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To build or not to build..........

neonman

Hi guys,

I'm looking into getting a new pc. I have never built one myself but I'm techy so I wouldn't be in fear of doing a build for the first time.

My main requirements is a motherboard with min 16GB to max 32GB as the software I want to run on it requires a lot of RAM to run VM's. I was also thinking instead of buying a new console (former xbox 360 user) I would also get a good Graphics card so the machine can double up as a gaming machine.

While shopping around for parts and how-to guilds on building PCs I came across this irish site edesigner.ie that builds pcs.

I had my eye on the following pc

https://www.edesigner.ie/index.php/desktops/graphic-design/mustang-liner-evo-advanced-graphic-design-pc-intel-core-i7-16gb-ram.html

Do you think the parts/build is good quality and a good price? I would love to get some feedback and thoughts from the community on here. Going down this road will save me for doing the build myself (if i had time and less commitments I would definitely build my own but this might be a better option)

budget max €900

Thanks all

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Serephucus

That's a pretty bad price, to be honest, and the part selection is pretty terrible too. Do us a favour and fill this out, and we can go from there:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74542374

Post the answered questions back here.

neonman

1. What is your budget? COLOR="SeaGreen"]€900[/COLOR

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Running networking software (XR Routers, Switches) XRv uses Virtual Machines each needing 2GB RAM. Also like it to double up as a gaming machine.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No] Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] No

5. Do you need a monitor? Have a second hand one which will do for now can upgrade to a new or a good second hand one later.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.] 22

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No] unsure but plan to upgrade later.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No] Yes

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] Laser

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days] 7 - 14 Days sooner the better

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]Dublin North

shamelessidiot

There are no peripherals included in that prebuilt machine, are they included in the price you want for a specced one?

Serephucus

This should give you an idea. Overclockable processor with four cores, 16GB RAM (upgradable to 32GB if you wish), as well as a decent GPU. The nice thing about the GPU too is that if you decide you want something more powerful, up to three months after you get the computer, you can swap the card for a more powerful one and only pay the difference.

You'll also want to include €12 for shipping, and about €10 for a copy of Windows from Reddit. Those prices can be lowered a bit using Geizhals.de (Search for "save 5-10% of any item from hardwareversand" and you should find the thread).

If you're stuck, or you need a better explanation of anything, shoot. That's just something quick to give you an idea and get you started.

civis_liberalis

Serephucus wrote: »

and about €10 for a copy of Windows from Reddit.

Can I ask what the story is with this? Never heard of that before.

neonman

shamelessidiot wrote: »

There are no peripherals included in that prebuilt machine, are they included in the price you want for a specced one?

I can get by without them old keyboard/mouse from work would do me for now. Again peripherals can be bought later as i upgrade.

neonman

Serephucus wrote: »

This should give you an idea. Overclockable processor with four cores, 16GB RAM (upgradable to 32GB if you wish), as well as a decent GPU. The nice thing about the GPU too is that if you decide you want something more powerful, up to three months after you get the computer, you can swap the card for a more powerful one and only pay the difference.

You'll also want to include €12 for shipping, and about €10 for a copy of Windows from Reddit. Those prices can be lowered a bit using Geizhals.de (Search for "save 5-10% of any item from hardwareversand" and you should find the thread).

If you're stuck, or you need a better explanation of anything, shoot. That's just something quick to give you an idea and get you started.

Thanks Serephucus.

Is the overclocked Intel i5 CPU close to an i7 CPU? Would a second SSD drive be good? One for OS and the other for applications/games?

Serephucus

RE CPU, you're into application-specific stuff that I wouldn't know well enough to say for certain. You pay a 50% premium for the i7, which gets you 4 cores, 8 threads, vs. the i5s with 4 cores, 4 threads. They're pretty identical otherwise. Most of the time though, applications don't see a 50% performance improvement from Hyperthreading; it's usually a lot less.

As the for the SSD, it's a 256GB model, so unless you have absolutely tonnes of applications, you should be fine with just the one drive. There's a 2TB drive in there for storage as well though.

To give you an idea, I have a similar size (250GB) SSD, with most of the Adobe suite, 3DS Max, Unity, a few browsers and media players, Office, 20GB of music, and 50GB worth of VHDs for VMs, and as well as all my other applications (all the usual stuff), and I still have ~70GB free.

Edit: Oh, and that SSD has Windows on it too. :P

neonman

What is the noise level from the fans like using this case do you know? The less noise the better :-) The xbox 360 was a fecking noisy little sh*t i'm glad to see the back of that.

Serephucus

Fractal Design usually have pretty good fans. I use an older version of one of their cases as my server, and it's quite good. If you're looking for quiet though, I'd get a third-party cooler for the CPU. The default fan is a bit of a hairdryer.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/Maintenance-free+Systems/113872/Cooler+Master+Seidon+120V+Watercooling+System.article

neonman

Just a quick question on the site Geizhals.de. Do you order through this site or is it a portal to other sellers?

I dont see an option to add something to a shopping basket? For example I was looking up CPUs and selected the Intel i5 but just got a list of other sellers?

Thanks in advance

Serephucus

Basically, you do the following:

Stick everything in your basket on HWVS
Then one by one, find the matching product on Geizhals
Click on the HWVS link under that product
It'll open on HWVS, but with the slightly lower price
Do this for each item, then go to your basket again, and you should have the new, lower prices.

Then you order from HWVS as normal. It varies by item, but I saved around €30 from a €450 build a couple of weeks back.

SterlingArcher

Yes it is just a discount site. Search your item select it. List of shops pops up and prices. Click on hardwareversand and add item to basket.

neonman

Got the price down to 828.65 € so thanks for the heads up. Will probably order the lot on Friday. Just one thing. This build has no DVD drive (which I'm more than happy with) so the question is what is the best way to get Windows installed? USB bootable ? And what version do you recommend? Win 7 or Win 8.1 ?

Serephucus

You can rob a DVD drive out of another machine, and just hook it up as a one-off, you can use an external (USB) one, if you have one, or just a USB drive.

Having tried both, I'm on 7, for what that's worth.

neonman

Guys looks like I'll have to keep this build to just one for Studying for now and drop the dreams of using it as a gaming machine as well.

Any advice an just having this meeting my study requirements? 16G RAM minimum good CPU probably stick with the i5? Drop the GPU? Get the price down a bit?

Thanks again all.

Serephucus

What's the new budget?

neonman

Around 500-600€? The less I spend now the better I guess. The plan is to upgrade the GPU/Motherboard after I get some exams out of the way to turn it into a gaming machine. By building it myself this process will be pretty straight forward when the time comes to upgrade?

Thanks again

SterlingArcher

neonman wrote: »

Around 500-600€? The less I spend now the better I guess. The plan is to upgrade the GPU/Motherboard after I get some exams out of the way to turn it into a gaming machine. By building it myself this process will be pretty straight forward when the time comes to upgrade?

Thanks again

500/600 will get you a.great foundation pc. Then just add the Gpu later.

neonman

SterlingArcher wrote: »

500/600 will get you a.great foundation pc. Then just add the Gpu later.

So is it just a matter of dropping the GPU from the current build or should I make changes else where? motherboard? different CPU? AMD or APU ?

neonman

Put this build together. Any thoughts guys?

Serephucus

Christ that RAM is expensive. You could just go for the build I specced you, minus the GPU and 2TB drive. Far, far better CPU for the money.

neonman

Are you not a fan of APUs? Thought it might be a good option since it has a built in GPU?

Serephucus

APUs will offer better GPUs than those in CPUs, but their CPU performance is terrible in comparison.

neonman

Serephucus wrote: »

APUs will offer better GPUs than those in CPUs, but their CPU performance is terrible in comparison.

Thanks thats good to know.

neonman

Serephucus wrote: »

Fractal Design usually have pretty good fans. I use an older version of one of their cases as my server, and it's quite good. If you're looking for quiet though, I'd get a third-party cooler for the CPU. The default fan is a bit of a hairdryer.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/Maintenance-free+Systems/113872/Cooler+Master+Seidon+120V+Watercooling+System.article

Hi Serephucus

I'm about to order the system but the cooler master you recommended isn't in stock at the moment. Any others that you would recommend ?

Serephucus

Not an AIO, but you'd have to spend more for one outside of that CM unit.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/150654/be+quiet%21+Dark+Rock+3.article

neonman

Just to double check. It is compatible with the core i5 chip ? Dont see the i5 in the list is all.

Serephucus

It is, yes. The 4690K is socket 1150, which this cooler works with.

neonman

Serephucus wrote: »

It is, yes. The 4690K is socket 1150, which this cooler works with.

Every day is a school day ! I owe you several pints by now.