New Build Questions

[MindoverMaster]

That was due to my northbridge overheating. It is popularly known to run hot. And this was on an ITX board. Even more compressed. It was not due to anything else but the northbridge.

Any board can cause an overheating issue. IMHO, it's not the said board that overheats, it is personal application.

 

[keshialee]

The 1st mobo is the most expensive and it fully supports Nvidia SLI or AMD CrossFireX if your ever thinking of using multiple video cards. It will also have a few extra overclocking options in the bios.

The second mobo only supports AMD's CrossfireX, you've select a Nvidia GTX 560Ti video card so if your ever going to buy a second GTX 560Ti don't buy this mobo.

The third mobo is a mATX mobo, all the components have been compacted together to fit on the board, this can cause heat issues. Because it's smaller some of the features the other boards have been eliminated (less slots so SLI and CrossFireX are not supported).

If you can afford it I would go with the 1st Asus mobo.

Thank you for clarifying all off that, much appreciated. Will go with the first one.

So how is the rest looking with that mobo?

And whilst I'm spending money, should I get any cooling parts?

 

[Slaymate]

I would go with DDR3 1600 MHz ram, look at a set of G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB)

As for cooling, are you planning on overclocking? At stock speeds the factory heatsink is fine and you can always upgrade the cooling later. If you are wanting to overclock then what speed are you hoping to reach? How much money are you willing to spend?

 

[keshialee]

I would go with DDR3 1600 MHz ram, look at a set of G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB)

As for cooling, are you planning on overclocking? At stock speeds the factory heatsink is fine and you can always upgrade the cooling later. If you are wanting to overclock then what speed are you hoping to reach? How much money are you willing to spend?

I have given myself a ball park figure of around $1000. If I had done a little research before hand I could of had it at up around $2500 before buying my current desktop, but ah well hindsight is a marvellous thing isn't it.


I'll give myself a little leeway to go over that if really necessary, for example getting that better mobo. At present with everything but the case and psu I am sitting at around $970, I could possibly wait till HDD prices go down but to be honest patience is not my best virtue.


My main cost concern is getting it built, I've emailed a few locals and the lowest price I have so far to build with parts I supply is $200 and I just keep thinking to myself that's $200 I could add to getting a better video card! Mind you, after looking around a bit at some video's & info I think that maybe I could actually manage it. Might have to see if I can find an old tower somewhere so I can pull it apart and try and put it back together before trying with all the new parts though.


As for your question in regards to over-clocking... possibly at some stage, but not until I completely understand what it is all about so that I don't go and wreck anything. So I will look at upgrading/adding what I need to when the time comes. I want to keep cost as low as possible but without sacrificing quality if you get what I mean.

 

[Slaymate]

It's really pretty easy to assemble the parts yourself, here's a link that might help you out

The animated guide to Building a PC. Learn to build a PC from scratch with PCitYourself!

 

[keshialee]

So when picking the RAM, what does the CAS Latency mean?

Looking (here)

I'd be right thinking a 500w or so PSU at the minute? Now I just need to pick out a case and all set to go. What do I look for in regards to cases? Anything in specific that I should look for?

PSU (here)

Case Ideas (here) (here) & (here). Since I am already running in the red price wise at the minute, if it is not going to be a major performance/heating factor in choosing the case then I'd rather save as much money as 'quaility wise' possible.

Thanks for that link as well... that makes it look simple enough.

 

[Slaymate]

I would go with this memory on your budget.

G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 RAM - 9-9-9-24-2N (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL) | Techbuy Australia

The higher the MHz value the faster the memory is. 1600 MHz is faster than 1333 MHz.
The lower the latency the faster the memory. 8-8-8 is faster than 9-9-9
Sometimes you'll see a fourth number listed, this will be the Command Rate. 1 is faster than 2.

A few years ago computers were all memory bandwidth hungry. Speeding up your memory offered some serious performance increases. But in the present day with the memory controller built into the cpu most of the bottlenecks have been removed and memory bandwidth isn't really a issue anymore, especially with the Intel i5 and i7 cpu's. In my opinion 1600 MHz memory is the sweetspot, it will give most systems a small boost at a reasonable price. Most systems can even handle running even faster memory like 1866 MHz but your really not going to notice the difference unless your benchmarking for bragging rights. And then you'll get a better cpu overclock with 1600 MHz memory so the faster memory is really pointless. When considering the latencies your really not going to notice the difference between 8-8-8 and 9-9-9 unless your into the benchmark scene and then the difference is really minimal. For gaming and regular use, 9-9-9 is all you'll need. The Command Rate, all the memory I've tested with a 2 rating would run at a rate of 1 without any problems. And once again you won't notice a difference between 1 or 2 when gaming or with normal usage.

As for a power supply, I would go with a 600 or 650 watt unit. Think of it like a car, the speed limit is 70 so do you want a car that maxes out at 70 or do you want one that will cruise comfortably at 70. A 600-650 watt unit should keep your system running in the most efficient power zone. And don't buy a cheap power supply. The power supply is the heart of the system, it supplies power to every component in the system. A dirty or wavy signal can lead to stability issues and I've seen more than one power supply pop and take out other components with it.

Antec 650W Basiq Series - ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V, 120mm Fan (0-761345-10556-9) | Techbuy Australia

OCZ 650W ZS Series - ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V, 135mm Fan, Non-Modular, 80PLUS Bronze Certified (OCZ-ZS650) | Techbuy Australia

Antec 650W Green EarthWatts - ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V, 120mm Fan, 80 PLUS Bronze Certified, SLI Ready (0-761345-27655-9) | Techbuy Australia

 

[keshialee]

Ok, thanks for that, its all becoming as clear as mud for me here. Ha, no really, all the information has been great thank you, its just so much to take in all in a few days.

So rounding up before I hit the purchase button... Here's my list.


Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core CPU (3.30GHz - 3.70GHz Turbo, 850-1100MHz GPU) - LGA1155, 1333MHz, 5.0 GT/s DMI, 6MB Cache, 32nm, 95W $252.00 (Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core CPU (3.30GHz - 3.70GHz Turbo (BX80623I52500K) | Techbuy Australia)

EVGA GeForce GTX560TI - 1GB GDDR5 - 900MHz, 4212MHz), 256-bit, 2xDVI, 1xMini-HDMI, PCI-Ex16 v2.0, Fansink - Superclocked $320.55 (EVGA GeForce GTX560TI - 1GB GDDR5 - 900MHz, 4212MHz) (01G-P3-1563-KR) | Techbuy Australia)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - DVD, 64-Bit - OEM, Includes Service Pack 1 (SP1) $119.70 (Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - DVD, 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02153(W7HP64S3)) | Techbuy Australia)

Western Digital 1000GB (1TB) 7200rpm Serial ATA-III-600 HDD w. 64MB Cache (WD1002FAEX) Caviar Black $213.80 (Western Digital 1000GB (1TB) 7200rpm Serial ATA-III-600 HDD w. 64MB (WD1002FAEX) | Techbuy Australia)

ASUS P8Z68-V Motherboard, LGA1155, Z68 (B3 Stepping), 4xDDR3-2200, 2xPCI-Ex16 v2.0, 2xSATA-III, 4xSATA-II, 1xeSATA-II, 1xGigLAN, 8Chl-HD, USB3.0, VGA, DVI, HDMI, ATX $213.15 (ASUS P8Z68-V Motherboard | Techbuy Australia)

G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 RAM - 9-9-9-24-2N - Ripjaws-X $58.95 (G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 RAM - 9-9-9-24-2N (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL) | Techbuy Australia)

Antec 650W Green EarthWatts - ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V, 120mm Fan, 80 PLUS Bronze Certified, SLI Ready, 7x SATA, 2x PCI-E 6+2-pin $112.60 (Antec 650W Green EarthWatts - ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V, 120mm Fan, 80 PLUS Bronze Certified, SLI Ready (0-761345-27655-9) | Techbuy Australia)

CoolerMaster HAF 932 Advanced Tower Case - NO PSU, Black, 2xUSB3.0(Via Adapter), 4xUSB2.0, 1xFirewire, 1xeSATA, 1xAudio, Transparent Side Window, 1x230mm Red LED Fan, 1x230mm Fan, ATX/E-ATX $184.35 (CoolerMaster HAF 932 Advanced Tower Case - NO PSU, Black (RC-932-KKN5) | Techbuy Australia)

Granted that I could get a few of those parts else where for cheaper, but with extra shipping costs included it works out cheaper to go all from the one store even if some parts are a little more expensive.

And, on a side note I have thought of a CD drive, but will get that locally rather than online.

So for a last double check, is that all good to go? Gone a tad over budget but oh well.

Oh, and another question... am I going to have to buy any screws or anything? Or will the parts that need them come with them? (I should seriously consider changing my username to 'clueless )

 

[Roark]

Two things I'd consider if you want to cut some cost:
1) 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3, real world performance isn't going to be much different from the WD Caviar Black and its ~$80 cheaper.
2) If you like the Cooler Master HAF series check out the HAF 922, or my personal favorite the Corsair Carbide 400R.

 

[MindoverMaster]

HAF 922 fan here. It has superb cooling, with 2 x 200mm fans, and one 120mm fan. Has awesome wire management, too.