Upgrade to Sandy

dekruzader

Disciple
Hi Guys,

Planning to upgrade my machine after a loong time. Please give me your suggestions and also where I can source all the components...

  1. Q: What is your budget?
    • ~50K
  2. Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • CPU - Intel E6600 & TRUE
    • Motherboard - Asus P5WDH Deluxe


    • GPU - ATI 5850 1 GB


    • RAM - Transcend 4X512MB PC6400


    • Monitor - Dell U2410
    • HDD - Seagate 7200.12 1TB
    • SMPS - CoolerMaster NEO 550W


    • Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS
    • Logitech G110 & Razer Deathadder
    • CoolerMaster Ceturion 534
    • APC SmartUPS 1.5KVA
  3. Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • GPU - Sparkle 5850 1GB
    • Monitor - Dell U2410
    • Sound Card - X-Fi
    • Keyboard and Mouse
    • UPS
  4. Q: Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU - i2500K
    • CPU cooler - Unsure (Silent and efficient to take i5 to 4.5 GHz)
    • Motherboard - ASUS Z68 V /V-PRO Or any other good ones (Have very good exp with ASUS so far)


    • RAM - GSkill Ripjaws X 8GB (Any others?)
    • Cabby - Unsure (Need lots of space since I don't want to upgrade this at all ever. Like HAF-X, Corsair 800D. No intention of full fledged WC option.)
    • SSD - Min 120GB for OS and apps (Vertex2/Agility3/??)
    • PSU - Corsair 750AX/HX Or Seasonic (Again no compromises here. Should have a little bit room for future expansion for say a 590GTX)
  5. Q: Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • Yes, Would like to go for a Dell U3011 and a matching GPU
  6. Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Bangalore
    • Open to online purchase
    • Please suggest some online shops as well as local ones...
  7. Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • Yes
  8. Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Gaming
    • Browsing
    • Desktop Processing
    • Watching HD movies


    • Development
  9. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • No preferences. Should have good local support.
  10. Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • Strategy & FPSs...
  11. Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Gaming - 1920x1200
    2. Desktop - 1920x1200
  12. Q: Are you looking to overclock?
    • Yes
  13. Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 7 64 bit
    • Ubuntu (Mostly as a VM)
 
Processor Intel Core i5 2500k 10800

Motherboard MSI P67A-GD55 9500

RAM Gskill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 3350

HDD OCZ Agility 3 60GB 7500

Cabinet Xigmatek Elysium 11500

PSU Seasonic X-760 8500

CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212+ 1950

Total 53100


60GB SSD should suffice if you are gonna make it a boot drive... but if you really want a 120GB SSD then you would have to compromise on the cabinet

Processor Intel Core i5 2500k 10800

Motherboard MSI P67A-GD55 9500

RAM Gskill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 3350

HDD OCZ Agility 3 120GB 12500

Cabinet NZXT Tempest EVO 5700

PSU Seasonic X-760 8500

CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212+ 1950

Total 52300


But if you dont want to compromise on anything then increase your budget... :)
 
Thanks Hades for the configuration. I have a few doubts..

- You didn't suggest a Z68 board. Is that because it is too expensive or the new features are not worth the extra money? The SSD caching doesn't really matter as I am planning for a separate SSD. But the IGP switch? Is it worth considering? Are there any other Z68 boards within the budget?

- Since I plan to overclock, how good is the Hyper 212+? What would be the temps on 2500K say at 4.5 GHz? And how silent is that?

- Seasonic X-760 is the same as in the AX-750, right? In the same price range, we get HX750 and it has 7 years warranty. Would that be recommended?

- Ripjaws X is also available in the same price range? Will that do better in overclocking?

- Saw Elysium reviews. I like HAF X better... 800D is way too expensive.

If I can stretch a bit by say another 10K, in what do you suggest me to put in the extra dough?

- Thanx
 
If you're going to add 10k to the initial 50k budget, then you can look to get:

Processor Intel Core i5 2500k 10800

Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V 12600

RAM Gskill F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 3350

HDD OCZ Agility 3 120GB 12500

Cabinet Coolermaster HAF X 11900

PSU Seasonic X-760 8500

CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212+ 1950

Total 61600


- The Hyper 212+ should manage 4.5Ghz. Above that you may need better cooling.

- Seasonic X-760 is better than Corsair HX750. It is 80 plus gold certified whereas the HX750 is silver certified. Modular vs. non modular. IMO 5 years warranty is good enough but in the end it's your call. I would get the Seasonic X-760 for it's efficiency and awesome ripple values.

- The rams suggested are the Ripjaws X. They're just the specific part no. :)
 
Thanks Viralbug.

Was wondering what is the difference betwen V-Pro and V? Am I going to miss something important? Also, how about Vertex 2 120GB, given that there are still a lot of issues that are plaguing the 3rd generation SSD? Rest everything looks fine to me.. And seasonic X-760 is really hard to procure here is Bangalore looks like... So may be I will have to settle for a Corsair HX 750W.
 
The V-Pro has 2 more Sata 6 gbps ports than the V and also 2 IEEE 1394 ports which the V doesn't have. Other than that it's pretty much the same.

As for the SSD, I wouldn't be able to tell you much about it. Wait for the experts to answer that.

You can order the Seasonic online from Prime or any other place.
 
dekruzader said:
Thanks Viralbug.

Was wondering what is the difference betwen V-Pro and V? Am I going to miss something important? Also, how about Vertex 2 120GB, given that there are still a lot of issues that are plaguing the 3rd generation SSD? Rest everything looks fine to me.. And seasonic X-760 is really hard to procure here is Bangalore looks like... So may be I will have to settle for a Corsair HX 750W.

Instead aquiring the Seasonic X-760 which is hard to procure in Bangalore, why don't you have it shipped from Bombay Sire, OR if that doesn't suit you get the --

Cooler Master M700 ~ 7500/- [from Golccha Intertrade inclusive taxes]

Antec Truepower New 750W ~ 8000/- [from Golccha Intertrade inclusive taxes]

Antec Truepower New 650W ~ 6000/- [from Golccha Intertrade inclusive taxes]

Also for information pertaining to SSD's here are a few articles --

AnandTech - The SandForce Roundup: Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, OCZ, OWC & MemoRight SSDs Compared / How SSDs work | News | TechRadar UK / Solid-state drive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The worst thing that plagues a SSD is the data redundancy limit apart from that pretty much all the problems have been ironed out. Oh one more thing Sire with the Z68 chipset you'll be able to use the TRIM feature of the SSD's -- TRIM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia / Feature - Why You Need TRIM For Your SSD | bit-tech.net.

Hope this is informative, Sire(s).
 
^The TRIM feature is already supported by Win 7 by default. Not a chipset limitation.

What the Z68 chipset offers is SSD caching - an added advantage when your system has a not-so-large SSD and a lot of hard drives. The performance evident is definitely evident.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

I'd advise to go with the Corsair HX750 for that extra 2 years' warranty. Besides, Corsair's warranty support from Kaizen is unmatched. Many customers can vouch for it.
 
Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I guess, I will go with the ASUS Z68 V non-PRO verison as firewire and 6gbps port which is not native is not something I will miss. Never used my firewire port on my current machine in the last 5 years! Regarding power supply, since Seasonic X760 is not easily available, think I should stick with Corsair HX750 considering the great A.S.S and 7 years guarantee.

SSD is the only grey area. Before the 8mb bug intel 320 was a no brainer for reliability. But now, it is very difficult to decide as the new Sandforce drives have lots of reported failures as reported in many forums and confirmed by Anand. So, the options are 1) get a vertex 2 120GB or 2) get an agility 3 120GB and keep taking backup like hell and pray hard.. :huh: Yet to decide on this. Anyone else using the new Sandforce drives?
 
^^ Get a Vertex 2 in this case. At-least you'll be free of headaches pertaining to disc failure and random data wipes.

Gannu said:
^The TRIM feature is already supported by Win 7 by default. Not a chipset limitation.

What the Z68 chipset offers is SSD caching - an added advantage when your system has a not-so-large SSD and a lot of hard drives. The performance evident is definitely evident

Thanks for correcting Sire, so does that mean even my AMD M4A785TD-V EVO will support TRIM?

Oh yes and by all means Corsair has unmatched after sales support with a company like Kaizen covering their backs.
 
^^ AFAIK, you have to enable AHCI in the BIOS and should have a compatible OS like Windows Vista/7 or linux distro after 2.6.19 kernel. This would make sure that the TRIM command reaches the SSD controller and a file delete will result in a wipe operation. More information after installing the SSD! :)
 
I am not really excited about SSD-caching as I am planning for a separate SSD. But virtu might be something that I may miss for media encoding. Also the price for P67 PRO is very close to a Z68-V.

There are some major features missing in Z68-V LE from Z68-V - SLI support, Bluetooth, JMicron eSata controller, Intel gigE chipset and the power design(12 phase). Kind of too many things to lose? Anyways, will get the price to decide whether the difference is worth it.
 
ALPHA17 said:
^^ Get a Vertex 2 in this case. At-least you'll be free of headaches pertaining to disc failure and random data wipes.

Thanks for correcting Sire, so does that mean even my AMD M4A785TD-V EVO will support TRIM?

Avoid Vertex 2 for the moment since the newer drives have the 25nm NAND which is reported to be performing a notch slower than the older 34nm NAND based drives. The available formatted capacity is also lower.

Like I said before TRIM support is not a limitation of the chipset. My previous board based on the G31 chipset even supported TRIM. But the performance was a bit on the lower side since it did not support AHCI.
 
Gannu said:
Avoid Vertex 2 for the moment since the newer drives have the 25nm NAND which is reported to be performing a notch slower than the older 34nm NAND based drives. The available formatted capacity is also lower.

That is an important point. 25nm means more devices on the die leading to lower parallel ops, leading to lesser thru put. Is there any way to know from the part number what nand is being used?

Sent from my galaxy s using Tapatalk
 
Guys,

I couldn't resist myself when I saw Noctua D14 and got it from Rahul. Now my question is there are about 4 cabinet fans (HAF-X) and 2 cooler fans. If I add one more top fan on HAF-X, that will make the number of fans as 7. Will the motherboard be able to drive all these? Will a fan controller be required for this? If so, which one? All these fans can be controlled from the bios, right?
 
^^

I doubt your board has so many fan headers. You would need a fan controller, or else pull them off the molex chain. Remove the top, fans -- hardly any use.
 
dekruzader said:
Guys,

I couldn't resist myself when I saw Noctua D14 and got it from Rahul. Now my question is there are about 4 cabinet fans (HAF-X) and 2 cooler fans. If I add one more top fan on HAF-X, that will make the number of fans as 7. Will the motherboard be able to drive all these? Will a fan controller be required for this? If so, which one? All these fans can be controlled from the bios, right?

If you are fine with purchasing a fan controller, Golccha Inter-trade has stocked all the NZXT Sentry line-up [starting from ~2100/-] which has controls for upto five fans simultaneously [rest stick onto your motherboard], OR the molex option like Asingh Sir has said is also viable but it akes the fans run @full blast and that can get noisy.
 
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