Gaming Building a new computer

[DarkWay]

Hey Tempers!

Advice time!

I'm going to be building a "new" computer, from start to finish, I've picked out pretty much everything (I think) but I need your advice on whether it is all compatible.

So here's the list of everything:-

Case - NZXT Phantom Black.
Motherboard - ASUS P7P55D-E PRO iP55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio USB3 ATX Motherboard.
CPU - Intel Core i5 760 2.8GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) Processor.
GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 470 Twin Frozr II 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card.
PSU - OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W PSU - 80+ & SLI Certified - ATX12V 2.2/ EPS12V -135mm Fan.
Memory - OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1866MHz Platinum Memory Kit 1.65V CL9(9-9-9-27).
HDD - Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache.
DVD-RW - Samsung SH-S223 22x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive.
Sound Card - Asus Xonar DG 5.1 Surround Sound Card.
Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Thermal paste 3.5gram.

Okay well that's the list that I've got so far but perhaps you can help me even further?

Cooling Fan - Require Advice on what could/would fit and be good.
Network Card - Yeah, need advice I have no idea.

Well I'm not sure if that is everything I'll need (tools are not a problem), so if anything is missing please DO tell me (suggestions would also be nice).

Any advice you can give is welcome (maybe even find the parts I want cheaper?

), I've done a fair bit of research but I'm not 100% sure as this will be my first build.

Thanks in advance you knowledgable tempers you!

 

[coolbho3000]

Why not Sandy Bridge?

 

[Splych]

cooling fan ... CoolerMaster Hyper 212, CoolerMaster V8 or Xigmatek Dark Knight . any of those are good . though the stock cooler should do you well enough , you could still try an after market if you plan on over clocking your CPU .

network card , i don't think you need . the on board one on the mobo should do most users well enough . same goes for sound card . i don't really see much use for it [for me anyway] but an avg. user should be good with the onboard audio .

EDIT: coolbho, sandy bridge had a recall recently .
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/sandy-bri...call,12123.html
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/intel-f...pments-stopped/

 

[DarkWay]

Why not Sandy Bridge?

Yeah basically what Splych said, there's a problem with the chipsets taht can cause...I think it was HDD failure? or something can't remember.

QUOTE(Splych @ Feb 9 2011, 12:03 AM) cooling fan ... CoolerMaster Hyper 212, CoolerMaster V8 or Xigmatek Dark Knight . any of those are good . though the stock cooler should do you well enough , you could still try an after market if you plan on over clocking your CPU .

network card , i don't think you need . the on board one on the mobo should do most users well enough . same goes for sound card . i don't really see much use for it [for me anyway] but an avg. user should be good with the onboard audio .

EDIT: coolbho, sandy bridge had a recall recently .
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/sandy-bri...call,12123.html
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/intel-f...pments-stopped/

I quite like the Coolermaster Hyper 212 that will probably be my fan of choice although I DO plan on overclocking, the i5 I've chosen has been overclocked to 4.4GHz (I don't plan on going that far maybe 3.8-4GHz).
Network Card I'll hold off on getting one test the onboard one out first to see it it will do me any good, and as for the sound card perhaps you're right I'll do the same and hold off on that, test the on-board one first. Might end up saving me some money on those.

I'm not currently building the PC I'm heading off to University in September so this is my last treat to myself for awhile and I have 6 months to get some money together for it (but I don't want a dogs bollocks PC, a decent one will do and this is looking to be a very good build) I'll also be saving extra money as "insurance" money should happenings "happen" at Uni and I need more money

 

[Originality]

I'll second the above advice. Onboard sound is good for everybody except those with really expensive sound systems or headphones. Onboard networking should also be fine, except if you really need WiFi. In that case, I don't know what to advise since I've heard mixed reviews on every single WiFi device I've checked out thus far.

Btw, just so you're clear on the issue of the recall, it's about P67 (LGA 1155) motherboards, not the Sandy Bridge CPUs themselves (or at least that's what I've been hearing in forums). The article Splych linked also says H67 motherboards seem unaffected, so those who bought Sandy Bridge with the interests of using the integrated graphics don't have to worry.
EDIT: To elaborate further, it's simply about the SATA controller degrading. Generally, after a while (nobody specified how long), SATA port I/O functions slow down, which means HDDs appear to be slowing down, which eventually leads to computer hangs and/or corruption.

So there's no real reason not to get a Core i5-2400 or 2500K (K for overclocking) - they're the same price as their older counterparts.

CustomPC recommend a Gelid Tranquillo or Thermaltake Frio (better than the Tranquillo). They're designed for LGA 1156 motherboards, but I think they work with LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge) motherboards too. Someone else can confirm that for me, since I'm too tired to check.

Btw, tools needed... generally a medium-sized Phillips screwdriver (the cross-headed one) is all you need. Some "bunny ears" (or "tie-off strips") are also useful for cable management, but you tend to get plenty of them with computer components anyway.

Last bit of advice, Scan.co.uk, dabs.com, ebuyer.com and lambda-tek.com are my favourite sites to find parts online, although better deals can be found at local computer fairs (if you know how to talk to them).

 

[DarkWay]

I'll second the above advice. Onboard sound is good for everybody except those with really expensive sound systems or headphones. Onboard networking should also be fine, except if you really need WiFi. In that case, I don't know what to advise since I've heard mixed reviews on every single WiFi device I've checked out thus far.

Btw, just so you're clear on the issue of the recall, it's about P67 (LGA 1155) motherboards, not the Sandy Bridge CPUs themselves (or at least that's what I've been hearing in forums). The article Splych linked also says H67 motherboards seem unaffected, so those who bought Sandy Bridge with the interests of using the integrated graphics don't have to worry.
EDIT: To elaborate further, it's simply about the SATA controller degrading. Generally, after a while (nobody specified how long), SATA port I/O functions slow down, which means HDDs appear to be slowing down, which eventually leads to computer hangs and/or corruption.

So there's no real reason not to get a Core i5-2400 or 2500K (K for overclocking) - they're the same price as their older counterparts.

CustomPC recommend a Gelid Tranquillo or Thermaltake Frio (better than the Tranquillo). They're designed for LGA 1156 motherboards, but I think they work with LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge) motherboards too. Someone else can confirm that for me, since I'm too tired to check.

Btw, tools needed... generally a medium-sized Phillips screwdriver (the cross-headed one) is all you need. Some "bunny ears" (or "tie-off strips") are also useful for cable management, but you tend to get plenty of them with computer components anyway.

Last bit of advice, Scan.co.uk, dabs.com, ebuyer.com and lambda-tek.com are my favourite sites to find parts online, although better deals can be found at local computer fairs (if you know how to talk to them).

Tool are certainly not a problem xD
Also about the H67's there have been some reports of the problem being there aswell, I can't for the life of me remember where I read it though (in detail) but it does mention it on the ebuyer website if you look at any of the P67 or H67 motherboards.

 

[Splych]

i have the Hyper 212 in my computer and keeps it nice and cool . i haven't tried heavy overclocking on it where i O/Ced it to 4.0GHz yet . the max is 3.8GHz and i used the automated O/C settings . i will try learning more on how to O/C things later on . the highest my temp. has gone to was 25 degrees , and that was when i O/Ced it to 3.8GHz. i am curious to see what the temperature of it now is ... btw , this computer is 2 years old .

it's always safer to wait on news for this sandy bridge issue . although it doesn't affect the H67 as much , it never hurt to wait and see what Intel's next move will be . heck , you might even be interested in AMD's bulldozer later on which might possibly cause some of Intel's own CPU prices to get cheaper too . cable management shouldn't be a problem anyway . the case you chose is a great case and will be my next choice if i ever plan on making a build this year or next year mainly because of aesthetics and cable management .

 

[DarkWay]

i have the Hyper 212 in my computer and keeps it nice and cool . i haven't tried heavy overclocking on it where i O/Ced it to 4.0GHz yet . the max is 3.8GHz and i used the automated O/C settings . i will try learning more on how to O/C things later on . the highest my temp. has gone to was 25 degrees , and that was when i O/Ced it to 3.8GHz. i am curious to see what the temperature of it now is ... btw , this computer is 2 years old .

it's always safer to wait on news for this sandy bridge issue . although it doesn't affect the H67 as much , it never hurt to wait and see what Intel's next move will be . heck , you might even be interested in AMD's bulldozer later on which might possibly cause some of Intel's own CPU prices to get cheaper too . cable management shouldn't be a problem anyway . the case you chose is a great case and will be my next choice if i ever plan on making a build this year or next year mainly because of aesthetics and cable management .

That's pricely why I chose that case

but yeah now I just need to find the £790.33 to buy and build this computer.

 

[Splych]

haha, while you try and collect that money , wait for revision 2 for Sandy Bridge . there's got to be a fix for that issue

 

[coolbho3000]

Wait for the Sandy Bridge fix, really, it's much faster per clock and a K version will get you over 4GHz on the stock air cooler.

 

[omgdaniel]

Just FYI, if you want to overclock and want to go Sandy Bridge, don't get the H67. You would want a P67, or Z68.

Also, K series Sandy Bridge is what you want. That will be the 1156 i5's anyday.

And the Cooler Master 212 Plus is a great cooler for the money. If you want a better cooler, just depends how much you want to spend. And no sound card is needed, and no NIC is needed. If you wanted a cheaper GPU, you can look into the AMD Radeon series. 470 is overkill for everything right now.

 

[DarkWay]

Just FYI, if you want to overclock and want to go Sandy Bridge, don't get the H67. You would want a P67, or Z68.

Also, K series Sandy Bridge is what you want. That will be the 1156 i5's anyday.

And the Cooler Master 212 Plus is a great cooler for the money. If you want a better cooler, just depends how much you want to spend. And no sound card is needed, and no NIC is needed. If you wanted a cheaper GPU, you can look into the AMD Radeon series. 470 is overkill for everything right now.

If Sandy Bridge is sorted by then and it's just as cheap then I may go down that route if it's not I'm sticking with what I've got because it's still pretty damn good.
The GPU might be abit overkill for most things right now, but overkill is good especially for under £200 I'm certainly not complaining.

 

[Joe88]

theres really no need for another sound card
unless you have a really nice system (Z-5500)

 

[DarkWay]

theres really no need for another sound card
unless you have a really nice system (Z-5500)

I don't have an amazing System really, 2.1 Logitech Speakers but they get the job done, as I've said I'll hold off on the soundcard unless I find I do need one, I also have a Turtle Beach headset and some Sennheisers. So they will make the decided factor.

 

[ThePowerOutage]

2 questions.
What will the PC be used for?
When do you want/need it built by?

 

[DarkWay]

2 questions.
What will the PC be used for?
When do you want/need it built by?

Well for allsorts really.
Primarily I'm going to be gaming on it, an dI want to run things on high settings or highest.
But I am going to be working on it aswell, I'm going to University to do "Interactive Game Design" this includes the full package coding, animation, 3D, 2D e.t.c. so there will als be alot of rendering and stuff going on which I believe is intense work for a computer.

I need the computer built before the beginning of September as I will be moving out and up to University then but the sooner I can build it the sooner I can tinker with it to get it exactly as I want it. However I'm not going to rush in as soon as I have £800 and buy everything I'll probably wait maybe 3months? depending on the time I have left before University after getting the money together.

 

[DarkWay]

So rather than make a new topic, I decided to "bump" this one for more information.

With the P67 and H67 recall due to the Cougar Chipset being abit borked on the the 31st of January, I decided I'd be going for the "lesser" Intel i5 760 which whilst not as good as the sandy bridge is still a decent CPU but I'm now again thinking of waiting until the new fixed motherboards are in rotation and then forking out for an i5 2500k + motherboard.

However, does anyone know of a time frame of when these fixed motherboards will be in circulation?

Suprisingly enough for me I'm more than half way towards building my new computer, I love birthdays

I got more money than I expected.

 

[Originality]

Actually it's already started. Some of the non-fixed motherboards are being send to laptop manufacturers because it only affects SATA2 ports and the two SATA3 ports are unaffected (it takes 3 years for the effects to appear anyway), whilst certain companies that're only focussing on Sandy Bridge (as in, they won't touch AMD) are getting priority for the fixed chipsets.

I imagine it'll only be a month or so for the entire event to have been forgotten.

 

[DarkWay]

Actually it's already started. Some of the non-fixed motherboards are being send to laptop manufacturers because it only affects SATA2 ports and the two SATA3 ports are unaffected (it takes 3 years for the effects to appear anyway), whilst certain companies that're only focussing on Sandy Bridge (as in, they won't touch AMD) are getting priority for the fixed chipsets.

I imagine it'll only be a month or so for the entire event to have been forgotten.

When you say cmpanies that are only focusing on intel, where do you mean? when I get my motherboard I want to be sure that it will be a working one as I don't want to have to mess about with replacements should it go wrong a few years down the line. cost is also another issue for me >_>

 

[Originality]

Basically OEM partners such as motherboard manufacturers. It's not aimed at small-scale system builders. Since you're an individual, you fall under the latter, and you get the choice Scan (and others) are providing - purchase (at discount) the faulty B2 stepping Intel 6 series motherboards knowing that a few years down the line SATA ports 2-6 will stop working (ports 0 and 1 will work as normal), or wait for the B3 stepping chips to be released.

Source from Bit-tech.

In another Bit-tech article, it also says this:

Interestingly, we've also heard a rumours from one of our sources that the revised B3-stepping silicon has in fact already been shipping for a while, and that the only reason it wasn't announced sooner was because of the hold-ups surrounding Chinese New Year. According to this source, new boards with the B3 silicon could even be available to buy in just a couple of weeks, although no other source was able to confirm this.

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