General build - i5 750, ~$1000, suggestions welcome

G-M

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2009
6
0
18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: In the next 2 weeks
BUDGET RANGE: ~£600 (~$1000) without monitor or OS

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: General use, videos, gaming (occasional use- Fallout 3, Modern Warfare, and old games)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Speakers, OS - will order Windows 7

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: USA: newegg.com; UK: whichever is cheapest, used ebuyer.com in the past
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA - Small, expensive parts (probably CPU, GPU, RAM)
UK - The rest

OVERCLOCKING:
Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: probably 1920x1200 - will look in local stores for monitor but suggestions are welcome, aiming for 22"+ at reasonable price (£150-200 )

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Needs good capacity for upgrade. I'd prefer a good price-power point rather than the fastest available

PARTS PREFERENCES:
Looking at i5-750 to build around, not absolutely set on this.
Midi-ATX case, good design is nice, no window; quiet is preferable.
-------------------------------------------------------
Current thinking:

CPU:
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
$199.99

GPU:
SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857
$269.99

OR

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433
$199.99

(could SLI or CF either in future if needs be)

Motherboard (from UK supplier):
P55 but open to suggestions, would like ease of OCing, SLI/CF ability

PSU (UK):
Coolermaster RealPower 520W Modular PSU - SLI Ready
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134696
£62

OR

Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514
£71

Other suggestions welcomed.

Case (UK):
Again open to suggestions, had noted this-
Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127584#
£28

RAM (US):
No preference, 4 or 6GB as advised. This seems to be popular here:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

HDD (UK):
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228
£37

DVD Writer (UK): Whichever, £15-20

TOTAL: Using the most expensive parts (Radeon 5850, Corsair 650W) - £635

-------------------------------------------------------

So there is room for some suggestions and movement, preferably not up in price.

So a long post, but I get the impression you prefer more info than less so it's all there. I'd be very grateful for any comments or suggestions. Thanks.
 
This is an FYI related to socket 1156. Make sure your CPU is making good connection before you mount your heatsink.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3661

Toms p55 motherboard review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-p55-motherboard,2436.html
I think the ASUS P7P55D Pro would be my choice of motherboard.

Between the GTX260 and HD 5850, its 50% more speed and DX11 vs stuck with DX10 until you replace the 260. Its a judgement call of $60-70 now vs how soon you expect to replace a graphics card.


That case is nothing special, it has a single back fan like every cheap PC case. I prefer cases with at least front and back, and preferably top fans. A side vent for the GPU to intake air is nice also. I like cases with bottom mounted PSUs so the extra cables lay in the bottom and are not hanging around in the way.

Neither of those power supplies will allow crossfire of power graphics cards like you are looking at. You will have to move up to the Corsair 750TX or look for an Antec Truepower 750.
 

sonic-boom

Distinguished
Oct 9, 2009
821
0
19,010
With just a bit less performance than the GTX260 and less power consumption it might be a great option since its only $160 with Dx11.
Also, I don't think newegg ships outside the US.
 

He is referring to the HD 5770. They do only need one PCIE cable so you can crossfire them with a 650 or even 550W PSU that has two PCIE power cables.
 

G-M

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2009
6
0
18,510


Thanks, I'll take a look at some more cases. I would prefer better cooling than these offer too, hadn't focussed on it.



The HD 5770 might be a good option - fits with the PSU, would be easy to crossfire them in the future. Will look a bit more at the tables and such. Cheers.
 

G-M

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2009
6
0
18,510

On shipping I will be travelling to the US in the next few weeks and am planning to take some of the more expensive and small parts back myself. I have done this in the past, especially good when the exchange rate was 2:1.
 

G-M

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2009
6
0
18,510
Taking into account the suggestions I am moving towards this setup:

Intel Core i5-750
$199.99

ASUS P7P55D PRO
£119.58

HIS Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB
$159.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
$109.99

CoolerMaster BLACK CM 690
£55.80

Corsair 650W TX SERIES ATX
£71.03

Western Digital Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm
£37.51

Sony 24x Int DVDRWRAM SATA
£15.97

Still missing - CPU cooler, any extra fans, monitor + mouse + keyboard to buy separately.

TOTAL:
$470 (all newegg at present)
£300 (all dabs at present)
=£585 or $970

-------------------------------------------

Would I be better getting the 750W Corsair PSU?
Will these PSUs work with the bottom mount position of the case?

Please do post any further suggestions or comments.
 
If you are going with a 5770 then the 650 is all you need to crossfire and overclock. THE 5770 is a low wattage, single PCIE cable graphics card. I just got one and installed it last night. Beats my 9800 GTX+ by a good bit.



For CPU coolers one of the most cost effective things is to look for a xigmatec s1283 series (includes s1283, red scorpion, dark knight and balder). You may have to buy the 1156 bracket separate on all models but the balder. They are very good coolers that are fairly quiet and inexpensive. The coolermaster hyper 212 is another good inexpensive option.


There is no disadvantage to a bottom mounted PSU. The advantage is that the extra cables can lie on the floor of the PC out of the way instead of needing to be tied up somewhere.