I want to build a PC

[Quadropheniac90]

Hi everyone. I hope this topic isn't against the rules, I read through them, couldn't find any reason why, so here goes.

 

I want to build a gaming PC, but it will be used for 3d rendering and watching Full HD flicks and Blu-rays as well.

 

I never built a PC before, but I still went out and searched for good components, bearing stuff like sockets and compatibility in mind.

 

Because I know jack sh*t about building PCs, I want to make sure these components will not cause trouble (compatibility issues, bottlenecks cutting down on performance). I also would like to have an indication on what games it could play at most.

 

My list of components:

 

• GFX card: Gigabyte GV-N460OC-1GI
• PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 (Socket 1156)
• Memory: Corsair XMS CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
• SSD (for OSes): OCZ Onyx SATA II 2.5" SSD 32GB
• Blu-ray reader: Lite-On IHOS104
• CPU: Intel Core i7 870
• CPU cooler: Thermalright Venomous X
• Case: Fractal Design Define R3 (White) with 7x Scythe Slip Stream SY1225SL12LM-P for airflow
• Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX (for data, movies, games, etc.)
• Wireless: ICIDU Wireless PCI-Card 300N (because our weird ass glassfiber network would require new cables to go upstairs which I cba to do)
• Extra USB 3.0: MSI Star-USB3

I want to play SP games mostly, do heavy 3d rendering for school and individual projects, and watch Full HD movies. I saw reviews on most components and I see I could overclock my GFX card and CPU with this motherboard and cooling, and play Arkham Asylum on maximum detail on Full HD resolution.

 

So I like the sound of that, but will these components together work or crash to death?

 

I hope I made some sense and if anybody could help me with these questions I'd be very happy.

[Wolf68k]

Might want to double check the PSU to make sure it has enough AMPs on the +12V for the gfx card.

Other than that, it looks good.

[mkey82]

Well, there are no apparent bottlenecks but I guess there is always (albeit minor) potential for compatibility problems.

 

One thing I would like to suggest is an Asus (ases) motherboard, from what I read those usually have the least issues and enough OC potential.

[Quadropheniac90]

@Wolf68k: I didn't quite get that. I saw a review of the PSU and it got a pass in most areas, but I'm not quite sure what you mean by enough AMPs.

 

@mkey82: I checked the Gigabyte MB and it said it was one of the best for overclocking purposes. That and USB 3.0 and Sata 3.0 is a win I think.

 

Thanks for checking the list out guys.

[yoječ]

I think there is not much to change - it's a good PC.

 

But have in mind that with all those fans this PC will be loud as f*ck. I'd say 4 fans (2 on front, 1 on rear and 1 on top) is more than enough.

[d00d]

I'd echo wolf68k. The PC looks well spec'd and I don't see any compatibility problems or bottlenecks. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the PSU. Unfortunately, thats not my best area but if anyone here knows a bit more about them or if you know anyone that might, it'd be a good idea to just get a second opinion on it.

 

The power (watts) is one thing, but it also needs enough current (amps) to reach all the components. All of these figures are related, with the voltage too, as P=IV.

[yoječ]

This PSU is far more than enough.

[anus]

Can't see any compatability issues myself.

 

I'd change the following:

 

Motherboard to a ASUS P7P55D-E Pro mainly for the PLX chip.

 

SSD to a Corsair Nova because it has a higher sequential read speed (195 MB/s vs the Onyx's 125 MB/s)

 

Get a different brand for the blue ray drive as Lite-On is extremely unreliable.

 

CPU cooler to Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme.

 

What's your budget anyway? I can try and see if 1366 is possible.

 

 

[Quadropheniac90]

@Warlord: My budget is 1100 euros. The system now costs 1135 euros and is about as high as I want to go. The reason being I haven't got a good screen and keyboard yet, and I also want to buy Logitech Z-5500 Digital speakers when the time comes.

 

What exactly does the PLX chip do? Because the motherboard I chose gets very nice reviews when it comes to overclocking it seems. I'd like my CPU (and GFX card for that matter) to run somewhat faster than stock speeds, because if I'm paying this much I might as well get the most out of the parts.

 

Thanks for the tips though, I'm gonna make some changes because I don't really want an unrealiable reader, etc.

 

The PSU has 25 A in +12V1 and +12V2, according to this chart: http://www.ocztechnology.com/images/awards...tage_charts.jpg

 

Is that what you guys were referring to with the amperes? I blocked all physics classes out of my head.

 

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

I removed the 2 extra USB 3.0 slots and Wireless card now, because I probably will end up using a wire anyway (if possible, long story).

Edited October 27, 2010 by teun.steenbekkers

[Ryan]

I never understood the Gigabyte logic behind their boards. They make great boards, yet they're the stupidest colors. I mean, who wants a board with a blue PCB and components that are white and baby blue? Like I said, I love Gigabyte, but I'd never buy one of their boards because of the hideous color scheme. I wish they'd just go with something more contemporary such as a black PCB and navy blue, red, gray, ect, components. Would look much better.

 

And like Warlord suggested, if possible, you'd probably be better off with a 1366 socket i7 rather then a 1156 socket i7. More memory bandwidth, better CPU's.

[mkey82]

I had many issues with my Gigabyte board, even though it was top of the line at the time. So I guess I'm kinda biased.

 

If you are looking to cut costs, why not go with and AMD CPU? 1075T performs roughly the same, it's about $50 cheaper and you'd be able to save some money on the board as well.

[yoječ]

1075T will perform comparably in rendering, but it's quite behind i7-870 in games.

 

TBH if you plan to overclock, I'd go with Xeon X3440 CPU. It is just i7-860 with lowered multipler, but it costs noticeably less.

[Quadropheniac90]

Yes but I read that this is mostly used in servers/workstations. I'd like good performance in both games and 3d rendering.

 

I'll check into 1366 because it will be better for future upgrades.

 

EDIT: OK, my specs have now changed to this http://tweakers.net/gallery/380239#tab:inventaris.

 

I hope it's OK to post that link, it basically shows what I am aiming for. I removed the Blu-ray drive for now, since I'm not using a drive atm. My laptop could do without an optical drive kind of.

 

I'm not gonna cut any further into the specs, as in making the cost much higher. I'd like to know if the i7 950 is good though. It seems good.

 

And the memory I chose seems too good to be true almost, price wise.

Edited October 28, 2010 by teun.steenbekkers

[anus]

Sorry for the late reply mate. But a PLX chip is used to provide true SATA III and USB 3.0 support. Put in short, a PLX chip will allow you to go up to the max SATAIII and USB 3.0 speeds.

 

Here's a build from the site you linked to (Tweakers):

 

Case: Coolermaster Elite 370

 

Case fans: 3x Scythe Kaze Maru 140MM

 

3x Scythe Ultra Kaze 120MM

 

PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550W

 

Motherboard: Asus P6X58D-E

 

CPU: i7 930

 

CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D14

 

RAM: Corsair XMS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC12800

 

Video card: Sapphire 6870 1GB

 

HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB SATAIII

 

SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB

 

Monitor: Acer V243HAbd

 

Total: 1258.58 Euros

 

This is the fastest build in the topic. The motherboard supports USB 3.0 and SATA III. It's also got pretty much the fastest SSD there is. The monitor also has a 2ms response time. Oh and it's 1366 .

Edited October 31, 2010 by Warlord.

[Quadropheniac90]

Sorry for the late reply on my behalf this time.

 

I really like that setup, but I made a pretty nice setup on that site as well now, more AMD-style.

 

http://tweakers.net/gallery/380239?inv_id=...#tab:inventaris

 

Too lazy to write down the specs here but I'll give my reasoning behind my choices.

 

1. The case for its awesome airflow (and IMO design like the temperature readouts and fan controllers). The CPU-cooler should fit in there.

2. The motherboard because it has many connections, also future-oriented like 4x USB 3.0. Also, since it'll be my first build, I'm not gonna try OC-ing stuff just yet.

3. Nice and much memory (8GB) and a hexacore CPU from AMD, just because 3D rendering and eventually other apps should be able to benefit from the 6 cores, even if single-threaded performance might be a tad lower than some i7's.

4. Some nice extras like a decent soundcard and optical Blu-ray-drive.

5. 40GB fast SSD and 1TB WD drive.

 

In the future I could add extra drives and maybe a second HD6870.

 

Now the only thing that remains is collecting the cash, which shouldn't be a problem. I'm probably gonna put my TV on my desk and use it as a monitor.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, any comments on this setup (faults or whatever) let me know.

[dog_day_sunrise]

A word of warning- if your Europe based avoid OCZ power supplies. My old one failed within warranty and OCZ wanted me to pay nearly it's value to send it back to them in the states as a warranty repair. f*ck that.

[anus]

The 1366 i7s are much faster than the Phenom IIs. I highly recommend going with 1366 since you can afford it.

[dog_day_sunrise]

The 1366 i7s are much faster than the Phenom IIs. I highly recommend going with 1366 since you can afford it.

Depends if your looking at the x4 or x6 phenoms. The x4's are outclassed by the i7 but the hexacore AMDs offer better power for rendering and encoding. Until Intel release a sensibly priced 6-core processor the 1090T is the best bet for multi-threaded programs- and with more programs coded better for multi-core processors appearing all the time they do offer better all-round performance than the equivalently priced i7's.

 

Plus 1366 motherboards are absurdly expensive.

[Quadropheniac90]

Well yeah, that was my reasoning. The highest priority will be design work like rendering and the extra cores will help.

 

The second highest priority is gaming, and I doubt the 1090T will be a bottleneck when gaming. Hell, after I finish the build in January I'm gonna enjoy the system, and the upgrade after that will probably be an extra GFX card, either a 6870 or a better one, so then it'll be a beast I think.

 

It'd be nice if I got at least a goddamned game bundled with the card...

 

Only thing I'm fearing if the CPU cooler will fit. I'm not quite willing to settle for a smaller cooler, nor do I want to get another case because this one has temperature readouts, good airflow according to many reviews, and I just love the design.

[yoječ]

Don't worry about the cooler, it will fit perfectly.