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

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Ath:
I updated/expanded my post quite a bit, as I was interrupted but not quite finished typing :o

Shades:
RAM:
Buy the RAM with speeds supported by the motherboard you intend to buy. Faster doesn't make sense, maybe even cause trouble (although not likely). Buy as much as the motherboard can address, that is the biggest speed gain you will get anyway.

GPU:
Never had any trouble with ATI cards. Granted, I'm not a games per se, the most demanding games I do play are racing games and my ATI Radeon 4670 (passively cooled!) runs games just fine on my 1080p monitor. For hours on end I must add.

CPU:
Asus is my brand. Intel (although being sparse) is my second brand. Both have proven to be very solid and reliable in my (anecdotal) experience.

Case:
Lian Li has the cases I find the most pleasing (hey, I like minimalism on the outside and high-end on the inside). As they have lots of customer and server models without the 'blinken-lights', maybe it is worth to take a look. They are not cheap though, but you do get what you pay for.

Edit: adjusted description for Lian Li cases

Deozaan:
Ok so far I've had several different recommendations for RAM, and no two people have recommended the same brand. In a way that's confusing because I'm trying to find a known good brand. In another sense that's comforting because it seems as though there are several reliable, high quality brands if there are so many different brands being recommended.

As for RAM speeds, the motherboard I'm planning on getting can handle speeds of DDR3 1066/1333/1600*/1866*/2133*(OC). And since the 1600 is only $10-$20 more than the 1333 I was looking at previously, I think I'll go with that unless someone can give me a really good reason to go with the 1866 (or the 1333 I guess). But I still need to decide on which brand. So far I've had Crucial, Mushkin, and Kingston highly recommended.

RAM:
Buy as much as the motherboard can address.-Shades (July 21, 2011, 06:41 PM)
--- End quote ---

Are you suggesting I get 32 GB of RAM? That's... a lot. I don't think I'd ever regret having so much RAM, but I'm not sure I'd really put that much to use, so I am not sure it would be a good way to spend money. Hmm... It appears as though NewEgg doesn't even offer 8 GB 1600Mhz sticks and the 8GB 1333 Mhz sticks cost more than four 4 GB 1600 sticks combined. So no thanks. It's definitely not cost effective to get that much RAM in this machine.

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.
-Ath (July 21, 2011, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

Thanks for the info on modular. I don't care what it looks like inside, so I'll go without modular. As for the rating, any particular reason why it's important to get the 80-PLUS Gold certified power supply? Is it that much higher quality/better than a "standard" 80-PLUS certified PSU? I'm also concerned about the wattage. I know I've been reassured multiple times by f0dder in other threads that a 450-500 watt PSU should be plenty and that the most important thing is more about voltage stability or something similar to that, but it's hard to get over the feeling that 500 watts is a small amount when they're selling 1,000+ watt PSUs for the gamer market.

Looking into it now, it appears as though all the 80-PLUS Gold PSUs that NewEgg sells of Cooler Master and Antec brand are at least 750 watts and modular. And about $200 (or more). Yikes! I've never even heard of Be Quiet brand. Is the 80-PLUS Gold really worth it, and what about all that wattage? Funny how high that seems now when the price is also high. :D

How about this Kingwin 550w 80-PLUS Platinum PSU? It's also modular, but it's got wattage closer to what I'd need and it's platinum! (and cheaper than the 750+w PSUs). Kingwin also has a 550w 80-PLUS Gold PSU for $100. But I've never heard of that brand before so ... I dunno.

MISC:
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.
-Ath (July 21, 2011, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

Yeah, ideally I'd like an SSD for the OS. I already use a system similar to what I'd need for an OS SSD where I pretty much only have the OS on an 80 GB HDD and install/store most everything else on other drives. My current PC is such a piece of smurf that I can't tell how much space is free on my C drive. Right-clicking and selecting Properties doesn't bring up the drive's properties. And attempting to view the general status of my HDDs from "Computer" (aka "My Computer") in Windows Explorer doesn't show anything at all. That's how seriously I need a new PC right now. . .

Anyway, I think I probably could get by on Windows 7 with a 64GB SSD but I would feel a lot better with 80 or 128 GB OS drive.

I also have 3 or 4 or 5 500 GB HDDs (7200 RPM each) so while it would be nice to consolidate all my data onto a single 2 TB drive, this is another case where I can just use what I have for now and then maybe in a couple more months buy the new HDD.

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.
-Ath (July 21, 2011, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

Sound: I already have speakers and (what I think is) a nice USB headset.
Keyboard/Mouse: I just bought new keyboard and mouse this year and I love them.
Optical: Good point on the DVD. I think all 3 of mine are IDE. I also have an external USB DVD drive so maybe I can just use that if/when I use/need optical media (which isn't often). Or, yeah, it's not that expensive to get a BD/DVD combo these days. So this one may depend on the budget.
WiFi: I currently have my PC connected via LAN (wired) but I'd like the WiFi "just in case" I move somewhere where the modem/router doesn't have proximity to where my "office" is. That's why this is another thing that can probably wait until I need it. I don't think it costs much for a standard Wireless N adapter but it's also not a necessity at this point.

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.-Ath (July 21, 2011, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

I'm really not sure how much overclocking I'm going to be doing. I've never done it before and I've never really been that interested in it. But since I can buy a processor that was made to be overclocked, why not take advantage of it? In that regard I doubt I'll be doing anything that would require liquid cooling, but maybe I'll be going for the 5-10% range. Any suggestions on reliable and quiet aftermarket CPU coolers?

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'd still like to hear more opinions on GPUs (nVidia vs. AMD/ATI).

Deozaan:
Will a GPU that is PCIe 2.1 work on a Mobo with specifications that only mention having a PCIe 2.0 slot?

Here's the GPU I've been considering: ASUS EAH6850 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 but my mobo only mentions having PCIe 2.0. . .

It appears as though NONE of the motherboards on NewEgg mention PCIe 2.1 specifically, so I would think they are compatible, but I'd feel a lot better if someone who knows for sure could verify it.

Deozaan:
Okay, I think I've pretty much decided on everything I'm going to get for now.

Case: $90 for COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP.
PSU: $120 for LEPA G500-MA 500W 80 PLUS Gold Certified Modular.
MOBO: $120 for MSI P67A-G45 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX.
CPU: $220 for Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core.
GPU: $170 for ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16.
RAM: $130 for Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)x2 (4x4GB = 16GB RAM).

That totals $850, which is where the build starts hitting the upper limits of my budget, going from being able to (barely, maybe, possibly) buy it now or having to wait a few months longer to save up more for it. But there's also $70 of mail-in-rebates which will (eventually) bring it down to $780. And maybe by the time I get those rebates back, I'll have saved up enough to buy some of the other things I had to leave out (like an aftermarket cooler, optical drive, SSD, HDD(s) and WiFi adapter).

I'm in dire need of a new PC soon, so I'm ready to order this ASAP. I think I'll let this thread continue over the weekend to give time for you folks to give me more feedback and prevent me from unknowingly buying the wrong thing(s). Then probably on Monday I'll order it sometime.

So check out my list of components and let me know what you think.

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