coolers. They're not needed as RAM doesn't get very hot anyway.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-15v
This would do if you really want the 1600MHz RAM.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-cerulean-blue-pc3-12800-(1600)-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

Next, the PSU. Interesting, I don't remember seeing xclio available around Europe before. I remember them being recommended but I can't find any solid reviews. I also suspect that it may be an old model. The Antec TPN 650W seems to have been knocked down in price so that's a good PSU to go with.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-psu-antec-truepower-new-modular-82eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx

Cheaping out on ram really strangles overclocking potential btw OP, if you plan to overlcock a LOT, buy nicer RAM. Though indeed, from the get go it'll make no real difference.

Monotype

That's only relevant for overclocking on older systems. It has little bearing here.