Looking for a new Build

S

Scathach

n00b
Joined
Feb 27, 2009
Messages
4
Hi there,
I'm here looking for new build (I guess that was obvious), since my old one .. well, has gotten a bit too old.
This will be a major upgrade for me (coming from a Athlon XP 3000+/1 GB Ram/GeForce 6200) and I hope it will last me at least some Years before upgrading again.

Well now to the questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly browsing, gaming and watching streams/DVD's etc.
Light Video editing/encoding may also be a possible use in the future (1/2 Years from now).
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
1200-1500€ tax and shipping included.
3) Where do you live?
Germany
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything :D (except peripherals). The case doesn't need anything fancy(No LED's or windows), it just should be as silent as possible(no watercooling though) and decent looking.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Speakers;Mouse/Keyboard;Pc-Screen
6) Will you be overclocking?
I have never overclocked before , but I would like to try hitting 3,5-3,6 GHZ on air, if there are any decent, easy to understand tutorials.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
25" NEC LCD2690WUXi
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This/next week. However if there is a good reason to wait a bit , I guess I'll be willing to wait.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Don't need anything special I guess.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Win Xp Prof/Server 2003 32-bit; Win 7 Prof 64-bit.


Parts I thought about:
ATI 5870 (don't know from which manufacturer though)
i7 (or i5?)
A WD Raptor HDD since I would like a fast HDD. (SSDs seem a bit too expensive to me) Also I dont need a TON of GBs and if I ever do , I'll just buy another HDD.

Hope I could provide everything needed :)
Thanks in advance.
 
Where are you going to buy parts from? I ask because depending on the location, a system build that would cost $1000 USD may end up costing twice as much for you.

Please tell us how much the following build (or, absent those parts, something similar) would cost you:

Intel Core i5 750
Noctua NH-U12P (unless you buy the new SE2 version, you'll need to buy the LGA 1156 mounting kit separately)
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4
Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3 1600
Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB HDD
Samsung SH-S223L SATA DVD burner
XFX Radeon HD 5870
Antec P183
Antec TruePower New TP-750

The above setup actually costs around $1500 USD once shipping taxes and other factors come into play. But knowing how much the above parts would cost you (in addition to where you're buying everything from) would help us figure out a good build for your budget.

Before I forget, to answer your "questions"...

- Given what little that I do know about the Euro, as well as European retailers, you probably wouldn't be able to afford the Core i7, an X58 motherboard, and the HD5870. With gaming as your main priority, the HD5870 is worth keeping; you can build your system around that card.

- XFX and VisionTek are the only two ATI manufacturers that offer limited lifetime warranties on their cards. Other manufacturers are good, but some aren't.

- Many people, myself included, believe that the VelociRaptor isn't worth the money. It's louder, it runs hotter, and the latest hard drives (that use 333GB or 500GB drive platters) are only about 10% slower than the VelociRaptor. For the longest time, the Western Digital 640GB has been one of the best "bang for the buck" performance hard drives for the price. As an alternative, try the recently released Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 or Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB hard drives; each one (reportedly) uses the new single-platter 500GB design.
 
First of all , thanks for your effort.

I'll buy everything in Germany, since importing , even if it may be cheaper is a bit of a hassel to me (especially if I would have to use the warranty provided). I guess I'll buy from different online shops.

Well for the prices

Intel Core i5 750 ~160€
Antec P183 ~135€
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 ~120€
Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3 1600 ~90€
WD6401AALS HDD ~60€
SH-S223L SATA DVD burner ~35€
Noctua NH-U12P ~75€
XFX Radeon HD 5870 ~350€
Antec TruePower New TP-750 ~115€

Altogether it would be 1140€ ... I usually rounded up , so I think it will be safe to say , that with any additional cost that might occur , it would not go over 1250€ in any case.

Thanks for the info on the XFX and the WD HDD , didn't know that yet.

Another question: You recommended a mATX board , and while I do not doubt , that this is a reliable MB , I have heard some negative comments about mATX boards (like shorter lifetime). Do you know whats up with that ?

Also are additional Case fans not needed ?

Thanks again , and please excuse me if my english may sound strange here and there.
 
Heh, he wasn't suggesting importing the parts, just giving you a reference of which parts to lookup. ;)

Shorter lifetime for mATX boards? nonsense. Sure, you have less expansion slots, but that does not affect the lifetime of the board itself. I'm still using my Asus P4P800-VM and its still going strong since Q1'2004. :D If you don't need/want a mATX board, just get a similar P55 board, like the UD3R or something.

IIRC, the P183 comes with only 2 fans... you'll want at least 2 more, one for the front, and one for the bottom section.
 
There's no reason to get an mATX motherboard unless you need a small formfactor for like an HTPC for instance. mATX boards tend to be a little more cramped and have less room for expansion.

Feel free to get a regular ATX motherboard and ATX case. You'll need a bigger case anyways if you want to fit the recommended 11" 5870 into your case!!!

If you need the smaller case, go with a 5850 instead. It has a shorter PCB and less power consumption than the 5870 with just a touch less performance (~15%).

The Storm Sniper Black Edition is one of the more popular recent ATX cases that is reported to have enough room for a long card like the 5870.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194
 
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Oh ... my fault :D
Well it didn't hurt that I looked up every part , I guess.

Thanks for your input about the mATX boards.
Do you know how much expansion slots I could actually use , since the 5870 is quite big and may obscure a slot.

IIRC, the P183 comes with only 2 fans... you'll want at least 2 more
Click to expand...
These things are the least important - but still , any specific ones you could/would reccommend ?

Edit:
Feel free to get a regular ATX motherboard and ATX case. You'll need a bigger case anyways if you want to fit the recommended 11" 5870 into your case!!!
Click to expand...
Hm , that may be a problem since I would like to stick to the 5870. The case doenst have to be small ... still shouldn't be giant , just big enough for everything to fit in.
Well those parts weren't final anyway , more of a price check. So I'll wait for more input.

Also I appreciate all of you helping me, thanks!
 
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tiraides said:
Where are you going to buy parts from? I ask because depending on the location, a system build that would cost $1000 USD may end up costing twice as much for you.

Please tell us how much the following build (or, absent those parts, something similar) would cost you:

Intel Core i5 750
Noctua NH-U12P (unless you buy the new SE2 version, you'll need to buy the LGA 1156 mounting kit separately)
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4
Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3 1600
Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB HDD
Samsung SH-S223L SATA DVD burner
XFX Radeon HD 5870
Antec P183
Antec TruePower New TP-750

The above setup actually costs around $1500 USD once shipping taxes and other factors come into play. But knowing how much the above parts would cost you (in addition to where you're buying everything from) would help us figure out a good build for your budget.
Click to expand...
+1 to this.
 
vjcsmoke said:
Feel free to get a regular ATX motherboard and ATX case. You'll need a bigger case anyways if you want to fit the recommended 11" 5870 into your case!
Click to expand...
Size issues in Antec cases are a bit overstated, in my opinion. Are people really using 5 hard drives? After removing one hard drive cage, my Antec Mini P180 uATX case has 12.5"+ for graphics cards.
 
Scathach said:
Oh ... my fault :D
Well it didn't hurt that I looked up every part , I guess.

Thanks for your input about the mATX boards.
Do you know how much expansion slots I could actually use , since the 5870 is quite big and may obscure a slot.


These things are the least important - but still , any specific ones you could/would reccommend ?

Edit:

Hm , that may be a problem since I would like to stick to the 5870. The case doenst have to be small ... still shouldn't be giant , just big enough for everything to fit in.
Well those parts weren't final anyway , more of a price check. So I'll wait for more input.

Also I appreciate all of you helping me, thanks!
Click to expand...

It depends on what you want to plug in. If you also want a sound card, I'd go with a 1x PCIE sound card such as the Xi-Fi extreme.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102023

If you don't plan on ever using multiple graphics cards, then the motherboard layout is not as critical, but then again having a motherboard with good spacing for the video cards always makes things easier in the long run.

Judging from the picture, I'd avoid the smaller P183 if you are set on getting a 5870.

antec_performance_one_p183_installtion_fl.jpg


The P183 is only 20 inches deep. I really can't guarantee that a 5870 would fit in there. A 5850 should clear just fine though.
The graphics card pictured is an ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP. Which I believe has a 9.25" PCB.
I will say that the P183 appears to have very good airflow for case of its size but it may not be a good choice for long internal components.

Here is a P55 motherboard roundup:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2352486,00.asp

But read the articles and decide for yourself which one is best suited for your needs.
 
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If you like the P183, go for it. Those 3.5" drive bays in the upper chamber can be removed, so just leave the cage out to give more room to the vidcard(s). There are 4 drive bays in the lower chamber anyhow, and those should be used before the two upper chamber slots to keep any heat from the HDDs out of the main chamber.

If you don't need mATX, then check out the GA-P55-UD3L/UD3R/UD4P, and ASUS P7P55D. As for layouts, if you may go SLI/Crossfire, look into the UD4P and P7P55D. If you don't ever plan on getting a dual vidcard config, then the UD3L is a no frills choice. The MSI variants are also good.

Onboard HD Audio is fine for most people, since its much better than onboard audio of the past.
 
Before we extend the ATX versus micro ATX debate any further, allow me a mea culpa:

I chose the wrong board; I was looking for the P55-UD4P. I didn't realize, until a few minutes ago, that the P55M-UD4 was a micro ATX motherboard.
 
tiraides said:
Before we extend the ATX versus micro ATX debate any further, allow me a mea culpa:

I chose the wrong board; I was looking for the P55-UD4P. I didn't realize, until a few minutes ago, that the P55M-UD4 was a micro ATX motherboard.
Click to expand...
Heh, and after I spent all night preparing my closing arguments. ;)
 
As always , thanks for the input :)

If the 5870 does indeed fit into the P183 I'll stick with that case since I like the design a lot, and most likely will never need those additional drive bays.

The mATX debate seems sorted out too :D
While I dont think mATX is inferior in quality , I guess I would like the option of having additonal expansoin slots. So ATX is the way to go.

Onboard HD Audio is fine for most people, since its much better than onboard audio of the past.
Click to expand...
It certainly is good enough for me :D

Case fans:
It was mentioned that I would need two additional ones for the P183 (or should I get 4 and replace the default ones ?)
Any ideas in what fans to get (silent/good airflow/and not overly expensive)

Other parts:
Could those be seen as final ?
Or is there anything that could/should be changed ?
 
Yate Loon 120mm medium or low speed fans are very common in P18x builds.

Parts list look good to me.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
If you cant get Yate Loons, the Scythe Slipstreams are also popular, just slightly more expensive.
 
Don't get the Scythe S-FLEX or the Noctua 120mm case fans unless they're cheaper than the Yate Loons or the Scythe "Slipstreams" whereever you're buying parts from. In the U.S., the S-FLEX and Noctua fans normally cost around $15-$20 USD each... though they are more likely to be available near you.
 
tiraides said:
Don't get the Scythe S-FLEX or the Noctua 120mm case fans unless they're cheaper than the Yate Loons or the Scythe "Slipstreams" whereever you're buying parts from. In the U.S., the S-FLEX and Noctua fans normally cost around $15-$20 USD each... though they are more likely to be available near you.
Click to expand...

+1
:)
 
For comparison, the Yate Loons are around $5 USD and the Slipstreams are typically $8 USD. We typically don't recommend the more expensive fans for simple case cooling since the cheaper fans will do fine; they just have a shorter lifespan -- but you can easily replace them since they're so cheap. The more expensive fans with longer lifespans are better suited for CPU cooling, or for people who don't care about price.
 
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