Critique My New Build - Advice Appreciated

[petedw]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you would be kind enough to provide some feedback/advise on my new build. Budget isn't great and i plan on running multiple apps most of the time, but plan to game in the future.

This is what i'm thinking...

Case - Antec 300 Three Hundred
Power - OCZ Technology 550W Fatal1ty Series PSU OR Antec Earthwatts 430W ATX 12V 80Plus
Mobo - Asus M5A97 PRO AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 ATX OR Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX ??
CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Cache, HT 3600MHz, 125W, Retail + Deus Ex 3 (comes with free game....not the reason for choosing the cpu though!) OR maybe the 965 (also comes with the free game)??
Cooler - XIGMATEK Dark Knight OR Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 XMP
SSD - Crucial 128GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive 128GB
HD - Western Digital 1TB Caviar Blue 3.5" SATA-600 32MB 7200RPM OR 1TB Western Digital WD10EARX Caviar Green, SATA 6Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, 8ms ???
DVD-RW - LiteOn 24x DVD-RW Internal Black SATA Retail Box OR LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM ??
GPU - 1GB MSI GT 430 OC, 40nm, 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 730MHz, Shader 1460MHz, 96 Cores, DL DVI/ HDMI/ D-Sub OR Sapphire HD5570 1GB DDR3 HDMI Graphics Card
Monitors - 2 x ViewSonic VX2239WM 22" 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD TFT with 2MS VGA DVI-D HDMI Monitors
OS - Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit


Please suggest modifications if you think you could come up with a better build for a similar price. Many thanks in advance.

Pete

 

[cgleckman]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you would be kind enough to provide some feedback/advise on my new build. Budget isn't great and i plan on running multiple apps most of the time, but plan to game in the future.

This is what i'm thinking...

Case - Antec 300 Three Hundred
Power - OCZ Technology 550W Fatal1ty Series PSU OR Antec Earthwatts 430W ATX 12V 80Plus
Mobo - Asus M5A97 PRO AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 ATX OR Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX ??
CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Cache, HT 3600MHz, 125W, Retail + Deus Ex 3 (comes with free game....not the reason for choosing the cpu though!) OR maybe the 965 (also comes with the free game)??
Cooler - XIGMATEK Dark Knight OR Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 XMP
SSD - Crucial 128GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive 128GB
HD - Western Digital 1TB Caviar Blue 3.5" SATA-600 32MB 7200RPM OR 1TB Western Digital WD10EARX Caviar Green, SATA 6Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, 8ms ???
DVD-RW - LiteOn 24x DVD-RW Internal Black SATA Retail Box OR LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM ??
GPU - 1GB MSI GT 430 OC, 40nm, 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 730MHz, Shader 1460MHz, 96 Cores, DL DVI/ HDMI/ D-Sub OR Sapphire HD5570 1GB DDR3 HDMI Graphics Card
Monitors - 2 x ViewSonic VX2239WM 22" 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD TFT with 2MS VGA DVI-D HDMI Monitors
OS - Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit


Please suggest modifications if you think you could come up with a better build for a similar price. Many thanks in advance.

Pete

Please follow http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

It really does help us help you

 

[petedw]

Please follow http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

It really does help us help you

Sorry mate...

Purchase date - ASAP
Budget - £800/$1,300 - Give or take a couple hundred (the lower the better)
Don't need keyboard and mouse
I'll be buying from the UK. dabs.com and scan.co.uk seem to be best for price at the moment
Parts Preference - Always favoured ASUS mobos
Overclocking - Yes
Monitor Res - 1920 x 1080
Ideally i'd liek the PC to be pretty quiet.

Hope this helps

 

[cgleckman]

What would be the primary purpose for the rig?

 

[petedw]

What would be the primary purpose for the rig?

Video Screen Captures (Camtasia) and editing/converting, Audio converting, Web Browsing, Web Design (not graphic designer), viewing movies (lots of web streaming)

Some gaming. Looking to game more in the future.

Also, probably won't matter but i do a lot of disc burning, so a reliable DVD-RW with a good life span would be ideal

 

[cgleckman]

Alright well then my question to you is, why go AMD? If you need a computer immediately, the i5 sandybridge easily out preforms the phenom II. If you have some time to wait and you like AMD you could wait for bulldozer.

Anyway here is what I would recommend for a build for youir price range:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $164.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

GPU:MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $244.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565&Tpk=560%20Ti%20OC&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=beczo300jqbs

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU:Antec EarthWatts Series EA-750 Green 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Continuous Power Supply $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051

Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240

DVD Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM $20.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Total pre-tax/shipping : ~$1075

 

[cgleckman]

Sorry forgot the ASUS mobo part (ive put it here and edited into my build above

ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $164.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

 

[petedw]

I was going with AMD purely because of the 4 cores and the price.

Anyway, after reading your recommendations and checking out pricing etc, plus feedback from others on another forum, i have the following...

Monitors: 2 x 22" Viewsonic VX2239WM Black DVI/ HDMI 1920x1080, 100,000:1, 300 cd/m², 2ms Speakers

Case: Antec 300

DVD-RW: Not important, but a decent 1

Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus, 4 Heat Pipes, with 120mm Quiet Fan LGA775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3

PSU: OCZ Technology 550W Fatal1ty Series PSU (will this be suitable if i add a GTX 560 Ti?)

HDD: Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 7200rpm SATA 3Gb/s 32MB OR 1TB Western Digital WD10EARX Caviar Green, SATA 6Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, 8ms, Quiet (They're a similar price, which would be better?)

RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.50V OR G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X for Intel Sandybridge Platforms DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz 8GB Kit (Again, a similar price. Does it matter?)

SSD: Crucial 64GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive (Do you think 64gb is enough (OS, programs etc)? I chose this over the 128gb to bring down the overall cost)


AND THEN THE DIFFICULT BIT...

Do i go AMD with the following...

Mobo: Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX @ £95
with
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz Black Edition Socket AM3 L2/L3 6MB @ £86

and still require a GPU? (the following was suggested...GTX 560 Ti @ £180)....So a Total cost of £361
(obviously this could be lower with a cheaper card that is the equivalent to Z68 onboard graphics)

OR

Do i go Intel with the following...

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz, GPU 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W OEM @ £160
with 1 of...
AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard, Socket 1155, PCI-Express 3.0, DDR3, USB 3.0, HDMI, 7.1 HD Audio, ASRock Instant Boot @ £120
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 3.0 (x16), Graphics On Board, ATX @ £146
ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX @ £135
Asus P8Z68-V PRO LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX (USB 3.0) @ £144
Asus P8Z68 M PRO, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe (x16), Graphics On Board, Micro ATX @ £111
Asus P8Z68-V, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), VGA On Board, ATX @ £126*****

and use onboard graphics for now?

****NOTE: The board with the stars next to it is on a bundle offer (today only). It includes that board, the i5 2500k and 8GB of the Corsair memory mentioned above for a saving of £20.


Please tell me which combination you favour. The sooner you can answer the better (due to the today only offer). Thanks guys, i really appreciate it!!!

 

[vakuma5000]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you would be kind enough to provide some feedback/advise on my new build. Budget isn't great and i plan on running multiple apps most of the time, but plan to game in the future.

This is what i'm thinking...

Case - Antec 300 Three Hundred
Power - OCZ Technology 550W Fatal1ty Series PSU OR Antec Earthwatts 430W ATX 12V 80Plus
Mobo - Asus M5A97 PRO AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 DDR3 ATX OR Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX ??
CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Cache, HT 3600MHz, 125W, Retail + Deus Ex 3 (comes with free game....not the reason for choosing the cpu though!) OR maybe the 965 (also comes with the free game)??
Cooler - XIGMATEK Dark Knight OR Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 XMP
SSD - Crucial 128GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive 128GB
HD - Western Digital 1TB Caviar Blue 3.5" SATA-600 32MB 7200RPM OR 1TB Western Digital WD10EARX Caviar Green, SATA 6Gb/s, IntelliPower, 64MB Cache, 8ms ???
DVD-RW - LiteOn 24x DVD-RW Internal Black SATA Retail Box OR LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM ??
GPU - 1GB MSI GT 430 OC, 40nm, 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 730MHz, Shader 1460MHz, 96 Cores, DL DVI/ HDMI/ D-Sub OR Sapphire HD5570 1GB DDR3 HDMI Graphics Card
Monitors - 2 x ViewSonic VX2239WM 22" 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD TFT with 2MS VGA DVI-D HDMI Monitors
OS - Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit


Please suggest modifications if you think you could come up with a better build for a similar price. Many thanks in advance.

Pete

where to start........ ok.. CPU= go for the 955 (it can be overclocked very easily to a 965 and its cheaper)
GFX = both of those cards are really pretty low-end... they will not be able to game very well... I'd suggest at least a gts450 or HD 5770 if you want decent gaming ability.
Mobo = go for the EVO.
Memory = Get Crucial 1333 mhz memory instead (without heat spreaders). Performance will be the same as 1600Mhz and you will save money. (any memeory speed above 1333mhz is basically a waste due to bottlenecks)
CPU cooler = use the stock unless u plan to significantly overclock, if you do... buy the Hyper 212 its way more bang for yer buck than the xigmatech
Everything else looks pretty good..... i'd suggest the antec PSU by the way.

 

[petedw]

Mobo: Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX @ £95
with
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz Black Edition Socket AM3 L2/L3 6MB @ £86

and still require a GPU? (the following was suggested...GTX 560 Ti @ £180)....So a Total cost of £361
(obviously this could be lower with a cheaper card that is the equivalent to Z68 onboard graphics)

OR

Do i go Intel with the following...

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz, GPU 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W OEM @ £160
with 1 of...
AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard, Socket 1155, PCI-Express 3.0, DDR3, USB 3.0, HDMI, 7.1 HD Audio, ASRock Instant Boot @ £120
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 3.0 (x16), Graphics On Board, ATX @ £146
ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX @ £135
Asus P8Z68-V PRO LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX (USB 3.0) @ £144
Asus P8Z68 M PRO, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe (x16), Graphics On Board, Micro ATX @ £111
Asus P8Z68-V, Intel Z68, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, RAID SATA, PCIe 2.0 (x16), VGA On Board, ATX @ £126

Still undecided with the above.

I’ve been told that a Phenom x4 is a waste of time, but that it may be worth considering a Phenom x6.

The phenom x6 is roughly £140

Plus

Mobo: Asus M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990FX SB950 DDR3 ATX @ £95

and still require a GPU (any suggestions?)


I have also been told that onboard graphics are crap for the overall performance of the pc and that I’m better off having a discrete GPU.

Do I go the AMD route and spend a little more on a GPU or go the Intel route and have to get a cheaper GPU?

What are your thoughts guys?

 

[petedw]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your input. I just thought i'd let you know what i ended up going for (i upped the budget a touch)...

Case: Antec 300

PSU: Thermaltake TR-700P TR2 700W ATX 12V V2.3 / EPS 12V 2.91 SLI/CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bonze PSU

Mobo: ASRock S1155 Intel Z68 Pro3-M DDR3 mATX

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz, GPU 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W OEM

Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

SSD : Crucial 64GB m4 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive

HDD : Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 7200rpm SATA 3Gb/s 32MB

RAM: Corsair Memory 8GB (2 x 4GB) Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 Low Profile

Burner: Lite On DVD Writer, IHAS124-19, SATA, Black, OEM

GPU: PNY GeForce GTX 560 Ti 850MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI OC1 Edition

Monitors: 2 x 22" Viewsonic VX2239WM Black DVI/ HDMI 1920x1080, 100,000:1, 300 cd/m², 2ms Speakers

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit