Hey guys, first time poster and first time builder :/ I've been reading around this site and forum and it's bloody fantastic. Has everything I need in one spot Right so this is my intended build according to the October 2010 Premium Player guide on the mainsite but with a few tweaks. One key thing to add is that i'm currently working in Hong Kong right now but I'll be back in the UK early February'11, so that's when I plan to start ordering parts and putting this badboy together. But i'm sure something awesome will be released between now and then so I'm asking for your advice on which parts to hold off on until February before committing. And also whether or not the estimated price of the new-tech will be worth it over the potential price drop of the would be older-tech. I'm aware that even when new tech is released it doesn't necessarily drive down prices of older generations but you never know! Sorry if that read out confusing and waffle-y, but let me know if you're having trouble and i'll try and explain better Premium player guide: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/10/07/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-october-2010/5 Let me know of which parts you'd change and which components work better with what. Budget: £2000 at the most. Ideally £1600-£1850 Main uses of intended build: Mainly gaming my life away well into 2012 -All prices from Scan.co.uk unless specified- CPU Intel i7 950 - £223.24 Mobo Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.2 - £147.56 OR Asus P6X58D-E - £149.91 GPU XFX HD 2GB 5970 Black Edition - £435.79 (ebuyer) OR Sapphire 1GB HD 5870 Vapor X OC - £336.73 Memory Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz TripChannel - £116.47 PSU 750W XFX Black Edition - £87.83 OR 850W XFX Black Edition - £111.14 SSD Boot Drive 64GB Crucial RealSSD C300 - £109.39 HDD Storage Drive 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 - £42.28 OS Windows 7 Pro 64bit OEM - £104.66 Monitor Asus 24" VH242H Wide Gaming LCD TFT 1920x1080 - £186.10 (Amazon.co.uk) OR Dell SP2309w 23" Monitor 2048x1152 - £241.94 (ebuyer.com) Case Silverstone Fortress FT02R-WRI - £211.46 CPU Cooler Thermaltake Frio - £38.19 Controller Card Highpoint Rocket 620 - £39.72 (Could someone explain to me why I need this? I'm sure I do but I don't know exactly why. As far as I know either of the motherboards are compatible with SSD's. Are the motherboards crappy when handling SSDs, therefore necessitating a controller card to maximise performance? Or am I way off the mark verging on brain damaged? lol Monitor resolution: Asus - 1920x1080 Dell - 2048x1152 Will you be overclocking: Yes, a little in the future when things get a little dated maybe and I get a bit braver and more knowledgable. Cheers for reading this long * first post! And forgive any blatantly stupid questions
You know that Intel will release a new CPU end of the year and other models in 2011. I am not saying if it's good or bad, no one has any ideas, they are rumors, some are good some are bad. I am just saying this, so that you are not disappointed that the moment you buy your computer, a new Intel CPU comes out. For the GPU, I would wait for the 6000 series, coming really soon. Also what are you achieving with this computer, is quietness more important or you don't care at all? For the monitor.... I suggest you have a look at many many many monitor suggestion that was posted. I talked excessively on them (so you can look up where I posted). Have a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw0acUxMaKo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP7C00BIzH8 Just to show the difference between TN panels and IPS, and how TN 6-bit colors really shows how limited they are compared to the IPS (or PVA) panels which are 8-bit colors - the standard. Sure it's expensive, but to say the truth it's not.. it's normal price.. it's the TN panels that made Monitor ridiculously cheap. Soon you'll be able to buy them at the dollar shop they are so cheap in every aspects, to reach the lowest price possible. You don't need that SATA controller card. You know that your motherboard has plenty.. and I mean PLENTY of SATA ports using 3 controllers (SATA 6Gbps, Intel chipset SATA controler, and Gigabyte own controller (for Gigbayte model)). As for motherboard brands.. it comes down to preference. People here love ASUS, but to my eyes, and my experience as an ASUS ex-fan, they are garbage, and abysmal tech support, and a 1 month wait RMA service (that is 1 month after they received your motherboard). The day I touched a Gigabyte motherboard, I got hooked. They are excellent boards, you feel the quality, the manuals are well designed, support is there even on their forum, and people are nice to help. I enjoy my Gigabyte X58A-UD5 rev 2 model, I think it's great board. I like the larger heatsink on the south bridge, the dual power phase, and the powered eSATA/USB combo ports. Note: WTV motherboard you pick at the end (any brands), be sure to disable Intel power management (mainly C1E).. they are more problems than anything. From people reporting computer instability to high pitch sounds/whine from the motherboard Inlet power management system from Intel. So far as I know, Gigabyte is the only motherboard that tries to find a BIOS hack to solve the issue with some forum users, and if a solution is found, they will give it out to all their Intel X58 motherboards, and release as an official BIOS update for the U3R model. Very nice from them for trying. Even if it sounds like more an Intel design flaw at the architectural design.
Thanks for such an in-depth reply! Appreciate it. As for the new CPU from Intel, I have read a few things about that (Sandybridge is it?) but would end of the line tech not be a more stable product with respect to bugs and manufacture faults and such? Is there any indication that the performance gain over an i7 950 would be so great as to render the 950 obsolete? I can't imagine anything revolutionary coming out, only increments in performance. I could be wrong though. I'm not after the latest technology all the time so I'm not fussed about that, unless it's a major overhaul of a product (like vista to windows 7). And as I understand it the LGA 1366 mobo's I have up there will support hexacore processors, am I wrong? Yeah I too was leaning towards Gigabyte for the mobo as I've read so many good reviews about it, maybe more so than the ASUS. Would you recommend upgrading to a better mobo, for example your UD5, for gaming and future-proofing? Also quietness isn't my main priority, my top aim is to build a beast of a gaming rig that'll last for a long while, but I don't want to have to clear the runway every time I boot up my beast if you get what I mean. Will the rig be very noisy with the Silverstone FT02 case, Thermaltake Frio and a 5970 or 5870? I know watercooling is an option, but on my first go I'd like to have an aircooled system for now. I'd kick myself if I set it up wrong and it leaked and destroyed everything.
Agreed about the CPU it might be worth holding off, that said the spec you've got here will give you a rock solid build. The new GPU's are going to be on sale within the next few days . As for the mobo they are about the same but I would be tempted to go with the Asus board, Gigabyte have had some RAM issues with that board.
Personally get another Custom Pc magizine nearer the time of ordering, IE Jans edition, the custom building guide would have changed so much with the release of new cards and maybe new Intel CPUs you would be buying a out-dated system abeit likely still a very nice one with these specs but if you plan to throw 2k at it now it sounds like you are after the best at the time you order.
Cheers for the replies lads! If i can get this spec for a whole lot cheaper come january without being too far off the leading edge then that will be perfect. But the real question is would i be missing out on a lot if i decide to stick with this spec despite new product releases in GPU, CPU and mobo departments? I know it's hard to predict these kind of things but any guesses would be most appreciated. Just need to get a good idea if it would be worth paying the full 2k for something that may not be particularly far advanced beyond the current specced build above. Cheers again
Just bear in mind, there is ALWAYS something just round the corner "worth waiting for". Don't pay too much attention when people say it's worth waiting for x to be released!
its is when the stuff is gunna be launched soon i.e. the 6000 series i generally agree with you that its not good to keep waiting but only if stuff is more than 3 months away. id just kick my self knowing i spent £1500 on a PC that was surpassed by cheaper/better product a month after i bought it
Also remember to include an optical drive in your build if you don't already have one. Also worth bearing in mind the depth of the drive - if you happen to buy a long blu-ray drive it won't fit in the FT02R (as I have found out from experience ) It may be worth buying some parts before the new year when the VAT increase comes into effect
The X58A-UD5 model (make sure it's with the A in the middle), should allow you to have better overclock-ability , not by much but should help due to the larger heatsink. Basically, it should help overclock the motherboard chip-set. Also, the debug LED code screen that is on the UD5 model, allows you to see when a problem occurs, and where exactly the BIOS blocks, which can be helpful. As for memory compatibility problem that was above, funny, on this forum, I hear more people complaining on how half their RAM disappear with their ASUS board than any other boards.
