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Build help - Budget up to €1400. Total noob.

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    #2
    deconduo
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 4,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭deconduo


    Get this 6950 instead of the 6870. Its cheaper AND better.

    If you don't plan to crossfire you can get a lower wattage PSU. If you do plan on it you want a motherboard that supports x8/x8

    You might as well get 8GB of RAM too, just because its so cheap right now.

    The rest looks good, maybe just grab an SSD as well if you want to spend a bit more.


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    #3
    Monotype
    Registered Users Posts: 6,710 ✭✭✭Monotype


    Stress test? Sounds like a waste of money.

    Next items for bumping up would be the GPU to 6950 or 560.
    Otherwise an SSD for for boot and access speeds.


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    #4
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    Pre-built systems are generally not as good as when you select the parts yourself.

    Few thing I would change on that build.

    You've chosen an underpowered card for that price, this one is a good bit faster.

    Sapphire HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express - €212.65
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=41640&agid=1165

    The motherboard you've chosen is ok but I would choose one with two PCIe x16 lanes so you can upgrade to two graphics cards in the future making your system futureproof.

    ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX - €133.64
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43134&agid=1601

    Your PSU isn't great. If you decide to overclock or stick in a second card it's not up to task. This one will see you through future upgrades.

    Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 800W - €82.27
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30071&agid=1630

    With your extra cash I would go for an SSD, it will really boost the load time of all your application/games, and it will make the whole system feel more responsive.

    Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB - €199.28
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=31475&agid=1145

    That's all I can think of for now.


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    #5
    deconduo
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 4,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭deconduo


    sink wrote: »
    Your PSU isn't great. If you decide to overclock or stick in a second card it's not up to task. This one will see you through future upgrades.

    Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 800W - €82.27
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=30071&agid=1630

    This is wrong. 650W is plenty for CF 6950s:

    36072.png


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    #6
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    deconduo wrote: »
    This is wrong. 650W is plenty for CF 6950s:

    The PSU he has chosen is not 80 plus certified which means it's less efficient. 650W is enough for one HD 6950, but if he ever wants to upgrade in the future to two cards he would be pushing it a bit close and the one he chose doesn't even have enough PCIe connectors. It's better to buy a PSU that is futureproof rather than having to replace it in a few years.


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    #7
    deconduo
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 4,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭deconduo


    sink wrote: »
    The PSU he has chosen is not 80 plus certified which means it's less efficient. 650W is enough for one HD 6950, but if he ever wants to upgrade in the future to two cards he would be pushing it a bit close and the one he chose doesn't even have enough PCIe connectors. It's better to buy a PSU that is futureproof rather than having to replace it in a few years.

    Ah I thought he had picked the SF Amazon 650W, my mistake. However 650W is still plenty as you can see from the chart. Under full system load, CF6950 only drew 509W.


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    #8
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    deconduo wrote: »
    Ah I thought he had picked the SF Amazon 650W, my mistake. However 650W is still plenty as you can see from the chart. Under full system load, CF6950 only drew 509W.

    It's not enough of an overhead if he ever wants to OC, the one I recommend can handle all future possibilities so he won't be limited by his PSU.


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    #9
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,383 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    Thanks to all for your replies, appreciate it.
    deconduo wrote:
    You might as well get 8GB of RAM too, just because its so cheap right now.

    I might do that actually, now you mention it. So would it be best to get 2 sticks of 4GB ram, or 4 sticks of 2GB, or does it matter?
    Monotype wrote:
    Otherwise an SSD for for boot and access speeds.
    sink wrote:
    With your extra cash I would go for an SSD, it will really boost the load time of all your application/games, and it will make the whole system feel more responsive.

    How does this work? Do you actually install/run the games off that drive, or does it act as some sort of backup drive like extra memory or what? For example, the one sink linked was 128GB, which would be smaller than many Steam games folders, so would you only lash your high-resource games onto that drive?

    Also, I can't seem to find it in the configuration yoke they have. Was I to buy it seperately, are they complicated to install in the box? The most I've done to date would be replacing graphics/network cards, or moving a few jumpers around for USB controller pins, for reference.
    sink wrote:
    Your PSU isn't great. If you decide to overclock or stick in a second card it's not up to task. This one will see you through future upgrades.

    Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 800W - €82.27
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/artic...0071&agid=1630

    Good tip, and to decuondo for the chart - cheers - decided to switch to the 800W, if I have the cash I might as well not risk running into trouble down the line.

    Anyone know if sound cards are really necessary, I like a good crisp sound and intend investing in a decent set of Sennheiser speakers - would I need dedicated card to get the most out of them? Or would I even notice?


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    #10
    sink
    Registered Users Posts: 4,314 ✭✭✭sink


    Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »
    How does this work? Do you actually install/run the games off that drive, or does it act as some sort of backup drive like extra memory or what? For example, the one sink linked was 128GB, which would be smaller than many Steam games folders, so would you only lash your high-resource games onto that drive?

    You would install your OS and programs which you regularly use. SSD's use NAND based flash memory, same stuff that's used in usb flash drives and memory cards for phones/cameras, as opposed to the platter of magnetic discs used in traditional HDD's. The read write speeds and particularly the seek times of SSD's are many times that of HDD's. On a HDD windows might take around 2 minutes to boot from power off, with an SSD it's closer to 30 seconds. Loading photoshop might take you ~30 seconds on a HDD with an SSD it will be closer to 5 seconds. They are however expensive, so what most people do is use one just for their OS and most frequent programs and then store all their files and other programs on a large HDD.
    Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »
    Also, I can't seem to find it in the configuration yoke they have. Was I to buy it seperately, are they complicated to install in the box? The most I've done to date would be replacing graphics/network cards, or moving a few jumpers around for USB controller pins, for reference.

    It's fairly simple to do yourself. Wer'e always here to help if you run into problems.


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    #11
    Monotype
    Registered Users Posts: 6,710 ✭✭✭Monotype


    If you got a 128GB SSD, you could put a few of the games that you use most often on it.

    I would recommend 2x4GB of RAM, giving you two free slots if you want to upgrade in the future.


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    #12
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,383 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    Called them up and apparently the shipping costs are €30? Is this the full costs or are there more after this? Seems very low...


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    #13
    Monotype
    Registered Users Posts: 6,710 ✭✭✭Monotype


    €30 is fairly steep in comparison to Irish/UK places but it is well worth it when you are buying a good bit since it is fixed regardless of how much you get.

    That is the full cost (apart from extras of getting them to build it for you). There's a thread around here somewhere where people are offering to build your PC.


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    #14
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,383 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    Monotype wrote: »
    €30 is fairly steep in comparison to Irish/UK places but it is well worth it when you are buying a good bit since it is fixed regardless of how much you get.

    That is the full cost (apart from extras of getting them to build it for you). There's a thread around here somewhere where people are offering to build your PC.

    That is well worth it alright. The assembly cost is €20, which I think is also well worth it, all things considered.


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    #15
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,383 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    So I'm finally getting around to buying this after asking you guys for help last month (bigger paycheck helped).

    I had to replace the case with something in stock, so I'd be grateful if someone could let me know how the new one I chose stacks up. Also, I had one concern about the RAM in that it may be physically quite large, can anyone see that being a bit of a problem?

    DVD Drive: LG GH22NS50 bare schwarz

    Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Expressc

    Chip: Sapphire HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express

    MB: ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX

    PSU: Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 800W

    Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout, ohne Netzteil

    RAM: 8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL8c

    HDD: 8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL8

    SSD: OCZ SSD Agility 2 120GB 8,9cm (3,5")


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    #16
    Hornd
    Registered Users Posts: 172 ✭✭Hornd


    Cheaper RAM that's basically the same - http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44314&agid=1193

    Also are you not going with an aftermarket CPU cooler?

    Just so you know, from what I remember they won't install your GPU and any large CPU fans in case your wondering why you have a big old GPU in a box and not your PC when it arrives. Not thats its difficult to install.


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    #17
    deconduo
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 4,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭deconduo


    Get the RAM that Hornd linked.

    You could do with a cooler for some OCing, so something like this:
    http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=25731&agid=669

    As for the case, I would pick one of these:
    http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=31003&agid=631
    http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=26910&agid=631
    http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=36379&agid=631 (also in grey + white)


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    #18
    Monotype
    Registered Users Posts: 6,710 ✭✭✭Monotype


    I would get the C300 over the agility 2. The agility 2 only has 115GB, so you're paying more per GB for a worse drive.

    Do you plan for a second graphics card later with such a high wattage PSU?


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    #19
    Dave_The_Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 7,383 ✭✭✭Dave_The_Sheep


    Monotype wrote: »
    Do you plan for a second graphics card later with such a high wattage PSU?

    Eventually, I'd like to. Got the high wattage just in case I wanted to in future. Will have to look into some cooling first though, I suspect.


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