Etamianer

Here are some specs of something i am gathering up, its a mid level PC, for everyday thing, a bit gaming, a bit programing, watching HD video and so on, need your opinion on this guys.

Processor:
Core i5 650, 3.20GHz, s1156, 4MB, GPU Core, Tray

Motherboard:
Asus
P7H55-M PRO s1156 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel H55, DDR3 1600, PCI-E

Memory:
DDR III 1333Mhz
2x2GB G.Skill NQ Edition Dual Channel

Graphic card:
ASUS
GT220 1GB GDDR2 DVI HDMI PCI-E

Sound card
STLab 5.1 (PCI)

Hard disk:
Western Digital
Caviar Green 750GB IntelliPower, 32MB, SATA II WD7500AADS

CD Drive:
DVD‏ LG
DVD±RW GH22LP20 x22 Black LightScribe IDE (Oem)

Cooler:
Arctic Cooling
Arctic Breeze

Case:
CASE MIDI ATX HD Black Silver (No PSU)

What do you think guys, my budget is 950$

blibbax

Just a few things:

-I don't see a power supply, which is kinda important.

-Also, it'd be good to have a link to that case, as it's hard to tell what that might be from your description.

-Is there any point in a motherboard with integrated graphics when you're buying a graphics card?

-That graphics card will struggle with most new games at higher settings.

__________________

IvanV

How much do the listed components total so far? It looks a little underpowered in the graphics department, you should try yo get something like a Radeon 5770 or GeForce 460. Those are decent cards you should be able to squeeze in your budget that should provide you with a decent gaming experience (much more so than the GT 220).

__________________
If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Veridian3

As of tomorrow you wont want the GT220...

Takaharu

Why tomorrow? I wouldn't recommend one at all for mid-level gaming... or low-level, for that matter

My suggestions:

• Crank up your graphics to current-gen and go for something like the GTS 450.
• If you're not an audiophile, sod the soundcard. I've been using onboard soundcards since they introduced 5.1 built-in.
• Go that little extra on the disc drive. The top-end DVD-RW drives are pittance compared to any other aspect of a PC so go the whole hog and get 24x with dual-layer capabilities; you might as well for the cost difference.
• Get a PSU. It helps.
• I've heard nothing but flames about Caviar Green. Cheap as hell but you get what you pay for. Try aiming for at least Blue.
• Going back to the PSU, Corsair is above the needs and price range of your PC. I'd advise around 500W and an alternative, reputable company like OCZ, Thermaltake and the like. If in doubt, ask
• If you go over your budget with the advice provided, consider going down the AMD route. They're not better, they're not worse, they're just an alternative that ends up cheaper.

__________________

CJLMTLCA

Whenever he says something like that, there is a review coming.

__________________

mkk

The i5 650 only has two cores and performs so poorly for its price that it ought to be banned from the market.

Etamianer

Ive made a grave mistake with the budget calculations its not 950$ its 750$.

blibbax

All the above advise is good. Come back with a revised list that takes it on board

__________________

Takaharu

Yeah, I know, probably a GTS 420.

__________________

Tipstaff

Since he's buying a CPU that has on-chip graphics, if the video card dies, he's got a backup on the processor. Without a board that has those ports that doesn't become an option. Plus there is something else that people either don't know, or tend to forget: you can have both the Intel HD and external graphics active at the same time.

In my opinion, here's a couple parts to consider:

- Trust me on this, you can't game worth spit on a GT 220. I've tried. Instead of the GT 220 grab a GTS 240 or GTS 250. Price wise they are about the same, but you might find rebates making one cheaper than the other, and usually both will be about $20-30 more than that GT 220. That's $20-30 for 2x the performance.
- What do you intend to do with the Arctic Breeze USB fan? If you are looking to use it for spot cooling I would instead look to Antec's Spot Cool. For one, the fan on the Antec is not exposed, so you can't damage it as easily or destroy cabling inside the machine, plus it runs on the power supply itself, not the USB port.
- If you intend to run Windows 7 DO NOT use the STLab 5.1 sound card on this machine. From what I remember, it doesn't work in Win7. Stick with the Realtek HD onboard audio as it's far superior to the CMedia chip running the STLab. Same thing goes if you intend to run XP on it.

__________________

Etamianer

ok here is an updated version, i am not sure how much its better, but mind you i am budget wise only for 750$, the money is converted from Russian currency so price not match with what you know guys i am not from usa.

Core i5 650, 3.20GHz, s1156, 4MB, GPU Core, Tray , had to keep it, because its the only cheapest i5 i can get
H55M-D2H s1156 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel H55, DDR3 2200, 2xPCI-E, VGA, HDMI , i checked the site but didn't see the integrated part, or so on the previous one.
DDR III 1333Mhz 2x2GB G.Skill NQ Edition Dual Channel
GIGABYTE GT240 512MB GDDR5 DVI HDMI PCI-E
Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA II WD6400AAKS
Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD±RW x24 Black Sata
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 LP CPU Fan For 754,939,AM2,AM3
8805-13/BK Micro ATX Black (No PSU)
SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Active PFC 12cm Fan S12II-520 (Retail

mkk

Try an i3 processor, or an AMD Athlon 2 X4 for some unbeatable price/performance. But I guess you want to keep on the Intel side. At least with an i3 you'd avoid paying 50% more mostly because it says i5 on the sticker.

A HD5570 card would give you a bit more performance for the same money. Or get a much better HD5670 for some of the money you save on the CPU.

Oh wait, that CPU cooler doesn't fit with the CPU.

Takaharu

That doesn't look like it's compatible with your processor (1156)

__________________

MIG-31

Just reading through the specs...How ever why have you picked a CPU Cooler for a AMD cpu,When you have listed a Intel CPU ?

It will be incompatible Link Here

Perhaps in error?

__________________

blibbax

The bit where it says HDMI and VGA :P

Other than that, and the cooler, this seems good. You might want to save on the CPU and spend more on the video card if you intend to do a lot of medium or high resolution gaming.

__________________

Tipstaff

Pretty much nothing to say at this point as it's been covered by those above.

Suggestions:
- As mentioned the cooler you chose is incompatible with the socket on that motherboard. So, in keeping with Arctic Cooler, look to the Alpine 11/11 Pro/11 GT coolers, which run anywhere from $10-15, or better yet (and my personal choice from them), look at the Freezer 7 Pro. The latter cooler will run you about $30, but it cools like crazy.
- The Gigabyte GA-H55M-D2H is literally identical to the H55M-S2H (even shares the same manual) which I have in my main "every day" rig. Great motherboard for less than $100, and I've never had a problem with it.
- It's been suggested that you could save some money by going with an i3-5xx processor. This is actually not a bad idea, although I would stick with either the i3-530 or i3-540 as the i3-550 is too close to the i5-650s price. Tech wise they are the same as the i5-650 (in some tests the i3-540 is on par score wise), both having the same exact specs with the exception that the latter processor has a "slightly" higher clock rate, and Turbo support (where the processor will turn off one core if not being used, and up the speed of the other). You could save yourself as much as $50 going with an i3, and reach the i5-650s speed by doing a minor overclock (easily do-able on that Gigabyte board btw).

__________________

Neshi

look at some prices for an AMD processor, you might save a few bucks and still getting comparable results. Don't be scared, AMD has still very good processors, even though they are cheaper!
dunno how the prices compare in Russia though...

__________________
If one does not attach himself to people and desire, never shall his heart be broken. But then, does he ever truly live?

Life is just too damn short for if's and maybe's

Etamianer

thx a lot guys i did notice that the cooler isnt compatible, chose by mistake....
I trust more intel than AMD but i do wonder how much amd is good, for the graphics, well on my current pc i have 9600gt and it works pretty dam fine, goes around mid-high and not too much of a long loads. If its good I will go around with this guide lines.

Neshi

I have had several AMD cpu's myself. It is just as reliable and stable as intel cpu's.

__________________
If one does not attach himself to people and desire, never shall his heart be broken. But then, does he ever truly live?

Life is just too damn short for if's and maybe's

blibbax

You may as well keep the 9600GT imo with the cards your looking at as upgrades.

And, yes, I think God will around with this guide lines. :P

__________________

Etamianer

Hate it when I misspell, makes me feel like a complete fool...hope god didn't see that XD

Tipstaff

That's a good idea.

Since I'm not an AMD guy (I very rarely sell them at my shop, and don't own one personally), so for anyone looking to chime in, going with the specs listed for the Intel machine, as well as recommendations for alternates (such as using the i3 instead), what would you guys recommend for an AMD system? To me the sweet spot would be either the Athlon II X4 640, or for a little more the Phenom II X3 740 Black (personally I would go with this one). That would cover the $100 and $130-140 CPU range.

(BTW, Etamianer, the X2/X3/X4/X6 for AMD denotes the amount of cores.. just thought you should know)

__________________

OldBuzzard

Weeeeell...now that you mentioned it...

I just ordered this AMD system from Newegg, that I'm building for #2 son.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX445WFGMBOX

Newegg.com - ASRock M3A785GXH/128M AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250318AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

I went with the Athlon II x3 in hopes of unlocking the 4th core. If it doesn't unlock, he's still going to have a LOT more computer than he had with the eMachines with an AMD 3200+ that it's replacing

Total is $530.63 with shipping.

No vid card, as the onboard is good enough for what he does. If I would have needed a vid card for the build, I would have probably gone with this Sapphire 5770 @154.99 ($139.99 after rebate).

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

__________________
When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Etamianer

Think next i go for a newer PC i will go for this, its definitely a new perspective to look at things, when considering budget and good performance.