New gaming+work+photo-editing computer

H

Hansen

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
185
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Play games such as BFBC2, Rainbow Six, Starcraft 2. Use GIMP and Lightroom. Work with Word, Excel and Publisher. Perhaps some video encoding sometimes.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I just moved to Europe and will have to order from Denmark. Pricey.

3) Where do you live?
In the North Atlantic .. middle of nowhere

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
cpu, mobo, ram, cpu cooler, psu, case, monitor

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I will use my ATI HD 4870 until the HD 6xxx comes out later this year. I will also use my new OCZ Vertex 2 SSD.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Don't need to. Maybe slightly.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I plan to buy a Dell 24" U2410

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I hope to order it within the next week. Shipping takes a while though.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I will not use CF/SLI. However, I am wondering if I should have USB3 and SATA6 just to be a little bit future proof.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, I use Windows 7 64bit


My current build is:

Asus P5K (Intel P35)
Intel E6750
4gb mushkin
ATI HD 4870
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
Asus Xonar Essence ST
Corsair 520HX
Antec P182

I want to use the current build for my wife to use and have it by the TV working partly as a htpc. (The signature is the computer that I have over in the US, so ignore the sig)

For the future build I am thinking:

Intel i5 760
Asus P7P55D-E PRO
Corsair Dominator DDR3 PC1600 4GB CL7
Corsair H70
Corsair 650hx

For the case, I am thinking about Silverstone FT02, Corsair 700D, Corsair 600T or perhaps a Lian Li, but I kind of like the feeling of steel better than light aluminum.

My current monitor is a Samsung 22" 226BW, and I am thinking about buying a Dell 24" U2410.

I would appreciate any advice and suggestions on any part of the system. For the cpu+chipset, I have also been wondering if I should go for the AMD 1055t, or maybe for the the X58 with i7 930. What to do what to do.

Thank you.
 
The parts that you're considering are, for the most part, fine. However, if photo editing or video encoding is more of a priority than gaming, either going with a Core i7 processor or doubling the amount of RAM that you use would help matters. Unless you perform both of those tasks heavily, a Socket 1366 (X58) setup is not required. An AMD setup, built around the Phenom II X6 1055T, would be fine, but the Socket 1156 processors are better performers in most gaming benchmarks (assuming that all other factors are similar) and can overclock higher.

The Corsair Dominator RAM is overpriced and unnecessary for your needs. Since you're pursuing an Intel setup (for the time being), go with a cheaper set of DDR3 1333 (or, if you want to overclock in the future, DDR3 1600) RAM that runs between 1.5V and 1.6V. RAM timings matter little for DDR3 RAM, and even less while overclocking, so don't pay more for lower latency RAM.
 
Thank you very much for your response, tiraides.

I think I might just not get the i7, because I spend a very limited time on video encoding. Just a little bit on image editing. Also, I might want to buy a new system 1st quarter of next year when Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer have come out, so I do not want to spent too much money on this built.

What I am debating with myself at the moment is which to choose:

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T + Asus Crosshair IV Formula (AM3)
or
Intel i5 760 + Asus P7P55D-E PRO

From where I am buying, there is no price difference between these two builds. The RAM I am looking at now is Corsair XMS3 2x2048MB DDR3 1600, because maybe I want to do some slight OC, but nothing special.
 
If you can wait until next year, wait until next year. I believe that it makes no sense to build something now only to scrap it for something new a few months later.

As to the AMD build, which features on the Asus Crosshair IV Formula are "must have" for you? I believe that buying that board eliminates the main value of AMD over Intel: better "bang per buck" performance and features for comparatively less money.

Do you have the specific model number of the RAM you're considering? If nothing else, make sure that it runs under 1.65V (as that's the limit for safe operation with Intel processors).
 
Phenom II X6 1055t - $197.99 Six core and overclocks well. This thing can last you for a long time.

ASROCK 890FX DELUXE3 - $149.99 Very nice 890FX board for the money, it has 3 16x slots which will give you lots of graphics potential. It had also received a lot of favorable reviews, too.

Mushkin Silverline 4GB DDR3 1333 - $79.99 DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600 does not have that much difference, but the 1333s always come at a way cheaper price. Also, Mushkin is a brand you would trust, they are simply awesome.

CM690II Basic - $69.99 This case has support for 10 fans and you can even fit 2 240mm watercooling radiators in there. Also, it has a very good black finish for the interior and excellent cable management.

Seasonic S12II 520W - $59.99 Seasonic makes very reliable PSUs, also it has 80PLUS BRONZE rated. For $59.99 this is a lot of PSU for the money.

2xSapphire HD5770 - $124.99 AFTER REBATE x2 Get two of them and crossfire them. Both of this combined will beat the HD5870 - both in terms of price and performance.

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $77.99 after PROMO CODE. 1TB should be enough for most of your needs, with the promo code this is a very good deal.

Cooler Master Hyper212+ - $29.99 I heard that this does pretty well when it comes to cooling the AM3 sockets. For 30 bucks this is a very good deal.

Total: $915.91.

This is a list I've done for a fellow member, and I think this might be suitable for you.

Hexa-core for photo-editing and of course, cross-firing the 5770 for gaming since you are playing BFBC2 on those juicy 24-inch monitor. :D
 
I agree with lt_shiro on buying one HD 5850 instead of two HD 5770s. While the 5770s in CF outperform the 5850 by itself, dealing with one video card is more convenient in terms of power draw and cable management. (If you were to go with a dual 5770 setup, you should also get a more powerful PSU.)

Also, the new versions of the 1TB FALS Caviar Black act like the Caviar Greens; they have "energy saving" functions where the HDD heads slow down when idle, but they take a while to ramp back up to full speed. If you want constant performance, go with either the FAEX Caviar Black or the Samsung F3 HD103SJ. (Oh, and lkiller1231: Hansen, the OP, lives in Europe. There's no guarantee that he'll pay the same price for those parts.)

But again, I ask: Are you sticking with your plans to buy a new Bulldozer or Sandy Bridge-based system?
 
Sorry for my late response(1 month!!), been busy with work and new(old) house.

lkiller1231 said:
...
...

This is a list I've done for a fellow member, and I think this might be suitable for you.

Hexa-core for photo-editing and of course, cross-firing the 5770 for gaming since you are playing BFBC2 on those juicy 24-inch monitor. :D
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your reply. Would the X6 1055t be much better than the X4 955 for the price? I am really liking that ASRock motherboard. Looks solid. Also those ram.

However, I do have some hdd around, so I wont be buying one of those. Also, I will be waiting for the high-end AMD 6000 series gpu.

Here is what my list currently looks liks:

ASROCK 890FX DELUXE3
AMD Phenom II X4 955
Some kind of Mushkin 4GB
Corsair H70
Silverstone FT02
Corsair HX650

tiraides said:
But again, I ask: Are you sticking with your plans to buy a new Bulldozer or Sandy Bridge-based system?
Click to expand...

I do have plans to buy either Sandy Bridge or Bulldozer. Then it would only be a cpu, mb and ram, since I would have everything else already. The first Sandy Bridge wont come out until sometime 1H of 2010, huh?
 
If Sandy Bridge or Bulldozer is in your future -- the first half of 2011 is a good estimate, but there's no guarantee that any "must have" parts will arrive with the first set of products -- you should downgrade the motherboard for one with the features that you need right now. Since the primary purpose of this system is gaming, you can get away with using a board that has less features than the ASRock 890FX DELUXE3, like the ASUS M4A77TD. If CrossFire is still a likely option -- most AMD motherboards don't support SLI, and the few that do aren't as good as those with the AMD-based northbridge -- get something with dual x8 PCI-E slots, like the ASRock 870 EXTREME3. (The NewEgg links are to offer you a reference point.)

Mushkin is a good brand -- one that makes the 1.5V RAM that I mentioned earlier -- but any major manufacturer save for OCZ (reported QC issues) would be good. Again, there's no need for you to go with anything higher than DDR3 1333 RAM (and there's a good chance that Sandy Bridge and/or Bulldozer may require faster RAM).

Out of curiosity, which hard drive(s) are you reusing? (Yes, I'm aware that you're also reusing your Vertex 2 SSD.)

My only two issues, if you can call them that, are with the case and the CPU cooler. Basically, I'm curious as to why you chose those particular products.
 
You are very helpful, Tiraides. Thank you.

I think I should take your advice on that I should try to get a MB with features that I only need right now, since I will be upgrading in 6+ months. And also for the ram, 1333mhz should be just fine.

I will be using a Vertex 2 60gb, WD Velociraptor 150gb and WD Green 1TB.

Silverstone FT02 - I need a new case, and I want a case that has good airflow, quiet(This is priority number one), decent cable management and looks simple but nice. My current case, Antec p182, will be used as a HTPC.

Corsair H70 - I used to have the H50 in another computer, and I liked it. Decently quiet and did the job quite well. However, I have also been thinking about one of the smaller Noctua air coolers.
 
I am looking at the ASRock 870 Extreme3. It looks good and is very cheap.

Question: Does this motherboard have proper ahci, so that it will give trim support to my precious SSD? I have been trying to find out, but I think I read somewhere that AMD doesn't have proper ahci drivers/controllers, so I wouldn't get trim?
 
Hansen said:
I have been trying to find out, but I think I read somewhere that AMD doesn't have proper ahci drivers/controllers, so I wouldn't get trim?
Click to expand...
I haven't seen anything that backs up that statement.

IN any case, that mobo is an ok choice but if you are buying before the end of the month, you can get this combo instead:
$245 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU + Asus M4A89GTD PRO AMD 890GX ATX Motherboard Combo

$15 more than the ASRock 870 and PHenom II 955 but you get a better quality motherboard with more features. Not bad for $15 more.
 
Danny...

Hansen said:
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I just moved to Europe and will have to order from Denmark. Pricey.
Click to expand...

... but I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my earlier mistake and present the NewEgg and product pages for the ASRock 870 EXTREME3.

Hansen said:
I am looking at the ASRock 870 Extreme3. It looks good and is very cheap.

Question: Does this motherboard have proper ahci, so that it will give trim support to my precious SSD? I have been trying to find out, but I think I read somewhere that AMD doesn't have proper ahci drivers/controllers, so I wouldn't get trim?
Click to expand...

The board has proper AHCI drivers, but IIRC, TRIM is supported through the Windows 7 OS, not the motherboard drivers.
 
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