Need component suggestions

Sightaridis

It's time for me to upgrade, so stressful trying to choose parts when you don't know what half of the stuff means.

Here's what I have so far. I'm really not decided on that GPU, it's very expensive and seems a bit much, though I do want to play the latest games.



I already have a HDD, Mouse, Keyboard, OS etc. The CD drive doesn't matter to me, cheap one will do. All that needs to be added there is a case with decent ventilation. But for now I need to focus on the components, I'm sure you guys will be able to improve on that list as I pretty much threw it together and am not very experienced.

Are there any good stores in Dublin where I could pick up most of or all of these components? Ordering from OC would be real easy but they seem expensive, not to mention it being in Pounds and all.

marco_polo

An HD4890 would save you a good few quid and comfortable handly any game, as would the HD4870 if you want to save another few quids again, but it might have a slightly shorter lifespan (Even at that I reckon you are talking a good few years before you will see a game that bests it).

May as well upgrade the Mobo and Ram to DDR3 versions (I could be wrong but I thing you have to flash the bios to get AM3 chips to work with AM2+ boards? - something best avoided unless nescessary IMO). The Gigabyte 790 XT UD4P is a good AM3 DDR3 board in the same price range ( Asus have a good one in that band as well, model number escapes me right now).

The only worthwhile Irish retailer are online based like Komplett and Elara who both have Dublin pickup points. Alot of people here also use HardwareVersand.de who are german based. There are a few a retailer stickies at the top of the forum, have alook for more info.

Sightaridis

Is DDR3 really worth it at this stage?

Komplett seems decent enough, I'm going to make a basket there and see what price it comes to.

Say I was to go for DDR3: (Bottom image is Komplett and in Euro)





Works out at around €682 then I have to get a case which will send me over 700.

Edit: Just realised I can get the Phenom X4 on OverClockers for much cheaper, €174 roughly as opposed to €220 at Komplett.

Blazer

wait till you get to the checkout and the fcukers add on the 22% vat for Ireland

If you're building now you might as well go DDR3 although there's no difference but it does leave you a longer upgrade path.
The 4870X2 is a fantastic card and still the best out there..
For that price it's well worth it..considering I paid €420 for mine on launch day.

marco_polo

I don't think that there is that much of a performance gain with DDR3 currently but for future upgrade purposes I think the prices are close enough to justify it unless on a super tight budget.

Sightaridis

The 4870x2 is currently out of stock at OverClockers and that's the cheapest place I've found for that card. How often do they get stock in?

How good is the 4870 1gb? Will it handle GTAIV with ease for example? And how long before I'd need an upgrade? I'm just finding it hard to justify paying nearly 300 for the X2 considering my budget is around 700.

marco_polo

Sightaridis wrote: »

The 4870x2 is currently out of stock at OverClockers and that's the cheapest place I've found for that card. How often do they get stock in?

How good is the 4870 1gb? Will it handle GTAIV with ease for example? And how long before I'd need an upgrade? I'm just finding it hard to justify paying nearly 300 for the X2 considering my budget is around 700.

It is not benchmarked in many reviews but here is one that shows it holds up very well except at very high resolutions like 2560 x 1600 so unless you have such a monster monitor it will be fine.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/16365-sapphire-radeon-hd-4890-1gb-review-17.html

With a 700 Euro budget you are limited to the HD4890 at best anyway, probably I would go for that one myself if you can stretch, but the 4870 will not let you down if you opt for it.

Solitaire

I'm surprised OCUK had the HD4870X2 that cheap, it usually stays well over the €330 mark. Then again, being in Sterling it's not as far off that as you might imagine.

Both the HD4870 and the HD4870X2 are quite expensive in Ireland. But HWVS is a different story - you can get a HD4870 for under €130 there, so in effect you have a homemade HD4870X2 for under €260!

My only complaint is that due to the fickle nature of PCIe PEG connectors, you have to overbuy on the PSU if you get two seperate cards. A decent 550W could run a HD4870X2 and some even have the connectors to do it, but despite similar power requirements the cheapest PSUs to have the four 6pin connectors neccessary for two cards start off around €100 for 750W models :mad:

Not trying to go cheaper here...



If a HD4870 is too little and a HD4870X2 is too much, getting a HD4890 and OCing it a bit in CCC is a nice middle-ground Also added a case. There's a better one for around €20 more if you need more airflow (and better stock fans with it) but don't bother unless you have the extra space and like Marmite!

EDIT: Crap, forgot the CPU cooler

cronos

Solitaire wrote: »

I'm surprised OCUK had the HD4870X2 that cheap, it usually stays well over the €330 mark. Then again, being in Sterling it's not as far off that as you might imagine.

Both the HD4870 and the HD4870X2 are quite expensive in Ireland. But HWVS is a different story - you can get a HD4870 for under €130 there, so in effect you have a homemade HD4870X2 for under €260!

My only complaint is that due to the fickle nature of PCIe PEG connectors, you have to overbuy on the PSU if you get two seperate cards. A decent 550W could run a HD4870X2 and some even have the connectors to do it, but despite similar power requirements the cheapest PSUs to have the four 6pin connectors neccessary for two cards start off around €100 for 750W models :mad:

Not trying to go cheaper here...



If a HD4870 is too little and a HD4870X2 is too much, getting a HD4890 and OCing it a bit in CCC is a nice middle-ground Also added a case. There's a better one for around €20 more if you need more airflow (and better stock fans with it) but don't bother unless you have the extra space and like Marmite!

EDIT: Crap, forgot the CPU cooler

Is that the best value that can be done for around the 700 to 800 mark?

Sightaridis

wait till you get to the checkout and the fcukers add on the 22% vat for Ireland

Yeah, they really get you there. :-/

Do CPUs come with a fan these days? I remember when I got my AMD Athlon 64, it came with a decent fan.

I'm going to get the 4890 and I found a case for €40 at OCUK. The rig is a pretty decent price, that is until the VAT is added plus shipping of £20 which brings the total up to €750...



Edit: Shipping goes down to £13 when I get rid of the case, perhaps I'll buy the case here, though looking at the prices in Peats...

Solitaire

The Elite 330 is a sweet budget case, I'm just a little worried about heat buildup from sticking a 125W CPU into a budget case with just two 120mm fans, and of those the intake isn't included in the price either.

Not too concerned about the CPU cooler so long as you're not OCing. If you are I'm not sure if the stock cooler can deal efficiently with heat once you go past 3.2GHz - and the X4-955BE starts at 3.2GHz

And while OCUK does great deals on CPUs you're paying a premium on pretty much everything else And if you add (Irish!) VAT and currency conversion then you realise that getting a case from OCUK notches up the delivery so far you might as well get the whole lot from HWVS as you're paying nearly €30 p&p from OCUK anyway!

And if your budget is €700... well, XE suggests that the OCUK build comes to over €750 before currency conversion penalties are even applied! :eek:

TerrorFirmer

Pixmania.ie have the 4890 1GB for 169 and the 4870X2 for 299, just for your information. They also have the Vapor-X 4890 for a mere tenner extra at 179.

Sightaridis

Thanks for all the advice, here's a basket from that German site, doesn't look too bad.



As for the case: Top : 1 x 14 cm - ( 1 installed) ¦ Front : 1 x 12 cm - ( 1 installed) ¦ Side : 2 x 14 cm - ( 0 installed) ¦ Rear : 1 x 12 cm - ( 0 installed)

So it only comes with two fans. Should I buy another one for the back? If so is there a specific type I should look for or just any 12cm fan?

+€30 for delivery and it's just under €700. How exactly do I pay these guys?

Solitaire

Cool. Didn't know the TX650 had come down so much in price

HWVS usually insists on Bank Transfer for payments.

As for fans... actually having a 140mm exhaust is a nice start, harder to get than 120mm fans. The latter can be bought almost anywhere PC-related but if you really want to keep the noise to a minimum keep an eye out for Scythe fans. And while not so bad with 120mm fans, generally anything with LEDs is usually fast... and noisy.

Sightaridis

I've placed my order, but can someone give me a step-by-step guide on how to pay? At the end I got:

Please pay on credit transfer to successional account. Please use this account exclusively, even if you know further admits of accounts.

I assume I have to transfer money from my (empty) account to them?

Sightaridis

Nevermind, I sorted it out today and the money should be with them in 3 days. I'll let you know how I get on, hopefully things will run smoothly.

Thanks for the advice.