System build with longevity

Doraku

Doraku

Doraku

Associate
Joined
7 Nov 2011
Posts
128
Location
North Yorkshire
I asked earlier about a modular PSU but my topic strayed so I thought it was appropriate that I started a different one. RJC initially provided me with a system build but I thought I would extend it to other hardware I need:

RJC said:
Rough build below:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £489.35 (includes shipping : £9.50).

Click to expand...

Hardware/cost:

Motherboard (ASUS, Gigabyte)
CPU (Intel? Quad core)
RAM
PSU
1TB HD

@ ~£510
---
Cheap Graphics card for ~£45, I will update this in late 2014 (possibly with a heavy duty card).

Other details:

1. honosuseri said that I should avoid the bundles. Are they that bad? I don't like installing the CPU or the CPU cooler (because the clips would break easily).

3. I want to be able to play Total War: Rome II (hence the cheap GeForce GT 630 because I am happy to play the game on medium), and later Star Citizen.
 
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honosuseri said:
I didn't post again as you seemed very against building your own . You said you hated pretty much every part of the build process lol

It's not that they are bad but you can often get better value if you balance the build yourself. You have a bit more work to do granted but I think it's worth while, it can also give you more freedom for styling how the rig looks too.

Just to give you an example.......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £185.99
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £47.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £45.95
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A (BW) Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
Total : £579.83 (includes shipping : £10.00).



The Nvidia 630 is a total waste of cash tbh. This mobo might be "old" tech but being a Z68 it's still packed with goodies like sataIII and overclocking options for K CPUs. For the price it's hard to complain.

By picking good value parts and working a little Spec'ing magic you now have a 7870LE GPU. These OC to trade blows with stock 7950s, for £150ish vs £240 that's a lot of bang for buck! OK we maybe a little over your intended budget but that rig is good to game now not later no GPU upgrade needed ;)

Haswell is the new intel socket (1150). It's got a better IGP, a little more ooompf and the memory controller is happy with faster RAM but you have to balance things yourself to your budget as it will cost you a bit more cash.
Click to expand...

I am less against it now, particularly because the CPU cooler uses screws and you've just done the compatibility check for me/know current hardware better. Hehe.

Cost is okay, but it is getting close to the absolute limit.

It is a waste of cash? Even if I won't use half the power now? I don't mind playing at reduced capabilities now, but want to play Star Citizen with full settings at a later date (presumably capable cards being cheaper, more powerful and I'd have more money), and then I'd use the old card elsewhere. Is this not a sensible idea?!


I still really appreciate your input, and thanks for everyone else that has contributed.
 
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I am not up to date in the latest hardware, and that's why I am here. If I knew just how amazing this spec is wouldn't be asking questions!

I want to know if it would be more stragetic as Potty27 is suggesting to spread the cost when I don't need the card, I am spreading the cost with my monitors (I have currently one 24" HDMI monitor) buying another monitor later (I will be using an old DVI monitor as a second monitor until that time).

Right now, as I won't be using the graphics card, so it won't be as easy to justify (since I should be buying the PC to work on). I am thinking purely from a cost basis, and obviously don't have your perspective/insight but I DO want to play Star Citizen on high settings (Radeon HD 7970!).

If considering everything including, depreciation, the cost of the cards I would only make a marginal saving of £50 then it wouldn't be a huge issue. I just want to be efficient.

Thanks again for the input.
 
Thanks for all your help. I was about to become decided on the board but when I looked at the MOBO closely, and I did not specify this clearly but I would like to use the features in the H2 case. I'd definitely like to use the front USB (and I read there are no USB headers on the Gigabyte motherboard?), I assume AHCI will still work (reading various threads on the Web it seems like it is just a matter of updating the BIOS)?

I do have a USB hub but it likes to slide around the desk.

How much more would it cost to have a better motherboard?
 
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I read a comment on a product review, must have been misinformation?

Edit: No USB 3 header but I think I can live with it.
 
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GPU will be okay, but I can spend more money on the motherboard (perhaps around ~60 GBP + other parts (amalgamation between RJC and honosuseri)). What do you think of this build?

1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A (BW) Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
 
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honosuseri said:
It's marketing hype dude. The mobo doesn't run the PCI-E lanes in sync so adding a second GPU isn't really cost effective.

There is a great price this weekend for the Nvidia 670.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II OC Gamer 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £189.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £185.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £60.00
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £35.99
Total : £640.85 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Only one of those B grade mobos (might need sata cables). Think I'm under budget enough to get a new mobo though if you wanted.
Click to expand...

I can't spend more money on the graphics card, if I can get a better motherboard the budget can be stretched (as I specified). £106 for the motherboard is okay.

Okay, so Crossfire isn't absolutely necessary but nice (especially since I could probably buy the same card again in six months for Crossfire!).

I still appreciate your input. Will the build I just posted work (with Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK)) ?
 
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Potty27 said:
Good spot, though for £10 extra this mobo should be very good (I think!), will run crossfire at x8/x8.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-235-ms&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2574

the 750w should be fine if you go crossfire.
Click to expand...

this motherboard seems to fit the price point/features that i am looking (but the car salesman marketing was extremely off putting) at but i have no idea what memory to get. i remember having to look at the QVL years ago when I last attempted this and I had to get a very particular PC-xxxx but now it seems different.

What speed would I want? Do I want SS or DS? I want it to stay under £50.

I found this but I have no idea what I am really looking at.

Thanks.
 
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