First build

[kyur]

Hey, I need some help building me a pc.

It will be used for gaming.

My budget is 700 euro. That is the absolute max that I can afford. And YES I will be OC'ing it in the future. Probably gonna buy the Cooler Master HYPER 212+ and a few case fans.

Parts will be bought in Latvia.

I have done some research and came up with this build, please fell free to criticize/suggest other parts:

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K (3.30 GHz, 6MB Cache, LGA1155)
MOBO - Asus P8P67-M B3
RAM - Kingston 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, CL9, Kit Of 2 (-Kingston 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, CL9, Kit Of 2, HyperX X.M.P)
HDD - Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Spinpoint F3
DVD - Samsung SH-222AB, DVD+/-RW, 22x, Sata, Black

CASE - Thermaltake V3 Mid Tower, Black Edition
PSU - Corsair 500W, CX500, 80+, 12cm fan OR Thermaltake 550W, Cable mng., 14cm fan OR Corsair 600W, 12cm Fan, ATX12V2.2, 80+
GX - Sapphire Radeon HD6870, 1GB, GDDR5 OR GTX 460 1GB


I'm pretty confident about the cpu, mobo, ram, hdd and dvd choice, but I cant figure out if the TT V3 is good enough and if all the parts are compatible with each other and will fit in the case with the HYPER 212+ added later.
Which psu do I need 500, 550 or even 600 W.
By reading a few reviews the HD6870 is a lot better than gtx460, but I have hear/read a lot more people complain about their ATI cards rather than nvidia. Oh, and I'm definitely not going for SLI or Xfire.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Blain]

Get 1.5v or lower DDR3

 

[kyur]

Ok, but why ?

 

[dma0991]

Thermaltake V3 is a good case if by definition of good is limited to basic needs. Optionally there is also the Cooler Master Elte 430 which is also a beautiful case with a side window. Both will fit the Hyper212+ without any clearance issue with height. However there might be clearance issues if fitting a push pull configuration together with a exhaust fan mounted at the top of the casing.

If the range of cards are of the mid range like the GTX460 or HD6870, a 500W true power PSU is sufficient. Get the Corsair PSU instead of the Thermaltake.

GTX460 or HD6870 are both good cards. Find reviews about cards that show the games you want to play and pick the best based on the card that performs the best for that particular game that you want to play. Add the GTX560 to the choice of cards that you want to buy as well.

 

[TheChicagoan]

Regarding the memory, I've been doing some research on that 1.5V memory vs. more common 1.65V. From what I've read, for stability and longer life, SandyBridge processors and chipsets really don't like the 1.65V memory. 1.5V is much better.

 

[kyur]

Ok, if I buy the Asus GeForce GTX560, 1GB, GDDR5, DirectCU II OC, do I need to buy an 550 or 600W psu or everything will be good with 500W ? Keeping in mind that I'll be Oc'ing the cpu and adding a few fans.

 

[dma0991]

500W is still sufficient to power your rig with the GTX560. Even in a worst case scenario power consumption(Furmark), the total system power consumption did not exceed 391W. That leaves 109W for the extras that you might put in.

Furmark will usually have higher than usual power consumption compared to gaming load. So that means you have about 150W+ for the extras. However if you feel like squeezing a little bit more for the 600W it won't do much harm either.

 

[kyur]

After doing some more research I came to a final build:

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K (3.30 GHz, 6MB Cache, LGA1155)
MOBO - Asus P8P67-M B3
RAM - Kingston 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, CL9, Kit Of 2
HDD - Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Spinpoint F3
DVD - Samsung SH-222AB, DVD+/-RW, 22x, Sata, Black
CASE - Thermaltake V3 Mid Tower, Black Edition
GX - Giga Byte Radeon HD6870, 1GB, GDDR5, OC OR Asus GeForce GTX560, 1GB, GDDR5, DirectCU II OC
PSU - Corsair 600W, 12cm Fan, ATX12V2.2, 80+


By comparing the benchmarks of the two cards, the HD6870 is superior in those games that I want to play. What I want to know which of the cards perform better on the Source engine (Looking @ TF2), that probably will decide which card I take. And would it pay back getting a MSI GeForce GTX560 Ti, 1GB, GDDR5, Twin Frozr II in the long run ? And if I buy a 600W psu and use it with this build will it be less power efficient then a 500W psu?

 

[mfenn]

After doing some more research I came to a final build:

CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K (3.30 GHz, 6MB Cache, LGA1155)
MOBO - Asus P8P67-M B3
RAM - Kingston 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, CL9, Kit Of 2
HDD - Samsung 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Spinpoint F3
DVD - Samsung SH-222AB, DVD+/-RW, 22x, Sata, Black
CASE - Thermaltake V3 Mid Tower, Black Edition
GX - Giga Byte Radeon HD6870, 1GB, GDDR5, OC OR Asus GeForce GTX560, 1GB, GDDR5, DirectCU II OC
PSU - Corsair 600W, 12cm Fan, ATX12V2.2, 80+


By comparing the benchmarks of the two cards, the HD6870 is superior in those games that I want to play. What I want to know which of the cards perform better on the Source engine (Looking @ TF2), that probably will decide which card I take. And would it pay back getting a MSI GeForce GTX560 Ti, 1GB, GDDR5, Twin Frozr II in the long run ? And if I buy a 600W psu and use it with this build will it be less power efficient then a 500W psu?

Don't worry about Source engine performance. Either card will give you 100+ FPS.

I'm not sure what you mean by "would it pay back ... in the long run". The 6870 is more power-efficient if that's what you're asking. You do NOT need a 600W PSU and yes the 500W will be more efficient.

 

[kyur]

Thanks, what I mean by LONG RUN is if I buy the 560Ti will it last fairly longer as a Top card which I won't have to replace so soon rather if I go for the HD6870. BF3 coming out soon and other games.

 

[kyur]

I'll be buying the HD6870. But I still have one last question. Checked out a few reviews and forums and turns out the Corsair CX psu's have dropped in quality and do not actually have the specified W they should have, e.g. 500W only has 450W and 600W probably is only a 500W psu.
Are Chieftec psu's any good or should I just go with a Thermaltake 550W, Cable mng., 14cm fan or stick with the CX500? I don't really have a lot of options for 500W and 550W psu's, all i can buy is a chiftech, tt, cm, corsair or xigmatek go green.

 

[mfenn]

I'll be buying the HD6870. But I still have one last question. Checked out a few reviews and forums and turns out the Corsair CX psu's have dropped in quality and do not actually have the specified W they should have, e.g. 500W only has 450W and 600W probably is only a 500W psu.
Are Chieftec psu's any good or should I just go with a Thermaltake 550W, Cable mng., 14cm fan or stick with the CX500? I don't really have a lot of options for 500W and 550W psu's, all i can buy is a chiftech, tt, cm, corsair or xigmatek go green.

The new CX series are still good PSUs for the money. They're just not incredible PSUs for the money like the old CX400 was. This has caused some people to froth at the mouth and make all sorts of wild claims. It can definitely output its rated wattage. Jonny gave the CX430 a 9 overall, which is damn hard to get from him.

EDIT: Oh and for the love of God, don't buy a Chieftec.

 

[kyur]

thanks

 

[Morg.]

Regarding the memory, I've been doing some research on that 1.5V memory vs. more common 1.65V. From what I've read, for stability and longer life, SandyBridge processors and chipsets really don't like the 1.65V memory. 1.5V is much better.

This has been widely debunked, 1.65v is just fine, and according to my review of the i5 specs, should not pose any problems.

Besides, most ram chips that run @ 1.65v will run fine @ 1.5 or 1.6 depending on your luck.

 

[Morg.]

Err.. if you haven't bought anything yet, please consider going cheaper on both CPU and motherboard, in order to afford a better GFX, like hd6950 unlock/oc.

The i5 2500k will not make a big difference in games, however a last-gen gfx will make a ton.

 

[Blain]

This has been widely debunked, 1.65v is just fine, and according to my review of the i5 specs, should not pose any problems.

Besides, most ram chips that run @ 1.65v will run fine @ 1.5 or 1.6 depending on your luck.

* Did your review address the issue of the JEDEC DDR3 voltage standard being 1.5v?
* Did your review take into consideration the effect higher voltage has on memory chip reliability over the long term?

 

[Morg.]

I suppose you are talking about the IMC and it's converter which you believe can be adversely affected by said voltage.

In which case, yes this has been covered in my interpretation of the Intel spec for the i5 and many experts agree this is not an issue.

However, noone has any data on long term about a core i5-2500k chip, and most people buying it will drop it after 3 years.

A standard is a standard, it's meant to be the absolute bare minimum people have to comply with and doesn't state much more, like your pcie plugs on your PSU can easily handle more watts than the pcie spec asks for, etc.

As I said, the Intel spec for that IMC * 105% = 1.65v and I do not believe a 5% out-of-spec value is a real problem for this chip, especially since this is their second IMC.

You believe whatever you like, people w/ 1.65v RAM on their SB exist, and there still has to be a case of an SB cpu dying because of that.

 

[kyur]

Fuck me, finding a good psu is killing me
Did some more research and found a few other ps's I could get my hands on.
Could I get some opinions on which to get? It would be awesome if someone could list them from best to worse, so if I can't get the best I can try to get the next best psu.

XFX 650W Design650X (80+) 13,5cm SemiModular

XFX 650W Pro650W (80+) 13,5cm (If it's the same as the top one then ignore)

XFX Pro550W (80+) 12cm

CORSAIR VX550W

CORSAIR GS600W

Be Quiet! L7-530W Pure Power ATX 2.3 80+

Be Quiet! 550W System Power 80+

XILENCE CASE PSU ATX2.3 550W/SPS-XP550.CS.R3

XILENCE CASE PSU QX 600W

Fortron FSP Aurum ATX 2.3 500W 90+

@Morg. I'm gonna stick with my choice, cuz it will be a lot cheaper in the future just to buy a better gx card then buying a better cpu or even a cpu+mobo. I'm pretty sure you know that the i5 2500k is one of the best cpu's for gaming atm. And it will stay that way for a while

 

[mfenn]

As I said, the Intel spec for that IMC * 105% = 1.65v and I do not believe a 5% out-of-spec value is a real problem for this chip, especially since this is their second IMC.

You believe whatever you like, people w/ 1.65v RAM on their SB exist, and there still has to be a case of an SB cpu dying because of that.

So, you admit that 1.65V is out of spec and also admit that you have no historical data to support your claim that it isn't a "real problem". And yet you still recommend that people use 1.65V? Oooook.

 

[mfenn]

Fuck me, finding a good psu is killing me
Did some more research and found a few other ps's I could get my hands on.
Could I get some opinions on which to get? It would be awesome if someone could list them from best to worse, so if I can't get the best I can try to get the next best psu.

XFX 650W Design650X (80+) 13,5cm SemiModular

XFX 650W Pro650W (80+) 13,5cm (If it's the same as the top one then ignore)

XFX Pro550W (80+) 12cm

CORSAIR VX550W

Be Quiet! L7-530W Pure Power ATX 2.3 80+

Be Quiet! 550W System Power 80+

XILENCE CASE PSU ATX2.3 550W/SPS-XP550.CS.R3

XILENCE CASE PSU QX 600W

Fortron FSP Aurum ATX 2.3 500W 90+

@Morg. I'm gonna stick with my choice, cuz it will be a lot cheaper in the future just to buy a better gx card then buying a better cpu or even a cpu+mobo. I'm pretty sure you know that the i5 2500k is one of the best cpu's for gaming atm. And it will stay that way for a while

From, best to worst

XFX
Corsair
.
.
Be Quiet
.
Fortron
.
.
.
.
Xilence

 

[Morg.]

So, you admit that 1.65V is out of spec and also admit that you have no historical data to support your claim that it isn't a "real problem". And yet you still recommend that people use 1.65V? Oooook.

Yes I do, ask others who know more than you or me, they'll tell you the same.
Only noobs think Specs are meant to stay within, whatever the spec.

How do you OC a Gfx without breaking the PCI-e power spec btw ?:biggrin:

And seriously .. XFX makes better PSU's than Seasonic now ? lol

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx650w/5.htm

Read up a bit, XFX sucks compared to Corsair ..

And Bequiet and the other ones are pure trash.

 

[fffblackmage]

And seriously .. XFX makes better PSU's than Seasonic now ? lol

XFX PSUs are rebranded Seasonics....

Read up a bit, XFX sucks compared to Corsair ..

The ripple is a bit worse than some others in its class, but it's still within ATX specs, so it sucks?

Jonnyguru gave it an 8. Obviously, it's not top-of-the-line, but it's far from crap.

 

[mfenn]

Yes I do, ask others who know more than you or me, they'll tell you the same.
Only noobs think Specs are meant to stay within, whatever the spec.

How do you OC a Gfx without breaking the PCI-e power spec btw ?:biggrin:

Guess I'm just a noob then. Its fine if you or others want to run outside spec on your own hardware, but it is damned irresponsible to advise people that there is no danger in doing so.

And seriously .. XFX makes better PSU's than Seasonic now ? lol

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx650w/5.htm

Read up a bit, XFX sucks compared to Corsair ..

And Bequiet and the other ones are pure trash.

And now that I know that you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. XFX and Corsair are rebranded Seasonics on the high end and CWTs on the low end.

 

[mfenn]

The ripple is a bit worse than some others in its class, but it's still within ATX specs, so it sucks?

Yeah, I'm not sure why he's complaining. "Only noobs think Specs are meant to stay within, whatever the spec," after all. :awe:

 

[kyur]

Thanks for the advice, I'm gonna go for the xfx pro 550W, if I can't get it then I'll get the vx550.