Building a new PC

[Unfocused]

I'm planning to build a new PC either late December (what's the significance of the Christmas season - are the prices artificially upped or can you get good deals?) or in January.

Here's what I'm looking at:

CPU: Intel CORE I5 2500K 3.3GHz LGA1155 BOX
Mobo: ASRock P67 PRO3 - heard some good stuff about it and I decided I won't be building an SLI system (thoughts?)
GPU: Gainward GeForce GTX 570 Phantom 1.28GB DDR5 PCI-E BOX
RAM: 8GB [KINGSTON HyperX KHX1600C9D3X2K28GX]
HDD: WD Black Edition 640GB 7200 32MB - wanted to get a 1TB one, but holy shit, I just saw the HDD prices today; 640GB will be enough for now
PSU: Corsair CX600V2 600W
CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS10X PERFORMA
Tower: Cooler Master Elite 330
DVD: Samsung SH-222AB/BEBE

Regarding the GPU - the price difference between different brands of the same model can be quite significant - can there be a noticable performance difference, or perhaps it doesn't matter that much which brand I choose, as long as it's not some no-name? Also, I've had a few friends tell me that instead of buying a high-end GPU I should go for something more mid-range for half the price and then some time later replace it with another mid-range card - claiming that this way I'll spend the same amount of money but in the end those two cards one-after-another will last longer than one high-end bought now - I'm skeptical, but what do you think?

Comments and thoughts welcome. Not sure how relevant this is, with the difference in prices between regions, exchange rates etc., but that build would cost me ~$1131.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

The 560Ti is the best bang for buck imo. I'm surprised to see the prices haven't changed much at all since my build a few months ago.

 

[Unfocused]

Bah, the prices have gone up since the time I started looking at parts (around 2 months ago).

 

[Higlac]

You could save some money on the heatsink. Get the Cooler master hyper 212 plus. It's keeping my 2500k at about 30C idle and about 75C under load at 4.6 GHz.

Also, this ram is fantastic.

I've got the ASRock p67 extreme4, and it's great, but it seems they don't carry it on newegg anymore. The new version is $159 though.

 

[OmegaX]

Seems kind of expensive for that build. I bought all my parts throughout November, picking up some of the best deals I could. I spent a little under $1,300 for:

i5 2500k
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H
16GB G.Skill Ripjaws X RAM
750GB Caviar Black 64MB Cache x2 for RAID 0
Sapphire Radeon 6970s x2 in Crossfire
Cooler Master Storm Sniper Case

Granted, every item I got was on sale (The biggest being 2 Radeon 6970s for $220 each from an Amazon pricing mistake.)
I also saved $80 on the processor/motherboard combo from a local Microcenter store. Think I only paid $180 for the i5 and $60-70 for the mobo. Also got a nice rosewill 1000w power supply for $60. It was a daily shell shocker deal on newegg.

 

[Higlac]

Storm Sniper master race reporting in.

Also, do you ever get scared about moving your computer with that enormous case?

 

[Viperidae]

Now is not the best time to buy new high-end parts.

DO NOT buy hard drives right now if you can avoid it. Thailand still hasn't rebuilt the infrastructure for the plants so the prices are jacked for now. We're looking at, in some cases, a 200%+ increase in cost (I got the WD1002FAEX for $96 in 2010. It's now $250). You WILL regret buying an HD when the prices go back to normal in Q1/2 (more likely 2).

As for video cards: eventually Southern Islands (HD 7xxx series) will be released. It was originally slated for September but it's on hold for whatever reason. Week to week status. When it does come out we'll see an according price drop from all the current models. I'm waiting for it.

As for video card brands: performance wise, branding is negligible. Buy based on customer service and warranty. Last time I bought an Nvidia chipset, all EVGA cards had lifetime warranties that can be transferred if you sell the card to someone else. Very good way to get returns if the card dies years from now. The younger and more Asian-based the company is, the less I'd trust it (sup, Powercolor?).

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Holy shit, I ordered the WD1002FAEX for $83 back in May. I mean it was $86 without my small discount, now it's exactly $100 more (on Amazon).

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah, that Thailand shit is making things difficult. At work we only ever get a few in because our supplier can only distribute so many, so now we dont have enough stock to fill demand, and we had to increase the prices. Doesn't look like hard drives will even go on sale, I was looking all over and the only sales I saw even on Black Friday were negligible.

 

[Dinnesch]

Looks like a fine build, except:

RAM: 8GB [KINGSTON HyperX KHX1600C9D3X2K28GX

A quick Google told me that RAM is made to run at 1.65V while Sandy Bridge processors are designed to have RAM running at 1.5V. You could set the RAM to 1.5V(or set it to 1.65 althought Intel doesn't recommend it) and it'd probably still work, but to be on the safe side stability-wise I would get RAM rated at 1.5V. Such as the stuff Higlac suggested above.

 

[Unfocused]

Seems kind of expensive for that build. I bought all my parts throughout November, picking up some of the best deals I could. I spent a little under $1,300 for:

Considering the fact that you've got cheaper electronics in the US and you bought your stuff on sale, I'd say it's probably not that bad of a difference. Also, that case is pretty sweet, but I find it too expensive (almost 3 times more expensive here than the one I picked).

DO NOT buy hard drives right now if you can avoid it. Thailand still hasn't rebuilt the infrastructure for the plants so the prices are jacked for now. We're looking at, in some cases, a 200%+ increase in cost (I got the WD1002FAEX for $96 in 2010. It's now $250). You WILL regret buying an HD when the prices go back to normal in Q1/2 (more likely 2).

As for video cards: eventually Southern Islands (HD 7xxx series) will be released. It was originally slated for September but it's on hold for whatever reason. Week to week status. When it does come out we'll see an according price drop from all the current models. I'm waiting for it.

That's why I'm getting only 640GB instead of 1T - I'll buy another HDD when the prices drop. I know it's more expensive to buy a HDD now, but I don't feel like waiting till the prices drop *sometime* next year.

You could save some money on the heatsink. Get the Cooler master hyper 212 plus. It's keeping my 2500k at about 30C idle and about 75C under load at 4.6 GHz.

Also, this ram is fantastic.

I've got the ASRock p67 extreme4, and it's great, but it seems they don't carry it on newegg anymore. The new version is $159 though.

There's a ~$2 price difference here between those two heatsinks, so not much to save I've considered that mobo before, it seems it's basically what I want to get +SLI - I decided to save money here and stick to single GPUs.

Looks like a fine build, except:


A quick Google told me that RAM is made to run at 1.65V while Sandy Bridge processors are designed to have RAM running at 1.5V. You could set the RAM to 1.5V(or set it to 1.65 althought Intel doesn't recommend it) and it'd probably still work, but to be on the safe side stability-wise I would get RAM rated at 1.5V. Such as the stuff Higlac suggested above.

Thanks for the suggestions, I didn't realise I should pay attention to the voltages. I was like: 2x4GB - check, 1600Mhz - check, respected brand - check, acceptable price - check.

Unfortunately it seems the RAM Higlac has isn't widely available here, but there's a lower model, for roughly the price I would pay for the Kingston RAM and it's 1.5V Newegg link (I'm not buying there, just linking to specs) - would that be good as well? I've only seen Higlac's RAM in one store and it cost ~$30 more than the one I linked (~$58 -> ~$90 - that also shows you the price difference on some parts), instead of only $7, as it is on Newegg. I'm thinking the performance difference is probably only slight and not worth the additional price (?).

 

[Higlac]

I haven't actually used lower speed ram in my system, but mine gets a 7.9 in the windows experience thing. I could probably get you actual performance numbers, but I cannot be arsed to run the diagnostics programs. All I know is that it's bloody fast and that my hard drives are the biggest bottleneck in my system.

And I only mentioned the CPU cooler because the Zalman is $15 more on newegg.

 

[Unfocused]

I haven't actually used lower speed ram in my system, but mine gets a 7.9 in the windows experience thing. I could probably get you actual performance numbers, but I cannot be arsed to run the diagnostics programs. All I know is that it's bloody fast and that my hard drives are the biggest bottleneck in my system.

And I only mentioned the CPU cooler because the Zalman is $15 more on newegg.

Nah, there's no need for you to run any diagnostics, I was just wondering if I would be able to tell the difference between the two, or is it just a "hey, this slightly more expensive RAM gets a few more points in 3DMark!" type of thing.


Also, does anyone here share that "two mid-range cards (one at a time) last longer than one high-end card" philosophy I mentioned earlier? The guy (colleague) who told me that claimed he runs BF3 on Ultra on a mid-range priced card - but the couldn't recall the model, so that kind of weakened his argument for me. Still, he was supported by another colleague, so that made me think.

 

[Dinnesch]

Also, does anyone here share that "two mid-range cards (one at a time) last longer than one high-end card" philosophy I mentioned earlier? The guy (colleague) who told me that claimed he runs BF3 on Ultra on a mid-range priced card - but the couldn't recall the model, so that kind of weakened his argument for me. Still, he was supported by another colleague, so that made me think.

Don't do it. Dual card setups always have more trouble than single card ones. Other than that, there's this little known microstutter issue with multi-card setups which basically makes your framerates appear much lower than the numbers say.

Unfortunately it seems the RAM Higlac has isn't widely available here, but there's a lower model, for roughly the price I would pay for the Kingston RAM and it's 1.5V Newegg link (I'm not buying there, just linking to specs) - would that be good as well? I've only seen Higlac's RAM in one store and it cost ~$30 more than the one I linked (~$58 -> ~$90 - that also shows you the price difference on some parts), instead of only $7, as it is on Newegg. I'm thinking the performance difference is probably only slight and not worth the additional price (?).

It should be fine, RAM has a very small impact on performance(a few % max).

 

[Viperidae]

Don't do it. Dual card setups always have more trouble than single card ones. Other than that, there's this little known microstutter issue with multi-card setups which basically makes your framerates appear much lower than the numbers say.

He wasn't asking about linked card setups, but rather if it's a smarter investment to buy mid-range cards every couple of years rather than dumping a ton of money on a high end card every major generation.

I'd say yes, but we're not really at the point where you'd want to buy even midrange cards that often anyway. I'd do it every two generations. Almost everything is an upgrade of an upgrade. Northern islands was a die shrink from the 5xxx series. Southern Islands was confirmed as not a die shrink, but (to my current understanding) still an upgrade from existing technology, just with everything smaller. Current console port-syndrome limits how much GPU power you need anyway--no one needs a card more than $250 to play any game coming out. The only legitimate use for these monstrous powerhog two-in-one GPUs is multi-monitor or fraps recording (or Arma).

(mostly rumour, but likely)

This is why you should wait for the HD 7xxx. It's speculated as a more efficient, slightly faster version of the 6 series. If it turns out so--great, you get a card better than a 6 series at the same price as they are now. If not--still great, as the 6 series will drop in price when the 7s come out.

 

[Unfocused]

^Thanks for the advice, though I don't think I'll wait. I'd have to wait for the new generation which we don't even know when will come out + probably some time for the market in Europe to catch up. Plus, isn't there pretty much *always* something on the horizon?

In other news - does anyone have any experience with OCZ PSU's? I forwarded my specs list to a guy that, AFAIK, builds PCs professionally and he said the configuration is fine, but he suggested I changed my PSU to a OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W (slightly more expensive than the Corsair 600W I've chosen).

 

[Viperidae]

Both of those models are pretty crappy, but I'd still go with Corsair over OCZ.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I don't see any real advantage especially since it's a single gpu system.

 

[Unfocused]

Both of those models are pretty crappy, but I'd still go with Corsair over OCZ.

How so? I see generally good opinions about those PSUs; where do they fall short in your opinion?

HardOCP, which seems to have high standards, has reviewed the OCZ and while it initially failed their tests - due to it being falsely labeled as rated at 50c and tested as such, while actually being rated at 40c - it eventually proved capable after the situation got cleared up.

As such, the ModXStream Pro 700w is a capable power supply at 40c, but not at 45c where we make our cutoff and there are units that do make this cutoff including OCZ's own PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750. So while the OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w did not pass our parameters it certainly belongs to the group of units that were "good," yet non-passing, as opposed to the units that were just a waste of good solder.

I'm not planning to do any hardcore overclocking either.

 

[Unfocused]

I decided to go with the XFX Core Edition 650W PSU. Good opinions all around and I wouldn't have to worry about the OCZ ModXStream cables being too short and having to buy extensions; and it's only slightly more expensive.

Also, I'm happy cause I found a store that has a wider selection of components, than the store I was looking to buy most of my stuff from, and can ship them to one of their partner stores for me to pick up from, which is cheaper and I can always test my stuff there if there's a problem. Plus, now there's only one component that I have to order from elsewhere - the HDD. I'm kind of worried though - the WD Black 640GB has decent reviews, but there seems to be a lot of people saying their drives were DOA or died after a few months - I hope it's just the vocal minority speaking, cause it would really suck to look at all those beautiful parts and have to wait probably a few weeks for a replacement of the HDD. :| Maybe I'm just being my slightly pessimistic self.

Also, tower switch for the Cooler Master Elite 430.

 

[Higlac]

Maybe I'm just spoiled with my case of ridiculosity, but are you worried about airflow at all with just the one front fan? Will you be buying a second fan for the rear or top?

I only ask because the 2500k is just stupidly easy to overclock. Mine is running at 4.6 on air cooling.

 

[Unfocused]

Tbh, I haven't thought about that. It's the first PC I'm building myself from scratch, so it didn't occur to me that I'll need to buy additional fans for the tower.

I'm thinking about seeing what the temps are like and then perhaps buying an additional fan(s) - or is this something I need to get sorted out right away, even if I don't plan to overclock right from the start?

 

[Higlac]

The case is certainly better than any OEM case, so you'll be fine with stock settings. And you're buying an aftermarket cooler. Don't worry about it unless you're overclocking.

Overclocking the 2500K is stupid easy. Hard way: set the multiplier to something higher than 37, easy way:if your mobo uses a similar BIOS to mine there's even a quick select list for overclocking. You've practically got no excuse not to overclock.

 

[Unfocused]

It's alive!

Picked up the parts on Friday after work, but I was going out in the evening, so I spent most of Saturday building the PC.

Honestly, I thought it would take less time and be less stressful (first time building from scratch) - during assembly my list of all the things that could go wrong was getting longer and at times I thought to myself that I could've just paid for the assembly and saved myself all the stress and possibly money if I damaged something. But in the end the first boot was successful and the PC runs great. At first I thought I'll have to reapply thermal paste, because the CPU temp in BIOS was 53C, but in the system it's around 30C - Google said it's normal for temps to be higher in BIOS because the CPU doesn't use power management features, so it looks like I'm good.

FFFFUUUU highlights:

1. CPU installation - in another thread I said that I don't know what's so stressful about it; now I know. Last time I installed a CPU it was a Pentium IV and it had distinct pins to fit into holes in the mobo and locking it into place was smooth. Fast forward to modern times - CPU has no pins, mobo has tiny pins. Installation guides say - "place the CPU in a vertical motion, don't slide it or you''ll break the pins". So I did place it, gave it a slight nudge to make sure it's firmly in place, might have heard a little screeching sound and got nervous. Started locking it in place and felt resistance so made a double check. Pulled the latch again and locked the CPU in place slightly shitting myself because it did require a bit of force and since it's all delicate in there, the side thingies that slid over the sides of the CPU to lock it in place seemed pretty brutal.

2. Installing the CPU cooler and then realising the backplate for it won't fit through the back window (from the other side of the case) and having to unscrew the motherboard and, holding it with one hand on the side, trying to align the backplate which kept sticking to the back of the mobo in the wrong place (via double-sided sticky tape) - what a pain in the ass.

3. Applying thermal paste - contrary to what I saw in reviews etc., the cooler didn't come with a tube of thermal paste, but with a little packet of it. A packet that had no easy way of opening it, so I had to cut the sides, getting some thermal paste on my scissors, out of what little was in the packet. I took a plastic bag that had contained some screws, put my finger in it, dipped it in the packet and smeared it over the CPU, then tried to get the rest out. The layer was very thin and it wasn't clear if further smearing actually put more thermal paste on the CPU or if more of it stuck back to the plastic bag on my finger. So I finished the cooler installation thinking that I'll probably have to buy more thermal paste.

4. While connecting everything, I was putting the 12V 8-pin into the socket on the mobo, trying to fit my hands there, between the top of the case and the cooler, and as I was connecting the second half, I rested my thumb on some component (still don't know what that is - a rectangular box on the north side of the mobo) and accidentaly pushed on it - it bent downwards and bent back into place. So naturally, I shit myself again, but apparently I didn't break anything.


So all-in-all - success! Off to test how BF3 plays on this rig :thumbs:

 

[Higlac]

Good job, I hate the sandy bridge cpu clamp. Go get some arctic silver and re-do your cooler sometime though.