Student Gaming/audio Rig

[songoku619]

Hi, I'm a student whose working part time n well, don't really have that much cash (weekend jobz suck )
Anyway, I thought i'd build up a PC for audio compilations (Mostly recorded vocals not too many synths etc.) and for a lil bit of gaming (I'm not entirely hardcore) and WONT be overclocking. Also I'm aiming for the PC to be as silent as possible for my budget.

Anyway so far here's what I've picked up with the last penny...

Chassis: Antec Sonata Proto ('Designed to be quiet')
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
Motherboard: MSI P67A-C43
RAM: Corsair Value Select 4GB DDR3 1333MHz x2 (Audio Production)
Gfx: Sapphire HD5750 Game Edition (1Gb)
Hdd: Seagate Barracuda Sata 6/G 500Gb 7200Rpm 16mb
PSU: Coolermaster eXtreme Power Plus 650w

I've already got an audiophile 2496 soundcard and a 1Tb external for storage

So anyway...Any suggestions/replacements..? More Bang4Buck n a quieter solution perhaps? And I just wanted to make sure that everything works together Lol. it'd be a bummer if I blew something on my first try

Please don't quote Ferrari's etc I don't want a spec list of the latest uptodate hardcore gaming pc (Unless you'd like to sponsor ? )

Thanks

 

[striker410]

Hi there, welcome to the forums.

Interesting needs! I think we can make you something easily.
-The first thing is you need to drop to an i5-2400 if you don't plan on overclocking. It's the same CPU really.
-Next thing is go with a Z68 board. If you ever get into video production, you will be glad you did.
-Get some better ram. 1600MHz ram is very cheap nowadays, in some cases even cheaper than 1333MHz.
Get a GPU with a little more oopmh. I know you don't want to game, but let's at least get your game face on for BF3!
-I would get a better/cheaper power supply. Antec and Corsair are what you need to look at. Your choice depends on what GPU you get.

And that's my thoughts! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[jmsellars1]

I agree that the i5-2500k is not needed, i'd for for the i5-2400 since youre not overclocking. Also i wouldn't bother with P67, i'd go for H61/H67 or Z68 for the same reason. For the graphics i would suggest a minimum of HD 5770, preferably GTX 460 1GB (fermi) or HD 6850. Also agree on getting a cheaper PSU, 500W will be more than enough power and Antec, Corsair and XFX are good brands to look for. (Cooler Master will do the job too.) Lastly, i do some audio recording myself and know that RAM and a faster HDD can help things along so if you have enough money left over i would consider getting a faster HDD and/or 8GB of RAM. (Not a necessity but would help. For example, because i don't do a massive amount of it, i do it on that same HDD with 4GB of similar RAM)

 

[songoku619]

Thanks alot for your advice striker

1. Unfortunately I'm living in South Africa and trying to get everything from a single supplier to reduce costs (Shipping)..And They don't seem to stock the Z68 boards..

2. As far as the Ram is concerned I've read elsewhere that the difference between the 1333MHz and 1600MHz is negligible when they're stock. Is this true?

3. I only have an LCD which supports upto 1366x768 Res. I've also read elsewhere that it would be a bit of an overkill to get anything higher than an HD5770 at that resolution for mediocre gaming.

4. Unfortunately the Antec's and Corsair's here are slightly more expensive than the coolermaster at 650W..However I could acquire a Corsair at 600W for less...Would that be worth it?

Thanks :>

 

[jmsellars1]

1. Try H61 or H67.
2. Small difference but usually the same price.
3. One of the cards i suggested would be great, the HD 5770 will max anything now but the GTX 460 or HD 6850 will last a bit longer.
4. A 500W Corsair would be more than enough, so yeah a 600W would be fine, even a bit overkill.

 

[striker410]

Ahh, I see. Can you get an H67 board?

Yes, it doesn't make much difference. If you were in the US and selection was larger, I would say 1600 but 1333 is fine.

I see. I still think a 6850 would prove worthwhile, but it all depends on price.
Really if only mediocre gaming you could get away with a 5670.

And yes, go for the 600w. A 500w would also work if it's cheaper.

EDIT: JM beat me to it haha. We are in sync!

 

[songoku619]

Alright I've got a 600W Corsair with a larger fan which will prove to be quieter than the Coolermaster..although its the same price...

Secondly, there's an i5 2400 and an i5 2400s..price is very similar..what to do?

Motherboard: Could I still use the "Turbo Boost" feature (Just for fun ) on H67
And I've been told to get ASUS or MSI if I can, there are a couple "intel" boards at cheaper prices. Should I get on instead?

 

[striker410]

You want the normal.

And yes, you can use turbo boost.

Correct. Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, and ASRock are all preferable. Intel or Biostar if none are available.

 

[songoku619]

Powercolor HD5750 1GB

It's got some hectic looking thing on it:

http://www.ikonicit.co.za/graphics-cards/ati/hd5000-series/powercolor-hd5750-1gb.html

Will that make it quieter? lol and the 5770 is a no go its a bit too much more than this..

How can I ensure less noise overall..I've already done a bit with the chassis and this gfx card (Hopefully)

As for the motherboard the catalogue doesn't really have anything that looks worth the price of this one :/ it's all intels and they look slightly crappy (just eye candy really)

Any other ideas?

 

[songoku619]

Intel H67GD GardenDale

http://www.ikonicit.co.za/motherboards/intel/lga1155/intel-h67gd-gardendale-retail-b3-revision.html

Will that do?

 

[striker410]

Well that graphics card will certainly be quiet. however since you are in South Africa I am worried about it overheating. If you think they sound like jet engines, they don't. They will stay very quiet. Here's what I would suggest: http://www.ikonicit.co.za/graphics-cards/ati/hd5000-series/sapphire-hd5750-vapox-x-game-edition.html A very good card, runs very cold.

The real noise canceler is going to be the case. If we can get a silent case, you can grab anything you want and throw it in there.

And I suppose Intel will do.

 

[striker410]

Intel H67GD GardenDale

http://www.ikonicit.co.za/motherboards/intel/lga1155/intel-h67gd-gardendale-retail-b3-revision.html

Will that do?

Yup! A well featured board.

 

[jmsellars1]

EDIT: JM beat me to it haha. We are in sync!

Looks like it D:

Anyway, i think most cards will be quiet enough so long as you don't turn the fans up. Most of the noise from a noisy system usually comes from 1 noisy fan and at least with GPU fans you can turn them down.

 

[striker410]

Looks like it D:

Anyway, i think most cards will be quiet enough so long as you don't turn the fans up. Most of the noise from a noisy system usually comes from 1 noisy fan and at least with GPU fans you can turn them down.

Wow, this is getting kinda spooky 0.o! lol.

 

[songoku619]

Lol it does get pretty hot here but pretty cold aswell..im frozen to my keyboard atm xD

Alright so thats sorted..Now. I have:
8Gb's of 1333MHz RAM (2x4Gb)
i5-2400
1x500Gb SATA 6/G Hdd
HD5750
600W Corsair
Intel H67 Gardendale

I heard jmsellars say something about faster RAM/Hdd
Thanks to you geniuses I've saved quite alot so now I'm wondering where to go from here. I was actually thinking of keeping One Hdd for OS and One for app installs+a lil temporary storage..Should I 320x2 instead :? or same at more cache?
-lost-

 

[songoku619]

500gb 16mb cache
http://www.ikonicit.co.za/drives-and-storage/internal-hard-drives/desktop/seagate-barracuda-7200-st3500413as-500gb-barracuda-sata-6g.html

vs

640Gb - 64mb cache
http://www.ikonicit.co.za/drives-and-storage/internal-hard-drives/desktop/western-digital-caviar-black-wd6402aaex-640gb.html

Which..(Sorry i know im being a pain in 2 asses but ur here anyway..might aswell just stick it in all the way )

 

[striker410]

Cache does not really matter. Do they have the Spinpoint F3 over there?

 

[songoku619]

Not at this specific store no...and I'm trying to get everything from 1 store...I'm sure I could nit pick and get x from this store and y from this store but shipping gets expensive over 3/4 companies and I'd rather spend it on something worthwhile. Plus getting everything from one store seems neater :>

As far as using 1 HD for OS and 1 for app's will this add to speed anyhow?
And I've ordered 2 sticks of:
http://www.ikonicit.co.za/memory-en/ddr3/corsair-cmv4gx3m1a1333c9-value-select-4gb-ddr3-1333mhz.html

Just making sure it'll work >?

 

[striker410]

No, it should not affect speed. This is a pretty good drive: http://www.ikonicit.co.za/drives-and-storage/internal-hard-drives/desktop/seagate-barracuda-7200-st31000524as-1tb.html It's got all the space you could need. The 500GB version works as well.

Ram is good.

 

[songoku619]

Ah lovely. Placed my order Thanks a whole bunch guys You've just saved me a whole lot of stupid decisions...dunno what I'd do without you (if I could give my left nut I would )

God Bless both of yeh

 

[striker410]

Lol, I don't want your left nut... But I will take best answer!

 

[songoku619]

Well I can find my left nut..U sure mate? 1 of a kind jj..but can't find the Best answer button where's it.

 

[striker410]

It's like, in the bottom right of every post I think.

 

[jmsellars1]

I'll take your left nut

P.S. The thing about the HDD's and RAM was that more RAM and a faster hard drive will help in audio situations, 7200rpm and 4GB will be enough i'm just saying that a particularly fast 7200 rpm or 10,000rpm and 8GB will be faster.

 

[songoku619]

Alright I've got my system and about to build it up....I've got a question..Running everything here completely stock...Can i keep the antec case fan permanently set to low? Will i ever overheat if i keep stuff stock? Don't want to push the fans too hard (NOISE issues). Also can I keep the graphics card fan running as slow as possible if I run everything completely stock...

Thanks :>