[EU] Need help with building a PC

[Deleted]

Hello,

at first, I would like to apologize for my English, its not so good so I hope you will understand me

I need a help with building my PC. I am studying at university and it costs me some money monthly. I found a part-time job and I have some income to live, take care of university fees, etc...What does that means ? That I dont have a lot of money to throw on PC but ...

I will be using template from this post: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...build-Read-me!

What will I be using this PC on? Mostly on playing games like: Call of Duty:Black Ops 2, Battlefield 3, World of Tanks/Warplanes, World of Warcraft, Tera Online and for doing homeworks (studying IT) and easy(for now) programming in java and c(++, #)
What resolution am I using? I am using 1920x1080 resolution on single 22" monitor
Country: Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
Budget: 400€ or 450€ max
Do you need peripherals? No, I own Gigabyte gaming mouse, Genius keyboard, Logitech HD headset, Philips 22" monitor
Do you need an OS? I have Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit but I am thinking of upgrading to Windows 8

I bought some of the PC parts and only need to get new: motherboard, rams, hdd, cpu. Will be using newegg altho its US site but with prices in my best local shop. I have 2 potentional builds but needs help with them.

==THINGS I ALREADY HAVE==
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...XN%20ENP550AWT ENERMAX NAXN 82+ ENP550AWT @ 80€
Graphic card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121669 ASUS GTX650TI-1GD5 @ 185€
Case: https://www.alza.sk/eurocase-middlet...9836.htm#popis (Sorry, couldnt find it anywhere but from shop I have bought it from) Eurocase MiddleTower Monster II 9201 black @ 58€


BUILD #1 //INTEL//

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115234 Intel Core i5-3470 @ 180€
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131824 ASUS P8Z77-V LX @ 106€
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236345 Western Digital Black 500GB 64MB cache @ 71€ (or extra 20€ for 1TB version)
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148500 Crucial 8GB KIT DDR3 1600MHz CL8 Ballistix Elite (2x4GB) @ 46€

TOTAL=403€

or

BUILD #2 //AMD//

CPU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=AMD%20FX-6300 AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz @ 130€
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131874 ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 @ 107€
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236345 Western Digital Black 500GB 64MB cache @ 71€ (or extra 20€ for 1TB version)
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148500 Crucial 8GB KIT DDR3 1600MHz CL8 Ballistix Elite (2x4GB) @ 46€

TOTAL=354€

Yeah, I was thinking about 3570 or 3570K but they cost like 210-250€ here.

My questions are:
1. If I get the INTEL build, are the 50€ worth the performance or shall I go with AMD build and save 50€?
2. Will I be able to play the games I want (newer games) at least on medium-high ? I never choose ultra high or something like that?
3. Is the AMD 6-core close to Intel i5-3470 4-core in gaming performance?
4. Shall I throw extra bucks for the better HDD ? I have 120GB HDD now and its quite enough, really dont know what to do with 1TB HDD Well, I can have Blue version 1TB for the same price or 750GB blue version for -4€ 64mb cache and 7200rpm.
5. Is WD Black HDD really that good ? Is it much better than Blue version ? Are the 64mb cache worth it ?
6. Shall I get Windows 8 for gaming and programming ? Saw few benchmarks and W7 is better in something and W8 in other things.

[chazus]

1) The performance I would say is worth it. Not like OMFG YES but worth it. Furthermore, getting the AMD pretty much forces you to get a whole new build 2-3 years down the line if you upgrade. With the Intel, you'll likely just upgrade the CPU to an i5-3570K (Though personally I think its worth the 30 extra for it now)
2) Yes
3) No. They arent worlds apart, but noticable. The 6300 is about as good for gaming as the older, lower end i5's
4) Up to you
5) Black isn't much 'better' per se, the big difference is the 5 year warranty.
6) No. Skip Win8. I have not seen it provide anything useful yet besides frustration.

It should be noted that the current 3rd gen i3's are as good as, if not better than the 6300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116775
This guy is $10 cheaper, and better for gaming performance than the 6300. So you can save moneys AND get decent performance. My friend just picked one up a month ago, with a weaker video card than you have, and he's very happy with gaming (mostly wow raiding and diablo)

[potis]

1)AMD has fallen behind, if you have the money for an Intel CPU, you go for Intel, dont get the 3470 when the 3570k is so close in terms of money.

2)Yes and No, 650 Ti is a new card but it remains a high end MEDIA card, it is not considered a gaming card it can handle medium settings on heavy games without fluff enabled like Shadows, usually these cards can handle most games on Medium or even High as long as you search what destroys them.

Shadows are number one priority to turn off, after that you check, How much Anisotropic you can push, of course no Anti-aliasing you will destroy the poor media card, How much lighting/ambient occlusion.

Every game is different, when you buy a media card even if its a newer one, you always have to check on every heavy game what it can handle or cant.

3)They arent that far apart but the problem is, Intel ones are simply faster for a few dollars more, i think the power difference can reach up to 30% depending on the type of game/program, always talking about 3570k.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=701<-

AMD is simply not worth it unless your budget is really limited and you cant find those 50 extra for Intel stuff, only then you choose AMD.

4)There is a reason WD Black is better and more expensive its simply faster, its the only HDD worth getting for OS apart from a SSD now days everything else is just much slower, WD Black can reach up to 120-150MB speeds (If your PC is as strong) which is better than the first SSD's 4-5 years ago, i do not know the equivalent Seagate one, cant help you there, your ancient 120GB will destroy your PC with how slow it is and just cause massive struggle.

5)Look at 4.

6)Not yet, Windows 8 are averagely 20% faster than Windows 7 on everything but they still have bugs and annoyances, wait for service pack 1 (About a year) before switching to them.

[Lathais]

1) Intel is definitely worth it. Intel builds stronger individual chips and AMD spreads load across multiple chips better, however, games don't utilize more chips better, so having each core as strong as possible, like Intel does, is best for gaming.

2) Yes

3) No, games will not use all those cores, usually only 2 cores anyway, so you want the stronger Intel Cores

4) Upgrade it, but if you do not really need a lot of space go with a Blue 500GB, or possibly, if you can afford one, a 128Gb Samsung 830 SSD, but whatever you do, upgrade out of your old slow one.

5) nah, not really

6) My rule of thumb is to ot swotch to a new version of windows until the next one is out, so I'd stick with 7, but really a personal preference thing.

last note, if you can swing it, I would try to get the 3570K, unlocked chip that is about as future-proof as you'll get. If/when it starts to not be enough for you, or when you have a little cash to throw into a top end cooler, you can OC that baby and be set for quite some time.

[Deleted]

Okey, thank you guys really much. Looks like I will go for INTEL BUILD. But I will maybe wait one more month or try to get some more money and will go for 3570K. I know it has unlocked overclocking but I dont know how to do it (different thing I will search later). As you said Lathais, I heard that stock cooling is enough but when going for OC I shall get a better one.

I am not goot at these things, as I am better with software part of the PC but is this Asus mobo I picked able to handle / will it allow me to OC that 3570k ? OR shall I get another one ?

Okey, so far I am sure I will go with this spec, as long as the mobo is good for OC the CPU:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 Intel Core i5-3570K @ 210€
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131824 ASUS P8Z77-V LX @ 106€
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236345 Western Digital Black 1TB 64MB cache @ 91€
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148500 Crucial 8GB KIT DDR3 1600MHz CL8 Ballistix Elite (2x4GB) @ 46€

TOTAL=cca 455€ (kinda my budget I wanted)

Okey, so everything as you see, seems to be compatible with each other ?

Oh and is there any similar site to newegg but for Europe ? I tried some google searching but I will better see this community people experience than some fake scam sites from google.

[chazus]

If you want to pinch euros, get the WD Blue. For $20 less, I did some research and found that more than 16mb of cache really serves no purpose currently, and is mostly marketing. Furthermore, I did some more research and the 500gb drives are both single platter, and the same rotation speed. So that $20 isn't really worth it, unless you feel like it's worth it for warranty purposes.

The Z77 is a proper chipset for overclocking. Again, if you want to skimp without sacrificing performance, there are cheaper boards. There is slightly cheaper ram, too.

[Deleted]

Thank you very much, so 500gb 16 mb Blue will be good ?

As for the mobo, in the shop I am looking all the components, there are some cheaper like 10€ or 20€ but those are mini ATX.
As for the ram, there are cheaper ram but those are 1333 or CL11. At the same price as I picked the Crucial 1600MHz CL8 Ballistix Elite, 46€ are those avalaible:
- Corsair Red Vengeance 1600MHz CL9
- Corsair Blue Vengeance 1600MHz CL9 low profile
- Patriot 1866MHz CL9 Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition
- Kingston 1600MHz CL9 HyperX X2 Grey Series
- Corsair 1600MHz CL9 Vengeance
- Crucial 1866MHz CL9 Ballistix Tactical

or with +1€

- Kingston 2133MHz CL11 HyperX Beast Series
- Kingston 1866MHz CL9 HyperX Beast Series
- Kingston 1600MHz CL9 HyperX Beast Series

[chazus]

I guess I was assuming you were ordering from Newegg, even though you're using Euro. I was going to suggest http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148544

To be honest, pretty much any DDR3, 1600 ram 2x4 is perfectly fine. So cheaper is usually not a problem. People will say that heat spreaders are needed for overclocking, but it really depends on the ram itself. Some of the best overclocking ram has no heat spreaders. It's sometimes just sales gimmick.

[Deleted]

for the mainboard try to get one with chipset z77 so that if you upgrade to 3570k you'll be able to use all the features and from my point of it's worth it. and they are fairly cheap for example http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...t_1155/P8Z77V/ the asus p8z77 I found it for 111.96Euro and it has the most important features for it's price (i live in EU too GR).

Also for the RAM 1600CL9 2x4Gb is perfect. the timings are much more important than the actual frequency so anything around cl9 would be the sweat spot.Generarly what I look for on a RAM is:
1. 1600mhz (at this point I dont know in 2-3 year's time what will happen)
2. Cl9-Cl8
3.low prof (if you are gonna overclock at somepoint and thus you are gonna need to add an aftermarket cpu cooler it will probably not fit if you have ram's with enormus heatsinks)
4. 1.5 volt approx. (higher voltage models are hard to find now, except 1.65v, but i believe this is the sweat spot because it's energy bill-friendly :P)
5. (unless you are gonna do heavy multitasking) 2x4gb is what you want

for the hard disk i would go for an ssd if possible because the speed is "OMG WTF OH YEAAAAH" compared to a conventional hdd :P (for the most part that is there may be exceptions but i havent found one so far)

the case is mostly a matter of preference, just look for one that is kinda spacious and that it's good quality. Cabble management and number of fans for airflow is what you should look for in a case according to your budget

for the PSU try to find one that is at least 80+bronze for efficiency and look for the Over Voltage/Under Voltage/ Over Current / Shortcircuit protections

As for the cpu I think that the 3570k is worth the extra money. I am too getting one and I am so far more than happy with the reviews. plus you can overclock it to 3,8-4,1 Ghz with the stock cooler (provided you have a z77 mobo)

[Deleted]

I guess I was assuming you were ordering from Newegg, even though you're using Euro. I was going to suggest http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148544

To be honest, pretty much any DDR3, 1600 ram 2x4 is perfectly fine. So cheaper is usually not a problem. People will say that heat spreaders are needed for overclocking, but it really depends on the ram itself. Some of the best overclocking ram has no heat spreaders. It's sometimes just sales gimmick.

Yea, I wrote I am from Slovakia Unfortunately newegg does not ship to EU. Those you posted are just 2 euro cheaper.

for the mainboard try to get one with chipset z77 so that if you upgrade to 3570k you'll be able to use all the features and from my point of it's worth it. and they are fairly cheap for example http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...t_1155/P8Z77V/ the asus p8z77 I found it for 111.96Euro and it has the most important features for it's price (i live in EU too GR).

Also for the RAM 1600CL9 2x4Gb is perfect. the timings are much more important than the actual frequency so anything around cl9 would be the sweat spot.Generarly what I look for on a RAM is:
1. 1600mhz (at this point I dont know in 2-3 year's time what will happen)
2. Cl9-Cl8
3.low prof (if you are gonna overclock at somepoint and thus you are gonna need to add an aftermarket cpu cooler it will probably not fit if you have ram's with enormus heatsinks)
4. 1.5 volt approx. (higher voltage models are hard to find now, except 1.65v, but i believe this is the sweat spot because it's energy bill-friendly :P)
5. (unless you are gonna do heavy multitasking) 2x4gb is what you want

for the hard disk i would go for an ssd if possible because the speed is "OMG WTF OH YEAAAAH" compared to a conventional hdd :P (for the most part that is there may be exceptions but i havent found one so far)

the case is mostly a matter of preference, just look for one that is kinda spacious and that it's good quality. Cabble management and number of fans for airflow is what you should look for in a case according to your budget

for the PSU try to find one that is at least 80+bronze for efficiency and look for the Over Voltage/Under Voltage/ Over Current / Shortcircuit protections

As for the cpu I think that the 3570k is worth the extra money. I am too getting one and I am so far more than happy with the reviews. plus you can overclock it to 3,8-4,1 Ghz with the stock cooler (provided you have a z77 mobo)

Will look for the RAM so I shall get low profile with high voltage ?