Solved i7 Wanted: New motherboard?

[James7679]

My suggestions for a 2011 build

SSD Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/90G 2.5" 90GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Stand-Alone Drive)
GPU Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1573-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

So, just slightly over budget, but definitely a nice rig.

Is THIS the graphics card in question?

The SSD. I'm guessing that's the hard drive? If so isn't 90GB a tad small by today's standards when most computers are running on 1TB?

Yes, that is the correct GPU.

And a SSD(Solid State Drive) doesn't need to be big. It's weight comes in it's performance. A "1tb hdd" is not meant for gaming, "by today's standards". 90gb is plenty big for your OS and some games. You did say you would keep your old PC for basic use.

Feel free to ask others here about the quality of the build I have put together for you. Bang for your buck, it stands apart.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Here is a link at Gigabyte comparing those 2 motherboards

GIGABYTE- I found some useful information and would like to share with you

There are some minor differences.

I know nothing about either. Where are you hearing about overheating?

Most SSD buyers use it only for the operating system and programs, with all data being put on a separate regular spinning hard drive. Windows takes up less than 20 GB, so an SSD of 60 to 120 GB is plenty for most people. It will make a very noticeable difference in overall snappiness of the PC. You can get a decent SSD for 80 to 140 dollars or so.

 

[Chips]

Thanks for all your help so far. Sorry but I'm not all that up to date on all the new technology. Anyways, yep, I'm looking mostly for a gaming machine, but I'm also very, very interested in the idea of heavy duty modding. You know, the creative side of gaming. What kind of HD memory that takes up I don't know though. I know it does rely a lot on the speed of the computer, because even the vanilla Skyrim without mods takes up a lot of power.

By the way, what exactly is a "SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V"? Power supply? What, like as in simple electricity, cooling the system, or is it to do with computer power? Is it an onboard thing?

 

[James7679]

That would be the Power Supply Unit. Power supply unit (computer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As far as drive space goes, well, you can always add a larger 1tb spinner to the system for extended storage later.

 

[Chips]

Ahh, I get it. I've also been having a short read about SSDs. From what I can gather they're fully electronic rather than mechanical spinning disks, hence a lot faster and the ability to compact data into a smaller space? A bit like storage equivalent of RAM? I guess it's a bit like when people went from floppy disks to CDs then to DVDs, but with storage now being fully electronic you can store a lot more memory in a chip than you can a physical disk.

The thing I read about the mother board is that I believe that some people had trouble with it over heating when overclocking. I think they said it needed better fans.

 

[James7679]

Which MoBo are you referring to? I recommended the Biostar. It's a great deal and has great reviews. The Gigabyte boards, well the newer ones at least, do seem to have some heat issues, on both the Intel and AMD boards. And before you think that I am just not a Gigabyte fan, look at my system specs.

Anytime you overclock, you will need an aftermarket CPU Cooler. Cooler Master makes a model call 212+. It's a great little cooler and very budget friendly.

 

[Britton30]

A SSD for the OS and most used software withe a separate HDD for your data and user files is very nice and efficient.
This works nicely... http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...reate-move-during-windows-7-installation.html

 

[Chips]

My suggestions for a 2011 build
RAM Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL

Hi all! Is THIS the right RAM I'm looking for?

PSU Newegg.com - SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply

And THIS for the power unit?

 

[Britton30]

Two good choices. With the RAM I suspect you could make it run at 1866MHz with some looser timings and maybe a .02V increase

 

[Chips]

Two good choices. With the RAM I suspect you could make it run at 1866MHz with some looser timings and maybe a .02V increase

Er, that's not exactly what I meant. I'm looking for some idea of UK prices for the parts that were suggested. Unfortunately they all look pretty much the same to me. I mean, a black box is just a black box to me, and a RAM chip looks like every other RAM chip. Some parts even have similar model names but different abilities. Are those the same parts in my links as those that were suggested?

What would be the best mid-range gaming computer cases for quality (looks, abilities & user friendly), space and ability to work on in the even of upgrading later on? I'm thinking about up to around the £100 mark.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

G.Skill Ripjaws - Memory - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3 - 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

I think the above RAM is very close to or exactly what James 7679 referred to, but from Amazon UK. If you actually need 16 GB (possible, but unlikely), double the order from 8 to 16.

You have the located the Seasonic 750 watt PSU he mentioned. Seasonic is the best brand going, but the chances of you needing 750 watts on a single graphics card system is near zero. That may not matter to you.

Re "mid range gaming case": since you mentioned looks, that means that personal preference and style comes into play. You may want a side panel window and flashing lights, while the next guy maybe can't stand that stuff.

Having said that, if you want to keep the case for quite a while and maybe do some component upgrades along the way, get a mid-tower "ATX" case, not micro-ATX. Good brands generally include Antec, Coolermaster, and Fractal Design---all of which are sold at Amazon UK. At the lower end, the Antec 300 has a pretty good reputation.

Some cases are a lot quieter than others---that may or may not matter to you. The Antec Solo is among the quietest cases.

Be sure the one you choose does not have a power supply.

 

[Chips]

Yeah, I see your point. Silly of me to mention style. Anyway, I've been thinking of stretching my budget. How good are THESE? Good for working on, user-friendly, low sound and long term upgrade potential? And what about THESE?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yeah, I see your point. Silly of me to mention style. Anyway, I've been thinking of stretching my budget. How good are THESE? Good for working on, user-friendly, low sound and long term upgrade potential?

I've never even heard of that brand.

You need to read reviews from people who have actually built with a particular case if you intend to have an informed opinion of it. You may have trouble doing that with that brand.

 

[James7679]

Trinty,
Case brands you can't go wrong with are Antec, Corsair, Lian Li, and Silverstone.
There are some Thermaltake, Coolermaster, and NZXT cases that are great as well.
I know you can't buy from Newegg, but it's a great reference point for you. You can read reviews and sort by rating, and then find the part you are looking for on Amazon.UK with the manufacturers part # provided.

 

[Chips]

Okay, had a look through and I came up with THIS one? Opinions? Is it good for what I need?

And something that slipped my mind. DVD drive. What's best for the system I'm going for? Is THIS good enough?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

DVDs are pretty much commodities. I'd get an ordinary Samsung or Asus, unless I had some special requirements like Blu-Ray.

That Silverstone has a mesh front panel, so I would not expect it to be quieter than average.

It weighs only 4 kg. That tells me it has a lot of plastic and thin steel. More reason to believe it is noisier than average.

It also has a 7 inch fan on the top panel. I personally don’t like fans on top or fans that wide.

Do you need a case with 5 full-size external bays?

It’s over 20 inches tall and over 8 inches wide, taller and wider than I like.

I wouldn’t buy a case for which I could not find a full length independent review.

None of the above may matter at all to you.

 

[Chips]

Well...everyone said I should go for a big case and you gotta agree that this is a BIG case. And someone said that Silverstone was a good make.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Well...everyone said I should go for a big case and you gotta agree that this is a BIG case. And someone said that Silverstone was a good make.

You would find it between difficult and impossible to find a brand that made ONLY good cases. The normal situation with "good" brands is that the product line varies, with some models that are not so good.

You need complete reviews or hands-on experience to make an informed decision, but informed decisions are optional.

"Good" cases are somewhat similar to "good" speakers. There is no substitute for personal experience with the product.

 

[Chips]

MoBo Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TPOWER X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

That board. Is THIS the same only with a different brand name?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

MoBo Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TPOWER X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

That board. Is THIS the same only with a different brand name?

I very seriously doubt it.

Why would you think that it might be?