My Build. Feedback please + need WiFi card

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  scrimshaw on 15/10/2013 - 22:02

  +2

  Antec Quattro 1200W

  OK… you had the dosh to afford a 1.2 KILOWATT power supply, but decided to thrift on a mid-end case and you didn't even bother to add an SSD??
  For a 7950/7970 (single card) a 550watt PSU will suffice, or for dual card setups, a 750w. If you haven't unboxed your power supply, I suggest taking it back and swapping it for the cheaper Corsair VS550, Antec VP550 or Antec HCG 520.

  Addtionally, a 1.2 kw power supply operating at only 25 percent capacity is not going to be terribly efficient either, so going with a 550 watt power supply will cut down on your power usage and save your power bill. If you're curious about what this actually means, you can read http://www.anandtech.com/show/2624

  Motherboard: If you're going for mild overclocks, that board will do you fine (4 phase) but if you're gunning for some enthusiast level clock speeds, then you're looking at a more expensive motherboard e.g ASUS Z87-A Motherboard (8 phase+SLI) at around the $200 mark. And depending on how far you want to go, the Coolermaster Hyper-212 EVO is the bigger and better sibling of the TX3 but costs a little more at $37. The Thermalright True Spirit 120 is even better but not sure if MSY stocks it.

  RAM: make sure you're buying at least 1866mhz memory (with tight timings) since you're looking at an overclocking build. It shouldn't cost you much more than 1600mhz memory, in fact they're roughly the same price.
  MSY sells 2133mhz 8GB kit of ram for $98., so there isn't exactly a big price difference.

  Don't bother pissing around with 1TB drive, just go get a Seagate 2TB ST2000DM001 for $95 (MSY price).
  If you have the dosh after spending on that ridiculous kilowatt PSU, throw in a Samsung Evo SSD (120 or 240GB, depending on your needs, on many games you want installed, how much free space you want etc).

  Wifi card, well I find TP-Link is generally a good choice. Cheap and solid performer.

  Spoil yourself a little on the case… Bitfenix Shinobi? CM Storm Enforcer? Or get something with a side intake fan for better ventilation.

  • 

    blighst on 16/10/2013 - 07:17

    I scrapped the psu out of another computer :) assuming that I got it for free is it still worth buying another psu?

    • 

      scrimshaw on 16/10/2013 - 07:31

      Well if it's free, it's good.

• 

  Aragami on 16/10/2013 - 11:17

  -2

  Hold on, why are you buying an aftermarket cpu cooler and a "K" cpu for a computer that doesn't sound like it'll require any overclocking or be put to use? For "researching" (googling) and typing reports, you could get by with a single/dual core. For programming, you could get by with a raspberry pi. For "some gaming" - i'd like more of a definition of this, the 7950 is definitely good value for money, i'm just curious on what types of games and what resolution you'll be playing at.

  Judging by the sounds of what you'll actually need this computer for, i recommend not getting a "k" cpu, and saving the 30-50$ by just getting a standard 4670, since you wont need to be overclocking it at all. This also saves you money on the cpu cooler, as you wont need an aftermarket one. As for the motherboard, its good value, dont know if you'll really need the z chipset though, might be worth checking out some of the cheaper ones and buy something that you'll need rather than have an overboard motherboard that you wont ever put features to use on.

  As for ram, please stick to ddr3 1600mhz, only ever go over that if you're willing to risk voiding your warranty with your cpu. The actual benefits of overclocking ram aren't significant enough to warrant voiding a warranty imo, but it really depends on what you care about and if you want to or not.

  everything i've typed up is based on the assumption that you dont require overclocking at all and that this computer will mainly be used as a general purpose computer with some gaming every now and then

  fyi, a computer with an i5 4670 and an ati 7950 will be able to run a majority of games at max or near max settings on a 1920x1080 monitor.

  • 

    blighst on 16/10/2013 - 12:39

    Thanks.
    I'll have a look at overclocking
    Only reason I'm not into gaming is that current comp can't handle it. I want to start :)