New system: opinions and suggestions

stroebs

stroebs

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Morning folks, it's upgrade time once again although this time I'm buying a completely new system instead of upgrading what I already have (I am a hectic AMD fanboy and have decided to get my very first Intel PC). I have put a few parts together and want to know the pros/trolls suggestions on the parts. They are as follows:

- Intel LGA1156 Core-i5 760
- ASUS P7P55D-E LX
- 2 x Kingston ValueRam KVR1333D3N9/1G
- Asus ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS
- Coolermaster RC-310-BWN1 (Black with blue highlight)
- Coolermaster RP/RS-550-PCAR
- Samsung B2030

My budget for this system is R9500.
-The RAM will be doubled to 4GB at a later stage - thinking if I should get Corsair XMS3 memory with heatsinks?
- Extra Cooler Master 120mm fans will be placed into the case for cooling.
- Should I go with a H55 motherboard with onboard GPU to save a little cash? For example the ASUS P7H55-M/USB3
 
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Drop to i3 or go i7. 4gb ram now not later & use 2gb sticks not 1gb. I'd go ATI, not nvidia. I'd avoid onboard...rather take a cheapish card. I suspect you're overkilling on the cooling & case side unless you're gaming/overclocking which I don't think is the case seeing as you consider onboard a viable option.

EDIT: RAM w/ heatsinks only makes sense if you overclock. And you can buy a much cheaper GFX card than that one...but again depends on what you plan on doing w/ the box. If you're doing zero gaming/CAD then go cheap on the GFX side & get an SSD, though you might want to wait for the next gen SSDs. Can't give usable advice on the mobo side, you'll have to wait for someone else.
 
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The PC will be used for gaming, CAD, programming (Python, JAVA, C/C++) and general all-purpose stuff.

@ HavocXphere:
I wanted to stay away from onboard if possible, while keeping in mind that it is a system with a budget of R9500

Overclocking will definitely be done once I get a custom air cooler for CPU, so RAM with heatsinks makes sense.
 
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Stroebs, just bear in mind that the case you've currently selected (CM RC-310) is a relatively small case and it won't be able to accommodate larger graphics cards. The GTX460 should fit though.
I have that exact case for my office PC (Core i7 860, 4GB DDR3 1600MHz, 30GB SSD, 500GB SATA, Radeon HD5670) and it's a quite nice case, except that I hate it's front panel audio socket which has a very tight fit on the 3.5mm jack.
You'll see that I've suggested a slightly bigger case that should accommodate bigger CPU coolers & graphics cards.

From PC International
Mobo: ASUS P7H55-M/Usb3 @ R1,071.00
CPU: Core i5 760 @ R1,668.00
Screen: Samsung B2030 @ R1,276.00​
Sub-Total: R4,015.00 (ex shipping)

From Prophecy Shop:Sub-Total: R5,331.50 (free shipping)

Total: R9,346.5 (excl shipping fees for PCInt stuff which I guess would be around R100)

I would actually recommend that you get a bigger screen though, like the
SAMSUNG BX2335 LED LCD (23" wide, 1920x1080, 2ms) @ R1,920.00 (PCInt's price)

For overclocking:
Mushkin 996829 Blackline Black Dardevil 2x2GB Kit DDR3-2000 1.65v CL7 @ R1,254.11
Cogage True Spirit (for socket 1366) CPU cooler @ R359.00
Cogage Socket 1156 Bolt-Thru kit @ R75.00
 
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Thanks Pada, I will definitely take a look at those items! Shipping won't be a problem from PCInt as there are always people I know coming down from Joburg and I'm sure they wouldn't mind packing some stuff into a suitcase and bringing it with them.

I will eventually get a larger screen, this system is to serve my purposes for now and will most probably be connected to a 37" LCD TV most of the time anyways (which is why I chose the GTX460)
What would the difference be between Mushkin CL9 RAM and corsair CL9 RAM? I've also changed my current specs that I'm looking at to the GX550 and the Cooler Master 430. You had a very good point about the card and coolers.

About the motherboard: Is the H55 chipset adequete? I really don't mind getting it because it will have SATA 6G and USB3 with that NEC controller for future upgrading purposes, but just need some reassurance that I am getting the correct stuff.

As for prices, I am not too worried about it all because I have a dealership with Frontosa so will get items at cost. Will also look into getting that MSi Cyclone card from Joburg.
 
If you have to go intel get socket 1366 with 6gigs of ram.

I'd still rather recommend you stick to AMD and get a 1075T or 1090T.

Make sure the 460 you get is a 1gig version.
 
Qwiksilver: the Socket 1366 builds are just way too expensive (about R2k+ more than Socket 1156 counterparts) and the Socket 1156 ones really performs well.
If you can afford very high end stuff, then by all means go for Socket 1366.

Stroebs: I really doubt that you'll run into performance issues with the H55 chipset, unless you're really going to push its limits with SSD's in RAID or extreme overclocking.
I'm not an expert when it comes to these chipsets. I've basically just selected the cheapest Asus motherboard with SATA3 (6Gbps) and USB3 support.

The CM Extreme Power Plus 550W PSU would suffice for your rig, but the GX 550W is just so much better and you'll be able to run pretty much any GPU/CPU configuration with it, even like a GTX460 SLI configuration would be possible.

I would suspect that there would be very little difference in the memory brands with the entry level modules, especially if the voltage and latencies are the same.

I really don't know why you want to get that small 20" screen with the poor resolution, especially if you're doing software development...
 
Pada said:
I would suspect that there would be very little difference in the memory brands with the entry level modules, especially if the voltage and latencies are the same.

I really don't know why you want to get that small 20" screen with the poor resolution, especially if you're doing software development...
Click to expand...

You have a good point and have opted to get Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3-1600 CL7 RAM instead.
You also make a very good point with the screen and I will consider upgrading that to at least a 24".
 
http://www.cafeviva.co.za/

What about this one from Cafe Viva?

i7 950 3.06
Coolermaster USP100
500w PSU
Intel X58SO Motherboard
2Gb DDR3 1333
1TB WD HDD 64mb cache
1Gig Radeon 5770 DDR5
24x multi Lightscribe DVD Writer
Gigabit Lan and 8 channel HD Audio
======================
R9499
 
I'd go for Pada's build, only thing I would change is the ram, to DDR3 1600, I don't think you need anything more than that, except if you want to do extreme OCing, but then your budget is to low. ;)

Edit: +1 for that cooler. Have one myself and all my friends are using the same cooler. I forced them. ;) Talk to Rory (wootware), just maybe you can score that bolt-thru kit for free. :D
 
I am going to be holding out for a month as I have heard rumours of AMD possibly releasing a new socket before the end of the year, which could mean price drops of AMD's 6-core architecture.
 
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