Need some advice, think i've got it right though....

Rexxar

Rexxar

Rexxar

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Hi guys, i've not posted on here before, but have been a member for some time.

I'm looking for a bit of advice building a new PC

So earlier today, i sat down and worked out from the suggestions, what i need to do in order to upgrade my rig to keep up with games. I havent bought a new PC game in about 6months, if not longer, because i dont want to buy it and end up playing on minimum settings....whats the point of that =]

Anyway, I realised that i should upgrade my motherboard to one which supports more ram, but if im going to do that, i may aswell buy ram that matches and up the cpu speed.....well, on a socket 775 board, im not sure thats worth it, if i could get ahold of an ASUS COMMANDO by Republic Of Gamers, then i would keep the processor....but i cant find one for sale anyway, inc' ebay.

That leads me on to upgrading just the graphics, well i need a bigger board if im upgrading the graphics so that it wont foul any of the components, namely the south bridge and its heatsink.

Hmm...getting tricky... So, thats led me to the spec below...... perhaps the motherboard is a bit OTT considering i plan to keep aircooling and not overclock anything.


HD : Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

CPU : Intel Core i5 650 3.20GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 cache retail Box Processor

Motherboard : ASUS MAXIMUS III FORMULA P55 Socket 1156 XFI Audio Card ATX

RAM : Crucial 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Ballistix Memory CL7 1.65V

GFX : XFX HD 5830 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card With Aliens vs Predators DX11 Game **Not bothered about the game, it just comes with it, would prefer without it if cheaper!!**

OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English **Would keep XP, but its about time i updated**

This will all be going into a Coolermaster HAF-932 with a 1000w Modular PSU, already owned. I'm unsure what heatsink to look at though for the CPU, too much choice can be a bad thing! :D

Cheers for any advice anyone can offer, i think i've got the spec nailed but would just like people's thoughts incase i've chosen components that are overpriced for their spec or arent all they are cracked up to be.

Cheers

~Rob.
 
the i5 760 is a true quad CPU, get one.

a triple channel memory kit is for i7 systems, you want a dual channel kit, either 4 or 8gb.

a nvidia GTX460 is a superior card compared to a 5830, and similar price.
 
As you suggest, if you don't plan to overclock then that motherboard is unnecessary, something like this would do the job fine.

As for the CPU, as you won't be using the integrated graphics core built onto the i5 600 series, then you would be much better off spending the money on a true quad core like the i5 760.

As the motherboard and CPU only support dual channel mode, not triple channel mode, you will want to change the RAM to something like this.

For graphics card, this would be a better choice at that price point.

Do you need to features of Windows 7 Pro - or will the cheaper Home premium version fit your individual needs just as well?
 
What do you use your rig for rob?

If you are mostly gaming it might be worth spec'ing an AMD rig aswell just to see the difference in prices. I've commented on a few threads on intel vs AMD for gaming, when you consider that you can easily save £100 just on the cpu, upto £200 depending on mobo and RAM spec. This "spare" cash can be pumped into the gfx card budget which in my opinion will be far more helpful for gaming.

I don't know if you are aware but the "new" or revised ati cards are due this quarter (october is rumoured) so it may pay to wait another few weeks and see what these cards do to the prices.

Give it some thought, if you need the superior number crunching an intel cpu provides then by all means go that route. Good luck with your build fella
 
Hmm wasn't aware of new graphics cards arriving , good to know! Might push down some of the older cards with any luck :-P

How do ATI/nVidia compare at the moment at the £150-170 price range?

I had considered an OC bundle, but it does suck up a chunk of the budget. £750 was what my current spec had worked out at. I might look at them later as well.

I'll be using it 50/50 for Gaming (COD, Battlefield...FPS games really) and the rest of the time it'll be for Photoshop.... So.. mostly gaming. I hadn't considered an AMD gaming rig as i've always believed intel superior for gaming....

Cheers again for the input, will be checking out the bundles later to see how that affects things, what risks are there to running an OC though ? Can it lose the OC ? Lower the chip's lifespan?
 
robz21 said:
I had considered an OC bundle, but it does suck up a chunk of the budget. £750 was what my current spec had worked out at. I might look at them later as well.
Click to expand...
If you look at the cost of the parts for the overclocked bundle separately:
i5 760 £157.99
Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 £109.99
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz £79.89
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler £37.99
AS5 Thermal Compoundl £5.86

The total comes to £391.72, vs the pre-overclocked bundle for just £406.23.
 
With the advice given, I've got it down to.....

Radon Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail (Full Version)(GFC-00025)

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)

The GFX card isnt the one recommended, but i like the fact it exhausts air via the rear of the case and not into the middle....is the 5770 a good deal @£130?

I'm also curious as to the huge size of the CPU cooler, it looks massive, is all that weight safe ? And does anyone run one of those ? I'd like an idea of noise with those 2 fans.

Have been browsing the case/desk gallery, that topic is bad for the bank balance!! Some epic setups in there though!

Cheers for the help so far guys

~Rob.
 
stulid said:
you say the 5770 blows hot air, I say it just sucks, lol

www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=156
Click to expand...

No it definitely...oh, wait, :D

I've compared the GTX460 and the 5770 side by side @ gpu-review, and the 460 comes out on top...so, next question...

I've looked at a few reviews, and a lot say the 460 gets quite noisy under load, is this unfounded? i hope so....


Also, i've looked at the versions offered by OcUK ,

OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5

Palit GeForce GTX 460 768MB GDDR5

They vary in price by about £40, Is it really worth spending £180 on the Gigabyte one? Especially as there are cheaper versions, do i get much more for that ? And is a rear exhaust as important as i believe it to be?

I feel so out of touch with hardware now!

Thanks again

~Rob.
 
I've had some input into graphics from the subforum, and i've settled on the following

HDD:: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - (OEM)

GFX:: Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1GB GDDR5 OC Edition Dual DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card

Mobo:: ASUS P7P55D-E P55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

CPU:: Intel i5 760 2.8GHz Socket 1156 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Memory/Ram:: Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V

OS:: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 1 PC - 64-bit

I decided not to bother with Win7 Pro , just dont need the extra it offers.... Is OEM windows as much as a ballache as im told or is that just bad luck in certain cases?

Do you guys think the stock cooler will be sufficient on the cpu without overclocking?

Thanks for all the help you've all offered! OCUK will be getting a nice order when im finally done!
 
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