Building first new rig in 6 years, need some advice

[Sleepingforest]

Get this $90 Sandisk Ultra Plus (128GB) instead. Similar performance, $20 cheaper.

 

[nedney]

Get this $90 Sandisk Ultra Plus (128GB) instead. Similar performance, $20 cheaper.

Awesome, that's great. Any other tips?

 

[Sleepingforest]

Your RAM choice may prevent you from installing an aftermarket heatsink.

 

[nedney]

If there are other mATX cases you find that look interesting, let us know. That style of case was pioneered by Shuttle, makers of barebones systems. It's definitely an interesting shape, and works well on a desk.

I think I'm gonna go with the Silverstone Tek I mentioned above. It has pretty much everything I would need (1 external 5.25 and 1 external 3.5; there would be space for the Sandisk SSD, right) and has an ideal price point. Anyone have thoughts about it?

 

[nedney]

Your RAM choice may prevent you from installing an aftermarket heatsink.

I was planning to use my current CPU cooler, the Scythe Big Shuriken. Do you think I could have an issue using it with that RAM? If so, is there similarly-priced and -powered RAM you might recommend?

edit: I found these Kingston sticks, any reason not to go with those, just to cover my bases height-wise?

 

[nedney]

Okay, I think I've got it:

That comes to $808 including tax, plus $160 AR for the 7850.

 

[Cerb]

(4) You are correct - no one has suggested a micro ATX case yet!

I suggested 2 . The Temjin is a nice one, too.

Re: the CPU, seems everyone and their mother is telling me to go with the 3570k. I've gotten at least two opinions on just about everything except for this, so I guess that's a done deal.

AMD is offering insufficient competition, so Intel has been able to place the 2500 (and 2500K) and now 3570 (and 3570K) as their sweetspots. The only pressures to change are from their own future components, and changes in their own inventory levels. Back when you got your last computer, Intel was on top, but AMD was biting at their heels enough that they needed to provide equivalent value across a wider range of parts.

PSU: Barring other factors, like sales, go for Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec. You have no need for a 600W PSU, either.

Nice Sale+MIR, from Corsair:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139026

Another good one (note: order items with "rebate cards" by themselves, first, then use them to order parts w/o them):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139027

If your Shuriken came with LGA1155 mounting brackets, and you can find them, you'll be good to go, on that front, but do get shorter RAM.

 

[mfenn]

If your Shuriken came with LGA1155 mounting brackets, and you can find them, you'll be good to go, on that front, but do get shorter RAM.

Note to the OP, 1156 brackets will also work since the mounting position is the same between 1155 and 1156.

 

[nedney]

I suggested 2 . The Temjin is a nice one, too.

Ahh, so you did. However, the Fractal and the Temjin are both a bit taller than what I'm looking for. I've been very happy with my Ultra ULT33117 MicroFly MicroATX, and I'm looking for something similar.

PSU: Barring other factors, like sales, go for Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec. You have no need for a 600W PSU, either.

I was planning to stick with my current unit, an OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W. Is there any reason for me to get something else?

If your Shuriken came with LGA1155 mounting brackets, and you can find them, you'll be good to go, on that front, but do get shorter RAM.

Yeah, I changed the RAM in the build I posted most recently. Any thoughts on the Kingstons?

 

[Cerb]

I was planning to stick with my current unit, an OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W. Is there any reason for me to get something else?

If you're not going to repurpose the old parts, probably not.

Yeah, I changed the RAM in the build I posted most recently. Any thoughts on the Kingstons?

I'd get 1.5V sticks. JEDEC's standard has been that for some time. Intel has generally been evasive on the issue of higher voltages, but 1.5V has been A-OK.

Something like these (also nice timings):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104333
(note: this particular item is only available as part of a combo, but the combos include many good video cards, mobos, and Windows OSes, so if ordering ASAP, it's good)

For the stubby cases, you'll have to be careful about fitting the video card, in some of them (just check out reviews for better pictures, and take care of the video card size and power connector placement), but Lian-Li and Silverstone would be hard to go wrong with, to get a new one (mainly to get front/top USB 3 ports).

 

[bononos]

Are there more options for Mini-ITX? A smaller form factor really is a must for me, so reggae ATX is a no go.

Ok. I missed the part in your OP where you said you needed small ff.
The GeneV is clearly not a price/perf part, you could go another model. The Z77 chipset allows overclocking, Z75/H77 are very similar without the overclocking feature if you do not plan to overclock (and a little cheaper).

 

[lehtv]

Yeah, I changed the RAM in the build I posted most recently. Any thoughts on the Kingstons?

The Kingstons are both high voltage and expensive. This is more like it:

Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB 1866Mhz CL9 1.5V $48

The heat sinks are tall-ish but I think given the speed and the cost, that's ok. It's not nearly as tall as Vengeance, so a cooler whose fan hangs over the RAM will usually be fine, e.g. on a 212 EVO you can lift the fan a bit to accommodate the RAM underneath. Alternatively you can use a contained water cooler or a topflow cooler with decent clearance

 

[nedney]

For the stubby cases, you'll have to be careful about fitting the video card, in some of them (just check out reviews for better pictures, and take care of the video card size and power connector placement), but Lian-Li and Silverstone would be hard to go wrong with, to get a new one (mainly to get front/top USB 3 ports).

Yeah, I'm probably going with this Silverstone here, which seems to be able to house a full-size GPU no problem.

Ok. I missed the part in your OP where you said you needed small ff.
The GeneV is clearly not a price/perf part, you could go another model. The Z77 chipset allows overclocking, Z75/H77 are very similar without the overclocking feature if you do not plan to overclock (and a little cheaper).

Yeah, I agree, I really don't need all the muscle of the GeneV. I'm gonna go with Termie's recommendation of the MSI Z77MA-G45.

The Kingstons are both high voltage and expensive. This is more like it:

Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB 1866Mhz CL9 1.5V $48

The heat sinks are tall-ish but I think given the speed and the cost, that's ok. It's not nearly as tall as Vengeance, so a cooler whose fan hangs over the RAM will usually be fine, e.g. on a 212 EVO you can lift the fan a bit to accommodate the RAM underneath. Alternatively you can use a contained water cooler or a topflow cooler with decent clearance

1866Mhz, huh? I guess given the lower price there's no reason not to (or is there?). I've never heard of Patriot, though; can people attest to the quality and reliability of their RAM?

 

[lehtv]

No, no reason not to . All Z77 boards support 1866, and any 1866 kit will work fine at 1600 as well.

Nothing wrong with Patriot RAM. In general, RAM is reliable, there is not much difference in reliability between brands. This is apparent from the fact that every major brand offers lifetime warranty. I'd happily buy any of G.SKILL, Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, Crucial, Geil, Patriot, PNY, Samsung

 

[Termie]

No, no reason not to . All Z77 boards support 1866, and any 1866 kit will work fine at 1600 as well.

Nothing wrong with Patriot RAM. In general, RAM is reliable, there is not much difference in reliability between brands. This is apparent from the fact that every major brand offers lifetime warranty. I'd happily buy any of G.SKILL, Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, Crucial, Geil, Patriot, PNY, Samsung

Agreed.

Occasionally there are manufacturers that offer kits that can perform better than rated, but for the most part, all kits perform as specified.

I have a hunch that the lower operating voltage of DDR3 has contributed to fewer RMAs than was the case with DDR2. Total speculation, but hey, it ain't hurting anyone!

 

[nedney]

Right on, I'll go with the Patriots then.

I had just always been under the impression that going with a manufacturer that wasn't a Big Name RAM Company was like playing Russian Roulette in terms of reliability of the RAM. Good to know that's not the case.

 

[Cerb]

Right on, I'll go with the Patriots then.

I had just always been under the impression that going with a manufacturer that wasn't a Big Name RAM Company was like playing Russian Roulette in terms of reliability of the RAM. Good to know that's not the case.

It used to be, but that was long ago. Several of the smaller companies are quite good, and stand behind their stuff, such as Patriot, A-Data, and G.Skill.

 

[poohbear]

OP if u can wait until June u can upgrade to Haswell which will last u much longer than ivy bridge, especially if what they say about its overxloking potential is true. Why not just upgrade ur video card for now & 8gb of ram to hold u over until June?

 

[nedney]

OP if u can wait until June u can upgrade to Haswell which will last u much longer than ivy bridge, especially if what they say about its overxloking potential is true. Why not just upgrade ur video card for now & 8gb of ram to hold u over until June?

Because in order to play Bioshock Infinite (not to mention have 8GB of ram) I believe I have to upgrade to a 64-bit machine. Plus shit is getting super slow.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Also, Haswell doesn't offer much of a per-clock improvement over Ivy Bridge. People are saying that it may be possible that Intel will allow for BCLK overclocking due to the nature of the iGPU, which is significant mostly because it will allow a $120 part to match the single-threaded performance of a $200-300 part (read as: the overclockability of Haswell is still all hearsay and won't really affect you anyway).

 

[nedney]

Also, Haswell doesn't offer much of a per-clock improvement over Ivy Bridge. People are saying that it may be possible that Intel will allow for BCLK overclocking due to the nature of the iGPU, which is significant mostly because it will allow a $120 part to match the single-threaded performance of a $200-300 part (read as: the overclockability of Haswell is still all hearsay and won't really affect you anyway).

Right. As I indicated above, I'm no hardcore OC-er; my current rig is bumped from 2.4Ghz to 2.7Ghz.

 

[mfenn]

Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB 1866Mhz CL9 1.5V $48

"Usually ships in 2-4 weeks."

 

[Cerb]

RAM combo, with selected mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1237457
$12 off, and it's nice 1.5V stuff from G.Skill, with nice timings.

OS+CPU combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...801.19-116-504
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...793.19-116-504
Then, follow it up with that.

 

[nedney]

The Kingstons are both high voltage and expensive. This is more like it:

Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB 1866Mhz CL9 1.5V $48

The heat sinks are tall-ish but I think given the speed and the cost, that's ok. It's not nearly as tall as Vengeance, so a cooler whose fan hangs over the RAM will usually be fine, e.g. on a 212 EVO you can lift the fan a bit to accommodate the RAM underneath. Alternatively you can use a contained water cooler or a topflow cooler with decent clearance

"Usually ships in 2-4 weeks."

Blast it, the price just jumped up to $99.99! Any alternatives you can suggest in case it hasn't gone down by the time I'm ready to buy (should be in 2 weeks)?

Edit: Like, for instance, the G.SKILL Sniper Series? Anyone have any experience with/thoughts on these?

 

[Sleepingforest]

This is equally good for your usage for $10 less. That's laptop memory, sorry. I'll keep looking. That RAM is actually pretty reasonable, since the lower priced alternatives are all running at 1333MHz and only save $3.