Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RoryB]

I have always built my own computers at home and will be doing the same here now that I have sold my laptop. I know most of the big brands in the UK/US but am unfamiliar with some of the ones I have been looking at on danawa. I have pretty much decided on getting the best bang-for-buck PC which will look something like the spec below. I will be able to upgrade to a quad core once they become more widely used and change the gfx to something a bit more meaty in a few months time when the next generation comes out.

Cpu - 70,000krw
E2160/2180/2200 with decent cooler (clock the socks off this to around
3.2ghz)

CPU cooler - 40,000krw
Probably some zalman varient seeing as they are pretty cheap here. Will first try the stock cooler and if it runs too hot @ 3.2ghz I will go out and buy a better one.

Mobo - 115,000krw
Gigabyte DS3R (seems the best value at around 115krw)

Ram - 40,000krw
2gb of something (unsure of Korean brands but possibly just get OCZ Platinum revision 2 or the vista upgrade model)

Graphics - 145,000krw
ATI 3850pro 256mb

DVD-RW - 40,000krw
Samsung SH-S203B or Pioneer DVR-212

PSU - 115,000krw
NO CLUE. So many random K brands I have never heard of.

Zalman ZM600-HP

Monitor - ??????
NO CLUE. Not much more then 300,000krw and needs component in for Wii

Case - ?????
Again...no clue! Any decent K brands?

2 x 120mm fans
Don't know of any K brand fans either!


So I am pretty much decided on everything except ram, psu, case and monitor. So now for the questions:

1). I have been recommended one of the topsync monitors but not been told why to go for them? 22" is probably the best bet within my budget of 300,000krw. Which monitors should I be looking at?

2). I will need a decent psu but nothing overkill for the above system. Don't really want to be spending more then 100,000krw on this. Recommendations?

3). What ram is cheap and clocks nicely?

4). The case doesn't need to be flashy, something cheapish and with a sensible cooling design would be good. Ideally less then 50,000krw.

Thanks for the help. I hope this thread will be useful to people looking to buy a similar setup for around 850,000krw.

[eamo]

For RAM, case and PSU, I can tell you that I researched a lot and then bought these products.

RAM......OCZ 2X1GB.....vista upgrade model....PC6400 800mhz...38,000 won............absolute bargain. Fast RAM with nice heatsinks.

PSU.....Zalman ZM600-HP....600W....Sells for 170 dollars in the US....116,000 in Korea. Great deal. High quality modular PSU.

Case....Gigabyte Triton......70,000 won.......Can't reccommend this one so much. Sure, it's great to buy a tool-less case with front and rear 120mm fans already in there, and it's water-cooled-ready, but, it's a bit noisy and vibrates. Maybe I just need to go back into this case and tighten everything up. Who knows.

I think you're cheaping out on the CPU.......If you're going to get a gigabyte DS3R then it means you're heading towards a quad-core. Can you shell out 246,000 for a Q6600 now? If not, then try the E6750 (like me!) for 180,000 and OC the hell out of it!

[RoryB]

I think you are underestimating an overclocked E21**. The difference between overclocks will not be that great and the extra cache doesn't make that much of a difference. I am waiting until quad core support matures a bit more and prices come down and then I will plumb for one of those for around 150,000krw. The E21** is by far the best bang for buck when overclocked.

Most people I know back home owns a e2180 overclocked to at least 3.2ghz and they can easily keep pace with their counterparts with more cache. Sure the cache makes a small difference but not one worth 100,000krw.

[RoryB]

Yeah OCZ look to be a good deal in Korea. Didn't know that zalman was so cheap here - will definately go for that psu. Now just the case and monitor to decide on! Reading various forums I see most other people agree about the cpu thing. Have a look here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/24/does_cache_size_matter/page5.html#game_benchmarks

[spliff]

Graphics: I like the Sapphire and HIS brands almost exclusively. I've just read good things about them overall. I like HIS's Ice Turbo cooling system, though it does make a 3850 into a dual-slot.

PSU: Like emoe said...a good deal on a really decent psu

http://search.danawa.com/dsearch.php?ut=0&k1=ZM600-HP&x=26&y=9

Case: Gem-Cube Q 1...I've heard these are decent and not too pricey as well.

http://search.danawa.com/dsearch.php?ut=&k1=Gem+Cube+Q-1+&x=0&y=0

RAM: Your choice....The OCZ DDR2 4G PC2-6400 Titanium Series (2Gx2) 103,000 looks good!

http://search.danawa.com/dsearch.php?ut=&k1=OCZ&x=0&y=0&limit=10&limit=10&page=1

Monitor: Monitor 22" Topsync (pivot) 290,000 at the big topsynce store in the basement of Sunn-in plaza. I got one... Or here if you can't get to Sunn_in...

http://www.bb.co.kr/main/pd/pd_list.php?cid=010380010400&qry=OR2200WGP&qword=OR-2200WGP

CPU: Look at the E4500 only 30,000 more for a core2

MB: I like the ASUS P5K-E 135,000

Good luck w/ the build! Don't forget to get a good Zalman cpu cooler if you're gonna over-clock a lot... Let us know on the final choices and the overall price for the rig...

http://search.danawa.com/dsearch.php?ut=&k1=zalman+cpu+cooler&x=0&y=0


BTW, is your name Barry?

[rocklee]

Any reason why you're deciding on the ATI instead of NVidia?

Also, what CPUs can this motherboard take?

I'm looking at a budget desktop to double as a media system.

[Demophobe]

E2160...while everyone is still looking at clocks, it isn't uncommon knowledge that 1MB of L2 cache sucks, big time. Crank it up all you want, it still is a low-end part, one floor up from the Celery.

[eamo]

[RoryB]

Obviously it does make a difference but the difference in benchmarks are small. The conclusion is on the site contradicts it's own benchmarks so have a look at the figures themselves. I read quite a few overclocking forums regularly and have found a few more links for you guys to have a look at regarding the E21** series. The E21** series is exactly the same as the E6*** except less cache.

E2160 vs E6600
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17751381

E4300 vs E2140
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=10175982#post10175982

It's up to you to decide if a 10% increase in performance is worth 50% more in cost. Quad core cpus will not be used very efficiently for another year or so so will wait until then to upgrade. Hopefully by then, they will have more cache and be cheaper. To me it doesn't make sense to go for a quad core now when most of the time 2 cores will sit idle. The E8400 is a better buy if I was going to go for the high end option.

What makes the E2200 an even better buy is the high multi on it allowing for higher clocks - good if you have a crappy motherboard! Since I will be getting a semi decent motherboard and ram I will probably go for the E2160. The ram will run at 1:1 at a higher fsb and will make the system that bit snappier.

Any particular reason why you keep recommending topsync monitors? I mainly just need to decide on the monitor now although recommendations for the other parts are still welcome. I hope newbs will use this in the future to help decide on the best bang for buck system they can get their hands on.

Why ATI instead of nVidia? At this price point the 3850pro is probably your best bet. If it was made my nVidia I would still buy it .

What is going to be the best place to get all these bits and pieces from? Sunin Plaza I take it but is there a shop that will do all the bits for the prices listed on Danawa?

[Demophobe]

Let's not forget that one of the competitors is a highly overclocked one. Sure, overclocking is pretty mainstream and all, but it isn't without it's dangers, and I don't mean frying the chip. Its your data.

[Demophobe]

[eamo]

[Demophobe]

[RoryB]

When I overclock I run stress tests on the cpu overnight to make sure it is stable. Your average person's computer at stock will be less stable then my overclocked system. There is no danger as long as you are not an idiot and wack it up to 300% speed 1st time. Even then, your system just won't boot. If I am missing something then please inform me rather then just saying I will fry the chip and lose data. I have run overclocked processors for about 10 years now...going back to the old celeron 400mhz chip days (actually I can't remember what model chip it was exactly!). Nowadays, it is even easier to overclock easily and safely.

There are other benefits then just increased CPU speed. The higher FSB will make the system feel a lot snappier then a system at stock at the same ghz.

Each CPU series from the C2D architecture is made from the same die (eg. e21** series, e4*** series, e6*** series). The e2140 and e2200 are the exact same chip just with different locked multipliers. Both chips have the potential to run at the same core speed or faster. To achieve this you change the FSB or cpu multiplier (in this case it's locked) in the bios. I would encourage everyone to read up a little on overclocking as it's safe if done properly and gives you a lot more value for your money. After all, that's what I'm after here!

[RoryB]

I am going for the most BANG-FOR-BUCK computer I can buy at the moment. Does a 10% increase in performance warrant a 30% (and that's on the low side!) increase in price? Well if you are looking for value then surely it doesn't? Did you actually look at the benchmarks themselves on the toms hardware review? I doubt you would actually be able to tell the difference at all between a 4mb cache C2D and a 1mb cache C2D when using actual applications and playing games.

Yes cache makes a difference but not a big enough difference to make the price worth it. I am going to wait for quad cores to become more widely supported and then buy one of the new ones (with more cache!) when they become cheaper. If you have the money to burn then sure, get the better processor.

For the same cost, a E21** and a 8800gt will most definately beat a Q6600 and 3850pro in games and general use.

Either way, we have different viewpoints and that's fine. Let's try keep this on track and decide on a decent monitor, case and ram. Everything else is covered.