[ickarumba1]

Hello!

I've decided to have my second computer built by myself, so I've searched online stores etc to find a medium-priced build.

Here's my list: https://pricespy.co....o=lista&k=24103

I need suggestions on what I could change to get more value out of my money, especially the motherboard (as most people know, choosing a motherboard is the most annoying part).

All comments are appreciated.

[zjacka]

You could save around $90 with these motherboards if you don't ever plan to crossfire/sli
Asus P7P55D-E LX https://pricespy.co....ct.php?p=540780
Gigabyte P55A UD3 https://pricespy.co....ct.php?e=517970

Let us know what features you do need or would like and what you plan to do with the computer.

Edited by zjacka, 04 November 2010 - 10:21 AM.

[ickarumba1]

Thanks, I've now switched the motherboard to Gigabyte P55A UD3.

I'm using the computer as a normal desktop, although I will sometimes play some FPS games.
I use the computer to skype as well.
I also may overclock.

I've also now switched the CPU from the i5 760 to the i7 860. I want to know if this is worth it.

[ArchSerpo]

Stick with the i5 760 over the i7 if youre only using it for a normal desktop with some gaming. Some FPS games? Could drop down to a 5770 if you want, both changes will save you around $220~

[zjacka]

Stay with the 760 unless your planning to lots of encoding or other intensive tasks. It's a great cpu and overclocks well with a good cooler.
If you want to spend more money spend it on the graphics....but only if your using a monitor with a large resolution and want to play with high details.

[ickarumba1]

I've changed the i7 back to the i5 after additional research. After OC, the i7 isn't any faster than the i5 except for hyperthreading.

Could someone please take a look at the motherboard, case and PSU?
I want to know if it's a decent motherboard for OC.

[TomSahz]

Hi there

The PSU and case are good choices, however I would probably consider a PSU by Corsair, PC Power & Cooling or Antec as these brands seem to be the most reliable.

If you are not planning to crossfire then theres probably a better choice of motherboard. However if you are planning to then its probably a good board for that with the 2 16x PCIE lanes. Not sure whether cards would run at 16/16 or 8/8 speeds on that board though.

You could actually save a bit and get better performance on the HDD by grabbing a samsung spinpoint F3 1Tb. Only a few dollars cheaper but much faster, fastest series of 7200rpm drives out at the moment unless things have changed in the past week or so.

Hope that helps!

[ickarumba1]

I'm not planning to crossfire, have you got a better board in mind?

[zjacka]

+1 for the importance of getting a good psu. Doesn't have to be high watts just well built.

You could save a little money on the motherboard by giving up USB3 and SATA6 or by getting a smaller board ie. Mini ITX
That P55A-UD3 has two PCIE x16 lanes but the second runs at x4 so would not be the best for crossfire anyway (UD4 and above both run at x8)

[ickarumba1]

I've gone with the antec truepower 650.
How much more cooling do I need to push the i5 to 4.0 GHz?

[Krustigutz]

You could save a little money on the motherboard by giving up USB3 and SATA6 or by getting a smaller board ie. Mini ITX

I think you mean mATX or Micro ATX which are the more common smaller form factor boards. Which are also cheaper than the Mini ITX motherboards.

http://upload.wikime..._Comparison.jpg

And if you are going down the mATX line, then either of these are pretty decent motherboards:

https://pricespy.co....ct.php?e=529057
https://pricespy.co....ct.php?p=467973

Edited by Krustigutz, 06 November 2010 - 10:44 AM.

[ickarumba1]

I'm sticking with ATX, thanks. I want to leave my options open for upgrades, such as Crossfire, RAID etc.

Is 4 GB RAM plenty? Or is it better to have more on this computer?

[Krustigutz]

4GB is pretty much the minimum for a gaming computer. Any more though really is quite unnecessary.

[ickarumba1]

I'm planning to push the CPU to 4.0 GHz. Can anyone tell me if the CPU cooler I put in will fit the case. Or is there is a better alternative?

[ArchSerpo]

https://pricespy.co....9...e contac 29

Its a bit more expensive but performs better and it should fit in the case easily

[ickarumba1]

I don't think you've actually looked at my list.
I was looking at this CPU cooler before. Yes it will fit, but it doesn't give the cooling that I need.

[ArchSerpo]

Yea ive seen it before, just didnt remember the 212 being in there. Besides the 212 is a stronger cooler than the arctic cooling one you did have in there

[ickarumba1]

Hmmm, I wonder if the cooling is enough. It adds 35 degrees celcius above ambient temperature when overclocking to 4.0GHz.

[ArchSerpo]

Ambient of 20 plus 35 = 55c. Seems pretty cool for a 4ghz OC, whered you get that info from?

[ickarumba1]

There were some tests on Tom's hardware.

[ArchSerpo]

Using the hyper 212+? They were probably using something a bit more powerful and expensive, but yea getting 4ghz is fairly easy with the 760.

Using that cooler expect temps around 70 with a 3.8 OC
http://forums.anandt...d.php?t=2048457

[ickarumba1]

What's the highest temp you'd want on the chip?

If this isn't powerful enough, what would you suggest? I guess anything more powerful would require a bigger case as well.

Edited by ickarumba1, 06 November 2010 - 09:31 PM.

[ArchSerpo]

Looking at the case i believe it only has a 12cm front intake? Youll want at least a rear/top fan as well otherwise temps will be higher than expected.
Is the 4ghz mark that important to you? For everyday use i would only OC it upto around 3.5.

[ickarumba1]

Actually, not many people need something that fast. I just want to see how fast it can get because this is my first 'performance' computer.

[ArchSerpo]

Getting it to 4ghz will probably require a fair bit of tinkering with stuff in the BIOS i have no idea about, and i doubt you would either since its youre first performance build.. aim for 3.6 with the 212+ and if you want more check your temps and find a OCing guide

[dr spock]

If you are only building a mid-range rig for general computing and casual FPS (which I'm guessing based on the list and comments), there really isn't any need to overclock.

Pushing your i5 above stock clocks will won't increase gaming performance (GPU bound) or boot speeds (HDD bound). Overclocking is only really an advantage if you are often doing compute intensive tasks like professional photoshop/CAD or video processing/encoding. Otherwise you just end up with disabled power saving/increased heat etc.

You could also go with a cheaper PSU if you don't intend on adding a 2nd graphics card in the near future (unlikely for casual gaming on a budget), for example:

or

[ickarumba1]

What about the motherboard then? Since I don't think I'll need crossfire, would a cheaper motherboard do?

[ArchSerpo]

Im pretty sure thats the asus equivalent of the gigabyte p55a-ud3, so just stick with that, theres no need to get a H55 mobo

[ickarumba1]

Updated(ish) list.

https://pricespy.co....=24103#rparams=

I still need more opinions please. I'd like to keep the PSU because of it being modular. However, if someone else can find me a reliable modular PSU for cheaper (550W+), please post.

I have a feeling that the case I chose is a bit expensive. I'd like a case with a transparent side window, that looks cool and is cool (to the components). Does anyone have a suggestion?

[5lay3r666]

This is a cheep good case i have one my self lots of fan slots but only comes with one fan sadly