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I tell everyone the same thing. If this is your first build, start small. Very small. 90% of these, "I just build my computer and its not working" threads are from first time builders who threw $1000 at their first sytem and screwed up.

Sharpen your teeth on something super cheap. Grab any old parts you have, fill in the blanks with the cheapest parts you can find, and make all your beginner mistakes there. You can do the whole thing for less than $150 if your smart.

Most of the time, your fist build will work out even if you go for broke. But you will learn so much the smaller scale version, and your real build will be that much better for it.
 
I don't think that's necessary. It's certainly an option, but it seems like a waste of $$ on a system that the OP doesn't want. It's not that hard to put a system together. With proper guidance on hardware compatibility, the rest is pretty simple.

 
Hi guys thanks once again for all your inputs it has greatly helped me in choosing the correct items.

Thank you Also punkinator for taking the time to answer those questions, i take it the sata 6gbs will automatically just start useing sata 3gbs when i insert another card? i mean i wont have to change the motherboard. Is the sata 6gbs one i linked fine? its the same price nearly as the sata 3gbs.

I have two cases i found i liked will these both fit what i want in them?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-183-LL

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1195.html

Not sure with this setup i have made if there is any use having a side window, will there be anything nice to see hehe?

Any better recomendations for a case around the £100 mark?

Im really looking forward to getting started on this build why i didnt get into this earlier is beyond me. Fingers crossed it doesnt go horribly wrong as Falcom mentioned.
 
If the board doesn't have USB 3.0 or S-ATA 6Gbps, you can slot one of these U3S6 expansion cards in at a later date to add the functionality.

Spinpoint F3 500GB or 1TB are great drives, I have one for system and one for storage, respectfully.

As for cases, here are a few I'd recommend - take a look at comments and reviews:

Antec 1200*
Antec 900
Coolermaster HAF 922*
Coolermaster CM-690 II Advanced
Fractal Design Define R2
Xigmatek Utgard

* Big and spacious cases, both have a huge 200mm fan for cooling. May be overkill if you don't play to pimp your case.

Lian Li do great cases, little more expensive usually. I don't have much experience with them though. Either way, go with whatever has what you need. You can't go wrong with any of the above cases, IMO. I'd personally opt for one under £100.

I've got the EAH5850 DirectCU model and it runs very cool despite the lack of stock reference design cooler. As for vendors, Sapphire are another alternative that go well. The Vapor-X is a nice factory OC'd card, little more expensive and stepping toward 5870 territory though.

I've noticed the decreased availability of the CM Hyper 212 Plus lately in the UK. Bit-tech have a buyer's guide which constantly recommends the Titan Fenrir or Gelid Tranquillo. Both are around the £20-£30 mark. The thing to watch out for with large aftermarket coolers is the size, with a fair amount of 1156 boards, it can obstruct RAM slots especially if the ram has high heatsinks like Corsair Dominator. With your choice (XMS3), there may not be much of a problem, but it's worth noting.
 
Ive just noticed the cooler i have picked was for the i7 930 1366 setup http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-036-ZA and noticed the sockets doesnt mention i5 750 1156, will this still go with my new setup i5 750 still or would i need to change to something which states the 1156 socket like this one ?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-043-ZA&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

Just as i think im getting to the end of this and start building more decisions arrive.

The Fractal Design Define R2 is one i hadnt seen and i must admit i like it.

Thanks again for any imput

 
I've only had experience with Zalman GPU cooling. I know a few people who use the first cooler you linked with AMD/AM3 rigs and haven't heard any complaints. The second one does list 1156 support. Your best bet is to check the Zalman site for info.

If you aren't planning on extensive overclocking, especially at first, I'd recommend going with the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro since the Hyper 212 Pro is out of stock.

If you want something a little more expensive which will be more suitable for higher OC (3.8GHz +), Megahalems is great, but you'll need to buy 120mm fans seperate so the price will likely come close to the water-cooling Corsair H50-1. There's a lot of choice for cooling solutions, it all matters on how much you intend to overclock and how much you're willing to pay for that OC stability.

In short, you can always run stock speed with the reference cooler (comes with retail box of i5-750) and pick up an aftermarket cooler later after research. If this is your first computer build, I wouldn't go all out for a cooling solution. The only upset investing in a separate cooler later down the line would be having to clean and reapply thermal paste.

The only thing to watch out for with the Fractal Designs R2 is the front door will obstruct any fan controllers or protruding front panel equipment - which doesn't seem like a problem with your current planned setup - and the case only supplies two 5.25'' drive bays for optical drives (DVD/CD-ROM/Floppy), but in this day and age, a lot of people will only use a single DVD drive. It has a very simple classic design which is very nice. I know it's readily available in the UK.

Here's some reviews which may elaborate on the potential issues, most give it decent marks:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/Define_R2
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2010/01/15/fractal-design-r2-case-review/1
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cases/fractal-design-r2/
 
Intersting hard drive test read ive been looking at various stuff similiar to that on other parts of the PC, i was told about the Velocityraptor by a friend who use it and also swears by it so i guess il give it a go.

Im not planning on any overclocking atm, as im just getting into this but it maybe a possiblity soonish so id rather get stuff now that i wouldnt have to change to do so.

I dont mind the extra few pounds it costs.

I did a compare for i5 750 1556 and i7 930 1366 setups with only the slight changes for ram and motherboards and coolers to be compatable with each setup from 4 of the top component companies in the UK for each component, got the cheapest component from each website and then added them all up for 2 totals.

Now i have learned alot here just in the past 2 days thanks to you guys and some reading online and i totally understand i will never see the difference between the two setups as i just dont use that much power, but for arguments sake here are the numbers.

This is with all of the above i mentioned with the changes for each setup like 3 chan ram, motherboard, cooler for the correct sockets, including a Lian Li Case and 24" monitor also.

i5 750 1556 setup - £1394.89 ($2016.80)

i7 930 1366 setup - £1521.87 ($2200.39)

I still have a niggling question that i dont quite understand will a X58 or p55 motherboard sata 6gbs be able to take 2 graphics cards?, does the process once a second card is inserted then switch to a sata 3gbs automatically? or does the setup require a new motherboard with sata 3gbs?

Or am i just confusing myself here hehe?

Thanks again chaps, really nice forums i hope one day i am able to contribute to maybe amswering some other noobies questions as you guys have for me.
 
Yes obviously it switches to 3Gb/s without you having to buy a new motherboard, otherwise what would be the point. Just go for the 6Gb/s one as you seem keen on it. You can get boards which allow 6Gb/s with multiple graphics cards, especially on X58 as it has more PCIe lanes. However I really don't think it is required...or not.

No you are not going to see anymore performance for what you are doing with a X58 build. Also the cost increase is a lot more and with that money you could go with a 5870 which would actually get you more performance.

What is your stance on a case and cooler? Too many posts since I've been back.

Glad we can help.
 
Hi punkinator, im probably going for your idea of the i5 setup i was just doing some number crunching of the 2 setups, only thing i was reading was that the new chips that are out 6 core? are useing the same socket as the i7 setup which would mean that the 1156 sockets are end of line?? im purely guessing but.

As for cooler ive gone with is for i5 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-036-ZA

i7 i used this - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-043-ZA&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

Cases i wasnt sure whether it was worth looking at something with a side window as im not sure there is too much to show off with a first build and this setup? but i found a few that i quite liked here they are:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-183-LL - was my favourite.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1195.html - was half the price

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-176-CM - wasnt bad

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-196-CM - wasnt bad either

Im pretty sure if you was to do a small list you would reduce my price by a fair amount for the same performance, i keep getting sucked into "ah this one has 500 ghz more blah blah blah its only £15 more etc" and by the time ive done that with each component it starts adding up when i probably dont need it.

Thanks
 
Yes that is correct that the 1156 will not get anymore processors. I specified this at the start, when I was suggesting an AM3 build. However if I remember correctly you said that when you need an upgrade you would get another computer and the current one would be given to someone in your family (don't want to scroll up and find it, as its a massive thread).

If what I just said is true, then it doesn't matter that new processors will be coming for 1366.

The LED version of that cooler is also compatible with 1156 it seems:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=333
Those coolers are pretty good, obviously not the best but still nice. Also they look top notch as well. However they are also more expensive compared to coolers that perform better.

Yes there will be stuff to show off, this is a pretty high performance machine. So yes its worth looking at finding one with a side window.

With the cases, the hardish part. Just go for one you like the look of but isn't overly expensive. They all seem pretty good with cooling. The second one only sports 3 internal 3.5" (HDD) bays which is not many. Lian-Li supposably make more quality cases so I guess I can't put down the first one because of the price. Also I don;t think it looks overly good but its your opinion. If you don't want to fork out the money then go with either of the Coolermaster ones.
 
Yep your right you did mention near the start of the thread about the upgrade possiblities, i was just browsing around and reading.

I guess your right about the side window then the fan ive chosen should look nice aswell. Do you have a suggestion for a cheaper cooler that would look as nice through a window and performs better?
Yep it does seem to say on thier site its compatible but doesnt on Overclockers site i would have to double check that by phoning before i purchased it.

hehe youve thrown another spanner in the works with the idea of a 5870 card with i5 for the same money as the i7 5850 setup, its never ending all these possiblities which is why this is so interesting for me.

Il try find a nice case with a side window that doesnt look too tacky, i like the Lian Li one as its sleek looking not too over the top but sham it doesnt have a side window and yes its very pricey but i did find it on another site for £116, il keep looking.

Cheers mate
 
Um I just realized that you changed your 6Gb/s motherboard from the one you previously said. That motherboard you have selected does not support x8/x8 Crossfire which I talked about. Look at the motherboard I gave the go a head for.

No cooler will look better than the one you have selected. Here is a table of its performance:
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2362&page=5
Note that this is a bit old though. If you want to go with best value I'd say the Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer as they are cheap. Although obviously not as appealing as the Zalman. I couldn't find them on overclockers though.

Clearly if you can spend the money then the 5870 will give you more performance however the 5850 will still serve you very well. You choice. =]

Yeah ok I see your point. I though the second Coolermaster one you listed was similar though.

[EDIT]
Didn't see your last post.

Ouch on the price on the first one.

The second and third look nice and rather cheap. They look very similar.

You already listed the HAF 922? Or was that without a window...

Your certainly not a good person when it comes to cases. =P
 
Yep sorry i must have copied that wrong motherboard, these are the ones i was looking at for both setups the one you linked for 1156 and

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-399-AS - for 1366

I dont see anywhere on those 8x8? or is it just where it states (Supports ATI CrossFireX & NVIDIA SLI Technology)? meaning 8x8, sorry for the stupid question.

Looks like the cooler you suggested is only availible in the USA i cant find it on any site in the UK.

Yes lol seems i am maybe abit difficult for cases, im not really a youngster so i guess im looking for something more sleek looking and not too tacky and over the top looking.

Cheers

 
"Yep sorry i must have copied that wrong motherboard, these are the ones i was looking at for both setups the one you linked for 1156 and "

I didn't understand that too well. But I think I get it.

"I dont see anywhere on those 8x8? or is it just where it states (Supports ATI CrossFireX & NVIDIA SLI Technology)? meaning 8x8, sorry for the stupid question. "

Not a stupid question, probably the best question you could ask. No it does not state it there, you have to do a search for it. This site has a bit of a list for reference:
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/

Oh ok...

Yes I understand, just find one you like which doesn't cost a fortune.

Seems like your pretty much set. This thread is getting a little long. Good Luck on finding a case.

Bed time. =]

[EDIT]

Didn't see your last post.

Yes that cooler seems pretty good. Its a little hard to make sure it will fit though, as with all coolers. I'll leave you to search around for it as I'm going to bed =]. Just search for it with like "fit" and stuff, you probably won;t find someone talking about it with your motherboard but just find a thread talking about some motherboard and it should give you a pretty good idea.

Also I think it looks nice as well, orange i like.

[EDIT]

Theres also the Hyper 212 as well. Its good and they have it at overclockers.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-029-CM
 
Yep looks like i have all the info now to help me choose and build a hopefully great PC thanks to you guys on this forum.

Many Thanks to you all, specially Punkinator for taking your time to go through this with me, would have been totally lost without this info.

Cheers mate!!!
 
Great news! Good luck on your build and have fun, you will enjoy. Glad I could help you to become more knowledgeable on this topic. Its been a long but enjoyable time =]. Maybe you could send me some pictures of it when you get it all going, my address is on my profile.

Thanks. Have fun.
 
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