Need some advice on a new build - Sabertooth Build

Totally Dubbed

Totally Dubbed

Totally Dubbed

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Joined
5 Jan 2010
Posts
475
Location
London
FINISHED but feel free to comment.

Hi guys!

Been a LONG time since I've been on these forums.
I've been relatively happy with my current PC build (which is dated a little) - but here are the specs:

ASUS P5K Premium
E6500 @2.93ghz OC'ed to 3.53Ghz (Dual core)
Nvidia 7600GT (256 Mbt)
2GB OCZ DDR2 Platinum @ 800 Mhz
Artic 7 Cooler
ASUS PW201 Monitor (8ms with 1080i @ 16:10 ratio)

To keep (hopefully) and pass to the new build:
Xonar D1 soundcard
Edimax EW-7728In (N-Draft)



I am wanting to upgrade and build a PC (or get it pre-made for hassle-free + on-site warranty)

Here's what I'm thinking of building/upgrading to:
CPU
-I5 3570K

Motherboard
-ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77

RAM
-Corsair Dominator 2x 4GB Module CL8 @1600Mhz = £68

GFX
-GTX 660 TI 2GB

-SAPPHIRE HD 7850 OC

Drive
-Sony Optical drive X22

Power Supply
-Corsair AX850 (850watt)
OR
-Seasonic X-Series 760w
OR
-Corsair TX850M (850watt)

Case
-Fractal R4 Titanium

CPU Cooling
-Antec 920

Storage
-120GB SSD Corsair Force GT (6GB/s) = Already Bought
-1TB to 2TB of 7200RPM HDD = Already in use with current system and got

Display
-Monitor (undecided) but looking at a IPS LG 23" Monitor at the moment


I will be using the system mainly for browsing, emails, YouTube, video rendering (I make a lot of YouTube videos, but nothing my current system can't handle) and maybe in the future some gaming (I haven't gamed since BF2142 - been awhile, as I have the Xbox 360 for that)


So my questions are the following:
-Should I go for the i5 over the i7, considering it is £80 cheaper for my needs? From what I've seen/researched and experience with my current system, I think maybe an i7 would be over-kill, but I don't know. ANSWERED

-What PSU would be good enough for this type of system (incl brand), and would you suggest modular/semi-modular or not? ANSWERED

-What monitors should I be looking into?
I preferably want an LED, with a high contrast ratio, under 5ms response time, have DVI/HDMI and possibly VGA connections.
It has to be a native 1080P, and be in-between 22" and 27" - preferably spending under £150 for it.
Will ask in the Monitor section.

-RAM wise, is there any other recommendations?
I was going to go with 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz, but thought against it, and got advised by a friend to go for only 8GB.
I also thought not to go over or below 1600, as it would either be too slow, or overkill for what I'll be using my system for.
More input would be greatly appreciated :)
ANSWERED

I would also like the system to be on the relatively quiet side :)!
 
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Most definitely go for the i5 unless you're planning on doing video work full time!

16GB is probably overkill, but it is cheap so no real issue there.

No need for such a high wattage psu I believe, unless you're planning on going SLI/CF?

Edit: Also, why the Mobo?
 
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Fanaticjam said:
Most definitely go for the i5 unless you're planning on doing video work full time!

16GB is probably overkill, but it is cheap so no real issue there.

No need for such a high wattage psu I believe, unless you're planning on going SLI/CF?

Edit: Also, why the Mobo?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!

Ok well the Mobo is mainly because I don't want to change or upgrade any time soon + I want to OC my CPU to 4.5-4.8ghz.
I felt the Sabertooth is the one that not only will offer me future-esk proof protection, but also comes in at a good price for performance.

RAM wise - I'm actually planning on buying the rest of the 8GB (2x4 again) via the USA, if I can.
If I do, then I'll end up with 16GB, but to get me started I want to have at least 8GB.

i5 - that's what I thought too, and feel just as you do - Glad I'm not the only one. As quite a few people are raving about i7's when I say I want to build a PC with an i5.

As for wattage - well as you can see I'm not a huge gamer or will need to use SLI capabilities (at least from what I know) - so I chose the high-ish wattage simply because I don't want the PSU to be over-loaded. An assumption, but possibly a foolish one? I don't know :D
 
personally id stick to 8gb of ram and go for the samsung green memory,it runs well on asus boards if your willing to set it up to run at 2133mhz
 
Ah well, I don't know a huge amount about OC'ing, it doesn't seem worth the extra money for 0.3ghz extra etc.

I'm running my i5 with a £20 cooler at 4.4ghz and a £85 mobo, with what you're paying extra I could afford a nice i7 and better cooling!

I'd go for 550/650 area, but I'm no expert in that either, :P I can see my new 670 OC says it requires a 550W PSU, and I have 3 SSD and 3 HDD with it atm.
 
The psu is way overkill, especially as your not a gamer and wont utilise sli. You could get by on a good brand 600/650w unit.
 
Really appreciating the feedback!

RAM:
-I didn't even consider Samsung to be honest. Never really known they made RAM (even though I own their flagship the S3) lol. I'll definitely look into that one then!

-PSU, so it seems I went over-board with that one (more money in the bank! :D) - I'll go for a 650/600 as suggested then - any brands I should look out for specifically?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 M Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £101.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R4 Midi Tower Case - Titanium Grey £99.98
1 x Samsung Green 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual/Quad Channel Kit (MV-3V4G3D/US) £89.98
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x LiteOn IHES112-115 Internal 12x SATA Blu-ray Bulk Combo - Black £49.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939/AM2/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £15.98
Total : £864.59 (includes shipping : £14.75).



I have the monitor, I love it. (:

Regarding GPU, I was looking at getting a 660TI but after a small discussion and reading reviews the 670 was clearly worth the extra bucks - I overspent on my budget for it!
 
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yeah true,i didnt read that part,cheap ram will be best then if you want 16gb,i cant justify £90 for the samsung
 
Thanks for that list Fanacticjam!

I'm not too convinced on the RAM - I had once a Gigabite energy saver mobo, by complete accident, and that was a pain in the back side.

Those Samsung Greens are all about being eco friendly, from what I gather, after doing some quick searching.
Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Thus the question: why the Samsung over the Corsair for example.

As for the Vengeance - I didn't go for that as my friend had to RMA it 2x, and suggested to go for the dominator (which was initially what I had looked into but then "downgraded" to the vengeance)


As for Mobo - I'll have to look at differences and benchmarks.


For screen: Seems the dell is a little more expensive than what I had planned to spend on a screen -especailly when compare to the LG IPS4 Series IPS234V
 
wazza300 said:
yeah true,i didnt read that part,cheap ram will be best then if you want 16gb,i cant justify £90 for the samsung
Click to expand...

but wouldn't running a system that I have mean that the RAM will get over-heated? and thus need some sort of heat sinks?

As for GPU, Fanac, I'm going to try to stay on budget :p
The 670 is nice, but too expensive for me - the 660 is already well over my budget on something that I might not use (thus why, if I ever get it, I would get it from the states, as the prices in the UK are a little over-board)
 
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ram doesnt get hot,the heatsinks are mainly to aid installing/uninstalling them

if your planning on a big air cooler/heatsink ram without tall heatsinks are a must
 
Totally Dubbed said:
Thanks for that list Fanacticjam!

I'm not too convinced on the RAM - I had once a Gigabite energy saver mobo, by complete accident, and that was a pain in the back side.

Those Samsung Greens are all about being eco friendly, from what I gather, after doing some quick searching.
Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Thus the question: why the Samsung over the Corsair for example.

As for the Vengeance - I didn't go for that as my friend had to RMA it 2x, and suggested to go for the dominator (which was initially what I had looked into but then "downgraded" to the vengeance)


As for Mobo - I'll have to look at differences and benchmarks.


For screen: Seems the dell is a little more expensive than what I had planned to spend on a screen -especailly when compare to the LG IPS4 Series IPS234V
Click to expand...

I think it's more eco friendly due to being produced on a smaller scale, in the same way that intel get more out of cpus for similar power, as they scale down process or something... All I hear about those samsung green is good things, I'm not convinced myself though :P I'll stick to my corsair for now


Screen is expensive indeed, due to it being IPS and 16:10, but yeah, each to their own!
 
wazza300 said:
ram doesnt get hot,the heatsinks are mainly to aid installing/uninstalling them

if your planning on a big air cooler/heatsink ram without tall heatsinks are a must
Click to expand...

Well the cooler I'm thinking is the watercooler from Antec (I did look into intel & Corsairs Hydro - but it seems the Antec would be the best for me) - thus who that affect RAM - well there will be less air flow within the case (as a presumption) thus the ram won't be getting blasted with hot/cold air.

I'm no specialist :P

Fanaticjam said:
I think it's more eco friendly due to being produced on a smaller scale, in the same way that intel get more out of cpus for similar power, as they scale down process or something... All I hear about those samsung green is good things, I'm not convinced myself though :P I'll stick to my corsair for now


Screen is expensive indeed, due to it being IPS and 16:10, but yeah, each to their own!
Click to expand...

Indeed - the native isn't 1920x1080 but 1920x1200, which might prove a little annoying with certain games (xbox will be connected via HDMI)

The response time on it is 8ms, which is fine, considering my current screen is that, but when it comes to upgrading, and that LG i mentioned, it comes in at 5ms, and is around £150.

Considering LG make most of the screens these days - I'm tending to stick with them, unless there's something I see, or get told about, that's within the same price bracket with the same performance.

In that respect, would you recommend IPS over TV, VA ? Let's take PLS out the question lol.

RAM wise - LOL :D
I'll do some more research,a nd appreciate the input regardless - there's so much in PC's to learn and know about, let alone to know what part and manufacturer is better - personal input, for example from yourself and others, is greatly appreciated.
helps whittle down the list :eek:
 
ive never had any issues with overheating ram,all have been warm at most to the touch if not cool

you can either go for el cheapo ram or some samsung if you like high memory benchmark numbers,if your rendering a lot of video stability will be most important and youll need to tweak things to get the samsung to oc well,but its not hard at all

lg make some good screens for the money,benq are good too
 
wazza300 said:
ive never had any issues with overheating ram,all have been warm at most to the touch if not cool

you can either go for el cheapo ram or some samsung if you like high memory benchmark numbers,if your rendering a lot of video stability will be most important and youll need to tweak things to get the samsung to oc well,but its not hard at all

lg make some good screens for the money,benq are good too
Click to expand...

cheers for the input on that!
 
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