My New Build & Some Related Questions...

Luke86

Luke86

Luke86

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13 Jun 2011
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21
Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my thread!

I have spent the past week or so building up what I think is a really good spec PC, I have about £1000 to spend on the base unit and a further £500 to spend on three monitors for eyefinity!

The hardware I have chosen is below and I have a few questions about it further down.

New PC

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD5-B3 P67 Socket 1155 GB LAN 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Memory - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1866Mhz Memory Kit CL9
HDD - OCZ 60GB Agility 3 SSD - SATA-III - Read 525MB/s Write 475MB/s 50,000 IOPS
Case - Antec 902
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-110-AN
Graphics - Asus ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-248-AS&tool=3
Processor - Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-359-IN
PSU - Antec TruePower New 650W Modular PSU

As I have stated I have approx £1000 to spend (I think the above hardware would set me back about £1070 which is fine). I have no need to a keyboard or mouse aswell!

The questions I have are, do you think the hardware is the best I could get for my money?

I was thinking of getting a better fan than the stock one and look at overclocking but the issue I might face is with the mega tall Corsair Vengence RAM, a bigger and better fan may obstruct the memory slots? What do you think?

Also with me getting 4x4gb memory, is this a good idea? I would rather get 8gb of memory that is far superior than have 16gb of average ram! (I have bookmarked some Dominator Memory 6gig Triple Channel ram that works out as the same price as 4x4gb of vengence but not sure which to go for?)

I hope I get some constructive critisms and I look forward to any comments you may have!

Luke
 
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Ditch the 16GB RAM and go for 8GB XMS3 RAM. More RAM = Harder to overclock.

I'm going to spec something up right now.

EDIT: I think I will let stulid do it, he's the best around here.
 
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8GB of dual channel RAM is plenty, 4GB is enough for most games.

Triple channel RAM is useless for Sandybridge as it's dual channel only.

The 2500K is just as good for gaming as the 2600K and will save you a few quid.

A 60GB SSD isn't going to hold many games so you need a HDD if you haven't got one already.

I'll let the experts re-spec. the whole thing.
 
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Vinni3 @H|H said:
Ditch the 16GB RAM and go for 8GB XMS3 RAM. More RAM = Harder to overclock.

I'm going to spec something up right now.
Click to expand...



Sounds great! What do you think to the Dominator Memory 6gig Triple Channel, I was watching a video on youtube which stated that this was the best. Also with regards to RAM I did work out that for the 16gig I was going to spend £150, would it not be worth getting 16gig of the XMS3 ram?

Luke
 
Luke86 said:
Sounds great! What do you think to the Dominator Memory 6gig Triple Channel, I was watching a video on youtube which stated that this was the best. Also with regards to RAM I did work out that for the 16gig I was going to spend £150, would it not be worth getting 16gig of the XMS3 ram?

Luke
Click to expand...

Sandybridge is dual channel not triple.

Forget all about triple channel RAM.
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £224.99
(£187.49) £224.99
(£187.49)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** with FREE Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler £139.99
(£116.66) £139.99
(£116.66)
OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
XFX Pro 750W Core Edition Power Supply £74.99
(£62.49) £74.99
(£62.49)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD753LJ) £26.99
(£22.49) £26.99
(£22.49)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £738.25
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £150.40
Total : £902.40

• For a gaming PC a 2500K CPU is all you need - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287
• XFX PSU is actually made by seasonic - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/1182
• Revision1 6950 card can be flashed into a 6970 - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18221844
• Motherboard comes with a aftermarket heatsink, and is a great board - http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-p67gd65-motherboard-review/


Did you need the harddrive and optical drive?
Did you need a copy of windows?
 
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Luke86 said:
Sounds great! What do you think to the Dominator Memory 6gig Triple Channel, I was watching a video on youtube which stated that this was the best. Also with regards to RAM I did work out that for the 16gig I was going to spend £150, would it not be worth getting 16gig of the XMS3 ram?

Luke
Click to expand...

Triple channel RAM is only for the X58 platform.

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You could swap the case for this but it's currently out of stock with no ETA.

EDIT: Ninja'ed by stulid...no surprises. :p
 
Surveyor said:
8GB of dual channel RAM is plenty, 4GB is enough for most games.

Triple channel RAM is useless for Sandybridge as it's dual channel only.

The 2500K is just as good for gaming as the 2600K and will save you a few quid.

A 60GB SSD isn't going to hold many games so you need a HDD if you haven't got one already.

I'll let the experts re-spec. the whole thing.
Click to expand...

OK thank but I was thinking of putting the 16gig in because I am not going to get this opportunity again for a few years, the last thing I want is to be looking at upgrading my parts in 18months.

I have a few large HDDs in my current PC ill be transfering across into the new PC, my plan for the 60gig SSD was to use it for Windows, Adobe and a few games. All of my other files will be stored on the other HDDs.
 
Luke86 said:
OK thank but I was thinking of putting the 16gig in because I am not going to get this opportunity again for a few years, the last thing I want is to be looking at upgrading my parts in 18months.

I have a few large HDDs in my current PC ill be transfering across into the new PC, my plan for the 60gig SSD was to use it for Windows, Adobe and a few games. All of my other files will be stored on the other HDDs.
Click to expand...

Nothing will ever use 16GB for your uses.
 
Luke86 said:
OK thank but I was thinking of putting the 16gig in because I am not going to get this opportunity again for a few years, the last thing I want is to be looking at upgrading my parts in 18months.

I have a few large HDDs in my current PC ill be transfering across into the new PC, my plan for the 60gig SSD was to use it for Windows, Adobe and a few games. All of my other files will be stored on the other HDDs.
Click to expand...

You won't get many new games on a 60GB SSD.

Crysis 2, for example, needs 9GB of disk space.

By the time you've installed Windows and everything else you'll be lucky to have room for a couple of games.
 
hmm, might have to get a 120gig SSD then, cheers for the tips.

Everyone seems to be picking cheaper graphics cards and processors, why is this?
 
Luke86 said:
Everyone seems to be picking cheaper graphics cards and processors, why is this?
Click to expand...

Did you see any of the links under my spec? you said eyefinity, meaning this is mostly a gaming PC? a 2600K CPU only has Hyperthreading as a bonus, which is useless in games, the Anandtech link compares a 2500K vs 2600K

And what about the two questions in yellow?
 
120GB Vertex if you want value for money.

2600K has no advantage over the 2600K for gaming, so that's why it gets picked up.

The Asus is flashable to 6970, so it is more sought after and more expensive. The Twin Frozr III is factory overclocked and cheaper, but not flashable. Personally, I would pick that one, and stick another 6950 later.
 
I think im going to go for the 6950 to begin with and I think because I can afford it I might aswell go for the 2600k.

stulid, I just checked the links, thanks a lot. with regards to the questions I dont need the drives or windows :) Basically just after the parts I listed in my initial post.

If you had the money would you get the 2500k instead of the 2600k?

Also with regards to the graphics card I also read that you can flash it to a 6970 so I think I might aswell get the 6950!!

I have updated the RAM to the Corsair XMS3 8GB and im going to get 16gig of it as I dont want to upgrade it further down the line, adding more RAM wont have a negative effect will it?!
 
I would save the money and get the 2500K, the ASUS or that MSi in my spec can be flashed.

Also get the MSI motherboard with Cooler bundle, the motherboard is brilliant and includes a OCgenie button that when you press gives a overclock of 4.2GHZ without even trying.

Putting more RAM sticks in can affect the top overlcok you get out of the CPU, but it will still overclock enough for you im sure.

Are your harddrives and optical drive SATA then?
 
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Its certainly a hell of a lot cheaper, and it comes with a free performance heatsink only makes it better:)

The MSI board has everything you could possibly want and is a much better fit for your budget.
 
The other thing you need to know is about eyefinity.
You need at least one monitor with a Displayport input for the Dispalyport output on the graphics card.
These displays with Dispalyport are expensive.

Fortunately you can convert the Displayport output into another DVI connector using a Dispalyport Active adapter, it must be an active adapter too and not a passive one.

http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-dongles.aspx
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000107&pid=357

So these adapters allow you to just use three identical monitors with simple DVI inputs.

The other option is to use a Sapphire FLEX card - http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=1099 - which doesnt need any kind of extras to allow you to use any three of its outputs
 
Yeah I had previously looked into this, decided to go fot the p2210h monitors, works out at about £450 for three brand new ones.
 
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