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Yet Another Help-Me-Build-a-New-Computer Thread

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Deozaan:
Argh I can't decide! I'm getting really antsy to buy the system because my current PC is seriously not doing very well. It sometimes becomes non-responsive for up to a few minutes while it does... something I have no idea what! So I'm really chomping at the bit wanting to order this thing.

But I keep thinking thoughts like: $95 more for the i7 seems like a lot now, but if I really intend this to be a 5+ year system, then divided over 60 months (5 years) it comes to just under $1.60 more per month (or less for longer periods of time) for a more powerful processor. A more powerful processor will probably keep me satisfied longer and could extend the goal of 5 years out to 6 or 7 years. Is the hyper-threading, larger L3 cache, and a couple hundred Mhz worth $95 to me? Probably not. Is it worth $1.60 a month? Hmm, could be. So if I'm just patient enough and wait a little while longer to save up a little more money then I can afford the more expensive and powerful parts, which would keep me satisfied and remain useful longer, which would delay the need/desire for a new computer even longer.

But I also really have a pressing need for a new computer very soon. Hmm... What to do?

JavaJones:
If getting the i7 means waiting longer I'd say get the i5 and the new system now. That's definitely one thing I've found is that waiting seldom pays off, hehe. You can always wait a bit more to afford something good (wait even longer and you can get an SSD *and* the i7! ;) ). If your current system isn't enjoyable to use anymore then I think it's good to upgrade ASAP. Of course it also depends on how much longer it would take you to save for the i7 - a week, 3 weeks, a couple months?

- Oshyan

Deozaan:
If getting the i7 means waiting longer I'd say get the i5 and the new system now. That's definitely one thing I've found is that waiting seldom pays off, hehe. You can always wait a bit more to afford something good (wait even longer and you can get an SSD *and* the i7! ;) ). If your current system isn't enjoyable to use anymore then I think it's good to upgrade ASAP. Of course it also depends on how much longer it would take you to save for the i7 - a week, 3 weeks, a couple months?

- Oshyan
-JavaJones (July 22, 2011, 10:04 PM)
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I could probably get the i7 (since I'm only getting 8GB of RAM) and barely be able to afford it right now. But it would mean waiting longer to be able to save up for the other stuff I want like the SSD, 2 TB HDD(s), UPS, aftermarket cooler, optical drive, WiFi Adapter, 8GB ram more, etc.

Still, I think I'd have a pretty sweet system and it would make the time I spent saving up for those things much easier to live through than with this piece of smurf PC that is barely running now.

steeladept:
For my small bit of input (since I haven't been around to add anything earlier), I don't know much about current system components in general.  However, I do know about power supplies and memory manufacturers, so I will speak to that...

1) Memory - G.Skill is definitely a quality brand.  They were one of the many new kids on the block about 10 years ago (maybe more) that catered specifically to gamers.  Personally I like Crucial brands, but any good brand does well, and of course you know Kingston is a good brand as well.  The specs between the brands are the best way to judge (as long as you stick with good brands) .

2) Power Supplies - Your post is the first I heard of LEPA, so I did a bit of research before posting.  There are a very few actual manufacturers as we pointed out in other discussions; most are just rebranded power supplies.  I like Seasonic as the manufacturer (makers of their own brand as well as rebranded under ThermalTake and Corsair in addition to others IIRC).  Antec is another well know manufacturer.  They sell the most and are re-branded the most (correlation?  Probably).  Enermax is another well known manufacturer that makes (supposedly) high quality PSU's.  I don't have personal experience with them, so I can't say how good they are, but they are well known not to have any of their PSU's rebranded - until now that is.  LEPA appears to be the first line of rebranded Enermax PSU's.  The stats are good as are the reviews of both Enermax and LEPA (no surprise since the only difference is the stickers).  

As to your questions.  80+ Certifications are an efficiency level.  They guarantee a minimum of 80% efficiency (meaning for every 100 watts pulled from the wall, at least 80 watts will go to the PSU outputs).  The different metals are levels, so 80+ guarantee 80%, bronze guarantee 85%, silver guarantees 89%, etc.  Don't hold me to the numbers, it is the concept that I am explaining - I don't know the actual percentages, but you can look them up if it matters.  In addition to that, though, it does tend to be a sign of quality that they are able to pass the cert and that they are willing to apply for it in the first place.

Wattage, on the other hand, is almost completely irrelevant.  Marketing plays with these numbers so bad that they are completely incompatible.  Some, for example, will state they have 3 rails at 400W per rail so they deliver 1200W.  This is completely bogus because they can not deliver 1200W - it just means each rail is rated up to 400W.  It is deceptive marketing at it's worst.  Ideally, they would be rated by their highest continuous stable power rating, but that just isn't the case.  Moreover, determining the right size PSU isn't always the easiest thing either.  However, few, if any machines require anything as large as a 700W continuous power, so getting anything bigger tends to be a waste.  Still, many people buy into the bigger is better theory so marketing plays to that.  From what I have seen, most people end up with a 700-1000W PSU because they need something bigger than the next size down, or they are borderline with the next size down, so they need to move up to that size.  There are size calculators at most sites so use one of those to estimate, add about 10% for the safety buffer (their estimation is also buffered, so you will have a good sized buffer at that point), and get the smallest quality PSU you can find that is bigger than the calculated amount.  With all that said, your LEPA option looks to be a fine choice as long as it is sized properly for your system.

Deozaan:
Thanks for the info about PSUs, steeladept. Very useful indeed. I sure hope the 500w LEPA provides enough continuous power for my build. I really don't know and am just going by what other people are telling me. I know the GPU alone says I should have at least a 450w PSU, but maybe that's more because of the misleading marketing you talked about.

As for motherboard, I'd go for a chipset that lets you utilize the CPU-integrated GPU. "What, why?! I'm buying a powerful discrete GPU!", you say. Yes, you are, and that's what you'll be running your games off. But the integrated GPU can be used for GP-GPU purposes - right now there isn't a lot of uses (mainly video and audio transcoding), but there's a lot of focus on heterogenous computing right now, so this is something we'll likely see increasing in the future.-f0dder (July 22, 2011, 03:22 AM)
--- End quote ---

I just found out about the Intel Z68 motherboards. They let you overclock as well as allow you to take advantage of the CPU-integrated GPU.

This one looks like it has all the same features as the P67 I was considering but additionally has the CPU-integrated-GPU features:

MSI Z68A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX

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