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Argonath RPG Community => Hardware/Software support => Resolved issues => Topic started by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 01:09:36 am

Title: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 01:09:36 am
Dear Sirs,

Please can you give me thoughts on the following.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Dpwxt6

Would be grateful if anyone pointed out if there are any compatibility issues, or generally if something else could be done better.

I am not looking to spend anymore than £778, it was indeed a very strict budget to fit to, but I just got there.

Kind Regards,
Monte.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Jcstodds on December 13, 2014, 11:43:35 am
  If you are using this for gaming as a priority, I would suggest a few changes. I've just built a PC for myself for near that price range so did spend many nights checking benchmarks, pros and cons etc.


Here you go:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/kbrdgs

Reasons:

For gaming, 8Gb RAM will be more than enough for this level of PC. It is quite expensive at the moment - upgrading is easy and you can do in the future as the price drops. It will barely affect performance.

Intel CPU's are more powerful, energy efficient and require less cooling. AMD processors are good at what they do, but they are lagging behind in technology. The i5 is more futureproof.

The motherboard is really up to you, they are all pretty much the same. I just selected a ASUS one (I personally have the MSI Z97S Krait). Just choose an ATX Z97 one which allows overclocking (more futureproof).

I subbed your massive SSD for a smaller one (120GB) which is ideal for putting windows 8 on and one or two games that you play often. Really they do not improve gaming performance that much - and only give better load times. You got a 1TB with that for everything else!

The CPU cooler is one of the hybrid ones. These give a big advantage of not taking up loads of space in your case like a large radiator would, so you get improved airflow and lower temperatures.


Graphics card: The most important thing for gaming. For £100 you should get a 2nd hand GTX 760 or an R9 270X. These retail at around £150 new. This is down to personal preference. However I saw at the moment AMD graphics cards are dropping in price and do offer better performance value for your money.
The best brands for performance and cooling are usually ASUS or Sapphire. Both are pretty reliable.


If you have any questions on any of the choices I can help -
Hope you find this useful in your decision  :gand:


Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Archie on December 13, 2014, 12:37:07 pm
Go on with nVIDIA for the graphics card if you are thinking to buy a "good" PC (a bit expensive)... To make it more suitable for your budget, get Asus AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB.

And 2nd hand computer parts may not be reliable so be careful while you're buying one.

For the CPU, Intel Core i7 is the best at the moment but it is a bit expensive for your budget it seems. I'd recommend you buy AMD FX 6300 as it's cheap and strong with 6 CPUs and 3.5 GHz.

Yes, as Jcstodds mentioned, 8 GB RAM is enough for gaming, nothing to add.

This is the PC I am planning to build. Just for 498 pounds.

Case: Zalman X9, 550 Watt Power Supply
Motherboard: Asus&Gigabyte M5A78L AM3
Processor: AMD FX 6300 6X Core 3.5 GHz 14 MB Cache Memory (6 CPUs)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
HDD: Western 3.5'''' 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache 1 TB
DVD Writer: Asus DVD Writer
GPU: Asus AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB 256 Bytes
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Fuzzy on December 13, 2014, 01:54:02 pm
Here you go:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/kbrdgs
That looks good yeah.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 02:03:47 pm
Here you go:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/kbrdgs
The Motherboard does not look the best.
It doesn't have Ethernet?
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: brian1996 on December 13, 2014, 02:07:13 pm
Imo AMD sucks when it comes to raw peformance and reliability, anyway http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/24vpNG
No need to put in more money to have the Z97 chipset and 0.1GHz extra speed on the CPU, rather put it in more quality for your hardware. The only thing I would change is the PSU from a Corsair CX 500W to a Corsair CX 600W just to have that extra headroom in overclocking but that would be ~5 pounds over your budget.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Teddy on December 13, 2014, 02:08:18 pm
It doesn't have Ethernet?

Read:
Code: [Select]
Onboard Ethernet 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Devin on December 13, 2014, 02:11:38 pm
The Motherboard does not look the best.
It doesn't have Ethernet?

(http://i.imgur.com/fvM714Y.png)
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 02:18:29 pm
Read:
Code: [Select]
Onboard Ethernet 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps

Thx =)

Imo AMD sucks when it comes to raw peformance and reliability, anyway http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/24vpNG
No need to put in more money to have the Z97 chipset and 0.1GHz extra speed on the CPU, rather put it in more quality for your hardware. The only thing I would change is the PSU from a Corsair CX 500W to a Corsair CX 600W just to have that extra headroom in overclocking but that would be ~5 pounds over your budget.
£5 over my budget is unacceptable.
But thanks for the suggestion =)
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Jcstodds on December 13, 2014, 03:46:15 pm
  I didn't look at the motherboard. I just chose the cheap one from a reliable brand that allowed for overclocking (i.e. ASUS and Z97). All the motherboards are pretty much the same within their price range. Just choose your favorite brand, or read reviews about their reliability.

Everyone will be biased on brands, it can't be helped. But if you understand what the part does you can get more for your money.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 03:55:53 pm
  I didn't look at the motherboard. I just chose the cheap one from a reliable brand that allowed for overclocking (i.e. ASUS and Z97). All the motherboards are pretty much the same within their price range. Just choose your favorite brand, or read reviews about their reliability.

Everyone will be biased on brands, it can't be helped. But if you understand what the part does you can get more for your money.

ok.

It's just one day I planned to add an additional video card and do that duel video card thing.

"* Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders." that's what it says at the bottom, are you sure it's ok?

If so, I'd be happy to go with this build.

Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: SugarD on December 13, 2014, 05:01:59 pm
I didn't look at the motherboard. I just chose the cheap one from a reliable brand that allowed for overclocking (i.e. ASUS and Z97).
I would personally not recommend overclocking any systems without an upgraded cooling system. Computers today run pretty hot on standard settings. Overclocking them makes them even hotter...especially under heavy load. Plain, old fans just don't cut it these days.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Teddy on December 13, 2014, 05:11:43 pm
I would personally not recommend overclocking any systems without an upgraded cooling system. Computers today run pretty hot on standard settings. Overclocking them makes them even hotter...especially under heavy load. Plain, old fans just don't cut it these days.

Ignore this;

As long as you aren't super overclocking you'll be fine with most new cases and basic cooling. While it is recommended to have liquid cooling these days, it's not required for overclocking. All my hardware is overclocked and I don't have any fancy cooling.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: brian1996 on December 13, 2014, 05:59:08 pm
I would personally not recommend overclocking any systems without an upgraded cooling system. Computers today run pretty hot on standard settings. Overclocking them makes them even hotter...especially under heavy load. Plain, old fans just don't cut it these days.
Did you even look at the system specs? If so then you definitely should have seen that there's liquid cooling involved.

ok.

It's just one day I planned to add an additional video card and do that duel video card thing.

"* Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders." that's what it says at the bottom, are you sure it's ok?

If so, I'd be happy to go with this build.


The motherboard suggested by jcs does not support SLI/crossfire (no dual graphics cards), so you have to change motherboards in order to do so. However I'd only recommend going with dual graphics only when you have already reached the high end stuff and want more power since SLI/Crossfire scaling isn't always linear and peformance gains will differ a lot with several games (it can even cause incompatibilities or just plain not work/not be supported). Also with the current system recommendations you should upgrade your PSU in the future in order to feed the GPUs enough power.

"* Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders." that's what it says at the bottom, are you sure it's ok?
This shouldn't be any problem since liquid coolers don't take up space on the CPU like heatsinks do.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 06:09:45 pm
I'd not bother over clocking.
Is it really needed?

thx.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Fuzzy on December 13, 2014, 10:06:07 pm
I'd not bother over clocking.
Is it really needed?

thx.
Not really. But it's also so easy nowadays that you might aswell do it in the future if you feel like you need more performance
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: brian1996 on December 13, 2014, 10:32:53 pm
Overclocking is not a must, just do it when you feel like you want some more juice out of your system. Besides there are programs that can do it for you if you can't be arsed to look into it yourself. Asus comes with it's own overclocking utility that can overclock by itself through AI suite with the tap of a button.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: SugarD on December 13, 2014, 11:37:26 pm
Did you even look at the system specs? If so then you definitely should have seen that there's liquid cooling involved.
My comment was in regards to overclocking, not the system setup you posted.

I'd not bother over clocking.
Is it really needed?
Nope, and if you are on a budget, I wouldn't be very concerned about that. The setup you posted seems pretty decent for the amount you are limited to. Just don't forget to factor in any taxes or shipping, if applicable.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Jcstodds on December 13, 2014, 11:47:37 pm
I'd not bother over clocking.
Is it really needed?

thx.

You don't really need to do overclocking. The i5-4690k is already slightly overclocked at 3.5GHz and this is why you need a z97 motherboard. It just gives you the option in the future if you wan't to try. Usually the motherboard has some software bundled with it that can auto-overclock.

Again, the motherboard I suggested was just a cheap one I didn't really look at. Ideally you should spend £80-90 and get an SLI one as it gives more options and may have a few extra gaming features. Choose one you like the look of! You tend to get what you pay for with motherboards (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte).

Although as Brian1996 pointed out... there are a lot of downsides to SLI - heat, power and performance value for money are the usual suspects. It's better to buy a good card rather than 2 mid-ranged ones.

Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 13, 2014, 11:50:03 pm
You don't really need to do overclocking. The i5-4690k is already slightly overclocked at 3.5GHz and this is why you need a z97 motherboard. It just gives you the option in the future if you wan't to try. Usually the motherboard has some software bundled with it that can auto-overclock.

Again, the motherboard I suggested was just a cheap one I didn't really look at. Ideally you should spend £80-90 and get an SLI one as it gives more options and may have a few extra gaming features. Choose one you like the look of! You tend to get what you pay for with motherboards (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte).

Although as Brian1996 pointed out... there are a lot of downsides to SLI - heat, power and performance value for money are the usual suspects. It's better to buy a good card rather than 2 mid-ranged ones.



Ok then I don't want to SLI!

I'm gonna give it a couple of weeks then start making purchases :-)
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: [NP]Monte Montague on December 14, 2014, 08:27:31 am
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191113152963
I am buy this.

I choose the bonus of a 1 year warranty and 14 days money back guarantee and the fact it all comes in one =D.

Anyone object?
It looks decent.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: SugarD on December 14, 2014, 04:54:44 pm
Quote from: EBay Item
Operating System: Not Included
Make sure to keep that in mind if/when ordering it.

One thing that has me a bit hesitant about that ad is that they don't specify the brand or model power supply included. They simply include the wattage with no specifications on it. While I doubt they want to sell something unstable or defective, I would be careful about cheap power supplies. If you can, try shooting them a message before purchasing and see if they will give you the specs or information on it. Other than that, it looks like a decent system.
Title: Re: Computer Build
Post by: Alarba on December 14, 2014, 07:41:30 pm
If you don't plan to overclock, It'd be better to go for something like this (http://i.imgur.com/izNlotQ.jpg)

For 660£
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