PC Build/Spec advice required

[CoBurN82]

Hey dudes,
I'm a relative noob about to embark on his first build. I have been the happy owner of an XPS Gen 4 with X850XT for about the last 4-5yrs but wish start anew with something that's easier to upgrade (couldn't get an X1900 working coz i couldn't upgrade the PSU) in future. I've managed this as BF2 and CoH are my staples.

As this worked out pretty good for me throughout the years, it has reaffirmed my view that if your gonna do something, do it right the first time. So can anyone advise if this is a good/bad or indifferent set-up for the cash. I hadn't set a limit on spending as such but wouldn't hope to spend much more.

P.S. I'm from Ireland so shipping is a big issue for sourcing parts.

Really appreciate any help.


Order details
Antec Twelve Hundred
- Gaming Case(Without PSU) 1 €155.64

Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME, X58
- Socket-1366, DDR3, SLI&CrossFireX, ATX, 3xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16 1 286.50

Corsair Power supply 1000W Black
- ATX/EPS, 140mm fan, SLI 1 €204.99

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
- CPU-Cooler, Socket 775/AM2/939/940 1 €55.23

Intel Core™ i7 Quad Processor i7-920
- 4,8GT/sec, 8MB, Boxed 1 €249.00

Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 6GB CL7
- Kit w/3x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL7-7-7-20, 1T, for Core i7, 1.65v 1 €130.01

WD Caviar® Black 1TB 3,5", SATA,
- 32MB Cache, Dual Processor, 7200RPM 1 €109.00

Samsung DVD±RW burner, SH-S223Q, SATA,
- 22x, DVDRAM 12x, Black/Silver/Beige, Retail 1 €27.90

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB GDDR5
- PCI-Express 2.0, 2xDVI, HDMI, HDCP, Full-Retail 1 €360.50

BenQ 24" LCD G2411HD
- 1920x1080, 40000:1, 2ms, VGA/DVI/HDMI 1 €239.00

Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer
- ,PCI, Retail 1 €76.99

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse, USB
- 1 €49.90

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, Refresh,
- LCD, USB, US Layout 1 €75.00

TP-LINK TG-3269 32-bit PCI Gigabit
- Ethernet Adapter, Auto MDI/MDX 1 €9.95

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
- SP1, English, Upg, DVD 1 €119.00

Total: € 2,160.11 Of which VAT: € 331.53


www.komplett.ie

 

[MoonPig]

Wheres that from?

You sure about going i7 and Buying an OS, when you can get Win7 for free

 

[CoBurN82]

I found the basic component set-up on "Sharkey Extreme", again i'll stress, I haven't got a clue.......

 

[MoonPig]

Well, you could make that total ALOT less if you don't go i7. You don't need it.

Core2quad + P45 + DDR2 = Good enough.

And if your playing BF2 and CoH, you don't need a 4870x2.

Set yourself and budget, and give us a list of sites that post to/in Ireland.

 

[human_error]

I'll paste my reply from the other thread:

The build seems good however there are a couple of things i'd change:

1. The cpu cooler you have listed will need a special bracket to make it compatible with a lga1366 board (intel core i7) - unless the company states that it comes with a bracket you'll have to get one seperately.

2. You won't need an ethernet controller - integrated ethernet controllers on motherboards (especially x58 based boards, which are on the upper end of the scale for good quality parts) will be more than sufficient - unless you need more than 2 gigabit ethernet ports.

3. Unless you plan on adding a second graphics card and a ton more hard drives 1000w is overkill for a PSU - a quality 750 will be more than enough for that setup with plenty of room for adding more hard drives and more power hungry graphics cards in the future. Just be sure to stick to a quality make (coarsair and enermax are the two brands i'd reccomend, though there are other brands people here will be able to reccomend as well).

4. Make sure the copy of vista you get is 64 bit - 32 is a waste and would only hold you back. If you're happy using an unreleased OS you can legally get a free copy of Windows 7 RC from microsoft which will last until next year (the OS is released to buy in october this year, so you can have "upgraded" to the full release when it comes out without needing a re-install, and it will have saved you buying vista then 7).

5. Some x58 boards come with an x-fi add-in board which enables the same features as a full-fledged x-fi card (the sound processing is done on the processor, but a core i7 will have so much free power that you'd never know it was running through the cpu). The drop-in cards come included with the motherboard and would save you having to get the extra sound card which will save you more money. The difference in sound quality will be so small you'll never hear the difference unless you are an extreme audiophile with a very expensive speaker setup.

Having a core i7 myself i can say that it has more power than i need right now but it will last a looong time before needing to be replaced, for a future resistant setup which shouldn't need a new cpu for a long time i'd say that the i7 is the perfect choice.

The community here at TPU will be able to guide you and help you with any issues/questions you have with a build - have no fear, building computers is not as hard as you'd think once you're aware of the few mistakes first time builders make.

 

[CoBurN82]

Oh no no no, they are my staple because they are the only bleedin thing i could run, cant wait to get hold of Bioshock, Dead Space et all. Oh and replay Crysis and a bunch of others.
And of course new games to come (AVP, Colonial Marines BF3! eventually)
I dont really like upgrading so just want to get a (very) solid rig that will holdits own with minimal interference for a couple of years to come.

 

[CoBurN82]

Oh cheers, sorry about that. It seems to be closed now. Dammit, looked like i got a couple of useful replys too

 

[erocker]

Oh cheers, sorry about that. It seems to be closed now. Dammit, looked like i got a couple of useful replys too

You should still be able to read them. One thread per topic please.

 

[LittleLizard]

Looks good except for the fact that the gigabyte ex58 extreme is a rebadged ex58 ud5. If you are not going to watercool the nb, then get the ud5, is the same board.

 

[richardbel]

looks cool to me... and i agree ^ with the person above me.. and use windows 7 lol...

 

[_jM]

Personally.. I would look into the Giga ud5 as well... you dont need the extreme version. Also, ditch the 4870x2 and grab 1(or 2 ) 4890's.. you'll be fine with one though. Also you dont need the ethernet adapter either.. the board will have one or two built in.

On a second note.. if you really want a good solid rig for years to come and save some cash.. If your not that set on i7, look into building an AM3 rig with the new AMD CPU thats coming out. You could build yourself one bad ass "AMD Dragon" rig with alot less of a price tag too. That way you could still get your self that 4870X2 you want.. and just get the CORSAIR HX850W.. Any ways.. good luck M8 And Welcome to TechPowerUp! (I might be in the states, but im 4th generation 100% Irish )

 

[CoBurN82]

Thanx for all the help guys, you's are the first site not to just put me off the idea (has happened at least 3 times over little more than a year) by saying shit like "oh, you should defo wait for this....thats crap(because i have an allegiance to some particular brand!) compared to....etc".

So I've taken on board and replaced

Corsair Powersupply TX 850W
- 140mm fan, 4x PCI-E 8-pin 1 119.00 (SAVE €85)

AND ONLY A CHOICE OF THESE Giga M/Boards on komplett.ie (many other brands though?)

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4, X58, Socket-1366
- SLI&CrossFireX, DDR3, ATX, GbLAN, Firewire, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16 1 225.01

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P, X58, Socket-1366
- SLI&CrossFireX, DDR3, ATX, GbLAN, Firewire, 3xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16 1 204.99

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, X58, Socket-1366
- CrossFireX, DDR3, ATX, GbLAN, Firewire, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16 183.00


Can anyone say if this site is any good price wise, I have searched some but the swinging factor has been that they have a pick-up point just up the road from me......

www.komplett.ie

I challenge anybody to build a complete system from this site with a €2000ish kity to play with............ ah well you can't blame a guy for chancing his arm


a couple of alternatives:
http://www.isell.ie/
http://www.elara.ie/index.asp

 

[h3llb3nd4]

Total:2,151.79

 

[subhendu]

hey try coolermaster haf 932

 

[CoBurN82]

Looks sweet, although i'm hardly the one to critique now. Can't wait to see what others think of it. I liked the look of that v/card but was kinda scared of home build + water = baaad times for a noob, no?

 

[CoBurN82]

http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list1.jpg
Total:2,151.79

Hey h3llb3nd, what happened to this set-up? Did you remove it?......because it had me very interested.
Thanx again man......

Nevermind, sorry i think its just my job's firewall blocking it.

(Is it possible(how?) to delete a redundant post?)

 

[h3llb3nd4]

Hey h3llb3nd, what happened to this set-up? Did you remove it?......because it had me very interested.
Thanx again man......

Nevermind, sorry i think its just my job's firewall blocking it.

(Is it possible(how?) to delete a redundant post?)

mOST LIKELY...
it's still there, I can see it...

(delete a post by clicking edit>deletepost)

 

[JessicaD]

MoonPig,

You make an excellent point -- YOU CAN get Windows 7 RC for FREE!! Windows 7 offers so many great features and benefits such as advanced security, enhanced performance, increased speed, fantastic stability, low resource consumption and more! To learn more and for direct access to the download center, head on over to Microsoft Springboard.

http://tinyurl.com/832nco
Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

 

[CoBurN82]

Windows 7? Is this an old OS or a Beta of something new (how/why is it free)? I hadn't heard of it before joining TPU.
Is anyone here using this that can vouch? (I don't want to be pessimistic when this will could save me €120, but USUALLY if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What would i be sacrificing from Vista Home Premium, say?

 

[h3llb3nd4]

Windows 7? Is this an old OS or a Beta of something new (how/why is it free)? I hadn't heard of it before joining TPU.
Is anyone here using this that can vouch? (I don't want to be pessimistic when this will could save me €120, but USUALLY if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What would i be sacrificing from Vista Home Premium, say?

windows 7 > Vista
Win7 = new &fast
Vista = OLD &slow

 

[CoBurN82]

Hey, I just noticed a guy who lives not far from me selling this rig. He says he has a bid of €1,650 on it. Could anyone please give their opinion on the spec/price of this machine relative to the previous set-up on this thread? Is it overpriced/value like? I reckon he's looking at least €1800.

http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/67/40478367.html

Cheers.....

 

[Darren]

Hey, I just noticed a guy who lives not far from me selling this rig. He says he has a bid of €1,650 on it. Could anyone please give their opinion on the spec/price of this machine relative to the previous set-up on this thread? Is it overpriced/value like? I reckon he's looking at least €1800.

http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/67/40478367.html

Cheers.....

CoBurN82, build your own. You can build that rig for almost half the price as he is selling it.

 

[CoBurN82]

http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list1.jpg
Total:2,151.79

So folks, I'm about to bite the bullet and begin ordering my components and signing my future social life away. But hey it's a recession, so what better time for it.

Cheers h3llb3nd4 , i've decided to go with your machine selection as i havent heard anyone suggest any changes to any of it.

So, go raibh mile maith agaibh.....wish me look

 

[h3llb3nd4]

So folks, I'm about to bite the bullet and begin ordering my components and signing my future social life away. But hey it's a recession, so what better time for it.

Cheers h3llb3nd4 , i've decided to go with your machine selection as i havent heard anyone suggest any changes to any of it.

So, go raibh mile maith agaibh.....wish me look

G/L with your build man!

 

[CoBurN82]

http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090615/price list1.jpg
Total:2,151.79

Hey guys, parts are mounting up (despite financial hiccups) and I was about to order the hard drives. But as i have no clue about their set up , could anyone give me an idea of whats involved with this set-up (basics)...cables...tools? Again my PC tech CV has upgraded RAM and GPU....PERIOD!

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA2
- 32MB 7200RPM

OCZ Vertex Series SATAII 2.5" SSD 30GB
- SATA2, read/write speed of up to 230MB/135MB sec, 64MB Cache, RAID