Propose a Good PC for the future...

fearrchair

1. What is your budget? €700-€900 for the PC, thinking of a Catleap etc. We can look at increasing costs it if needs be...

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?
General Productivity work, Microsoft Office etc, Internet and general web surfing…Current PC seems slow but it might be the rubbish I have running or the age of it, it’s a Dell 8400 3.0Ghz 3G Ram with 150G and 300G HD

If gaming include which games – I don’t think so not gaming at the moment and if I do it will likely be good enough and if not we can look at it again might attach the Xbox anyway to see currently on a TV now.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No] No I can get my hands on a Windows 7 64 bit

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No I think unless might use an old HD. I am fixing up the old pc and giving it to my brother so I might start off fresh.

I would like to have a SSD as it’s seems to be the way to go. 120G ? etc
I think a 1 TB drive should be enough
That Bitfenis Shinobi Midi tower 3.0 USB Black seems to be fairly popular or look ok. I don't mind.

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No] Yes
5a. If yes, what size do you need? I am tempted to just get a LG 24” IPS as its only €150 and it would be an improvement on the Dell 19” I have now. however have been looking at the Catleaps as well. I know they are large and got a bit of a shock when I pulled out a tape.

Just trying to justify with myself it there a need at all as I am not into the gaming but the large screen would be good to work with

New YAMAKASI Q271 LED 2560X1440WQHD 27" S-IPS Hdmi1.4a Monitor＊Built-in speaker
Lots of variations and pros and cons…I know there are others such as the Achieva and Crossover so if you have a better recommendations we can consider it.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?
You can put down for suitable speakers I might give these Dell ones to the brother.
I would like a DVD-RW It would be good to have one that can write DL 8GB disks.
Firewire 1394 port ?

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes – Would give an extra boost to a good PC but would be concerned that it would become unstable or corrupt files etc...

8. How can you pay? Bank, Credit, Paypal etc.

9. When are you purchasing? In the next week or two….

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? In Galway Would be familiar with a PC have changed an motherboard and internal cards before so might give it a try.

marco_polo

Something like this would be a pretty good fit for you needs. I have left out a GPU for now, you won't need one at all if you decide not to use the machine for gaming. If you do decide to add one you should budget for about 150-200 for 1080p gaming, or about 250-300 for 1440p.

I have left out speakers as well because I am not really up to speed with what good or not at the moment.

It is definately worth overclocking at some point down the line, it is fairly straight forward, doesn't carry much risk (once you don't start to change voltages before understanding exactly what you are doing and why). After you have a reasonable amount of stability testing you can be very confident no corruption issues will occur.

Motherboards with native firewire support can be fairly expensive so I think it is much more economical to stick a cheap PCI card in there instead.

Item|Price
Corsair Carbide Series 300R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€68.60
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€44.53
ASRock Z77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€83.99
2 x 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9|€52.24
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€203.93
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€28.36
Samsung SSD 840 Pro 128GB SATA 6Gb/s|€112.21
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€58.65
LogiLink FireWire PCI Karte, IEEE1394A, 3+1 Port|€7.50
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€22.90
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€701.90

fearrchair

Thanks just wondering if would there be any limitations on that motherboard...I see it has only a VGA connection. If I were to connect a 27" Catleap or go all out to the 30" would it be better to have one that has the DVI connection...like this one
http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=57623&agid=1601&apop=0

I can see few variations of the ASRock Z77 Is this better being Pro 4.

Would there be much difference if I am using the onboard graphics (not sure what size it it) for mostly general everyday use. The other items seems ok. In other words would I need a graphics card to control the Catleap large screens 27-30".

BloodBath

Yes you would. You will need a dual link dvi capable card.

fearrchair

Might as well get a good dedicated gpu then to handle it as l think l would like the large screen even tho l don't have a great need for it but l might treat myself. !!

So would it do to upgrade the mb to a pro4

Or do l need both for a better system and to allow me to change the monitor settings

BloodBath

The only difference with the 4 is 2 extra satas, 2 extra usb's and the single link dvi connection. The max resolution the onboard gpu on the 3570k can do is 1920x1080 so you will need a dedicated gpu if going 1440p or 1600p.

marco_polo

Apologies fearrchair I was unaware of the 1920X1200 resolution limit for HDMI/DVI on the HD4000 IGP, looks like a discrete card will be needed after all. In that case the original motherboard will do just fine.

You still needn't spend a fortune if it is just for basic everyday usage though, even a very basic discrete GPU will do 1440p no problems.

fearrchair

I guess there really isn't much more tweaking that can be done with this that could be considered unnecessary for ordinary use.

Just need to sort out the GPU.

Ram should be ok at 8gb.

If there is only 2 Sata connections does that mean the max HD is 2.
Would it mean as well that if I decided to put in an existing sata and ide from the old system that they wouldn't fit, as I have planned in this build to put in a 2tb and a SSD hard disk. Or is it better to start fresh with new parts and leave the old system alone with its 2 disks as i am giving it to my brother.

To accommodate a possible 27" or 30" screen I really should get the following gpu or really any monitor about 1920X1200.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660Ti OC, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
http://www.hardwareversand.de/resource?articleId=64931&size=0

However this one is 3096mb better for less money or it there a catch.
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SC, 3072MB DDR5, PCI-Express
it says overclocked but that might mean anything it might not allow for over clocking in the future...I see OC on the 660TI

There is also a 3096mb version of the 660Ti for 305 is it worth going to that if its only 40-50 more for the sake of future proofing or having a fast system.

Item|Price
Corsair Carbide Series 300R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€68.60
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€44.53
ASRock Z77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€83.99
2 x 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9|€52.24
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€203.93
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€28.36
Samsung SSD 840 Pro 128GB SATA 6Gb/s|€112.21
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€58.65
LogiLink FireWire PCI Karte, IEEE1394A, 3+1 Port|€7.50
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€22.90
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€701.90

Thanks...

BloodBath

No 2 "extra" satas. The pro 3 has 6 satas, 4 x sata 2, 2 x sata 3.

The pro 4 has 8 satas, 4 x sata 2, 4 x sata 3.

There is no ide connections on most new boards. It's a dead connection.

This card performs pretty much on par with a 660ti for less and is a great overclocker.

I'd get at least 2 extra case fans if you are overclocking as well. These are good for the money. Get 4-5 if you have the budget.

fearrchair

BloodBath wrote: »

No 2 "extra" satas. The pro 3 has 6 satas, 4 x sata 2, 2 x sata 3.

The pro 4 has 8 satas, 4 x sata 2, 4 x sata 3.

There is no ide connections on most new boards. It's a dead connection.

Thats ok so I was reading it wrong and wondered alright was the motherboard limited to 2 HD

This card performs pretty much on par with a 660ti for less and is a great overclocker.

But if I was to decide now or later to get one of those Korean screens do they not need a DVI-D dual link.

I'd get at least 2 extra case fans if you are overclocking as well. These are good for the money. Get 4-5 if you have the budget.

Will do might as well do it now when I am building it. I looked up the spec on the case and I think it can take 6 whether I'll go and fit it out fully maybe better.

marco_polo

Any dedicated card will have dual link DVI, have you decided if you will be gaming on it or not? Because if not then even something as cheap as this will do the job for 2D usage @1440p. For gaming of course at that resolution, you'd want the 7870 Xt above at a minimum which is substantially more expensive.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11166-01-20R-5450-512MB-Graphics/dp/B0036DD4CY/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1364144779&sr=8-10#productDetails

BloodBath

The case comes with a 140 already. There's 5 spaces free for 140's so you will need a max of 5.

If you aren't getting a gaming card then it's overkill and 1-2 extra will do the trick.

fearrchair

marco_polo wrote: »

Any dedicated card will have dual link DVI, have you decided if you will be gaming on it or not? Because if not then even something as cheap as this will do the job for 2D usage @1440p. For gaming of course at that resolution, you'd want the 7870 Xt above at a minimum which is substantially more expensive.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11166-01-20R-5450-512MB-Graphics/dp/B0036DD4CY/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1364144779&sr=8-10#productDetails

I know what you saying about the gaming. I'm currently not gaming on the PC and don't think I will anytime soon as I am busy.

I do have a battlefield DVD and a few more that I could load up again and maybe get into other similar types. Really its just to have the option. I know your thinking why spend if its not needed and you right.

The reason i was getting the high end graphics cards was that I was looking at those Korean monitors which have been spelling it out that you need a DVI-D Dual Link and to utilise them fully a resolution of 2560X1440.

The card you mentioned is DVI-I as is the 7870XT or am I just getting mixed up in the terminology of DVI-I single and double, as well. Sorry if I am.

Buy a 27" DVI-I bought closer to home would solve that make it easier.

I was thinking today that i might entertain the water cooling route when trying to O/C the system that should be possible with this Corsair Carbide 300R series case. Is it foolish to be spending money on pushing the limits of components when I am not even seriously considering gaming hard on them....

Could hold off on the water cooling and just run with the fans for a few years to see ....as I don't know a lot about water cooling systems. The modern kits do seem to have improved a lot in how to fit them etc.

I know that can get expensive to be considering guess it could easily suck in another 500...

fearrchair

fearrchair wrote: »

The reason i was getting the high end graphics cards was that I was looking at those Korean monitors which have been spelling it out that you need a DVI-D Dual Link and to utilise them fully a resolution of 2560X1440....

Just seen some lad on utube get a catleap to work on hdmi at 2560X1440 not sure how successful that would be in the long term or if it would cause damage.

marco_polo

DVI-I port is just a combination of a DVI-D and an analog signal. The only difference is that a DVI to VGA adapter will not work with a DVI-D output because VGA is an analoge signal.

BloodBath

No need for water cooling. The machine is already overkill for your requirements and you won't get much higher overclocks on the processor with water over a cheapish air cooler. The money would be better spent getting a 6 core 2011 system if you wanted more performance.

fearrchair

BloodBath wrote: »

This card performs pretty much on par with a 660ti for less and is a great overclocker.

If I was to get this Radeon HD 7870 would it be better to get it on overclockers at 199 (235 euros) and with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games. Might be better or worse games than those but for 10 euro difference.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-312-SP
rather than pay...219 for it. large selection there the XT on the card is that for a good O/C'er etc or any other good offers bundles. Currently showing delivery date unknown for the GPU if I was ordering it now anyway, same for the fans and powersupply but I'm sure that will disappear.

Or this new kid on the block
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-013-VX
for a bit more and according to themselves is based on the top of the range card
This VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition is actually a 7900 series GPU, as such performance is very close to HD 7950 with huge OC ability, a bargain!
Bit overkill but its new and should be very fast.

The Corsair Carbide Series 300R on the list seems to be discontinued but there's an identical one as a special item, does that mean its just the last few or should I switch to another type...I could just buy it elsewhere tho

marco_polo

The XT identifies that it is a Tahiti based GPU so the Club3D, VTX3D and Sapphire are all essentially the same GPU. I'd go with the Sapphire from OCUK as it has the best cooling and definately comes with two games (They aren't mentioned for the VTX?). It would likely be the best overclocker of the three.

Otherwise I'd get the Club3D from amazon instead of VTX if you want to save some cash, theres not much difference between both of them TBH but the cheaper price and the games swing it for me.

Here are some reviews for all three
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5158/sapphire_radeon_hd_7870_xt_tahiti_le_2gb_with_boost_overclocked_video_card_review/index.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/VTX3D/Radeon_HD_7870_XT_Black/

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/