New Intel i5 build

[beoza]

How does this look for an entry level medium grade system? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/79i8 I'm thinking later about upgrading the video card to crossfire (and the new AMD 7xxx series), and PSU (to a modular design), the case isn't bad I just helped a friend build his with this case although it is a tad on the cramped side internally, memory I can add more later since it's dirt cheap. Case wise I'm thinking about this one http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1390&ID=1969. Keep in mind I dont do any sort of OC'ing, and I'm not into FPS games like BF3. I prefer Gigabyte boards, I have never had any problems with them, they have all worked right out of the box for me with very few issues like IDE placement which thankfully are a thing of the past.

 

[ddan49]

Are you going to do any gaming? Anyway, here's what I think:

Switch the CPU to an i5-2400
That's one heck of an expensive mobo for a nonoverclockable build. Get an H61.
I'd get 8GB of memory... 2x4GB. Best for gaming.
You can find 1TB HDDs (7200rpm) for the same price
Are you gaming? If so, then this GPU is terrible. Switch to a 7850 ideally (MSI Twin Frozr II OC), or one of these (in ascending order):
6850 < 6870 < GTX 560 Ti < 7850
Whatever you get, try getting either an MSI Twin Frozr II OC or a Hawk (for the 6850/6870).
Case: Either a HAF 912 or an Antec Three Hundred
PSU: Overkill. Get a 500W at the most. 430W would last you fine.
Mouse and keyboard are pricey, but if you want it...

 

[Silvune]

H61 motherboards don't support multiple graphics cards...

I used to have the Thermaltake V9. Terrible case, I would not suggest it to anyone.
Cooler Master CM 690 II (Rosewill Blackhawk, Enermax Fulmo, etc) would be a high quality, well thought out alternative that shares a lot of design elements.

XFX Pro 650W Core Edition is the same internally as the Corsair TX650 V2, but comes with four PCIe connectors, which might be useful if you are going to be crossfiring GPUs which need two PCIe connectors each.

 

[beoza]

I dont do any over clocking because I really wouldnt know where to begin. I havent over clocked anything since my old P166, and that just involved changing jumpers on the board to make it run as a P200. 8Gb ram sure I could upgrade that since it's so cheap It would only cost like an extra $30 give or take.

HD well 1TB would be nice, I would end up just wasting all that extra space, I dont have a hole lot of software right now. Sold my old system a few years ago cause I needed the money.

Define gaming, I don't do any of the hardcore gaming like BF3 and other FPS games, I play MMORPG's, not into Skyrim either. I have looked at the 7850 but until there's a price drop I can stick with the lower end Radeon 7 series or higher end 6 series. I have not been a fan of nVidia since my crappy 8600gt.

Cases I looked at both of them and they don't fit my tastes, the Antec is too plain Jane, and the HAF912 while nice doesn't fit my idea of sleek. I actually like the looks of the Thermaltake V9 VM400M series, something along those lines would look nice to me. I like the HD cages to be turned 90degrees for easy install/removal of the drives. I'm open to other suggestions for a sleek looking case.

PSU I do plan on crossfire later so I'll need something with a bit more juice than a 430 or 500w, which is the reason behind the 650W choice. Modular is prefered but not required. Always better to have more power than you actually need, this gives you some wiggle room later. the 7750 requires a 500W for crossfire and th 7770 requires a 600W, which is what the 78xx series also requires.

Mouse and keyboard...well I dont have either and I like the looks of them. I could have picked the $160 keyboard logitech offered. I just wanted lighted keys and something that was geared towards gaming, standard keyboards work but it's nice to have the extra keys to bind stuff to.

Monitor I dont need I plan on hooking up to my 32" HDTV through HDMI, 1920 x 1080p is good enough resolution for me, hence the reasoning behind going crossfire later, some cards struggle with max visuals at that resolution. And yes I know the 6750 will definitely struggle here.

Motherboard has features I want, Z77 will allow me to upgrade to ivy bridge if I choose to go that route, which I currently see no need to do. It may be pricey but it does crossfire which the next cheapest from Gigabyte does not (I could have read the specs wrong on the other board).

 

[ddan49]

Overclocking now is a lot easier than manually changing something. It's all done through software.

8GB RAM... I'd suggest it. Prices are rising on RAM... you know that, right? It won't stay low forever. It's because of them making too much RAM and inflating the market a year or so ago.

What games do you play? Meaning, what's the most intensive game you play? WoW? Minecraft? ...Runescape? Anyway, if you're not doing anything too intensive (BF3, Crisis, Skyrim, etc.), then you don't need a 7850. I'd go with a 6850 or a 6870... MSI Hawk edition. 6870 would really be ideal, but it's like $170 I think. 6850 would be fine as well.

Wait... sleek looking case? I'm not sure what you're going with... are you going for a Fractal R3 look? (look it up in images). Or are you going with an NZXT Phantom look? (FYI, both of those are $115 and $125, in that order. I'm just asking about aesthetics). Try a Lian-Li case.

PSU: Yeah, okay, I get where you're coming from.

Mouse/keyboard: I'm on a K120 Logitech keyboard (it's $10) and a M510 mouse. The mouse is useful to me because of two extra programmable buttons. I don't need much more. I still do fairly well on games. However, if you're playing MMORPGs, you may want more buttons.

Monitor: Again, that's why I recommend at least a 6850.

Mobo: You'll only be able to upgrade to IB for a year. I'd suggest getting a cheap board now, because if you upgrade your CPU, you'd probably upgrade to something after IB (considering it's coming out... tomorrow), and no mobo produced now will be compatible with next year's CPU.

 

[beoza]

Prices always fluctuate but now that I have that handy pcpartspicker.com site I can keep better tabs on whens a good time to buy.

Sleek to me is something akin to a luxury sports car, nice clean lines, no gaunt angles, I don't need something that looks like a transformer. My old case was the original Thermaltake Armor, that thing was a heavy beast weighing in at 52lbs loaded (I weighed it). Ive looked at Lian-Li they do have some nice cases, just never dealt with them before so I'm looking for peoples exp with different cases.

IB I'm not really interested if the performance is on par with the current chips, which from what I have read there's really no point in upgrading to it. I'd need to see gaming benchmarks to decide.

Gaming, I played WoW, it's become extremely dumbed down since I started playing around patch 1.09, so I gave up on it late last year (playing on a POS HP 620 Laptop that gets 5+ fps in towns, 30 in the fields). Minecraft, not my cup 'o' tea, Runescape havent played that since 04. Basically something that will play Terra or Rift would be fine. so yah 6850 0r 6870 should be fine, even the lower end 7 series since that would save me a lil on the good ole light bill. I'll look at the 78xx cards once there's a decent price drop but that'll dependon on Nvidia releasing something to compete at that price point.

The ram, for crossfire yes I would need 8GB ram, so that's being changed. The cas rating I know very little about so I'm assuming CAS9 would be good.

Pretty much I'm looking for good middle of the road gaming computer, not bleeding edge, and not bottom of the barrel either.

 

[ddan49]

Lian-Li is VERY reliable. It's a GREAT case manufacturer. The reason most people don't buy them is because they're so expensive, though. Luxury sports car? How about the NZXT Phantom (I think the green trim version looks the best). It's like $125, though.

IB - Benchmarks should be released on HWbot within the day.

For your GPU, I'm sure you could get by with a 6870. 7850 or Nvidia equivalent is better (however, the Nvidia equivalent hasn't been released yet, has it). The 7850 was released to compete with the 570 I believe... so it did already have a cut price. I don't think its price will get lower.

CAS9 is fine

 

[beoza]

One can only hope on the 78xx series getting a price cut. The 77xx and 79xx just got price cuts after the Nvidia 680 got released, only time will tell. But I'm not holding my breath.

I'll check out the NZXT Phantom, I think that was reviewed here on Toms a while back.

 

[beoza]

Ok the NZxt Phantom is nice but, I think I like it's lil brother the NZXT Phantom 410 more, I dont need a Full tower, the 410 is a mid tower with similar shape to its bigger brother. Internally it's pretty close to the standard Phantom but looks to have a lil more room between the top fan and any after market HSF you might add to the CPU. Now to decide on Red or Black...

 

[sarinaide]

If you are building this close to Ivy, you may as well go with a Ivy setup. Makes no sense at all going back with older tech when a IB is better even if only marginally and is cheaper.

 

[ddan49]

I'm still looking at temperatures, though. I'd wait like a few days to see for sure if it's actually running that hot.

 

[beoza]

I havent ordered anything yet, and I have as yet checked prices on these new chips. For now however the older i5 2500 is still on my menu. I'll check prices in the next day or 2.