Hardware PC Hardware Buyer's Guide July 2010

Our monthly PC building guide to getting the best components for your PC, whatever your budget.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/07/13/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-july-2010/1

 

"we’ll save the Blu-ray drive for our Home Theatre PC"

You big tease! Will we be expecting a HTPC guide again anytime soon?

 

I disagree with this:

What about the AS-Rock 890gx extreme3? cost is 129 dollar @ newegg.

 

Should read 4 thread in last page ... you put these in for fun.

 

Thanks guys! Been waiting for this, although I've now just got even more to think about. At least nVidia have helped me not spend more than £200 on a GPU. That was nice of them.

Regarding the comment in the enthusiast overclocker about dropping in an i3, can somebody tell me definitively whether sticking one in the P55-UD2, rather than the H55 is ok for overclocking?

 

Cheers again for this guys. Just out of curiosity, has the spending limit been increased? I seem to remember you guys starting off by looking at 400 quid affordable kits....it's now creeped up to 460

 

Could you recommend a good non Micro - ATX motherboard. Hate those micro atx, just because you can get all the stuff you need in there, like a huge cooler and ram with heatspreaders, besides it just looks plain ugly

 

With comments such as this:

As we wanted this system to be under a grand, and with the HD 5850 usurped by the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB as the best upper-mid-range graphics card, that's what we've opted for.

Can someone from B-tech confirm that this is because of the 5850's price v the 460 as opposed to actual performance?

 

Not sure that you have.

 

Folding rig??

 

very nice guide, love the "New this month" parts.

hum? you are using 5770

 

This the conclusion from Bit-Tech on the 460 review:-

"The GTX 460 1GB is a return to form for Nvidia. It trades blows with the Radeon HD 5850, which is £40 more expensive, and pummels its now similarly priced stable mate, the GTX 465 and the slightly cheaper Radeon HD 5830. It also performs well when compared to the GTX 460 768MB, as it provides around 10 per cent extra performance for a similar increase in price."

I think since it's very close to the 5850 but £40 cheaper, the 460 gets the nod. Whether we see 5850's come down in price to match amy well change the story.

 

Read the first bloody page, look ill make it easy for you:

I know you don't like to rocommend multi GPU settups but as nvsurround requires SLI there may be a case for an exception. Some benchmarks are showing GTX460's in SLI performs about as good as if not better than a single HD5870 and also offers NVsurround, physx and 3D (if you care about those things). I would agree with choosing the HD5870 over GTX460 tho as it leave the option for Crossfire at a later date and even more performance but only if the motherboard supports it. In the Enthusiast Overclocker and Gaming Workhorse couldn't you at least recommend (as a side suggestion) a SLI/crossfire board for upgrade purposes? Unless you go straight for the HD5870 which would offer multi monitor gaming on a single PCI-e x16 slot, those looking for multi display gaming down the line will need to upgrade their mobo since the second slot on that board is only x4 if they go with the fantastic GTX460 or get a new (at current prices) £300+ card altogether.

 

1) Would the author consider paying 40$ extra over the premium player and install the GTX 460 in SLI instead of the 5870?

2) For a game rig that might include the HD5970, would the author consider saving 30$ and installing the GTX 460 in 4-way SLI instead?

A general answer that addresses heat generation, power consumption, noise and performance from the author and readers would be highly appreciated.

 

We meant our actual HTPCs at home, rather than a bit-tech recommended system! There's no specific plans for a HTPC building article, apart from an entry on our ever-longer to-do list. [sighs]

 

Error: first page - the Palit Sonic you linked to on Scan is not the massively overclocked Sonic Platinum. The Sonic has a 25MHz overclock, which is less than the 715MHz on the £187 Gigabyte card.

 

What issues with the gigabyte UD3R board ?????

 

Oops, still getting used the new format. Fixed, thanks. Glad you liked the new layout though - should help you regular readers go straight to the new stuff!

Yep, good spot - my tired bleary eyes didn't pick up on the clocks last night. Fixed and amended.

 

We're having a few issues with the rev 2 board, which is the only version you can buy now. We're working with Gigabyte to identify what's up, but in the meantime we know the Asus P6X58D-E is very good, and feel more confident about recommending it at the moment.

In the interests of fairness and impartiality, that's all I can say at this point. Hope you understand.

 

Looking forward to the review of the Frio but are you sure about CPU fans that require you to open the case to increase/decrease the fan speed?

I have a ZeroTherm NV120 sitting in a box because reaching around the back of the case to increase/decrease the CPU fan speed was a pain in the proverbial. I have reverted to PWM control.