Topic: Building my new PC

[jfrabat]

So, it's that time again...  You know, when your computer is no longer compatible with the programs you usually run.  I don't normally play games in my PC; I use it mostly as a media server, and to process my photos and my videos.  I have been shooting in HD for a while now, but was still burning DVD's, so I figured it was time to upgrade that as well.  But, also, since I am still figuring out where my finances stand with the recent move back home (was an expat for 7 years), I cheaped out a bit in that I want to reuse as much as possible, so, this is what I got today:

Asus P8B75-M mother board
Intel Core i5 4430 chip
Kingston HyperX Blue 8GB of RAM (will leave the second port open for future expansion) with a 1,600 MHz speed (could have gone faster, but I did not find anything reasonably well priced to do so)
LG Super Multi Blue BH12NS40 Blue Ray Writer/player

I plan to reuse my case, power supply, HDD (the current computer has a 500GB one, but I mostly use my external USB ones, of which I have 3 and they sum up to almost 3TB), CD Writer (sometimes, dual discs do not read well with BD or DVD writers, so I will keep the CD unit).  As for graphic cards, i am looking for some sort of inexpensive ($200 range) 2GB and 256 bit one, but I have only found ones in the $300 range locally.  I may just order one online, but not sure yet...

Anyway, I already got the components, so I should start building it this week (not tonight, though, as I have a family commitment).  So, you can expect me to bug the heck out of you PC builders when (not if, but WHEN) I run into trouble building it (you hearing this, Jeffy???).
 

[sharpxmen]

get a SATA3 SSD, they are friggin fast, OCZ vertex 3 are good (I have this one in my PC and an agility in my laptop) - the 256GB are not that expensive if you get one on sale and they are really making a lot of difference in loading games or boot time (this is probably the one with the most impact).

[Jeffy]

I also recommend a SSD.  Even with my Black WD 2T it only ranks 5.4 on the MS test.  That's my lowest score.

The best value is probably the Samsung.  Run it as our main drive then have a traditional HD for storage.  Honestly, I wouldn't spend money on a BD burner.  Writable BD's are still expensive and with the price of external HDD's and Flash drives, they're really unnecessary.  A DVD burner is still good to have though, I rarely use mine anymore.  No one really burns BD.  Physical media is slowly being replaced.

I prefer using Corsair RAM.  I have used Dominator but I've been using Vengance recently and see no issues.  They're really good value.

I'd probably go with an Intel motherboard or maybe EVGA.  I haven't used ASUS in a long time.  Gigabit is also good.

I prefer i7's.  Probably the best value is the Intel Core i7-3770K.  I think the i5 to get is the Intel Core i5-3570K.  The K in both designate that they're unlocked.

[jfrabat]

Well, looks like I screwed up...  Turns out my processor does not fit into the mother board; one is 1150 and the other 1155 type socket!  CRAP!

As for the SSD, I may get one down the road, but for now, I am trying to save a few pennies, so the old one is staying in there.  The motherboard was the consensus from the IT staff here in Sony; they all have ASUS boards, so I figured they would be good, and they told me the one I was buying was very good for the price.  Unfortunately, I screwed up the chip part, so I will probably end up changing the mother board (it's cheaper than the processor!).

What does an unlocked processor mean?

[sharpxmen]

it means you have more options to overclock (the multiplier is unlocked on the processor).

edit: ASUS Z87 or Gigabyte Z87 will work, i wouldn't go with high end mobos from them unless you need RAID, a lot of SATA3 ports and USB3 ports, and do some high overclocking - otherwise they use the same chipset and performance is comparable. Not sure about the CPU being cheaper, the motherboard is about $150 and the CPU is $180 or so, but i would recommend keeping the CPU since it's for a newer gen (4th) than the motherboard you have now (3rd gen)

[jfrabat]

it means you have more options to overclock (the multiplier is unlocked on the processor).

edit: ASUS Z87 or Gigabyte Z87 will work, i wouldn't go with high end mobos from them unless you need RAID, a lot of SATA3 ports and USB3 ports, and do some high overclocking - otherwise they use the same chipset and performance is comparable. Not sure about the CPU being cheaper, the motherboard is about $150 and the CPU is $180 or so, but i would recommend keeping the CPU since it's for a newer gen (4th) than the motherboard you have now (3rd gen)

My current CPU was $80 and the processor 230...

[jfrabat]

My current CPU was $80 and the processor 230...

sorry, the MB wad 80

[sharpxmen]

i was talking about what you'll spend to make it work, doesn't matter what you spent already unless you can return it. wither way getting the new mobo seems better since you'll have a newer chipset and also keep the newer cpu.

[jfrabat]

i was talking about what you'll spend to make it work, doesn't matter what you spent already unless you can return it. wither way getting the new mobo seems better since you'll have a newer chipset and also keep the newer cpu.

Yeah, that was more or less my train of thought; ended up with a slightly better intel mobo, and a 64GB SSD (I returned the mobo, bit they did not have one that would fit the processor, so I got the SSD from there and a new board from another vendor for 109).  Of course, now I cant find the third SATA cable, so I have not yet connected my HDD yet (I think I left the cable in the car, but did not see it when I looked).