Upgrade after sys HDD failure

[abeth]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, other basic PC functions (Web Browsing, FTP, word processing)

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.
$500-600

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada.
Memory Express (Local and Preferred)
Newegg.ca
NCIX.com

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
None, but obviously intel ownz

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
PSU (Corsair TX-850), GPU (eVGA GTS450), SATA Storage HDDs, Win7, Case, monitor

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Will overclock when performance is needed

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
ASAP (Tomorrow if I buy from the local shop)

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.


So my system HDD went kaput today so what better excuse to build a new system?! Here is what I've come up with (All from local vendor):

Intel Core™ i5-2500K Processor - $209.99
Asus P8Z68-V PRO - $199.99
GSKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB PC3-12800 - $49.99
OCZ Agility 3 Series SATA III 60gb - $84.99 or 120gb - $139.99

I've been told by a friend that a 60gb SSD should be enough, but he doesn't game. Do I need my games loaded on my SSD (making me need the 120gb)?
Also I plan to SLI another GTS450 later on when I need the performance.

Let me know what you pros think.
Phil

 

[stahlhart]

I've been told by a friend that a 60gb SSD should be enough, but he doesn't game. Do I need my games loaded on my SSD (making me need the 120gb)?

Should be. I've got 7 Pro and Office 2010 Pro on mine, and I'm only up to about 35Gb.

Also I plan to SLI another GTS450 later on when I need the performance.

Be careful. Apparently your chances of microstutter increase with SLI on lower-end cards. You might be better off upgrading to a more powerful single GPU.

 

[abeth]

Should be. I've got 7 Pro and Office 2010 Pro on mine, and I'm only up to about 35Gb.

So that leaves me 25gb for games, should be manageable.

Be careful. Apparently your chances of microstutter increase with SLI on lower-end cards. You might be better off upgrading to a more powerful single GPU.

Thanks for the Info, I'll just run this card till until its obsolete and then upgrade.

Does the rest of my planned configuration look good? Is that mobo overkill? Ram of decent quality?

Phil

 

[stahlhart]

I take that back (I think) -- mabye you'll be okay after all:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gts-450-sli-review/17

 

[stahlhart]

So that leaves me 25gb for games, should be manageable.

I think the approach that a lot are going with is to reserve the SSD for one or two games that are really in active usage at that particular moment. You might not want to fill it up too close to capacity.

I've ended up keeping all of mine on the spindle drive; the extra few seconds really isn't a deal-breaker for me.

edit: rest of your harware choices look well researched and okay (to me, anyway). Watch RAM heat spreader height interfering with fans if you opt for a tower cooler for the CPU, though.

 

[abeth]

Is anybody else doing this, swapping games onto a smaller ssd? Or should I just pay the $55 more to avoid the headache?

More comments are welcome on the build as well!

 

[titan131]

You could get a z68 mobo and use SSD caching, which puts your most used apps on the SSD. I think it's a good compromise if you don't want to cough up the extra money for a bigger SSD. The Asrock z68 pro3 is a good cheap z68 mobo.

 

[Ken g6]

The Asrock z68 pro3 is a good cheap z68 mobo.

Not in Canada! (It's still good; it's just not cheap.)
Here's a cheap Gigabyte.
This ASUS is fine, too. You don't need Firewire like in the one you chose, unless you have a compatible video camera.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Canada...eh.

that Gigabyte should be enough for you

 

[mfenn]

OP, there is nothing wrong with your parts selections per se, they just cost more than they should.

CPU: Good
Mobo: Get the P8Z68-V LE instead. It sounds like it has all the features you need at a lower price point
RAM: DDR3 1600 doesn't give you much benefit over DDR3 1333 so you might as well save some money with the 1333 version of the Ripjaws.
SSD : OCZ isn't a brand that I'd trust right now but $140 is an insane price on a 120GB SSD.

 

[abeth]

After doing more research on Sandforce SSDs, I'm going with Intel, most likely the 320 80gb. Reliability is the most important thing for my boot hdd. Thats gonna cost ~$180.

Getting a cheaper mobo is for sure an option, but I don't think the P8Z68-V LE supports SLI, and I would like that feature for future upgrading.
What about GA-Z68x-UD3H-B3 or P8Z68-V?

Edit: Also I can only buy at Memory Express now, surgery on Friday and I want this thing running for my recovery.

 

[mfenn]

After doing more research on Sandforce SSDs, I'm going with Intel, most likely the 320 80gb. Reliability is the most important thing for my boot hdd. Thats gonna cost ~$180.

Getting a cheaper mobo is for sure an option, but I don't think the P8Z68-V LE supports SLI, and I would like that feature for future upgrading.
What about GA-Z68x-UD3H-B3 or P8Z68-V?

Edit: Also I can only buy at Memory Express now, surgery on Friday and I want this thing running for my recovery.

Also look at the Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

Why do you want SLI/CFX? It's rarely (almost never) a viable upgrade path.

 

[abeth]

I had planned to upgrade my gts450 to 2xgts450 as a future upgrade path. But that is something I have little experience with, maybe at that point a complete gpu upgrade will be better? If so I'm just going to go for the P8Z68-V LE.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wouldn't bother with SLI'ed GTS450 cards. They are too weak. The only reason to SLI or Crossfire, is generally when you cannot get the same performance out of a single card. There are too many downsides to SLI/CF to bother using a low-end setup with SLI, IMHO.

Upgrade to a single GTX460, 560 ti, or 570. Or wait for 28nm GPUs to come out soon.

 

[abeth]

Ok thanks for your help everybody. I just bought it all, will let you know how it all works.

 

[mfenn]

I wouldn't bother with SLI'ed GTS450 cards. They are too weak. The only reason to SLI or Crossfire, is generally when you cannot get the same performance out of a single card. There are too many downsides to SLI/CF to bother using a low-end setup with SLI, IMHO.

Upgrade to a single GTX460, 560 ti, or 570. Or wait for 28nm GPUs to come out soon.

:thumbsup::thumbsup: My thoughts exactly.