Yet Another Build Check

PhotoGuy

PhotoGuy

PhotoGuy

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Joined
10 Aug 2008
Posts
20
Ok,

Heres my build.

First of all, I have keyboard + monitor and two 1tb hd's for raid 1 for main storage.

Secondly, I currently run applications that do make GOOD use of hyperthreading and I currently struggle with 6gb, 16gb will make my apps fly...

My reason for choosing the Sabertooth was that it looks solid, and it appears (from the photo) that the construction will also keep dust/fur away from the m/b components. I choose the P67 because I don't think I need anything extra that an X68 board could offer (other than a.

I don't play games a lot, I built my last PC in 2008 and installed Lotro and Battlefield 3 Alpha. Was stunned at the graphics on BF3 but on my 27" dell and HD4800 card, could not ramp at the res very high. I understand I won't be able to run games at full fps with a res of 2560 x 1440, but I understand that.

I've missed off the dvd drive, I'll prob go for a Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP or simular. I had thought about a bluray writer (Pioneer BDR-206DBK ), but need to check cost of media. So I am undecided at the moment.

I've not really spent much time with my current system overclocking it. But once I have a backup PC. I'm going to overclock my old PC to its max, then take what I've learnt to this new setup. Hence going for 2600K rather than the non (k).


Asus P67 Sabertooth Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION **
Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B)
OCZ Agility 3 240GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-240G)
Corsair PC Starter Bundle 2000c - 600TM Case / TX 850W V2 PSU / H80 CPU Cooler (Cooler Half Price)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 TOXIC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 & Deus Ex Games
IC Diamond 24-Carat Thermal Compound (4.8g)
OcUK Professional 2.5" to 3.5" SSD Adaptor Plate - Black​

Any advice greatfully received!
 
I would steer away from samsung optical drive, having a couple failing on me. LG is a good brand, so I'd go with one of those.

As for the motherboard, for the price of the sabertooth, I would get a gen3 Z68 motherboard, specifically the Asrock Extreme 4 Z68 Gen 3 (which is a subsidiary of Asus).

If you want a cheaper board, then the Asus P8Z68-V. Great all purpose board.

The Z68 boards offer QuickSync, which is useful for video editing. Apart from that, not much more, but the Z68 are also good value.

I wouldn't take the Sabertooth, the 'shield' is more of a heat trapping device than anything else.

For sandybridge, you don't need special memory, so a couple of cheap 8GB sets (16GB), like XMS3 or HyperX will do a similar job without breaking the bank, or interfering with overclocking.

Not a fan of the H80. imo it's too noisy compared to top air coolers. Besides, I wouldn't run a 2600K chip over 1.35V anyway, and for that you get 30% overclock and any decent air cooler get to that level.

240GB SSD seems like a lot of money. If you want to play the latest games at full resolution and full detail, I would get the best GPU on the market, namely a 580. The money saved on the SSD can be used for a better GPU. High resolutions kill GPUs, so you need a top one.

A blueray can always be added later, and at the moment they are still relatively expensive, although I don't think they will get cheaper in a hurry. Then again you need a retail BR player to be able to play back BR movies since the OEM don't come with software and BR are not supported natively by Windows.

You didn't mention what CPU you want in there. Judging by your post, a 2600K. Note that you will need a new CPU if you go with Sandybridge. Your current CPU (i7?) wont work on a SB mobo.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 580 "GOOD Edition" 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £247.99
1 x Corsair PC Starter Bundle 1000c - 600TM Case / TX 650W V2 PSU / H60 CPU Cooler (Cooler Half Price) £205.96
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £139.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £131.99
2 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £59.99 (£119.98)
1 x LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,240.58 (includes shipping : £14.75).



Could possibly downgrade to a 570 or 6950 2GB if it's a bit too dear. You also get free games with the ATIs.
 
Last edited:
Oliver,

Thanks for your advice. Regarding the SSD/Graphics card, the machine MAIN use is for running applications/photoediting some occasional video editing. The games side of things is almost the icing on the cake.

I 'try' with my limited knowledge of the hardware involved to go for quality, as I keep each build for about 3-4 years. Other than hard disks failing (I usually go for raid 1), of which I have more than my fair share, I've been lucky so far. Or course if I run everything overclocked (ie hot) I know this has an impact on life exectancty.

Going to review this and think it over again, thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

Mike
 
Sorry, about the colour scheme, I've still not mastered cut and paste in this forum... I think this is my new pc!


Workstation PRO Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz @ 4.50GHz Overclocked Bundle

I may buy the bits separatly for this, but the M/B ram and Processor are what I want, and its all tested(?) so for the fifty extra notes it seems like a good idea to get this bundle.

OCZ Vertex 3 240GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-240G)

This drive will hold several SQL databases and used for photo editing and occasional video production. This is going to fly.....

Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-850HXUK)

Corsair Graphite 600TM Midi Tower Mesh Windowed Case - Black

LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (OEM)


Ok, I struck a deal with work. They are going to pay for my new PC (at home) in lui (is that how you spell it) of overtime. This is for all the apps I have to run for my work.

Which means the money I was going to spend on a new pc can be spent on something else, like a holiday....

.... Or a graphics card.

I've put aside my dislike of Nvidia cards (had issues with multiple displays giving a BSOD on multiple pcs a few years back ) and I am going for a

MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

I want a single card/quiet (for the speed) reliable solution to run the odd game... at full res 2560 X 1600!
 
ok, its almost been ten years since this thread and I bought my PC, and its time for an upgrade. (the graphics card was upgraded a while back)
In recent years my PC at home (pre-covid) was used 95% for the time for remote working, for support when I wasn't in the office, with a little bit of counter-strike and a dabble in world of warcraft measured in hours per year... Any gaming was on a PS4.

With the lock down, like everyone else I was restricted to home working, and I've now found myself wanting to play some games (after seeing some friends rigs). Games such as COD Modern Warfare/Redemption 2/Days Gone and maybe doom.... as examples. It would be nice to get above 20-30fps.....

I have recently acquired a Samsung ultrawide G9 monitor (to replace my existing two screens), and now want to buy a PC to use the screen to its full potential.

I now realise there is a shortage of graphics cards. but I'm not going to worry about waiting (for a bit). As I don't even know what I want. I think it could be summerised as a Silent/Pitch Black/4K(ish) high FPS first person shooter Gaming PC

  • So I'm going to start with an RTX3080ti
  • CPU I prefer ,an Intel chip (not sure why but when I've built PC's myself I've always stuck to INTEL).
  • Motherboard/Chipset - I haven't got a clue on this. I've no desire to overclock (or is that cook?) the chip. Don't need wifi or other shinny things, just something that will last in terms of reliability.
  • I want a black case SILENT case/setup, I really don't want to hear the GPU / Processor fans at all if possible. And I certainly don't want a glass case with RBG lighting up the room.
  • I want to put in a 2TB Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive
  • A mirrored pair of 24TB 7200 rpm drives (maybe SSD?)
  • I think 32GB of fast ram is enough, unless advised otherwise.

I'm going to buy built-to-order, mainly because of the fear of ordering a system that doesn't hang together. Things have moved on a lot since 2011...

I can quickly spec up one of the machines (when the 3080ti's go online) and build this. But I don't know what steps/options to make sure the PC is as quiet as possible. Should I be looking at watercooled, something I know nothing about? Or which of the different PC's would be good as a starting point?

My budget is 3k(ish) inc vat.

Any advice appreciated.
 
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