New build advice

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Hi all,

I'll be ordering components from Scan for a new PC build in the next few weeks (just waiting for B3 stepping boards to become available). This will be my first build in over 8 years so I'm relishing the challenge! I've put together a shopping list for parts and I'd appreciate it if I could get some feedback. My budget is £1200.

Corsair 600T
Intel Core i5 2500K
Corsair H50-1
Asus P8P67
8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti TWIN FROZR II 1GB
128GB Crucial RealSSD C300
2x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
650W Corsair HX
Corsair CA-HS1A Gaming Headset
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Comes to £1220 inc VAT

This build replaces an old P4 system which struggles with gaming at 1280x1024 so you can imagine I'm really looking forward to building this beast. I'll be keeping my 22" Samsung 2253BW (1680x1050) for the time being although I will look to upgrade it as soon as funds become available.

[MSIC]

Quite a corker really.
Obviously you've contributed to that other new-build thread i've posted in, and have a similar set of components yourself - from the way you write, I take it that you want to self-build rather than Scan 3XS?

The only things I can think about are to ensure that the RAM is the 1.50V version (Intel recommends this, although 1.65 works), and ask about why 2 x 1TB drives? (I'm assuming RAID).

Looks fantastic mate. I've recently become a proud owner of an 'over-ear' headset and am really loving the experience.

[JohnnyMnemonic]

I don't actually have the components I've commented on in that thread, but I have done lots of research and read a multitude of reviews, so I like to regard myself as well-informed in certain areas of pc hardware, not all by any means!

I work as a desktop support engineer and have built PCs from scratch in the past, so I do have some experience, but it's been nearly a decade since I've put anything together so this will be a nice little project. Self-build all the way (even though I was considering a 3XS system as I've never overclocked before, but I decided to take on the challenge!).

Thanks for your input!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would also consider the HD6950 2GB as it is around £200 now:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/254950

http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...odid=GX-119-MS

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Thanks CAT, but I'd like PhysX for a couple of games coming out this year, even though I hate nvidia for going down this route. It just happens that the games I've got my eye on use PhysX.

[Skulltrail]

Instead of the H50 consider this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec...plus-am3-3plus

Gets around 7C better load temperatures and is supposedly quieter as well. http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=4

While there's noting wrong with the 2 F3s, maybe consider this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2tb-h...rpm-64mb-cache. Unless you want to RAID or have a specific plan for them it will be tidier and quieter to just have the one disk.

Regarding the PSU, for an extra £3 you could have http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-...-12v-140mm-fan whitch is 80+ Gold instead of 80+ Bronze.

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Hi Skulltrail,

The reason I'd like to stick with the H50 is because Corsair has a policy where they replace any affected components if the cooler leaks and I'm not sure Antec do the same.

The 2 F3s are for a RAID setup.

Now the NZXT Hale looks interesting I must admit, even though in effect it's only 5% more efficient than the Corsair model. I'll look at some reviews and see how it is for fan noise etc. It is white though

Thanks for the input.

[Pob255]

The NZXT Hale psu's are good, jonnyguru review of the 850w model http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=199
But overall you're looking at the right sort of money, you could drop down to the old Seasonic M12ii 620w http://www.scan.co.uk/products/620w-...-12v-120mm-fan

Probably swap the ram for Corsair Vengeance http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...-9-24-xmp-150v

[ik9000]

Mate, that looks like a good rig you're putting together.

The NZXT Hale PSUs 750w and below are really quiet across the range of power draw, 850w and above things change:

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/pow...es/hale90_750w

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/pow...es/hale90_850w


Here are the efficiency charts - the UK uses the 230V orange lines so we get a better deal than the US when it comes to efficiency.





But compare the noise charts:





The 750w model is wayyyyyyyyyyy quieter than the 850w model under load. I have the 750w and it is great, can't recommend it enough - though it is a shame they don't offer a black version of it since it does look odd in the back of my case. I also have a white fan there cos Scan had run out of the black ones - it almost looks deliberate that I've gone for a black and white behind...

Re graphics cards, have a look at the Gigabyte SuperOverClocked range - they are cranked high enough to push them into 570 performance - and higher than the MSI card you reference. The key thing for me was/is they run quiet. Have a look at the Hexus review here:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=28624

I got the 460 version about 2 weeks before these arrived so really quite gutted. Had I known I would have waited. Since the two cards are virtually identical, albeit with the full cores enabled on the 560, I can vouch it is seriously quiet even after several hours of gaming.

ebuyer have the card for £224 pre-order, so only a tenner more than the msi one you're looking at.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/253955

while scan also offer it but for £228 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-g...0mhz-384-cores

[ik9000]

not sure if the image links worked before, attempt #2:

750w efficiency



850w efficiency



750w noise



850w noise



all images from the NZXT website, specs tabs for the Hale 90 series PSU 750w and 850w models, links as in my previous post.

The manual for the 750w says the noise chart will apply to all models below 750w in the Hale 90 range, so if you only want a 650w PSU as your original spec, you'll still be getting this low level of noise with that NZXT model too.

Anything below 20dB is practically inaudible for normal conditions. It's possible you'll just hear it in a bedroom at night where ambient at 3am I think is 15dB, though I might be wrong. Since dB is a logarithmic scale, the 33dB of the 850w model is considerably louder, personally I wouldn't consider it.

[ik9000]

and my last 2p worth...

PC Pro review of HDD in their issue 191 rate the Spin point F3 highly- best in class for performance so you've picked a good (pair of) drive(s) their.

It comes at the penalty of noise however, being louder than some of the competition. They thought the seagate 7200.12 gave a better balance of good performance + low noise. If you want all-out performance I'd stick with the Spinpoint F3 - particularly for RAID. When I upgrade in the Autumn, I'll be adding 2 of these for the games drives and stick with my Seagates for everything else. A bit of HDD noise isn't really an issue when the speakers/headphones are pumping out shell burst...

weblinks to HDD review:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/hard-...inpoint-f3-1tb

for some reason they haven't put all the drives they tested on their website so the 7200.12 is lacking. Which is bizarre, considering I've linked to it previously and first looked at it on their website... they've also bumped up the rating on the F3 one star higher than they gave it in the magazine...

Is it legal to scan the article and put it online as a pdf? I'm guessing not

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Thanks for the info ik9000. Some nice data there on noise and efficiency for the Hales. If they were black I'd be all over them but since they're white and I'm fast becoming a Corsair fanboy I think I'll stick with the HX 650w

I might even go for the Corsair F120 SSD so I'm 100% Corsair, I'll see how prices are when I place my order in the coming weeks.

Cheers all for the feedback, much appreciated!

[ik9000]

ok, but just so you can compare here are the charts for the HX650 taken from the Corsair website http://www.corsair.com/power-supplie...-1/hx650w.html:

efficiency:



noise:



so the Corsair is not as efficient - you'll pay more to run it, and noisier. I'm not saying you're wrong to want a nice uniform looking black machine, I wish mine were, but for me it sits under my desk, with the rear to the wall. I see it far less than I (would) hear it, and with electricity pricing only going up I figured every little helps when it comes to efficiency.

Good luck with your build. What did you think of the other GPU?

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Mine will be sitting next to me on the desk, plus I'll be opening it up at every opportunity to show off the guts to my mates and envious people at LANs so the uniform colour scheme is important to me. Since I'll be using a headset for gaming noise isn't really much of a factor, plus my PC is in the living room and not the bedroom. Thanks again for the info though.

The Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SuperOverclocked is a nice bit of kit indeed. The only thing that's giving me pause is that I've read about lots of people RMAing them due to faults. I think Gigabyte pushed it slightly beyond it's comfort limits. Plus the MSI looks pretty sweet in comparison.

[ik9000]

returning the 560 SOC? Are they out yet? I thought they were still pre-order. Or are they returning the 460 SOC? If so I'm getting the second one I bought for SLI out of its box and testing that asap...

[JohnnyMnemonic]

Yep the 560 SOC. I think the stuff I've read about has been mostly over the pond in the states (they got released earlier over there), can't remember exactly which site it was on, maybe Hardforums.