Originally Posted by storm20200 Just a suggestion not a criticism but do you not think it wise to stick to the normal £400 budget of the affordable all rounder and get a phenom ii 545 or athlon ii 250 with £50ish DDR3 for future upgradability? Just mentioning this as LGA775 is most likely gonna die next month with lynnfield otw although I guess it depends on when they release the i3's.
Because an E5200 is still more powerful at 4GHz. High end LGA775 will be replaced next month with Lynnfield, however budget 775 won't be replaced until later next year with 32nm alternatives. There's nothing stopping you spec'ing up an Athlon II X2 250 and Gigabyte/Asus 785G board though, but DDR2 at £33 is still 40% cheaper than DDR3 worth buying. :)
Originally Posted by Bindibadgi Because an E5200 is still more powerful at 4GHz. High end LGA775 will be replaced next month with Lynnfield, however budget 775 won't be replaced until later next year with 32nm alternatives. There's nothing stopping you spec'ing up an Athlon II X2 250 and Gigabyte/Asus 785G board though, but DDR2 at £33 is still 40% cheaper than DDR3 worth buying. :)
I might do more discussion for the Athlon II alternative next month :)
Ah I see, I wasn't sure when the low end 775 stuff would be getting replaced, net's been a bit hazy about that. Nvm. Also lol @ you changing my avatar I really didn't expect to get one that ugly :)
Good guide, I am planning on building a my first system in the next couple of weeks and the parts I had listed are almost exactly the same as the Gaming Workhorse spec. Its good to know that my setup isn't completely duff.
Originally Posted by haddow64 Good guide, I am planning on building a my first system in the next couple of weeks and the parts I had listed are almost exactly the same as the Gaming Workhorse spec. Its good to know that my setup isn't completely duff.
Excuse the noob question, but am i right in understanding the gaming workhorse motherboard (MSI x58M or whatever it was) will not be able to run my DDR3 ram at 1,600Mhz? If not, could anyone recommend me a *shrug* budget x58 mobo on which i could do that?
Originally Posted by namegoeswhere Excuse the noob question, but am i right in understanding the gaming workhorse motherboard (MSI x58M or whatever it was) will not be able to run my DDR3 ram at 1,600Mhz? If not, could anyone recommend me a *shrug* budget x58 mobo on which i could do that?
Originally Posted by Sterkenburg Firstly, awesome article! I had been waiting for this for a few days now... I've got an i7 920 and 6GB of RAM, but I haven't purchased a graphics card yet so my PC really isn't complete. Looking around, I had almost decided on two HD 4850s in CrossFire, but now I see that only single-card solutions are recommended in the article (save for the folding PC, of course), and I was just hoping someone could tell me what my best option was for around $250 Canadian. AMD vs Nvidia really isn't an issue for me.
Thanks in advance!
There's quite a few people who swear by their dual gpu, but an equally large number of people who swear at it. You get the performance but you loose out in stability. Depends what's more important to you? A 4890 or GTX 275 should be in your price range, just make sure the 4890 has a custom lower noise cooler if you go for one of them. Both a little slower then dual 4850's when they are working well. Personally if prices are similar I'd buy nvidia for 3d vision and physx which look more exciting then ati's DX10.1 support, but a lot depends on what deals you can get.
I love the fact that you can build the whole of the "affordable all rounder" for the price of the graphics card in the premium "player system" :P
I like that there are water-cooling suggestions now, but I think they should have their own category maybe? The premium system should be left as core components, with the information there to water-cool it if chosen?
It does seem like Bit-Tech has started rolling out more numbers of reviews and whatnot since the merger with CPC, though the quality has indeed gone downhill IMHO. I would like to see the ORIGINAL style buyers guide come back into play. Pictures and descriptions of each product would be nice.
Also, for the Premium Player, I'm not sure I agree with the assessment there...
The water-cooling setup isn't going to yield great numbers when you throw the graphics card into the loop. I personally feel people would be better off picking up one of the new Corsair CWCH50 kits for the processor, and leaving the very-capable graphics card air cooler to itself. While the graphics cards will indeed be louder than the liquid setup, the CWCH50 is near-silent, and the performance benefit of liquid cooling on the graphics card isn't worth the cost unless silence is a necessity, and I've not played too many games where I could hear the graphics cards over the game. On top of that, there's a larger learning curve and risk associated with building your own liquid setup. The CWCH50 is a sealed system with no learning curve, and very little risk.
For the price of the GTX 285 and the waterblock you can pick up two GTX 275's or two HD 4890's. Either one of those two would yield better performance results than a single water-cooled 285, and seeing how the 'standard' resolution is 1920 x 1200 anymore, there would be a good benefit to the second card.
The Seasonic 850w PSU would be able to quite easily power two cards as well.
Seems to me you could get a better performing system for ~$250 cheaper, and the only sacrifice would be a bit more noise. For most gamers, noise isn't going to be an issue while gaming, and when running at idle, the graphics cards drop their clocks and fan speed to accommodate the need for lower noise. Win-win situation IMHO.
Originally Posted by JaredC01 My thoughts exactly Jamie.
It does seem like Bit-Tech has started rolling out more numbers of reviews and whatnot since the merger with CPC, though the quality has indeed gone downhill IMHO. I would like to see the ORIGINAL style buyers guide come back into play. Pictures and descriptions of each product would be nice.
Also, for the Premium Player, I'm not sure I agree with the assessment there...
The water-cooling setup isn't going to yield great numbers when you throw the graphics card into the loop. I personally feel people would be better off picking up one of the new Corsair CWCH50 kits for the processor, and leaving the very-capable graphics card air cooler to itself. While the graphics cards will indeed be louder than the liquid setup, the CWCH50 is near-silent, and the performance benefit of liquid cooling on the graphics card isn't worth the cost unless silence is a necessity, and I've not played too many games where I could hear the graphics cards over the game. On top of that, there's a larger learning curve and risk associated with building your own liquid setup. The CWCH50 is a sealed system with no learning curve, and very little risk.
For the price of the GTX 285 and the waterblock you can pick up two GTX 275's or two HD 4890's. Either one of those two would yield better performance results than a single water-cooled 285, and seeing how the 'standard' resolution is 1920 x 1200 anymore, there would be a good benefit to the second card.
The Seasonic 850w PSU would be able to quite easily power two cards as well.
Seems to me you could get a better performing system for ~$250 cheaper, and the only sacrifice would be a bit more noise. For most gamers, noise isn't going to be an issue while gaming, and when running at idle, the graphics cards drop their clocks and fan speed to accommodate the need for lower noise. Win-win situation IMHO.
Agreed, we have just lost that shine. I remember the bit reviews being amazing, now their passable.
Originally Posted by JaredC01 I would like to see the ORIGINAL style buyers guide come back into play. Pictures and descriptions of each product would be nice.
To misquote Lincoln: you can please some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.
For everyone who said they like the clean look, someone else said they dislike it. Personally, I think it looks more proffessional the old way, but I understand it must have taken a fair while to write up, time that could have been spent on something else. As long as it continues to link to places where I can find more information, then I'm happy.
Nice article. Thanks for including the folding rig.
But I have question on that. The Seasonic MD12 750 was selected because it had 4 PCI-E connectors. What I haven't heard here or any other site is why this is necessary. Since the Load is probably not going to exceed 500W, could a smaller PSU like the Corsair HX620 work.
My real question is then, is it bad to use molex adapters to power PCI-E video cards?
Originally Posted by kingred can we get a workstation build as well plz?
The general guideline would be the "gaming workstation". A more specific "workstation" entirely depends on what you need to do with it and is better optimised around software: ie video/3drendering etc
Paradigm Shifter - We did that for the last two months and everyone complained it was cheaper "elsewhere". The prices and PCs are merely a guideline (ie buyers guide! ;)), depending on what your budget falls into - they are not a definitive "you must buy this" list as over the course of the month prices and stock levels will change.
In fact, in the course of 4 days since I originally wrote it, the prices changed on many items last night so I had to readjust it all. :(
madbilly - There are a lot of good cases out there, the Anubis is just one of them.
Our opinion on a premium PC is that watercooling is a must for noise:performance, when cost is less of an objective. Obviously there is nothing stopping you substituting in your own air cooling options if you don't want to watercool, as I said, it's not a "must buy" list, just a guide.
Vertex is still currently better supported than Intel's SSDs. Personally I don't much like Intel SSDs right now since they just simply stopped supporting their last gen X25-Ms. If you've spent lots of money and are waiting for TRIM support - you won't get any. Way to support your customers, Intel. On the other hand, OCZ is very fast with its firmware updates and aftersales support, which is why we'd recommend them.
Abhorsen - the old format had too much unnecessary text and took far too long to contruct. This new format could use some optimising still but it's punchier and to the point. Instead of writing the prices twice, the graph is a simple reference.
:)
This post cleared up so many of my questions. I look forward to this article every month. I think it is an excellent feature.
I am sometimes concerned that you rotate parts from month to month substituting a slightly inferior product simply to create diversity from one month to the next (not something I would endorse). I do like how you included water cooling parts in this months issue however.
Originally Posted by boggsi This post cleared up so many of my questions. I look forward to this article every month. I think it is an excellent feature.
I am sometimes concerned that you rotate parts from month to month substituting a slightly inferior product simply to create diversity from one month to the next (not something I would endorse). I do like how you included water cooling parts in this months issue however.
Excellent guide - got accosted by a family member wanting me to build them a pc, just got everything reccommended in your affordable all rounder and left it at that. Thanks for saving me the effort of thinking! ;)
Hi folks -- I have a newb question. I'm new to this site, and the world of building PCs. I'm looking to put something together as cheaply as I can. It'll mostly be used for World of Warcraft, but being able to play some of the newer DX10 stuff would be good too.
Would this month's Affordable All Rounder be able to cope extremely well with World of Warcraft (running at 1920, 60+FPS, and maybe even a little AA?)
I find it odd that the Akasa Omega case keeps getting a mention by Bit-Tech (alternative choice listed the Gaming Workhorse). When this was reviewed by Alex et al at Custom PC it only got 17% and I thought this was the mags sister site.
Originally Posted by sh33py666 Hi folks -- I have a newb question. I'm new to this site, and the world of building PCs. I'm looking to put something together as cheaply as I can. It'll mostly be used for World of Warcraft, but being able to play some of the newer DX10 stuff would be good too.
Would this month's Affordable All Rounder be able to cope extremely well with World of Warcraft (running at 1920, 60+FPS, and maybe even a little AA?)
Thanks for any responses.
Yes it will be. The WoW requirements aren't that much, the only issue I wonder is that you'll run out of graphics memory at 1920 with AA on with a 512MB card. You might want to up it to a 4870 1GB perhaps.
Yes it will be. The WoW requirements aren't that much, the only issue I wonder is that you'll run out of graphics memory at 1920 with AA on with a 512MB card. You might want to up it to a 4870 1GB perhaps.
Comments 26 to 50 of 70
ReplyBecause an E5200 is still more powerful at 4GHz. High end LGA775 will be replaced next month with Lynnfield, however budget 775 won't be replaced until later next year with 32nm alternatives. There's nothing stopping you spec'ing up an Athlon II X2 250 and Gigabyte/Asus 785G board though, but DDR2 at £33 is still 40% cheaper than DDR3 worth buying. :)
Check the review: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2009/06/30/amd-athlon-ii-x2-250-cpu-review/1 The E5200 woops it still.
I might do more discussion for the Athlon II alternative next month :)
Ah I see, I wasn't sure when the low end 775 stuff would be getting replaced, net's been a bit hazy about that. Nvm. Also lol @ you changing my avatar I really didn't expect to get one that ugly :)
;)
(Nice to know I'm on the same wavelength too LOL)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-X58-PRO-Intel-X58-1366-PCI-E-20%28x16%29-Triple-DDR3-1066-1333-1600-SATA-3Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX This one will do it, only a few quid more as well.
There's quite a few people who swear by their dual gpu, but an equally large number of people who swear at it. You get the performance but you loose out in stability. Depends what's more important to you? A 4890 or GTX 275 should be in your price range, just make sure the 4890 has a custom lower noise cooler if you go for one of them. Both a little slower then dual 4850's when they are working well. Personally if prices are similar I'd buy nvidia for 3d vision and physx which look more exciting then ati's DX10.1 support, but a lot depends on what deals you can get.
I like that there are water-cooling suggestions now, but I think they should have their own category maybe? The premium system should be left as core components, with the information there to water-cool it if chosen?
its a good guide, deal with the layout. even if it was perfect in your opinion someone else would make comments im sure
It does seem like Bit-Tech has started rolling out more numbers of reviews and whatnot since the merger with CPC, though the quality has indeed gone downhill IMHO. I would like to see the ORIGINAL style buyers guide come back into play. Pictures and descriptions of each product would be nice.
Also, for the Premium Player, I'm not sure I agree with the assessment there...
The water-cooling setup isn't going to yield great numbers when you throw the graphics card into the loop. I personally feel people would be better off picking up one of the new Corsair CWCH50 kits for the processor, and leaving the very-capable graphics card air cooler to itself. While the graphics cards will indeed be louder than the liquid setup, the CWCH50 is near-silent, and the performance benefit of liquid cooling on the graphics card isn't worth the cost unless silence is a necessity, and I've not played too many games where I could hear the graphics cards over the game. On top of that, there's a larger learning curve and risk associated with building your own liquid setup. The CWCH50 is a sealed system with no learning curve, and very little risk.
For the price of the GTX 285 and the waterblock you can pick up two GTX 275's or two HD 4890's. Either one of those two would yield better performance results than a single water-cooled 285, and seeing how the 'standard' resolution is 1920 x 1200 anymore, there would be a good benefit to the second card.
The Seasonic 850w PSU would be able to quite easily power two cards as well.
Seems to me you could get a better performing system for ~$250 cheaper, and the only sacrifice would be a bit more noise. For most gamers, noise isn't going to be an issue while gaming, and when running at idle, the graphics cards drop their clocks and fan speed to accommodate the need for lower noise. Win-win situation IMHO.
Agreed, we have just lost that shine. I remember the bit reviews being amazing, now their passable.
And Tim, Where are you??
To misquote Lincoln: you can please some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.
For everyone who said they like the clean look, someone else said they dislike it. Personally, I think it looks more proffessional the old way, but I understand it must have taken a fair while to write up, time that could have been spent on something else. As long as it continues to link to places where I can find more information, then I'm happy.
But I have question on that. The Seasonic MD12 750 was selected because it had 4 PCI-E connectors. What I haven't heard here or any other site is why this is necessary. Since the Load is probably not going to exceed 500W, could a smaller PSU like the Corsair HX620 work.
My real question is then, is it bad to use molex adapters to power PCI-E video cards?
This post cleared up so many of my questions. I look forward to this article every month. I think it is an excellent feature.
I am sometimes concerned that you rotate parts from month to month substituting a slightly inferior product simply to create diversity from one month to the next (not something I would endorse). I do like how you included water cooling parts in this months issue however.
Thanks for the support! ^_^
We are frugal and change our minds hahaha ;)
Would this month's Affordable All Rounder be able to cope extremely well with World of Warcraft (running at 1920, 60+FPS, and maybe even a little AA?)
Thanks for any responses.
Yes it will be. The WoW requirements aren't that much, the only issue I wonder is that you'll run out of graphics memory at 1920 with AA on with a 512MB card. You might want to up it to a 4870 1GB perhaps.
Thanks very much!
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