Build new computer, help with spec please.

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:01

Hi, I intended to build a computer months ago but sadly the money had to be spent on boring life stuff. Now i'm flush again :cool:

and I can almost taste that new system, trouble is i'm generally a noob, so i need some advice.

Heres what ive got so far..........

I need suggestions on RAM, graphics cards and cases. I'm not really sure wether to go for a 5850 or a 5870 but i'm leaning towards the 5850, because of the price. As far a RAM goes I have no clue what so ever. Also no clue on case.

Any suggestions would be more than welcome or if you see anything wrong with what I have so far.

Thanks

freezin8472 · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:03

I'd say go for a 5850 over the 5870. Also, why do you have 2 cpu coolers?

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:17

Just a mistake, only 1 cooler.

panta · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:18

What's your budget?

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:27

Around 1000 euros or 900 pounds

panta · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:43

Then get:

cheapy SKT 1156 motherboard

4GB DDR3 1333 / 1600

Corsair VX 550 / TX 650 / HX 650

HD 5850 / 5770 / 4890

Samsung F3 500GB

i5 750 (use cooler that comes with it)

Whatever DVD drive

Antec 300 case

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 00:55

I think I would prefer to go AMD

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 01:03

The case and psu might be an idea tho

panta · 23 Feb 2010 at 01:38

Why would you prefer AMD hmm? Not favouritism, I hope?

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 23 Feb 2010 at 01:46

TBH, the Phenom II X4 955BE has shot up in price by around £14 in the last week or two only on OcUK for some strange reason and makes it too expensive as a result. The X4 965BE is priced too near the Core i5 750 to make much sense IMHO.

The main advantage of going for an AMD setup on OcUK would be for a cheaper symmetrical Crossfire setup with a motherboard such as the Asus M4A79XTD Evo:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-366-AS

It even has cooling for the VRM which is important for overclocking any quad core.

I would look at this article:

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/

The cheapest P55 motherboard which does symmtrical Crossfire on OcUK would be the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?&groupid=701&catid=5&subid=1495&sortby=priceAsc

If you are going for a similar quality P55 motherboard to the Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3 I would be looking at the following motherboard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-363-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

It too has an 8+2 phase VRM and all solid capacitors. The cheaper motherboards tend to have 4+1 phase VRMs.

There are cheaper P55 motherboards available but they are similar in functionality to a motherboard like a MSI 770-C45.

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 02:08

Information overload :confused:

, thanks for all the information and suggestions guys but i think its time for bed, college in the morning. I'll give this a serious look tomorrow.

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 09:41

If i was to go intel would it be worth going with the i7? and would the Asus P7P55D be sufficant for an i7?. Also, what kind of psu would i need to run that kind of system?

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 10:24

On second thoughts the i7 is a little rich for my blood anyway.

so, how does this look? I had no idea about the ram or psu, so i just thru these in.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 23 Feb 2010 at 14:42

zookopf said:
On second thoughts the i7 is a little rich for my blood anyway.

so, how does this look? I had no idea about the ram or psu, so i just thru these in.

The i5 661 is just a dual core with HT so I would get the Core i5 750 instead.

Also you have listed two motherboards by mistake!!

I would also not be paying £250 for an HD5850 unless you want the the copy of AVP and the better warranty the card you linked to has.

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 15:16

Yep, your right, silly me. How does this look?.......

I would also appreciate some suggestions on RAM and PSU and do you think the antec 300 will be big enough?

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 23 Feb 2010 at 15:43

This RAM should do the job:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

This PSU would also do the job:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

These two PSUs are quite decent though although they are expensive:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-022-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

The Seasonic has fully modular cabling and runs passively at low loads.

AFAIK the Antec 300 case should be fine for an HD5850 1GB.

zookopf · 23 Feb 2010 at 15:54

Great, thats the lot then. The seasonic does look good but i'm not sure if I can strech the extra 40 pounds. I can always upgrade later if the OCZ gets on my nerves anyway. Thanks a lot for the help.

Should be fun building.