Opinions on hardware for new computer build

[Bearcat]

Yup, its me again with yet another computer build. This time is is for my sister Annie. Although she didn't give us an open checkbook, imagine that , I took the first step this morning by purchasing this from NewEgg.com. It was one of their daily shell shockers and it was $119.95 after a $30 MIR. I didn't think that was a bad price for a 120 Gb SSD and I have always had good luck with Corsair products.

Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F120GB3A-BK 2.5 Inch 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

[hal9000]

As you might have guessed, I've jumped in straight away!

The most important question, what is it going to be used for? Obviously, if gaming is included, this will have a knock on effect on things like PSU size, case size and cooling, integrated GPU etc...

Things like DVD/Blu-ray, HDD, memory and possibly CPU will probably not change much whether it's a general use machine or a gamer as well.

It's a good price for the SSD, looking from this side of the pond at least. They're about £120 over here, but as usual we get around a 1 for 1 exchange rate for the dollar.

[Bearcat]

Hi hal! Thanks for your reply as always!!! My sister isn't into gaming, so that isn't a concern. She probably doesn't even need an SSD, but at that price, I couldn't resist. She has used my new PC and really likes how fast it is, so I don't think she will mind. I have a WD Caviar Black 500 Gb HDD that I plan to give her, and between that for storage, and running Windows 7 on the SSD, I think that will be more than sufficient for her needs. With the cost of HDD's right now, I am glad that I have a few extra laying around for backup. As far as ideas for a MB, it obviously doesn't need to be top end, but I would like something dependable. Same goes for the CPU, GPU, PSU, etc. I was wondering if you had any opnion on the integrated GPU that comes with the Z68 MB. Given the circumstances, do you think that would be sufficient for her? Right now, I am open to any, and all suggestions, so feel free. Maybe you aren't ready to build your own new system yet, but you can do so vicariously through my clan!

[BigGuy]

Hey Uncle Bear that is a great price for an SSD. You have the OCZ Vertex 3, I have the Crucial m5 and now Grandma will have the Corsair Force. It will be interesting to see how they compare to each other. I think we should buy a P8Z68 MB for the new build. Maybe the same one I have. I will do a little snooping around myself and see what I can come up with and I am sure hal can steer us on the right path.

[johnshaw1917]

Well brother dear, I see you have been busy. If the SSD you bought this morning runs like yours, then I know I enjoy it very much. Keep up the good work guys!

Annie Shaw

[Bearcat]

Hey sis, I think you are going to like that SSD.

Sounds good Buddy, let us know what you come up with.

[A Guy]

I don't think you will need such a high end motherboard. I think the i5 2600 and a good Asus or Gigabyte MB, 4 GB of crucial ram and a 550W PSU will be a great PC, and more then enough power. A GPU in the $120 range will give you great graphics and display HD video just fine. Not to shoot low on Annies PC, but with no gaming it's really overkill to build one like you 2 did for yourselves

A Guy

[BigGuy]

I agree with you A Guy. For one thing, Grandma would not need the EVGA GTX 460 gpu. I really like mine, but I like to play somes games. Thank you for your input.

[hal9000]

The 2500k is certainly still the best in terms of value/performance, so there isn't really any other realistic choice unless cost is a concern. Worth getting an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or a Coolermaster Hyper TX3 cooler just to keep things a bit cooler and quieter.

I know you guys are quite fond of Asus boards. Probably the P8Z68-V or P8Z68-V Pro are maybe a bit too much, as all they really offer over the cheaper ones are SLI and extra PCIe/eSATA/USB3/SATA3 slots which don't sound like they will be needed. Perhaps the P8Z68-V LE will be everything that's required. Obviously, if prices are really close, it won't hurt to go to the -V. As gaming is not a concern, maybe you're thinking of a more compact mATX case. The Asus P8Z68-M PRO would be the obvious choice in that situation as a whacking great case would be 90% empty without GPU's, a sound card, multiple drives etc.

On the RAM front, I would have agreed with 'A Guy' in recommending 4GB, but 8GB is so cheap and close in price to 4GB at the moment, it almost seems rude not too get it. 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz will both suffice and personally I'd go with Corsair, but all the major brands are near identical so it may be down to what colour you like! FYI, Corsair Vengeance also comes in similar blue to the Asus coolers which might look nice. We know how the ladies love colour coordination (sorry Annie!) ....

As long as you get a quality brand (Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax, OCZ, Antec, Coolermaster etc), any 400-550w PSU will do the job with room to spare.

Obviously, the GPU comes inside the CPU, the Z68 chipset just lets you use it. While it ain't gonna rip up trees in 3D benchmarks, the HD3000 in the i5 2500k (not the 2500) perfectly suites media center and standard desktop PC's. Handles things like HD video with ease and you get the added bonus of quicksync to encode video at speeds nVidia and AMD GPU's can only dream of!

I see you have used WD blacks Bearcat, are they as loud as I keep reading they are? Lost a Samsung F3 500GB when I put my machine together on Boxing day, and when prices eventually come down, I might replace it with a black. My nice and quiet PC is rather spoiled at the moment by the noise of the 150GB Raptor which is back in for now.

[Bearcat]

@ A Guy Thanks as always for your valued input A Guy and I totally agree with you. Which gpu would you recommend? I haven't done a lot of research on lower price vid cards yet and I would appreciate any input on something dependable. I place more value on the opinions from you guys on the forum, than I what I read on some tech websites.

@ hal Thanks a bunch hal. I submitted this post just after you did, so I didn't read it before. I of course am leaning toward another Asus MB, but I know you like Asrock, so I will investigate them as well. Which one would you recommend? I will look at Gigabyte too. I will see what I can do for prices before choosing a model. As with the Corsair SSD, NewEgg has some great daily shell shockers as they call them, and sometimes you can get a better price on higher end hardware, than the regular price on lower end stuff. As far as noise from WD Caviar Black HDD's. Yes, I would have to say that they are noisier than the blue, or green models, but I like them because they are solidly built and better read/write speeds. I usually have music playing when I am on the computer, so the extra noise doesn't bother me!