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First build in 8 years. Tell me your thoughts.

N

nola000

Junior Member
New to the forum. Looking for opinions and suggestions on my new build. This is my home computer for myself and my girlfriend. I have always built my own computers but have been busy the past 6-8 years and my current setup has served me fine until recently.

To use the Sticky format...

1. This computer will be used for everything. Word processing, webbing, gaming, TV watching, file backup, blu-ray burning, etc.

2. Looking to keep it under $650

3. In the USA, buying from Newegg

4. Not a fanboy. Except when its really hot outside. 🙂

5. Will be using my current case (SilverStone, similar to CW01), hard drives (Seagate ST340016A, Western Digital WD5000AAKS) and power supply (Antec True330)

6. Yes

7. Not overclocking. Ever. Sorry to disappoint.

8. 1920x1200 resolution always.

9. Building it ASAP.

10. Not thin skinned.

I dont stay on top of the latest and greatest of gimmicks and games so I dont need the best. Just looking for something that will hold me over for the next few years. Ive got along this far with my current build (parts above, plus; Abit IC7 motherboard and Gigabyte GA-8KNXP {Junk} m.b. before it took a dump, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB GPU, Corsair VS512MB400 x 2 RAM, LG GSA-4167B DVD drive {Junk}, Pentium 4 2.6GHz and Windows XP Pro) but I cant play most new games and its been glitchy lately.

This is what Ive come to so far. Again, any problems with this setup or suggestions let me have it.

1. CPU : Intel i3-2100 or 2105. Cant decide.

2. GPU : Radeon HD 6870. Not sure of brand. There are 4-5 that are almost identical at Newegg and similar price.

3. Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3

4. Optical : LG WH12LS30

5. RAM : G. Skill Ripjawz X F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL

Thanks
 
get a new power supply. a good 330 may have enough wattage for that proposed build but the true 330 is ancient and doesn't have the right connectors. no pci-e connectors, no sata connectors, no 8 pin aux connector, etc.

grab the antec high current gamer 400 from newegg for $30 after rebate or the corsair cx 430 for $35 after rebate.

since you're using a graphics card get the 2100. no point to the 2105 in that situation.

not sure why you're spending for a Z68 when you're getting a non-overclockable processor. unless you're going to upgrade to a K processor later (and given your history, not likely), might as well save a few bucks and get an H67 board.


edit2: sandy bridge does not give a whit for memory speed. spend half that on something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422
 
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That RAM is overkill for Sandy Bridge. At $5 more than the cheapest 1333 RAM, this 1600 Corsair set might be worth it. But don't get anything over $50.

Motherboard's also way overkill if you're not overclocking or getting an SSD.

The only thing the i3 2105 has that the 2100 doesn't is a somewhat faster onboard GPU. Unless you're using Quick Sync for quick-but-low-quality video transcoding you don't need it.

So, I see two options for you. First, get this z68 board for $105, and since I've saved you about $100, get a Crucial M4 SSD for caching.

Or get an h61 board for about $60 and spend the extra on a better GPU and/or CPU. (i5 2400 fit in your budget now?)
 
USB3 maybe, but on that budget the SATA 6G won't help -- no SSD any time soon.

An i5-2400 would be more future-proof than the i3-2100. Not just for the quad-core, but also for the 3.4 GHz turbo boost. It will make more of a difference than SATA 6G or faster RAM so I'd go with the cheaper motherboard and cheapest DDR3 1333 1.5v if that will free up enough pennies for the better CPU.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=363
 
I didnt post it, so here is my pricelist.

nola000 said:
1. CPU : Intel i3-2100 or 2105. Cant decide. $125

2. GPU : Radeon HD 6870. Not sure of brand. There are 4-5 that are almost identical at Newegg and similar price. ~$150

3. Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $153

4. Optical : LG WH12LS30 $87

5. RAM : G. Skill Ripjawz X F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL $100
Click to expand...
 
Wow!
Great responses yall. Great info. I almost didnt post this and just ordered the parts, but Im sure glad I didnt.

ElFenix said:
get a new power supply. a good 330 may have enough wattage for that proposed build but the true 330 is ancient and doesn't have the right connectors. no pci-e connectors, no sata connectors, no 8 pin aux connector, etc.

grab the antec high current gamer 400 from newegg for $30 after rebate or the corsair cx 430 for $35 after rebate. I was afraid my PSU would be outdated. I think I had that issue when I added my SATA hard drive that I have now. I got around it somehow. If Im going to upgrade my PSU I certainly want a modular. I hate messy cables. Have any more suggestions for a good brand/model? Way back when I built my current setup Antec was the only brand testing to their listed rating and were bomb proof. Im not sure how that landscape has changed. Im open for recommendations.

since you're using a graphics card get the 2100. no point to the 2105 in that situation. I had been reading that about the 2100 vs. 2105. HD3000 vs. HD2000 stuff. Most said nix the 2105 if you go discreet on the GPU, but some mentioned some other advantages to the 2105 besides GPU related. Can anybody shine some light on that?

not sure why you're spending for a Z68 when you're getting a non-overclockable processor. unless you're going to upgrade to a K processor later (and given your history, not likely), might as well save a few bucks and get an H67 board. I had read that the P67 had issues and was recalled and the Q67 was for mobile builds, so I figured the Z68. Didnt read anything on the H67. I think the Z68 supports SLI which will help with future proofing. What is a K processor? i7?


edit2: sandy bridge does not give a whit for memory speed. spend half that on something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231422 What do you mean? Why would I not want a fast RAM speed?
Click to expand...

Ken g6 said:
That RAM is overkill for Sandy Bridge. At $5 more than the cheapest 1333 RAM, this 1600 Corsair set might be worth it. But don't get anything over $50. Same as I asked ElFenix. Would I see no difference for the faster RAM? Now that Ill have a 'puter that can handle it I might start gaming more when Im bored. I didnt specifically mention it before because I figured it would be assumed, I want some degree of future proofing here. Im not demanding of my 'puter but I dont want to have to upgrade right away just to run a program or game. Id rather spend a little more now to save even more later.

Motherboard's also way overkill if you're not overclocking or getting an SSD. No overclocking, but I sure will be getting an SSD eventually.

The only thing the i3 2105 has that the 2100 doesn't is a somewhat faster onboard GPU. Unless you're using Quick Sync for quick-but-low-quality video transcoding you don't need it. I dont archive anything in low quality. All lossless here.

So, I see two options for you. First, get this z68 board for $105, and since I've saved you about $100, get a Crucial M4 SSD for caching. Might get the SSD later. Dont need it right away. I looked at that board. A few things jump out at me. Tell me important they might be now or in the future. 1866 and 2133 speed memory isnt native on that board like it is in the Gigabyte I listed. PCI Express x16 @ 1 slot. The Gigabyte has 1 @ x16 and 1 @ x8.

Or get an h61 board for about $60 and spend the extra on a better GPU and/or CPU. (i5 2400 fit in your budget now?) Ewww, gross. 🙂
Click to expand...

VirtualLarry said:
Why not this mobo for a few short dollars more?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

Edit: Isn't $7 more, for both SATA 6G and USB3, worth it? It would seem like it to me. I agree.
Click to expand...
 
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DaveSimmons said:
USB3 maybe, but on that budget the SATA 6G won't help -- no SSD any time soon. I will be getting SSD at some point. Does that make a Z68 worth it?

An i5-2400 would be more future-proof than the i3-2100. Not just for the quad-core, but also for the 3.4 GHz turbo boost. It will make more of a difference than SATA 6G or faster RAM so I'd go with the cheaper motherboard and cheapest DDR3 1333 1.5v if that will free up enough pennies for the better CPU.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=363 I might squeeze some pennies on a cheaper motherboard for the i5-2400. BTW the Gigabyte Im looking at is $150. The CPUs are $125 vs. $220. Not sure I can squeeze that many pennies. Especially since it looks like Im gonna have to get a new PSU.
Click to expand...

GoStumpy said:
Here is what I come up with:


Corsair CX500V2 500w PSU $50

LG BDROM $80

Intel i3-2100 3.1Ghz CPU $125

ASRock H61M Sata6gb USB3.0 $70

Patriot 8gb Ram $50

XFX Radeon HD6870 $150

OCZ Vertex Plus 120GB SSD $140

Equals $665 and you get a 120gb SSD 🙂 This might be the ticket.
Click to expand...

Getting the hang of this multi-quote thing
 
00
lehtv said:
If you have a microcenter nearby you can get the i3-2100 for $100 or i5-2400 for $250 Dont have one here in S.E. Louisiana. That would save me $25.

I would consider an MSI GTX 460 Hawk 780MHz and OC it. All the 6870 at the $150-160 range come with an inferior cooler. Anandtechs bench had the 6870 beating a 1GB GTX 460 by 7 points. OC makes me nervous. I dont want to fry anything. You say inferior cooler. What if my case had good ventilation?

Or I'd get this GTX 560 for $170: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127592 Thats at $190 now. 🙁
Click to expand...
 
Anandtechs bench had the 6870 beating a 1GB GTX 460 by 7 points. OC makes me nervous. I dont want to fry anything. You say inferior cooler. What if my case had good ventilation?
Click to expand...
Alright that's fine if u don't OC. Case ventilation is important either way, but in general it's more important for cards that use an open design cooler like twin frozr II. It's true though that the 6870's use a lot less power, they probably wouldn't benefit from the twin frozr II much. But it's also true that the user comments state the twin frozr ii to be quiet, while the cheapest 6870 (xfx) is said to be loud

Thats at $190 now. 🙁
Click to expand...
I meant $170 after rebate
 
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lehtv said:
Alright that's fine if u don't OC. Case ventilation is important either way, but in general it's more important for cards that use an open design cooler like twin frozr II. It's true though that the 6870's use a lot less power, they probably wouldn't benefit from the twin frozr II much. But it's also true that the user comments state the twin frozr ii to be quiet, while the cheapest 6870 (xfx) is said to be loud

I meant $170 after rebate Oops. Missed the rebate. The 560 only scored 3 points higher and that was for the "Ti" version. The one you linked to wasnt Ti. How much of a difference does the cooler make fi you dont overclock?
Click to expand...
 
as for memory speed:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/5

as you can see, in real world tests faster memory buys you nearly nothing for sandy bridge. fact of the matter is that SB just isn't bandwidth limited with cheap memory. and that's with a quad core/eight thread 2600k processor, not a dual core, two thread 2100 processor. it certainly isn't worth spending double on.

seeing that i have to wonder if a 2100 even needs the second channel


the difference between a 2100 and a 2105 is the graphics core used. the 2105 uses HD3000 graphics while the 2100 uses HD2000 graphics. with a discrete card as your main, there's no difference for gaming, web browsing, movie watching, etc. the HD3000 may run intel's quick sync video compression faster, i dunno about that (i also don't know if many programs can utilize quick sync, so you may be stuck with a very feature limited program).
 
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nola000 said:
PCI Express x16 @ 1 slot. The Gigabyte has 1 @ x16 and 1 @ x8.
Click to expand...
Do you plan to SLI your cards? You shouldn't. By the time you'd be ready to buy another one, a faster 7000-series card should be out that will do the job of both for about the same price. So, no, you don't need more than 1 x16 slot.

Edit: You only want z68 if you're going to add an SSD for caching. Otherwise, since you're not overclocking, get an H67 or H61. The only things H67 has that H61 doesn't are 4 RAM slots, 6Gbps SATA (only needed for SSDs), and USB 3.0. But some H61 boards have those added on - Larry turned up a board with USB 3.0 and 6Gbps SATA, and mine has 4 RAM slots.

Do you have Windows? If not, you'll need to spend another $100 on that (much less if you're a student) - or run Linux which won't run some games and is not as good at video editing.
 
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Ken g6 said:
Do you plan to SLI your cards? You shouldn't. By the time you'd be ready to buy another one, a faster 7000-series card should be out that will do the job of both for about the same price. So, no, you don't need more than 1 x16 slot. Sounds logical. What if I want to run something else that uses PCI-e, like a TV tuner. Would that or something else benefit from the x16/x8 slots?

Edit: You only want z68 if you're going to add an SSD for caching. Otherwise, since you're not overclocking, get an H67 or H61. The only things H67 has that H61 doesn't are 4 RAM slots, 6Gbps SATA (only needed for SSDs), and USB 3.0. But some H61 boards have those added on - Larry turned up a board with USB 3.0 and 6Gbps SATA, and mine has 4 RAM slots. What do you mean by SSD CACHING? I will eventually upgrade both my hard drives to SSD in the future.

Do you have Windows? If not, you'll need to spend another $100 on that (much less if you're a student) - or run Linux which won't run some games and is not as good at video editing. I run XP Pro.
Click to expand...
 
Thinking about spending an extra $25 and going to the i3-2130 instead of the i3-2100. 3.1Ghz vs. 3.4Ghz. Will I see a difference? Any comments?
 
nola000 said:
What do you mean by SSD CACHING? I will eventually upgrade both my hard drives to SSD in the future.
Click to expand...

SSD caching is using a SSD as a kind of memory for your HDD. It puts frequently used files from your HDD onto the SSD. Only the z68 chip supports it.
 
nola000 said:
I read that article just now. New list...

1. CPU : Intel i3-2100 $125

2. GPU : Radeon HD 6870 Sapphire 100314-3L - $153

3. Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $153

4. Optical : LG WH12LS30 $87

5. RAM : G. Skill Ripjawz X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $52
Click to expand...

This is a lot better than your original config, but still has a few issues:
- Mobo: The general rule of thumb is that you should take a long hard look at what you're doing if you are paying more for a motherboard than for a processor. You will get much better bang for the buck out of one of those H61 motherboards recommended earlier like the ASRock H61M Sata6gb USB3.0 for $70
- RAM: You're still using too much of your limited budget for fancy RAM that does nothing. Get this $41 DDR3 1333 8GB kit instead.
- PSU: You need a new PSU. Something like the 430CX for $35 AR will be fine.

By my math, that's a net savings of $59. With that you can:
- Upgrade any PATA drives to SATA
- Upgrade the CPU to the i5 2400
 
I bit the bullet. I decided the best way to future-proof would be quad core and the ability to over clock. So Im set with the i5-2500K. The little lady signed off on the cost and it looks like this now(stop me quick, Im ordering tonight)...

1. CPU : Intel i5-2500K - $220

2. GPU : Sapphire 100314-3L HD Radeon 6870 - $160

3. Motherboard(scaled back here a little) : Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3 - $85

4. Optical : LG WH12LS30 Blu-Ray Burner - $87

5. RAM : G. Skill Ripjawz X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - $52

6. PSU : OCZ Fatal1ty 550W - $45

I saved $65 on the motherboard, $50 on the memory, added $95 to the CPU and $45 for the needed PSU. So for an extra $25 I feel I got a more powerful and future-proof build than before.

I looked at the suggestions on the motherboard and felt I couldnt lose the 32GB max memory and the native 1600 speed memory support. This might prove necessary in the future. I thought 2 PCI-e x16/x8 ports would be a good idea for Crossfire/SLI in the future. As time goes by all I think I would have to do to this system is add another 6870 in crossfire, another set of RAM and overclock my 2500K if need be. That should hold me over for many years to come.

As suggested, I could still be talked into a cheaper motherboard and memory if someone could convince me that Ill never notice the difference between 16GB vs. 32GB, 1333 vs. 1600 and two PCI-e ports for tandem GPUs. Ken g6 mentioned that running 6870 in Crossfire would be trumped by better single cards in the future.

Still open, still listening, until the final checkout.
 
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That's a lot better, but two issues remain with that build:
- RAM: The extra speed doesn't do anything, you're throwing your money away. The extra RAM speed won't matter for Ivy Bridge and Haswell after that will be DDR4 anyway.
- PSU: That PSU is worse than the 430CX that has been recommended. Sure, it's got more wattage, but it's not very good quality.
 
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