Second opinion on computer

[Elcura]

So, I'm building a new computer... first one actually... though I'm not confident in it at all so I may get someone else to do it and learn from them. Anyway, a friend picked out a selection of parts to build a computer within budget (£1000), I'd just like some second opinions on whether there are better/cheaper parts I should get or if anything conflicts, that sort of thing. Keep in mind I'm mostly using this for 3D modelling/multitasking with gaming on the side. Also, seems as if some products have been discontinued... so maybe an alternative if possible would help...

God I'm bad at this.

Case - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169884# (discontinued)

Power Supply - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129034 (discontinued)

Processor - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161171

Graphics Card - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168018 (discontinued)

RAM - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158372

Motherboard - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159455...roduct_reviews

DvD writer - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148052

CPU Fan - N/A

Sound Card - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127553

Hard Drive - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804

£1047 (close estimate)

[Lhyet]

What are your speakers like? If you've got average speakers and don't plan on getting a much more advanced sound setup then that sound card is going to be wasted money and you'd be better off sticking with the intergrated sound that's on the motherboard.

DVD is good, but if you're going all out then perhaps consider Blu-ray? Though that will of course depend on the quality of screen that you've got plugged into the rig.

I'd recommend this case which is one I bought for my new pc a few months back. It has plenty of space inside and really sounds so very quiet. You could happily sleep with it running.
Plus, it looks great.

Other than that, it all looks pretty good to me.
It would be a good idea to have someone make the rig for you before attempting it yourself. Just make sure they're careful with using anti-static bands and not touching components ect.

[Elcura]

I've got a decent set of speakers and don't plan on anything advanced at all. So you think I could drop the sound card or just get something cheaper? As for the DVD thing... I could spring for a blu-ray, but I have my PS3 for that so it's not a major concern.

[Lhyet]

A cheaper sound card would just end with you getting something of the same calibar as what's included with the motherboard. I'd say to save yourself a few quid and cut out the sound card. You can always buy one later down the line if you feel that it's something you need.

And aye, if you have the ps3 then forget the blu-ray.

[Kurp]

You don't need a sound card unless you're running with really good speakers. It's also possible to add one in later if you decide you want one.

That RAM is pretty ridiculous, you could definitely save money there. You could save £60 with the kind that I have: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158578, it's working well for me. The 1866 Mhz stuff is ~10 more.

The motherboard is also rather expensive.

[Elcura]

That's a good find, I also found this, compared there doesn't seem to be much difference, except for price.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152640

Seems the main thing is that the one choosen intially comes with a fan/cooling, does that make much of a difference with a good cooling system anyway?

[Kurp]

I put together a really quick build.

Case: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131551 60
PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514 70
Motherboard: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159360 168
CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161171 198
GPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180386 125
HDD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804 67
DVD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169683 17
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152640 120

Comes to 825.98 without a cooler.

Seems the main thing is that the one choosen intially comes with a fan/cooling, does that make much of a difference with a good cooling system anyway?

Nah, you don't need that kind of RAM cooling unless you're going for really high overclocks. I used that RAM you found in that build I made.

[Elcura]

Thanks for that build, I appreciate it... hmm, gonna need to think about this more. The prospect of saving money is good, but I also want something good. You think with a dedicated cooler (or the one that comes with the initial RAM) the price would go up by much?

[Kurp]

I would get a good CPU cooler for sure. You don't need one for RAM though.

If anything, I'd upgrade the video card if you're looking to increase performance. I have no idea how that first build came to 1050 with a GTX295 though. With this card, which is really good: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/175016 the price of that build I made goes up to 1050.

[Olo401]

Not sure what the prices were on the discontinued stuff so I'm guessing here.. and WOW at the price differences from USD to GBP you guys really have so much more buying power!

Case - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169884# (discontinued)

CM HAF 922 ~£90 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179990

Power Supply - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129034 (discontinued)

CM Silent Pro 600W Modular ~£72 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160256

Core i7-920 ~£198 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161171

Graphics Card - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168018 (discontinued)

Powercooler Radeon HD5770 Play Edition ~£114 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/185910
Great card! If I had the money I'd get one & sell my 4870.

RAM ~£180 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158372

Motherboard ~£199 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159455...roduct_reviews

DvD writer ~£37 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148052

I'm guessing you want an external drive so that you can hook it up to a laptop as well? We'll leave that there for now.

CPU Fan - (stock fan comes with CPU)

Sound Card £69 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127553

Just about every motherboard today comes with a decent sound chip built-in. Expansion cards are worth it if you're a serious audiophile tho. This is one place where you can trim to meet your budget, should it become necessary.

Hard Drive ~£67 - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804

Normally I don't pick Samsung HDs but this one seems to be getting some REALLY good tech reviews.


That gives us a total of ~£1026.. dropping the extra sound card and swapping the DVD burner to an internal model can bring that down to about 938.

[Elcura]

Thanks a lot Olo, that sounds great. I'll probably drop the sound card and external DVD burner and use internal instead. External HDs aren't that important, I have a few already so it's just the one in the computer I'm concerned about.

[Elcura]

So basically I'm gonna go with the cheaper RAM without the fan, internal DVD and drop the sound card. In exchange, I'll need a good cooler, any suggestions for the set up I'm going with? I'm kinda iffy about water cooling, but if it'll help more I'll buy it (but considering I've gone from 1000w to 600w, I might not need it). On the other hand, fans work, are a lot cheaper...but maybe I'll need more?

[Olo401]

Noctua NH-U12P Special Edition - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165572

Nice to be able to find this cooler again.. and this SE version comes with dual fans which is REALLY nice.

[Kurp]

You don't need water cooling. With a good air cooler you should be able to overclock an i7 920 to 3.6Ghz easily and 4Ghz if you wanted to.

Two good CPU coolers I see on that site:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165572
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158603

The PSU wattage shouldn't change much about your cooling options.

CPU coolers can be a pain to mount on some motherboards depending on their size and shape and how the motherboard has its components arranged. Just searching on Google should get you some hits with people posting about a combo.

edit: Both the case Olo or I linked have good cooling options and fan mounts. You may have to buy another fan for top or side mount, at least for the CM 690 you do.

[Elcura]

Again, thank you both for the help! I'll go for the Noctua fan and the case Olo mentioned (fan is just incase, though I have some leeway with money in that case).

[Elcura]

In the end, this is what I'm going with, I didn't forget anything did I?

Fan
Noctua NH-U12P Special Edition Socket 1366 Dual Fan Heat Pipe CPU Cooler

HD
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM

MB
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 iX58 Socket 1366 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard

RAM
Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory CL9(9-9-9-24) for i7 motherboards

DVD
LG GH22NS50 22x SATA DVD±RW Dual Layer & RAM Black Bare Drive - OEM

PSU
CoolerMaster 600W Silent Pro Modular PSU - 50A Single Rail 9x SATA 2x PCI-E

Case
Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Case with Side Window - No PSU

GPU
PowerColor HD 5770 Play Edition 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card
(Sapphire Card was out of stock...)

Comes to around £730, I'm sure I'm missing something lol. I wanted 8GB of RAM initially, perhaps I could buy another set?

[Kurp]

You don't have a CPU in that list.

[Elcura]

Aha, I knew it was something. Thanks, alright, I'm done here.