Build Advice New i5 Build - Help Required

Hi there,

I'm finally getting around to building a new system, my Athlon 64 x2 5000+ and 9800GT Green aren't quite cutting the mustard. I've been playing around with multiple build ideas for a while now, and have decided to go the Intel Core i5 route. This -should- help me to keep the budget down a bit hopefully, while giving me a nice powerful system to work with.

Here's the obligatory build information:

* Budget: £500-550, possibly going up to £600 if I really have to. As I've already purchased the chassis and a hard drive, this really only needs to cover the CPU, motherboard, RAM, HSF and PSU. I also have all the peripherals I'll need for now. I'll be picking up a cheapish 23" screen after the build's complete to keep costs down, so that also won't be needed.

* Main PC uses: The PC will mostly be used for gaming (mainly RPG and FPS, with a little RTS and action in there to spice things up), but it'll also double as a media center for music and movies. I don't think I'll be doing any rendering with it, but I won't rule out encoding movies.

* Current PC Spec: Pretty dire.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ BE (Wimpily OC'd to 3.0 using nothing but the multiplier.)
MSI K9A Platinum (Whines when playing games. Probably about to explode.)
2gb DDR2 800Mhz (Doesn't pass Memtest, runs in single channel mode for no reason.)
Palit 9800GT Green (So powerful it doesn't need any input from the PSU. Hardcore.)
Hiper Type-M 680w PSU (I have a sneaking suspicion this PSU is trying to kill me.)

* Native res of monitor: No idea as yet. I got my current monitor free from my last job, and it's TERRIBLE for gaming - 15ms response times are NOT cool, mmkay? Let's say 1920x1280 to be safe.

* Will I be overclocking?: Probably, but not yet. I like having warranties on all of my parts (ooh matron), so I'd probably only overclock when the warranties have run out.

* How much storage space you require?: Probably between 1tb and 1.5tb. I've got storage covered for now with a temporary Spinpoint F3 500gb, though.

* Do you have any special requirements?: I'd like the motherboard to have SLI if possible, and I'd love it to run cool and quiet. Oh, and I'll be buying all of my parts through Novatech, so I can go and pick them up locally. I know, it's hard to find everything you'd need from just one supplier, but I prefer to pick up my parts to minimise damage in transit.

My idea for the build so far is this...

Chassis: Coolermaster 690 II Advance - £Bought already
CPU: Core I5 760 - £165.92
Motherboard: Possibly MSI P55-GD85 - £164.49
RAM: No idea as yet. I don't even know if I want 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz, or if I need low-profile RAM to avoid contact with the heatsink.. Halp! £No idea
PSU: Antec TruePower New 750w Blue - £101.99
HSF: Whatever's good and will fit in my chassis. Maybe the Titan Fenrir? - £27.99
HDD: Spinpoint F3 500gb - £Bought already
GPU: A GTX460 1gb of some sort. Will buy this after I've set up the build with my lame 9800GT, and then use that as a PhysX card. - £Buying later

A few questions though (yes, there's more to read):

- Given that I want to SLI later on, and that I want a motherboard that'll do the job well, would you recommend the MSI P55-GD85? I had a look at the Asus Maximus III Gene, but I heard on forums that it can take up to 40secs to POST. I seriously couldn't deal with that. If not, are there any other boards (that sell on Novatech) that could do the job as well, if not better for equivalent cash?

- Looking at P55 motherboards, it seems they only support 1333Mhz RAM natively, one would need to overclock to get 1600Mhz RAM to work correctly at advertised timings. Wouldn't this void my warranty on my motherboard/RAM? Is there a specific brand/product you would recommend in this instance?

- Do you know if the Titan Fenrir will fit nicely into the Coolermaster 690 II Advance?

- Will there be any problems with RAM heatsinks using the motherboard/heatsink specified?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

Check this deal out it might be just right for you:

400 pounds
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-023-OB

I am trying to decided between that one and this one myself (in the next month -2)

300 pounds
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-039-OB&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=

Seeing as multi theding is still not so great and even programs that support it rarely do more then 2-3 core suport.

As for HSF I'm drooling over a H70 as part of the deal epecially since when im done with this upgade it will go in my HTPC which does not have much headroom.

 

Hi MSHunter,

Thanks for the links! It's a shame I'm not closer to where they're located, I might've had more options in what to buy!

The top option seems pretty good, however I'd want a motherboard that can do SLI, and I'm fairly sure the P7P55D-E can't do it. It's a shame, though - I'd have been happy with an OC'd processor on warranty!

What will you be using your system for? Both options are good ideas paired with a big fat graphics card.

 

lol overclcocksers warranty doesnt mean sh*t. they have the worst customer support going.

why the £165 mobo bit overkill and SLI is very very overrated and expensive and to be honest very variable perofrmance.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Giga...ess-S1156-DDR3-2200-SATA-3Gb-s-SATA-RAID-uATX

this is a quality board that will handle 4Ghz overclocks only thing it doesnt do is SLI.

if you dont go SLI then 550-650W PSU will be perfectly fine.

they only support 1333mhz natively cause that is offical spec but many motherboard will support much higher speeds and it will not void warranty as no overclocking would be nessarcary to achieve them.

titan fenrir should fit and is a very good cooler.

 

I'm sorry but could you reffer to actual experience?

They have a rep. for forgetting qualitty control occasionally. YES

But it has been my expereince that they always correct any mistakes right away and with the highest level of service to (me) the customer.

BTW they do deliver. You do not need to ge there your self.

Scan is also good with RMA when needed and they have some bundle deals worth looking into.

As to SLI I do agree totally with him. It is much better to go the rout of a Better GPU over two small one just for the simple reason of driver support and power effiency. Think about it 1 power hunger GPU is almost always more effienct then two smaller more economical GPUs.
Especially since you can get a 480 for the same or less then two 460s

 

Only X58 mother boards support Nvidia SLI for I core processors.

 

Thanks for the help, guys.

Adam_bagpuss: Thanks for the recommendation for the P55M-UD2, it seems to be the board of choice for value-minded LGA1156 builds. Upon reading the review, however, it seems that the best of the board can only really be reached OC'ing. I'm not looking to OC at the minute (or for the warranty period at all, in fact), so I'd prefer a motherboard that has good performance at stock settings. If I was to go with something like the Asus P7P55D ( http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/motherboards/intel1156p55chipsetfori78series/asus/90-mib960-g0eay00z.html) ) , would that be a good stock motherboard? If not, can you recommend any others?

MSHunter: I know they deliver, however I prefer to collect my components myself to make sure they won't get damaged in transit.

 

Hi Neonhalo

I have a very similar system to the one that you're planning (see sig) - literally built it last weekend so I thought I'd chime in with my experiences.

I've found the stock speeds to be good - I've OC'd my graphics card a bit, but even without I was very impressed. The Titan Fenrir is very impressive too - max of 50 degrees under 100% load after 8 hours of running Prime95 - it will fit in the case but only just (~1cm to spare) - you will not be able to fit a case fan in the top of the two holes on the left-hand side panel as it will hit the top of the cooler (I tried!) but even then I would very much recommend the Fenrir. This month's CPC magazine does say however that the Thermaltake Frio is better - might be worth a look if you've got a little extra cash.

My motherboard is only currently running the RAM at 1333MHz - you will need a slight overclock to get the 1600MHz. The Corsair in my sig was about £75 from scan and gets a 7.5 in WEI - it does fit under the Fenrir too (although put it in BEFORE you attach the Fenrir's fan - I spent 15 minutes attaching the fan using the fiddly wires only to have to take it off again to get the RAM in....... )

I would strongly suggest the Gigabyte GTX 460 - I was looking at the Gainward but it's an extra £30 and, whilst the stock speed of the Gainward is higher, with something like MSI Afterburner you can instantly overclock the Gigabyte to match it saving yourself cash!

Hope that helps a little!

GK

 

Thanks for the insight GeorgeK! The system you've built is pretty much identical in all honesty. There's so many options in regards to hardware, I'd be lost without you lot!

The Fenrir does look awesome in both cooling and size - does the lack of a side-panel fan impact the overall temperature inside the case by much? Judging by the fact you've OC'd your graphics a little, I'm guessing not. I'll have a look at the Frio too, but I'll probably stick with the Fenrir. I won't be overclocking the CPU for quite some time anyway, so I don't need the best of the best.

I guessed that at least some voltages needed to be changed in order to run DDR3 1600MHz. I think I'll stick with 1333MHz, especially if I can find a kit with tight timings. I also think I'll go with the Gigabyte 460, everyone's shouting its praises and who am I to argue with the masses!

I've found a potential winning motherboard in the MSI P55A-G55.. Anyone heard much about it? It doesn't look too bad, and it's not too expensive either. The only dubious thing I see so far is that there aren't really many reviews around, even on NewEgg. Has anyone used this motherboard, and if so, how does it hold up?

 

RE OCUK Rep, order last Thursday for guaranteed next day, and arrived today (Tuesday).
Had graphics card and motherboard nightmare last year, spent around 3hrs on phone calls and e-mails to get a RMA and in the end they said the mobo was OK, it wouldn't even post with 3 different CPU and RAM, and they had the cheek to charge me the return P&P.
The replacement graphics card also died again 1 week after return.
Still waiting for that to be replaced for the 2nd time (thats now nearly 12mths from purchase)

Unless you have to i would stay clear, Scan and Ebuyer give a much better service.

 

please please dont. DDR 1600 will run on the Asus or the gigabyte board with no overclocking at all, simply enable XMP profile job done. 1333 is the same price as 1600 so it makes little sense to buy it. Timings make very little real world perofrmance difference if any at all. if you can grab tighter timings without paying for it great but its not worth the premium.

personally i wouldnt worry about the warranty either, you will not void your warranty on the motherboard by overclocking - its deisgned to do it. There is no need to overclock RAM so no warranty voided there either. The only thing that will void warranty is the CPU and ive yet to find one that has died from overclocking unless you get silly with LN2 overclocking.

 

Neonhalo, i know you're worried about voiding the warranty by overclocking, but are you sure that just adjusting voltages on yor mobo voids the warranty?

My last system wouldn't even post with the ram voltage settings on auto and i had to switch them to manual and alter them, i doubt this voided my warranty but tbh i'm unsure.

 

I agree with adam_bagpuss - I actually found 1600MHz RAM to be cheaper than 1333MHz RAM - also if (more like when) I overclock the RAM I know that I can happily go to 1600MHz (in theory)

With regards to the Fenrir blocking one of the case fan mounts - I've put a 120mm fan on the bottom of the two left-hand side mounts - this then sucks in air and blows it straight at the GPU - it seems to be doing the trick nicely as the GPU never goes about 60 degrees, even overclocked.

As for the MSI P55A-G55, don't know - sorry. I found the GA-P55M-UD2 to be easy to work with and well laid out.

When I was planning my build I had a thread on here and got some brilliant answers which might also help you - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=194802

GK