Making my computer need advice

[1Raven50]

Starting to put together my own system and would like advice on cost and compatabilety of items.

Please note all prices are $Aus and do not include delivery or any discounts

I have looked at quite a few cases and like the Antec 300 @ $65
[strike]The power supply I like is Shaw Gaming Viper 1500 @$69[/strike]
80 plus 650w PSU @$80
Mobo I like is GA-X58A-UD3R @$252
ALSO looking at
Asus M4A89TD-PRO-USB3 AMD Mainboard @$204
Processor is hard because I only know Intel have no idea
how to compare the AMD ones so I chose the intel i7930 @329
ALSO looking at
AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1090T @$345
and
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 @$204
Memory I chose Patriot DDR 2000 6GB @236

Thats about the limit of my budget at the moment so hard disks burner and Video card would have to be my existing.

Thank you for your comments in advance

 

[maple_nub]

Graphics: ATI Radeon 5770/5850/5870
CPU: Intel i7 930/920
HDD: SAMSUNG 500GB Sata
Burner: Some cheap DVD burner

Everything is supported with the stuff u have now

 

[1Raven50]

current computer
Mobo GA-81915MD-GV Award Bios. Pentimum4 dual core Processor 3.00Ghz Socket 775
2GB DDR2 memory. GeForce 8500GT 512 MB graphics card Belkin 802.11g wireless internet
Hard disk Seagate SATA 320GB and Western Digital SATA 150 GB Pioneer CDROM
Display is either SyncMaster 920N or HannsG JG191D

 

[wielander]

I have looked at quite a few cases and like the Antec 300 @ $65

The Antec 300 is a very good case. It's well made, sturdy, and cools well.

The power supply I like is Shaw Gaming Viper 1500 @$69

I had never heard of this company, and don't like what I'm reading now about their power supplies. I would go with a higher quality (at least something 80 plus certified) and, if necessary, lower output power supply. It's hard to say what you will need without knowing what video card(s) you plan to use.

Mobo I like is GA-X58A-UD3R @$252
Processor is hard because I only know Intel have no idea
how to compare the AMD ones so I chose the intel i7930 @329

These two are compatible. The i7-930 has been a good value as the entry level LGA1366 processor. In the states they just cut the price of the i7-950 by a lot, nearly in half. I don't know whether they've followed suit yet where you are. Either way, you may be able to get an i7-950 soon for only ~5% more than the i7-930. The UD3R is a very good value considering all of the features it has; it's a great motherboard for SLI.

Memory I chose Patriot DDR 2000 6GB @236

If you want to do a serious memory overclock, going with memory rated for DDR3 2000 is nice insurance. Otherwise, you might be able to save money on lower speed memory that is rated for lower latencies. DDR3 2000 CL9 is similar in performance to 1600 CL7 or 1333 CL5. Also lower voltage ram is also a step better; I'm assuming this kit is 1.65v. If you aren't going to overclock, you will want to run your memory at 1.5v. Otherwise make sure your DRAM voltage is no more than 0.4V higher than your VTT/QPI voltage.

 

[1Raven50]

Nice to save money ...so 1600 is just as good?
1600 Kingston is $159 for 6GB

 

[1Raven50]

I will later on (as finances permit) be purchasing one or two of the best video cards I can afford

 

[1Raven50]

Looked at other power supplies...what does the 80+ mean?

Seasonic S12D 80plus Silver 750.....$175
AeroCool 80Plus Carbon Fiber Ultimate Gaming V12-600....$135
A-Power M80P 80plus Certified 750....$115

 

[wielander]

Nice to save money ...so 1600 is just as good?
1600 Kingston is $159 for 6GB

What I was getting at was that the CAS latency is just as important as the frequency for memory performance. Any set of memory can be run at a range of frequencies and latencies; you want the frequency to be as high as possible and the latency to be as low as possible.

It's about equally difficult for a set of memory to handle DDR3 2000 at CL9 (CAS Latency 9-X-X-X), DDR3 1600 CL7 (CAS Latency 7-X-X-X), and DDR3 1333 CL5/6. Some very good sets of memory can handle each of those settings. Buying DDR3 2000 CL9 guarantees that your memory can reach that frequency if you want to overclock it that high, but a good set of DDR3 1600 CL7 likely can also reach that frequency at those *higher* latencies.

Without overclocking your memory will only run at DDR3 1333. Overclocking DDR3 really high (above 1600) on an i7 doesn't net you much of a performance improvement at all and can be stressful on the system (due to the higher memory voltages that are usually necessary). If you aren't set on a really high memory overclock, DDR3 1600 CL7 is usually a better value than DDR3 2000 CL9.

 

[wielander]

Looked at other power supplies...what does the 80+ mean?

Seasonic S12D 80plus Silver 750.....$175
AeroCool 80Plus Carbon Fiber Ultimate Gaming V12-600....$135
A-Power M80P 80plus Certified 750....$115

The 80 Plus program certifies the efficiency of power supplies:

http://80plus.org/

80 Plus certified power supplies must be at least 80% efficient under loads of between 20 and 80% of their power rating (83% at a 50% load).

80 Plus Bronze power supplies must be at least 83% efficient at a load between 20-80% (85% at a 50% load).

80 Plus Silver and Gold power supplies are even better yet.

Ultimately, to obtain these higher efficiency ratings, certified power supplies must be better made. Certified power supplies will also naturally save you money on your power bills.

Seasonic, Corsair, and XFX are top tier brands.

 

[wielander]

You can look up power supply ratings here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/278567-28-ranked-list-guide#t2081246

Scroll down to "The 12V amp ranges" and click on the link under the wattage range of the power supply of which you want to see the rating.

 

[1Raven50]

Without overclocking your memory will only run at DDR3 1333. Overclocking DDR3 really high (above 1600) on an i7 doesn't net you much of a performance improvement at all and can be stressful on the system (due to the higher memory voltages that are usually necessary). If you aren't set on a really high memory overclock, DDR3 1600 CL7 is usually a better value than DDR3 2000 CL9.[/quotemsg]

Well you see you learn something every day. I don't think I have the know how to start over clocking thats why I want to try and get the best and fastest I can for my money.
Thank you your posts are enlightening.

 

[sp12]

It's not really overclocking. It's XMP. Jedec has only approved ram up to 1333 speeds, but if your board supports faster ram and your mobo supports faster ram, then it will work. You'll probably have to enable XMP in the bios, but that's it.

I will agree DDR3 past 1600 is pretty pointless. Lower voltage ram will help your CPU OC a bit however.

 

[1Raven50]

The 80 Plus program certifies the efficiency of power supplies:

http://80plus.org/

80 Plus certified power supplies must be at least 80% efficient under loads of between 20 and 80% of their power rating (83% at a 50% load).

Easy to understand the terminology when its explained...thank you

 

[wielander]

It's not really overclocking. It's XMP. Jedec has only approved ram up to 1333 speeds, but if your board supports faster ram and your mobo supports faster ram, then it will work. You'll probably have to enable XMP in the bios, but that's it.

I will agree DDR3 past 1600 is pretty pointless. Lower voltage ram will help your CPU OC a bit however.

Oh, yeah, you're right. It gets difficult to explain, though.

If your motherboard supports DDR3 1600 (without overclocking, some will list higher memory speeds for overclocking only) and your memory is DDR3 1600 and supports XMP, your memory should run at DDR3 1600 without you having to overclock it. The memory is overclocked automatically based on its XMP specifications.