Help with New Build Spec please!

[Keith]

Hi Guys, I'm a newbie on here, although dealt with Novatech for years as I gradually cannibalised / reinvented my old PC's :)

Anyway, the last iteration looks like it's on it's last legs so I need to do something and your advice would be much appreciated. I am conscious that now is a rubbish time to be doing this since the Intel Sandybridge launch and forthcoming Bulldozer launch is likely to throw everything up in the air again. However, I guess I am only looking for a fix for a few years and long term I was thinking of upgrading again and converting this build into an HTPC / back up PC / home server.

I use the PC for general Office stuff & email, a bit of photoshop, web browsing, music, & the odd iPlayer download etc. I don't usually do too much gaming but may do some in the future and also my son uses it during university holidays for gaming, particularly WoW & Final Fantasy.

I tripped across the thread started by Webby, posted 6/2/11 & which bears an uncanny resemblance to my own thoughts ie:

Phenom II x4 955 BE
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H - which should provide some options later for an HTPC
G Skill Ripjaw 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666

I have a re-usable case (for now) together with a pair of Samsung 500GB spinpoint drives and an Arctic 600W modular PSU which I think should be fine?

I am considering getting a Crucial SSD C300 64GB SATA 6 as a boot drive.

I could also do with an up to date optical drive so though about the Sony AD 5260S.

The big problem is the Graphics card as this is an area I am not so sure on.
As is clear from these forums, there is the perennial battle between AMD (ATI) & Nvidia and it is dificult to know what level I should go to & which one to go with :huh:

If I convert this to an HTPC later then it will need to be a ble to drive a decent picture onto the TV screen which currently is a 50 inch HD Samsung Plasma but I don't know if this is something which is relevant to the Graphics card? It will certainly be hooked up to a 24" Samsung syncmaster monitor (can't remember the mod number)

Anyway I have been looking at the new Sapphire HD 6850 Toxic or 6870 VaporX (thinking about running cool) or the new N560GTX -TI
Not sure if these are overkill for me or sensible future proofing.
Alternatively the Vapor X 5770 may be more than sufficient at a lot less cost. :thumbs:

Talking of overkill it also crossed my mind that as an alternative to the Phenom 955 BE I might downgrade to the dual core 555BE & take a chnace on unlocking the core? In any case the TDP is a lot lower at 80W so may be better for an HTPC & probably give me enough grunt for most if not all my normal system demands?

Any comments / advice / suggestions gratefully received!

Keith

[LiamJ]

If you're going to downgrade, the Athlon x4 640 is a very good CPU and great value. Better general performance than the 555 and similar in most games.

Regarding the Graphics card, for WoW and FF, a 6850 would give more than enough performance. Great cards, and run cool even on reference coolers (the original stock ones).

That system would easily meet all your demands for quite a while. :thumbs:

The Crucial SSD is a good choice, and some people also like to recommend the OCZ Vertex 2E as they seem to have slightly better read speeds, IIRC. You probably won't notice the difference tbh.

Power supply should be fine, although giving us the model number or a link to the model on the manufacturer's website would be really helpful :thumbs:

The only other thing that crosses my mind is that you've chosen 8Gb of RAM. 8Gb is a lot, and with Windows 7 you'll probably never come close to using half of it on your usage. I have 4Gb and I don't think I've reached the limit, even when video editing with a game open in the background. I'd suggest getting a single 4Gb stick for now.

Hope this helps. :thumbs:

[Asce]

I wouldnt touch OCZ for SSD's as they are currently dealing with a huge backlash. The started shipping 25nm SSD's under the 32nm serial codes, but have less space and lower performance.

[Keith]

Hi Guys, thanks for the comments.

OK, now checked the PSU. It's a Jeantech Arctic JN120F-600AP12V2 linky below.
http://www.jeantech.com/600.htm

This was bought from Novatech a few years ago and as far as I am aware has worked faultlessly since I installed it in my original system. ( AMD 2800+ Barton - I think!).

For completeness the monitor is a Samsung Syncmaster 2493HM, again brilliant & no problems.:thumbs:

I heard that there were maybe some issues with the OCZ SSD's but then if you look on some forums there are also issues with the Crucial C300's as well. Makes you wonder whether it's better to wait a bit !!:mad:

As for the RAM I was originally thinking about 2x 2GB sticks but on the Webby thread, it was suggested that the 2x4GB sticks were a good option and worked well with the CPU / MoBo option. Whilst one is always looking for savings there did not seem to be a huge premium going for the 8 rather than 4GB option - around £37. Is there a downside to having 8GB rather than 4? Or is it just unnecessary?

I think there was a similar thought process behind my original option of going for the Phenom 955BE rather than saving around £30-35 downgrading to the 555 or Athlon.
i.e.: does spending the extra £70 on CPU & memory pay back in terms of performance / future-proofing?

More food for thought but I really appreciate your comments so many thanks.

Keith

[randommagik6]

Totally does :D