Yet another new build thread (but I only need a few components! :V)

[veritas7]

Hey all. I've been out of the loop when it comes to all the new chipsets and CPUs after Core 2/Series 4 (P45).


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming - Battlefield Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 (this fall), Brink (this summer) / mostly FPS
Browsing
h264/x264 encoding/playback
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 USD. I have Amazon Prime so shipping isn't an issue (I can do Newegg if it isn't on Amazon)
3) Where do you live?
Iowa, USA
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.
A) Motherboard
B) RAM
C) Processor
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Corsair TX850
Intel G1 80GB SSD + other HDD
Nvidia GTX 285
Creative X-Fi Titanium
Perhaps my Corsair H50 if I can get a LGA11XX mount (only have LGA775)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Moderately - hopefully, yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 1920x1200 26".
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
I need at least 8 SATA ports. I have a lot of hard drives.
I'm also looking at 8GB to 16 GB of memory.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a student VL license I believe, x64 Professional Windows 7.

I'll be shopping for a graphics card probably a few months after I build this. I didn't know how much would be left after getting the new components, so the graphics card isn't high on the priority list.

I know I am probably going to want the Core i7 2600K, but I am unsure for memory, as I am unfamiliar with DDR3/ and who is the most reliable/stable this new generation around (I'm leaning towards Corsair?)

I was also thinking about a Gigabyte board ( GA-P67A-UD7 ) but I heard some nasty things about them. What I need is at least 8 SATA ports and a reliable mobo (and also somewhat easy to overclock, as I've barely drabbled in it)

 

[Jonowxeno]

$1000 for CPU, RAM, and MB gives you a lot of room, my suggestions :

Corsair Vengeance 8GB CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 103.99 (buy 2 8GB kits, it's cheaper than 16GB)
Asus Maximus IV Extreme $364 (has 4 SATA III and 4 SATA II, so covers your 8)
i7 2600k $280 (Microcenter if near you, otherwise it's costs a little more)

You could also sell your GTX285, go with a cheaper MB, and get a newer graphics card and still be within your $1000

 

[luluthemonk]

If you are going to be doing a lot of encoding, then get the 2600k. If the primary usage will be for games, save a $100 and get the 2500k.
MSI P67 GD65 $180 (has 8 SATA ports)

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) $80 or x2 if you want

2600k = $330
2500k = $230

Mobo + 8 GB ram + CPU = $590 or $490
Mobo + 16 GB ram + CPU = $670 or $570

Leaves you quite a bit for a video card, for example:
2x XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB $490 AR

 

[tonytnnt]

2600k for $300 with a promo code
MSI P67A-GD65 for $180 (but there are a lot of combos available for this board.)
8 GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1333 MHz for $70 with promo code

Then spend $450 on a GPU.

 

[veritas7]

Thanks for the recommendations, guys!

I've always sort of been wary of MSI... are they now a reliable board manufacturer? I've always been a Gigabyte/EVGA/Asus kind of guy, to see sort of where I'm coming from.

Also, I'm assuming this "promo code" for the 2600K is in the Buy/Sell subforum for... Newegg? Tiger?

EDIT: I see some of you are recommending 1333 or 1600 RAM... which should it be? I should only be concerned for 1600 if I go somehow over... 400MHz? (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still trying to puzzle together RAM/FSB stuff )

 

[Dangman]

I've always sort of been wary of MSI... are they now a reliable board manufacturer? I've always been a Gigabyte/EVGA/Asus kind of guy, to see sort of where I'm coming from.

MSI is reliable.

EDIT: I see some of you are recommending 1333 or 1600 RAM... which should it be? I should only be concerned for 1600 if I go somehow over... 400MHz? (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still trying to puzzle together RAM/FSB stuff )

You'll be fine with DDR3 1333 RAM. With the Sandy Bridge CPUs, there is no FSB/RAM to speak of. When overclocking the Sandy Bridge CPUs, you don't touch the RAM at all. It doesn't matter what RAM you get for the SB CPUs as it won't matter at all when it comes to performance.

 

[tonytnnt]

Sorry, the coupon codes are for Newegg. See this post for the memory and CPU codes, plus an example of a combo deal you can get with the motherboard.

 

[veritas7]

Great info guys, you saved me some money! I'll definitely try out that MSI board and possibly the GSkill sticks, still unwary of them as they've sort of been ticking time bombs in the past (when it comes to heat/use over time).

Cheers!

 

[tonytnnt]

You can go Corsair or something else if you're more comfortable with them. Performance will be similar. Just make sure you get 1.5 volt DDR3 at 1333 MHz. You can get faster than that but it won't do much for you performance wise.

 

[veritas7]

After some more researching/reading, it appears that MSI board has a %20 1 Egg star on Newegg... normally Newegg customers aren't the brightest, but it appears that it's a hit or miss lemon...

Any other suggestions for motherboards?

EDIT: Also, know anywhere where I can get a LGA 115X mounting bracket for my Corsair H50? Corsair is "out of stock" .... pretty sad IMO, considering I'd like to use their product on a new motherboard...

 

[Dangman]

After some more researching/reading, it appears that MSI board has a %20 1 Egg star on Newegg... normally Newegg customers aren't the brightest, but it appears that it's a hit or miss lemon...

Any other suggestions for motherboards?

Well this mobo is a decent choice despite the QC issues:
$180 - MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard

 

[tonytnnt]

MSI and G.Skill have been having issues it seems. I suspect that's why there's a such a large group of people reviewing the board negatively, but I can't be certain. See this post for details. It looks like MSI boards don't like G. Skill memory with timings tighter than CL9. It seems like all sorts of P67 boards are having issues right now.

 

[Dangman]

MSI and G.Skill have been having issues it seems. I suspect that's why there's a such a large group of people reviewing the board negatively, but I can't be certain. See this post for details. It looks like MSI boards don't like G. Skill memory with timings tighter than CL9.

Well luckily for us, most of the G.Skill RAM we recommend is CL9 and rated at 1333 speeds. So there shouldn't be any compatibility issues unless G.Skill missed that.

 

[veritas7]

I'd still like to know the general consensus for a secondary board in case the MSI P67A-GD65 doesn't work out by any chance.

I'm looking at the ASUS Sabertooth P67, or the P67A Deluxe as my second choices.

 

[Dangman]

I'd still like to know the general consensus for a secondary board in case the MSI P67A-GD65 doesn't work out by any chance.

I'm looking at the ASUS Sabertooth P67, or the P67A Deluxe as my second choices.

Both those motherboards are way overpriced. I recommend taking a look at at Asus' lower priced P67 offerings.

 

[E4g1e]

Both those motherboards are way overpriced. I recommend taking a look at at Asus' lower priced P67 offerings.

In fact, the Asus P8P67 Deluxe is a good buy only if you intend to load up all of the PCIe slots (including setting the x4 slot to run at full x4 bandwidth) and still make use of most or all of the mobo's onboard devices. Otherwise, don't go higher than a P8P67 Pro.

And the Sabertooth P67 is significantly overpriced for a mobo that's only functionally the same as the P8P67 Pro. The difference is that the Sabertooth has one fewer PCI slot and has a third PCIe-x1 slot instead of the x4 slot. Even the P8P67 EVO is a better value than the Sabertooth P67 although most people don't really need all of the features it has.

 

[veritas7]

Well, I guess I'm ready to pull the trigger, but I really to know whether older Corsair H50s need a new mounting bracket for LGA 1155, I have had mine for about 2 years now and it's currently on a LGA 775 system.

Otherwise, anyone know where I can get a number for Corsair, everything I find on their website is only form submition and the bracket is "out of stock" on their website.

 

[Dangman]

Well, I guess I'm ready to pull the trigger, but I really to know whether older Corsair H50s need a new mounting bracket for LGA 1155, I have had mine for about 2 years now and it's currently on a LGA 775 system.

Otherwise, anyone know where I can get a number for Corsair, everything I find on their website is only form submition and the bracket is "out of stock" on their website.

If your H50 did not come with a socket LGA1156 bracket (same as the LGA 1155 bracket), then yes you will need a new mounting bracket. Contact info for Corsair right on the Corsair site:
http://www.corsair.com/company/contact/

 

[veritas7]

Last question: Is this MSI P67A-GD65 board also VT compatible?

I run various virtual machines through Oracle's/Sun's VirtualBox as well, I totally forgot to mention this in my original post.

Also, finally got my LGA 1156 bracket in from Corsair, phew!

 

[Dangman]

Last question: Is this MSI P67A-GD65 board also VT compatible?

I run various virtual machines through Oracle's/Sun's VirtualBox as well, I totally forgot to mention this in my original post.

Also, finally got my LGA 1156 bracket in from Corsair, phew!

Technically, officially, and out of the box, it doesn't. With that said, supposedly a new beta BIOs for the MSI mobo supports VT-D. Unfortunately information about which mobo supports VT-D and which doesn't is a bit scarce. You're gonna have to do your own legwork on that.

Do note that you should not get the 2500K since it does not have VT-D. So the 2600K is your best bet for VT-D support

 

[veritas7]

Technically, officially, and out of the box, it doesn't. With that said, supposedly a new beta BIOs for the MSI mobo supports VT-D. Unfortunately information about which mobo supports VT-D and which doesn't is a bit scarce. You're gonna have to do your own legwork on that.

Do note that you should not get the 2500K since it does not have VT-D. So the 2600K is your best bet for VT-D support

Yeah, I was already planning to get the 2600K. I have all my components ready to be bought in my newegg account since I got my new mounting bracket for my Corsair H50 this morning, but as I was just doing a quick browse of the MSI board I found someone who had complained that it didn't have VT-D but a new BIOS was suppose to be coming out with support for it.

Maybe I should hold out once again ... I really wish it didn't take over a year for new northbridge mobos to mature and have everything the previous gen already had...

 

[veritas7]

So are there no P67 motherboards with VT-D?

I can't seem to find one at all. Damn. And now my current system is flaking out like no other, it's either time for a total wipe or finding whether the mobo or GPU of mine is causing crashes/freezes too :\

 

[Dangman]

So are there no P67 motherboards with VT-D?

Yes and no: I've found links saying which P67 motherboards have VT-D but I haven't been able to find independent verification for said motherboards.

 

[veritas7]

Yes and no: I've found links saying which P67 motherboards have VT-D but I haven't been able to find independent verification for said motherboards.

Please do list them as I'm willing to sacrifice my time to call their support or do some email inqueries on my part.

Even though my VM work is not necessary, I still feel like I can't really go without my VMs for more than a month waiting for this BIOS.

And especially since my system right now is bluescreening out the butt, I have no patience to troubleshoot (I know it's not the RAM, definitely something more ill-related like the GPU or mobo) or have the time to reinstall Windows on something I'm going to replace soon anyway (hopefully).

Gah, technology!

 

[Dangman]

Please do list them as I'm willing to sacrifice my time to call their support or do some email inqueries on my part.

http://siphon9.net/loune/2011/01/list-of-sandy-bridge-lga1155-h67p67-motherboards-that-support-vt-d/

Even though my VM work is not necessary, I still feel like I can't really go without my VMs for more than a month waiting for this BIOS.

You do know VT-D isn't exactly necessary for virtual machines right?

And especially since my system right now is bluescreening out the butt, I have no patience to troubleshoot (I know it's not the RAM, definitely something more ill-related like the GPU or mobo) or have the time to reinstall Windows on something I'm going to replace soon anyway (hopefully).

Ouch. Good luck with that

 

[veritas7]

http://siphon9.net/loune/2011/01/list-of-sandy-bridge-lga1155-h67p67-motherboards-that-support-vt-d/

You do know VT-D isn't exactly necessary for virtual machines right?

Ouch. Good luck with that

Hmm. Maybe all this time along I've never needed it? I read that VT-D is only really needed for 3D applications, is that true?

So far I've only been doing cross-platform and cross-browser testing within VirtualBox with Windows XP SP3, Debian, and Slackware. I haven't done any sort of 3D stuff of the sort.

So you're saying that I still should be able to run my VMs with VirtualBox regardless without VT-D?

Edit: Seems like I answered my own question perhaps: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=31046934&postcount=8

I guess I'm using VT-x instead of VT-D (which utilizes a passthrough for using PCI devices in the VM?)

Might pull the trigger now on my stuff (and order the 2600K and GTX 580 through Amazon as well for 2 day shipping) so I don't have to wait for XFX support (for my possibly flakey GTX 285 - only Monday to Friday 8-5PST support... GG I miss 24/7 support )

 

[Dangman]

Yeah you only needed VT-X. I use to run Virtual Box all the time on systems without VT-D. Hell some of them didn't have VT-X.