new pc spec

[birbal]

what would you suggest specification of custom built computer? Major purpose: for programing (all kind of),Minor purpose: 3d software like blend or 3d studio max (not as extensively but more as hobby) and modern gaming (not in high details but with playable detailing and screen rate and resolution) My budget is around 600$ . i would not like to compromise with performance and future compatibility (upgradable in fututre) and in that case could be flexible with my budget if necessary. But cheaper are better. Best would be where performance and budget meets each other. I think i made my point. Require Components (Listed by priority):(The first 4 is high priority of mine) Processor: At first i was leaned toward AMD FX-8150 8 core. but after viewing the reviews of it i am little bit confused. I expected it will be comparable with i7 but some benchmarks left AMD FX-8150 behind even i5-2500k series. i5-2500k,i7-2600k,AMD-FX8150 i am confused what will be best among them. now I am more leaned toward i5-2500k as it cheaper than AMD and benchmarks are better than AMD. I would even go for i7-2600k if it has significant performance beinifits. Motherboard: have not decided Monitor: 21" samsungCabinet: cooler master elite HDD: segate barracuda 1TBRAM: G-skills DDR3 2x 4GBGPU: have not decided (I don't need optical drive,mouse ,key board,speakers,FDD if i am missing anything other than that please point it out) That's roughly what i came up. any feedbacks are welcome

Edited October 6, 2012 by birbal

[Craig Hopson]

I was looking through ebay at old work stations and found 2x 8core xeon setups for well in your budget here is an example but its in UK but still cheaphttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-XW8400-2x-Quad-Core-Xeon-X5355-Tower-Server-16GB-RAM-500GB-SATA-RAID-Storage-/110901556065?pt=UK_Computing_Servers&hash=item19d23f7361

[boen_robot]

The prices depend somewhat on where you live.I don't know the prices in India, but with the prices where I live, the kind of components you've already decided on are a little over $600 already. And that's without a case. With the cheapest compatible motherboard added, it goes to a little over $650.

[birbal]

The prices depend somewhat on where you live. I don't know the prices in India, but with the prices where I live, the kind of components you've already decided on are a little over $600 already. And that's without a case. With the cheapest compatible motherboard added, it goes to a little over $650.

what do you think about the processor and motherboard? which cheapest motherboard model have you added? you can leave GPU .it has not much urgency now. the things bother me most is proper processor,motherboard,cabinet with proper cooling system and power. without GPU does it fit now in budget?

[birbal]

I was looking through ebay at old work stations and found 2x 8core xeon setups for well in your budget here is an example but its in UK but still cheaphttp://www.ebay.co.u...=item19d23f7361

as far i know xeon is for server. I don't know much about it and not sure it will suite in my case or.not.

[Craig Hopson]

They run windows 7, i'm not to shore my self but i think they run simular to intel i7

[boen_robot]

In the PC configuration app from the supplier we use at work, the cheapest motherboard is "GigaByte H61M-S1 ddr3/Sata2/VGA PCI-E s1155" at $53.28 (including VAT). I also used Western Digital's 1TB, as they're cheaper.Actually, here's the generated offer. The $545.2 you see at the bottom is a price without VAT (the real price is the most bottom one), except Bulgarian suppliers often artificially lower prices to make the otherwise required VAT price closer to the international average.Even if the price without VAT was actually "the" international average, with a normal case (incl. a power supply) added, you're sure to not have any budget left for even the cheapest extra GPUs.

[birbal]

In the PC configuration app from the supplier we use at work, the cheapest motherboard is "GigaByte H61M-S1 ddr3/Sata2/VGA PCI-E s1155" at $53.28 (including VAT). I also used Western Digital's 1TB, as they're cheaper. Actually, here's the generated offer. The $545.2 you see at the bottom is a price without VAT (the real price is the most bottom one), except Bulgarian suppliers often artificially lower prices to make the otherwise required VAT price closer to the international average. Even if the price without VAT was actually "the" international average, with a normal case (incl. a power supply) added, you're sure to not have any budget left for even the cheapest extra GPUs.

your link is not opening. does that mother boards perform well with i5-2500k? if there is better motherboard i could go with that. i have a machine already which has recently collapsed almost. i have HDD and RAM in it already which i can use temporarily. so i could wait for new HDD or RAM. main aim of mine is getting started with good processing power with minimal components with the scope of to upgrade it later in future to be compatible. (ram hdd is much cheaper to upgrade later) what do you think between amd fx and i5 and i7? do you think i am gonna need over clocking? i suppose it is for gaming purpose mostly and i am hardly going to be in that level of gaming to overclock the CPU. other than that is it have any benifit? non over clocking mother board seems to have save some money. what do you recommend? Edited October 6, 2012 by birbal

[boen_robot]

Yes, that motherboard for Intel s1155, which is i5 and i7's socket.Personally, I prefer Intel CPUs, because they always deliver what they say deliver, and I appreciate that greatly. AMD CPUs typically deliver less than what they promise, but can be over-clocked to deliver sometimes better speeds than what they promise. If you're willing to take the risk of over-clocking and/or have money for a great cooler, AMD is a good choice. That's not the case for most people, which is why I typically offer Intel unless they explicitly ask for AMD.A motherboard doesn't have to be anything special. As long as it's compatible with everything you want to use, the cheapest one is perfectly fine. The more expensive ones have extras you might not necessarily appreciate, such as 1GBit LAN, eSATA ports, more SATA ports and/or PCI-E slots, and Hardware Assisted Virtualization.Here's the offer as text (translated):

Name	Quantity	PriceGigaByte H61M-S1 ddr3/Sata2/VGA PCI-E s1155	1x	$44.4Intel Core I5-2500K 3.3GHz 6M 95W s.1155 BOX	1x	$232.7WD 1TB 7200 64 MB SATA III WD10EZRX Green	1x	$78.4Kingston DDR3 4 GB PC3-10600/1333 MHz	2x	$35.4Samsung 21.5'' (54.6cm) TFT E2220N 5ms 70K:1	1x	$154.3 Main: $545.2VAT 20%: $109.04Total: $654.24

[birbal]

Personally, I prefer Intel CPUs, because they always deliver what they say deliver, and I appreciate that greatly. AMD CPUs typically deliver less than what they promise, but can be over-clocked to deliver sometimes better speeds than what they promise.If you're willing to take the risk of over-clocking and/or have money for a great cooler, AMD is a good choice.

Do you overclock your CPU? i think i am hardly going to need that even if i use intel. overclocking means it will consume more power means more electric bill

That's not the case for most people, which is why I typically offer Intel unless they explicitly ask for AMD.

To be specific what do you think about amd fx-8150?. it was too promising to compete with i7 when it launched. now reading mixed reviews. Does that gigabyte MB have slots for GPU? do you prefer any brand in motherboards? will it be benificial for performance to have a intel mother board with intel processor? Edited October 6, 2012 by birbal

[boen_robot]

Do you overclock your CPU?

Nope. For the reason you mentioned, plus, I don't have the money or nerves to look for coolers of extra terrestrial origin.But that's my point with the AMD over-clock thing - an over-clocked AMD CPU will deliver equal or better speeds to its non-overclocked Intel counterpart, at less power consumption... but with better cooling required to keep the darn thing running properly, which more often than not ends up making the electric bill equal or greater, except you're also running the risk of having the CPU live less.

To be specific what do you think about amd fx-8150?. it was too promising to compete with i7 when it launched. now reading mixed reviews.

Tell me when you find an AMD CPU that is NOT too promising .

Does that gigabyte MB have slots for GPU?

All motherboards (of all brands) have at least one slot suitable for a GPU, including that one. All modern (as in "new", "non-second hand") models use PCI-E slots, which is also the only slot new GPUs are for.

do you prefer any brand in motherboards?

I like ASRock and Gigabyte best, and unless the client expresses preference for a different brand, I recommend those. But not because of the motherboard itself, but because those manufacturers keep their sites well organized and rich on support files (drivers, BIOS, manuals, etc.), even for older models. As a person that often needs to reinstall Windows (with the customer having lost their driver CD), that's something I value more than anything else.Between the two of them, I don't have a preference - I recommend whatever is the cheaper one in stock.

will it be benificial for performance to have a intel mother board with intel processor?

It's not only "beneficial", it's "required". Intel and AMD use different, incompatible sockets to connect to the motherboard.

[justsomeguy]

If you want to build your own, there's a $500 system here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html If you're not going to be doing a lot of gaming then you can trade some of that video card money for other components. There's another list of various system configurations here: http://www.tomshardware.com/system-configuration-recommendation-51.html I followed one of those to build my most recent computer. If you've got a little extra in your budget and want to get the most for your money, get a SSD hard drive. After experiencing the speed of an SSD I'll only ever use a spinning disk for mass storage. Applications get launched from the SSD.

[birbal]

Finally here is the rig i decided (700$ budget) NZXT Guardian 921 RB 921RB-001-RD Black SECC steel chassis Computer Case $69.99 Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $109.99 Acer S220HQLAbd Black 21.5" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $139.99 Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-450-M 450W ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified ...$64.99 Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450 $194.99 ASRock H77 Pro4-M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel MotherboardG.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL Combo $119.9 Subtotal: $699.93

Edited October 9, 2012 by birbal

[birbal]

If you're not going to be doing a lot of gaming then you can trade some of that video card money for other components. There's another list of various system configurations here:

I can live without GPU for now .inbuilt graphics will at least can handle COD series and i am happy with it. i am hardly going to extreme gaming to play game like BF3 or online games. neither i want to play games at full resolution, decently playable mainstream games are ok with me. thanks I will look into the other rigs on that link.

I followed one of those to build my most recent computer. If you've got a little extra in your budget and want to get the most for your money, get a SSD hard drive. After experiencing the speed of an SSD I'll only ever use a spinning disk for mass storage. Applications get launched from the SSD.

unfortunately SSD is not coming in my budget. that is how far i can get into now ($700). if i cut 1tb to 500gb and paired up it with a ssd still it is not coming in range. 500gb HDD+80gb SSD coming around 140$ Edited October 9, 2012 by birbal

[boen_robot]

Actually, about the SSD thing... SSD drives are great for servers, since you'll most often read data, and SSDs have noticeably better read speeds than any HDD.However, they are not very good for development or any kind of authoring work, because in those scenarios, you write (i.e. save) more often than you read, and the writing speed of SSDs is noticeably worse than SATA III HDDs. At least in current SSDs. They'll probably surpass HDDs one day, but they haven't done so yet. Last I checked, the best SSDs have writing speeds around those of SATA I drives.If you decide to use a PC as a server, consider SSDs then. That... or make sure to check out some benchmarks, and only buy an SSD if both speeds are better than your HDD of choice.

[ShadowMage]

SSDs seem to work well for system drives. My Windows 7 installation on my home computer is installed on a SSD and it is much faster than any installation I've worked with on a HDD.

[boen_robot]

If you've worked with PATA (a.k.a. IDE) drives... sure.

[justsomeguy]

I don't see that in the benchmarks, I see read and write speeds and latency significantly better for SSD drives than for spinning drives (SSD drives also use the SATA interface). That's according to the benchmark charts I see on Tom's Hardware. The generation 4 OCZ drives in particular are several times faster on all fronts.

[boen_robot]

OK then... it seems my perceptions were a little outdated (I based them mostly on personal experiences and benchmarks with what - according to Tom's Hardware - seem to be "middle class" SSDs).Now if only the price per GB could become bearable...

[birbal]

i think it would be better to wait for SSD for now. after working with p4 256mb ram machine through eight years, even without ssd working with this rig will seem like heaven anyway. apart from that how does the rig sounds? some people are saying it is not balanced.motherboard,monitors,psu,cabinets are crap.

[birbal]

i have been changed the righttp://www.flipkart.com/motherboards/compare?ids=MBDDAJBJYDZXFWWG,MBDD9MPBN2ZRTTPS,MBDDCPWRNJ7GBVGP,MBDD8QJJ5GW3ZSF5having hard time to choose between the asus one and gigabyte one. any sugetions? everything other have been choosen except the cabinet. will use i5-3550 @justsomeguy how much ssd do you have? which model?

[boen_robot]

The Intel motherboard is a Micro-ATX one, i.e. for smaller cases. Even if it can be placed on a normal case (some "special" Micro-ATX motherboards can't), it will look weird.All ASUS motherboards used to have a problem with the chipset's cooling of all of their motherboards. The first time after the opening, to ensure proper work, one had to take off the cooling metal, add a new thermal paste on the chipset, and put the cooling metal back. I don't know if they've done any changes in their factory since (we're talking 2+ years back...), but I still haven't forgiven them for the tens of motherboards that we had to do this procedure on.Of the other two, I'd take the ASRock motherboard, as it has 2 more USB ports and some BIOS features that are nice for a server (though not for development). The Gigabyte one is nice too.

[birbal]

i did not know asus had this kind of problem. also it is much costlier. it is priced of z77 motherboards and i am hardly going to use that like quad crossfire or overclocking. intel one and asus one is out of the list. some people saying gigabyte components are better than asrock. at first i choosed the asrock one. but i am hearing negetive feedback of them and recomending gigabyte one. i dont understand what is the problem with asrocks. what bios feature are you refering to? also do you have any recommendetion about cabinets? priorities are cable management,dust filtering,good aesthetic look,good airflow usb3.future upgrade and others option of good performance cabinet. i dont know how many fan option or cooler option i am going to need to run this rig efficiently. but i will never use two graphics card. i can spend around 80$-90$ but i am not willing to pay for features that i am not going to use ever also does the intigrated gpu crossfire with external gpu if MB supports crossfire?

Edited October 13, 2012 by birbal

[boen_robot]

some people saying gigabyte components are better than asrock. at first i choosed the asrock one. but i am hearing negetive feedback of them and recomending gigabyte one. i dont understand what is the problem with asrocks.

I'm curious about what kind of negative feedback are we talking about.The only "bad" thing about ASRock I can say is that many (not all!) models don't come in a shiny cardboard box, but only in the industry standard nylon instead, with the manual and driver CD being in there with the motherboard itself. Some may argue this gives off a smell of "unprofessional", but IMHO, this is an indication ASRock spent a few more cents towards the motherboard, rather than a few more cents towards the packaging, which is welcome. A few Gigabyte models also come like that, although admittedly, less often so.In terms of "actual quality"/lifespan, the amount of ASRock motherboards I repair or replace by warranty are pretty much the same as the amount of Gigabyte motherboards, so there's nothing about the motherboards themselves that qualifies either brand as being better or worse.

what bios feature are you refering to?

The one that stuck out for me was "ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events". This includes stuff like turning the computer on/off from a keyboard/mouse/USB-device, or putting it into a deep sleep, and allowing applications to wake the computer up when they want to.Also, the build in LAN supports "Wake-On-LAN", i.e. you can remotely turn the computer on.The Gigabyte motherboard has a "dual BIOS", unlike the ASRock one. This is an extra protection in cases where you flash your BIOS, and the flash fails, at which point, the BIOS will be recovered from the backup. Personally, I haven't had a situation where a flash on an ASRock motherboard failed, so I can't say how useful this protection is on face value. If you live in an area with frequent power surges/outages AND intend to keep your BIOS updated, you might appreciate this, but otherwise, this can be as safely ignored as the ASRock features above.

also do you have any recommendetion about cabinets? priorities are cable management,dust filtering,good aesthetic look,good airflow usb3.future upgrade and others option of good performance cabinet. i dont know how many fan option or cooler option i am going to need to run this rig efficiently. but i will never use two graphics card. i can spend around 80$-90$ but i am not willing to pay for features that i am not going to use ever

By "cabinet", do you mean "case" (the metal box around the whole computer) or "bureau" (the furniture on which the computer, monitor and everything else is placed on)?For a case... just make sure you have a good enough power supply. The metal box itself is just that - a metal box. If you like the looks, that's a good case. Stuff like USB3 is dependent on the motherboard, not the case. The only thing a case could provide is a front-panel USB port extension cable... which is really just that - an extension of whatever port the motherboard supports. The two motherboards above both seem to have one USB3 "header" and two USB2 "headers". I assume that by "header" they mean exactly the ports that are intended for front USBs, though I'm not sure (that's the first time I see the term used).

also does the intigrated gpu crossfire with external gpu if MB supports crossfire?

No... not as far as I've seen at least. CrossFire/SLI are applied between two external GPUs only.

[birbal]

I'm curious about what kind of negative feedback are we talking about.

they said about capacitors and other electric components quality about Asrock. i belive they are generalizing. it is possible they are recommending gigabytes for that kind of support like "dual bios" as electric failure happens often here. what they were not giving was a proper answer that why gigabyte is considered good and Asrock as crap.

The Gigabyte motherboard has a "dual BIOS", unlike the ASRock one. This is an extra protection in cases where you flash your BIOS, and the flash fails, at which point, the BIOS will be recovered from the backup. Personally, I haven't had a situation where a flash on an ASRock motherboard failed, so I can't say how useful this protection is on face value. If you live in an area with frequent power surges/outages AND intend to keep your BIOS updated, you might appreciate this, but otherwise, this can be as safely ignored as the ASRock features above.

There is no frequent power failure but it happens often and more over that i am not using any ups/inverter. as far i can think i am not going to use it as server and hardly use LAN. so above gigabyte features seems more practical to me. Your this verbose explanation made easier to made my choice.

By "cabinet", do you mean "case" (the metal box around the whole computer) or "bureau" (the furniture on which the computer, monitor and everything else is placed on)?

yes i meant case. yes i know they are just case but there other thing they are highlighting like cable management,expansion slots for drives,fan,cooler,radiator,good airflow. to be honest the last machine i used was far behind the trend and it has only one (may be two) fan in a cheap cabinet, but still did manage to served well around 8 years without any technical services. at this point i have no clue about those fans how many i am going to need to run the rig fine with chance of updates in future. that is alone can help me to alot to decide the case.. I can see the upgrade chance of fans and cooling systems make alot of different in prices. also the good looking cabinet is not coming with all good features and vice versa. Edited October 13, 2012 by birbal