Opinions on this rig?

[Darkpagey]

Hey guys, just popping by to see what you think of a rig which i have been contemplating and debating over for the past few weeks, hopefully to get a second opinion and to notify me of any compatibility issues there may be.

I will be using the rig for occasional gaming (MW2 perhaps), study work and musical recording.

I'll post the build from eBuyer simply to keep it all in one place, however i will probably not be using ebuyer completely as prices have been fluctuating a lot recently.

Points of Interest:


- Is the case and particularly PSU overkill? Do i need 500W or better safe than sorry?
- ATI 4670 OR ATI 5570? What's the best value for money?
- 2x HDD are being used for recording purposes specifically, so i can store my files on one HDD completely separate from everything else as they take up so much space.
- That Mobo particularly for its potential CrossFire, and 2 Firewire ports which i would like to use for recording.
- CPU: Would spending about £50 extra on an Intel I5-750 make a noticeable difference over the 965 for my needs? Do i need the i5?? AMD strikes me as much better value for money. The only reason i'm getting the 965 over the 955 is because of reports about bad cooling on the 955.
- RAM: The main issue here is compatibility. Would you guys recommend anything else around the same price?
- Why is Win7 so expensive???!?! haha



Thanks in advance for the replies. If you have anything to add please do, or have any questions please ask

 

[Silvune]

I think that Case/PSU bundle is a good choice. 500W might be overkill for a system with two 4670s, but at least it should be quiet due to not being stressed.

In terms of framerates, the 4670 and 5570 swap places for having the highest in the benchmarks I've seen. Power consumption is pretty similiar as well. Noise will depend on the cooler, looks like you've chosen a good one for that. That particular 4670 is also good at staying cool - about as well as a stock 5570. So you'd need to find a benchmark of a game you're interested in playing that does really poorly on a 4670 and well on a 5570 to be swayed to change. DX11 is the only other factor, but enabling it would produce much lower performance (FPS) compared to DX10.

These HDDs use 500GB platters, so they will be faster than the Caviar Blue:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158860
Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252

I'm not convinced there's a pressing need to get an i5-750 over a 965.

The only reason i'm getting the 965 over the 955 is because of reports about bad cooling on the 955.

What reports are these?

This is the set I usually recommend: Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Ballistix Memory Kit CL7 (7-7-7-24) 1.65V http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179278 ~£91 It will be a bit faster out of the box due to the lower latency. But your set has lower voltage, which means it will run cooler and use less power (not much) out of the box, while also having some headroom to be OCed.

 

[batuchka]

I would make the following changes

1. 955BE for chip
2. NZXT Beta EVO for case
3. BeQuiet Purepower 530 for PSU
4. MSI/Asus 770 mobo
5. Palit Green GTS 250

 

[Darkpagey]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Silvune, thanks for the explanations too. With regards to the HDD's, I could save up £30 or so to spend out extra on the WD Caviar Blacks which were originally recommended to me but i wanted to cut costs. With regards to your recommendations however, would they be noticeably faster, or just slightly?

Regarding the 955 vs 965, i have just been reading reviews on eBuyer and other sites which have had a common theme saying that the 955 has a poor stock fan on it so it runs quite hot. This put me off a little bit since i am swayed quite a lot by opinions as i have no building experience what-so-ever.

And as for the RAM, again would the difference be noticable? I'm just trying to save pounds but want to get the best value for money without cutting costs. I also looked on the manufacturers webste for my selected mobo and had a look at the known compatible memory brands. Should i pay much attention to this? Is there anything i should specifically look out for when checking memory compatibility?




Batuchka, would you have any reasons for those recommendations? To me the bundle i have in my basket looks like a better deal than the case and PSU you selected. And the mobo doesn't have FW so i'm slightly put off by that because by the time i buy the PCI card the cost will be a lot higher.


Thanks.

 

[batuchka]

Not really The BQ 530 is 80+ bronze certified and bundled with NZXT Beta EVO brings cost of PSU + Case to just 85GBP While no 2 x Firewire the gaming performance between a HD 4670 and GTS 250 will be night and day...

 

[Silvune]

The heatsink on the 955 and 965 will be exactly the same. So if one is going to be hot, then so is the other. Meanwhile the 965 is exactly the same as the 955, while just having it's multiplier increased out of the box - it is a factory OCed 955.
And customer reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, unless the same thing is said dozens of times.
I suppose considering that I own a 955 and I'm not that happy with the temps I'm getting now (altho it's not like they're dangerously high and it is summer) you probably will want an aftermarket CPU cooler. Probably the best one under £20 is the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus.

No the difference between those RAM sticks probably would not be noticeable. The price difference is also insignificant and worth the lower latency IMO.
I don't see the need to bother with checking compatibility lists for RAM, as long as it is DDR3 and the mobo is DDR3 and it is a well recognized brand then you are extremely unlikely to have problems. With the caveat that OCZ RAM is known for having problems with lots of mobos recently - they will run, but they might not run at the advertised speed/timings. You might have these kinds of problems with generic RAM as well.

The Be Quiet Pure Power 530 is a good PSU, so if you decided that you didn't want the Antec Sonata, and needed a PSU then it would be amongst the best choices.

 

[Darkpagey]

What would you guys say to the reputability of the OCZ Stealth Xtream 500W PSU?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135159

For £10 cheaper than the one recommended by you guys would this be a worthy substitute?

 

[batuchka]

The Stealth Xtream isn't 80+ certified so i'd hit a better PSU ^^

 

[Silvune]

The OCZ StealthXStream 500W, apart from efficiency, is a decent PSU, altho usually it would only be recommended in a low budget scenario. It would probably be fine for one GTS 250, but not a second. Also probably fine for two 4670s/5570s.

 

[Darkpagey]

Ok thanks again guys. If the offer comes around for the Bequiet PSU then i'll jump on it but if the OCZ is adequate then i need to save all the cash i can!

Anymore recommendation then let me know, but if not, cheers!!