Critique my spec.

sideBP

sideBP

sideBP

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Joined
26 Sep 2005
Posts
31
Hi,

I am looking to purchase a new custom PC, and think I have settled on the spec. below, can someone critique it as it's been a while since I've bought new hardware!

* Will be used mainly for Visual Studio 2010 development (+ local SQL server), maybe the odd older game (FSX) but this is not a big concern.
* No need for monitors, keyboard or mouse.
* Main concern is speed under Win 7 and it being relatively quiet

  • INTEL CORE I5 2500k - 3.30GHz - 6MB
  • XIGMATEK SCORPION HDT-S1283 COOLER
  • 4GB Corsair Memory DDR3 1600 (2 x 2GB)
  • 1000GB SATA Hard Drive
  • ASUS P8P67 LE REV3, P67(B3) - 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB, DDR3 1866(O.C.) - SATA6
  • ATI HD 5450 1024MB PCI Express DDR DVI
  • 2206 Black Midi Case with 500W PSU
  • DVD+/- RW - 20X Samsung Lightscribe
  • Integrated Sound Card


Total £498.44

I am toying with sticking in a 60Gb SSD for the primary HDD but not sure if its worth the additional £101. I've also considered the AMD Phenom II 1100T Black Edition which is slightly cheaper but is reputably a little slower.

Many thanks
 
Hi there,

The CPU is excellent - good choice. I would not suggest switching to the 1100T, it just isn't as good and is much hotter.

One thing I would say, is invest in a good PSU. Going with a nice spec system and a cheap, low quality PSU is never a good idea. This one is good quality and won't break the bank (here is a review).

The graphics card is also a very low-powered card and not really much better than the graphics onboard the 2500K CPU. I would suggest either spending a bit more and going for a higher quality GPU (nvidia graphics cards tend to perform better in FSX if I recall) or change the spec to a Z68 board, which will come out in a few days (or a H67 if you don't plan on overclocking) and use the onboard graphics.

For good performance in windows an SSD would indeed be a good idea. If you need at least 60GB, then I would go with this one.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I think I've decided to make the following changes:

  • Stick with the onboard gfx and then get a decent card at a later date (I mainly need it for development initially anyway), the only thing I'll miss is dual monitor support.
  • Put in a 60Gb SSD as primary (colleagues report that this really helps when working with lots of files in a VS solution).
  • Put in a better PSU (like the one suggested)

Cheers
 
sideBP said:
I think I've decided to make the following changes:

  • Stick with the onboard gfx and then get a decent card at a later date (I mainly need it for development initially anyway), the only thing I'll miss is dual monitor support.
  • Put in a 60Gb SSD as primary (colleagues report that this really helps when working with lots of files in a VS solution).
  • Put in a better PSU (like the one suggested)

Cheers
Click to expand...

Nice one, sounds like a good plan.

Just so you are clear, with sandy bridge only the H67 and Z68 boards can access the onboard graphics core - the P67 board can't access the onboard graphics at all.

The main difference between H67 and Z68 is that H67 doesn't allow CPU overclocking withile the Z68 does. Also, a new tech called Lucid Virtu has been implemented on Z68 boards which gives you access to the intel quick sync technology even when you have a discrete graphics card installed (with H67 this is not possible when you are using a discrete graphics card). For these reasons I would suggest going for a Z68 board - they should be released early next week.

Also, with the H67 and Z68 boards running the onboard graphics - you can run dual monitors, just connect one up by DVI and one by HDMI.
 
I'd be tempted to go for 8GB RAM (2x4GB), XMS3 is fine but Vengeance would be better, and it's all very cheap now. I've not used Visual Studio, but most M$ 'studios' can be memory-hungry, particularly with database apps.

You could have course see how 2x2GB works out, and add another (preferably identical) 2x2GB later - just make sure you've got a mobo with 4x DIMMs. But then you can't easily upgrade to 4x4GB...
 
Ah, in that case I would go with this kit for 8GB, its low profile and a bit cheaper than the vengeance. The issue with the vengeance is that the heatsinks on them are really tall - so if you are using them with a large air cooler there are often clearance problems.
 
Ok, so I was planning on buying a pre-built custom spec PC but have been bitten by the self build bug so have changed my spec a bit (combining the feedback thus far):

  • Radon Torosaur" Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz Overclocked Bundle - Gigabyte (£390.78)
  • Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) (£62.99)
  • Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) [CMX8GX3M2A1600C9] (£59.99)
  • OCZ Agility Series 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT60G) (£71.99)
  • LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM [GH22NS50] (£16.99)
  • Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black [RC-335] (£26.99)
  • OcUK Crusade 650W Dual-Rail High Efficiency Power Supply (£44.99)

Total: £614.73

This would give me 12Gb RAM (bit excessive perhaps!), 2Gb storage, a 4.4Ghz CPU (save me the bother of O/C) and a 60Gb SSD.

Any comments? My only concern is that apparently increasing the RAM requires a BIOS upgrade and therefore I will lose the overclocking; I guess this can be setup again but this may defeat paying extra for a pre-overclocked system?

Thanks again.
 
stulid said:
Crappy case and sucky PSU make me a sad panda.
Click to expand...

I am also a Saaaad panda.

tumblrl8stfxy95p1qc41at.jpg


Please make sure you go for a good quality PSU.

Also, that spec doesn't include a graphics card and the motherboard used in the overclocked bundle (P67) can't access the onboard graphics core. If you can wait till next week then the Z68 boards will be out which can both overclock the CPU and access the graphics core. Its almost certain that next week OCUK will come out with some new overclocked bundles which make use of the Z68 boards.

As for putting more RAM in, if you do this it will most likely not work with the overclocked settings (which have been optimised for a two module system). As such you would have to redo the overclock yourself - so you may as well buy the parts separately (which will cost a bit less) and have a go at overclocking (its pretty easy with these multiplier-unlocked CPUs).

If you want a pre-overclocked system with a load of RAM then you could go for this, but its abit on the expensive side (although it does use the even faster i7 2600K CPU).
 
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That i7 bundle is tempting but then with a better quality PSU and case I'm going to blow my budget pretty quickly.

I'll take your advice and hang on to see what bundles come out on the new board.

Cheers
 
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