Need some help

[Shibin]

I will most likely be ordering this system and i would like to know what the mods/members think off it. I cant really afford to upgrade anything. At the moment am just unsure about the 450w psu,the psu calculator thing said that i only need 450w . Something else am also unsure is about if i need a surge protector,because i don't think that is much of a problem in the uk.

Case: COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU): AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard: ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3: DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

Memory (RAM): 4GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 2GB KIT)

Graphics Card: 1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5770 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk: 500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive: 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply & Case Cooling: 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)

Processor Cooling: SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card:ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities:ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

USB Options:6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Modem:NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Monitor: 22" Wide TFT Silver/Black 1920 x1080 2MS D-Sub, DVI, 21.6" Panel (£119)

Mouse: Logitech® MX™518 Optical Gaming Mouse (£29)

Warranty: 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery: STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time: Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days

Thanks for your help

Shibin

 

[Sleinous]

As I always say, the HDD with 16 or even 64mb cache, would be nicer, especially as its only a few £ more lol.

Consider going for the Samsung 1333Mhz RAM if you have no intention on OC'ing or anything, as it is more stable.

Everything else looks wonderful.

 

[Shibin]

I thought the faster the ram the better :s...and about hdd what does the cache do?...forgive me for being such a computer noob.

 

[Gorman]

I thought the faster the ram the better :s...

You would be hard pressed to measure the difference, the difference in price is easy to spot. Unless you are into overclocking 1333 is fine

and about hdd what does the cache do?...forgive me for being such a computer noob.

Cache is a basic type of memory, the more that is held in cache the less has to be read from the disk which is slower.

Think of it like this, you have to go shop, so you check everything you need from your cupboards etc and make a list. The list is your cache, without it you have to go and check again which takes more time than reading the list. The bigger the list the less often you need to root around your cupboards to see what you need.

 

[Shibin]

I checked the cache i have now on my computer which is seriously outdated(2001) and it has 2mb cahche. I guess a 4 times bigger cache is enough for me as i am more than happy with the 2mb one. Also i checked the pricing and i only save £1 by reducing it to 1333mhz Xms3>samsung...right?

Also everyone thinks the psu is fine? because i read on some websites i would need like 600w + for this setup =(. And any opinions on surge protection?

@Gorman~ Do you think there would be much problems with this setup in build and in first time use. Is this a simple enough system because i want it to work first time since i have heard the more complex the system the more problems etc :S (or i could have heard wrong )

Thanks reps for both of you

 

[Gorman]

ok, on paper the 450w is fine.

I am inclined to agree with you in that i would not spec under 600w for a modern machine. I like to overspec the PSU as it gives more options in the future and the output of a PSU will reduce over time. Surge protector, only if you have surge issues in your area.

This machine is quite basic its true but no machine can be guaranteed to be 100% bullet proof, otherwise we wouldnt need to offer warranties! =]

Its like anything, the more complicated it is the more chance of something going wrong and with machines leaving us with 3 x graphics cards etc i would agree with this.

I dont see any problems just by looking at the spec though, it should be fine!

 

[Sleinous]

It is exactly £8 more expensive to get the WD 640GB hard disk, with 64mb cache, compared to the 500GB 8MB non WD HDD you have configured right now Its as you wish ofcourse, but to me, its a waste not to go down that route as you future proof your pc, and should in theory increase load times, as well as facilitate copying of large amounts of small file sizes.

 

[Shibin]

I dont really intend to overclock or upgrade for a long time,so do you think 450w is enough as i have heard pc specialist list the average output instead of the peak output. Plus the calculator thing said i only need 408w. A 600w is £30 more ><

@ Sleinous, i only intend to use the computer for general use and for mid range gaming. So i guess 8mb would be fast right?...a 16 mb woudnt give me much difference?

 

[Phoenix]

You don't really need the processor cooling if you're not going to overclock the Phenom 955, the standard AMD cooler would be fine. I'd reccommend getting a better HDD like Sleinous said. The WD6400AARS (green drive) is a good choice because it doesn't use much power so you don't have to worry about your power supply.

 

[Shibin]

I only chose the processor cooling to reduce the noise of my system and i will look into the hdd matter,but my instinct is still to go with 8mb =(

 

[HMFC_Riley]

It's an 8mb to 64mb so for the £8 it's pretty worth it IMO.

 

[Sleinous]

I dont really intend to overclock or upgrade for a long time,so do you think 450w is enough as i have heard pc specialist list the average output instead of the peak output. Plus the calculator thing said i only need 408w. A 600w is £30 more ><

@ Sleinous, i only intend to use the computer for general use and for mid range gaming. So i guess 8mb would be fast right?...a 16 mb woudnt give me much difference?

If you're gaming then the 64mb would be way better.

Ill give you an example, today i've been reformatting my 1TB 8mb cached external HDD that is now in my new PC, from FAT32 to NTFS, as I needed to max 4gb filesize limit removed. So that was 300GB of data that needed shifting from my old 1TB to my new 1TB sata 6g with 64mb cache. Meanwhile (as this still took over 3 hrs to do) I played a little GTA IV: EFLC and as the HDD was so insanely busy writing to disk, some of my GTA terrain wasnt even rendering quick enough as the CPU couldnt fetch the relevant data from teh HDD as it was waiting for it to send it back. But...if I tried to do anything on the 8MB cached HDD, well, lets just say nothing much apart from teh copying was going to be happening. So...if we already reach the limit on a mechanical drive by just copying and pasting, and playing a game. Then think of how little your pc will be future proofed on an 8mb cached disc. Its all about multitasking really, depends what kinda gaming youre gonna be doing, and whether you want to experience lag everytime your comp decides to do a virus scan and you have to minimise out just to cancel it for £8 extra I would go for it, and besides I think for just over a tenner you can go for the 1TB WD1002FAEX which is what I have lol, and that's a 6G drive.

EDIT: So in answer to your q, yes, the difference in cache makes a big big diff. I even notice it when my older 1TB drive is near full, as it takes longer to initially access it, the disc doesnt respond straight away, takes a few seconds, and then you can start browsing through the folders.

 

[peppermann]

Cache is a basic type of memory, the more that is held in cache the less has to be read from the disk which is slower.

Think of it like this, you have to go shop, so you check everything you need from your cupboards etc and make a list. The list is your cache, without it you have to go and check again which takes more time than reading the list. The bigger the list the less often you need to root around your cupboards to see what you need.

That is a very lovely explanation + rep

 

[Shibin]

Ok i have decided to update my hdd to the 640gb 64mb wd one. Now the only thing am confused about is the psu

 

[HMFC_Riley]

Ok i have decided to update my hdd to the 640gb 64mb wd one. Now the only thing am confused about is the psu

Well its up you in regards to are you gonna make the system reach its peak or upgrade it? And if so how confident are you you can easily change the PSU? If the answer to the first is yes and the answer to the 3rd is not very then shell out the extra £30 and save yourself some hassle.

 

[Gorman]

That is a very lovely explanation + rep

Thanks! i try!

 

[Shibin]

Ok i have changed the hdd and also took off the cooler and dvd drive to save money.

Thanks for all your advice guys

 

[Sleinous]

Stock cooler, or the 22dba would be fine yes DVD drives are cheap as to buy later on if you wish, or even Bluray drive when they drop in price

Also noticed even with my 64mb cached drive, that when doing that heavy file copying of 320GB at 60mb/sec stuff like loading paint and editing pics slowed right down, so I hate to think how it would be on 8mb cached drives