Help me build a good system

I haven't built a system in a couple of years and figure it is time to again. Here are the things I would like most in a new desktop.

Powerful
Can play the latest games
Fast
Quiet
Not a thermo-nuclear heat generator
Uses standard (available at most online places) components
Not interested in water cooling or overclocking in particular

Computer will be used for games, software development, music recording (nothing serious)

Budget around $1200 (not including monitor).

Let me know what you think!

Rut

Reply to rutledj

Look over the recommendations here:
Bit-Tech: Gaming Workhorse August 2010
A few tweaks here and there and you're right on your budget.

Reply to WR2

Youll get much more help if this was under the system forum, but heres a rough build that meets your standards.

i5 760 $210
P55 board $160
4GB DDR3 $100
2*GTX460 $400
Mid-tower case $80
650W PSU $80
DVD Burner $20
1TB HDD $75

Total: $1125

Theres also AMD builds available, but for your budget, the i5 build is a good option.
Ill try to get specific pricing up here in a little while.

Message edited by Timop on 08-18-2010 at 01:20:36 AM

Reply to Timop

Well, I think a few more questions could be answered such as:
-what parts don't you need? (monitor included or...?)
-What games do you want to play? What settings and FPS are acceptable? What resolution?
-Do you have any brand preferences?
-What kind of software development?

But from what you said, and assuming you need all parts, including a monitor, I'd recommend the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103851
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131406
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820144266
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236051
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814500169

The setup is pretty flexible and should leave you about $200 to work with for your personal needs with graphics, a nicer case or a more powerful CPU setup if you need it.
Hope that helps.

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Reply to enzo matrix

i7 870 2.93Ghz CPU $290 a large price reduction makes this a good choice since you're not overclocking.
With no plans to overclock you can leave off the aftermarket CPU cooler and drop the budget $50 there.

Save another $30 getting the excellent Antec 300 case $70
And if you need to fit a copy of Windows 7 into the budget you can change out the HD 5870 video card for a HD 5850.

Message edited by WR2 on 08-18-2010 at 05:44:23 PM

Reply to WR2

Thanks. This budget does not include the monitor. I was setting aside around $500 for a monitor but not sure which one yet but probably a decent widescreen isp panel.

As for games, I'm pretty much a First person shooter although I'd like to check out some flight sims also.

Software development is basic windows/business stuff running sql server.

Brand is not important although I've always used intel cpu's in the past.

FPS? Not sure what is considered acceptable these days. I already have dvd burners and hard drives (but was considering a SSD just for the OS and quick boot-ups. Not sure if it is worth it or not.

I already have win 7 64bit.

Thanks,
Rut

Reply to rutledj

Timop wrote :

Youll get much more help if this was under the system forum, but heres a rough build that meets your standards.

i5 760 $210
P55 board $160
4GB DDR3 $100
2*GTX460 $400
Mid-tower case $80
650W PSU $80
DVD Burner $20
1TB HDD $75

Total: $1125

Theres also AMD builds available, but for your budget, the i5 build is a good option.
Ill try to get specific pricing up here in a little while.

+1 to this build.

Reply to unknown_13

unknown_13 wrote :

+1 to this build.

Your missing the cpu cooler LOL

Reply to halodude23

For a great IPS monitor: Dell U2410 UltraSharp 24" 1920x1200
The usual list price is $599 but there are frequent sales and it shouldn't be hard to find this montior for around $450.

Quote :

Not sure what is considered acceptable these days.

THG publishes comparative hierarchy charts for gaming CPUs and video cards.
Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart
Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart

There is lots of competition for your SSD $$$ so the prices continue to drop. But for the better models you're still looking at around $150 for 60GB or $300 for 120GB drives.
Corsair Force / OCZ Agiilty 2 60GB and 120GB SSDs

Reply to WR2

halodude23 wrote :

Your missing the cpu cooler LOL

If hes not doing major OCing, the stock cooler should be able to push the 760 to 3.6Ghz with a little effort.

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

If hes not doing major OCing, the stock cooler should be able to push the 760 to 3.6Ghz with a little effort.

The stock cooler is not good at all, I've had it before, I played left 4 dead at 2.66 Ghz with the i7 920 and it went up to 90C... He also wants to play the latest games for example=Crysis, take's up a load on the cpu and GPU.....

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

The stock cooler is not good at all, I've had it before, I played left 4 dead at 2.66 Ghz with the i7 920 and it went up to 90C... He also wants to play the latest games for example=Crysis, take's up a load on the cpu and GPU.....

Remember 920 runs considerably hotter than the 760.
With a decent case, an after market cooler is NOT necessary.

Reply to Timop

Here's my list $$1,190.90 I have really good stuff here srsly!

Cpu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103849

Cpu Cooler- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ctua%20d14

Dvd Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136178

Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119216

Hard Drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136359

Mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128443

Gphx Crd- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814162056

Power Supply- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341017

Ram- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Case Fans- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835426018 Add x2 for the CPU cooler, you don't really need 2, if you want to do the Push and Pull Position with the fans for better cooling then you can, Gl, hope my list helped =D

SSD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 1ujuc847ur if you really need it

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 08:11:18 PM

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

I'm sorry, but that not a good build.

For gaming, hes better off with a 955.
For a 1055T, the H50 isn't the best value al all, a Xigmatek for $35 does the job fine and once again, the stock cooler should even be adequate.
Next, The HD is rather slow, and he will see a substantial hit when it comes to loading times, the Caviar greens are designed for storage, not high performance.
Then, there are better Mobos for the money and you have no real crossfire support.
Moreover, the GPU is just weak, you expect to play Crysis on a HD5750? A single GTX460 wold trump that, while dual GTX46s would spank its booty big time XD.
For a single HD5750 even 500W is enough, get a better quality one from Corsair or something.
Theres no need for 8GB of RAM unless he doing heavy video processing or CS5, your just wasting money here.
Finally, WHY are you spending $50 on fans, the 690 has 3 fans already, for the H50, get cheaper and better kazes. Also, having 3 LED fans in a case gets pretty annoying after a while.

Message edited by Timop on 08-18-2010 at 06:05:32 PM

Reply to Timop

srsly? Only HD 5750 for 1920x1200 gaming? and $126 for CPU cooling?
For the same prices as the 5750 and your CPU cooling scheme he could get a HD 5850 video card.

Reply to WR2

Timop wrote :

I'm sorry, but that not a good build.

For gaming, hes better off with a 955.
For a 1055T, the H50 isn't the best value al all, a Xigmatek for $35 does the job fine and once again, the stock cooler should even be adequate.
Next, The HD is rather slow, and he will see a substantial hit when it comes to loading times, the Caviar greens are designed for storage, not high performance.
Then, there are better Mobos for the money and you have no real crossfire support.
Moreover, the GPU is just weak, you expect to play Crysis on a HD5750? A single GTX460 wold trump that, while dual GTX46s would spank its booty big time XD.
For a single HD5750 even 500W is enough, get a better quality one from Corsair or something.
Theres no need for 8GB of RAM unless he doing heavy video processing or CS5, your just wasting money here.
Finally, WHY are you spending $50 on fans, the 690 has 3 fans already, for the H50, get cheaper and better kazes. Also, having 3 LED fans in a case gets pretty annoying after a while.

955 Is an x4? He wants to play the latest games that comes out, X6 does the job.
The H50 is pretty good, otherwise you can get a Megahalem or a noctua D14, and it is currently out of stock ATM...Xigmatek fails, If your up for pc gaming why would you use the stock cooler, the HD is slow I know that, he can get an ssd+the hard drive also...
I've tried a GTX 260 with my hard drive, it doesn't lag at all unless it is defective, 2 Slots is enough for crossfire don't you think, why spend more? You could get a 5970 X4 and live with that for years even if you have 1 slot of the x16
The 5570 could handle crysis pretty well, the 460 I know would trump it also remember that it's 60$ more
600 Watt's it on the safe side actually, what if he adds another graphics card, more components, decides to overclock?
8 Gigs of ram is an excellent amount of ram for any game, why does it feel like your just making everything worse when it's pretty good?
You could go cheaper but I think of it this way, does the scythe have a 3 year warranty? Is it DustProof or WaterProof? Is it really that expensive? Some scythe fans are in the $20's range also, but if they broke you have to spend another 20 depending on how many fans you have, the leds can't bother you unless you have your case in your face the whole time, My leds don't even bother me one bit

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 06:31:31 PM

Reply to halodude23

WR2 wrote :

srsly? Only HD 5750 for 1920x1200 gaming? and $126 for CPU cooling?
For the same prices as the 5750 and your CPU cooling scheme he could get a HD 5850 video card.

I was gonna get the Noctua D14 but it's out of stock ATM????

Reply to halodude23

Heres benches/articles for what I'm talking about:

X6: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674 [...] reviewed/9
Xigmatek: http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 333&page=4
PCIe x4 scaling: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674 [...] reviewed/9
HD5750: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] CS/10.html
8GB RAM: http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 264-6.html

Finally, the Scythe has over twice the CFM (airflow): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_feet_per_minute

Message edited by Timop on 08-18-2010 at 06:38:33 PM

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

Heres benches/articles for what I'm talking about:

X6: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674 [...] reviewed/9
Xigmatek: http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 333&page=4
PCIe x4 scaling: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674 [...] reviewed/9
HD5750: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] CS/10.html
8GB RAM: http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 264-6.html

Finally, the Scythe has over twice the CFM (airflow): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_feet_per_minute

Eh, where's the 8 GB ? The results are always different, they vary from each persons specs, so I wouldn't worry about that chart

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 06:55:36 PM

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

Eh, where's the 8 GB ?

It shows the difference between 3GB and 12GB is only~2%, so obviously the difference between 4GB and 8GB should be even less than that.

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

It shows the difference between 3GB and 12GB is only~2%, so obviously the difference between 4GB and 8GB should be even less than that.

I use a lot of programs, and it requires more than 4 GB, while at it I play my Games, mines usage spikes up to 70% usually....

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 06:58:03 PM

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

I use a lot of programs, and it requires more than 4 GB, while at it I play my Games, mines usage spikes up to 70% usually....

Like?
Obviously you can load all 8GB, or even 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB if you have the right software that utilizes it. I'm just saying for gaming and light programming/audio, (what the OP does) 4GB is plenty.

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

Like?
Obviously you can load all 8GB, or even 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB if you have the right software that utilizes it. I'm just saying for gaming and light programming/audio, (what the OP does) 4GB is plenty.

I usually play Free FPS Games LOL, and wait here till a new game pops up torrents and play... I just finished Singularity, Yes I understand what you mean he want's it
"Powerful"
Can play the latest games
Fast
Quiet
Not a thermo-nuclear heat generator
Uses standard (available at most online places) components
Not interested in water cooling or overclocking in particular

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 07:06:25 PM

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

I usually play Free FPS Games LOL, and wait here till a new game pops up torrents and play... I just finished Singularity, Yes I understand what you mean he want's it
"Powerful"
Can play the latest games
Fast
Quiet
Not a thermo-nuclear heat generator
Uses standard (available at most online places) components
Not interested in water cooling or overclocking in particular

Like how the HD5750 is the total opposite of "powerful"
He does NOT need 8GB of RAM, you can say all you want, but he would be MUCH better off spending the money on a GPU and if he feels like he really wants 8GB add another 4GB down the road.

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

Like how the HD5750 is the total opposite of "powerful"
He does NOT need 8GB of RAM, you can say all you want, but he would be MUCH better off spending the money on a GPU and if he feels like he really wants 8GB add another 4GB down the road.

Alright then, let's go with 4 Gb, it doesn't really matter to me, we can go with a better gpu, it doesn't matter, ^_^

Reply to halodude23

Timop wrote :

Like how the HD5750 is the total opposite of "powerful"
He does NOT need 8GB of RAM, you can say all you want, but he would be MUCH better off spending the money on a GPU and if he feels like he really wants 8GB add another 4GB down the road.

Should he add this, for a faster boot time and a faster application loading time...? What do you think? he said around 1200, but it will be around 1,250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820226151

Reply to halodude23

halodude23 wrote :

Alright then, let's go with 4 Gb, it doesn't really matter to me, we can go with a better gpu, it doesn't matter, ^_^

I think were getting way ahead of ourselves here, Who know what he actually wants, maybe he could get both. :lol:

On the SSD, nice choice, depends on what He can take though. However, Id get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Slightly cheaper after MIR for essentially the same drive.

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

I think were getting way ahead of ourselves here, Who know what he actually wants, maybe he could get both. :lol:

On the SSD, nice choice, depends on what He can take though. However, Id get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Slightly cheaper after MIR for essentially the same drive.

LOL mushkins IOPS is 40,000 faster, just let him choose, I put the extra link if he wanted it

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by halodude23 on 08-18-2010 at 07:45:14 PM

Reply to halodude23

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

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http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3995/bl11.gif

Reply to Mousemonkey

halodude23 wrote :

LOL mushkins IOPS is 40,000 faster, just let him choose, I put the extra link if he wanted it

Both uses the SF-1222 controller IIRC, so its just the NAND that's different.

Note "up to"; it could be comparing peak IOPS to sustained IOPS.

Message quoted 2 times

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

Both uses the SF-1222 controller IIRC, so its just the NAND that's different.

Note "up to"; it could be comparing peak IOPS to sustained IOPS.

eh, i'll just take yours it's 30$$ less even though the Iops are pretty different

Reply to halodude23

Timop wrote :

Both uses the SF-1222 controller IIRC, so its just the NAND that's different.

Note "up to"; it could be comparing peak IOPS to sustained IOPS.

Do you think the Noctua D14 fits inside the CoolerMaster case I showed?

Reply to halodude23

Thanks for all the suggestions. Didn't mean to spark a fight
I'm not stuck on $1200 but would like to stay in that ball park.

Can someone explain the different cpu memory configurations? Doesn't some require 3 dimms while others in pairs?

Also, with the SSD's, I assume the 60G will really only handle the OS and everything else on HD so will games even benefit from it?

Thanks,
Rut

Message quoted 2 times

Reply to rutledj

rutledj wrote :

Thanks for all the suggestions. Didn't mean to spark a fight
I'm not stuck on $1200 but would like to stay in that ball park.

Can someone explain the different cpu memory configurations? Doesn't some require 3 dimms while others in pairs?

Also, with the SSD's, I assume the 60G will really only handle the OS and everything else on HD so will games even benefit from it?

Thanks,
Rut

For desktops, only the LGA1366 Core i7s (i7 9XX) support tri-channel, meaning that you could put 3 sticks of RAM odor higher bandwidth, however, like dual channel boards, its fully compatible with dual and single channel.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Timop

rutledj wrote :

Thanks for all the suggestions. Didn't mean to spark a fight
I'm not stuck on $1200 but would like to stay in that ball park.

Can someone explain the different cpu memory configurations? Doesn't some require 3 dimms while others in pairs?

Also, with the SSD's, I assume the 60G will really only handle the OS and everything else on HD so will games even benefit from it?

Thanks,
Rut

Well Triple Channel and above is faster for sure, you can combine the SSD with the hard drive and make it a Raid Configuration for performance there's tutorials all around this site or the web, it will affect the boot time of the operating system, loading of files, importing exporting of files e.t.c the loading....I would say it affects the performance of pretty much everything

Message edited by halodude23 on 08-19-2010 at 04:21:28 AM

Reply to halodude23

Timop wrote :

For desktops, only the LGA1366 Core i7s (i7 9XX) support tri-channel, meaning that you could put 3 sticks of RAM odor higher bandwidth, however, like dual channel boards, its fully compatible with dual and single channel.

I was about to say that, but too late lol busy playing my clan wars.....

Reply to halodude23

Whoops, apparently I missed it.
60G is enough for the OS plus 3-5 games.

Win 7 uses 15GB unoptimized and you can bring that even lower,after formatting, you'll have at least 40GB left over for programs and games.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Timop

Timop wrote :

Whoops, apparently I missed it.
60G is enough for the OS plus 3-5 games.

Win 7 uses 15GB unoptimized and you can bring that even lower,after formatting, you'll have at least 40GB left over for programs and games.

You won't really need to install win 7 on the SSD if you don't want to

Reply to halodude23

It's ideal to install the OS and the most frequently used programs on an SSD.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to coldsleep

coldsleep wrote :

It's ideal to install the OS and the most frequently used programs on an SSD.

True, solely depends on his decision

Reply to halodude23

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