Help/advice on new desktop PC build please?

[cheekster]

Hi.

I previously researched and purchased the following components back around Sept 2009:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P
Corsair Dominator 2 x 4GB PC1333
(above components have since been sold, still left with below bits which I can use for either desktop or server build)
BeQuiet modular psu BN073
500GB Samsung F3 SATA II HDD
Saphire HD4670 Ultimate 512GB
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
LG BD-writer

Initially what I had in mind was building a combination unit (desktop and server in one huge case) but soon after changed my mind after a fair few peeps on these forums advised against that idea.

A mate of mine got advice from these forums some while back and built two separate units. I would like to do the same, starting with a new desktop build.

The above components soon got replaced by newer/faster ones before I even had a chance to open any of them so I decided against building an out-of-date machine and recently sold the cpu/mobo/ram.

Would you guys recommend components for building either an Ivy Bridge Core i7 quad-core machine or an AMD APU 8-Core machine?

Would you recommend SSD for boot drive or as cache plus a standard 3.5" internal SATA III HDD? I've read a few stories of people having SSD boot drives fail on them after not very long, which would concern me as the marketing for them would lead you to believe they are far more reliable than standard HDD's!

Requirements...very fast machine, something that won't go out of date too soon (as future-proof as possible), quiet.

8GB or 16GB of fast RAM (whilst prices are very low!)

Budget can be up to £1000, though I'm sure it will come in much lower than that!

I'm not a PC gamer, have never overclocked before in my life despite thinking I'd give it a try over 10 years ago! Video encoding will probably be the most power intensive work I'll be using the PC for. Might even try getting into web design etc too.

This is the case I think I'll be going for:

Quietpc Fractal Design R3 Black Case

Presently have a Dell Ultrasharp 2407FPW monitor.

I can either use the existing PSU that I have for the server I shall be building after this desktop as that will store around 18-20 HDD's. Or, if you think it's not overkill, I could use it for desktop build?

Many thanks.

Cheekster.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

How quiet does the build need to be??

Fractal has also released the R4 case too which replaces the R3:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6102/f...not-revolution

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The following build uses parts from Scan.



You could go with a cheaper PSU and motherboard. However,I suspect the system will not consume much power anyway,so the fanless PSU should be fine. The HD7750 was reviewed by Hexus and found to be relatively quiet.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So the build I did before was not overclock capable. The Xeon E3 1230 V2 looks probably the best overall choice,but the AMD FX8300 series is also an alternative. AFAIK,the FX8300 series should be better back for buck for video encoding but the Xeon E3 should be better for things like Visual Studio,as the FX8300 series is more Core i5 level.

Anyway,for a quiet machine,I would either get the Xeon E3 or an FX8300 series CPU which is undervolted if you want to go cheaper. Either will be fast enough at stock speeds. Another suggestion if you do want a much cheaper build is the FX6300:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/t...-fx4300-tested
http://www.techspot.com/review/586-amd-fx-8350-fx-6300/
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Process...a-Breaks-Cover
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/3314...ly-good-enough
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages..._review,1.html

Its above the similarly priced Core i3 3220 for video encoding and Visual Studio. It seems to be around Phenom II X6 or Core i5 level for video encoding too.

Another thing is that AM3+ might have another upgrade to Steamroller unlike socket 1155.

Also,another factor is software like HandBrake is getting OpenCL based acceleration which can give you a big boost

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I meant to say the FX8300 series was more Core i5 for Visual Studio,as it is more Core i7 level for video encoding.

[cheekster]

I meant to say the FX8300 series was more Core i5 for Visual Studio,as it is more Core i7 level for video encoding.

Can you please post up a screenshot of a build based around AMD FX8300? With RAM prices dropping all the time, I'd like 16GB of fast memory.

Thanks.

Cheekster

[MadHocus]

I'm new to the game and got an i5 chip with asus sabertooth very easy build. Good luck. Still adding bits to mine but its awesome read the manual is best advice I can give and ask questions

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So,you have the following parts:

BeQuiet modular psu BN073
500GB Samsung F3 SATA II HDD
Saphire HD4670 Ultimate 512GB
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
LG BD-writer

Is the PSU the Dark Power Pro 650W?? If so you can use that, even though it probably will be at the low end of its efficiency range during idle.

Everything else can also be re-used TBH. The newer AMD graphics cards support OpenCL which is useful.




The AMD build uses the FX8350. However,since it has recently launched the price is a tad high. It should be around £150 with the slightly slower FX8320 around £125 to £130. The build can be overclocked if required,but I would probably look at a better cooler,for anything major,as like the Phenom II X6 power consumption can rise quite a bit when adding voltage. The FX8350 is around Core i7 3770 level for video encoding,and is closer to a Core i5 for things like Visual Studio.



The Intel build has the Xeon E3 1230 V2, which is a slightly slower version of the Core i7 3770 with no IGP and has no Quick Sync ability as a result. The CPU cannot be overclocked,and you would probably be fine with a cheaper B75 motherboard,but the Z77 motherboards might have some features you might want.

Since the original build list,Seasonic have released the cheaper G series PSUs.

The Seasonic G 550W looks quite efficient at low loads - you might get away with 360W version TBH,since you are not overclocking. OTH,the fanless 460W is pretty decent,but is pricey.

The reason I added an HD7750 as it might be useful as software like HandBrake is starting to use OpenCL acceleration.

However,as you seem to be using an E6600 ATM - an FX8320,FX8350 or Xeon E3 1230 V2 will be a huge upgrade. Even an FX6300 would be big:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=60

[cheekster]

Yes the brand new boxed PSU that I currently have is a Dark Power Pro 650w. Would you say that would be more suited for my large server that will house upto 20 x HDD's than it would a desktop housing probably no more than 2 or 3 HDD's?

Looking at benchmarks on AnandTech the Intel CPU looks better than the AMD FX8350 in most tests, so I think that's what I'll go for.

I'm considering the next motherboard, the Z77X-D3H for its's extra SATA III & USB 3.0 ports.

PSU wise, saw these two fanless models listed:

Seasonic X-Series 400FL 400w £98.88 (LN35250)
Seasonic X-Series 460FL 460w £116.95 (LN35257)

The 460FL carries a hefty price difference over the G-550 you suggested. Is there likely to be a huge difference in how quiet it is?

I see Samsung are soon to release a 840 Series SSD. From the benchmarks I can't see that it matches or beats the 830 Series on many tests other than having lower power consumption, albeit for a significantly higher price. Your thoughts?

Don't know anything about CPU coolers but want it to offer great performance and be as quiet as possible. Gelid Tranquillo my best option?

Think that's all my questions for now!

Many thanks.

Cheekster.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The 460FL is entirely passive but TBH the R4 has soundproofing so the G-550 should be fine. The server I assume is going to be on for extended periods. Hence,I would be looking at an efficient PSU and a motherboard. The 650W PSU could probably go into your desktop then to save some money,although I do not know how quiet it is. For your server I would be looking at a Gold rated PSU if possible,with good low load effiency and probably an efficient motherboard too. 20 HDDs is quiet a lot of connectors though. Even a lower wattage PSU would probably be fine,they might not have enough SATA power connectors and molex power connectors for that number of drives.

The 840 PRO is what you need to look at,not the normal 840. It is better than the 830,but TBH unless you really need the extra speed,I would go for the 830.

The Gelid Tranquillo looks a reasonably quiet cooler,but,then are quite a few out there - it just seemed a solid choice IMHO.

[Vbstein]

I would go with these parts which does use your budget up to the maxium almost, however I know that your thinking that GPU is overkill but video encoding it should be great and you get like three game which you could sell and get £80.
Fractal Design Define R3 £74.87
750W Akasa Venom Power Modular 80% Eff' Quiet Fan, ATX v2.3, PSU £64.50
Asus P8Z77-V LX £83.72
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 £26.59
Intel Core i5 2500K £166.98
240GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD £129.89
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 £68.93
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x £11.96
NZXT HAVIK 120 £40.94
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium £72.08
3GB XFX Radeon HD 7950 Double D £219.35

Grand total £970.79

[cheekster]

@ CAT

Have ordered then following from Scan:

Gelid Tranquillo CPU cooler
Seagate 3TB HDD
Pioneer DVR-219 DVD-RW

The Intel Xeon E3-1230 CPU is due in on 14/11/12

I'll probably order the following from Dabs as they're all cheaper:

Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
Fractal Design Define R4 Black
Corsair Vengeance 16GB RAM

Decided I'll use my BeQuiet Dark Power 650w PSU in this desktop build

I fancy the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD. Not in stock yet and very pricy but seen as I hope that I don't upgrade for 2-3 years, it should be worth it.

How noisy is the ScanFX Radeon HD7750 gfx card likely to be? I see silent versions are available for approx. £20 or so more. Or, would I be better off going for a better card, say a HD7770?

Thanks.

Cheekster.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The motherboard is pretty expensive considering you are not overclocking,but 8 SATA ports does not come cheap it seems!

TBH,I think the 830 would do the job and is much cheaper. Unless the Scan picture and code is inaccurate,the HD7750 should be the following:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...vtx3d-hd-7750/

Cards such as the HD7770 and HD7850 will be faster than an HD7750 but are costlier. The HD7750 should be able to give you a boost in some video encoding applications,and it should be fine for handling a few monitors. I was aiming for not too much more than a Core i7 3770 which is around £230(this has an IGP). The Xeon E3 1230 V2 and an HD7750 should be around £250 and is a superior setup IMHO.

BTW,I noticed that an AMD 990X motherboard with 8 SATA ports and an FX8320 would save you around £50(the Xeon E3 would be faster overall though,but for video encoding I don't think the difference would be huge).

[cheekster]

Without meaning to throw a spanner in the works, what's your thoughts on paying extra for a motherboard with built-in Thunderbolt...as a way of "sort of" future-proofing myself a bit more? Scan have the MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt on Today only for £119.99 (a full £1.81 less than its usual price!) It does seem though by including Thunderbolt, the mobo lacks extra SATA III ports that you'd most likely get with similar priced boards which don't include Thunderbolt.

Just noticed Dabs have this on offer:

Best Value VTX3D AMD Radeon 7770 HD 1GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI X-Edition
Price Drop £87.99 (Was £96.99 + Claim 3 FREE Games!)
Mfr#: VX7770 1GBD5-2DHX Quicklinx: 893PWS00

Is that worth the extra £12 over the Radeon 7750?

Cheekster.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thunderbolt is only really useful if you get peripherals which are compatible with it! Having said that you have a reasonable cooler and a good motherboard,so maybe getting a K series CPU might be worth it?? OTH,that is another £30 to £50.

Here are some pictures of the card:

http://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/.../mvx77701.html

It is a faster card than an HD7750,but I don't know how quiet the cooler is! It looks like the cooler is the reference AMD HD7770 one though.

This VTX HD7770 appears to use a similar cooler which is a different cooler:

http://www.kitguru.net/components/gr...ire-review/17/

You do get some free games,although I assume they are not of much use to you!!

[cheekster]

Ordered the rest of the components last night. Went with all of your recommendations with the exception of the motherboard. Up until hitting the "confirm order" button I must admit I was still torn between the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H (£75) and the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro (£137!). In the end went with the latter. It was my one over indulgence in this build, I think. Still can't decide if I should have gone for an Intel Core i7-3770K CPU with this mobo or just stuck with the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H and Intel Xeon X3-1230 v2 combo???

Fractal Design Define R4 Black case
ASUS P8Z77-V Pro mobo
BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 650w PSU (previous purchase)
Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2 CPU
Gelid Tranquillo rev. 2 CPU cooler
Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 16GB (2x8GB) RAM
Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD (boot)
Seagate Barracuda 3TB ST3000DM001 x 2 (day to day work)
WD Cavier Green 3TB (storage)
ScanFX Radeon HD7750 1GB gfx
Pioneer DVR-219
LG BD writer (previous purchase)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (previous purchase)

I'm considering adding a couple of additional quiet 140mm fans to the case, one more front intake plus one at the top of the case. BeQuiet! Silent Wings 2 BL063 is the one I think I'm going for unless anyone suggests otherwise?

Thanks again to everyone's suggestions, especially CAT-THE-FIFTH...you are like the Oracle out of The Matrix!

Cheekster.