Anyone here builds & sells computers?

[Jesus Baulks]

MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $149 -

Question - Is the ASROCK Z68 Extreme 4 ok with the i5 2500K?

Yes. It's about $40 more than the one suggested though and I'd be surprised if you needed any of the extra features. I'd stick with the Extreme3, it'll do the job you want no worries.

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GX) - $69 -

Question - Having big trouble trying to find forums etc on the best RAM for the MOBO etc So can i assume that this is RAM will be good?

That RAM is fine, although you can get it a bit cheaper than quoted there. It's only about $20 a stick at MSY I think. There's generally very little difference between RAM in this price point.

GPU: EVGA GeForce 560 Ti 1GB - $269

Question - Been reading some forums lately and i dont see many gaming builds with this card. Is there a reason for this? Should i be spending more on a better card?

Probably because it isn't as cost effective as the popular HD6950. The HD6950 was able to be unlocked and it made it really good value for money, so I assume that's probably why you haven't seen much about the 560 Ti. It's a beasty card though, it'll do everything you need.

I'd go a 2GB HD6950 if I was you. It's a better card and it costs only a tad more.

PSU: Silverstone Strider Plus 600W - $99

Question - Can only find this on pccasegear and i have a MSY just around the corner, is it worth getting this from pccasegear or is there something very similar to this that would be good at MSY?

It'd be worth getting the 750W if you ever plan to overclock, you're getting a CPU made for overclocking after all so chances are you'll probably get the desire to do it at some stage. You might eventually want to run a Crossfire setup, so the bigger power supply will come in handy there too.

Case: Fractual Design R3 - $149


Question - I have absolutely no idea what i should be looking for here, read some review that i should be picking out the case first and same say last? What are some of the key components i should be looking for on/in a case?

I don't know much about that case, it looks fine though. I've got a Coolermaster HAF912 Advanced and it does the job perfectly. CM have a bunch of cases around the $100 mark that will all do the job you need admirably.
My hardware choice was heavily influenced by Whirlpool, you should head over there and have a look around.
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_configs_1
That's their recommended build section and they have an accompanying forum for it with all the details you'll need.

ODD: LiteOn/Samsung DVD RW Drive - $25

Very noobish question coming, Do i need a sound card to hear sound or just need a speaker? Because i assume the parts above dont have speakers? lols

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

P.S if i ever meet you guys at a pub i owe you a few pots.

There's an onboard sound card built into the motherboard which will do the job you need. So yeah, you just need speakers.

On a side note, if you know that you'll never overclock, you won't need the 2500k (just get the 2500) nor the beefier power supply. You'll get by fine without overclocking, but it's a worthwhile venture in my opinion and it isn't particularly difficult. You'll need to buy a HSF if you do end up OCing though, but that will only set you back ~$30.

GL

 

[Joe King]

OK, after doing some research and getting advice from here and all over the place, here is the build I'm looking at, and I would love some feedback/advice:

OS: Windows 7 Professional 64bit

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X68XP-UD4

RAM: Corsair 16gb (4 x 4gb) 1600C9 Vengeance DDR3

GPU: Gigabyte 1gb GeForce GTX 560 Ti

HDD: Western Digital 1tb Caviar Black

ODD: Lite-On iHBS212 12x Blu-Ray Disc Writer w/ LightScribe & Lite-On IHAS324 24x DVD-RW Writer

PSU: Corsair HX-650W

Case: CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced

Total Cost: ~$1,570

Q: Are Lite-On ODD's pretty good?
Q: Is 650W PSU enough for this build?
Q: Had a hard time choosing between the CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced and Fractal Design R3. Whilst the Fractal case visually looks nicer to me, and the sound insulation seems like a nice feature, is the cooling still OK even if I don't add any extra fans? Likewise with the CoolerMaster, without adding any extra fans, is the cooling still OK?

 

[prankmonkey]

lite-on should be perfectly fine.

are you planning on doing a lot of video or photo editing/encoding
if not you're probably better off getting the i5 2500k instead and save yourself some cash.
or get the i7 2600k for overclocking - but you probably need a bigger psu with overclocking

and with that system, i think its crying out for an SSD as well if you can afford it

 

[Joe King]

- I plan on doing a variety of things, as I mentioned in a previous post, mainly 3D modelling and rendering, AutoCAD, Photoshop, video editing and gaming. So I decided to go with the i7 as it seems to be ideal for 3D rendering especially.

- I don't plan to overclock.

- Looked at an SSD as a boot drive and seemed quite expensive and thought that I could get away with just using a 7200rpm drive. Is it really that noticeable of a difference? What minimum size should I be looking at?

 

[prankmonkey]

you'll get faster load times with anything installed on it
i'm not well versed in ssd's so someone else would be better off giving you advice on it.
another thing, many people rate the samsung spinpoint f3 as their drive of choice

the i7 is best for photo and video editing since there is hyperthreading
is the ram 1600mhz? from my reading and research the performance boosts are negligible
16gb also seems like overkill

and have u checked out the whirlpool forum suggested builds?

 

[Joe King]

Why is the Samsung Spinpoint F3 preferred though? I can't seem to find it listed on the CPL or MSY websites and I don't really want to buy any parts online unless absolutely necessary.

The ram is 1600mhz, and yes I guess it appears to be overkill, but why not go for as much as I can? I always value RAM really high when it comes to buying a PC/laptop. Surely there are no drawbacks to having 16gb, apart from paying extra, which I am happy to do.

I've used all the links in this thread for advice, but I haven't actually copied a specific build and have chosen parts for my needs.

 

[silverscope]

I just built my first PC and in terms of performance for price it is pretty good IMO.

CPU: Intel core i5 2310 - $180
Mobo: AsRock VS - $55
Ram: G-Skill ripjaws 8gb @ 1333mhz $60
GPU: HIS Radeon 6870 1GB - $190
Case: Antec 300 $59

All up it cost a shade under $550.

You add in the below and you'd be looking at about $800-900(MAX) and that system will easily run (and does run) games at high settings @ 1680 x 1050. Games like BFBC2, Witcher 2, Crysis 1 & 2.


I used my old PSU (550W), HDD, DVD Drive, Monitor, keyboard etc.



All ordered and picked up from msy.com.au

Of course I know you are not looking for a gaming PC but that is what I recently did.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Why is the Samsung Spinpoint F3 preferred though? I can't seem to find it listed on the CPL or MSY websites and I don't really want to buy any parts online unless absolutely necessary.

The ram is 1600mhz, and yes I guess it appears to be overkill, but why not go for as much as I can? I always value RAM really high when it comes to buying a PC/laptop. Surely there are no drawbacks to having 16gb, apart from paying extra, which I am happy to do.

I've used all the links in this thread for advice, but I haven't actually copied a specific build and have chosen parts for my needs.

Samsung has pulled out of the hard drive market. Never owned one, but they reputedly gave good bang for buck.

If the RAM is cheap, as you say, overkill isn't a problem.

Re SSD's: they're not essential unless you've owned one. It's like using a giant, high quality monitor for the first time - you can never go back. 64GB is a squeeze, perhaps too much of a squeeze unless you split your install with Windows on the SSD and games etc. on a conventional hard drive, which defeats the purpose somewhat. 128GB minimum for mine.

 

[MarcusP2]

Samsung drives were the best because they had excellent (almost market-leading) performance at a cheap price. I bought one of them last year and was planning on another some time this year. However as was said they sold their drive division to Seagate.

Probably WD Caviar Blacks are the go now.

I don't have any problems with cooling on my Fractal; I just bought 1 extra fan but it probably wasn't even necessary.

Also a lot of people tend to overspecify a power supply. 650W is ample for any need unless you're running multiple big cards.

 

[Joe King]

Hmm, might stick with the WD then. Still have to think about the SSD a little more.

Had no idea when it came to the PSU, so I went with a well known brand and a modular type for better cable management. I thought 650W should suffice from reading around, so I guess if it shits it in, then I'm covered in the future if I decide to add anything else.

Also now kinda leaning towards the Fractal...

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Ron The Bear]

PSU calculators give a good approximation of your power needs, e.g.

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

 

[Joe King]

I'm finding it hard to justify getting an SSD based on the expensive prices for faster load times. I mean, I guess it's something I have to experience first hand. Once an SSD gets close to full capacity, do they tend to reduce in performance? I've also read that they wear out over time (can be written to a certain amount of times); what kind of time frame are we talking, is this true and how does it compare to a mechanical HDD in this regard?

Looking under SSD's on this CPL price list http://cpl.net.au/pdf/page1.pdf, what brands models should I be looking at for say a 120gb minimum SDD, without paying ridiculous amounts for it?

This is a tough choice, especially given I know so little about SSD's and only really heard about them recently whilst researching for this build.

 

[sblack]

If you use Video editing software (I think you said you did), then SSD will increase performance of the high intensity programs you would no doubt use. It's not just about load times, etc.

I would find it hard to believe you would fill one up as well, as you wouldnt use it for any sort of storage. It is for OS, and then programs. Any sort of storage should be put on a HDD.

Atm, either Intel or Crucial are the best models for SSD. OCZ have issues with stability, and others like Corsair aren't as good as Intel/Crucial. A Crucial M4 120/4 GB should be perfect for you. I think Intel do different sizing?

 

[Ron The Bear]

I'm finding it hard to justify getting an SSD based on the expensive prices for faster load times. I mean, I guess it's something I have to experience first hand. Once an SSD gets close to full capacity, do they tend to reduce in performance? I've also read that they wear out over time (can be written to a certain amount of times); what kind of time frame are we talking, is this true and how does it compare to a mechanical HDD in this regard?

Looking under SSD's on this CPL price list http://cpl.net.au/pdf/page1.pdf, what brands models should I be looking at for say a 120gb minimum SDD, without paying ridiculous amounts for it?

This is a tough choice, especially given I know so little about SSD's and only really heard about them recently whilst researching for this build.

You'd be hard done by if a conventional hard drive didn't give you five years' faithful service (in fact the WD Caviar Black comes with a 5-year warranty). SSD's do wear out, but I'm not sure exactly how long it takes. The cells can cope with a finite number of write cycles, whereupon the data will be permanently stored (as opposed to lost) on that cell. Once all the cells on the SSD are used up, it becomes a read-only disk. Three years is a ball park figure, although my only practical experience is with an OCZ Ibis which is chugging away happily after 9 months. But I'd be very careful buying a second-hand or ex-demo SSD.

A couple of advantages to SSD's are that they're practically silent and not nearly as heat-sensitive as conventional drives.

The OCZ Vertex range has a good reputation. The ultra-expensive SSD's (RevoDrive, Ibis) are actually PCI Express cards that require a spare 4x PCIe slot on your motherboard. To be honest, these things are good to boast about re the numbers returned in benchmarks, but most people aren't going to see a massive performance difference in real-world usage to e.g. a Vertex.

They're a new technology and I haven't kept up since I bought the Ibis. Late last year, Intels were very good but very expensive, Kingstons a bit on the slow side, Crucial fast but flawed etc. But the SSD scene is rapidly evolving, so read the reviews while attempting to discern fact from paid sales pitch.

It's not a big deal if you don't have an SSD; they're still something of a luxury at this stage. If it's a stretch to fit one in your budget, you're probably better off going with a mechanical drive until SSD's reach a more reasonable price point.

 

[dylan123]

From recent reading, some of the SSD's on PCCG advertise for 1,000,000 hours of life however I highly doubt they would last that long!

Also, I think a 60gig SSD would be plenty, you install your OS, and maybe your more demanding programs and then you install everything else onto your bigger hard drives.

 

[_JC_]

Quick note with PSU's the total wattage is not the most important factor. The amount of amps available on the 12V rail is as that is where GPU and CPU draw their power. I think there is a good rundown on whirlpool about this. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Joe King]

Well, I think I'll add the Crucial 120gb M4 after the great advice and much deliberation.

This brings the total cost to roughly $1700 for the build itself, a few hundred over what I thought (or was probably hoping) it would cost.

Quick note with PSU's the total wattage is not the most important factor. The amount of amps available on the 12V rail is as that is where GPU and CPU draw their power. I think there is a good rundown on whirlpool about this. Something to keep in mind.

Checked out said article and the Corsair HX-650W I have chosen seems to have 53 Amps which from what I gathered seems pretty good.

 

[dylan123]

I've got a Corsair TX 650w myself (the non modular one (much rather the HX)) and it runs my system which is a q6600, 460gtx, 8 gig of ram, 9 odd fans, 5 hard drives, 1 dvd drive so you will be fine. Also worth noting that the newer equipment (from my understanding) uses less power then the older stuff so you should have no problems!

 

[Joe King]

I've got a Corsair TX 650w myself (the non modular one (much rather the HX)) and it runs my system which is a q6600, 460gtx, 8 gig of ram, 9 odd fans, 5 hard drives, 1 dvd drive so you will be fine. Also worth noting that the newer equipment (from my understanding) uses less power then the older stuff so you should have no problems!

Excellent!

 

[Ron The Bear]

Corsair's power supplies have earned a good rep. In order of increasing price/quality, the models are CX -> TX -> HX -> AX.