My New Rig

NomNom

NomNom

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I am planing on getting the following very very soon, I would like to hear from you what you think and if anything can be improved, my budget is MAX 6k.

It's nothing fancy or anything, I just want a decent upgrade from what I currently have, and I want it to last at least 3 years performance wise.


CPU: R2878

Intel Boxed Core i7 870 Processor [BX80605I7870]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-boxed-core-processor-p-17586.html

Motherboard: R1488

MSI Intel P55-GD65 motherboard[MS-P55-GD65]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-p55gd65-motherboard-p-28909.html

RAM: R1373

OCZ PC3-12800 DDR3 4GB(2x2GB) Intel Core i7 and i5 compatible[OCZ3X1600R2LV4GK]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/pc312800-ddr3-4gb2x2gb-intel-core-compatible-p-35383.html

Total: R5739+R35 shipping cost=R5774

This will be an upgrade for:

-Intel Core2Duo E8500 3.16
-MSI G31
-3GB DDR 800

I reason I chose the motherboard above is because I want one that has the SATA ports clear away from the PCI-E slot, and apparently this motherboard comes with an USB 3 adapter.

I'm not sure if the ram above is any good, it just looks pretty to me. :o
 
Can we assume your budget is R6k? What is the main purpose of the rig? What GPU do you currently have? I will however tell you to avoid that OCZ RAM like the plague and get G.Skill or Corsair instead. Are you wanting to buy from NGR only?
 
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I'm open to buy from anyone (would prefer NGR) , yes my budget is 6k. The main purpose of this Rig is for gaming.

I won't be getting anything else for myself, I only require the cpu, motherboard and ram, everything else I can live with for now. My GPU is a XFX ATI HD4850 it suits my needs for now, will upgrade it later on. I will heed your advice about the ram and change it to this:

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB(2GBx2) DDR3-1600 Desktop Memory [TW3X4G1600C9D]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/corsair-xms3-4gb2gbx2-ddr31600-desktop-memory-p-24270.html

:)
 
Archer, did you not mention that i7's memory runs in quadmode or whatever.
Basically that you need 3 memory sticks for it to run at maximum performance?
 
Think its just cause NGR are Durban based as is Nom.

But a +1 to those G.Skills, got some Tridents in my machine and they just lovely!

Another thread to drop a woot I wonder.
 
McGuywer said:
Archer, did you not mention that i7's memory runs in quadmode or whatever.
Basically that you need 3 memory sticks for it to run at maximum performance?
Click to expand...

Aint no Archer but that would depend on the socket.
 
That RAM will do nicely. For comparison here is the G.Skill equivalent, exact same specs except at a lower voltage and price.
Now if you are gaming I would strongly recommend going for the i5-760 instead. At resolutions higher than 1280x1024 there is usually only a 3% difference between the two. Thats definately not worth R1000 more imo. And the 760 has plenty of OC headroom so it will most certainly last. Up to you though of course. You could also look at the AMD Phenom CPU's but I have a sneaky suspicion you would prefer an Intel chip.
Cant find fault with the motherboard you chose, unless you feel you need USB3 (didnt see anything about the adapter on the page linked and the MSI website confirms no USB3)
 
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McGuywer said:
Archer, did you not mention that i7's memory runs in quadmode or whatever.
Basically that you need 3 memory sticks for it to run at maximum performance?
Click to expand...

This is a socket 1156 machine not a 1366 :) ,1366 is abit out of my budget.

TopCa7 said:
Think its just cause NGR are Durban based as is Nom.

But a +1 to those G.Skills, got some Tridents in my machine and they just lovely!

Another thread to drop a woot I wonder.
Click to expand...

They are the cheapest when it comes to shipping costs for me cause I'm in Durban and I have dealt with them countless times, and very happy with them.
 
McGuywer said:
Archer, did you not mention that i7's memory runs in quadmode or whatever.
Basically that you need 3 memory sticks for it to run at maximum performance?
Click to expand...

No, thats only the LGA1366 socket that needs triple channel memory. Socket LGA1156 (which the i7 870 is for) only needs dual channel memory. LGA2011 (coming next year some time iirc) may have quad channel memory support though.
 
NomNom said:
They are the cheapest when it comes to shipping costs for me cause I'm in Durban and I have dealt with them countless times, and very happy with them.
Click to expand...

As am I mate ^_^

Bought alot from them myself and they were very very good up till the last 2 time unfortunately.
 
Archer said:
That RAM will do nicely. For comparison here is the G.Skill equivalent, exact same specs except at a lower voltage and price.
Now if you are gaming I would strongly recommend going for the i5-760 instead. At resolutions higher than 1280x1024 there is usually only a 3% difference between the two. Thats definately not worth R1000 more imo. And the 760 has plenty of OC headroom so it will most certainly last. Up to you though of course. You could also look at the AMD Phenom CPU's but I have a sneaky suspicion you would prefer an Intel chip.
Cant find fault with the motherboard you chose, unless you feel you need USB3 (didnt see anything about the adapter on the page linked and the MSI website confirms no USB3)
Click to expand...

I might actually consider those G.Skill ones, anything to save a buck right? :) I run my desktop at 1920x1080 so I'm not sure about the CPU in that regard maybe I will grab this instead?

http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-i5760-core-lga1156-280ghz-cache-45nm-p-39212.html

wouldn't these be better?

http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-core-655k-320ghz-p-35226.html
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-boxed-core-processor-333ghz-dual-core-socket-p-28973.html
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-boxed-core-processor-333ghz-dual-core-socket-p-28972.html

I have nothing against AMD, I simply don't know what to look for. :( What would be a AMD equivalent to this?

I would be interested in USB3 since I see myself getting a USB3 external one of these days and it would be nice to have the ability, there are 2 different models, I think you were looking at the wrong one, here is the link for the motherboard http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=170&prod_no=2042
 
For an Intel rig the i5 760 is the best gaming CPU out right now in terms of value for money. Heck, even an i7 930 wont get more than 10% more fps than an i5. The rest you listed are dual cores so I would stay away.

AMD version is usually a Phenom 955 or the 6 core 1055T with a similar priced mobo to the Intel. Something like this, 2x USB3 and 6x SATA3. I see NGR has pretty poor AMD prices (woot has the 955 for R200 cheaper for example) so this may be a deal breaker for you unless you look somewhere else.
 
Gaming rig?

Well go amd, 1k mobo 1.8k cpu and your sorted with some change left over for something lekka :D like a new vga card perhaps
 
Ok this is what it is looking like so far...

CPU: R1862

Intel Core i5 760 2.8GHz LGA1156 45nm Quad-Core - Retail

Motherboard: R1488

MSI Intel P55-GD65 motherboard [MS-P55-GD65]

Ram: R947

G.Skill F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM 2x2GB DDR3-1600 Desktop Memory - Retail

Total: R4297

Or an AMD Rig

CPU: R2058

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz AM3/2+ 125W Hexa-Core - Retail

Motherboard: R1689

GIGABYTE 890GPA UD3H AMD 890GX Chipset Socket AM3 5200MT [GA-890GPA-UD3H]

Not sure what ram to get for this
 
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You can get the exact same memory for the AMD rig, G.Skill is cool like that :p As long as its DDR3 and runs at 1.5-1.6V you'll be fine
At the end of the day from a gaming point of view both those rigs will be very very close. If you dabble in things like photoshop, rendering etc then the Intel rig makes more sense. AMD does however have a better implementation of USB3 and SATA3. Not much more to it really. Choose whatever you feel comfortable with.
 
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Oh gosh, almost got a fright there. Checking up on visitor logs, and a whole lot of visits from just this one thread. Thought something/someone was very unhappy about something! Good to see it is a discussion thread though :)

Archer said:
I see NGR has pretty poor AMD prices (woot has the 955 for R200 cheaper for example) so this may be a deal breaker for you unless you look somewhere else.
Click to expand...

A quick note on this. I know we have been hecticly outpriced on AMD, mainly becuase we never sell AMD - and also because the only AMD distributor with decent pricing is in JHB - meaning we need to ship what we need down, adding courier costs. They did come down to see us about 2 weeks ago though, and we have negotiated better pricing. As an example, the 955 has been loaded here : http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/phenom-processor-black-edition-125wa-p-40098.html and is R1427.00, which seems to be pretty good - almost R400 cheaper than the one listed under our AMD category. We are working hard to update, but in the meantime use the search box for AMD processors and boards - the good priced one's are listed under upcoming products.

I personally prefer Intel, the i5 760 is good value for money and is pretty much rock solid. AMD are pushing for business though, meaning price vs performance is also pretty good.
 
Here's it revised again

CPU: R1914

Intel CPU i5-760 Core i5 LGA1156 2.80GHz 8MB Cache 45nm [BX80605I5760]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/intel-i5760-core-lga1156-280ghz-cache-45nm-p-39212.html


Motherboard: R1412

Asus P7P55D-E LX Motherboard [P7P55D-E LX]
http://www.ngrcomputers.co.za/asus-p7p55de-motherboard-p-41136.html

more info: http://www.asus.com.au/product.aspx?P_ID=DfyAB26HiDpiiu8f


Ram: R957

G.SKILL F3-12800CL8D-4GBTD 2x2GB DDR3-1600 Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.wootware.co.za/g-skill-f3-12800cl8d-4gbtd-2x2gb-ddr3-1600-desktop-memory-retail.html
 
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