Buying a new PC [NL] - Page 3

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-13, 01:01 PM

Decided I want to get an SSD for my build after all, as the benefits seem to be pretty big.
Did some researching and came up with the OCZ 120GB Vertex 3.

Is that a good SSD, quality and price wise?

Also, does the i7 3770 Goku suggested outperform the i5 2500K and 3570K?

vampyro · 2012-07-13, 01:07 PM

As far as SSDs, the best reviews for reliability are:
Samsung 830 Series
Crucial M4
Intel 320 Series

Listed in no particular order.

Vancha · 2012-07-13, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by MasterCalaelen

Also, does the i7 3770 Goku suggested outperform the i5 2500K and 3570K?

It only significantly outperforms them in regards to 3D modelling, video editing/rendering/converting and other CPU intensive tasks. If you do a lot of video editing, the time it'll save you will be worth the price. If you primarily just do photoshop work...I'm not sure how much of a boost it'll give you.

Gaming-wise they're pretty much on an even-keel.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-13, 01:17 PM

Yeah, I was actually doing some additional reading and it does seem the Crucial M4 is a better buy than the Vertex 3.

Vancha · 2012-07-13, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by MasterCalaelen

Yeah, I was actually doing some additional reading and it does seem the Crucial M4 is a better buy than the Vertex 3.

Out of curiosity, what are the prices of the Samsung 830s compared to the Crucial, for "Europeans"?

In the US they're a fair bit more expensive, yet in the UK they're slightly cheaper.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-13, 01:40 PM

The Crucial M4 256GB is € 192,- and the Samsung 830 256 GB is € 174,-.

So slightly cheaper, just as in the UK it seems.

Vancha · 2012-07-13, 04:40 PM

I'd go with the Samsung, then. It doesn't come with a sata cable, but you get one with the motherboard.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-13, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by Vancha

I'd go with the Samsung, then. It doesn't come with a sata cable, but you get one with the motherboard.

They are pretty even aren't they? The Samsung appears to be behind the M4 in terms of random I/O but shines at sequential work where it beats the M4.

Vancha · 2012-07-13, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by MasterCalaelen

They are pretty even aren't they? The Samsung appears to be behind the M4 in terms of random I/O but shines at sequential work where it beats the M4.

If you say so. I just look at the real-world benchmarks and the Samsung seems to have the lead in those, but supposedly they're nary distinguishable in actual use, so it purely comes down to price.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-13, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by Vancha

If you say so. I just look at the real-world benchmarks and the Samsung seems to have the lead in those, but supposedly they're nary distinguishable in actual use, so it purely comes down to price.

Just letting you know what I read from a comparison between the two on tomshardware.com. I don't know if those benchmarks were real-world or some best-case scenario.

With the difference so marginal I guess the Samsung would be the better buy due to it being cheaper.

Thanks for pointing it out to me, appreciate it.

Vancha · 2012-07-13, 05:55 PM

The PCMark 7 section has some real-world benchmarks. Things like opening programs, startup time, loading times etc.

Edit: That was meant to be a just-about-low-enough-to-see-it-sailing-over-my-head "if you say so", not a prickly "if you say so".

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-14, 03:26 PM

A few (hopefully the last) questions:

Memory:

How much benefit would I get from getting 16GB instead of 8GB of memory? Also, what benefit do you get from more expensive memory? Isn't 16GB 16GB?

CPU:

A lot of people are saying the i5 2500K would be a better pick than the i7 3770 as it's close in performance but costs a lot less? Any feedback on that from the pro's in here. Maybe that only goes for gaming and not for things like video editing and graphics work?

Windows:

Home or Professional? The only benefit Professional seems to have is the ability to run programs in XP compatibility if they don't have W7 compatibility, but I'm not sure how relevant that would be?

Power Supply:

Is 550W enough for the build Goku posted if I also add in a SSD? If so, what kind of sick builds would you need to run in order to require bigger PSUs (is that even an official abbreviation for a power supply lol?)

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm quite a noob in this area and I want to try and understand everything as best as possible before I make a purchase.

Goku · 2012-07-14, 03:46 PM

How much video editing and photoshop do you do? I recommended the i7 for the video editing mostly as it is faster verse a i5, from what I understand photoshop doesn't always make use of HT. The ram I know is beneficial in Photoshop and I think will help with the video editing. RAM is pretty cheap right now, so even more reason to do it IMO.

In terms of gaming you won't notice any difference in having more ram or an i7.

Windows I'm sure you will be all set with just home premium. Do you have any programs from XP that don't work on 7?

Due to not overclocking 550W is all you need. System probably will be at most 350W during full load.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-14, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by Goku

How much video editing and photoshop do you do?

At the moment not too much, but that's partially because video editing is pure torture on my current setup. So the i7 is only better than the i5 in terms of video editing, and possibly a few specific Photoshop actions?

Would I need to OC the i5 2500K in order to get equal performance to the i7, or would it be similar by default? Is an OC i5 2500K better, or equal as the i7 3770 for gaming?

Originally Posted by Goku

Windows I'm sure you will be all set with just home premium. Do you have any programs from XP that don't work on 7?

Haven't really looked into it, but I can't think of any programs I have on my computer that would not run in W7. The only reason I brought it up was because it was the only thing Pro had over Home that could possibly be of any use to me.

MasterCalaelen · 2012-07-15, 10:20 AM

This is what I've got right now:

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz 8MB
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Memory: Corsair 2x8GB, DDR3, PC10666, CL9, XMS3
Mobo: MSI Z77A-G43 iZ77, SATA600 RAID, USB3.0
SSD: Samsung SSD 2.5", 256GB, SATA600, 830 Series
HDD: Samsung Harddisk 3.5" 1TB, SATA300, 7200rpm, HD103SJ
Case: Cooler Master Midi Tower CM 690 II Advanced
PSU: XFX ProSeries Core 550W
CD/DVD Burner LG DVD-/+/RAM GH22NS70.AUAA50B 22x/22x/12x SATA
Monitor: Dell LED Monitor U2412M 24"

Any comments, tips, suggestions, issues?