I'm building a computer - Please help!

[FaeMinx]

Well, my aging desktop died a while ago... So it's time to build a new one!


Unfortunately I don't *really* know enough about computers to just go out and buy all the components.


Putting them all together will not be a problem, but I'm not clear on what will give me the best bang for my buck, or which components are compatible with each other.


Keeping costs down is important... so I'm going keep my current monitor, mouse and keyboard... and I'll be using the Hard Drives I already have, as well as the DVD-Write Drive.


This is what I've chosen so far (with the help of a PC Format Magazine), but please feel free to correct my build, and to point out components that I've forgotten (or suggest better alternatives).


Intel Core i5 2500k - R2200


http://ark.intel.com...-Cache-3_30-GHz)


Asus P8Z68-V Pro - R2300


http://za.asus.com/M...155/P8Z68V_PRO/


SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 - R3300


http://www.sapphiret...&pid=1021&lid=1


G.SKILL Ripjaws-X 4GB 1,600MHZ - R 800


http://www.techradar...b-943541/review


Cooler Master Hyper 612S - R 400


http://www.coolermas...product_id=6728


Cooler Master HAF-X - R2000


http://www.coolermas...product_id=6653


EDIT: Added:


Thermaltake 700w Litepower PSU - R 655


http://www.mittoni.com.au/thermaltake-700w-litepower-psu-p-3347.html


I'm concerned that the case (Cooler Master HAF-X) is a bit overkill? And should I get 2 x the G.SKILL Ripjaws-X 4GB 1,600MHZ ???


What have I forgotten?

 

[moz]

You've forgotten the PSU


A 700w one should do, eg:

Thermaltake Litepower 700.

​

If you're really looking for a bang for your buck, I would suggest an AMD motherboard and CPU.

​

eg:

​

AMD FX-6100 Six-Core


&

​

Gigabyte GA-97OA-D3


EDIT: God damned forum keeps screwing up my formatting! :angry:

​

 

[FaeMinx]

I thought about the PSU, but assumed that it would be included in the case... obviously not!


The reason I chose that motherboard and processor was because PC Format had this to say:


"The gaming processor du jour is quite simply this: the Intel Core i5 2500K. There is no other CPU that can come close to both it's gaming prowess and raw number-crunching power for the money. AMD can squeeze six cores into it's processors at this price point, but in pure gaming terms the 2500K's four cores knock Thuban out of the ballpark."

 

[Manic Miner]

Can I ask how much that little lot is going cost ?

 

[FaeMinx]

Can I ask how much that little lot is going cost ?

Well, I included the South African prices in my initial post... You would have to find out what they cost in your country.


So far, that bundle comes to R11,655.00


But I'm thinking I should probably get 2x the 4GB Ram... which would bring the total to: R12,455.00


A direct currency conversion would make it


1,530.67 USD


or


989.028 GBP

 

[moz]

BTW I would say that case is definitely overkill based on the price being almost the same as the CPU, you should get a cheaper case so you can splash out on a new HDD or something.

 

[ikreos]

Check out Tom's Hardware "System Builder Marathon" articles for some good budget oriented build ideas.


Make sure the processor you choose can support the memory you want, i.e. if it doesn't support 1600 memory then go with the best it can support, usually 1333. Otherwise your just wasting money on hardware that will not be utilized to it's full potential by the system.


I would suggest putting a bit of money into a good power supply. The ones that usually come with cases are very cheap and usually low rated. They are ok for casual builds but not for gamers or power users. I literally had one go "bang" on me about 5 years ago.


This Rosewill Blackbone case is a good buy. I have one for my current build and it is a solid case with good airflow. You'll want to put better fans in it but overall I found it to be of good quality with plenty of room.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

There's a saying: "Tell me what you want to do with your new computer and I'll tell you what you need.". Most advice you get is unlikely to be very helpful unless people understand what exactly it is that you will be using the new system for.

 

[FaeMinx]

There's a saying: "Tell me what you want to do with your new computer and I'll tell you what you need.". Most advice you get is unlikely to be very helpful unless people understand what exactly it is that you will be using the new system for.

I will be using Photoshop CS3, Painter IX, ZBrush, 3D Studio Max, and I want to be able to play all current titles on maxed out settings... and hopefully be a bit future proof for the next 3 or more years.

 

[Manic Miner]

Can I ask how much that little lot is going cost ?

Well, I included the South African prices in my initial post... You would have to find out what they cost in your country.


So far, that bundle comes to R11,655.00


But I'm thinking I should probably get 2x the 4GB Ram... which would bring the total to: R12,455.00


A direct currency conversion would make it


1,530.67 USD


or


989.028 GBP

Less than I thought it would be, I had it over a £1,000

 

[FaeMinx]

Check out Tom's Hardware "System Builder Marathon" articles for some good budget oriented build ideas.

I'm not sussed enough to know in detail if there are any advantages over their $1200 build compared to what I listed in my first post. Could someone more knowledgeable provide a comparison? The other important factor is that the build I listed shouldn't be too hard to purchase in my country...

I would suggest putting a bit of money into a good power supply. The ones that usually come with cases are very cheap and usually low rated. They are ok for casual builds but not for gamers or power users. I literally had one go "bang" on me about 5 years ago.

Would the power supply that moz suggested be sufficient?

This Rosewill Blackbone case is a good buy. I have one for my current build and it is a solid case with good airflow. You'll want to put better fans in it but overall I found it to be of good quality with plenty of room.

I haven't found a link to a store that sells that case in my country... Though I must admit that it looks like a great deal! Any advice in that area? (Newegg.com doesn't ship to my country).


Also, seeing as you suggest replacing the fans... what do you recommend?

 

[elwing]

prefer a good PSU and a cheap case to the oposite... psu are so overlooked, but so important... they can save your material, they make you spare lot of enery depending on their efficiency (the same apply for the case temperature..) and assuming they don't change psu standard soon, a good psu will also be usefull for your next few builds...

 

[Kaepora Gaebora]

I might suggest the ASROCK Z68 extreme3 gen3 over the ASUS Z68.

 

[Znirk]

One point of concern ... exactly how "aging" is the old machine? I ask because the spec sheet for your new motherboard only lists SATA ports under the "storage" header; so if your old HDD and DVD drives are of the parallel ATA ("IDE") variety, you can't plug them into this board. You'd need either a controller card, or a different motherboard with an integrated IDE controller.

 

[ikreos]

Check out Tom's Hardware "System Builder Marathon" articles for some good budget oriented build ideas.

I'm not sussed enough to know in detail if there are any advantages over their $1200 build compared to what I listed in my first post. Could someone more knowledgeable provide a comparison? The other important factor is that the build I listed shouldn't be too hard to purchase in my country...

If you read through the articles they test the hardware out using a variety of benchmark tools and many high end games. PCMark, 3DMark, etc. Crysis, Metro2033 to name a couple games, and some practical software like 7-zip, video and audio transcoders, and the like. You could compare the raw numbers with each build. They do three builds targeted at mainstream/casual users/lite gamers, gamers, and heavy power users.

I would suggest putting a bit of money into a good power supply. The ones that usually come with cases are very cheap and usually low rated. They are ok for casual builds but not for gamers or power users. I literally had one go "bang" on me about 5 years ago.

Would the power supply that moz suggested be sufficient?

Yes. Thermaltake is a reputable brand that I've seen many good reviews on. Just make sure you get one with a rating that can support all your hardware. 700w or more will be sufficient with one video card.

This Rosewill Blackbone case is a good buy. I have one for my current build and it is a solid case with good airflow. You'll want to put better fans in it but overall I found it to be of good quality with plenty of room.

I haven't found a link to a store that sells that case in my country... Though I must admit that it looks like a great deal! Any advice in that area? (Newegg.com doesn't ship to my country).


Also, seeing as you suggest replacing the fans... what do you recommend?

Too bad that is a good quality case for the price. I usually read through the reviews of several cases that catch my fancy to get an idea of some of the problems people have had with them. Basically you want a case with good airflow, 120mm fan mounts, decent quality construction, and enough room to house all the hardware you plan on putting in it. As far as the fans go, the ones that come with cases are probably the lowest quality fans you can get. Some fans with good airflow (cfm rating) and a noise rating that you can put up with will work fine.


The Core i5-2500k is a good all round CPU for gaming, image editing and video/audio transcoding. For a little more I would go with an i7-2600k (also for future proofing for a few years). Just about any modern graphics card will work well with one of those CPUs. As far as memory, if you can afford it and are going to be using a 64-bit Operating System I would go with as much memory as your motherboard will support (or at least close to it).


The CPU cooler you chose will be sufficient. I have a Hyper series cooler and it works quite well on my AMD Athlon II X4.

 

[Darkknight512]

I don't really trust TT power supplies, try finding one from Corsair or Seasonic. Also your system without an overclock will not even break 500 watts.


That AMD chip is not that great, it is a hex core but the Intel chip is faster. Get the 2500 if you are not overclocking, it will be cheaper for you.

 

[elwing]

I've personnaly a seasonic and I just love it...

 

[FaeMinx]

One point of concern ... exactly how "aging" is the old machine? I ask because the spec sheet for your new motherboard only lists SATA ports under the "storage" header; so if your old HDD and DVD drives are of the parallel ATA ("IDE") variety, you can't plug them into this board. You'd need either a controller card, or a different motherboard with an integrated IDE controller.

That's a good point... I'm sure my HDD's are SATA, but my DVD drive isn't... So I'll have to get one of those as well. Recommendations anyone?

I don't really trust TT power supplies, try finding one from Corsair or Seasonic. Also your system without an overclock will not even break 500 watts.


That AMD chip is not that great, it is a hex core but the Intel chip is faster. Get the 2500 if you are not overclocking, it will be cheaper for you.

I didn't even know about the 2500... what's the diff. between the 2500k and the 2500? Is there a significant price difference? ... I *would* like to overclock in the future - when my system is older and I have to to keep up. But for now I really just want to get some quality basic kit (that I'm not going to regret choosing later on) and increase the ram, buy new monitor, HDDs, Case, and cooling accessories for overclocking later on...


As it is, I'm already stepping over the bounds of my budget... So finding a cheap case is important, and I'll probably have to settle on only 1 x 4GB Ram for now (hopefully I'll be able to buy the same memory later on when I have more cash)


P.s. If I'm not going to overclock right now - do you think I'll make do with just the standard PSU that comes with whatever case I find? Or is a good PSU a priority (I.e. I heard mention of it being able to protect my other components from power surges and whotnot?)

 

[elwing]

I didn't even know about the 2500... what's the diff. between the 2500k and the 2500? Is there a significant price difference? ... I *would* like to overclock in the future - when my system is older and I have to to keep up. But for now I really just want to get some quality basic kit (that I'm not going to regret choosing later on) and increase the ram, buy new monitor, HDDs, Case, and cooling accessories for overclocking later on...

there's two basic difference, the 2500k allow more overclock AND it boast a better on chip GPU...


that never made sens to me... people that overclock don't need a less poorer on die GPU...

 

[ikreos]

P.s. If I'm not going to overclock right now - do you think I'll make do with just the standard PSU that comes with whatever case I find? Or is a good PSU a priority (I.e. I heard mention of it being able to protect my other components from power surges and whotnot?)

I wouldn't use the PSU that comes with a case. Overclocking won't increase the TDP of the CPU by all that much unless you go overboard. It's the graphics card that will be the most power hungry piece of hardware in your system, drawing up to 200W of power by itself when It's fully running. Since you want to game at max setting this is the part that will draw the most power. PSUs that come with cases are very cheaply made and more often that not don't contain any form of protection circuitry. If and when they do die there is a chance it could take the rest of the system with it. As mentioned Seasonic and Corsiar PSUs are good quality.


SATA CD/DVD writers are almost dirt cheap nowadays. You should be able to get one for 15-20 USD.