an introduction/my build/gpu advice

liamgo

liamgo

liamgo

Associate
Joined
5 Oct 2010
Posts
295
Location
Stoke-on-Trent
Hi all, first post here but ive been lurking for some months now :)

basically after reading over these forums regularly i decided id build myself a new system for the first time. im not a gamer, i just browse the net, instant message, listen to music etc but wanted to build a system that was,

a, future proof to some degree
b, easily upgradable (which i think/hope iv managed)
c, good starting base to adapt on

now by c, i mean i may want to take up things i didnt or was unable to do on my present rig, such as gaming, photoshopping etc so would like a system that would easily take what i threw at it.
ive also based my decisions on the fact i want to use it as a HTPC but heres where i would like some advice, a graphics card, now i dont think i need the latest gpu but again i dont want something rubbish, just to some up what i would need of a gpu,

a, to have a decent HTPC
b, photoshop
c, maybe gaming in the future, stuff like grand theft auto etc.

my build at the moment is sort of semi completed, i went with,

Antec 300 case
Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55
OCZ 700W PSU
sony dvdrw

still need to get an i5 760 cpu, ocz gold ram, a hdd and obviously a gpu, heres a picture of what iv managed so far.

rwkhg4.jpg


hope this is in the right forum, thanks in advance and merry christmas.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forums :)

Your build looks great so far. Couple of pointers to push you in the right direction:
-OCZ gold RAM looks good, but is generally passed over in favour of Corsair XMS3, as Corsair are the business. 4GB is plenty unless you're rendering monstrous images in photoshop or something.
-The i5 760 is a solid choice
-GPU largely depends on your budget, but it looks like the 5770 for £95 would be the right balance for you.
 
i was debating over the ram, gold vs xms3, il go with the xms3 if worth the extra :)

cpu wise im going with a h50 cooler so would like to overclock at some point when ive got a better understanding of it.

budget for the gpu, i should have mentioned this in my original post but basically il see what suggestion i get for what id ideally need and work with that, so no budget as such, just as i say, i dont want something rubbish that id have to replace if i chose to do something that would require more umph later anyway, better to have too much than not enough.

ive been offered an hd3780x2 for £30, ive done some research into them and they seem ok? would it be enough for my initial needs?
 
It doesn't HAVE to be Corsair, but personally I wouldn't get one of OCZ's older RAM sets as I have heard bad things about them not running stably at their advertised specs.

Yes you could probably use the HD3870X2, but I'd plan on replacing it as soon as you want to play games like GTA 4 or whatever follows it. Which doesn't sound like what you want to do.

I'm not sure if I'd buy one either, but then I don't know much about it. I would have thought that it would be missing a few features compared to the 5000 and 6000 series that in particular would be useful for HTPC tasks. Namely audio bitstreaming, I don't think the UVD engine can be backported to older cards either?

What is the resolution of the monitor you will be using? and how much do you care about playing games at native resolution with high detail settings?
 
very helpful post thanks, useful to know about the ocz ram.

screen is a hd ready 32" tv i think res is 1380x720 (i think its that, along them lines anyway)

i think what il do for the time being is re-use a hdd i have now, hold off getting the h50 and get the 5770, your right i dont really like the like idea of spending out on something as a stop gap and theres no immediate rush for it to be completed anyway.

will look into alternative ram and a 5770 card. :)
 
I would go for Corsair- they're the bee's knees :)

For the H50, it's apparently very good, but I'd tend to go for the Hyper 212 or Gelid Tranquilo over it- similar performance for a lot less.

2 3870s would certainly be capable of what you need, but there'd be a lot of power draw and heat, and the 3870s are *very* old now. If you want the best bang-for-buck, get a 6850, but I can't see the 5770 being a problem unless you regularly game on max at 1900x1200.
 
hybrid572 said:
I would go for Corsair- they're the bee's knees :)

For the H50, it's apparently very good, but I'd tend to go for the Hyper 212 or Gelid Tranquilo over it- similar performance for a lot less.

2 3870s would certainly be capable of what you need, but there'd be a lot of power draw and heat, and the 3870s are *very* old now. If you want the best bang-for-buck, get a 6850, but I can't see the 5770 being a problem unless you regularly game on max at 1900x1200.
Click to expand...

HD5770 was rated 10/10 for gaming up to a res of 1080 for High/Ultra settings, I think it would cope and manage above the 25fps minimum to avoid jerky gameplay at 1900x1200.

If not, a 1GB GTX460 will certainly manage it.


Also, the e retailer with a name similar to the Bays is selling 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 PC-12800 ram for £39...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom