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SG05 Build Critique Please!

D

disc13

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2001
Messages
484
Hi there, thanks for anyone willing to look this over. I haven't looked into hardware for years so I just want another set of eyes to confirm my research that everything will fit together and work decently enough.

1. What will you be doing with this PC?
This will be my main PC and after web browising will mostly be used for Lightroom and light gaming (don't game much, but will be picking up SimCity)

2. Will you be overclocking?
No

3. What's your budget?
Cheaper is better, but I'm planning on this lasting 5+ years. My parts below are about $800.

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?

SilverStone Sugo Series SG05W-USB3.0 White SECC (300 watt psu)
GIGABYTE GA-Z77N-WIFI LGA 1155 Intel Z77
Noctua NH-L9i 95mm SSO2 CPU Cooler
Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III



6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. For reused parts, list brands, model #s, and, if applicable, firmware revisions.
Salvaging current computer's 500GB hard drive for storage.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support?
I just need it to support the components well. Board has built in wifi which is nice.

8. What resolution output do you need?
My monitor runs at 1680x1050.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive?
I like the size and shape of the case which is why I chose it. I may add a slimcd drive later.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring?
I can put this altogether barring any need to cut metal, this isn't my first rodeo.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem?
I like quiet which is why I'm adding the cpu cooler. Besides that the case has a 120mm fan and the video card has a fan.

12. How mobile does this system need to be?
Not at all, will remain sitting on desk.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Planning on using a current licence of Windows 7 and going 64-bit. May be moving to Windows 8 in the near future..

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Immediately once I get some feedback.

Thanks once again!
 
Looks fine. If you're not overclocking, Gigabyte also do an H77 board with WiFi, will save you $25 maybe.
 
IMO the extra cash for the Core i5 3570 isn't worth it. Just go with the Core i5 3470 and use that cash towards the faster HD 7770. With that said though, I'm not entirely sure if the HD 7770 will be enough for SimCity even at the relatively low resolution of 1680x1050.

RAM wise, if you're planning on doing extensive Lightroom work, you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot by going with a 2 x 4GB set of RAM. You would basically need to completely replace the RAM if you were to upgrade to 16GB of RAM later on. So I recommend getting a single 8GB stick of DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 rated at 1.5V. That'll leave you room to upgrade to 16GB of RAM without having to replace any RAM.
 
Thanks very much both of you for the input. I'll look into the h77 & 3470 and I may just bite the bullet and get the 16GB of RAM.

I have a relatively crappy system right now and I can play SimCity at my monitor resolution (at low settings), so I may just stick with the 7750 as it'll be more than good enough i think (I don't need everything on ultra high).
 
disc13 said:
I have a relatively crappy system right now and I can play SimCity at my monitor resolution (at low settings), so I may just stick with the 7750 as it'll be more than good enough i think (I don't need everything on ultra high).
Click to expand...

I highly recommend not doing that. The HD 7770 only costs $10 to $15 more and does offer enough of a performance increase to justify that cost increase:
$120 - Sapphire 100358L Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB PCI-E Video Card
 
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