A friend of mine is leaving the country in a few days to live abroad for a while, on very short notice. He just asked me yesterday to help him buy parts for a build he will do when he gets to his new home. Here are the requirements/constraints:
- He is not really a gamer. He would only do light gaming, if any. His most important need is that he will use the computer to run occasional simulations for his PhD. This will not be the primary use of the machine, but it does set some requirements in terms of CPU power. Other than this, expect fairly mundane use (Internet, emails, and games for his 8 year old kid).
- He wants it to be "quiet and fast" (I know, this is not very helpful, those are his words).
- He probably will NOT do any overclocking, at least not for a while.
- He probably will not build or buy another system for at least 2-3 years, maybe more, so it should be somewhat future proof -- but again, keeping in mind he will no do any hard gaming.
- Since he is leaving in a few days, I don't have time to order the parts online -- I need to get them locally because I cannot wait for shipping to get here. For me, that essentially means Microcenter, either the MD or VA locations, so it places severe constraints on my choices. I am planning on going there on Sunday.
This is only my second build, so I am still a newbie, and not up to date on the new Sandy Bridge processors and associated chipsets and MoBos. I did some furious reading over the past 24 hours but unfortunately given the time constraint and incredibly short notice I was unable to do as much research as I would have liked. So, with this limited information and constrained purchasing options, I came up with the following build:
CPU: Intel i5-2500K ($180. Microcenter doesn't carry the 2500 "non-K", and given the great price on the "K" I figured it is worth it)
MoBo: I am slightly partial to Asus so I had originally selected the P8Z68-V PRO for $210 in spite of the lack of iGPU, mainly because of integrated firewire, and because I am probably going to get a discrete GPU anyway. However, I also looked at Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 because it is $40 cheaper, has integrated GPU *and* firewire, and seems to be a great board, specially if my friend will not overclock. Any feedback on these choices?
RAM: I decided on 4GB of DDR3-1600, I think more or faster RAM would be overkill (any thoughts?). After navigating the QVL lists and comparing to Microcenter offerings I settled on Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3-1600 CL8 (8-8-8-24, 1.65V) for $75. I am assuming this RAM will not have any problems with either of the two boards mentioned above.
Graphics: In spite of the fact that this is not a gaming rig, I have no experience with the iGPU graphics quality of the Z68 chipset, so to be safe I included a discrete "middle of the road" GPU: Sapphire Technology 100323L AMD Radeon HD 6570, for $85, mostly for "future proofing". Still, given that this rig will be used for light gaming at most, do I really need a discrete GPU, or should I just go with the Gigabyte board and integrated graphics? I don't want the graphics to be outdated in 6 months... Since he will be living abroad, getting a graphics card in 3 months is probably not an option. So, if I don't buy one now, he won't have one for a long time.
Storage: Here is where the "fast and quiet" did make a difference: I am including a 60Gb SSD for the OS and key programs, and a separate 1TB HDD for data. I chose the OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SSD ($90) alongside a Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD ($60). Seems like a good balance between speed, storage space and cost.
PSU: I have (and love) a Corsair HX620 -- it is very quiet inside my Antec P180B case, so I decided to go with what I know and get the HX650 for $150. The 650 is probably more power than what he needs, but Microcenter does not carry the lower power versions. Any other good suggestions for quiet (but NOT fanless) PSUs from those available at Microcenter?
Case: Sticking to what I know and like, an Antec P183 case. My friend has seen my Antec P180B and likes it, so i'm playing it safe here. He can run the 2 Antec 120mm tricool fans on low at the top and rear of the case, have adequate cooling, and a fairly quiet system (not completely silent, but I don't think he is looking for silent, just much quieter than his current off-the-shelf jet engine).
CPU cooler: Since this rig will almost certainly not be overclocked (at least for a while) I don't think he needs anything other than the stock Intel HSF. Are they any good? How noisy are they? I have an Ultima 90 with an attached 120mm fan -- would a similar aftermarket cooler and large fan reduce noise significantly, or is the expense not worth it for a system running at stock?
Any red flags, cautions or feedback on the list above?
If my friend can spend more, any suggestions as to where it might be a good idea to upgrade for either "faster" or "quieter" performance?
Thanks in advance for the (very short notice!) help.
- He is not really a gamer. He would only do light gaming, if any. His most important need is that he will use the computer to run occasional simulations for his PhD. This will not be the primary use of the machine, but it does set some requirements in terms of CPU power. Other than this, expect fairly mundane use (Internet, emails, and games for his 8 year old kid).
- He wants it to be "quiet and fast" (I know, this is not very helpful, those are his words).
- He probably will NOT do any overclocking, at least not for a while.
- He probably will not build or buy another system for at least 2-3 years, maybe more, so it should be somewhat future proof -- but again, keeping in mind he will no do any hard gaming.
- Since he is leaving in a few days, I don't have time to order the parts online -- I need to get them locally because I cannot wait for shipping to get here. For me, that essentially means Microcenter, either the MD or VA locations, so it places severe constraints on my choices. I am planning on going there on Sunday.
This is only my second build, so I am still a newbie, and not up to date on the new Sandy Bridge processors and associated chipsets and MoBos. I did some furious reading over the past 24 hours but unfortunately given the time constraint and incredibly short notice I was unable to do as much research as I would have liked. So, with this limited information and constrained purchasing options, I came up with the following build:
CPU: Intel i5-2500K ($180. Microcenter doesn't carry the 2500 "non-K", and given the great price on the "K" I figured it is worth it)
MoBo: I am slightly partial to Asus so I had originally selected the P8Z68-V PRO for $210 in spite of the lack of iGPU, mainly because of integrated firewire, and because I am probably going to get a discrete GPU anyway. However, I also looked at Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 because it is $40 cheaper, has integrated GPU *and* firewire, and seems to be a great board, specially if my friend will not overclock. Any feedback on these choices?
RAM: I decided on 4GB of DDR3-1600, I think more or faster RAM would be overkill (any thoughts?). After navigating the QVL lists and comparing to Microcenter offerings I settled on Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3-1600 CL8 (8-8-8-24, 1.65V) for $75. I am assuming this RAM will not have any problems with either of the two boards mentioned above.
Graphics: In spite of the fact that this is not a gaming rig, I have no experience with the iGPU graphics quality of the Z68 chipset, so to be safe I included a discrete "middle of the road" GPU: Sapphire Technology 100323L AMD Radeon HD 6570, for $85, mostly for "future proofing". Still, given that this rig will be used for light gaming at most, do I really need a discrete GPU, or should I just go with the Gigabyte board and integrated graphics? I don't want the graphics to be outdated in 6 months... Since he will be living abroad, getting a graphics card in 3 months is probably not an option. So, if I don't buy one now, he won't have one for a long time.
Storage: Here is where the "fast and quiet" did make a difference: I am including a 60Gb SSD for the OS and key programs, and a separate 1TB HDD for data. I chose the OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SSD ($90) alongside a Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD ($60). Seems like a good balance between speed, storage space and cost.
PSU: I have (and love) a Corsair HX620 -- it is very quiet inside my Antec P180B case, so I decided to go with what I know and get the HX650 for $150. The 650 is probably more power than what he needs, but Microcenter does not carry the lower power versions. Any other good suggestions for quiet (but NOT fanless) PSUs from those available at Microcenter?
Case: Sticking to what I know and like, an Antec P183 case. My friend has seen my Antec P180B and likes it, so i'm playing it safe here. He can run the 2 Antec 120mm tricool fans on low at the top and rear of the case, have adequate cooling, and a fairly quiet system (not completely silent, but I don't think he is looking for silent, just much quieter than his current off-the-shelf jet engine).
CPU cooler: Since this rig will almost certainly not be overclocked (at least for a while) I don't think he needs anything other than the stock Intel HSF. Are they any good? How noisy are they? I have an Ultima 90 with an attached 120mm fan -- would a similar aftermarket cooler and large fan reduce noise significantly, or is the expense not worth it for a system running at stock?
Any red flags, cautions or feedback on the list above?
If my friend can spend more, any suggestions as to where it might be a good idea to upgrade for either "faster" or "quieter" performance?
Thanks in advance for the (very short notice!) help.
