Fresh PC

[Drimus]

I'm going to buy all the parts to build myself a new PC within the next week or so and I've been looking around various websites [including the sweetspot thread on here] to just get an idea of price ranges and new stuff before coming to the forums empty handed. I'm definitely not a pro at this but I attempted to make a possible setup and I'm just looking for other perspectives and constructive criticism so I can learn.

- As stated, I would rather order parts and get it built for monetary reasons unless someone suggests a better idea
- I want to spend around 750$ but I can spend up to 1000$ max tax included type thing
- None of the parts can be reused from the old PC because it either fried or its too old with the exception of my 500w PSU, i believe its a corsair
- Country of residence: Canada

Another thing I should mention is I've been using windows XP pro for all these years but I recently learned I was allowed getting windows 7 pro x64 for 50$ because of that MSDNAA program. I read replies on other forums but what do you guys think, worth it for gaming or not so much? Anyways, I can't post links since I just registered but here's what I attempted on newegg:

MOBO: Asus P8P67
CPU: Intel i5-2500k
GPU: GeForce 450 GTX [anything around this], my monitor's native resolution which I game with is 1440x900
HDD: Really lost with regards to this, SSD or not to SSD? if not, what about that hybrid thing from seagate? [Momentus XT]
RAM: Again I'm wondering about how much but I picked out 8GB [2x4GB] to play it safe with windows 7 pro x64
PSU: Will my 500w Corsair be able to handle the pieces above? If not please link me some alternatives
CD/DVD: Generic ASUS burner
Case: I got no clue whats good with regards to cases, please suggest.

Basically I'm trying to build something that can last with me through university [5 years approx] with a couple of additions over the years. With regards to FPS, I would like to have 50ish in most games at medium settings. I have a preference for ASUS but if anyone has any better ideas by all means I'm here for that reason. Also, what does everyone think about that card from bigfootnetworks that apparently improves your connection? Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to make sure all my concerns were addressed but thank you for your time if you ended up reading all of it.

[kailtas]

Mobo and CPU are perfect. Later on when you start to see performance drops, you can buy a high quality CPU cooler and clock it. And seeing you are going to stick with the build for 5 years, i would keep the option to go sli/crossfire open. So make sure the mobo got 2* PCI-E 16x v2.

GPU, not so much. Even that those resolutions i would get a better graphics card. Maybe a 560 ti or a 6870?

Ram is pretty perfect aswell, seeing you are going to stick with this build for a pretty long time, 8GB is perfect. Allowing you to upgrade to 16GB later on.

PSU will be enough for now with a 450, 560ti or a 6870. But if you are going to upgrade later and get sli/crossfire you will need to upgrade the PSU. But dont worry about that now, the PSU will be sufficient.

[Drimus]

Thanks for your reply, with regards to the video card I was only able to find the ASUS GTX560 1GB 256-bit as an ideal replacement after reading what you said, is that alright? For the PCI-E slots, this is what it says in the details, let me know if it sounds right

PCI Express 2.0 x16:
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue, single at x16 mode)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (black, at x4 mode, compatible with PCI Express x1 and x4 devices)

PCI Express x1:
2 (The PCIe x1 slots share the bandwidth with the PCIe x16_2 slot.)

PCI Slots:
3

[Saithes]

Thanks for your reply, with regards to the video card I was only able to find the ASUS GTX560 1GB 256-bit as an ideal replacement after reading what you said, is that alright? For the PCI-E slots, this is what it says in the details, let me know if it sounds right

PCI Express 2.0 x16:
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue, single at x16 mode)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (black, at x4 mode, compatible with PCI Express x1 and x4 devices)

PCI Express x1:
2 (The PCIe x1 slots share the bandwidth with the PCIe x16_2 slot.)

PCI Slots:
3

x4 won't let you do SLI and it limits Crossfire for any mid ranged GPU.

[Drimus]

That's what I was worried about, does the second slot have to be working at 16x or is 8x sufficient?

[Saithes]

That's what I was worried about, does the second slot have to be working at 16x or is 8x sufficient?

It needs to be x8 at least.

[Drimus]

Thanks for the help, I looked around but it doesn't look like ASUS mobos are going to cut it. I only see gigabyte and MSI being able to get what I need. Anyone got any opinions if its worth it to get a small SSD to put the OS on and get the hybrid for the rest?

[Saithes]

Thanks for the help, I looked around but it doesn't look like ASUS mobos are going to cut it. I only see gigabyte and MSI being able to get what I need. Anyone got any opinions if its worth it to get a small SSD to put the OS on and get the hybrid for the rest?

Asus has a P8P67 Pro, EVO, P8Z68-V, Pro

[Drimus]

I saw those but in the specifications it says 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8), isn't the primary slot supposed to operate at 16x? I thought if it didn't it would shed off some performance because it isn't working at max capacity.

[Saithes]

I saw those but in the specifications it says 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8), isn't the primary slot supposed to operate at 16x? I thought if it didn't it would shed off some performance because it isn't working at max capacity.

No. They can both operate at x8 lol It won't effect performance. There's no difference between x8 and x16 for any modern single GPU card.

[Drimus]

oh snap then that fixes that, thanks again! Do you have any other suggestions from the build I made?

[Saithes]

oh snap then that fixes that, thanks again! Do you have any other suggestions from the build I made?

I'd opt for a Radeon HD 6790 or 6850 if its within your budget.

[Drimus]

Sorry was reading up on the mobos, I'm not too familiar with Radeon hence why I was trying to stay with GeForce but is there any difference?

[Saithes]

Sorry was reading up on the mobos, I'm not too familiar with Radeon hence why I was trying to stay with GeForce but is there any difference?

They're faster.

Edit: They also use less power and tend to run cooler.

[Drimus]

Alright I'm gonna check it out and btw what's your opinion on the SSD matter I posted about earlier?

[Xuvial]

Case, you ask? You'll want one with good build-quality and enough space for expansions, so preferably a higher-end mid tower or lower-end full-tower. The thing with cases is since they look so different and have mostly the same features, it's really up to you :S
Two sub-$100 cases I can recommend:
CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced. Spacious mid-tower and highly flexible with airflow/modifications all for $99.
Lian-Li Lancool PC-K63. Comes with a neat side-window if you want to keep an eye on your interior, Lian-Li's typical top-notch build quality and sexy LED fans.

[Deleted]

They're faster.

Edit: They also use less power and tend to run cooler.

I call bullshit.
Both ATI and Nvidia develop and make great cards. Decide what you want to spend on a card (money wise), go to your computer-store and check the options. Then search around to see how they perform. After this, come here and ask if it's a good pick-up to get confirmation and you should be solid.

None is better than the other, really.

[Saithes]

I call bullshit.
Both ATI and Nvidia develop and make great cards. Decide what you want to spend on a card (money wise), go to your computer-store and check the options. Then search around to see how they perform. After this, come here and ask if it's a good pick-up to get confirmation and you should be solid.

None is better than the other, really.

Oh I was talking about the 6850/6790 I suggested So call bullshit all you want, but you're calling it on the wrong thing.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4260/amds-radeon-hd-6790-coming-up-short-at-150/8

See.

[Deleted]

Alright I'm gonna check it out and btw what's your opinion on the SSD matter I posted about earlier?

An SSD is in my opinion a luxury item for a modern mid- to high-end system. It will not make games run smoother or increase your frame-rate - an SSD will only decrease your loading times (and that with a great deal). If you are on a tight budget, I'd recommend spending that cash on a better GPU instead.

---------- Post added 2011-07-03 at 09:46 PM ----------

Oh I was talking about the 6850/6790 I suggested So call bullshit all you want, but you're calling it on the wrong thing.

Ah, then I apologize :-)

[Xuvial]

Alright I'm gonna check it out and btw what's your opinion on the SSD matter I posted about earlier?

It depends on what you want to put on your SSD and how much you're willing to spend on it.
For an OS+Programs-only SSD, a 40gb/64gb SSD is the cheapest option. If you want to cut down the loading screens in games and help increase loading textures/etc faster, you'll want ateast 80-100gb of SSD space but they don't come cheap. An OS+Programs SSD is always worth it IMO, your system feels drastically more responsive and more importantly your system performance doesn't degrade over time unlike mechanical HDD's which start fragmenting and getting slowed-down by registry dust.
Bigger SSD's start costing more and some people start calling it "luxury", etc because it doesn't increase FPS in games, only loading times.

Crucial's RealSSD C300 64gb is a killer for it's price.
The next up is OCZ's Vertex 2 80gb/90gb
With your budget in mind those are the best SSD's I can recommend in their size/price-ranges.