Build Advice New build advice

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by craigb, 23 May 2010.

  1. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi guys...

    Thinking of building a new system and would like some advice...

    CPU wise... it's a toss up between the core i3 530 2.93 ghz Dual core and the i5 750 2.66 ghz Quad core. Have been looking at benchmarks on Anandtech and theres not much in preformance, but the best part of £60 price difference on Scan.co.uk. Is it worth the extra?

    As for Motherboard, I'm looking at Gigabyte boards around the £80 mark, as recommended in Custom PC ofc :) just what's better the H55 or P55 or is it Processor dependant?

    Finally Graphics Card, ideally I don't want to be spending much than £100, although if I were to opt for the i3 i may be able to stretch the budget...

    I've pretty much got the rest of the build covered, going to be using it for gaming, but I'm not so fussed about max settings and 100 fps, just something that will handle most modern games without breaking the bank.

    Any advice would be appreciated :)

    Craig
     
  2. mrhrk01

    mrhrk01 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    20 May 2010
    Posts:
    153
    Likes Received:
    2
    Hiya Craig, welcome to the forum.

    Regarding CPU 7 motherboards - I have only been looking at the i7's (I am also atm getting a list of specs together for my build), so can't advise you on them.

    For the graphics card I would suggest having a look at the radeon 5770, im not sure if it will be able to play most modern games, but it is within your budget (the card cost about £117 from scan.co.uk)

    If you can strech your budget to £169(looking at price from scan.co.uk) for the graphics card then i would suggest having a look at the Radeon HD 5830.

    Out of curiousity what case and power supply are you intending to buy ?
     
  3. lysaer

    lysaer Suck my unit! Kirk lazarus (2008)

    Joined:
    15 May 2010
    Posts:
    1,467
    Likes Received:
    71
  4. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    i'm probably going to go for a 19" or 20" widescreen so either 1440 x 900 or 1600 x 900 will be the maximum resolution i'm looking at...
     
  5. shah

    shah Minimodder

    Joined:
    29 Jan 2010
    Posts:
    753
    Likes Received:
    21
    I would go for 750 and a HD5770. What is your maximum budget?
     
  6. Marine-RX179

    Marine-RX179 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    24 May 2010
    Posts:
    406
    Likes Received:
    14
    I guess it would depend on if you are overclocking and how long you expecting the new build would last you.

    A i3 530 overclock to 4.0-4.2GHz would be just fast enough keep up with a single 5870 running games in 1920x1200 16xAF 4xAA without bottlenecking it, where as a i5 750 overclock to 4.0GHz+ would fast enough to keep up with a two 5870 and still have some breathing room left.

    For gaming, if you are only going for a 5770, a i3 530 would be more than fast enough. But I think you should take the future upgrade path into consideration as well.

    A i5 750 overclock to 4.0GHz would probably able to last until average gamings reach the point require graphic processing power as much two 5870 in the future, whereas the i3 530 overclock to 4.0-4.2GHz on the other hand the CPU would need to be upgraded when you are upgrading to graphic card beyond 5870.

    And as for the motherboard, H55 is a better chipset for overclocking the 1156 i3/i5 dual-cores, whereas the P55 is better chipset for overclocking the 1156 i5/i7 quad-cores.
     
  7. seanbean

    seanbean Certa Cito

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2010
    Posts:
    153
    Likes Received:
    5
    If you are not too worried about upgrading, see here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2921/5 for a 4GHz stable overclock for the i3-530. I'm surprised the stock cooler was up to it - but there you go.
     
  8. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    mrhrk01 - i've bought a used antec 900 case that comes with a coolermaster 600w psu. for just under £80 for both i thought that was a pretty good buy :)

    shah - my maximum budget is £600 (ideally :p) and that is the setup im seriously considering

    Marine-RX179 - ideally i wud be looking at keeping the system for a couple of years, looking to upgrade the gpu and maybe chuck more ram in the future, so that said, the i5 and a 5770 looks like the way to go

    i would like to overclock it but i just worry im gonna fry my cpu...although i suppose there are a lot of guides available and i wouldnt have to go too over the top
     
  9. Marine-RX179

    Marine-RX179 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    24 May 2010
    Posts:
    406
    Likes Received:
    14
    I understand how you feel, but realistically it's is VERY hard to fry the CPU unless people apply crazy amount of voltage to the vcore...as long as you are not using more than 1.4v for vcore and then work your way down searching for the lowest voltage for vcore that can stablise the PC (no freeze, crash, blue-screen in windows,) and have sufficient cooling (which you got- a antec 900 case, and just need to grab a decent CPU cooler for around £25-£30), you won't really kill it.
    Also, although overclocking is said to void warranty for CPU...but the truth is they can't tell a CPU that's fried 'naturally' apart from one that's fried by overclocking (as both are most likely died by overheating) if you RMA the CPU on its own, they would be able to tell if you have overclocked it or not (it would different if you bought the entire system from a shop, and they 'might' recover evidence of you overclocking from your motherboard).

    If you are really worried, then you can leave the voltage tweaking and just use stock/default voltages. I think I'm seen people able to overclock i5 750 to around 3.4-3.6GHz on stock voltage on a decent (but not nessarily expensive) board.
     
    Last edited: 25 May 2010
  10. computerman5

    computerman5 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    30 Aug 2007
    Posts:
    88
    Likes Received:
    0
    i will go for 750
     
  11. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Ok here's the rest of the build and my wallet feels a lot lighter for it :p

    1 x Western Digital 500GB 3.5" SATA II Hard Drive @ 35.24GBP
    1 x Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) Processor - Retail @ 134.98GBP
    1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit @ 105.74GBP
    1 x HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ 119.84GBP
    1 x Samsung SH-S223C 22x Internal DVD±R/RW SATA Drive - Black @ 14.68GBP
    1 x Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Micro-ATX Motherboard @ 85.76GBP
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Order Total (inc.VAT inc. Shipping): 506.46GBP

    together with the £79 +£10 postage I paid for an Antec 900 and a Coolermaster 600w PSU

    for a grand total of £595.46

    hopefully money well spent :D
     
  12. Teelzebub

    Teelzebub Up yours GOD,Whats best served cold

    Joined:
    27 Nov 2009
    Posts:
    15,796
    Likes Received:
    4,485
    I wouldn't go for that harddrive.

    I would get a Samsung F3 they are probably the best harddrives out there atm.

    All the rest looks good.
     
  13. seanbean

    seanbean Certa Cito

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2010
    Posts:
    153
    Likes Received:
    5
    I'd have to agree with Bumsrush. Samsung F3 - just that little bit cheaper than Scan.co too (unusually)
     
  14. shah

    shah Minimodder

    Joined:
    29 Jan 2010
    Posts:
    753
    Likes Received:
    21
    Yes change the hdd to Samsung F3. the rest of the build look pretty good except I have no experience of HIS cards.
     
  15. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    I have already placed the order :-( most reviews i've come accross say they're decent hard drives and comparisons i've seen say it's a toss up between WD and samsung... it it worth sending it back and getting a Samsung?

    the HIS was the cheapest I could find although it's recommended in Custom PC's budget build too
     
  16. seanbean

    seanbean Certa Cito

    Joined:
    21 Apr 2010
    Posts:
    153
    Likes Received:
    5
    There's not a huge amount in it, both WD and Samsung make pretty good HDs. The Samsung F3 edges it however - have a look here.
     
  17. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    ahhh could be worse... maybe a future upgrade could be a samsung 1TB + and chuck the WD in my 'gracefully aging' Pentium 4, considering that has an old skool Maxtor 160 gb IDE drive!
     
  18. roosauce

    roosauce Looking for xmas projects??

    Joined:
    12 Feb 2010
    Posts:
    930
    Likes Received:
    47
    You've done well - don't worry ;)

    Did you decide against getting a custom cooler? There's also this one that's on the budget end.

    Good luck with the build.
     
  19. craigb

    craigb Pentium 4 FTW

    Joined:
    23 May 2010
    Posts:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    A new CPU cooler, a side fan for my case and a fan controller will be on the cards when I have some more money! But for now stock will have to do...
     
  20. shah

    shah Minimodder

    Joined:
    29 Jan 2010
    Posts:
    753
    Likes Received:
    21
    Don't forget to post some pics of the build :).
     

Share This Page