My first gaming build plan ^^ opinions and improvements needed

[mfenn]

Seems like RAM is a different case in Australia. I can get a 2x8GB set for $100, but they're just plane and got no heat spreaders.

Plain RAM with no heatspreaders is GOOD. You don't want to worry about having compatibility issues just because somebody at Corsair thought that ridiculous fins were cool. This G.Skill 16GB kit is perfect for you.

As for the PSU, for $100, I'd rather have the Seasonic-based Antec HCG-620 than a CWT like the CX600M.

 

[Splenyi]

I read some reviews on newegg on that PSU, mfenn. Apparently it goes faulty before a year is up, but the Corsair PSU I picked has better reviews.

I'm not too sure about the Xeon though, I'm afraid of it's performance in gaming... :hmm: I'll be doing some more gaming that anything else, I'm not a hardcore photoshoper.

Should I get some aftermarket thermal paste? Any of these

 

[Sleepingforest]

Most coolers include reasonably good quality thermal paste, so you don't have to worry about it.

The Xeon... well, it won't perform any worse than an FX-8350. Whether it'll perform better than an overclocked i5-3570K is a different matter--but you'll be able to game just fine on any of these options.

The Antec seems to have fan issues, but only one person seems to have an actual failed unit within the first few--many one star reviews are from a DOA unit, which is not Antec's fault typically but the shipping. There's always the chance, and people who get a DOA unit are more likely to complain than people with a good unit.

 

[mfenn]

Most coolers include reasonably good quality thermal paste, so you don't have to worry about it.

The Xeon... well, it won't perform any worse than an FX-8350. Whether it'll perform better than an overclocked i5-3570K is a different matter--but you'll be able to game just fine on any of these options.

The Antec seems to have fan issues, but only one person seems to have an actual failed unit within the first few--many one star reviews are from a DOA unit, which is not Antec's fault typically but the shipping. There's always the chance, and people who get a DOA unit are more likely to complain than people with a good unit.

Agree 100%.

 

[Splenyi]

Ok, well does the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 run the Xeon's CPU? I can't find anything that tells me if it does or doesn't.

I've switched the to Antec PSU.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Yes, the Xeon is a Sandy Bridge LGA1155 chip, and thus slots in just fine (no Ivy Bridge Xeons yet!)

 

[mfenn]

Yes, the Xeon is a Sandy Bridge LGA1155 chip, and thus slots in just fine (no Ivy Bridge Xeons yet!)

The V2 chips are actually Ivy Bridge, same as Core 3xxx. Here's the official list of supported CPUs from ASRock.

 

[Splenyi]

So guys, I'm considering switching my SSD from the Samsung 840 series 120GB, to the Intel 520 60GB.

This SSD is going to be my boot drive, so I don't really need that much space on it. Intel is apparently really reliable with their SSD's too. It's only an extra $10.

I can always buy another SSD in the future to install other programs on.

What do you guys think?

 

[Sleepingforest]

There's nothing wrong with the 840, and the 520 doesn't offer that much more--Samsung has an equally rock-solid reputation.

 

[Splenyi]

Ok thanks. I suppose I won't need high write speeds for a boot drive anyway.

EDIT: I'm worried about buying these parts now. It seems like a heap of stuff is going to happen mid year, and I don't want to waste my money.

EDIT AGAIN: I've decided to not get a monitor just yet. I have an old monitor at home I can use that will do just fine for now, and I can play on my TV too. It saves me $160 that I can spend on the actual build.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Basically, Haswell will release mid year, but it's not a big deal for gamers. CPU prices will remain the same due to Intel's stranglehold on pricing, and Haswell only offers a small (15% ish) improvement in computing ability. The gains will be in power efficiency and iGPU (more important for the low end and mobile than for desktop gaming).

 

[Splenyi]

Oh ok, thanks for the info. Any signs that AMD will improve much when their mid-year ships come out? When are they going to catch up to Intel?

Also, I did read that AMD will be making a GPU set based on the PS4 jaguar.

 

[mfenn]

So guys, I'm considering switching my SSD from the Samsung 840 series 120GB, to the Intel 520 60GB.

This SSD is going to be my boot drive, so I don't really need that much space on it. Intel is apparently really reliable with their SSD's too. It's only an extra $10.

I can always buy another SSD in the future to install other programs on.

What do you guys think?

I would absolutely not pay $10 to lose 60GB of space.

Oh ok, thanks for the info. Any signs that AMD will improve much when their mid-year ships come out? When are they going to catch up to Intel?

There are no AMD mid-year GPUs in the enthusiast range. The 7900 series will be the top end for all of 2013. As for CPUs, don't expect them to actually be at parity with Intel until 2015 at the earliest. And that's only if Intel keep focusing on mobile and not on top-end performance.

Also, I did read that AMD will be making a GPU set based on the PS4 jaguar.

Jaguar is the CPU in the PS4, it's basically AMD's equivalent of Atom, but a little faster. The GPU in the PS4 is basically a 7850 with a lot more RAM. They might release a 7850 refresh based on that, but it's not going to top the 7950.

 

[Splenyi]

What ever happened to AMD, how did they fall so far behind?

 

[Sleepingforest]

Bad direction in the management and not nearly as much money as Intel. They also have less vertical integration (having GloFo fab rather than in-house). They took a bet with APUs, failed to execute well, and now are behind in die size, instructions per clock, and energy efficiency.

 

[Splenyi]

Haven't been here for a while, but I got a question.

Which of these two G.Skill Sniper RAM DIMM sets are better?
#1
#2
#1 has higher clock speeds, but #2 has lower latency times. I'm not sure what would be better. Any body got an idea?

EDIT: I did read that there is no point in going higher than 1600mhz because you can just OC it higher.

 

[DSF]

At their heart they're probably almost identical, maybe even literally identical.

Generally speaking, when you raise the clock speed of RAM you'll need to loosen the timings as well to keep it stable. They're probably just similar or even identical chips that G.Skill has separated into two bunches so that they can sell one labeled as DDR3-1600 and one as DDR3-1866 to fill out their product line.

It happens a lot in the computer parts world. CPU and GPU companies do very similar things when they sell chips of different clock speeds.

Edit: To answer your question more directly, I would do what mfenn said above and buy RAM that doesn't have the big fins/heatspreaders. I would say it slightly differently - I don't think people at [insert RAM company here] necessarily believe heatspreaders are cool, I think they think their customers think they're cool, and as a result will increase sales. Either way they're unnecessary from a technical or engineering standpoint.

 

[mfenn]

Haven't been here for a while, but I got a question.

Which of these two G.Skill Sniper RAM DIMM sets are better?
#1
#2
#1 has higher clock speeds, but #2 has lower latency times. I'm not sure what would be better. Any body got an idea?

EDIT: I did read that there is no point in going higher than 1600mhz because you can just OC it higher.

Like SF said, they are very probably identical except for the default SPD programming. That being said, I wouldn't buy either of them when I could get this plain G.Skill 16GB DDR3 1600 kit for $20 less.

 

[Splenyi]

Ok thanks guys. I think I will go for the heat-spreader-less DIMMs, but I was just wondering why both of those models I listed cost the same, thanks.

Another question; I want to raise the budget for my mobo, and I found these around the price range I want, and was wondering what you guy's opinions are. I don't care about any little price differences, just as long as it's within this price +/- $20. I did read that gigabyte, asus and evga are top-notch, so that's what I've decided to list.

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H $170

ASUS P8Z77-V LK or V-LE-PLUS $160 (no idea what the difference is, can someone please help?)

I definitely want them OCable without risking to fry anything. So, yeah. What's the difference between those 2 ASUS boards, and what would you recommend out of the ASUS or Gigabyte?

 

[Sleepingforest]

I would not recommend any of those. The Pro3 you wanted earlier has all the features you could need. It's also perfectly overclockable.

Asus actually has the highest return rates according to this article. Asrock has the lowest.

 

[Splenyi]

Ok thanks again

Just bought my first 3 pieces of my pc, and I know you guys might not be happy with what I got, but I got them for a good reason.

PSU : I got the AX760i, I know, it's rediclous and I don't need it, but I got it cheaper than a HX of the same wattage (with shipping included! still cheaper! that's the Australian pricing of a HX though...), so I just couldn't pass that offer up. The platinum classed psu is great too, because I don't pay the power bills (I'm only 17), so I don't wanna be adding more money on the electricity bill for my parents to pay off, even if it is less than $10 a month, I'm just that considerate

RAM : I got the Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB. Why would I get something so dangerously incompatible with other pieces? I'm going to enjoy showing this off to my friends and brothers, so I want this to look amazing inside and out. This cost the same as the heatsink-less DIMMs by G.Skill (with shipping included again! not shipping on both prices, just the one I picked, and it's still cheaper!), so it's another offer I didn't want to put down. It will fill up all my DIMM slots too, so that might look nice.

CPU Cooler : Oh look, another Corsair product I got the H100i. I know, again, it's not worth what it actually does. But I got it for a little $10 more expensive than a top of the range Noctua heatsink (shipping included on my item too, again), and in Australia it regularly reaches the mid 30-40's degree celsius in the warm seasons, so it might be nice to not have to rely on airflow for the most part. EDIT: Also, with this cooler, I wont have to worry about my obnoxious RAM fitting under a giant heatsink.

So yeah, that's all I have done today on the purchasing side. I only spent a little over $400 AUS dollars on these 3 pieces, so I think I done a DARN fine job.

Because my PSU and CPU cooler have Corsair Link support, I might just upgrade to that in the future, after I have finished buying all my other pieces. Could be nice, if I wasn't thinking about how expensive it is.

PS. I got my PSU from America, so I have to buy an Australian ATX power cord for it to actually work on our wall sockets.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The PSU is understandable. Better for the same money or less.

Here's the problem on your RAM purchase: you've made it very difficult to upgrade your computer's RAM now for video/photo editing because you filled up all the slots. Furthermore, RAM is not something that is easily incompatible. I bought my Samsung RAM without once checking whether it would "work" with my motherboard and it's working fine.

EDIT: In fact, when I actually check the compatible memory page, I see that the RAM mfenn recommended is in fact listed there for the Extreme4.

Finally, a water cooler still relies on air to cool things. The radiator (where the warm water is cooled) still relies on air to cool off. Thus the ambient temperature makes no difference as to which method (air vs water) is more effective.

Basically, the Noctua and G.Skill RAM were better choices in pretty much every way. You managed to convince yourself to spend extra on parts that work worse...

But don't feel so down! At least you have some parts now!

 

[Splenyi]

Finally, a water cooler still relies on air to cool things. The radiator (where the warm water is cooled) still relies on air to cool off. Thus the ambient temperature makes no difference as to which method (air vs water) is more effective.

Ah, I said "for the most part" because I thought the water could have made a difference, but apparently not

Oh well, hopefully everything gets here in one piece and I don't have to ship for a replacement and loose the money I saved.

I was going to look for a different case to get which suited a strict description I had in mind:

- Sleek appearance, like the Obsidian 550D and Bitfenix Ghost
- Plenty of room
- All the latest features like removable HDD racks, tooless HD mounts
- Support for a top mounted H100i (just pull or push fan config, not both)
- Ventelation where it counts (I'd prefer none on the side panels or on the rear apart from the rear exhaust fan; makes good turbulent air flow)
- A nice, huge window on the side panel, so I can see my gear (willing to sacrifice sound dampening on that panel for this)
- GOOD cable management
- All black finish, preferably just steel, don't need any aluminium or anything
- If course some USB 3.0
- Mid tower size
- No bowed out side panels, I think its extremely ugly when it's done to the extent of Corsair's Carbide 500R. Just add another centre meter to the thickness of the case and that'll fix the space issue.

But this dream case doesn't exist Lian Li might have it, but, well, all their cases are 50% more expensive then they should be.

Maybe I can design it and hand it over to Bitfenix I'd make one with and without a side panel, like the Shinobi

EDIT: Your 100% correct about the RAM though, should have gone with 2 DIMMs
EDIT AGAIN: I've requested a cancellation of the RAM shipping, I'll change to a 2 DIMM set if it cancels successfully.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Fractal R4? You rejected it last time for being too plain, but this one has a window!

 

[Splenyi]

Wow, I can't believe I rejected that. I suppose I never looked at the white windowed version because I don't like white cases. But the window is nice, it shows just what it should. I've seen in some cases how it goes all the way down to the PSU, which is weird. I would definitely remove that entire top HDD mount, put my 1TB drive in the bottom and a latter storage drive (for backup, like a WD Green) in there too. My SSD could go under that, or if I need another HDD in there, I could just velcro the SSD to the other side of the case, always wanted to do that

Looks like it's the 550D's contender. The thing I like more about the 550D is that instead of having extra 3.5 inch mounting space (like the R4), it has more 5.25 inch mounts, which I think would be more handy. I don't care for the 550D's 8th PCI slot, I'm only going to have 1 GPU and maybe a few other little chips if I felt like it, or I managed to get some cheaply. The cable routing grommets (I think that's what they are) in the R4 are sized and spaced better than the 550D in my opinion, they are where they need to be. And seems to be plenty of room for a H100i in either of these cases.

On that website I use, they both hit about the same price point too. I just hate white cases, much rather black or a dark grey.

I'm suspecting the Fractal Design's performance to be slightly better than Corsair's case though, they've been around longer, so I guess it's natural to assume they know what they are doing a little better.

I got a question for the R4 though; what's the point of that 8th PCI slot hanging over the side?

And another question not related to cases; why is Corsair's platinum memory so darn expensive?! Is it just the Corsair Link feature? EDIT: Dominator Platinum to be precise.