Custom Build List

razor123 · 17-11-2012 8:32pm #1

Hi all,
I have made a list below for a custom built. Primarly will be used for watching movies, play some games such as WOT-not bf3, skyrim. Tell me your opinions.
Zalman Z9 Mid Tower Enclosure Case

OCZ Technology ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze Power Supply OCZ Seagate

500GB Barracuda SATA-600 7200RPM 16MB

Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL11

MSI Z77A-G43 S1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 ATX

Intel Core i3-3225 3.30GHz S1155 3MB

MSI GeForce GT 630 810MHz 2GB PCI-Express HDMI
Total cost 487.95

Monotype · 18-11-2012 10:59am

Where are you buying? Dabs.ie?

Are you thinking of upgrading later, going by the Z77 motherboard? That wouldn't be a good motherboard to go with as it has limited overclock options if you were to go down that route.

I think it might be a good idea to consider something like a 5800K instead. It would be in the price regions of the i3s and the graphics element would be more powerful.

Is that RAM 1.5V?

http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-a10-5800k-3-8ghz-fm2-4mb-100w-black-edition-89K7.html
http://www.dabs.ie/products/gigabyte-f2a75-d3h-amd-fm2-a75-ddr3-atx-8B93.html

I'd go for WD myself as it has a longer warranty
http://www.dabs.ie/products/western-digital-500gb-blue-7200rpm-16mb-sata-6gb-s-7823.html
but the 1TB is €15 more so I'd consider that
http://www.dabs.ie/products/western-digital-1tb-blue-sata-6gb-s-7200rpm-64mb-3-5--hard-drive-8757.html

razor123 · 18-11-2012 11:57am

Hi monotype, thanks for the reply.
I have made some research about new amd processors in the light of your advice. And I came up with below. I am based in Ennis, working in IT, want this also for a home lab of my IT stuff, running some VMs. This will be my first own build

Zalman Z9 Mid Tower Enclosure Case

OCZ Technology ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze Power Supply

AMD FX6-6300 Black Edition Vishera Six Core AM3+ 3.5GHz 14MB 95W

Asus M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 DDR3 ATX

MSI GeForce GT 630 810MHz 2GB PCI-Express HDMI

Western Digital 500GB Scorpio Blue SATA 3GB/s 5400RPM 8MB 2.5" 7mm
I have couple of ext hdds, so I have enough space

Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL11 In stock -- Yes it is 1.5V

LiteOn DVD-RW 22x SATA Internal Black - Drive Only LiteOn DVD-RW 22x SATA Internal Black - Drive Only Ordered upon request

Total Cost: €499.95 -- Parts are from Dabs.ie, I dont want to buy from hardwarersand.de because of bank transfer issue.
Thanks again.

Monotype · 18-11-2012 12:30pm

What I was suggesting though is the FM2 platform which has powerful integrated graphics. In that case you wouldn't need a dedicated card at all.
The AM3+ platform offers better CPU upgrade options at the moment, but the FM2 systems are quite powerful by themselves in terms of graphics - not against a high end card but it should easily beat a GT 630. I think the GT 630 is pretty much a GT 440, so the 5800K's integrated 7660D is better.
The AM3+ may have more powerful upgrade options but the FM2 platform will give you better value for money right now and we should see some upgrade paths for it as it's just a brand new socket.

Edit: CL11 seems a bit high. Have a look around to see if there's any CL9 RAM that's 1.5V. If there's no alternatives, check memoryc.ie as wll as they usually have some good prices with their RAM.

Edit 2: That's a laptop hard drive that you have.

Edit 3: If you have a good bit of space already, then maybe get a 64GB or 128GB SSD for boot.

MRTULES · 18-11-2012 3:52pm

razor123 · 24-11-2012 5:43pm

thanks MRTULES however I am planning to go with AMD with a low end GPU. Still cant decide though between FM2 or AM3+. AMD seems they will make Streamroller processors compatible with AM3+ on the otherhand FM2 is fairly new. Which one you guys think will be futureproof?

Monotype · 24-11-2012 6:06pm

It's really about your kind of needs. Both should be good for at least one more generation. I think I read somewhere that FM2 should last two more at least.

Performance should be much the same for both although you've only really got half the number of cores as a limit for FM2. This will probably remain the same next generation as well, so you'll have 8 cores for AM3+ and 4 for FM2.

With AM3+, you'd be looking at a more powerful CPU oriented system. Useful for encoding or virtual machines. You'd need a graphics card though. FM2 is good for a value system - keeping price low and having a bit of gaming on the side. Useful for compact systems too. You can get CPUs for FM2 without the graphics chip (AMD Athlon X4 740). They're actually well priced, but you need a dedicated card still and you're limiting yourself to quad cores on that platform. With FM2, you can still add in a graphics card if you need it or wait for the next generation which would have improved graphics again.

smileyj1987 · 24-11-2012 6:57pm

Monotype · 24-11-2012 7:20pm

If you were to go for something like that, I'd put more money into the motherboard. It's built around old chipsets, so no USB3 or SATA 6Gbps which are worthwhile features.

Those Phenom IIs have come down quite a bit!

smileyj1987 · 24-11-2012 7:40pm

Monotype wrote: »

If you were to go for something like that, I'd put more money into the motherboard. It's built around old chipsets, so no USB3 or SATA 6Gbps which are worthwhile features.

Those Phenom IIs have come down quite a bit!

You could ditch the SSD for a better motherboard

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