Advice/opinions on new build

[bucketface]

Hi I've trawled the forums hre for about 2 yrs now and decided i'd finally register. Have learned a lot since then even though i haven't actively participated. Anyway onto buisness now..

I would like to know what people think about this system build. eg. How balanced it is and suggestions on better parts if they think it's worthwhile.
ok so the build is:
OS: 64 bit MS Win 7 Pro $154
Case: Lian Li PC-V351 $168
Power Supply: Seasonic M12-II 80plus Bronze 520w$115
Mainboard: Gigabyte G-B MA785GMT-UD2H $97
Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.80Ghz $120 (OC to at least 3.2hgz)
Memory: G.Skill-Ripjaws 4G Kit DDR3 1600 $145 (run at 1333 and try for timings
of 6-6-6-18)
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor-X $209 (OC 900mhz/1250 min hopefully)
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB $104

Aftermarket cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 (already purchased)

I plan to do some minor overclocks on the processor, graphics and ram. would deffinately like some opinions on how to achieve best performance with ram. the 1333 ram is $139 so thats why im doing what im doing with the ram but if people advise against this i will go for it. I'd also like to know how balanced this system would be?

btw if your looking at prices and scratching your head wondering "wtf is up with these rediculous prices" it's 'couse they're in AUD.. i live in Australia where we have nice beaches and pay way too much for electrinics of any kind.

Please give an explanation if you think i should change something..thanks.

well i think thats about it.. so what do you guys think?

 

[adcom32]

i'd say go with a 750w PSU

 

[PaulieG]

If you plan to overclock at all, get yourself an after market cooler. All else looks fine for a mid level gamer.

 

[Kreij]

Welcome to TPU

I agree, I would get a large PSU. That way if you have a greater power need in the future due to adding more power hungry components, you will have room to spare.

 

[ERazer]

If you plan to overclock at all, get yourself an after market cooler. All else looks fine for a mid level gamer.

+1

Looks good bud and welcome to TPU

 

[bogmali]

If you plan to overclock at all, get yourself an after market cooler.

+1

That kit is good for DDR3-1600 (and higher) if you put 1.65V on it. PSU is sufficient since you're doing an AMD rig as well as an HD5770 card. Cheers and welcome to TPU (officially)

 

[PaulieG]

Welcome to TPU

I agree, I would get a large PSU. That way if you have a greater power need in the future due to adding more power hungry components, you will have room to spare.

That 520w Seasonic should be fine, as it's a high quality PSU and his components are not all that power hungry. For future proofing, I'd have to agree with you.

 

[blkhogan]

Welcome from out of the darkness. I like it. Very well balanced system. Only thing I would recommend is what Paulieg stated, a good after market cooler. Should be a good solid system for the near future.

 

[bucketface]

thanks for the responses so far.. i was thinking of this:
Seasonic X-series 80plus Gold X-650 for $206 (it's rather expencive though)
Review of it:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=169

what do u think?

also in response to the thing about an aftermarket cooler.. well i already got one. its a Noctua NH-U9B SE2. sorry for got to put it in the op.

 

[blkhogan]

The 520 will be fine for what you have planned. If you plan on adding to it or upgrading to lets say a 58xx graphics, I would shoot for the 650 just to be on the safe side.

 

[PaulieG]

Can you link us to the site you're buying from?

 

[bucketface]

sure this place has the best prices of anywhere in Australia... that ive found anyway.

site:
http://msy.com.au/
Products list for site:
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

this site find products from various online strores:
http://www.staticice.com.au/

this one is also operating for UK as well.. its pretty good for finding the price of something and where u can get it.

also I've heared that there is little benefit to running ram at over 1333 on an amd system.. apparently 1333 and low timings eg. 7-7-7 work better than 1600 and higher eg. 9-9-9 or the like.. though thats just what ive read.. i wish i could remember the forum but i didnt bookmark it...

 

[Kreij]

I suggested the larger PSU because I am used to people on TPU saying things like ..

"Hey I finished my new build yesterday !! ... What can I upgrade?"

If you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon, and want to keep the budget down, the 520 should do you fine.

 

[bucketface]

no worries.. i plan on trying to keep to an anual staggered upgrade (buying parts as i go) after this build.. i will probably go with the seasonic X-series 650w.. but thats as far as i'll go since this is all going into an m-atx case.

 

[Fourstaff]

Nice case, I was eyeing that some time ago and then I saw the price tag. No thanks.

Build is solid, but I would take a look at the 8xx boards with USB3. However, if you think USB3 is not worth your time, fine, you are not losing out on alot. Also, I think you might want to find a small aftermarket cooler to keep your processor happy, but if you are not overclocking, its unnecessary

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/LianLi/PC-V351R/5.html

 

[blkhogan]

As far as my AMD machines go, they like the lower, tighter timings.

 

[bucketface]

Nice case, I was eyeing that some time ago and then I saw the price tag. No thanks.

Build is solid, but I would take a look at the 8xx boards with USB3. However, if you think USB3 is not worth your time, fine, you are not losing out on alot. Also, I think you might want to find a small aftermarket cooler to keep your processor happy, but if you are not overclocking, its unnecessary

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/LianLi/PC-V351R/5.html

It looks like a hell gnarly case for a upper-mid range game machine. its not "that" expencive here in aus but i've heared that prices are even higher for this stuff in the uk.

i did look briefly at the 8xx series boards but they are a great deal more expensive for essentialy just sata 3 and usb 3 support.. especially since there are still very few products out that utilise them fully.. plus this should tide me over till late 2011 to early 2012 when i hope to upgrade againwith new proc, mobo and graphics.

thanks for the input everyone i really appreciate it

 

[MT Alex]

I started out with that case but moved to a larger one that would accomodate larger CPU heatsinks. There is barely 120mm between the CPU and the bottom of the PSU. Your Noctua is one of the few decent ones that fit and doesn't fight the PSU fan. Either you did your homework or lucked out. You will notice its shown the second link. Good Luck.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1801.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1853.html

 

[bucketface]

I started out with that case but moved to a larger one that would accomodate larger CPU heatsinks. There is barely 120mm between the CPU and the bottom of the PSU. Your Noctua is one of the few decent ones that fit and doesn't fight the PSU fan. Either you did your homework or lucked out. You will notice its shown the second link. Good Luck.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1801.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1853.html

homework and lots of it
yeah did some extensive forum trawling to find a decent heatsink that would fit in it.. since it's the first aftermaket heatsink i got i was quite amazed at how large it was and it's apparently a fair bit smaller than some of the good ones out there..

to anyone that has this case, how is it at suppressing the noise from within it if at all.. eg hdd, and fan noises? my current case the Thermaltake Shark has a honeycomb side pannel meaning i hear everything very clearly.. ..

well i think i'll get started on picking up the components soon.. thanks for the input.

on another note if anyone knows of a reasonably priced minimalistic ( not all flashy lights and stuff) case of reasonable to good quaity, please link me to it... the v351 is the only such case that i could find for under $200 aud.

 

[n-ster]

Alright, what is your budget? what will you use it for?

 

[bucketface]

thanks i think i'll just stick with the v351 actually.. i can always use it as a htpc case later on.
i can't find anything in a similar price range that has that level of simplistic style.. and i dont want to spend close to $300 for a case at the moment.. have looked at the Lian Li pc-p50 but is a little too expencive.
i'll be using it for my main system at the moment. im going for an upper-mid performance system.

$200 AUD is my max budget for a case

 

[n-ster]

I meant for the whole thing

 

[bucketface]

I meant for the whole thing

about $1200

 

[BarbaricSoul]

how much more would it cost to up your CPU to like a phenom2 X4 925? Only real possible problem I can see with your build is the 620 CPU. Thier lack of L3 cache will prevent it from being as fast as a phenom2 system. Although, the 620 will do the job if need be.

 

[bucketface]

how much more would it cost to up your CPU to like a phenom2 X4 925? Only real possible problem I can see with your build is the 620 CPU. Thier lack of L3 cache will prevent it from being as fast as a phenom2 system. Although, the 620 will do the job if need be.

im getting a 630.. the 620's seem to be drying up and all cost as much as i can get a 630 so yeah..
not sure about wether the extra $40 on top of the $120 for the 630 is worth it for the extra cach and about 10% performance boost when it's a 33% incrase in price. thogh the 925 would probably OC better.. 630's tend to only go about 3.5ghz not that i plan on going that high.