Advice on future build

K

Kilauea

banned
Hello,

I am thinking about building a system sometime soon, possibly this summer. I know prices will change and that some pieces might need to change then, but I want to have an idea of what to expect and also to be able to compare prices over time and just be ready when I will be or when a deal I can't resist comes up.

My budget would be a "maximum" of 1200 CAD(I can always get more if it gives me something significantly better. I know most of you know US pricing, so I added a price for each parts in USD. I do mostly regular surfing or office job, but part of that is due to the fact my computer can't take anything. I would be interested in doing some moderate gaming, but I usually am not the kind to go for the most demanding games, I never play FPS. I am also thinking from time to time that maybe I should just get a HTPC.

I have done a bit of research and will expose what I have found and my questions, I would like some advice.

Case: I want something fairly quiet, with a good airflow. Somehow I am quite attracted to the Antec Sonata PLUS 550. 180$ (140USD)

PSU: Antec NeoHe 550 included with the case.

CPU: Hesitating between the E8400 200$ (168USD), the i7 920 (although I doubt I will go that way unless it is highly recommended) or the Phenom II X4 940 249$ (189USD)(someone from another forum recommended I go this route). As you can see I am no fanboy and open to other options. I am not considering overclocking(but not saying I will never try it).

Mobo: I know more of Intel compatible mobos, so I will say what I'd consider, I am not into SLI or Crossfire. Gigabyte EP45-UD3L. 114$ (95USD) If it were the AMD route that I'd choose, for now I would look into the Gigabyte MA780G-UD3H 109$ (90USD), I do not know much about AMD mobos, so any suggestions is welcome.

HDD: I don't really need a big HDD, I could surely live without problems with a 100gb one, but I think 1TB is a sweet spot. Once more not a fanboy of Seagate or WD, but I am considering the WD10EADS 1TB 109$ (90USD).

DVD drive: Liteon IHAS122 28$ (22USD).

RAM: I don't think I would notice a different between DDR2-800 and 1066, but right now I'd consider G.Skill PC2-8000 2x2gb 63$ (55USD).

GPU: Not a fanboy, just considering this card, as I said I am not a hardcore gamer, but I want something that will let me play games and that won't be outdated in the next week. Having HDMI out is not a must, but its a strong deciding factor between 2 similar products, also being able to plug 2 monitors is close to a must. ATI HD4770 130$ (110USD)

Total: 824$ (680USD) with the E8400 combo and 868$ (736 USD) for the Phenom II X4 940 combo, without o/s (can expect 150$ for that). I don't think I forgot anything, but if I did or if you want to add suggestions, please do so, I am all ears! It would leave me some head room for a new screen such as the Acer X233H and maybe a new keyboard, but those cover all I could possibly need.

Any suggestions for my needs, would be very welcome. Thanks a lot.
 
Last edited:
K

Kilauea

banned
Breadman177 said:
The 1 thing that stood out to me is instead of getting 1 HD you ought to get 2.
Click to expand...

I already have 1 external 500gb HD, which I assume would be plenty for all my information and more. Would that replace the purpose u r talking about ?

Otherwise, I was kind of thinking about going RAID 1(that's the one where it backs up at the cost of speed, right ?)

Otherwise, any other feedback ?
 
K

Kilauea

banned
Sorry to bump this, but it seems at this time there are way too many good advices that are being given away :D
 
J

Jamin43

banned
Killeau,

I'm about a month ahead of you in the process - was planning a build later this year and my timeline got accellerated 2 or 3 months on a CPU sale price for teh core i7 I couldn't pass up.

But in response to your initial question I found the best thing was to just read alot - and start with a price range and start to build various systems on paper. Price your system build with everything side by side ( HDD / CPU / PSU / GPU / Case / DVD Burner / MOBO / RAM / OS ) - I used Excel. Have an Phenom II 720 build AM3 - i940 AM2+ - i955 AM3, Core i7 920 - etc With complete pricing on all the parts. This gave me a better comparison of value and what I wanted to put together.

Once you get a feel for a few of the CPU's you're looking at - do a bunch of google searches - and you'll see a bunch of Comparisons - on various benchmarks all over the net - read reviews - pros - cons etc. Spend some time - and you'll start to get a feel for what everything offers - and then you can back into the ideal situation for you and your interests / needs.

Tomshardware.com is a good resource - this site - and Thetechreport.com are 3 I find very helpful. When you think you've got a firm

As to prices - I think that's harder to peg as it's market driven by both technology advances - competition - and I would assume individuals purchasing behaviors which may be altered by current economic conditions. The price of 6GB triple channel RAM has gone down from 160 to 100.00 since early days - and add a 20.00 rebate - I don't know how much of a move it will decline in the near term. I expect the x58 motherboards to come down - what time frame - I have no idea.
 
K

Kilauea

banned
Ya, I've been reading comparisons, been on the boards for a while, checking prices... But I must say I always come back to the boards cuz of the quality of the suggestions I get here. And I have also been using Excel to compare prices over time, but I will use it also to compare many systems at a time, its a good idea.
 
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