Input on my build

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
E

ekoostik

Senior member
Sep 10, 2009
202
0
0
I'm putting together a new build. Updating from a nine or so year old P4. I want something that will last another 5-10 years and be relevant for as long as possible. Primary purposes: video and photo editing, streaming video to a TV, movies, picasa, Office (Word, Excel), internet, some games but no FPSs or anything like that. I only plan on overclocking if it's not that difficult. I don't plan on doing Crossfire/SLI. I'm trying to stay under $800. $750 would be better. But there's always wiggle room up, too. Oh, and my goal is to purchase everything in the next few days, by the end of the week.

Two things in particular are giving me the most problems right now. One is the mother board. I?d prefer to get an ATX. I?m leaning towards the Asus P7P55D or the P7P55D Pro. But I had previously been eyeing the MSI P55-GD65 and would still consider the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P. I really wish reviews were coming on line faster!

The second item I?m still holding off on is the case. I wanted something that shows off my build (this being my first of hopefully many). So a see through side would be nice. But I don?t need it to be super flashy. I also can?t decide if I want an eSata port at the front of the case. Any advice here?

Of course I'd like feedback on everything else, too.

Here?s my current build:

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor (have Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP, resolution is 1680x1050), speakers

OS
OS (have Windows 7 Home x64 on pre-order from MicroCenter) $40

HDD
Already purchased a WD 640GB Caviar Black on sale from Dell $62


CPU
Core i7 860 Processor Boxed $229.99


COOLING
I think I've decided to skip thermal paste and an aftermarket cooler at this point. I hope that doesn?t prove to be a dumb decision.


MOTHER BOARD

ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 $169.99

OR

ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 $149.99

OR ...??


RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $79.99


GPU
GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 $59.99 (after $10 rebate)


PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC $54.99 (after $20 rebate)


CD/DVD Writer
Will probably go with either the Sony Optiarc or Samsung below, depending on which comes on sale or gets free shipping soon.

Sony Optiarc Black 24X $32.99 (and not currently available) or from MicroCenter it?s $29.99

OR

SAMSUNG Black 22X $30.99 or from MicroCenter it?s $24.99


CASE
Very undecided. Considering many options. Some are as follows:

COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-BWN1-GP $39.99

Antec Sonata Elite Black $79.99

XION Armor X AXP-ARM001-BL $49.99 (after $10 rebate)

I'm leaning towards the Cooler Master.


Total, right around $770 with the Asus P7P55D Pro and the CM Elite 310 case. So, what do you think?
 
L

latch

Member
Jul 23, 2007
66
0
0
I'm getting something pretty similar - same cpu, exact same ram.

The delay with the reviews has to do with an apparent bug with nvidia GPUs on intel motherboards causing poor performance. All review sites are holding off until the thing can be figured out.

Asus is a solid choice for a MB. I'm going with the Gigabyte UD4P. Since you aren't going to do SLI/Crossfire, I'm not sure why you are entertaining the PRO. You could put that $20 towards something better (like a savings account...or a better video card).

Don't worry too much about the cooler: 1) from what I've seen there still isn't much choice and 2) you can easily buy/add it at some later point. You might find that the stock cooler isn't too loud and lets you overclock fine. (that is assuming you are comfortable installing a cooler yourself afterwords).

I'm buying my system without a GPU, I'll reuse my existing 8800GT until DX 11 cards come out. Since games aren't tops on your priority, that might not make as much sense for you, but I did want to point out that a new generation is coming out soon and appears to kick ass.

Cases are a very personal choice. You wanna show off your internals, I want it to be dead quiet. There's a huge amount of choice (too much). I would caution against going too cheap - you'll find a complete lack of cable management, as well as sharp edges and rattling metal. That said, without knowing anything about the caase, the RC-310 does seem like a great value (I would worry about noise and try to find at least 1 review that address the concern).
 
J

jae

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2001
1,034
0
76
www.facebook.com
just make sure the case has good cooling. I would get something with atleast 2 fans. NZXT had one for like $59 plus a $20 rebate. Think its NZXT Alpha Black on newegg. I like the Coolermaster Centurion with the side window personally.
 
vailr

vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
55
91
If you only need a single video card slot board, Newegg has Biostar and MSI P55 boards for ~$120. Gigabyte offers a similar priced & featured single video card slot P55-UD2 board, except it has only one PCIe x1 slot.
 
E

ekoostik

Senior member
Sep 10, 2009
202
0
0
Latch, we'll have to talk more once we start the builds. As I understand it, we'll have to overclock the RAM a little, or tweak some settings?, to get it to run at 1600.


Thanks for the help everyone. I'm looking into the case suggestion. As for the motherboard, at this point I'm leaning towards ATX and away from mATX which would rule out the Gigabyte UD2. If I back down one step in the mother board it appears I'm looking at:
1. The Asus P7P55D for $150 (or the P7P55D LE for $135 which appears to be the same but without Fire Wire?)
2. The Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R for $140
3. The MSI P55-GD65 for $160 (or $150 after rebate from MicroCenter)

Any major differences between these 3 (or 4 counting the Asus LE) you think I should consider? I was leaning towards Asus based on reputation, but don't have any first-hand experience myself.


Near as I can tell the primary differences are in expansion capabilities:
The MSI has one more PCIe x16 (2 total, where the others have 1)
The MSI may not have a PCIe x16 (@x4), but perhaps that's b/c it has 2 at x8,x8?
The Gigabyte has one less PCIe x1 (1 total, where the others have 2)
They all have different PCI slots (Asus = 3, Gigabyte = 4, MSI = 2)

As I've never built a system before I don't know what I might later upgrade/expand into that would require those slots. What types of add-ons plug into the different types of PCIe/PCI slots and what's good for future-proofing?

Also, it looks like the Asus & MSI have firewire while the Gigabyte and Asus LE do not.

Once again, I appreciate any feedback.
 
vailr

vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
55
91
E

ekoostik

Senior member
Sep 10, 2009
202
0
0
Thought I'd warp up with my final build decisions, which I finished a couple days ago. It went very painlessly by the way.

Here?s my final build:

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor (have Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP, resolution is 1680x1050), speakers

OS
OS (have Windows 7 Home x64 on pre-order from MicroCenter) $39.99


HDD
Already purchased a WD 640GB Caviar Black on sale from Dell $57.59


CPU
Core i7 860 Processor Boxed $229.99


COOLING
Stock


MOTHER BOARD
GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX $109.99


RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $79.99


GPU
GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 $59.99 (after $10 rebate)


PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC $54.99 (after $20 rebate)


CD/DVD Writer
SAMSUNG Black 22X $24.99


CASE
Cooler Master Elite 310 RC-310-BWN1-GP ATX Mid Tower $35.79


TOTAL: <$695 after 2 rebates ($10 & $20); +taxes ~$725
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom