Check my spec please!

[mamoru]

Hi guys, I've just put together a spec which I think is the best I can do on my current budget. I just wanted to check that the PSU and processor cooling etc is enough for this set-up.

Also if there are any obvious mistakes I've made or simple improvements to be had please let me know.

Case COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard ASUS® P7H55-M SI: MICRO ATX VALUE MAINBOARD,USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 460 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 640GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD6402AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling INTEL SOCKET LGA1155/1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive NONE
Firewire & Video Editing NONE
TV Card NONE
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets (VOIP) NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Home Installation NONE
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Miscellaneous FREE Need For Speed™ World Starter Pack with any Nvidia® GTS450 or above!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £563.33
Price £676.00
Order Quantity 1
Bulk Discount £0.00
Total Order price (Ex VAT) £563.33
Total Order Price £676.00
Payment Method
Wattage
Maximum Required Power 418W

 

[mamoru]

As an addition to the above:

I've priced up an AMD alternative using a phenom x4 and everything else pretty much the same and its quite a bit cheaper. I can also drop it further still if I go for an ATI card like a 5770 or something.

What's the difference in performance like between the Intel/AMD processors and the 2 gfx cards I've mentioned?

 

[mamoru]

Another question,

Is the i5 2400 better or worse for a gaming PC than the i5 760?

 

[LFFPicard]

Hi,

Intel is always better, also the second gen processors are better.
Let us know what games or use you want the PC for and the budget and we can help get a spec together for you.

 

[Grinder]

Another question,

Is the i5 2400 better or worse for a gaming PC than the i5 760?

The 2400 is as good as an i7 for gaming and wayyyyyyy better than a 760

 

[mamoru]

Thanks for your responses guys.

My budget was £700 really but I can go above if I absolutely have to.

Game-wise nothing I have currently is particularly new but I would like to be able to play the likes of battlefield 3 when it comes out. Doesn't matter if its not all on best settings etc but as long as I can actually play everything al right.

Looks like I'm narrowed down on the processor if the 2400 is significantly better that the 760, so just need to decide on the graphics card right now. Not sure at all about the comparison between the GTX 460 and a possible ATI equivalent.

 

[Josh]

How much can you spend on the graphics card?

 

[mamoru]

I can't really say, I don't even really know what the different gfx cards cost, but like I said my ideal budget was £700 which I managed with the build I have at the top. I could stretch too a bit more, perhaps £800 for example but I know how these custom PCs go and how easy it is to keep adding a little bit more each time so you have to stop somewhere.

I would only be interested in going above £700 if its a significant upgrade that will have a large noticeable difference. I was of the understanding that the gtx 460 was a pretty good card but I maybe totally wrong.

 

[Josh]

Yeah it is pretty good, but running battlefield 3 i wouldn't expect a high fps, take a look at this test of lots of GPUs on battlefield 2 http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-570-sli-review/6 GTX 460 is quite low, i know that is on a high res but battlefield 3 is gonna demand more anyway.

 

[mamoru]

Ok I have updated my spec a little so I think this is going to be my finished product:

Case COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® P8H67-M LX SI: MICRO ATX MAINBOARD, LG 1155, SATA 6.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 460 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Free Item FREE Need For Speed™ World Starter Pack with any Nvidia® GTS450 or above!
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive NONE
Firewire & Video Editing NONE
TV Card NONE
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets (VOIP) NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Home Installation NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£29)
Quantity 1

Got the i5 2400 in there now instead of the 760 and still got it around £700.

Unless there's anything obvious I've missed I'm going to order this in the next few days.

 

[toonarama]

This is almost exactly the same spec as I am considering which I still have a couple of queries over

a) is the 450w power supply powerful enough for the 460 - Ch*******t configurator forces you to up it to 600w if you include the GTX460

b) Is the Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER in this spec or will the standard one suffice

Can anybody advise?

Thanks

 

[mamoru]

Hi Toonarama,

Yeah that was one of my first questions about the PSU and cooling but nobody seemed to mention it in there responses so I figured it wasn't a great concern.

 

[Rakk]

If the configurator will let you get away with the 450w supply then it will be fine, though if you ever plan to include anything else like upgrade to SLI or just want a bit more peace of mind you probably want a beefier PSU

 

[toonarama]

Thanks Rakk

Mamorou - bear in mind that the "fixed" Micro motherboard in your spec is not in stock yet. I was advised on another post that this is expected in in the next couple of weeks. I can't afford to purchase for another month or so, therefore if you go ahead I would love to know how you get on with it!

all the best

Toonarama

 

[LFFPicard]

Also to answer the other question the Triple heatpipe cooler is fine, the stock cooler will even be fine but to give better airflow etc stick with the Triple heatpipe cooler.

 

[pengipete]

Agreed - the vertical fan on those coolers not only cools the CPU better, it also pulls air across the RAM and the other components at the top of the motherboard.