Need advice with building new system!

[noobybooby]

Hi,

I'm looking at building a new system. I've been researching components for the last few weeks, and I'm looking to make the purchase in the next month. As my username suggests, this would be my first build.

What I'll be using it for:

• *) lots of internet browsing, mail client, word/excel, itunes
  *) watching/recording tv
  *) moderate gaming - for once in my life I'd actually like to be able to play decent games at decent settings, but I am certainly no hardcore gamer. I'd also want to play Civ 5 when it comes out in the fall.
  *) lots of multitasking - I love having lots of things open at once e.g. TV, internet, mail client, word.
  *) powering a 1920 x 1080 monitor - and possibly adding one or two more in the future

I'd like the machine to be quiet, but it doesn't have to be absolutely silent. I'm based in the UK. My Budget is roughly £1250 with the monitor.

My current plan:

Case - £90
Fractal Define R3
Due to be released in the next few weeks - I won't start my build until this is available. Looks beautiful, and seems pretty good with sound dampening, so I'm very keen on this.

Fans - ?
Ok, I'm really not sure on what fans I'll need, or how to set them up.
I was thinking, use the 2 stock fractal fans on the front as intake. Buy another 2 fans and use one on the bottom of the case as intake, and the other at the back as exhaust. Does this even make sense? Not sure about this.
As for fan models, I thought maybe the Nexus? Advice would be great here.

CPU - £210
Intel i7 860 - LGA 1156 socket (Retail)
I was planning on using the heatsink that comes with it, as I have no plans to overclock. I've read that many people say you should get a CPU cooler. Do I really need one? Also, I was under the impression that the i7 - 860 didn't run that hot.

Motherboard - £110
ASUS P7P55D-E iP55 Socket LGA 1156
Some future proofing as it gives me USB 3 and SATA II support I believe.

RAM - ?
Corsair 4GB
I'm looking for the best deal on Corsair RAM. I found:

scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%282x2GB%29-Corsair-XMS3-Classic-DDR3-PC3-12800-%281600%29-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-7-8-7-20-165V

scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductId=30579

The first one is £95, the second is £75. Will I really notice the difference in real world situations? Any better suggestions?

GPU - £130
Sapphire 5770 Vapor-X
Its only a few pounds more than the non vapor version.

SSD - £110
Corsair Force 60GB
I'm undecided between this and the OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB. Also, I'm hoping the price drops a little more in the next few weeks

HDD - £45
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB

External HDD - ?
Unsure between:

WD Elements External at £55
amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Elements-Desktop-External/dp/B002E7HEVU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282137158&sr=8-1

or the USB 3.0 Verbatim at £65
overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-010-VB&utm_source=froogle

Which one will work better as a backup drive? The Faster USB 2.0, or the slower USB 3.0, from a lesser brand?

PSU
Undecided. Thinking of the Seasonic 650W, though that's quite pricey (can't find it for less than £105. The Corsair 650W HX (non-modular I believe) is at about £60. Again, recommendations appreciated.

DVD drive - £45
Samsung SH-B083L
Has Blue Ray playback as well for £25 over a standard DVD drive. Supposed to be quiet too.

Monitor - £270
Samsung 2770H 1920 x 1080
I'd rather get a 1920 x 1200, but there are no good monitors in this resolution in the 25"+ range. And I'd like a large monitor without breaking the bank on 2560 x 1600.

Speakers - £35
Logitech Z323 Speaker System
Seems a decent budget, compact 2.1 system.


Any advice much appreciated.

[note that I had to remove the "h t t p / / w w w ." part from the links, because I'm not allowed to post links as a new member]

[bonestonne]

1) I'm not sure if you've got this 100%, but USB2 is never going to be faster than USB3. For that external drive, unless you have a reason to go USB2, just get the USB3.

Fans - I'm a little picky, I'm very partial to Scythe Slipstreams. Yate Loons, and Nexus are a hard second. For me, Noctua comes at the bottom of my list only because as far as fans go, they're pretty expensive. Once you get the case, I would say determine how you like the stock fans. If they're quiet enough for you, don't worry about replacing them. Don't forget to test the fans at different voltages and see how it works for you.

CPU - Even for gaming, couldn't an i5 or an i3 do the job just as well? I'm looking to stir up other people's suggestions as well. I've seen many people go for the i5 750 without looking back.

RAM - 4gb seems like plenty to me.

GPU - out of argument's sake, various people recommended the MSI Hawk 5770 to me, where does that stand against the Vapor-X?

PSU - No more than 500W. This system doesn't look power hungry at all to me, in any way shape or form. Even with gaming, i don't think a 650W is necessary. If I can power an i7 960 under load for several hours with a 600W, your i7 8xx or even lower (if you choose an i5 or i3) shouldn't need that much.

I'm not exactly a "master builder" but I think some of this should be questioned a little bit. it could even help your budget while being just as capable.

[Cerb]

Mobo: SATA 6Gbps is not SATA II. We've had SATA II for years, now. You get a controller chip with two 6Gbps ports, and you need a fast SSD to hit 3Gbps, today. It's fine to have, but don't make your mobo choice because of it. USB 3 saves you using a slot, later on (IMO, USB 3 is a must for high-budget uATX build, but can be taken or left for a full ATX).

RAM: No, get the cheaper pair. These days, you have live on benchmarks to get a significant benefit from RAM timings, or you have to want to OC a great deal, where tight timings on RAM give you more room to loosen them as you OC.

GPU: nothing conclusive, if you don't go passive, right now. But, the VaporX should be alright, as a reference or MSI GTX 460, or a MSI HAWK 57xx.

SSD: if the price doesn't drop, get yourself a weaker/cheaper CPU, instead. IE, you want one of these. You can nitpick which is the better buy, but both appear to use Sandforces, and both will simply SMASH any rotational drive.

External: get a USB 2/eSATA drive, instead of either of those. You'll need external power for any 3.5", and it will give you the same performance as an internal drive (because that's basically what it will be). Then use USB 2 for other computers you may hook it up to.

PSU: Corsair or Seasonic 500 or so, like a 550VX, or S12II 520. With your budget, you could even squeeze in a S12II 620, though it would be overkill.

[noobybooby]

Thanks for the replies.

GPU - out of argument's sake, various people recommended the MSI Hawk 5770 to me, where does that stand against the Vapor-X?

Having read the reviews, I think I might plump for the MSI Hawk 5770 over the Sapphire Vapor-X - its only £8 more, and seems to run quieter, cooler and faster. Thanks for the heads-up.

RAM: No, get the cheaper pair. These days, you have live on benchmarks to get a significant benefit from RAM timings, or you have to want to OC a great deal, where tight timings on RAM give you more room to loosen them as you OC.

Ok - I'll go for the cheaper pair.

1) I'm not sure if you've got this 100%, but USB2 is never going to be faster than USB3. For that external drive, unless you have a reason to go USB2, just get the USB3.

Yeah I know USB 3 is 10 times faster than USB 2, but I believe that the USB 2 drive I mentioned is of a better quality. So I was wondering whether the better drive and slower connection was better overall than a lesser drive with a faster connection.

External: get a USB 2/eSATA drive, instead of either of those. You'll need external power for any 3.5", and it will give you the same performance as an internal drive (because that's basically what it will be). Then use USB 2 for other computers you may hook it up to.

I read some articles saying that USB 3 is (marginally) faster than an eSATA drive. And the cheapest eSATA drives I can find seem to be a little more expensive than the cheapest USB 3 one (the Verbatim I mentioned earlier). Do you have a particular model in mind?

[Cerb]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb ... 490-6.html

If USB 3 drives are much cheaper, get one, instead--I'm across the pond, so prices and availability can differ quite a bit. Performance-wise, USB 3 uses more CPU for the job, right now. It will be a bit slower with small files, too, but nothing like USB 2.