New build..Upgrading from a P4

[s2m]

Hello there guys,

So i'll be finally moving on from my p4 desktop from 2002. Yeah its been a while. I'll in the process of attempting to build my first PC, and naturally i'm gonna need some help/advice. It kinda driving me a little crazy, i've reading/watching reviews, checking prices, and haven't gotten that far. All lot's changed since '02 thats for sure. Below is what i got so far, and i know that SB release is coming out soon, so it through my i5-760 off a bit once i found out.

Case: Antec 300
I think this case will fit everything in there fine?

Powersupply: Antec TP-750 Truepower New 750W Continuous Power Supply
I'm kinda worried about cable management when it comes to the powersupply. Also, is there a difference with SATA 3/2/1 connections regarding Power Supplies?

GPU: Sapphire 6850

That's all i got.

CPU: i5-760

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3
My needs would be potential crossfire in the future, SATA3 for HDD, USB 3.0

Ram: 4g ddr3 of something
HDD: just something that is 750gb- 1TB 6gbs Sata3

I would like suggestions on the build especially regarding the current i5-760 build i had in mind and any potential changes i should make or lookout for with the upcoming SB release.

Budget is 800-1000, with tax cdn$.

Thanks, in advance for the replies.

 

[s2m]

+BUMP!

mobo and ram selection is driving me nuts now..

 

[boiler1990]

I'll try to go in order.

Case: Great case. It's got good weight, it's easy to use, and is cheap. In the US, the 300 Illusion is only $10 more and adds two lighted fans (which are normally $20+).

PSU: You could easily use the Antec EA650W. I'm powering the system in my signature with it, and it hasn't had any trouble.

CPU: The i5-760 is a good choice. I don't see the price dropping for a while until the SB 1155 CPUs pick up speed and become mainstream, and it will still perform very well.

Motherboard: The ASUS P7P55D-E LX is a great board for the i5-760, and has USB 3.0/SATA III. I prefer ASUS over Gigabyte, but to each his own.

RAM: This RAM should do absolutely fine in your system (US site; go to newegg.ca for Candian) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231274

Storage: Don't bother with SATA III hard drives. It's not worth the $20-$40 price increase, because the platters can only move data so quickly. It is really only beneficial for SSDs, since they can read much much faster.
I'd recommend a Samsung F3 1TB hard drive. You could probably afford a 64GB SSD for your OS too, and it makes a world of a difference.

 

[s2m]

Thanks, I've taken a couple of your suggestions in. I hope the whole SSD for OS thing is not to complicated because this is my first build.

CPU: i5-760 $210 (I will most likely wait for the i5-2300 or i5-2500, but this is the build i have so far) any suggestions? im price sensitive though.

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $150
*With SB release i would probably for the lowest priced 1155 mobo for i5, probably an MSI one? any suggestions?

HDD:Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AARS 640GB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $60

SSD: Corsair Nova CSSD-V32GB2-BRKT 2.5" 32GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $80

PS: Antec TP-750 Truepower New 750W Continuous Power Supply $90

GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6850 $180

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL $45

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70


Total cost 885 cdn without tax.

Any comments?

 

[boiler1990]

Are you running 32 or 64 bit Windows? 64-bit W7 won't fit on a 32GB SSD; you need at least a 64GB.

Also, get a faster HDD. Since all of your programs are stored on the HDD, you'll be accessing that data a lot, and the Caviar Green is really the same as a laptop hard drive. It will take longer for things to load, and it defeats the purpose of the SSD.

Using a SSD OS drive is really simple. Just make sure you install to the SSD, and then you'll have to recreate all of the directories (Documents, Downloads, etc) on your spare hard drive. Drivers for the GPU and other hardware should go on the SSD.

 

[s2m]

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core

Motherboardon't know what to choose? any suggestions and why?
MSI P67A-C45 ATX Intel Motherboard $145
MSI P67A-GD55 $160
ASUS P8P67 Intel Motherboard $160

ASrock p67 extreme 4 $160 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157217


HDD:SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $75
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185


PS: Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ... $100
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021

GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6850 $180

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL $45
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231274

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70

I don't think im going to use SSD now.in the Future maybe. Its To much money. I still have to purchase win7, led monitor, keyboard/mouse. But good call on the HDD.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's a case that gives you more room to work with, and has great cooling.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233 $59.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

 

[s2m]

Here's a case that gives you more room to work with, and has great cooling.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233 $59.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Thanks, but i think i'll stick with the Antec 300 illusion. Apparently from what i heard it has enough space, and it also has additional fans and removable dust filter.

 

[s2m]

I'm almost done with an i5-760 [phys-x] set-up check it out and maybe you'll get some ideas:


Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield (2.8GHz)
EVGA P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
8GB kit (2x4GB) CORSAIR Vengeance DDR3 1600
BFG Technologies BFG GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 (physX)
EVGA 01G-P3-1380-KR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) SSC+ 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
OCZ Technology 60 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM
SAMSUNG BLU-RAY COMBO 8X BLACK BD ROM/DVD WRITER
COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 - 3 x 120mm fans
3.5in card reader / NZXT Sentry-2 5.25in Touch Screen fan controller
Rosewill RV2-600 600-Watt SL

Thanks, but i was hoping you had a SandyBridge build. I pretty much know what Video Card i will get. The things i'm concerned with is cpu and motherboard (mainly). I might go with the MSI p67-gd55 with the i5-2500k. Also would that PS do crossfire if i went with it in the future? I know 700+ would be ideal.

 

[boiler1990]

Thanks, but i was hoping you had a SandyBridge build. I pretty much know what Video Card i will get. The things i'm concerned with is cpu and motherboard (mainly). I might go with the MSI p67-gd55 with the i5-2500k. Also would that PS do crossfire if i went with it in the future? I know 700+ would be ideal.

I would say the Asus Sabertooth, but that hasn't come out yet

I just assembled a potential parts list for a friend, and was surprised at how inexpensive the SB chips were. The i5-2400 is faster than the i5-760 and $15 less.

You should stick with the Antec Earthwatts 650/750 or True Power 650/750 for Crossfire. The Earthwatts 650 would be enough for CF, but not overclocking.

 

[s2m]

the MSI GD55 seems like the least costly. Asus sabertooth woudl be way to expensive.

 

[boiler1990]

the MSI GD55 seems like the least costly. Asus sabertooth woudl be way to expensive.

I know, but it would be awesome.

Tom's just did a review of 9 1155 boards in the $150-200 range, and it sounds like they like the board. I didn't look through to the benchmarks (overclocking tests, I believe), so it would be worth your while to have a look.

 

[s2m]

Thanks, i took a look. I'm new to this so i wouldn't even know where to begin with overclocking. I just want to be able to get through BIOS with the correct settings, since it will be my first build. BIOS worries me not gonna lie.

The report mentioned that MSI did will with their GD65 in everything, im translating that i could expect the same performance with the MSI P67A-GD55. And the new bios interface looks cool, maybe it will be more easier for me to use. Thats also something i was looking for since its one my concerns.

 

[boiler1990]

I couldn't remember if you were looking at the 55 or 65

If you're not worried about OCing, then the GD55 should work fine (for most instances, as long as the mobo works and has the ports you need, it will work for what you need). Though BIOSes are a bit confusing, if you know what you're trying to tweak, you should be able to find it in the BIOS.