Moxy

Distinguished
Jun 8, 2010
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18,510
My friend came here to finalise his build and she was really satisfied with the feedback and results in the end so I figured I'd give this a try.

I have been reading about the pieces, the price, the quality, the compatibility. I'm looking to make mostly a gaming/work computer for about 1100- 1300$.

I would like to order it in the coming week or so.

What I'm looking for mostly is advices on the comptability, stability, and if I will need some extra heatsinks and things I could forget like that.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week. BUDGET RANGE: 900-1000 after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming/Working

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.ca COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

PARTS PREFERENCES: I do like what I hear for the Intel I5 processor, so I'd like to build around that.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, I'm just new to the overclocking scene, but if it doesn't overheat too much the system and is stable I'd like to overclock a tiny bit.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No, I'd rather have one video card for the moment.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Here's are some of the side things I'm looking for in this CPU I would like to have my CPU not overheat too much and be somewhat quiet but I'm not expecting perfection on the sound. Do I need to add extra heatsinks a setup like this one if I were to overclock a bit. Any recommendation on how much to overclock a processor? I hear about voltage when people talk about overclocking, I'm definetly no expert and would rather go lower than higher with overclocking but is there any recommendation for the processor. And I'm looking to keep my computer as cool as possible.

Here is the list of items I was thinking.

Processor : Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

208,99$

Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

169,99$

Video card : GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity
I have a little interogation here, I see a lot of variations when I write Radeon HD 5850, is there major differences between all the cards, I would suspect there is, I'm mostly looking for quality and stability. I don't mind spending a certain amount on this part of the system but I do want the rest of the system to be able to support it so it's not wasted.

316,49$ + 11,49 shipping

Ram memory : G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ I read they goes well with the current motherboard.

107.49$ + 9,99 shipping

Harddrive : SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Looking for durability here. Bad luck can happen but I would preffer if my HD didn't give up after a year. From my experience Samsung usually make quality products, so how does this HD look.

79,99$ + 7,24$ shipping

Wireless card : Rosewill RNX-N300 IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wireless-N 2.0 PCI (1T2R) Up to 300Mbps Download Data Rates/ WPA/WPA2 (AES, 64,128-WEP with shared-key authentication) Cisco CCS V1.0, V2.0 and V3.0 compliant/ Vista/ Win7

29,99$ + 6,99$ shipping

DVD burner : LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

26,99$ + 6,99$ shipping

Case : COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
I preffer a bigger a big case over a small one, size isn't a problem at all. Since I'm no expert, does it have any impact on the heat of the system, is a bigger case better?

109,99$ + 9,99$

Power supply : CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
They say compatible with I7, just want to make sure it'd be compatible with I5 but is 700W overkill for this kind of computer?

109,99$

OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

108,99$ + 6,99$ shipping

Heatsink : I'm a bit clueless on this section and am looking for advices. I don't want to spend the biggest part of the budget here but if it's needed to keep the system cool I will do it.

Current prices (CAD, Canadian Dollars)

Processor : 208,99$
Motherboard : 169,99$
Video card : 316,49$ + 11,49 shipping
Ram memory : 107.49$ + 9,99 shipping
Harddrive : 79,99$ + 7,24$ shipping
Wireless card : 29,99$ + 6,99$ shipping
DVD burner : 26,99$ + 6,99$ shipping
Case : 109,99$ + 9,99$
Power supply : 109,99$
OS : 108,99$ + 6,99$ shipping
Heatsink : 0 for the moment

Total price for the moment : 1256,58$

Any recommendation is appreciated, on pieces, the whole setup, on compatibility, on heat/overclocking, or if the pieces are actual good choice.

Thanks a lot!
 
Solution
^ Nice selection of parts...
Some suggestions...

1. RAM - Check this one...Faster an after rebates, comes cheaper...
Corsair DDR3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

2. PSU - Corsair no doubt are good PSUs, but you wont need a 750W if you will be sticking with just 1 card...
Get this -
Antec EA 650 - Again a 550W would suffice, but this comes at a good price...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

3. Dont miss the combos
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.408499

4. CASE - That CM is a very good choice...And yes a bigger case is better and even better if it has very good airflow...and that case has plenty...

5. CPU Cooler -
CM Hyper 212+ - A very...
^ Nice selection of parts...
Some suggestions...

1. RAM - Check this one...Faster an after rebates, comes cheaper...
Corsair DDR3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

2. PSU - Corsair no doubt are good PSUs, but you wont need a 750W if you will be sticking with just 1 card...
Get this -
Antec EA 650 - Again a 550W would suffice, but this comes at a good price...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

3. Dont miss the combos
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.408499

4. CASE - That CM is a very good choice...And yes a bigger case is better and even better if it has very good airflow...and that case has plenty...

5. CPU Cooler -
CM Hyper 212+ - A very good cooler that performs as good as some $50+ coolers...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=cm_hyper_212%2b-_-35-103-065-_-Product

6. HDD - Samsung F3 is the current favorite...

7. Graphics card - That Gigabyte is a good one...
 
Solution

Hereisphilly

Distinguished
Apr 4, 2010
301
0
18,810
Yeah +1 on the overall rig, nice components
One thing i would point out is on the MOBO and pcie bandwidth issues using usb3 and GPUs

On that Gigabyte, if you use the usb 3 or sata 6, then the graphics PCIe 2.0 lane drops to x8, and if you have crossfire, then the usb 3 or sata 6 drops to x1, basically rendering the quick ports useless.

The cheapest 1156 board that gets over the bandwidth issue is the Asus P7P55D-E PRO, it still manages to keep your PCIe 2.0 in x16 or x8/x8 even when you use both usb3 and sata 6gb/s
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621
Hope it helps!