First ever build (i7 860) AUS

[RAOR]

This is my first ever build. I live in Australia so the two sites are either in-state on intrastate(NSW, and i live in QLD).
Roughly following a guide i had hoped to build around 1500, but i relies the guide was in USD.
(http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/1500_gaming_pc_buyers_guide_november_2009?page=0%2C2)

I guess my Primary goal is to have everything in the GUI resposive enough, and make sure Transfer times are fast enough. Gaming wise I plan on playing AION and SAVAGE 1 & 2 smoothly, but have no real interest in running something like Crysis at it's highest levels (though this would be nice). I particularly like the i7 and HD5870, but perhaps i'm reading too much into the hype.

I really want peoples advice on wheather or not i'm puting too much resources into one item (i.e. too larger PSU, for all units) that could be unnessary cost wise.

Are the items compatible all round?
Should i think about OC'ing and if yes, would I need any changes for this to happen?
Is there any way to cut cost? (Going to be a poor uni student next year, and getting first car soon Very Happy)


I planned a PC with the following specs(no tower yet):


$125 4G Kit DDR3 1333 G.Skill-Ripjaws (From MSY) http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
$134 20” 5ms DVI Benq G2020HD (From MSY)

From Scorptech http://www.scorptec.com.au
$369.00 Intel Core i7 860 (2.80Ghz / 8MB / LGA1156 / Quad Core)

$29.00 Cooler Master TX3 CPU Cooler, Intel LGA775/1156

$315.00 Asus P7P55D-DELUXE P55, 4DDR3, FSB2133(OC), RAID, 2GBLAN, 3xPCIEx16, 9SATA, 10-CH, ATX
$599.00 HIS Radeon HD5870 (850mhz), 1GB GDDR5 (2400mhz), PCI-E 2.0, Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, Game,

$119.00 Corsair CMPSU-550VXAU 550W ATX Power Supply, 120mm fan, PCI-E Graphics Card Connector, 6 SATA Connectors,

Universal AC input 90~264V

$59.00 Pioneer DVR-218LBK 22x Single & 12x Dual Layer Unbranded Black OEM - SATA DVDRW, with LabelFlash **FREE

Nero Software**

$49.00 Western Digital 160GB, Caviar Blue, SATA-II, 7200RPM, 8MB Cache, NCQ

$135.00 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit DVD OEM

TOTAL: $1,933.00 AUD ($1,757USD)

Thanks for the help, can't wait to get away from my Extensa 4210
Cool
RAOR

 

[MadAdmiral]

Couple of changes. You aren't falling into the hype. The i7s and 5870 are that good, but for gaming, the i5 is actually better. Since you're already going LGA 1156, just switch the CPUs for better performance at a lower price. The i7s are better at other things, just not gaming.

I didn't look hard at that link for the RAM (it's giving me a headache...), but you want to make sure it's CAS Latency 7.

I'd also recommend getting a different HDD. 160 GB is really, really small, and the Samsung Spinpoint F3s are really good and reasonably cheap. They come in 500 GB or 1 TB.

 

[RAOR]

Couple of changes. You aren't falling into the hype. The i7s and 5870 are that good, but for gaming, the i5 is actually better. Since you're already going LGA 1156, just switch the CPUs for better performance at a lower price. The i7s are better at other things, just not gaming.

Well if it's lower in price, i'm there, just couldn't work out why the i5 was better.


I didn't look hard at that link for the RAM (it's giving me a headache...), but you want to make sure it's CAS Latency 7.
Sorry about the headache, I knew i'd would get some people complaining about the post format.

The CAS Latency is 9-9-9-27-2N, I don't know what the 27-28n bit means :S. So would I have to Upgrade?
G.skill product info here: http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=227


I'd also recommend getting a different HDD. 160 GB is really, really small, and the Samsung Spinpoint F3s are really good and reasonably cheap. They come in 500 GB or 1 TB.

Tbh i use a 70gb hdd fine, but i guess i could upgrade. I also have two 1-tb WD ext Hard Drives.

Thanks for the quick response, i'll look at this all again in the morning with fresh eyes

 

[MadAdmiral]

The i5 is actually newer. The only thing it doesn't have is hyperthreading, which doesn't matter for gaming. The i7 is really meant to shine in multitasking and other CPU intensive uses.

On the CAS Latency, the most important numbers are the first set (9-9-9). There is a nice set of Ripjaws with CL 7, or even some Eco sticks that have a much lower voltage (Newegg link, I know you can't buy them there, but that site was really slow loading for me).

 

[dpaul8]

You have the start of very good build that should give you excellent performance at a very reasonable cost. To put things in perspective regarding the choice for CPU, the following article compares the performance of the i750, i860, and i920 processors in some of the more popular games:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=7
As you can see, the i750 does better than the i920 in all cases, but not quite as well as the i860. Considering the cost savings associated with the i750, this processor is a real bargain.

Another area where you can cut costs without sacrificing performance is in your choice of motherboards. The ASUS P7P55D Deluxe is a great motherboard for people who want to do extreme overclocking, and plan to crossfire two graphics cards. The ASUS P7P55D LE will still allow you to do a modest overclock, and should save you a significant amount of money. If you think you might want to crossfire two graphics cards at some point in the future, you could consider the ASUS P7P55D PRO which would cost somewhere inbetween the price of the other two motherboards.

However, if you do decide to keep your crossfire options open for the future, you should upgrade your power supply to the Corsair 650TX. Otherwise, your Corsair 550VX is a good choice for a single graphics card.

Good luck with your build!

 

[micky_lund]

man. stay i5 750. overclocks to 3.8ghz easy on stock voltage. and it beats the AMD any day. read this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2466-6.html. (higher the tier, the better). don't get me started on this >

RAM:
lower the cl* is better, but 1600mhz will get u to 4ghz easier than 1333mhz. means you don't have to loosen the timings, and is one less thing that can go wrong. go 1600mhz cl8, or cl7 if u can find it. the price difference of cl7 isn't really worth it tho over cl8. id go 1333 cl7 over 1600 cl9 tho. for p55, u also need 1.65V or less, and extreme low voltage is pointless for you. i suggest any 1600mhz cl8 (g.skill, corsair, OCZ) that you can find. cheapest wins.
BTW: u already probably know this, but newegg is US, and aint ship to aus (unless you go another postal company).

MONITOR and GPU:
what is the resolution on the monitor? this directly affects the type of GPU u will need. heres a rough outline you need, to get exceptional performance for each resolution.

1280x1024/1600x900=4670
1680x1050=9800GT/4830, tho a 4870 wouldn't be too overkill here.
1920x1080(1200)= SLi gts 250/4890/5770/5850. the 5*** series is more expensive, but also supports DX11.
2500x1600=nearly double the amount of pixels as the above resolution, so I suggest SLi 260s (not as good)/275s, CF 4870s/4890s/5770s, gtx 295, 5870. look at the 5970 2GB if you want the best. price is stupid tho.

from what i can see, ur G2020HD is 1600x900 resolution. so i'd suggest a 4670/4830. if ur really wanted overkill, go a 4850/5750. 4870 TOPS! [/i[ give you crazy good results. that, or get a bigger monitor, then a better graphic card. and theres no real point, even when u do upgrade ur monitor, to get a crazy GPU now. what size do u think ur new one will be? cause it could save you $200 now on the GPU. (eg. your getting a 4890 now, so when you do upgrade to the 24" monitor, you save $130 from buying an old one. minus a bit more for decrease costs, so it may only be $80+ dollars or so. still worth it, if you KNOW you'll upgrade)

this here shows the 5870 way above anything u would need. for your monitor, i suggest anything from the 6th tier down to around the 8th tier.

Motherboard:
still, 2 PCI-E x16/x8 slots is enough, unless you want 3 GPUs all at once. this is perfectly pointless, as it scales dodgy as.
for instance: 1 4870=100%. 2 4870s= 170%. 3 4870s=220% (if very lucky) and in some games CF/SLi shows no benefit, so i think a mobo with 2x PCI-E x16/x8 is more than enough. and with p55 chipset, it doesn't allow x16/x16 as the X58 does. buts its a small 3~5% decrease in FPS compared to the savings you make. i suggest a gigabyte p55a-ud4 /[url]. it supports usb 3.0, and sata6, and only costs a touch more than the p55-ud4, while giving you good upgrade-ability

PSU
Go for a corsair 750tx. gives you enough room to overclock, and to dual GPUs in the future. the corsair 650tx has enough grunt (Amps on 12V rail), but only 2 connectors, so is useless (unless you want to risk 2x molex to 6pin cable, which i wouldn't)

HDD:
how much space do u need? i think [url=http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=12297]this would suit your needs, but if you've got the extra dosh, the Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB WD6401AALS has better access times, and more space. And you can short-stroke it if you don't want the extra space (same as partitioning, cept you loose the space :S)

CPU cooler:
the CM hyper 212 PLUS is 7th on the following list. i got the prolimatech megahalem, as they were outa stock on the hyper 212. paid an extra $40 for like 2~3C lower. fail, but i wanted it quickly (as it works out, it's not any quicker, as my GPU was DOA :S )
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2419&page=4
just google CM hyper 212 PLUS vs. CM tx3. you'll see.

CASE:
what one are you looking at? you'll need something with a bit of airflow. do you have one in mind, or should i suggest something? and what colours: red or blue LEDs, or just Black?


i can post u a rig up soon if you want. what I would get for your requirements.
do u want me to?
MICK

 

[RAOR]

$245.00
Intel Core i5 750 (2.66Ghz / 8MB / LGA1156 / Quad Core)


I decided to swap to the gamer's i5 750 (much cheaper for my purpose). At one stage it was suggested that I go for the [AMD Phenom II AM3 955 Black Edition (3.2Ghz) 64-Bit Quad-Core CPU only $200, But i'm not sure how this would work how with the mobo's i have selected based on forums' general consensus:


$165.00
Asus P7P55D-LE P55, 4DDR3, 10VRM, FSB2000, RAID, GBLAN, 2xPCIEx16, 6SATA, 8-CH, ATX

OR
$134.00
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 P55 4DDR3 4VRM PCIEx16 GLAN DES2 8SATA 2X1394a mATX


OR
$169.00
MSI P55-GD65 LGA1156 P55 4xDDR3-2133OC


How do these motherboards compare in terms of expandability of other components? Which would you choose?



Video Cards
There was a stack of cards, ranging from PowerColour to XFX. But there only $30 gap between the ones I have chosen.
I would like a Graphics card just over the 20' monitor benchmark.

$399.00
PowerColor Radeon HD5850 (725mhz), 1GB GDDR5 (2000mhz), PCI-E 2.0, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort


$399.00
Sapphire Radeon HD5850 (725mhz), 1GB GDDR5 (2000mhz), PCI-E 2.0, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

$409.00
Gigabyte ATI HD5850 PCI-E 2.0 1GB 256-bit GDDR5, 725/4000MHz, Dual DVI/ HDMI/ Display Port, DX11,


$429.00
XFX Radeon HD5850 (725mhz), 1GB GDDR5 (2000mhz), PCI-E 2.0, Fan Cooler, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort




By changing each one of these components based on the reports here and for alternate (tomshardware/maximumpc/facebook) forums I already save a massive $479.00 AUD on these parts, and I'm close enough to my $1500 goal. Is my Corsair Micro 550VXAU PSU adequate? And just what are your general thoughts? (they help alot as I learn)

PSU


Nah, mick I think i'll pass on your offer, thanks though. If you or anyone else here want to select a adequate case for me, I'm not too picky as long as everything fits. Oh and your right about the maximum resolution (max.) 1600x900 for the monitor.

 

[micky_lund]

CPU:
stay with i5. it beats it in the charts, and in real life.

GPU:
hmm...if u can find a 5850 in stock, good luck (none of ur linked ones are ). you'll probably have to wait 3 weeks (or so). its overkill power from the GPU for now, but will provide massive FPS, even for a 1920x1200 monitor in the future. not a bad choice, especially with Win7. (BTW: if ur NOT going to upgrade monitor, go for a 4850 or so)

Motherboard:
another of toms's review on the p55 1156 socket suggest the p7p55D, or the p55-ud3r. bit pricier than some of ur options, but known to OC well. id suggest stay away from micro-atx. don't know why, it just seems better to have it slightly roomier.

case:
many people like the CoolerMaster CM Storm Scout . its only $129, and looks kinda cool. cept it doesn't come with the side fans . You'd need 2 of em to look like the picture. that adds another $39 if you want them. they add to the effect of the RED, and the cooling for the GPU.

PSU:
go with a TX or HX version of corsair. they're better, and more highly rated. I'd think if you WEREN'T going to X-Fire, that the 650tx would be heaps. its $149, but worth it. the PSU is always the most underlooked component of a build.

 

[RAOR]

$399 GPU Sapphire Radeon HD5850 (725mhz), 1GB GDDR5 (2000mhz), PCI-E 2.0, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
$169 MOBO MSI P55-GD65 LGA1156 P55 4xDDR3-2133OC
$245 CPU Intel Core i5 750 (2.66Ghz / 8MB / LGA1156 / Quad Core)
$119 PSU Corsair Micro CMPSU-550VXAU
$125 RAM 4G Kit DDR3 1333 G.Skill-Ripjaws (From MSY) http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
$134 Monitor 20” 5ms DVI Benq G2020HD (From MSY)[Best to use the search function]
$45 HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 250GB
$29 COOLER CoolerMaster TX3 CPU Cooler, Intel LGA775/1156
$59 DVDRW Pioneer DVR-218LBK 22x Single & 12x Dual Layer Unbranded Black OEM - SATA DVDRW, with LabelFlash **FREE Nero Software**
$135 OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit DVD OEM
$129 CASE CoolerMaster CM Storm Scout

________________________________________
1588.00 TOTAL defiantly a big difference from $1933.00

Will the case and cooler keep the heat down enough?
I chose the Sapphire over the PowerColour, Can't remember why.
I've seen 5800 cards that run three monitors, will mine do this, or will it require Crossfiring and larger PSU
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=381&Itemid=72&limit=1&limitstart=4
http://byteside.com/blog/2009/12/10/byteside-tech-christmas-special/ Cool Aussie tech show, not sure where exactly it's featured
To theoretically CF, will the PSU cables work? it has enough to support 1 5850, but for duals? molex-PCI connectors?
Bottle-necking issues with the GPU killing the CPU?? Is this bad? What do I look for?
DVDRW seems fine, its just a DVD drive.

Man, i can't wait till im fiddling with these pieces , It's unbelievably exciting.

 

[micky_lund]

for CFing 5850s, you'll need 4x 6PCI pin power cables. your 550VX has 2 (i think). go for a corsair 750tx, which has enough. i wouldn't use the molex-pci, as they are dodgy...

and the bottleneck will be with the CPU. the gpu is way overkill for your resolution, and so isn't being taxed enough. this can be remedied by increasing CPU speed (overclocking, as you have said), or by lowering the GPU power.

i suggest one 4870 for now, and another (to CF them) when you get the bigger monitor.