Did I pick the "best bang for buck" parts for my new rig ?

J0hnick

Here are the parts Ive ordered,

Asus M5A97 LE R2.0
AMD FX-6300
2GB MSI Radeon R9 270 Gaming Edition, GDDR5, 900MHz Boost 975MHz
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB Kit 240-pin DIMM, DDR3-1866 PC3-14900
SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 128GB SATA 6GB/s 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
Western Digital 1TB internal Hard Drive - Caviar Blue
OCZ OCZ-ZS650W-UK ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze'

Recycling my old case and DVD burner, all parts bar the GPU came from Amazon, got the GPU from Scan, total cost was €630 give or take a few cent.

What do you think ?

SterlingArcher

Nay.

J0hnick

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Nay.

Can you elaborate ?

the_syco

J0hnick wrote: »

Can you elaborate ?

Probably wants a price breakdown of each part.

SterlingArcher

the_syco wrote: »

Probably wants a price breakdown of each part.

No he shopped well, just curious about the Asus board any particular reason?

But sure stick prices down.

J0hnick

the_syco wrote: »

Probably wants a price breakdown of each part.

The GPU cost a few cent shy of €170, the rest of the parts came from Amazon in 1 order and the price is in sterling, I converted that to euros and added the cost of the GPU which came from Scan and overall its a few cent under €630.

J0hnick

SterlingArcher wrote: »

just curious about the Asus board any particular reason?

Yes actually, It has PS2 ports for legacy keyboards and mice, forgot to mention I'm also recycling them .

I am considering a Logitech MK270 so I can still use it while in bed, would have gotten one ages ago if I didn't have an iPad. Its been 9 years since my last build but am I right in saying the machine wont post or you wont be able to install the OS without a physically connected keyboard and mouse ?.

SterlingArcher

J0hnick wrote: »

Yes actually, It has PS2 ports for legacy keyboards and mice, forgot to mention I'm also recycling them .

I am considering a Logitech MK270 so I can still use it while in bed, would have gotten one ages ago if I didn't have an iPad. Its been 9 years since my last build but am I right in saying the machine wont post or you wont be able to install the OS without a physically connected keyboard and mouse ?.

Hum think the asrock extreme 3 also has the 2 ps2 ports. Nearly 40 euro cheaper. Just because you said bang for buck.

But your build is solid. And can't go wrong with Asus. And some problems with r9 AMD on asrock so maybe for the best.

Pretty sure you do need the keyboard to install os.

marco_polo

J0hnick wrote: »

Yes actually, It has PS2 ports for legacy keyboards and mice, forgot to mention I'm also recycling them .

I am considering a Logitech MK270 so I can still use it while in bed, would have gotten one ages ago if I didn't have an iPad. Its been 9 years since my last build but am I right in saying the machine wont post or you wont be able to install the OS without a physically connected keyboard and mouse ?.

I was able to use a wireless logitech K400 to install windows (and alter BIOS settings) recently, I think it would require a board with a UEFI bios though (Not sure what is on AM3+ boards but these are standard on Intel and FM2+ now).

J0hnick

SterlingArcher wrote: »

Hum think the asrock extreme 3 also has the 2 ps2 ports. Nearly 40 euro cheaper. Just because you said bang for buck.

But your build is solid. And can't go wrong with Asus. And some problems with r9 AMD on asrock so maybe for the best.

Pretty sure you do need the keyboard to install os.

Thanks, €40 cheaper for the Asrock board ?, the Asus board itself cost about £55 on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/M5A97-LE-R2-0-Motherboard-PCI-Express/dp/B008RPZ5SC

Half the reason I picked it was it was the mobo most people bought who got FX-6300's or FX-8320's (which I was thinking of getting but the TDP didn't seem worth it for the 2 extra cores). It also got good reviews with most people giving it 4 stars or less because of the lack of USB 3.0 for the front of the case.

Quick question, I didn't get a caddy for the SSD, a lot of people have said you can just use double sided tap seeing as it doesn't have any moving parts, is this correct ?. It sounds like a ghetto fix that's too good to be true.

SterlingArcher

J0hnick wrote: »

Thanks, €40 cheaper for the Asrock board ?, the Asus board itself cost about £55 on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/M5A97-LE-R2-0-Motherboard-PCI-Express/dp/B008RPZ5SC

Half the reason I picked it was it was the mobo most people bought who got FX-6300's or FX-8320's (which I was thinking of getting but the TDP didn't seem worth it for the 2 extra cores). It also got good reviews with most people giving it 4 stars or less because of the lack of USB 3.0 for the front of the case.

Quick question, I didn't get a caddy for the SSD, a lot of people have said you can just use double sided tap seeing as it doesn't have any moving parts, is this correct ?. It sounds like a ghetto fix that's too good to be true.

Great price on the board, I seen it at 110 euro. Must remember the amazon one for others builds. You did good bargain hunting.

I don't think the 8320 is worth it. Look at benchmarks.

Ha it does sound like a ghetto fix but it will actually do the job. And as it inside you will never see it anyway.

TerrorFirmer

it's fine. my ssd just lies at the bottom of my case and has done for my last 3 builds. I actually have a caddy for it, just not bothered putting it in!

I probably would have changed one or two things but all in all there's nothing hugely wrong with that build. The biggest problem is the GPU, at €170 that was pretty bad value if it is the 270 and not the 270x, exact same performance as the 7870 which could be gotten lately for as little as 135-150 euro (amazon have sapphire dual-x 7870 for £119 which is as fast as that 270), and you could have gotten a 270x, which is much faster, for the same price shipped from Amazon.

I also would have gotten a 450w-500w PSU which is plenty, and the extra money could have gone into a better board and possibly the 8320, which is worth the extra few euro for tasks other than gaming, and for gaming in the near future, and a good cooler like the 212 Evo - or the money could've just gone into the evo 212 and 270x for the same total amount but you would have much better gaming performance.

SterlingArcher

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

it's fine. my ssd just lies at the bottom of my case and has done for my last 3 builds. I actually have a caddy for it, just not bothered putting it in!

I probably would have changed one or two things but all in all there's nothing hugely wrong with that build. The biggest problem is the GPU, at €170 that was pretty bad value if it is the 270 and not the 270x, exact same performance as the 7870 which could be gotten lately for as little as 135-150 euro (amazon have sapphire dual-x 7870 for £119 which is as fast as that 270), and you could have gotten a 270x, which is much faster, for the same price shipped from Amazon.

I also would have gotten a 450w-500w PSU which is plenty, and the extra money could have gone into a better board and possibly the 8320, which is worth the extra few euro for tasks other than gaming, and for gaming in the near future, and a good cooler like the 212 Evo - or the money could've just gone into the evo 212 and 270x for the same total amount but you would have much better gaming performance.

I assumed if he got that 650 w and the particular board, that he planning on crossfire. Which is why I left out the 7870 as when he does decide to cf these won't be too easy to come by.

TerrorFirmer

He could have gotten the 270x for the exact same price though

J0hnick

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

He could have gotten the 270x for the exact same price though

Theres a few reasons for that, mainly that I'm only looking to play on 1 monitor at 1080P and apparently, the 270 and 270X perform exactly the same when OC'd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLQrZseRlew

So the only differences appear to be that the 270x has true audio support but also needs 2 6 pin connectors for power, when the 270 only needs one. The MSI version of the r9 270 has a feature called Predator Experience, supposed to be like NVidia shadow play, it could be crap but who knows.

Toms Hardware no longer list the 7870 on their recommended GPU list, the R9 270 takes its place and the 270x isn't on the list at all. I realize Toms Hardware and Linus Tech Tips might not be for everyone, but I find them both pretty good.

SterlingArcher

J0hnick wrote: »

Theres a few reasons for that, mainly that I'm only looking to play on 1 monitor at 1080P and apparently, the 270 and 270X perform exactly the same when OC'd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLQrZseRlew

So the only differences appear to be that the 270x has true audio support but also needs 2 6 pin connectors for power, when the 270 only needs one. The MSI version of the r9 270 has a feature called Predator Experience, supposed to be like NVidia shadow play, it could be crap but who knows.

Toms Hardware no longer list the 7870 on their recommended GPU list, the R9 270 takes its place and the 270x isn't on the list at all. I realize Toms Hardware and Linus Tech Tips might not be for everyone, but I find them both pretty good.

What? I'm confused the 270x is better card? Figured you just cutting costs or something.if you wanted something like shadow play why not get nvidia.

J0hnick

SterlingArcher wrote: »

if you wanted something like shadow play why not get nvidia.

Mantle mainly.

SterlingArcher

J0hnick wrote: »

Mantle mainly.

Cool just curious. Hope mantel is as good as they made out if not it was an awesome marketing ploy. They have sold so many more cards on the back of it.

J0hnick

Im recycling my case, its got 3 Arctic Cooling F9 fans. 1 at the front, 1 at the back and one on the side panel lined up over the CPU fan and a mesh below it with space for another 12mm fan at the bottom. Its been fine for my existing rig for the last few years (E6700 Core 2 Duo, 3gb DDR2 ram 1gb ddr5, Radeon 5670, 3 HDD's, DVD burner and TV Tuner), will it b enough to cool this rig once I give it a hoover ?.