Pre-purchase spec-check please! (sub-£1000 build for Linux box)

Helloindustries

Helloindustries

Helloindustries

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Hi all,

I may or may not be about to purchase the following kit, depending on my finance application. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this, as it's the first system i've specced 100% myself, and will be building 100% myself (previously had some help with CPU/Cooler install).

Purpose of build:
  • Replace current system. Now over 4 years old and failing.
  • Linux (Ubuntu) box.
  • Under £1000
  • Primary uses: Data storage, Web use, occasional Design/3D modelling use.
  • Low-noise
  • Needs to last at least 3 years.
  • No upgrades beyond listed needed. Not a gaming system, so i'm looking for reliability, stability and a lasting build.

Edit/Update So far, you lot have been great, and the spec is evolving well. I'll be keeping this link to the current version updated as much as i can.

The spec (Updated to reflect advice given in replies)

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
  • MoBo: MSI P67A-GD55 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge)
  • CPU Cooler: Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
  • RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
  • GFX: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • PSU: Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply
  • HDD (Storage): 3x Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI)
  • HDD (System): 1x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS)
  • Case: NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - Black
  • UPS: APC Back-UPS ES 400VA 230V UPS (BE400G-UK)
  • Thermal paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)
  • Mouse: Microsoft Ready Basic Optical Mouse Black - Retail (3EG-00003)
  • External HDD case: Akasa Elite eSATA/USB 2.0 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure (AK-IC010-BK)

£992.62 in vat & delivery. I may well add in one of the PC tool kits, too.

Compared to my current system (below), it's not much of an upgrade apart from the storage space, but then this is more about getting a system to last me another 3+ years.

  • Processor: AMD Athlon II XP 5000 @ 3.02GHZ
  • Motherboard: Foxconn nForce 590 CS1XEM2AA
  • RAM: 2x OCZ Gold 2GB 800MHZ
  • Graphics: nVidia Gforce 9600GT
  • Hard Drive 1: Seagate Barracuda 320GB (SATA)
  • Hard Drive 2: Samsung HD501LJ 500GB (SATA)
  • Hard Drive 3: Seagate Barracude 250GB (SATA)
  • Optical Drive: LG DVD-RW (HL-DT-ST GSA-H42N)
  • Case: Antec Gamer 900
  • PSU:Hiper 650W
  • Operating Noise: 55db (casual use)

The MoBo fan on my current board is seriously LOUD, as is the GFX fan, so i'm really hoping to get quite a reduction in terms of operating noise.
 
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I may or may not be about to purchase the following kit, depending on my finance application
Click to expand...

Budget of £1000 seems like too much and you should be able to get what your after to quite considerably less. What will you be doing with you old rig?

Surely if budget is important, recycle your existing PSU/Case/optical drive. If gaming is not important then perhaps look at a lesser graphics card. (Second hand 5770 maybe which could be had for £60-70)

Maybe use one of your existing HDD as a boot drive?

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
(£99.99) £119.99
(£99.99)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £74.99
(£62.49) £74.99
(£62.49)
Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £63.98
(£53.32) £255.92
(£213.28)
Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AMD 790GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1155/ 1156 / 1366) £19.39
(£16.16) £19.39
(£16.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.98
(£11.65) £13.98
(£11.65)
Sub Total : £615.18
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £125.29
Total : £751.72

This full system should last a while. Could upgrade to a Phenom Hex-core when it starts slowing down. PSU is quite a bit cheaper than the one you spec'd but is very good and highly recommended. Think of the savings if you recycle your existing case/psu/optical drive/one hdd for OS? maybe your financial application will be more successful.

TIM you spec'd is fine.
 
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the problem with my current machine is that most of it is failing.
Hard drives make worrying noises, but i'll keep those for data transfers or tertiary backups.

Other than that, i plan to sell what i have to a friend for about £100, and he understands the condition of the machine.

As for the graphics: I do some 3D modelling, and having a reasonable GFX card really helps.
 
Helloindustries said:
the problem with my current machine is that most of it is failing.
Hard drives make worrying noises, but i'll keep those for data transfers or tertiary backups.

Other than that, i plan to sell what i have to a friend for about £100, and he understands the condition of the machine.

As for the graphics: I do some 3D modelling, and having a reasonable GFX card really helps.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Nice to have a high quality new PSU but perhaps think about spending less on the case.

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.33 - out of stock at the moment tho and may limit you if you wanted to add more internal hard-drives later.
 
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True, i could cut down on the case, and i'll look into that.
Certainly will be getting a new PSU, i wouldn't want to tempt fate with a PSU that has -despite my best efforts with compressed air- 4 years worth of dust and component ware.

As for shadow boxer's recommendations: Thanks. Have swapped out the PSU for the one you recommended. Sadly, the mobo comes with onboard ATI graphics, so i'll be sticking with my selection there.

As for Graphics considerations, i was looking at the Gainward GeForce 8400GS initially, but it's not as capable as my current card. The totally silent operation was a real temptation, though.

I also swapped out the DVDR as recommended.
As for the CPU cooler: Your recommendation is tempting, but no official spec on the operating noise, which is a concern for me.
 
Also, just downgraded the GFX card to the OcUK GeForce GTS 450 1024MB GDDR5. I *could* go for the Gigabyte GeForce GT 430 OC but i'm really apprehensive about buying unreviewed/rated/recommended items

Edit having had a quick look for reviews on the GT 430 dual fan, it seems it runs quietly, so have swapped out for that.
Now down to £873.91 inc vat/del

Thanks for everything so far :)
 
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The crazier thing here is that after all these good reductions, i'm saving myself only £4/pcm, even though we've cut the cost by just over £100.

The original spec came to:
£970.52 inc VAT @20% & Delivery
48 Months + 16%apr (£164.02): £1134.54
48 Payments of £23.64
10% deposit £113.46

Unless of course, i've got my number wrong, which really would be NO shock to me...
 
Gigabyte GTX460 OC something.
Corsair HX650 psu.
Gigabyte P55 UD3 i think
i3 540 cpu
HAF 912
Samsung F4 2TB drive
something?
G skill 4GB 1600mhz ram
Samsung F3 500Gb drive
Coolermaster Hyper 212 cooler
LG DVD drive
Artic cooler thermal paste


Is what I can just about read.

possibly the worst screen grab and upload ever?
 
I wouldn't go for the GTS 430 or the GTS 450. GTX 460s run cool and are said to be much quiter than the previous generation of NVIDIA cards. The GTS 430 is actually weaker than your current 9600GT. See benchmarks here. Personally I would be going down the route of the 768MB GTX 460 or a 5770.

These coolers have received good reviews and are quiet.

Motherboard you chose will be fine, but is out of stock at the moment.

Also wouldn't go for the RAM you selected but this
 
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shadow_boxer said:
I wouldn't go for the GTS 430 or the GTS 450. GTX 460s run cool and are said to be much quiter than the previous generation of NVIDIA cards. The GTS 430 is actually weaker than your current 9600GT. See benchmarks here. Personally I would be going down the route of the 768MB GTX 460 or a 5770.

These coolers have received good reviews and are quiet.

Motherboard you chose will be fine, but is out of stock at the moment.

Also wouldn't go for the RAM you selected but this
Click to expand...

Thanks, duly updated :)
 
Ok, this is looking much better.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM instead of Samsung F4 320GB.

AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail Tri-Core cpu instead of dual core for £8 more.

OR

AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail for £6 less.

Why pay that little bit more for the Athlon II X2 260.

Not sure about the case. Not my taste but read some reviews about quiet cases and what is recommended.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card is cheaper, runs cooler and quieter due to the dual fan. No brainer over the MSI you linked.
 
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shadow_boxer said:
Ok, this is looking much better.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM instead of Samsung F4 320GB.

AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail Tri-Core cpu instead of dual core for £8 more.

OR

AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail for £6 less.

Why pay that little bit more for the Athlon II X2 260.

Not sure about the case. Not my taste but read some reviews about quiet cases and what is recommended.
Click to expand...

I'll swap-out the HDD (edit and the GFX), but as for the processor; If i go with 3ghz, it'd feel like a slight waste as i currently have a dual core 3ghz..granted that's with the OC. 3ghz/dual has performed fine, and i'm uneducated/unsure as to what benefit i'd get out of a tri-core.
 
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oh, and the case: The Antec 900 i have now is a great case, but not so easy on the eyes, not to mention the utter lack of cable management.

I want the NZXT mostly for the cable management, cooling options/capability, quality to cost ratio (which, as far as i can see with my limited knowledge of such things, is fantastic for the price-point), and the looks. I know it's not the best looking case in the world, but PC cases are an ugly bunch at the best of times. I'm also really trying to get away from case windows and LEDs where i can (i know the NZXT has LED fan lights, but they're minimal).
 
Helloindustries said:
I'll swap-out the HDD, but as for the processor; If i go with 3ghz, it'd feel like a slight waste as i currently have a dual core 3ghz..granted that's with the OC. 3ghz/dual has performed fine, and i'm uneducated/unsure as to what benefit i'd get out of a tri-core.
Click to expand...

Doesn't work just on speed of the processor. Newer technology will give you better performance. The 260 is the SAME as the 250 but with an adjusted multiplier. You can do this yourself by just a couple of clicks in the bios. PS your cooler will actually allow you to overclock it much further!!

Tri-core is the best value for money at the moment (esp when comparing it to the Athlon II X2 260). More and more applications are able to utilize multiple cores nowadays and it'll give you a little more future proofing.

Also this;

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card is cheaper, runs cooler and quieter due to the dual fan. No brainer over the MSI you linked.
Click to expand...
 
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