Need help picking last few bits for new build.

Teaboy

Teaboy

Teaboy

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I've been using the same Dual Xeon machine for the past 5 years or so, but last month the motherboard broke so it's time for an upgrade :eek: The motherboard has been replaced three times since I've had it, and all four have broken with the same fault - a dodgy CPU1 socket. They were Asus NCCH-DL motherboards, and even though I've used Asus since my first PC in 1997, I've lost all confidence in them.

I've been completely out of the loop for a long time and I have no idea what's good or not. It's been a while since I've been here :D
"You last visited: 14th Jan 2006 at 14:28"

So I'm going to be buying a new computer, to be used for a bit of gaming (I currently play GTA Vice City and San Andreas and I plan to play GTA4 and Grid, etc.), but mainly for audio production. I already have hard drives, a good firewire audio interface, monitors, etc. And I want the computer to be as silent as possible because my mics are very sensitive.

I'm pretty certain about these bits:

I'm having trouble picking a motherboard, case, graphics card and CPU fan.

The motherboard will probably be a Gigabyte EX58-UD5. I would've got the Asus but they look about the same in terms of performance, and I think I've had enough of Asus. Unless anyone has any better ideas?

I was planning on getting an Antec P183 case with the CP-850 PSU. My current computer has an Antec P160 (and Antec PSU) and although it's pretty ugly, I'm fairly happy with it. And all of the issues I've had seem to be resolved in the P18x series. Then today I saw the Antec 300 and it looks to be just as good, if not better, and it's much cheaper. I don't really care how it looks, I just want it to be silent and easy to access because I'm often changing hard drives. Thoughts?

I have no idea about a graphics card. There seem to be so many nowadays! I'm currently using an AGP X800 XT PE, and as AGP is an old standard, I'll need a new one. I don't want top of the range, but probably <£250. I'm used to ATI, but happy to change to Nvidia.

As for the CPU fan, well I have no idea. I suppose that will be decided once I've chosen the case so that I get one that fits. I'm not fussed about overclocking the CPU, and the quieter the better.

Any thoughts appreciated :)
 
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I don't really have a budget. I've not used OCZ memory before. Are they good? That said, I'm not too fussed about memory. My main concern is the motherboard, case (and PSU), graphics card and HSF.
 
please dont get a velociRaptor...
an SSD(about 64/80gb) and an F3 500gb for everything else is miles better
OCZ memory is fine but if you are more comfortable with corsair just get that
GPU: 5850 (no negotiation :) )
check out the Asus P6T if you change you mind otherwise the UD5 is a popular reliable board
cooler: H50/Megahalems they are pretty much equal its down to your preference
and thats my knowledge rounded up sorry i dont know much about cases in that price range
 
Didaco said:
please dont get a velociRaptor...
an SSD(about 64/80gb) and an F3 500gb for everything else is miles better
Click to expand...
I chose the Raptor because I need speed AND space. For example, my drum kit samples are about 100GB. And it would be nice to have all of those accessible from a very fast drive.

Didaco said:
GPU: 5850 (no negotiation :) )
Click to expand...
I like the look of the XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850 XXX, but not sure if the extra clock speed is worth the extra money - surely I could overclock a standard one myself?

Didaco said:
check out the Asus P6T if you change you mind otherwise the UD5 is a popular reliable board
Click to expand...
I've been looking at the Asus P6T v2. Still not sure which one to get. I have an old Gigabyte BX2000 motherboard that I bought for a spare PC back in the late 90s and it's still going strong. Wish I could say the same about the Asus boards.

mrfun1981 said:
Have you looked at the thread at the top of this section

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18060182

Its got specs for systems in there, if budget is not a problem take a look at the intel £1500 but then swap the graphics card a ATI 5770 & add more memory if you need it. Also swop the case if you want to but the rest of the spec will be perfect for you
Click to expand...
I had a look. The CPU + motherboard look good; they are what I had already picked. But I don't want watercooling or a DVD drive. Plus I'm happy with Antec cases. So all the rest seems quite irrelevant.
 
@GFX
dont bother with them gimicky XXX super duper versions oc it yourself
unless its a vaporx (have slightly better cooling) or something like that im not sure its better that the original apart from them overclocking it a bit for you and slipping some extra cash out of your wallet
 
mrfun1981 said:
Have you looked at the thread at the top of this section

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18060182

Its got specs for systems in there, if budget is not a problem take a look at the intel £1500 but then swap the graphics card a ATI 5770 & add more memory if you need it. Also swop the case if you want to but the rest of the spec will be perfect for you
Click to expand...


No offence but funny how you pick a 5970 but no SSD or raid setup and the cheapest crappy RAM. And not a 30" monitor so you can use the performance of that GPU anywhere near to 50% of its power.


------------------------------------------

Back on topic, the stuff you picked up is pretty good - including the GA mobo as well - they're very good and totally idiot proof when it comes to settings & OC.

However, I'd get THIS MEMORY

And raid drive setup (2x spinpoints f3 500gb in raid0 ie) + SSD for OS.
Would be so much better than any raptor and probably work out cheaper or about same.

Regarding GPU, you really have to ask yourself what you need.
If you just wanna play newest games on decent FPS and quality a 5770 will be plenty enough and then in case you feel like needing more power you can add 2nd one in CF which I guess will be the best option.
Otherwise go with 5850 if you 1920x1200 AA/AF freak and got 250quid to spend on GPU.
 
I've had a look around at various benchmarks, and here's my shopping list so far:
vP6yu.png


PhoenixUK said:
However, I'd get THIS MEMORY
Click to expand...
What benefits will that give me over the ram I've picked? It seems to be lower spec for the same price.

PhoenixUK said:
And raid drive setup (2x spinpoints f3 500gb in raid0 ie) + SSD for OS.
Would be so much better than any raptor and probably work out cheaper or about same.
Click to expand...
I already have a few 500GB drives for storage. I don't want to end up with too many hard drives, and the solid state drives are far too expensive. Aren't they slow at writing too? What's wrong with the Raptors?
 
Wow, I didn't know about the Spinpoint drives. I've added one to my basket. I've also added an Intel SSD.

Even though I wasn't interested in Water cooling, I just came across some reviews for the H50 and I was impressed. I was expecting lots of fiddling with tubes, not something that was plug and play. So I went for that.

Here's how it looks now:
6aiaC.png


Even though I don't have a budget, I do feel like this might be getting a bit out of hand. So, I'm looking at ways to trim the cost a little.

Do I really need 2000MHz memory? Will it be much faster than 1666MHz?

Is there an SSD that offers good performance for under £150?
 
get the 1600mhz ocz golds they are slower but have better timings (not to mention much cheaper)
get a ud5 or a p6t instead of the ud7 that thing is stupidly expensive and isnt that much better than the p6t or ud5
change the PSU for something cheaper( not worse just cheaper)
look at coolermaster's silent pro modular the 700w config can be had for just under £80 saving you another tenner
and finally the sapphire 5850 are in stock and cheaper than the XFX ones
that should save you a bit :)
 
Thanks for the tips.

I went through all your recommendations and I think I'm pretty happy with the selections I made, other than the graphics card.

The Cooler Master seems to be out of stock. I'm pretty happy with Antec anyway. I'm slightly puzzled as to why the 750w without a blue LED is more expensive. But oh well, I'll have to put up it.

I've switched the memory, even though the set I've picked is the same price.

3Tkiv.png


I'm pretty happy with my selections now. At least it's under £1,500 :D
 
Just ordered the bits above. Unfortunately there was only one 6GB memory set in stock, so I'll have to make do with 6GB for now :P

I hope it's good enough for GTA4!
 
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