Advice on new build (work/light gaming)

Hi all,

looking for some advice on a new PC, mainly for work (mainly Java development) but that I can use for games too. I'd like to be able to play relatively up-to-date games (CoD: BC, Starcraft 2), but I'd be quite happy with relatively low graphics settings.

Here's a system I specced out on Scan (mostly from Today Only). I'd appreciate any advice. I'd be particularly interested in hearing some first hand experience on the noise of the case/PSU/cooler fans if anyone has these components. Always looking to save a few quid too, so if anyone knows of cheaper alternatives I'd appreciate it.

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked OEM
£172.79

GPU: 1GB EVGA GTX 460 SC Super Clocked
£136.79

RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 Classic DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), x2
£67.49


Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3
£98.39

PSU: 650W Antec TruePower New, Modular
£59.98

HDD:
1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM £40.78

Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
£18.95

Thermal paste: Thermalright Chill Factor 3
£5.15

Blu-Ray/DVD player
Samsung SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BD-ROM & DVDRW
£46.98

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit OEM £75.68

Total:
£722.98

Some thoughts:
I feel like I may be cheaping out on the CPU. The 2500K seems to be generally the best bang/buck but I did find one compiler benchmark in which the 2600 is significantly faster. Not sure I can justify an extra £80 for this one use-case though.
Similarly, not sure about the GPU but the next step up in the Nvidia range is ~£100 more (I need to go Nvidia - AMD's Linux drivers have caused me nothing but problems in the past :-)). As I said, I'm not all that fussed about eye-candy so I think the 460 should do the job
8GB of RAM may be OTT, but with it being so cheap/GB I thought I might as well

Thanks in advance,
Temp

A Phenom II X6 would be worth looking at TBH and the AM3 motherboards are cheaper too.

ATI linux drivers are a LOT better than they used to be nowerdays although i can understand you wanting to use Nvidia. With that in mind an overclocked 460 seems the best option given your requirements, its a very good card :)

wouldnt bother with the extra heatpaste, the stuff that comes with the cooler will be fine! Also the arctic cooler 7 is generally the heatsink people go for if they dont want to spend over the odds.

Have you considered a smallish SSD for a boot drive?

Case?

apart from that it all looks good.

Looking at the compiler benchmark the OP linked to a 3.3GHZ Phenom II X6 is 10% faster than a 3.3GHZ Core i5 2500. The K series processors also lack full visualization support too:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...-2100-tested/2

Also OEM processors have a 1 year warranty too.

I would also run the RAM as 2X4GB DIMMs too.

The Phenom II X6 1075T costs less than a Core i5 2500K, and should be around the same speed at least for compilation. It also has an unlocked multiplier too.

Here is a cheaper parts the OP may want to consider:

Phenom II X6 1075T ~ £158

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238328

MSI 870-G54~£69

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172949

Has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 and the motherboard uses the 870 chipset (similar in level to the P55 and P67 chipsets for Intel motherboards)

Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz ~ £69

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/205849

If you are overclocking I would get 1600MHZ DDR3 RAM.

For a case it maybe worth looking at one which has sound-proofing.

The Fractal Design cases are worth have a look at IMHO.

i would say the sandy bridge is a good choice over Phenom II in real world performance they are noticeably better and a lot less power hungry saving u £££ in the long run.

The i7 only seems to have real gains in gaming performance and at gtx 460 level u will be limited by your gpu far more than your cpu.
at the sub £150 price mark the 460 is an ace card and evga rock!
you can always use there step up program (within 90 days of purchase) to get your self a gtx 560 and just pay the difference ;)

also if your not overclocking there is no need for a k version, the i5 2500 will perform exactly the same.
2 4GB sticks is definitely better than 4 2GB sticks, so much more reliable and stable.

i would wait another year for a ssd, prices are still insane atm and the cheap ones just dont cut it.

Edit: EVGA's SC cards come with 10 year warranty if u register it within 30 days.
if u plan on going dual graphics in the future that mobo isnt the best choice as the second slot is 4x not 16x
as far as amd vs intel mobo go there is no real advantage either way (though maybe worth noting amd new cpu's wont work in a 8xx board but a phenom ii will work in there new 9xx boards that should be hitting shelves very soon)

all in all i would say if u can wait in till Q2 this year it should be well worth it (Amd Bulldozer cpu's and 9xx.)
if not the setup you got there is rather damn good.

Thanks for the replies, guys - some great advice there.

I'm having a look at the AMD 1075T, Anandtech have a really good set of benchmarks - where the 2500K comes out on top by~10-50% depending on the test - not sure if that justifies the ~20% price difference between the CPU+Mobo yet.

The Arctic Cooler 7 looks like a better bet actually, a little quieter and cools almost as well. I'll take your advice and not bother with the separate thermal paste too.

SSD probably won't be on the cards at the moment, too little bang for buck in my mind, although I can see why some would get athe benefit of one.

I don't plan to go dual GPUs, so I'm not to worried on that front.

For the case I was thinking the Antec Three Hundred - any thoughts on this?

Cheers,
Temp

The Fractal Design R3 and XL are worth looking at due to their sound proofing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

The Fractal Design R3 and XL are worth looking at due to their sound proofing.

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Agree here, I have the 300 and it does nothing to stop sound getting to your ears. Any case like those CAT suggested would be good - key is to look for cases with doors etc which stop sound going directly from components out of the case.

case really depends what you want out of it, quite, good air flow, x amount of storage/optical slots, space for water cooling, looks, cable management, removable MB tray etc etc

if a quite pc is what your really after then u can always buy some noise dampening kits.

at the end of the day if u just want a case that holds your pc and does its job well the 300 is just fine.

Cheers again guys. The Fractal Design cases look interesting. Has anyone seen/heard one in person?