Comments and suggestions on this build

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Phrantic

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Hi, good to see this place is still running after I went here for help on my new build at the time - three years ago.

Because my current pc is getting a bit lazy and there are all sorts of things wrong with it, I'm looking to upgrade. The pc should be optimised for the following tasks:
- Gaming in 1920x1200
- Photo editing (Photoshop CS, 21 megapixel RAW files)
- Occasional video editing (1080p)

I am not planning to overclock and I'm only planning to be using two fans - one front fan and a rear PSU fan. As such, I don't want my stuff running TOO hot, and I don't want my fans running TOO loud. I suppose you can't have both - but I'd rather have it silent than cool.

The budget is flexible. The build below is 751 euros but does not include a case and peripherals like an optical drive. I could put in some more but only if it's really worth it.

So here's what I had in mind. I'm currently running an Intel platform with a Nvidia graphics card, so I'm looking to change it around a bit!

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (AM3) - 154 euros
Going by benchmarks, I found this processor to top any other processor - AMD or Intel - for the money.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 - 107 euros
Torn between this one and its cheaper 770 sibling, but I read that the 790 chipset is worth the price difference.

Memory: Corsair XMS3 6 GB Triple Channel DDR3-12800 119 euros
I want my memory to be future proof, and DDR3 seems the way to go. I don't need 6 GB but this seems like a pretty good deal.

Graphics card: Club3D HD5850 1 GB - 243 euros
The HD5850 seems to be the best bang for buck card on the planet as we speak. I don't intend on running Crossfire so I think this one will be adequate. However, it'll need to run games on 1920x1200 so I guess I will need memory.

Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1 TB - 60 euros
Not too fussed about a hard drive. I don't RAID or require anything else but good speed. I don't even need 1 TB - but at this price you seem to get the extra space for free.

Seasonic S12II-500 - 67 euros
I believe these are really stable things. I guess 350 to 400 Watt will be enough but again, if that saves me only a fiver I don't really see the point.

Can anyone recommend me a good case to go with it? I want it to have good dampening, have space for a 120mm front fan and I want it to look discreet. I'll only ever use one hard drive and one optical drive. It will have to hold an extra sound card though.

Comments greatly appreciated. :)
 
Not sure what benchmarks you're looking at, but i7s destroy phenom IIs in benches. Though they cost a bit more.

Everything looks good though, personally I'd just get a 955 or 945 and overclock it. But everything else looks good.
 
dirkpitt45 said:
Not sure what benchmarks you're looking at, but i7s destroy phenom IIs in benches. Though they cost a bit more.

Everything looks good though, personally I'd just get a 955 or 945 and overclock it. But everything else looks good.
Click to expand...

He's right as its bang for buck as he said.

Unless youre really into audio, most onboard sound cards are more than adequate.

As per the case, honestly thats usually personal choice, whats your budget?
 
dirkpitt45 said:
Not sure what benchmarks you're looking at, but i7s destroy phenom IIs in benches. Though they cost a bit more.

Everything looks good though, personally I'd just get a 955 or 945 and overclock it. But everything else looks good.
Click to expand...
Like I said, I'm not into overclocking. Don't want to have to bother with timings, voltages and temperatures. I take it the 945/955/965 all have the same chips but the ones that made the 965 came out better in stress tests than the other cpu's? In which case spending a few extra tenners on a cpu is value to me.

I thought the difference between the i7's and the phenom II's weren't significant enough to go for a cpu 50% more expensive, unless you can prove me otherwise? I would also have to get an Intel board...

patonb said:
He's right as its bang for buck as he said.

Unless youre really into audio, most onboard sound cards are more than adequate.

As per the case, honestly thats usually personal choice, whats your budget?
Click to expand...
I realise it is personal choice, but case information is meagre and the only thing I can usually judge is appearance. What I'm interested in is sound damping, heat circulation and robustness. I want to spend under 75 euros for a case.

Like I said, I have a Club3D Theatron DD that'll be moving to my new case, so I'm double set for 7.1 audio :) I was *thinking* of getting a big tower this time around, to stimulate airflow and to make it easier for myself to maintain and clean the computer. Can someone get that idea out of my head?
 
"Big" towers are good, especially if you want it pretty.

Where abouts are you, or where are you buying from... I don't know any European online shops to browse for cases...

But the Antec 300 is a nice case. Has a 140mm top fan to suck up heat. And can have 2 front fans added. Its under you budget... well in the States it is.

Something like that intrest you?
 
Since nobody else has picked it up yet, the original set of ram you posted is triple channel. I mean you could use this set of ram, but it comes in 3x2gb modules, so you would only use two of them in dual channel, and the other single. The reason for these sets is the LGA1366 or i7 socket uses triple over dual channel because its replacement of the fsb. You need a traditional dual channel kit which the i7/i5 or LGA1156 socket uses. And since you will only need 4gb grab a set of GSKILL ECO or ripjaws in 1600mhz. But since your not overclocking the OCZ platinums are great since they come at low timings already.

As for a case the antec sonata cases are also pretty good in terms of quiet performance. Also if you could grab a antec NSK series case that would be great. The one that comes with the 430w earthwatts power supply is very good since this is made by seasonic, and the cases are very good quality.
 
Thanks for the comments! Considering the cases mentioned - I do like the Antec cases since I currently have an Antec Solo that is good quality.

As for the PSU - I'm sure it will suffice, really. I rarely go over 300W with my power and manufacturers are generous with their minimum requirements for logical reasons.

baron5 said:
Since nobody else has picked it up yet, the original set of ram you posted is triple channel. I mean you could use this set of ram, but it comes in 3x2gb modules, so you would only use two of them in dual channel, and the other single. The reason for these sets is the LGA1366 or i7 socket uses triple over dual channel because its replacement of the fsb. You need a traditional dual channel kit which the i7/i5 or LGA1156 socket uses. And since you will only need 4gb grab a set of GSKILL ECO or ripjaws in 1600mhz. But since your not overclocking the OCZ platinums are great since they come at low timings already.

As for a case the antec sonata cases are also pretty good in terms of quiet performance. Also if you could grab a antec NSK series case that would be great. The one that comes with the 430w earthwatts power supply is very good since this is made by seasonic, and the cases are very good quality.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the very useful comment. I had noticed it was triple channel, but figured I would just get the speed of dual channel with a 2 GB bonus. The OCZ platinums look good, and have G.Skill in my current build which is fine but I'd have to order it from the States as I did back then (to who asked - I live in the Netherlands)
 
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