first build

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 20:57

Howdy everyone, i just joined this place a few days ago after a nice tipoff from one of my friends about the prices (they are awesome) i've been looking for a new PC for about a month or so and i'm going to be buying the parts from here and i was hoping if i could run them by you guys first (you all seem so helpful) to see if everything will work together nicely, and also any recommendations for small upgrades.
One issue i've had is cooling, some people have told me i will need it, and others not, i don't plan on overclocking yet, so i thought i'd get a few opinions, i'll go ahead and link what i'm thinking of getting to see what you guys think.
Cheers in advance.

CPU: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-253-AM

Mobo: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-339-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

Memory: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-181-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

GPU: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-222-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515

HDD: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-208-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

DVD: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-039-OT&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

Case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

And for my power supply i have a 650w, but that's from another source and i don't want to offend

So that's my build, i've probably made a few schoolboy errors, i haven't really kept myself in the loop (darn console gaming -.-) so my knowledge is a bit hazy.

With the OS on top i calculated it at roughly ~£770 and i'm probably willing to go a little bit higher if it's going to keep me going for a while. Again, thanks for your help in advance, it's appreciated

Chris

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:09

I would make sure that the PSU is a decent one. It would be useful it you listed what model it is!

Also the 790FX motherboards are nice but a 790X motherboard which would do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X would be a cheaper option IMHO.

I assume this computer is for gaming??

This is what I would get:

Phenom II X4 955BE ~ £122

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

Asus M4A79XTD Evo ~ £86

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-366-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

8+2 phase VRM with VRM cooling,all solid capacitors and can do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X

4GB 1600MHZ DDR3 RAM ~ £83

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

2XHD5770 1GB ~ £226

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-131-OK

Antec 300 ~ £43

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-081-SA

SATA optical drive ~ £17

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-038-OT&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit ~ £76

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-127-MS

A pair of HD5770 1GB cards in Crossfire can challenge an HD5870:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=862

The total comes to around £694 excluding postage.

I would save the rest of you budget to do any upgrades if required at some point in the future.

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:19

Ah, yeah it may have helped if i mentioned the make of the PSU yeah.

PSU: 650W EZCool Silent SLi pPFC Power Supply PCI-E + SATA AMD & P4 Ready 12cm Silent Fan ATX12v Ready

I've never actually bought a PSU before as all my other PC's were for very casual gaming and i would usually be able to get a case with a PSU in it that could run everything no problems

For the OS i actually marked on £130 roughly for a copy of home edition, but seeing as this is indeed for gaming, premium edition would be more than enough (completely forgot about it tbh) and you've actually managed to make it cheaper when i was willing to go higher, that's always a thumbs up ^^

I was looking through the reviews and these forums for a while actually looking at the Crossfired 5770's Vs a single 5870 debate and was unsure about what to do, at first iw as only going to get a single 5770 as my budget wouldn't have allowed for another, but with your changes i don't see any harm in sticking another one in.

Again, thanks for the help, and if the PSU sucks (which it probably will, it's very cheap) let me know and i can probably get a better one with the cash you've freed up.

Chris

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:23

Ditch the PSU for this build as it is notorious for damaging hardware.

I would look at this PSU instead:

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

It has a pair of PCI-E power connectors meaning it will either power two HD5770 1GB cards or a single card like an HD5870. This is because the HD5770 uses a single power connector and the HD5870 uses two.

The only problem with the OEM version of Windows I have linked to is that it will be tied to the motherboard used in the PC. If you change the motherboard to a different model you cannot re-use the licences. OTH,the retail version can be transferred to a different motherboard or computer:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-124-MS

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:36

Well i'll definitely be changing PSU's then, wouldn't want the kit to be friend by a bad PSU.

On the OS side i guess i can decide which version i want when i've decided on the price, i don't plan on updgrading the rig for a few years, but you never know, and for an extra £30 if i can afford it i may aswell.

For my last question though, what would the temps be like for things like the CPU and such seeing as i've been told by a few people that cooling shouldn't be necessary seeing as i'm not planning to overclock yet, but others have said it will need cooling regardless of overclocking.

Again, thanks for the help, Chris

Edit: I should probably mention that i'm not going to be buying the parts before the 18th of February, so i know some prices are gonna change, most likely one being the GPU price, if that is to happen, should i just shoot for the cheapest GPU available, or is there any difference at all between the different manufacturers

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:39

If you are not overclocking then the stock cooler will be fine.

The stock Phenom II cooler does the job:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16744/4

As long as the CPU temperature under load is below 60C the CPU will be fine.

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:43

Alright then, happy days, you've been a great help, now all i can do is wait for the 18th to roll around, then cross my fingers and hope nothing goes wrong on the build

Thanks again for the help, it's appreciated.

Chris

bigjimmyauk · 8 Feb 2010 at 21:48

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
If you are not overclocking then the stock cooler will be fine.

The stock Phenom II cooler does the job:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16744/4

As long as the CPU temperature under load is below 60C the CPU will be fine.

i would try and keep the load temp below 55 at 60 things get a little rough and can often end up dropping the cpu speed to allow it to cool down

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 22:03

Would it be wise to buy a cooler now then whilst i'm orering everything at once, or would it be better to wait until i get the rig built and running before deciding what to do int erms of cooling, and if i sould get some sort of cooling, any recommendations?

Chris

Cookeh · 8 Feb 2010 at 22:08

HD5770 isnt recommendable
Strech to a HD5850, or a HD4890 (Considering a HD4870 out-performs the HD5770, you cant go wrong with a HD4890

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 22:34

I'm still not sure what to do about the GPU, i'm not sure if i wanna go for 2x 5770's or a 5850, looking at some of the performances on other threads and stuff they seem extremely close.

Cookeh: i may have thought about getting a 4890, but from what i've seen the 5770 performs a lot better and of course is DX11 ready which is a plus.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 22:59

If you intend to get an HD5850 1GB you could always add another one in 12 months time if you needed the extra performance(I assume they would be quite cheap secondhand by then).

OTH,you would need to get a PSU with 4 PCI-E power connectors like the following:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Regarding aftermarket coolers I would look at the following ones:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-008-TI

bigjimmyauk · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:05

Parky96 said:
I'm still not sure what to do about the GPU, i'm not sure if i wanna go for 2x 5770's or a 5850, looking at some of the performances on other threads and stuff they seem extremely close.

Cookeh: i may have thought about getting a 4890, but from what i've seen the 5770 performs a lot better and of course is DX11 ready which is a plus.

5770 is fine i play crysis on 1920x1080 on very high settings with no AA and it runs 25,30FPS which is pretty decent in my eyes

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:12

Hmm, looks like it's gonna be down to how much i'm willing to spend again i guess, if i do get the 5850 and decide to cf them in the future, is that when i would need the new PSU?
At the minute though, it would seem to be a good choice to get a single more powerful GPU with the prospect of cfing in the future to get a better performance.

In terms of cooling i might buy one of those fans just to be on the safe side.

Thanks again Cat, you're a great help ^^

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:17

Parky96 said:
Hmm, looks like it's gonna be down to how much i'm willing to spend again i guess, if i do get the 5850 and decide to cf them in the future, is that when i would need the new PSU?

The sad thing is that the OCZ 600W would be powerful enough IMHO but the lack of PCI-E power connectors in most sub £80 PSUs is annoying!! OTH I would look around at the price of the Antec PSU I linked too.

Jules2k7 · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:22

The HD5000 series have a remarkably low power consumption, I mean the max power consumption of 2 5850s would be around 300W, so your 600W should be fine. In terms of 6-pin PCI-E connectors, you could prob squeeze some juice out of the molex power cables, because most graphics cards come with 2 molex to 6-pin anyway these days.

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:26

Well, if my math is correct, if i get a single 5850 GPU as opposed to 2x 5770, the antec PSU, one of the fans and the retail version of Win 7, it should come to about ~£810 excluding delivery.
Not too bad really if in the future the PSU could handle another 5850, i may aswell spend that little extra now as opposed to later

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:34

Parky96 · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:39

Aye, i think that'll do me for a while, again, you've been a great help, and i'll cross my fingers and hope it's still a similar price come the 18th

Thanks for all the help Cat and whoever else posted, i'll be sure to get the best out of this rig for quite some time ^^

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 8 Feb 2010 at 23:43

One more thing! Run the RAM at 1333MHZ using lower latencies if you are not overclocking.

This article is useful to read regarding memory performance with the current Phenom II processors:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-ddr3,2319.html