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Yet Another Help-Me-Build-a-New-Computer Thread
Deozaan:
Hi folks,
My current PC feels like a centipede that's on it's last leg. I've had numerous problems with it over the years and just this month I've had yet another a hard drive failure and 1 stick of RAM failed. This old single core 2.24 Ghz AMD, with 1 GB RAM, using Windows 7 has been driving me crazy. It's been sooooooooooo sllloooooooow!
I've been saving up for several months now and I just checked some prices and I think I have enough to buy a really nice new PC now. And if not now, then most likely by next month I will. Or hopefully really soon anyway. So I figured this would be a good time to start talking specifics and get educated and some feedback on the different components and what really matters these days (this computer is from 2006 and is single core, so... yeah a lot has changed).
I'm somewhat budget conscious but I do need a fairly powerful machine as I am a gamer and I also like to fiddle around with VMs and 3D rendering, etc. I also don't want to be miserable again in 2 years with a sluggish machine, so I'd like this thing to be as future-ready as possible so I can go 5 to 6 (or 7!) years before upgrading again. That said, here's my list of components I'm thinking of, along with questions and options. Please respond and suggestions and feedback.
UPDATE: Okay I just placed the order for the initial build:
Case: $90 for COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP.
PSU: $120 for LEPA G500-MA 500W 80 PLUS Gold Certified Modular.
MOBO: $155 for MSI Z68A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX.
CPU: $315 for Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core.
RAM: $61 for CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800).
That totals about $716 with some promo codes and $25 in NewEgg Gift Cards. But there's also $50 of mail-in-rebates.
Discussion about other parts below:
GPU: ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16.
Possibly outdated info: This is one area where I'm not exactly sure what to do. Typically I get nVidia GeForce cards, but earlier this year some folks here on DC said that ATI/AMD GPUs tend to be more compatible with Intel CPUs, so I guess just buy an ATI card in the similar price range as the nVidia I had on my list? I typically stick with EVGA brand cards, too, but it seems they don't make any ATI GPUs. So are there specific brands I should avoid or that are known for reliability and quality? Please suggest some GPUs. For comparison/price range, I was considering at the EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 for about $150 (before $20 mail in rebate). But since I'm going for the $100 less CPU, I could spend a little more on the GPU if it's worth it. Ideally I'd like to keep it at around $150 but definitely no more than $200 unless there's a really, really, really good reason to go for it.
Monitor(s): Recycled.
HDDs: I'd like to get a 2 TB HDD or two but those are about $100 each so they can wait.
SDD: I'd really like to get an SSD for the OS drive but 64 GB still seems too small for me and they're still a bit on the expensive side (I don't like spending more than $100 on a drive). I'll probably end up with a 64 GB SSD but it can wait a little while longer.
Sound card: I'm no audiophile so onboard sound will do.
Keyboard/Mouse: Recycled from current PC.
DVD: Recycled. Current DVD drive is IDE so I will probably need to get a SATA one. Might as well get one that can do Blu-Ray playback, too, but this can also wait. I'll just use a USB drive or USB-connected DVD drive to install the OS with.
WiFi: I'd like to get a Wireless N card so I'm open to suggestions but if I have to I can probably just recycle my current PC's WiFi card.
Aftermarket Cooler: I've probably not going to push the limits of overclocking but I figure I might as well make use of the overclocking abilities, so I'll probably want an aftermarket cooler eventually.
All-in-One Media Card Reader: Yeah, that's one thing that I could really use around here.
UPS: A power outage/brown out recently fried one of my hard drives and possible a stick of RAM, so a UPS would be very useful.
Anything else I'm forgetting? :-\
Ath:
A quick much longer then I expected reaction:
Case:
Looks just fine to me, though I don't like all those 'Christmas-lights' it has
CPU & Mainboard:
If you don't need SLI you could choose the MSI P67A-G45, it's about $20 less, but the second PCIe-x16 port has only 8 PCI-lanes instead of 16. MSI is a fine brand of mainboards.
GPU:
Use what works in your set-up. Personally I've had lots of trouble with the ATI-based cards (on MSI mainboards, amongst others), so I'm sticking with nVidia chips, unless there's a 0/0 swap policy available. The eventual speed-per-cost differences are quite small and dependent on the games you want to play, and what chip-brand the games are optimized for.
RAM:
I'd go for Kingston or another known brand, and not any of them 'over-clocking' DIMM's as they're (imho) not worth the extra money.
Do get a set of 4 pre-matched DIMM's, you can then rely on the supplier to have matched them for working properly together. (All using chips from the same production-batch, usually)
<will update in about 1 hour>
PSU:
You will want a silent one with a big fan, and about 450 - 500 watt, 80-plus Gold, from a brand like Cooler Master, be Quiet or Antec. It has to last for probably 4 or 5 years (looking at your current system), and you could spend the extra $20 you can save on the mainboard.
A modular PSU usually means it has connectors on the PSU casing and you just mount the cables you need. Connectors make it extra expensive, and introduce an extra possible point of failure, so unless the looks of the inside of the case is really important, you won't need a modular PSU.
MISC:
Monitor(s): Ok.
Harddisk(s): Be sure to either pick a 7200 rpm disk or a SSD for the boot-drive. If having a SSD, then get at least a 7200 rpm model for your applications-disk [D:], and if storing large amounts of data, like Virtual PC images or photo's, that could go on an energy saving 5400/5900 rpm disk [E:]
SSD: 64 GB is rather small for installing WIndows 7 and some applications, so 120 GB or bigger would definitely be preferable, but the cost will be the limiting factor.
Sound: Ok. Speakers/Headset?
Keyboard/Mouse: If they're not worn out then just re-use that, and replace when worn out or defective.
DVD: Ok if it's SATA, if not, just spend the extra $30 for a DVD-burner or some more for a BD-reader/DVD-burner combo drive. BD-burners are still quite expensive, and DVD's can hold enough photo's for archiving. Backups either go on external harddisks, 'the cloud' or tape.
WiFi: Sure you don't want wired network? Usually the ping-delays are lower and transport speed higher when playing on-line games.
After-market CPU-coolers: If over-clocking: When going for <= 5% extra speed, the standard Intel coolers are usually fine, at least when mounted properly (and on i5/i7 processors). When going for 5 - 10% get a big but silent cooler. When aiming beyond 10%, get a water-cooled setup, and also cool the GPU with it.
Deozaan:
A quick reaction:
Case:
Looks just fine to me, though I don't like all those 'Christmas-lights' it has
CPU & Mainboard:
If you don't need SLI you could choose the MSI P67A-G45, it's some $20 less, but the second PCIe-x16 port has only 8 PCI-lanes instead of 16.
GPU:
Use what works in your set-up. Personally I've had lots of trouble with the ATI-based cards (on MSI mainboards amongst others), so I'm sticking with nVidia chips, unless there's a 0/0 swap policy available.
RAM:
I'd go for Kingston or another known brand, and not any of them 'over-clocking' DIMM's they're not worth the extra money.
-Ath (July 21, 2011, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---
Case: Yeah I don't really care about the "Christmas Lights" but they don't really bother me either.
Mainboard: Nice catch! I'm not intending on using SLI so that mainboard would indeed be a better fit for me.
GPU: There was a major consensus in this other thread that ATI was the way to go, especially with an Intel CPU. So I'd like to hear a bit more of the debate before making up my mind.
RAM: I looked into some Kingston RAM at higher speeds (1600) and found these for only $10 more (for 16 GB) than the slower (1333) G.SKILL sticks.
Stoic Joker:
I've never been into overclocking, and I'm not up on the latest hardware. But I have had really good luck with the Mushkin Silverline memory kits. Memory can make a big difference in how a machine feels.
I just put 2 sets of these in my box at the office (for a total of 4GB) and the difference is quite noticeable when multitasking heavily.
40hz:
Maximum had a build you might want to take a look at:
How to Build a Kick-Ass Gaming Rig for Under $700
This might not be quite as heavy-duty as you're looking for. But the selections and rationales were quite interesting to read.
Personally, I would definitely spend the small amount extra and opt for an i5-2500 CPU over an i3. I'd also get an ATX rather than a mini-ATX mobo for better expansion options.
For RAM I favor Crucial Memory over all the other memory merchants. Never once had hassles with their products. Good tech support and advice. And they do stand behind what they sell. Viking and Patriot are also good choices.
I'll chime in a bit more as the discussion develops.
8)
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