Please advise on a new home PC build

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bwo
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Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:50 am
Location: Poland

Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by bwo » Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:57 am

I am going to build a home PC for general computing, internet, movies, some occasional DTP and graphics/photo editing. No games, no OC. I want the system to serve me for at least 5-7 years.

Here is my list, I will appreciate your comments:

1. CPU: Intel Core i5-3475S - 2.90 GHz, turbo 3.60 GHz, x4/4, 6 MB, 65W, OEM (chosen for HD 4000 graphics, but maybe it's not worth it?)
2. Mobo: Asus P8H77-M PRO - m-ATX
3. HDD: WD Green 1 TB - WD10EZRX
4. SSD: Intel330 SSD 60GB - SSDSC2CT060A3K5
5. RAM: DDR3 Kingston Value RAM- 8 GB / 1333 (1x 8 GB), CL9 (KVR1333D3N9/8G)
6. PSU: Super Flower 500W Golden King Pro Platinum SF500P14PE
7. Case: Lian-Li PC-A04

For now I'll also keep my old HDD for backup (Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 - ST3300620AS)
and DVD_RW NEC ND-3520A.

In the future I may possibly want to add some blu-ray drive (to replace my old DVD), wifi card, sound-card and graphic card (in case the integrated GPU turns out insufficient).

Also please advise me what cooling should I buy - will something like Arctic Alpine 11 Pro or Arctic Alpine 64 Pro be enough?

Thanks!

edh
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by edh » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:32 am

bwo wrote:3. HDD: WD Green 1 TB - WD10EZRX
4. SSD: Intel330 SSD 60GB - SSDSC2CT060A3K5
How much storage do you intend to use? Without so much hard disk space being used a larger SSD and no HDD would be better. A 256Gb is not so expensive now and in future SSD prices are going to get better and better so if you run out of space you can easily buy a second one without adding any noise and very little power, space, heat and cabling.
bwo wrote:6. PSU: Super Flower 500W Golden King Pro Platinum SF500P14PE
This is somewhat over powered for the system which will probably be ~100W max. Super Flower unfortunately only go as low as 400W in 80+ Gold or a Seasonic G360 would make better sense.
bwo wrote:7. Case: Lian-Li PC-A04
Perhaps over the top size wise for the components you are putting in it and the associated power draw. Consider the Antec NSK3480 and use it's included PSU instead. This will save a lot of money.

CA_Steve
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:57 am

I wouldn't bother with the S part. The non-S part will use the same amount of power at idle and your low loads. If/when you need the processing power at high load, the non-S part will just finish the task sooner, consuming similar or potentially less energy over the time used.

Intel 330 60GB: or you could spend maybe $20 more and get a 120GB Samsung 840.

Abula
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by Abula » Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:36 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Intel 330 60GB: or you could spend maybe $20 more and get a 120GB Samsung 840.
[H]ardocp Samsung 840 120GB SSD Review
While we continue to recommend higher capacity Samsung TLC Model 840 SSDs, the TLC-equipped 120GB 840 Series SSD is simply not a good option for consumers. 3.5 to 4 years of projected light use is an endurance concern that users would be advised to watch closely if they were to purchase this SSD. Slow write speeds across the board in tandem with poor read and write maximum latency performance should overcome any temptation for saving a few bucks with this value SSD.

CA_Steve
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:51 pm

To be blunt, I think the [H] reviewer is off in the weeds. Regarding lifetimes, Hardware.info is running a torture/lifetime test on a 840. The early results:
It’s been more than a week now (8 days to be exact) since we started our SSD lifespan test with the Samsung 840 SSD with TLC flash memory. In that timespan we wrote 97,02 TB onto the Samsung 840 250GB SSD. Assuming an average of 10 GB of writes per day, that translates to 27 years of normal use.
As for performance, yeah, it's slower than other 120GB drives as well as the 256GB drives in that review...but we're comparing it to a 60GB drive for home use. I think the performance would be similar and you've got twice the capacity for nearly the same price.

Pappnaas
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by Pappnaas » Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:57 am

Abula wrote:As for performance, yeah, it's slower than other 120GB drives as well as the 256GB drives in that review...but we're comparing it to a 60GB drive for home use. I think the performance would be similar and you've got twice the capacity for nearly the same price.
+1

Any SSD that came out over the last two years is fast enough to make the user the bottle neck in most home use situations.

bwo
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Location: Poland

Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by bwo » Tue Apr 16, 2013 10:47 am

Thanks very much for your suggestions!
edh wrote: How much storage do you intend to use? Without so much hard disk space being used a larger SSD and no HDD would be better. A 256Gb is not so expensive now and in future SSD prices are going to get better and better so if you run out of space you can easily buy a second one without adding any noise and very little power, space, heat and cabling.
Certainly I'll need more than 256Gb, but maybe I'll think about getting some external drive instead.
edh wrote:This is somewhat over powered for the system which will probably be ~100W max. Super Flower unfortunately only go as low as 400W in 80+ Gold or a Seasonic G360 would make better sense.
I chose it for Platinum, but perhaps it's not that important with so low power usage?
edh wrote:Perhaps over the top size wise for the components you are putting in it and the associated power draw. Consider the Antec NSK3480 and use it's included PSU instead. This will save a lot of money.
I like the look of Lian Li much more, plus it has USB 3, but I'll think it over again.
CA_Steve wrote:I wouldn't bother with the S part. The non-S part will use the same amount of power at idle and your low loads. If/when you need the processing power at high load, the non-S part will just finish the task sooner, consuming similar or potentially less energy over the time used.
The reason I'm considering this model is HD 4000 graphics. I don't know if I benefit from it that much (compared to HD 2500) though. What do you think?
CA_Steve wrote:Intel 330 60GB: or you could spend maybe $20 more and get a 120GB Samsung 840.
Right. I can buy KINGSTON V300 120 GB even a little bit cheaper - which one should I chose?

Pappnaas
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by Pappnaas » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:16 am

If you put reliability as number one concern for picking a ssd, then it narrows down to products from Intel or Samsung. Both brands have shown in the past that their QS and Beta-Testing seems to be better than that of any other SSD makers.

So, if you are just on a budget and need to have the biggest ssd for your money, buy any brand you feel meeting your price.

If not, save some more until you can buy a Intel or Samsung.

edh
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Location: UK

Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by edh » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:53 am

bwo wrote:I chose it for Platinum, but perhaps it's not that important with so low power usage?
Considering the efficiency curve for most PSUs is pretty poor at 20% power and below, Platinum rating is largely irrelevant at these percentages. A much smaller Gold rated PSU would be more efficient at 100W than a 500W Platinum rated PSU.

Whether or not efficiency is important for you may also depend on the aim. In terms of silence it is better to be efficient as it means less cooling required. It is quite likely that a modern good quality PSU could run entirely fanlessly at those load levels and some already do this as standard. In terms of efficiency to save money on electricity, the sheer cost of a 500W Platinum rated PSU versus a much cheaper smaller unit is so great that you would have to have the system on for decades to save money on electricity. Plus the more expensive, more exotic PSU will also most likely have the higher environmental impact in manufacturing - more raw materials used, more time intensive, more energy intensive.

boost
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Re: Please advise on a new home PC build

Post by boost » Fri Apr 19, 2013 12:00 am

bwo wrote:
edh wrote:This is somewhat over powered for the system which will probably be ~100W max. Super Flower unfortunately only go as low as 400W in 80+ Gold or a Seasonic G360 would make better sense.
I chose it for Platinum, but perhaps it's not that important with so low power usage?
The difference is small. A user tested two units with a power meter: a 350W gold certified unit from FSP and a 500W Aurum from FSP. The difference in power draw was within the tolerance of the power meter, around 0.5W.
The Lian Li A-04 is a very small case, I strongly suggest a modular power supply.
The Seasonic Platinum Series Fanless 400W ATX is fully modular. It has only one 6/8 pin connector for a graphic card, keep that in mind if you want to upgrade.
FSP Aurum Xilenser 400W is mostly modular, it has four connector for graphic cards which in my opinion is too much for a 400W unit.

To make your PC quieter you need an an aftermarket CPU cooler. The maximum height for the cooler in the Lian Li a-04 is 155mm. The Thermalright Macho 120 and the Cooling Corator fit and perform well, the Thermalright fan is quieter.
Lian Li 120mm case fans are only quiet at 5V. The Asus board has 4 connectors and a good fan control you can use.
bwo wrote:The reason I'm considering this model is HD 4000 graphics. I don't know if I benefit from it that much (compared to HD 2500) though. What do you think?
Not worth it. Get the 3470 or 3570.
bwo wrote:Right. I can buy KINGSTON V300 120 GB even a little bit cheaper - which one should I chose?
Get the bigger one.

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