Roughly ~$800 budget build (need your opinion)

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beehjae

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Hi All,

I would like to thank you in advance for your expert opinions to answer my questions.

Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe this month
Budget Range: ~850 Max
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Work, Internet, Gaming, Movies (They're sort of equal actually... I wanted to prepare it for gaming... just in case)
Parts not included: I'm starting from scratch.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've looked at Newegg.ca, I plan on taking a look at the following website if they have better offers: canadacomputers, bestbuy, futureshop, tigerdirect, ncix

Country: Canada
Parts Preferences: Intel for processors, AMD for graphics
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: I'm fine with playing at a lower resolution with everything maxed out.


:bounce: List of Items :bounce:
Questions:
1. Do I have bottlenecks for this build?
a. Am I still on the green with respect to getting the capabilities of the parts to their full potential?
2. Is my selection of PSU correct/good enough?
3. Is there any item in the list that's an overkill?
4. Is there a mismatch in this build?

Please suggest better (more cost effective) parts if the items on my list is not worth it.

I look forward to your replies.

Let me know if you need further informaiton.

Kind Regards,
Beehjae
 
Solution
mocchan
http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

There's a great little PSU calculator :) There's a few more out there that will be MUCH more specific, but this will just do fine as well.

As for your PSU, an HD6870 will run fine on a 430w PSU (Preferably something from the CX line from Corsair) but I wouldn't feel too comfortable running a 6870 with that.

A 6870 in your rig will use around ~390w (your entire system at full load, I mean. The HD6870 uses only around ~150w), which leaves only 40w breathing room on your PSU, which is almost close to 100% load - I don't feel comfortable with that. I would much prefer to stick with the 500w you have selected.

Concerning your GPU and motherboard, there is not an ounce of...
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mocchan

mocchan

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Personally I think the 16GB of 1600Mhz RAM is a little over kill, you may want to aim for 8GB of 1333Mhz as it'll perform just as well and you won't feel too much of a performance hit. Also, what type of work do you do with your computer? Depending we may need to beef up some components.

RAM - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

You can keep your current motherboard, but I chose the ASRock to save you a little extra money.

Those two should save you roughly an extra $70 which you can use to invest in this - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148524

Would make your little right just a beast of a machine :)
 
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beehjae

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Delirious788 - sounds good, could you please suggest a better PSU than the 1 selected please?

Mocchan - apologies, i'm not really a fan of SSDs at the moment. but it's a good point that perhaps, I should ramp down my set of memory to save a bit more. in terms of work, i have some vmware images that i run to try things out (sandbox environment).... and i don't do video editing :)

JMer806 - had a 2nd look at your avatar... i like your cat :D

Does anyone have feedback on the case I selected? Do you think I can go for something cheaper than that? <- and make all the parts fit?

I look forward to your replies.

Kind Regards

-update

sounds like this isn't going to be simple after all...

link below... gigabyte says, 1600 memory is only available for 22nm processors
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4146#sp

-another update
I've updated the list based on your inputs, could you please review them again when you have the chance. :)
I'm considering to put the leftover money to a better graphics card... but I'm still not sure if these items would "work" together well yet (hopefuly someone would be able to assure that they're good to go).

your thoughts?
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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The 1600Mhz RAM will work just fine :) Sandy Bridge (32nm) and Ivy Bridge (22nm) are almost identical and share a lot of things, one being native RAM Frequency.

I understand what you mean with SSD's, maybe it'll be something you can take into consideration later on ;)

One last thing - your current case will get the job done. However, from the looks of it, it is very cramped inside so you will have to plan your cables carefully. Also the limited ventilation slots concerns me a little bit.

Perhaps you should take a look at the Rosewill Blackbone, it's roughly $10 more and has much more space. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023&Tpk=rosewill%20blackbone (currently 20% off too :D )
 
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beehjae

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Thanks Mocchan! List Revised. :D

I'm worried about my PSU, I moved up to 500W... would the components in the list fit and powerup steady?

I find PSUs and Casings really costly here in U.S./Canada -just my opinion...

Looking forward to your expert inputs.
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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Sorry for the late reply, I had to go out with the family :lol:

Anyway back on topic, the HD6870 will run fine with your 500w PSU. Your entire system in total should consume around ~150-200w under full load, adding a HD6870 will only add around ~150w to that, which gives you a full system load of ~300-350w power usage :) Plenty of headroom left!

And actually I personally find the parts in this country to be expensive, period. :lol: If you factor in conversions, they're the same price, but that's another story! :lol: I had gotten myself a 120GB Force 3 SSD in Japan for 7000 Yen (Equivalent to around $90-$100 USD atm, if conversions were 100 yen ->$1USD, it would be $70 :lol: ).
 
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beehjae

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Hi Mocchan,

No prob, family takes priority. :)

* I'm wondering if I should step down to a ~430w PSU? since I really don't see myself upgrading the whole set in the future.
* Do you have a link on how to compute how much power is needed per component?
* I found this mobo, do you think this would make no difference (aside from it being mATX): http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=047294
* I also found a cheaper 6870, it's a different brand. Do you think it's worth the cut?
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=041224
[strike]* It's getting more interesting, how about more performance and cheaper, but more power hungry?
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=030498[/strike] <- never mind, it needs a more powerful PSU. it feels like it's a give and take case.

I look forward to your replies.


People out there, if you have further inputs, feel free to post please :).
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

There's a great little PSU calculator :) There's a few more out there that will be MUCH more specific, but this will just do fine as well.

As for your PSU, an HD6870 will run fine on a 430w PSU (Preferably something from the CX line from Corsair) but I wouldn't feel too comfortable running a 6870 with that.

A 6870 in your rig will use around ~390w (your entire system at full load, I mean. The HD6870 uses only around ~150w), which leaves only 40w breathing room on your PSU, which is almost close to 100% load - I don't feel comfortable with that. I would much prefer to stick with the 500w you have selected.

Concerning your GPU and motherboard, there is not an ounce of difference between those two except maybe the features they may provide.

The PowerColor HD6870 is identical to the Sapphire card I linked (there might be some slight overclocking on the Sapphire from the factory, not sure), it just has a different cooler.

The motherboard seems to be identical to the one you linked as well, only it's an mATX board rather than a full sized ATX. The feature sets seem pretty similar so I don't think it would be too much of a downgrade as well :)

Also about the HD5870 - it's a great card, and for that price? Even better. However, it's two generations old now and I wouldn't feel too comfortable getting something that old. It runs a little faster, but you would need a beefier PSU, so it's quite a trade off :lol: http://www.hwcompare.com/6023/radeon-hd-5870-vs-radeon-hd-6870/

 
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beehjae

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Thanks Mocchan,

I forgot to add a DVD Drive, so I added that to the mix. I believe that my PSU would still hold?

Thanks for that quick link!

You're right with that 5870 scenario. I would stick with your recommendation of 6870.

Just a little more diligence, and I think I'm good to go.
Although... if I can squeeze a little bit more... maybe I can push the processor up and video card more. :D

It's really getting more interesting now...
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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Oh my I think we've turning you into an enthusiast! :D :lol:

Your PSU should be able to hold up even with your DVD Drive. They don't consume too much power so it's not too big of a concern to me :)
 
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beehjae

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List revised (yet again)!

I'm thinking I can get 30-40$ more to video card... any suggestiosn? 560Ti? 6950? :D

-edit
looks like 30-40$ ain't enough... cards float around ~200 range.
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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List looks good :) Though yes...they're still around the $200 price range :lol: way over budget unfortunately :(
 
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beehjae

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Double checked... and prices seems to leap with cpu as well. :)

Is there anything I need to be concerned with if I just buy them all online?

Thanks Mocchan, for the valuable opinions you gave. I really appreciate it.

This quest kept me awake tonight... really interesting to shop for the sweetspots.
 
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mocchan

mocchan

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I can say I'm around 99% positive there isn't any concern with shopping online :) (just because you can't be 100% sure on everything :lol: )

I've shopped on newegg for a few years and gotten most of my PC components from them with absolutely no problem :)

You're very welcome :) and I totally understand what you mean by the 'quest' :lol: Keeps me up every night whenever I find a sweet deal...
 
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