Thoughts required on a new build

[splat_ed]

Hi everyone, I could do with some pointers on a new build. But first some notes...

I currently live quite far away from any really decent computer shops and also do not have a card to use to order online. (I moved to Japan end of last year and so my card is in £... very poor exchange rate ATM)
Net result... cash only and okay-ish selection of parts (see www.biccamera.com for a rough idea, in Japanese)

So, instead of asking for specifics, I'm looking for broad brushstrokes. (Although Gigabyte are very-well represented...)

Rough budget : approx 160,000 yen (think about $1300-1500) but cheaper will be better at the moment
Usage : I use a netbook now for internet etc, this will be mostly games. The main offenders will be Dawn Of War II, WoW, Fallout 3, BloodBowl. Everything else is older stuff (Day of the Tentacle anyone!).

Resolution/Graphics : I'd like reasonable quality, will be using an old 19" TV with HDMI input (came with my apartment). Will be buying a decent monitor in the future.

I have no parts to recycle, and not fussed about which platform (Intel V AMD, nVidia V ATI etc).

An ideal will be something that can run the older stuff extremely well (possibly intergrated graphics) which I can then upgrade in the nearish future with a decent graphics card or two.

Possible future would be to swap this out into an HTPC and build really good gaming machine...

Here are the parts I'm pretty certain on:
Case = Antec P900
Blu-ray = Pioneer BRD-S03J
OS = Windows 7 64bit Ultimate (so I can get the English Language pack)
Memory = 4 or 6GB depending on platform

I've mostly looked at Intel i5-750 or i7-820 but not sure about which motherboard (H57 or P55). Alternatively (and more expensively) is the i7-920 with X58. In both cases I'd need a graphics card...
Or H57 + i5-6?? which means I wouldn't need the graphics card to start with... (cheaper in the short term). How well would this run the above games (average quality, 1024x768 or possibly the next step up)?

Don't know much about AMD now. Last AMD I had was a Slot A 😀

I know this is very vague, it's been a while since I really followed tech news so I'm out-of-touch and the more I read, the more confused I seem to get.
Many thanks to the community for any help 😀

 

[splat_ed]

After a bit more reading around this, I've had a couple more thoughts

Gigabyte H57M-USB3
Intel i5-670

The idea with this is to stick with the onboard graphics for a while. I can live with lower resolutions/quality for some games. Upgrade with a single GPU later on...

Is there any benefit of the i5-670 over the i5-661? The price difference is about 10,000 yen ($100).

Now to look into the AMD side of things...

 

[mfenn]

After a bit more reading around this, I've had a couple more thoughts

Gigabyte H57M-USB3
Intel i5-670

The idea with this is to stick with the onboard graphics for a while. I can live with lower resolutions/quality for some games. Upgrade with a single GPU later on...

Is there any benefit of the i5-670 over the i5-661? The price difference is about 10,000 yen ($100).

Now to look into the AMD side of things...

Don't plan on running any sort of newer games with the integrated GPU.

Also, the higher-end Core i5 dual cores are really bad value for money. The i5 661 and the i5 750 (quad-core) are the same price! For the same price as that i5 670, you could get an i7 860! If you want to go dual-core, then go with the $130 i3 530.

Grab an i5 750 ($200) or an i3 530 ($130) depending on your budget. You should definitely go with cheap P55 and get a discrete GPU like a Radeon HD 5670 (~$100).

 

[klocwerk]

Don't plan on running any sort of newer games with the integrated GPU.

Also, the higher-end Core i5 dual cores are really bad value for money. The i5 661 and the i5 750 (quad-core) are the same price! For the same price as that i5 670, you could get an i7 860! If you want to go dual-core, then go with the $130 i3 530.

Grab an i5 750 ($200) or an i3 530 ($130) depending on your budget. You should definitely go with cheap P55 and get a discrete GPU like a Radeon HD 5670 (~$100).

Seconded.

 

[thecrecarc]

I fully agree with the above about integrated graphics.

After some comparing on your linked website, with the condition that I do not read any Japanese at all, I have come up with this.

CPU: Core i5 750 http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0735858210485 22,880

Mobo: GA-P55-USB3 http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4997401307127 15,981

RAM: Corsair DDR3 1333, 4gb http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0843591005142 14,180

GPU: 5770 1gb http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4988755134507 19,800

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0843591000369 17,800

Total: 90,641

By whatever Case, OS, and other accessories as you want and prefer.

 

[mfenn]

I fully agree with the above about integrated graphics.

After some comparing on your linked website, with the condition that I do not read any Japanese at all, I have come up with this.

CPU: Core i5 750 http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0735858210485 22,880

Mobo: GA-P55-USB3 http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4997401307127 15,981

RAM: Corsair DDR3 1333, 4gb http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0843591005142 14,180

GPU: 5770 1gb http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4988755134507 19,800

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0843591000369 17,800

Total: 90,641

By whatever Case, OS, and other accessories as you want and prefer.

This looks good.

OP, don't forget the HDD and Optical drives!

 

[M0RPH]

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=0843591000369 17,800

Why are you recommending a 750W psu?? That boggles my mind.

OP, look for a 400-500W power supply at most.

 

[mfenn]

Why are you recommending a 750W psu?? That boggles my mind.

OP, look for a 400-500W power supply at most.

Got to remember that the OP is limited in his selection of vendors. I agree that a Corsair 750 is overkill, but his choices may be limited. You try navigating the BIC Camera website. 😛

That being said, if you want to dive in and find a lower wattage PSU on that site; I tip my hat to you!

 

[splat_ed]

I have trouble with that website as well (can't read much Japanese yet) 😀

I've been getting confused with all the variations here, which need graphics cards, which don't etc.

Case, HDD, etc are quite easy. Going for a P900 Antec case, HDD will be a 1TB (They do a deal for HDD + OS). SSD is on the list for the first upgrade.
PSU: They do a 450W Energex PSU which is what I was originally looking at.
And blu-ray/DVD shouldn't be too hard to narrow down.

A couple of quick questions though:
You've put DDR3-1333 Ram down. Would the Corsair DDR3-1666 be better? (It's still within budget)

Also, with regards to integrated graphics. My previous PC that I built (HTPC with integrated Geforce 9300) would happily play all the games I threw at it, just not at high quality. Are the i3/i5 integrated graphics worse then that?

Again thanks from this community. I'll most likely go for the recommended above. These other questions are now more for curiosity...

 

[mfenn]

I have trouble with that website as well (can't read much Japanese yet) 😀

I've been getting confused with all the variations here, which need graphics cards, which don't etc.

Case, HDD, etc are quite easy. Going for a P900 Antec case, HDD will be a 1TB (They do a deal for HDD + OS). SSD is on the list for the first upgrade.
PSU: They do a 450W Energex PSU which is what I was originally looking at.
And blu-ray/DVD shouldn't be too hard to narrow down.

A couple of quick questions though:
You've put DDR3-1333 Ram down. Would the Corsair DDR3-1666 be better? (It's still within budget)

Also, with regards to integrated graphics. My previous PC that I built (HTPC with integrated Geforce 9300) would happily play all the games I threw at it, just not at high quality. Are the i3/i5 integrated graphics worse then that?

Again thanks from this community. I'll most likely go for the recommended above. These other questions are now more for curiosity...

Never heard of Energex, so I can't comment on the quality (or lack thereof).

DDR3 1600 is fine if you're willing to pay for it.

A 5770 is probably close to an order of magnitude faster than the Intel HD Graphics. The HD graphics will play games at low quality, but your budget allows you to get a much better CPU than a dual-core Core i3/i5. The better CPUs don't come with integrated graphics anyway (mostly because Intel figures that nobody who's buying a quad-core will want an IGP).

 

[M0RPH]

Also, with regards to integrated graphics. My previous PC that I built (HTPC with integrated Geforce 9300) would happily play all the games I threw at it, just not at high quality. Are the i3/i5 integrated graphics worse then that?

Again thanks from this community. I'll most likely go for the recommended above. These other questions are now more for curiosity...

I believe the integrated Intel HD graphics is about on par with the Geforce 9300. But if you go with the i5 750 recommended above you will need a video card, there's no integrated graphics in the 750 or in the motherboard he recommended.

 

[splat_ed]

I've now got everything sorted... here is the build I'm looking at and will order once I've been paid (end of month) unless someone here shouts "STOP! You fool..." 😛

Case : Antec P182 (I like this style...)
PSU : Enermax 425W (Modular, and I've used them before)
MB : Gigabyte GB-P55A-UD4
(The -USB3 variant above puts it's second PCI-E slot into 4x mode, this one has 8x mode... in case I decide on Crossfire later. There's a few other minor changes, but nothing that I could see having an impact. I lose one PCI slot, gain a couple of USB slots - 14? Who needs 14? - and a couple of other things)
CPU : Intel i5-750
Memory : Corsair DDR3-1666 4GB (2x2GB)
HDD : Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000.c 1TB
(This is the biggest worry, I remember a time when these were known as Deathstar... but it's part of a deal. This + cheaper OS)
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
(Need Ultimate so I can change language packs or at least that's what I've read. Can anyone confirm?)
Graphics : PowerColor HD5770 1GB

Total cost : 151668 yen (including P&P (free), COD charge and tax)

I'm sure the eagle-eyed have already spotted the omission of any optical drives. I have an external USB DVD drive that will suffice until the following month. That way I can afford this by the end of this month.

And even better, I can order this from that site. They do COD, even for orders this large 😀 It just costs an additional 500 yen (approx $5)

The only other stuff I need is a keyboard/mouse and wireless card. The wireless is not important yet (can easily run a wire for the moment) and I'll get a cheap k/b / mouse to tide me over.

So again thanks all for the help earlier. Could you give it a once-over to make sure I've not done anything stupid, and then I'll be gaming again for the first time in nearly 7 months.

 

[mfenn]

I've now got everything sorted... here is the build I'm looking at and will order once I've been paid (end of month) unless someone here shouts "STOP! You fool..." 😛

Case : Antec P182 (I like this style...)
PSU : Enermax 425W (Modular, and I've used them before)
MB : Gigabyte GB-P55A-UD4
(The -USB3 variant above puts it's second PCI-E slot into 4x mode, this one has 8x mode... in case I decide on Crossfire later. There's a few other minor changes, but nothing that I could see having an impact. I lose one PCI slot, gain a couple of USB slots - 14? Who needs 14? - and a couple of other things)
CPU : Intel i5-750
Memory : Corsair DDR3-1666 4GB (2x2GB)
HDD : Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000.c 1TB
(This is the biggest worry, I remember a time when these were known as Deathstar... but it's part of a deal. This + cheaper OS)
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
(Need Ultimate so I can change language packs or at least that's what I've read. Can anyone confirm?)
Graphics : PowerColor HD5770 1GB

Total cost : 151668 yen (including P&P (free), COD charge and tax)

I'm sure the eagle-eyed have already spotted the omission of any optical drives. I have an external USB DVD drive that will suffice until the following month. That way I can afford this by the end of this month.

And even better, I can order this from that site. They do COD, even for orders this large 😀 It just costs an additional 500 yen (approx $5)

The only other stuff I need is a keyboard/mouse and wireless card. The wireless is not important yet (can easily run a wire for the moment) and I'll get a cheap k/b / mouse to tide me over.

So again thanks all for the help earlier. Could you give it a once-over to make sure I've not done anything stupid, and then I'll be gaming again for the first time in nearly 7 months.

That all looks good. Hitachi drives have been fine for a while. They're not the fastest drive around, but are perfectly serviceable. And you are correct that you need the Ultimate version of Windows 7 in order to switch language packs.

Everything looks good. I'm sure you will enjoy!

 

[splat_ed]

I've been reading in the Cases & Cooling section, as well as reviews on after-market coolers. Do you think this will be needed or will the stock cooler suffice? It's unlikely I'll be doing any overclocking in the near future.

Thanks again

UPDATE: After a bit more reading, it seems quite mixed reviews. I'll probably add a Scythe to my order. Looking at the Grand Kama, Big Shuriken, Kabuto, Samurai ZZ and Katana 3...