Help building a comp.

[Halle Terry]

So I'm building a new computer, with the intention of using it for a bit of gaming and some graphic work (Photoshop/Solidworks etc)

Games I'm heavily playing tend to be Starcraft 2, Company of Heroes, I intend to get Diablo 3 when it comes out as well. So I'm not after some crazy system that can run Crysis and every other top tier game at full capacity.

I guess here is my rough starting point on things I want:

$1500 or less - I have a tower, and I don't need a stupid mouse or keyboard.
24" Screen
6gb or more of ram
Possibly 2 hard drives, one with my OS on it the other with all my other crap
Decent graphics card

The things I'd like some opinions on are:

SSD + HDD combo, ie run my OS off an SSD and have music etc on my other drive, is it worth while investing into this idea?

AMD vs Intel - and what is well priced but good performing processor.

Ram set up, ie 3 x 2gb, or 2 x 3gb etc

And where to purchase the parts, so far I am only aware of MSY and Foxcomp that are cheap when it comes to parts.

[Mad_Aussie]

whirlpool.net.au

Go an AMD 1055T with an ASUS crosshair IV mobo, best bang-for-buck system thats good to overclock. G-Skill does decent ram for good money, and OCZ are getting a lot of rave over their SSD's. If you want to fork out $400 they even do a 120gb PCIe SSD, so no SATA2 to slow it down.

Also get a Corsair H50 CPU cooler, and a pair of noctua 120mm fans to push/pull through the radiator.

[Halle Terry]

(My lack of computer knowledge really shining through here)

Better to run 2 graphics cards on crossfire or 1 big one?

[RELEASE]

SSD for OS and normal HDD for other stuff = YES!
Intel over AMD
with RAM its better to do a 2 x 3GB rather than 3 x 2GB
If you can go 8gb of RAM. i like the Geil brand personally

PLE is another for parts and generally is pretty much the cheapest
Netplus can be ok for somethings

Does your tower have a PSU? if so how big? brand? etc?

[Mad_Aussie]

(My lack of computer knowledge really shining through here)

Better to run 2 graphics cards on crossfire or 1 big one?

Everyone i've spoken to recommends getting a pair of ATI 5770's, for the money that combo will shit on any $400 card for the same money. You can get a Gigabyte 5770 ultra-durable for $199.

Also, get your hands on a hard drive with a 64mb cache - WD caviar blacks have 64mb afaik. You'll notice the difference doing graphics.

Also, don't bow to the intel > amd camp, with adobe suite you want the 6-core chip, and intel want $1000+ for that. The AMD X6 will be fine and won't cost a fortune.

[Halle Terry]

SSD for OS and normal HDD for other stuff = YES!
Intel over AMD
with RAM its better to do a 2 x 3GB rather than 3 x 2GB
If you can go 8gb of RAM. i like the Geil brand personally

PLE is another for parts and generally is pretty much the cheapest
Netplus can be ok for somethings

Does your tower have a PSU? if so how big? brand? etc?

I have one in there but from memory think it may of shat itself, so might be worth while running a new one.

[R3N]

you will need a 600w+ psu anyway, also depends how big your existing case is

[Halle Terry]

1 Amaze ATI HD5770 PCI-E 2.0 1GB 128-bit GDDR5, Dual Link DVI/ VGA/ HDMI, Fan $ 179 x 2 = $ 358.00

2 ASRock 880G Extreme3 AM3 ATX, AMD 880G+ SB850, 5.2 GT/s, DDR3 1800(OC), PCI-E 2.0, SATA3 $ 150

3 AMD HDT55TFBGRBOX PHENOM II X6 1055T, 6CORE, 2.8GHz, 9MB CACHE, AM3 125W $ 245


Thoughts so far?

[Mad_Aussie]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=193_962

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD5770 Ultra Durable 1GB $199

Don't go ASRock, and don't go Amaze. Spend a little extra coin for the ASUS moBo, even if not the crosshair IV. With major components like that you want a certain level of quality.

[Halle Terry]

I did have the 1090T but the $100 on the extra 400mhz (as far as I could tell it was the main difference) was not really justifiable.

[Basic]

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
In stock $235.00 $235.00
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Rev2 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Rev2 Motherboard
In stock $149.00 $149.00
G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ (3x2GB) DDR3 G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ (3x2GB) DDR3
In stock $169.00 $169.00
Thermaltake Litepower 700W Thermaltake Litepower 700W
In stock $79.00 $79.00
HIS ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB HIS ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB x2
In stock $179.00 $358.00
G.Skill Phoenix PRO 60GB SSD G.Skill Phoenix PRO 60GB SSD
In stock $179.00 $179.00
BenQ G2420HD 24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor BenQ G2420HD 24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor
In stock $229.00
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX
In stock $119.00 $119.00
Total: $1517
This is basically what I'm buying for my next build accept I'm using different RAM and not getting the monitor and only the SSD. From pc case gear. You can easily source these parts cheaper using Static Ice.

[Mad_Aussie]

I did have the 1090T but the $100 on the extra 400mhz (as far as I could tell it was the main difference) was not really justifiable.

Make sure you get a H50 liquid cooler, and overclocking for that extra 400mhz should be easy enough. You're right, however. You don't need to pay the extra $100 when 5 minutes in the bios can achieve the same thing.

[Basic]

Make sure you get a H50 liquid cooler, and overclocking for that extra 400mhz should be easy enough. You're right, however. You don't need to pay the extra $100 when 5 minutes in the bios can achieve the same thing.

+1 those are awesome coolers and such awesome value for money compared to the price of something like the V10 cooler.

[Mad_Aussie]

Heheh i've got a V8 in my gaming rig. Only because it says 'v8'. The H50 is wild, go want a H70 purely for the wank factor however.

Just make sure you get a pair of Noctua fans to mount to it, they are much better that the oem corsair ones.

Just make sure you find a case that can mount a radiator.

I so want a Fractal Design R2/3... Hate this trend of "i've taken too much bad lsd before designing this case" style of cases. Clean and high quality cases are few and far between.

[Basic]

R3 Titanium FTW.

[Sammish]

K used to work at ple so i should be good at this. I like:

Intel i7 930
6GB Geil Ram (try not to get the value series but depends on the cash u have to spend.
OCZ LE HDD there was a very good 200gb one when i was in the game about 6 months ago i liked it.
Gigabyte UD7 motherboard (not sure if its the latest but its fkn good)
2tb WD Green (or black if you have the cash best bang for buck hdd.)
5870 GFX card should have come doewn in price by now. 750w corsair PSU
Antec ninehundred 2 case (nice and cool and easy to build with)

Also make sure you keep your invoice/recipt if u do buy it from PLE.... and while you are there if u see the manager Jase call him a pingpingpingping for me =D

feel free to pm me if u want help with the build i like beer.

[satch]

Intel over AMD.

Have a I7 930 thats running at 3.8 with air cooling.
Recommend a 5870, will run most games np these days, will till it drops in price in 3-4 months from now and xfire it then.
Def Def Def go SSD.

[scj91]

Just want to say +1 for the fractal case.

Heavy as fuck,but the computer stayed 5-10 degrees cooler then what it was in the old case,which was a haf 932.
Was loud though..

[mehow2g]

Aware me on SSD please

[dmwill]

with RAM its better to do a 2 x 3GB rather than 3 x 2GB
If you can go 8gb of RAM. i like the Geil brand personally

Bear in mind that you will need a 64-bit OS if you go beyond 3Gb of RAM.

[RELEASE]

Bear in mind that you will need a 64-bit OS if you go beyond 3Gb of RAM.yep... I been running Windows 7 64bit on my new laptop :)

[Sammish]

fractal case was fucking horrible when i saw it all of the sound dapening shit on the inside of the case would peel away from the chasis very poor build quality we sent back 6/10 we recieved initially

[Basic]

Intel over AMD.

Have a I7 930 thats running at 3.8 with air cooling.


I have a Phenom XII 555BE that's unlocked and running as a 3.9ghz quad core and more importantly it's stable. AMD vs Intel is just like 360 vs PS3.

[Sammish]

I have a Phenom XII 555BE that's unlocked and running as a 3.9ghz quad core and more importantly it's stable. AMD vs Intel is just like 360 vs PS3.

Disagree completely the amd intel battle was lost when amd flooded the market with second rate 64bit cpus and refused to RA them. Bang for buck CPU there is no better and has never been a better processor then the 970 EVER. The overclocking capacity of the 930 will make you head spin ive seen them running at 4ghz+ using the noctua u12p SE coolers...they are mental.

Compairing an amd to an intel right now is like compairing a r35 to a vs commobore.

[Halle Terry]

Ok:

Intel Core i5 760, 2.8Ghz, 8MB Cache, Quad Core, LGA1156

Socket 1156, Intel H55, 4x DDR3, D-Sub, HDMI, SATA3, USB3.0, Gb LAN, Micro ATX. Intel LGA1156 Platform, H55 Chipset, ASUS Xtreme Design – Protect 3.0, All Solid Capacitors, GPU Boost – Instant iGPU Level Up, Real-time O.C. Tools: Auto Tuning & TurboV, USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s Support.

Samsung BX2450 24inch Widescreen LED Monitor

Thermaltake Litepower 700W

Corsair CMP4GX3M2A1600C8 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3


+ 60gb SSD and 1TB HDD.

1200 odd.

No GFX yet, whats the Nvidia equivalent of the 5770? I want somthing I can run HDMI out.

[Sammish]

No GFX yet, whats the Nvidia equivalent of the 5770? I want somthing I can run HDMI out.

They dont really have one right now their only decent card is the gtx 470 and its pricey as fuck and has heat issues...you can get 5770s with HDMi if you look for gigabyte or saphire.

[Fujiwara13]

I'd buy it from www.pccasegear.com, they sell a pro builder 64 windows 7 edition for a mere $170, when I looked that was pretty cheap.

I just built a computer from there, cost me ~1900 but that's because it had to be really portable but still runs 6gb of ddr3 ram and an intel i7 930 which'll run at 4ghz over 8 cores. I also run an ati 5770, thinking about another and for the money that's brilliant, I think it was a saphire, from memory, 1gb.

If I were doing that again I really rate my setup (I had a computer friend build this for me, not blowing my own trumpet), and I bet that if I didn't have to run everything in a really small tower it'd be a bit cheaper.

If you're interested I still probably have the parts list I ordered from them with links I could send you.

[///M]

Ok:

Intel Core i5 760, 2.8Ghz, 8MB Cache, Quad Core, LGA1156

Socket 1156, Intel H55, 4x DDR3, D-Sub, HDMI, SATA3, USB3.0, Gb LAN, Micro ATX. Intel LGA1156 Platform, H55 Chipset, ASUS Xtreme Design – Protect 3.0, All Solid Capacitors, GPU Boost – Instant iGPU Level Up, Real-time O.C. Tools: Auto Tuning & TurboV, USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s Support.

Samsung BX2450 24inch Widescreen LED Monitor

Thermaltake Litepower 700W

Corsair CMP4GX3M2A1600C8 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3


+ 60gb SSD and 1TB HDD.

1200 odd.

No GFX yet, whats the Nvidia equivalent of the 5770? I want somthing I can run HDMI out.

get the ATi 5850 and overclock it
get a core i7 if you can
DONT get SSD!!!! They are shit! get a WD Raptor it will last you ALOT longer than a shitty SSD
samsung monitor is good
i wouldnt get a TT power supply.. try corsair or coolermaster
ram its all about the timings.

[winstor]

Get a Cooler Master HAF 932 for your case. Thing is fuck off huge and has 3 massive fans running at ~800rpm so they are both quiet and push a lot of air.

Also go for a Cooler Master or Corsair PSU, the only Thermaltake PSU worth getting would be the ToughPower series. Try and go with a modular one too, makes it much easier to DIY and helps keep your case free of excess cables.

www.atomicmpc.com.au

Great website/magazine.

http://www.staticice.com.au/

Great site to compare prices.

[Halle Terry]

Intel i5 760 $239
ASUS P7P55D-E LX Motherboard $149
OCZ Vertex 2 60GB E Series SSD $189
Corsair TX-750 Power Supply $148
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB $79
Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD5770 Super Overclock Edition $219
or
ASUS 1GB 5770 PCI-E $189
Samsung BX2450 24inch Widescreen LED Monitor $369
Kingston HyperX Blue $128
Samsung SATA 22x Black DVD RW $23

Ok mate threw this little list together for me, adheres pretty close to my budget.

Thoughts?

[cplagz]

Not going to bother putting it in a case? bench PC ftw!

[Mad_Aussie]

http://www.thechangelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/box021.jpg

[Halle Terry]

Ok, bought my computer 2 days ago.

Specs are:

i5-760
Gigabyte HD5850 1GB
Gigabyte P55A-UD3
Patriot 2x2gb 1600mhz low latency
1.5TB Seagate
Corsair TX750
Samsung BX2440
Some Logitech 5.1 system
$22 mouse+keyboard :D
Windows Home Premium

$1500 ish

Using my brothers old Lian Li case.

[Fujiwara13]

How are you liking the 5850? I blew my Sapphire Vapor X last week and need to start card shopping =D

[mehow2g]

460GTX is probably the best value for a card right now

[YOUR MATE]

I built a PC this week, and for 1600 tower only I'm pretty happy.
i7 950
Gigabyte x58a-ud-3r
Gigabyte GTX-460 1gig
Antec DF-35
Antec 750w psu
cheapy dvd writer
6gig 1600 Geil ram (3x2)
1tb hdd

So far yet to find anything it cant do on highest settings, and sure is shitting over my 2 year old lappy. Shopped around and got cheapest prices from MSY/PLE and Netplus priced matched and built it.

Pretty sure it's alot more than I needed, but fuck it. Was going to grab another GTX460 and run SLi but really isn't needed just yet.

[RICEY]

Anyone had a PSU blow up? Scared the fuck out of me!! Luckily was still under warranty and they didnt have another 500w so I got a 600w yay.

[Basic]

I was trying to fix up an old PC awhile ago and plugged it in with the case on it's side. PSU instantly went bang. The only thing that has ever scared me more was a glass sliding door exploding for no reason at 4am lol.
I don't know anything about electricity but I know there is a switch on the back to change voltage or wattage(?) Someone had switched it for some reason during the year or so it was unplugged so yeah... don't do that.

[colt75]

flicked the red switch with a pen whilst at school back in the day.
think it was the voltage selector..

went bang, made my ears ring for the next few hours.
smoke pissed out of it and i legged it.