New PC - Suggestions?

[VipertheSniper]

Well I'm in the market for a new PC this is what I've thought of:

1 x
CPU Cooler
Thermaltake P0539 ISGC-300
775, AM2, AM2+, 1366, 1156, AM3, 1155, 16 dB(A), 99,1 m³/h, alle Modelle
€ 49,99*

1 x
Graphicscard AMD Radeon HD 6000
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6970
AMD Radeon HD 6970, 2048 MB, 256 Bit, PCIe 2.0 x16
€ 299,-*

1 x
CPU Sockel AM3
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
6x 3200 MHz, 6x 512 kByte, 6144 kByte, Thuban
€ 169,90*

1 x
PSU
Cooler Master Silent Pro M700
700 Watt, ATX 2.03, EPS, ATX12V 2.3, 9 Stecker, 5 Stecker
€ 112,90*

1 x
Midi Tower
LanCool PC-K59
3x 5,25" extern, 6x 3,5" intern, 4x 2,5" intern, ATX
€ 79,90*

2 x
Solid State Drive 2,5 Zoll SATA
ADATA S599 2,5" SSD 64 GB
64 GB, 280 / 270 MB/s, € 1,51*
€ 96,90*
x2 = € 193,80*

1 x
Mainboards Sockel AM3
GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H
AMD 880G, ATX, onboard, 2x PCIe 2.0 x16, AM3
€ 104,90*

1 x
HDD 3,5 Zoll SATA
Western Digital WD1502FAEX 1,5 TB
1.500 GB, -/64/7200, € 0,08*, Serial ATA/600
€ 124,90*

1 x
RAM DDR3-1333
Corsair DIMM 8 GB DDR3-1333 Kit
8192 MB, CL9 9-9-24, 2, PC3 10600
€ 69,90*

1x Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
84,90€

---------------------------

1290,09 €


Harddisks I can probably get cheaper if I get'em shipped from Germany, because since this year there's a "copyright fee" on harddisks in Austria.

[the_tyrant]

why an 880g if you have a video card?

[Feuer Frei!]

1st question, to answer your question:
What are you going to be doing on it?
A PC Buyer's starting point. Before ANYTHING else.

[Skybird]

20 bucks more, and you can already get an i5 2500 (I did). That new 1155 socket range of stuff leaves the Phenoms in the dust. There is no excuse to buy AMD in the price segment between 150 and 200 Euros. There is also no excuse currently to buy AMD in the higher price segments. THeir six core designs are no match for the latest by Intel with 4 cores.

That 20 bucks you can save with the CPU cooler - you can get reasonable and silent coolers for 20-30 Euros.

300 bucks for a gfx card is aleady hefty, for my taste. I would not spend more than 200 for gfx.

Note that in games that are CPU-heavy (sims), you benefit more from a better CPU than GFX. FS9 and FSX are such sims, for example.

The PSU is a bit too less for a little bit much money, I think. My Chieftech tower came with a Nitrox 750W PSU - and it is more silent than the additional 12 cm ventilator I added to the tower. I payed a tower-PSU combo, but when I substract the costs for the tower, than I have payed around 70 Euros for the PSU, I think. And believe me - it is so silent that on the first day I was almost irritated.

I would consider to not buy one 8 GB bar, but 4 2 GB bars for 20 bucks per item. It costs you 10 bucks more, but if it breaks, than oyu have to replace just one bar for 20 Euros. With your choice you need to write off 70 bucks for the 8 GB bar. Ask your dealer for no-name bars and their origin - noname sometimes is branded RAM by Infinion, Kingston and other labels like that.

Don'T know that tower you mention, but I generally recommend not to save here, but to buy one without thin walls, but a heavy and solid one with good vent opening - the thicker metal makes it quieter, and normally you do not need additional ventilators to pumpo cool air into it, one ventilator additonal to the PSU to get the hot air out usually is sufficient. Again, the In tel are not as power-hungry and do not get as warm as the AMDs. - It is my second Chieftech I just have bought, and I did not regret to have bought any of the two. Heavy like a tank.

Do research on your mainboard, it'S chipset and especially stability of it's BIOS. Cannot comment on AMD mainboards, but for Intels I say Asus.

In general I think your planned systen above is way too expensive. You probably could get something comparable or better for 200-300 Euros less. Check for a good local dealer. Mine does business in a place that looks absolutely chaotic, but he knows his stuff and offers me good deals.

[VipertheSniper]

It's gonna be a gaming rig, if that wasn't all too clear...

Good tip on the i5-2500, that thing is probably the best bang for the buck atm.
Does anybody know whats the difference between the 2500K and the 2500, besides 10€ difference pricewise?

About the RAM, that 8GB is a kit, so it's actually 2 sticks, although I can see where one could go with the assumption that it's only one piece.

I have more to write but I'm out of time here... definitely some good suggestions that I'll keep in mind.

Also if anybody knows a nice reasonably priced & silent tower with 2x 2,5" slots for the SSD's let me know.

[Bort]

Originally Posted by VipertheSniper

Does anybody know whats the difference between the 2500K and the 2500, besides 10€ difference pricewise?

The main difference between the 2500 and the 2500K is that the 2500K has a completely unlocked multiplier for overclocking. The 2500 has a "limited" multiplier meaning that you cannot overclock to the same extent and cannot overclock each core individually quite as much.

[JSLTIGER]

Actually with the way overclocking works on the new Sandy Bridge chips, you CANNOT overclock AT ALL without an unlocked multiplier because the bus frequency is now completely fixed. If you ever foresee yourself wanting to overclock (either right away or down the road), stick to a "K" appended chip.

[Bort]

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

Actually with the way overclocking works on the new Sandy Bridge chips, you CANNOT overclock AT ALL without an unlocked multiplier because the bus frequency is now completely fixed. If you ever foresee yourself wanting to overclock (either right away or down the road), stick to a "K" appended chip.

Not exactly true.

[VipertheSniper]

OK I had a little more time now to do some research.

@Skybird: could you specify which Chieftec tower you bought?

Because I couldn't find one with the 750W PSU you mentioned yet. In general towers with PSU's are far and few between.

So here's what I've got so far... don't think I'll overclock this ever so I took the i5-2500

1 x
CPU Fan
Deepcool Iceedge 200U
754, 775, 939, 940, AM2, AM2+, 1156, AM3, 1155, 28,1 dB(A), 67,6 m³/h, alle Modelle
€ 18,99*

1 x
GFX
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 (Vapor-X)
AMD Radeon HD 6950, 2048 MB, 256 Bit, PCIe 2.0 x16
€ 229,55*

1 x
CPU Socket 1155
Intel® Core™ i5-2500
4x 3300 MHz, 4x 256 kByte, 6144 kByte, Sandy Bridge
€ 172,90*

1 x
ATX 750 Watt, CHIEFTEC Nitro BPS-750C
€ 104,90*

1 x
Midi Tower
LanCool PC-K57
3x 5,25" extern, 3x 3,5" intern, 2x 2,5" intern, ATX
€ 64,90*

2 x
Solid State Drive 2,5 Zoll SATA
ADATA S599 2,5" SSD 64 GB
64 GB, 280 / 270 MB/s, € 1,51*
€ 96,90*
x2 = € 193,80*

1 x
Mainboard Socket 1155
ASUS P8P67 R.3.0
Intel® P67 Express, ATX, 2x PCIe 2.0 x16, Crossfire, 1155
€ 142,90*

1 x
HDD 3,5 Zoll SATA
Western Digital WD1502FAEX 1,5 TB
1.500 GB, -/64/7200, Serial ATA/600
€ 124,90*

Corsair XMS3 DIMM Kit 8GB PC3-12800U CL9-9-9-24
€ 83,75*


----------------------

1126,59€

That's about as cheap as it gets, without waiting and not too much shopping for the parts in several stores

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by VipertheSniper

OK I had a little more time now to do some research.

@Skybird: could you specify which Chieftec tower you bought?

http://www.chieftec.eu/index.php?opt...=24&Itemid=251

But the combination with the PSU could have been a shop-specific option. I payed 120 Euros for both, the tower was listed with 50 Euros. The bill does not list the specific item declaration, unfortunately, only general class and manufacturer. Can't tell you which Nitrox PSU it is, but it costed 70 Euros and has 750W (didn'T want that much, but I got the added reserve for free, so to speak). Both things together plus GFX vent and CPU vent and additional 12 cm vent are extremely quiet. I'm pleased.

[Skybird]

The mainboard you should get cheaper. Don't pay more than 120 for it, consider the P8H67. I have the same board. Take care you get the B3 (3rd revision).

The SATA HD looks too expensive to me, save 40-50 euros there.

The RAM also is too expensive, save another 20 bucks there.

I think it is possible to cut the costs for the items you listed by another 70-100 Euros. That is 2-3 brandnew sims/games.

Can't comment on the solid state SATA, don't know what that is , and also no comment on the Radeon - I'm nVidia-owned.

[VipertheSniper]

Now here's something strange: the Mainboard (P8P67) is listed in the store to support DDR3 1600 Rams, yet everywhere else I look maximum listed is DDR3 1333 Ram, so Ram & Mainboard savings here I come... (because with DDR3 1600 it wasn't going to get much cheaper, at most I could've saved 7€ or something, ordering from Poland, no offense, but if there's trouble, I want someone I can talk to in German)

GeIL Value Plus DIMM Kit 8GB PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1333)
64,90€

ASUS P8H67 Rev 3.0, H67
116€

899,94+64,9+116= 1080,84

As I said, the HDD has a copyright fee attached, because the music labels demanded, and politics followed suit. If I get the HDD from Germany, the price including shipping would be 100,74€.

1080,84 - 24,16= 1056,68

I can live with that.

One thing I've time and again forgotten to look into is if the GFX card will fit into the tower... gotta do that now.

Edit: In theory, it should fit...

[Skybird]

From 1300 down to 1050 - not too bad. Try to push it below 1000.

[VipertheSniper]

damn you... I would, but that'd mean ditching some stuff. Also I forgot to list the costs for the OS so the price is actually somewhere around 1140€, if I didn't want the SSD's it'd be easy to go below the 1000€, but those in Raid 0, yummy. Boot times should be pretty much nonexistant.

[Arclight]

Don't go making sacrifices just to hit an arbitrary number.