Christmas Build.. please help!!

blade_bakerk

Hi all,

I posted a spec for a custom build pc a couple of weeks ago but alas, I purchased a new house instead... (the other half won that battle, but the wars not over):p.

I'm now looking at a build for christmas (I know very early) and the specs I have at the moment are as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 tray, 12MB, LGA775, 64bit - 181,28 €
• Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L, Intel P43, ATX, DDR2, PCI-Express - 62,99 €
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 - Pro PWM Rev.2 - 15,89 €
• 4096MB-KIT Corsair XMS2 PC8500, CL5 - 87,70 €
• Coolermaster HAF Mini 922M ohne Netzteil - 86,86 €
• Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz - 8,16 €
• BE Quiet! Dark Power Pro 750 Watt / BQT P7-PRO-750W - 135,95 €
• XFX HD 4890 870M 1GB DDR5 DUAL DVI TV ?XFX Default Clock" - 149,45 €
• Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) - 64,34 €
• Samsung SH-223B bare schwarz SATA - 24,66 €
• Samsung SyncMaster P2350 - 180,38 €

Sum: 997,66 €


I was wondering if the above specs will be compatible with each other (and if not if there would be a good alternative) and if I could do any better.

I’m trying to get best value for money over the following:

• Being able to over clock possibly in the future
• A quiet case (inc power supply etc)
• A very cool processor (for over clocking etc.)
• Fast speed for gaming and encoding
• Ability to upgrade in future

I know everything isn’t possible together but I know you guys will be able to tell me pros and cons and the hardware elements I haven’t considered. The only real definite in the build is the 4890 and the hard drive. Everything else is up for discussion (or bashing) if a cheaper better option is available.

• I'm stuck between AMD and Intel for the processor but felt the 12mb cache on the Q9550 would win the toss?
• Motherboard will be determined by the processor so that could change significantly.
• RAM to match the motherboard but no preference.
• I heard the PSU above was very quiet compared to others but again I'm willing to trade off price versus sound versus performance.
• I choose the Samsung monitor as I have heard these monitors were excellent but couldn't decide between the 22inch and the 23inch?

I reckon if I can decide on the build now then as it gets closer to christmas any price reductions would be a great surprise.

Thanks in advance for all your help

Leman_Russ

If you want a gaming rig, I cannot recomend anything except the i5 750 for the CPU and a ATI 58xx for the GPU at the moment. Get a 1156 Gigabyte Mobo and DDR3 Ram and you'll be sorted.

As for the monitor, the only difference between the 22inch and the 23inch is the profit margin :P 22inch is fine.

jonny72

New tech has come out in the meanwhile..

Search for a review of the i5 750 and 860 chips they only came out a month or two ago..

The ATI 5850 is the graphics card to get at the moment.

Power supply seems a little much. If you push the budget you could also run a 30 gig _good_ ssd for the OS which would make a very noticeable difference to speed/loading/bootup times

blade_bakerk

Thanks Leman_Russ and jonny72 for your responses. Am i right in thinking that the push to the i5 and the 5850 would increase the price a huge amount without a major gain in performance??

leninbenjamin

blade_bakerk wrote: »

Am i right in thinking that the push to the i5 and the 5850 would increase the price a huge amount without a major gain in performance??

yes and no.

the 4890 is a match on the 5850 in terms of fps (give or take). The 5850 of course has DX11, but there are no games at the moment available that use this, and AFAIK there'll only be 3 by the end of this year, and drivers are yet to mature. If you want a shiney 58xx by all means go for it, but i don't think it makes sense from a price/performance view at the mo.

As for Quad, i'd say go for the i5. There wont be a massive difference between the two in terms of performance, but the price/performance ratio for the i5 750 is better (from what i can tell), and seeing as LGA1156 is the newer platform, you might get a bit more life out of such a rig.

Solitaire

Nope, and the improvement from having them will only become even more glaring as time passes and DX11 becomes entrenched. The HD5850 is a fair bit pricier than the HD4890, but a lot more powerful and energy-efficient, and makes multi-monitor even easier further down the line. Plus it'll last a good long while. The i5 actually ends up around the same price as a decent LGA775 setup.

blade_bakerk

Ok... so I rebuilt using the i5 and the better graphics card to the following:

• Intel Core i5-750 Tray 8192Kb, LGA1156 - 159,63 €
• Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2, Intel P55, mATX, DDR3, PCI-Express - 82,60 €
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 - Pro PWM Rev.2 - 15,89 €
• 4GB-Kit Corsair Twin3X4096-1333C9 DDR3, CL9 - 79,99 €
• Coolermaster Dominator Xcalade mit Seitenfenster ohne Netzteil schwarz - 81,26 €
• Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz - 8,16 €
• Super-Flower Atlas Design 680W - 78,60 €
• Sapphire HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express - 218,82 €
• Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) - 64,34 €
• Samsung SyncMaster P2350 - 180,38 €

Sum: 969,67 €

Any major flaws with the build or will it give me increased performance versus the previous build?

Thanks

Leman_Russ

It's a much better build, but I Have to recomend the UD3 rather than the UD2.

Also, make sure the Power Supply you have has a 8Pin 12v connector and not just a 4pin one.

jonny72

The 9550 is a good chip but old tech now, its very overpriced actually



the i5 750 is actually 160 euros (hardwareversand.de prices)

the motherboard will be closer to 100 euros

the ram will only a little bit higher priced

all other components can remain the same

The 5850 is extremely fast, and not a vast amount more than the 4890 costwise (which is still a great option, v good value)

If you want more bang for buck, then still drop the 9550 and go AMD, they have great chips now (3.2 ghz 955 is 138 euros on hwv) Either way the 9550 no longer really makes much sense.

Your best bet is to go to hardwareversand.de and tinker with the PC configurator until you get a system that feels right for price v performance.

blade_bakerk

Leman_Russ wrote: »

It's a much better build, but I Have to recomend the UD3 rather than the UD2.

Also, make sure the Power Supply you have has a 8Pin 12v connector and not just a 4pin one.

Hi Leman_Russ,

I think the Super Flower has the connectors but im not to sure:

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1661.html

The UD3 only added on about 20 euro so that looks good....

blade_bakerk

Thanks all,

Hopefully I'm on the right page with the below, just hope all the parts are compatible with each other:


• Intel Core i5-750 Tray 8192Kb, LGA1156 - 159,63 €
• Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express - 98,37 €
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 - Pro PWM Rev.2 - 15,89 €
• 4GB-Kit Corsair Twin3X4096-1333C9 DDR3, CL9 - 79,99 €
• Coolermaster Dominator Xcalade mit Seitenfenster ohne Netzteil schwarz
- 81,26 €
• Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz - 8,16 €
• Super-Flower Atlas Design 680W - 78,60 €
• Sapphire HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express - 218,82 €
• Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) - 64,34 €
• Samsung SH-223B bare schwarz SATA - 24,66 €
• Samsung SyncMaster P2350 - 180,38 €

Sum: 1.010,10 €

Are there any issues with all the parts fitting in the case I picked, ive heard of some people having problems with the size of the graphics card??

Thanks

game4it70

blade_bakerk wrote: »

Thanks all,

Hopefully I'm on the right page with the below, just hope all the parts are compatible with each other:


• Intel Core i5-750 Tray 8192Kb, LGA1156 - 159,63 €
• Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express - 98,37 €
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 - Pro PWM Rev.2 - 15,89 €
• 4GB-Kit Corsair Twin3X4096-1333C9 DDR3, CL9 - 79,99 €
• Coolermaster Dominator Xcalade mit Seitenfenster ohne Netzteil schwarz
- 81,26 €
• Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz - 8,16 €
• Super-Flower Atlas Design 680W - 78,60 €
• Sapphire HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express - 218,82 €
• Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) - 64,34 €
• Samsung SH-223B bare schwarz SATA - 24,66 €
• Samsung SyncMaster P2350 - 180,38 €

Sum: 1.010,10 €

Are there any issues with all the parts fitting in the case I picked, ive heard of some people having problems with the size of the graphics card??

Thanks

Nice build mate but drop that PSU.Have a look at Corsair ones on hardwareversand.They would be far superior imo to that brand you picked.Be Quiet are very good and silent imo too but not sure if they sell them there.

Also i see you plan to overclock the new rig in the future so i would look at a better cpu cooler too.