I'm not exactly new to PC building, but I've been out of the loop for a while and missed some new technologies. My current hardware is getting a little aged (almost 2 years) and I'd like the new parts to last at least as long.
First my current build:
[list]
[*][b]CPU:[/b] AMD Phenom II X2 550
[*][b]RAM:[/b] 2 GB DDR2 at 800 MHz
[*][b]MB:[/b] Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
[*][b]GPU:[/b] NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (will keep)
[*][b]HDD:[/b] a Samsung 1 TB (will keep)
[/list]
As for the new parts, I'm getting either Intel i5 2500K or i7 2600K, but I'm leaning towards 2500K since I won't be doing CPU-heavy work.
For RAM, I've ended up with 8 GB of 1600 MHz memory (CL8).
Motherboard should be SandyBridge-compatible obviously, ASRock Z68 Extreme4 seems like a good choice. Chipset is Z68 instead of P67 or H67 because H67 doesn't support CPU overclocking and only Z68 supports SSD caching.
I'm getting rid of my current POS case and getting a new one, Corsair 600T (the white one) is looking good.
For SSD caching support, I'm getting Intel Larson Creek with 20 GB space. I won't need any bigger, because I'll only be using it for caching and bigger ones I'd need are way outside my budget.
I can see my GPU will probably be the future bottleneck, so I've been looking for a way to squeeze another GTS 450 in for SLI with my current one. [u]Will the single GTS 450 last another year until next summer or should I go for another GTS 450 for SLI?[/u] I'm running 1440x900 and so far the graphics performance has been fine, but I'm not sure.
Also, a cheap S-ATA DVD burner because my current one is IDE which newer motherboards seem to have removed.
[u]What kind of PSU should I find for this build?[/u] I'm estimating a 600W Corsair should do the job, but I lack the experience to decide.
[b]Budget:[/b] My budget is about €700 and I accept any shop inside EU (no tariffs) who also ship to Finland.
Current cheapest I've found (from compuland.de):
[quote][url=http://localhostr.com/files/zGYpnJb/capture.png][img]http://localhostr.com/files/zGYpnJb/capture.png[/img][/url]
Total: €702,97[/quote]
Anything I should change?
The stock cooler on the i5-2500k actually works very well. Unless you're planning on overclocking past 3.8Ghz-4Ghz, I wouldn't bother getting a aftermarket cooler.
If you won't be doing CPU heavy work, then you won't be needing 8GB RAM (aswell as Vengeance being overpriced usually).
[QUOTE=Armotekma;30827753]If you won't be doing CPU heavy work, then you won't be needing 8GB RAM (aswell as Vengeance being overpriced usually).[/QUOTE]
8GB is mostly for future proofing, since when I bought my 2 GB I thought it would be enough for a year or two... not quite. And Vengeance is one of the cheapest models in compuland, but I switched from CL8 to CL9, saving me €15 (G.Skill for €59, Corsair Vengeance €61 and I prefer Corsair due to good experiences with them)
I don't know, if I were you I'd get 6Gb RAM and, say, a GTX 560.
[QUOTE=keyfuzz;30831778]I don't know, if I were you I'd get 6Gb RAM and, say, a GTX 560.[/QUOTE]
I'd love to do that, but how would that fit in the budget? 8 GB of RAM is €61 and the full price for this build is about €690 now, GTX 560 is around €200? That's almost €200 over...
You can fit a 6870 in with sandy bridge if you get a different case and 4gb ram
[QUOTE=raBBish;30827996]8GB is mostly for future proofing, since when I bought my 2 GB I thought it would be enough for a year or two... not quite. And Vengeance is one of the cheapest models in compuland, but I switched from CL8 to CL9, saving me €15 (G.Skill for €59, Corsair Vengeance €61 and I prefer Corsair due to good experiences with them)[/QUOTE]
Remember that you can buy RAM at any time if you need more..
[QUOTE=raBBish;30831997]I'd love to do that, but how would that fit in the budget? 8 GB of RAM is €61 and the full price for this build is about €690 now, GTX 560 is around €200? That's almost €200 over...[/QUOTE]
I agree with Armotekma just get 4gig of ram with a cheaper case and fit a 6870 in with the sandy bridge
20gb won't be enough to fit your OS on. 60Gb Agility 3's for for 104 euro...
I think he just wants to use it with SRT, since that's what Intel sells those small drives for.
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;30832216]20gb won't be enough to fit your OS on. 60Gb Agility 3's for for 104 euro...[/QUOTE]
As detailed in the OP, I'm only using the SSD for caching with SRT.
And I'll see what I can do to get a new GPU.
[QUOTE=Armotekma;30832272]I think he just wants to use it with SRT, since that's what Intel sells those small drives for.[/QUOTE]
I wondered if you'd get a 60gb drive, partition 40gb as bootdrive and 20gb as cache if you'd still get big performance increases on the 'big' harddrive
HAF 912 is a decently cheap case, when I put everything back together (HAF 912, 2500K, Extreme 4, Intel 310, 4GB DDR3, GS600, 6870) it wasn't that much over, ~€720 (don't remember)
[QUOTE=Armotekma;30832389]HAF 912 is a decently cheap case, when I put everything back together (HAF 912, 2500K, Extreme 4, Intel 310, 4GB DDR3, GS600, 6870) it wasn't that much over, ~€720 (don't remember)[/QUOTE]
Thanks, I'll check it out. Also, I might get Pro3 instead of Extreme4, since I won't probably be needing SLI/CrossFire if I'm getting a new card. Saves about €30-40 more.
You can always save it as an upgrade option but 1440x900 isn't demanding enough on the GPU to need CF/SLI. You should keep the Extreme4, because if you get a higher res monitor in the future and want to add a 2nd GPU, not having the option will bite you in the ass.
[QUOTE=Armotekma;30832471]You can always save it as an upgrade option but 1440x900 isn't demanding enough on the GPU to need CF/SLI. You should keep the Extreme4, because if you get a higher res monitor in the future and want to add a 2nd GPU, not having the option will bite you in the ass.[/QUOTE]
I considered that, but this is what I've ended up with so far
[img]http://localhostr.com/files/G2bZmzL/capture.png[/img]
Should I stick with that for €728,74 or go for Extreme4 and 6870?
Another thing I'm wondering about: NVidia or ATI? GTX 560 seems to be about equal to 6870, GTX 560 Ti about equal (or a bit slower) than 6950. However, 560s seem to overclock better than ATI's respective cards ([url=http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti-review/17]source[/url]). Both pairs are about equal in price, so the decision is mostly about performance and personal preference.
Also, will the 600W PSU be enough for the GPU as well? The 12V rail is at 48A, so to me it seems it should work.
If your resolution is 1920x1080 or above, get a 6950. If your resolution is 1680x1050 or below, get a 560 ti.
600w will be fine unless you want to CF/SLI (even then it should be fine but not recommended), in which 750w would be better for the PSU (lower temps, better efficiency & lifetime, plus overclocking headroom)
Thanks for the help, I've ordered the build now. I ordered the HAF 912 case separately from Finland, for cheaper total from shipping, rest is from compuland.de
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