New build. Need critique

[Kamoflarjii]

Hi there, well here goes my budget PC list...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Moderate gaming, light video editing, web browsing.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 NZD - about $830 USD

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
New Zealand

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

heres the parts i need/parts i want

CPU I5 2500K
PSU Antec EarthWatts 650W - have been told this is not good
MOBO ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - have been told this is not good
maybe this is better? - Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3

GPU Sapphire Radeon HD6850 HDMI DisplayPort Dual-DVI 1GB
CASE Antec Three Hundred
RAM Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 2x4GB 1333MHz
HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 32MB 1TB


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No, none.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, in the future

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Don't have one yet.


8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In a week

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.

CrossfireX, SLI, USB3.0, PCI 3.0 for the new ivy bridge. Need two 6Gb/s sata ports and about 4 other don't care about speed. The PCIe lanes need to run at 8x/8x in crossfire/sli I also need two standard PCI slots.
on board video or support for CPU built in Graphics would be nice but I'm not overly concerned about it. Needs good power phases for overclocking. So maybe some Gigabyte/Asus equivalents you could suggest. Once again I like the UEFI bios but i can live without it if there's a good gigabyte with good specs.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Windows XP 32bit

Thanks guys.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Where will you be ordering these parts from? Do they have a web site so we can check prices?

Nothing is wrong with that ASRock motherboard, but here in the United States they carry a 1 or 2 year warranty when similar motherboards with the same features generally have a 3+ year warranty and cost the same or less. So if that ASRock motherboard has a 3+ year warranty and is priced similar to other boards in it's class, it'll be fine. Hence why I'd like to know where you plan on ordering the parts from.

 

[E4g1e]

PSU Antec EarthWatts 650W - have been told this is not good

Actually, that original version of the EarthWatts 650 is what I discussed in your other thread. It is/was a pretty good quality PSU; it's just that it's a bit outdated.

CASE Antec Three Hundred

Again, I criticised that case in your other thread: It is very cramped on the inside, especially from front to rear. And long graphics cards will eat up two or three hard drive bays when installed, reducing the maximum number of disks that you can fit inside the case. And, if you install any hard drives in the upper internal 3.5" bays, the maximum length of a compatible graphics card will be seriously restricted to no longer than 235 mm long. As a result, even a reference HD 6850 will be a tight squeeze under this circumstance.

HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 32MB 1TB

That drive is actually one of the slower 7200 RPM hard drives currently on the market. The 1TB 7200.12 has been obsolesced by a newer 7200.14 hard drive that now uses a single 1TB platter with a significantly higher sequential transfer speed (the 7200.12 is an older design, dating all the way back to 2008, that uses two 500GB platters). Hitachi also offers a 1TB hard drive (the 7K1000.D) that is faster than the 7200.12 in sequential performance. Moreover, Seagate has recently reduced the warranty of its desktop hard drives to only one year in the U.S.

 

[Kamoflarjii]

Where will you be ordering these parts from? Do they have a web site so we can check prices?

Nothing is wrong with that ASRock motherboard, but here in the United States they carry a 1 or 2 year warranty when similar motherboards with the same features generally have a 3+ year warranty and cost the same or less. So if that ASRock motherboard has a 3+ year warranty and is priced similar to other boards in it's class, it'll be fine. Hence why I'd like to know where you plan on ordering the parts from.

We don't have one outlet where we can buy parts from but i use this site: www.pricespy.co.nz
to compare prices to different stores. Just remember It's in NZD. You can see my list of parts at this URL: http://pricespy.co.nz/list.php?l=55391&view=m

Im sure you'll be shocked how expensive some of those parts are, lol

 

[Kamoflarjii]

Actually, that original version of the EarthWatts 650 is what I discussed in your other thread. It is/was a pretty good quality PSU; it's just that it's a bit outdated.

Ok, but would it be sufficient to run two 6850's in Crossfire? I've read around and some people seem to think it'll be fine. If not what PSU would you suggest?



Again, I criticised that case in your other thread: It is very cramped on the inside, especially from front to rear. And long graphics cards will eat up two or three hard drive bays when installed, reducing the maximum number of disks that you can fit inside the case. And, if you install any hard drives in the upper internal 3.5" bays, the maximum length of a compatible graphics card will be seriously restricted to no longer than 235 mm long. As a result, even a reference HD 6850 will be a tight squeeze under this circumstance.





That drive is actually one of the slower 7200 RPM hard drives currently on the market. The 1TB 7200.12 has been obsolesced by a newer 7200.14 hard drive that now uses a single 1TB platter with a significantly higher sequential transfer speed (the 7200.12 is an older design, dating all the way back to 2008, that uses two 500GB platters). Hitachi also offers a 1TB hard drive (the 7K1000.D) that is faster than the 7200.12 in sequential performance. Moreover, Seagate has recently reduced the warranty of its desktop hard drives to only one year in the U.S.

Does the HDD speed really affect the performance like if i was playing a game?
but would it be sufficient to run two 6850's in Crossfire? I've read around and some people seem to think it'll be fine. If not what PSU would you suggest? and I agree with you, i need to find a bigger case

What do you think of this PSU, this is a newer version of the earthwatts http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=269078

 

[E4g1e]

Does the HDD speed really affect the performance like if i was playing a game?

Yes, it can (somewhat), especially if the game is constantly being loaded from the hard disk.

What do you think of this PSU, this is a newer version of the earthwatts http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=269078

That's still the exact same PSU (in the exact same older original version) that I discussed over in that other thread and what I mentioned above.

 

[Kamoflarjii]

Ive decided on this motherboard instead, to future proof my PC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790R

 

[Dangman]

You can get an updated version of that Antec Earrthwatts 650W for $10 less:
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=815041

Note how it says "Green" in the name. That denotes it as the newer version. And yes it's more than enough for HD 6850 Crossfire. In fact, it's a little overkill for that. For a single GPU setup, that PSU is very overkill.

Ive decided on this motherboard instead, to future proof my PC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790R

Slight problem: If you are planning on using a Crossfire or SLI setup, you basically can't use any of the PCI slots on that motherboard. A card placed in the first PCI slot will hamper the airflow to a video card placed in the top PCI-E x16 slot. A card placed in the second PCI slot will prevent you from being to fit any dual-slot GPU card. So do you actually need those PCI slots?

Also is a new monitor part of that $1000 budget? Or is it a seperate budget? Do you have any idea why monitor you're gonna get? Or at least the resolution? We need to know as that determines what video card solution we should recommend to you.

 

[E4g1e]

Slight problem: If you are planning on using a Crossfire or SLI setup, you basically can't use any of the PCI slots on that motherboard. A card placed in the first PCI slot will hamper the airflow to a video card placed in the top PCI-E x16 slot. A card placed in the second PCI slot will prevent you from being to fit any dual-slot GPU card. So do you actually need those PCI slots?

True. A legacy PCI card will either choke off the airflow to the primary GPU or prevent a secondary GPU with a double-slot cooler from being installed on that mobo.

Unfortunately, the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 suffers from a similar layout problem with its PCI-Legacy slots: If a graphics card with a double-slot cooler is installed into the secondary PCI-e x16 slot, legacy PCI cards effectively can't be used at all on that mobo: Any card installed into the last PCI slot will choke off the airflow to that secondary graphics card with that double-slot cooler. At least the primary GPU will remain relatively cool because the second slot from the double-slot GPU cooler is a PCI-e x1 slot, which can be used by shorter cards such as a Firewire card.

 

[Kamoflarjii]

You can get an updated version of that Antec Earrthwatts 650W for $10 less:
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=815041

Note how it says "Green" in the name. That denotes it as the newer version. And yes it's more than enough for HD 6850 Crossfire. In fact, it's a little overkill for that. For a single GPU setup, that PSU is very overkill.



Slight problem: If you are planning on using a Crossfire or SLI setup, you basically can't use any of the PCI slots on that motherboard. A card placed in the first PCI slot will hamper the airflow to a video card placed in the top PCI-E x16 slot. A card placed in the second PCI slot will prevent you from being to fit any dual-slot GPU card. So do you actually need those PCI slots?

Also is a new monitor part of that $1000 budget? Or is it a seperate budget? Do you have any idea why monitor you're gonna get? Or at least the resolution? We need to know as that determines what video card solution we should recommend to you.

Ok I only wanted PCI slots really to avoid having to buy an pci-e network card because i need to route my xbox through the PC. But by the time i get around to doing crossfire, I'll probably have another solution to the network. that $1000 isn't including monitor but I've been thinking about this monitor http://www.dragonpc.co.nz/p.aspx?231168

Do you think the ASrock extreme 3 gen3 would be ok instead of that though? I've checked the specs and they're pretty much identical apart from a few more USB and two more 6gb/s SATA ports i don't need. I guess it just comes down to whether i can overclock alright with the asrock without it being unstable...

 

[Kamoflarjii]

True. A legacy PCI card will either choke off the airflow to the primary GPU or prevent a secondary GPU with a double-slot cooler from being installed on that mobo.

Unfortunately, the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 suffers from a similar layout problem with its PCI-Legacy slots: If a graphics card with a double-slot cooler is installed into the secondary PCI-e x16 slot, legacy PCI cards effectively can't be used at all on that mobo: Any card installed into the last PCI slot will choke off the airflow to that secondary graphics card with that double-slot cooler. At least the primary GPU will remain relatively cool because the second slot from the double-slot GPU cooler is a PCI-e x1 slot, which can be used by shorter cards such as a Firewire card.

I may have to use the 1.0x slot yeah... maybe i could look at the Asus P8P67 pro instead if i don't need the PCI slots?

 

[E4g1e]

I may have to use the 1.0x slot yeah... maybe i could look at the Asus P8P67 pro instead if i don't need the PCI slots?

I cannot recommend the P8P67 Pro at this time due to the Asus P8P67 line's greater-than-average incidence of quality control issues. Plus, the P8P67 Pro has exactly the same expansion slot lineup as the P8Z68-V Pro, with the exact same issues with PCI slot placement. Worst of all, by the time that GPUs come out which take significant advantage of PCI-e 3.0 bandwidth, the P67 Asus mobos will be stuck at PCI-e 2.0-level slot performance.

 

[Kamoflarjii]

I cannot recommend the P8P67 Pro at this time due to the Asus P8P67 line's greater-than-average incidence of quality control issues. Plus, the P8P67 Pro has exactly the same expansion slot lineup as the P8Z68-V Pro, with the exact same issues with PCI slot placement. Worst of all, by the time that GPUs come out which take significant advantage of PCI-e 3.0 bandwidth, the P67 Asus mobos will be stuck at PCI-e 2.0-level slot performance.

The ASrock extreme3 gen3 is quite cheap In NZ. It's also got PCI 3.0 support so it might be 'future proof' for an Ivy bridge but by the time i end up getting an ivy bridge setup it won't be for awhile. But I'd still like to have it there, Y'know?

 

[Dangman]

Ok I only wanted PCI slots really to avoid having to buy an pci-e network card because i need to route my xbox through the PC.

Why do you need to avoid buying a PCI-E NIC?

that $1000 isn't including monitor but I've been thinking about this monitor http://www.dragonpc.co.nz/p.aspx?231168

Hmmm, a single HD 6850 is gonna struggle a bit at that resolution. How long before you'll be able to get a second HD 6850? I ask because you might better off in the long run getting a faster video card like the GTX 560 TI:
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1020135

Do you think the ASrock extreme 3 gen3 would be ok instead of that though? I've checked the specs and they're pretty much identical apart from a few more USB and two more 6gb/s SATA ports i don't need. I guess it just comes down to whether i can overclock alright with the asrock without it being unstable...

The ASrock extreme3 gen3 is quite cheap In NZ.

I cannot recommend getting that AsRock mobo at all considering other AsRock Z68 mobos have not fared well under proper testing:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/12/07/asrock_z68_pro3_lga_1155_motherboard_review/
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/09/asrock_z68_extreme4_gen3_motherboard_review/

If the higher-end Extreme4 Gen3 was bad, imagine how bad the lower-end Extreme3 Gen3 is. So I recommend going with the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 instead if you need to save money to fit in a faster video card or the Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3 or Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 if you really need UEFI and can get a second HD 6850 in a month or two.

 

[E4g1e]

I cannot recommend getting that AsRock mobo at all considering other AsRock Z68 mobos have not fared well under proper testing:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/12/07/asrock_z68_pro3_lga_1155_motherboard_review/
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/09/asrock_z68_extreme4_gen3_motherboard_review/

If the higher-end Extreme4 Gen3 was bad, imagine how bad the lower-end Extreme3 Gen3 is. So I recommend going with the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 instead if you need to save money to fit in a faster video card or the Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3 or Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 if you really need UEFI and can get a second HD 6850 in a month or two.

Do note that there are two revisions of the Gigabyte board. Revision 1.3 (the revision that's currently shipping) is already Gen3 (a.k.a. PCI-e 3.0) ready while the original revision 1.0 has only Gen2 switches. A Revision 2.0 is in the works, which will add Gigabyte's implementation of a proper UEFI GUI BIOS instead of the hacked-together hybrid that's on the current boards.

 

[silent-circuit]

ASRock generally isn't worth considering outside of their top end boards. Even my Z68 Professional Fatality board doesn't OC as well / easily as many lower end ASUS and Gigabyte boards, and it was $260 new and is marketed specifically for gamers and those looking to OC.

 

[Dropseaa]

Every asrock board i've owned has overclocked like butter. I'd def get a dif psu and go nvidia for gpu.