Computer advice

[Retro]

Sorry to be posting again with probably more obvious questions, but when you order Hard Drives do these come with Cables or do you have to purchase the correct ones separately ?
Kind regards James.

[choccy]

All OEM one's come without cables and that's par for the course!

Mark

[Retro]

Thanks.
Here's another stupid question.
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Intel® Core™i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
What does the "k" mean ?
Kind regards James.

[choccy]

The 'k' means you can overclock it. The processors with no 'k' can't be overclocked. It's sensible to buy a 'k' version.

Mark

[gptech]

Not only data cables, but power cables too James. In the case of SATA data cables you'll have a choice of lengths, straight or right angled connectors and of course the colour!

Thanks.
Here's another stupid question.
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Intel® Core™i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
What does the "k" mean ?
Kind regards James.

The 'k' denotes the CPU has an unlocked multiplier, meaning it's overclockable, and has the more powerful HD3000 integrated graphics built in. As you'll be unlikely to overclock and are fitting a 'proper' graphics card you can save a few quid (probably less than £20) and go for the locked one---of course you could always view having the ability to overclock as a 'future proofing' feature, for when it begins to show its age.

[Retro]

Thanks Guy's that's something else I didn't know
Kind regards James.

[choccy]

I've never had to buy power cables, James. I bought a new pc recently and have added a few things but there were plenty of power cables available; I still have a spare one. They come with the psu either as attached cables or modular (detachable). Now and again you need to get a splitter or adapter but very rarely.

Mark

[gptech]

Yeah, choccy's right--I should have explained further that you may need to buy an adaptor for the power cable for a SATA drive(s) depending on what outlets the PSU you have offers. Worth checking on the outlets the PSU you have in mind has, particularly if you go for a 'beast' of a graphics card that requires a couple of 6 pin PCI-e power connectors.

[Retro]

Thanks again Guy's. I am looking at Motherboards ATM and there seems to be two choices Asus and Gigabyte. I have a Gigabyte Network thingy on this Machine and it is constantly showing errors in the System Log which seems to be a known problem. I have had Asus products before and they seemed OK.
Any views on which one to go for ?

Also the GTX 560TI has a 1 gig or 2 gig memory. What difference would that make? I have no idea how many connectors this would need.
I have been looking at a CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Sorry to be asking so many questions but I really want to understand this.

Kind regards James.

[gptech]

Personally I'd go for Asus, they've taken Sandybridge to heart and offer all the right features----having said that I'm using an MSI board, so there goes 'brand loyalty' for you!

Of more importance than manufacturer though is which chipset are you looking at?

You'll have a choice of H67, P67, H61, Z68, all offering different feature sets.

[Retro]

Thanks. I have edited a few other bits in my last post as I think of them.
The MOBO's I am looking at seem to have P8Z68 in the description and are listed as suitable for Core I5 CPU's
Kind regards James.

[USRailFan]

OK, sorry for hijacking this thread, but since I've scrapped my previous PC-building project with the advent of TS2012, I was wondering - is it still possible to purchase motherboards (capable of an Intel Core2Duo or better) that do not have built-in sound (since I already have the X-Fi I purchased for my previous project)?

[gptech]

The Z68 boards merge the features of the (now more or less obsolete, even though they were released only 9 months ago) H67 and P67 boards; in other words they support both overclocking and the use of the integrated graphics in the CPU if you so wish. In addition to this you get other techie goodies such as Intels Rapid Storage Technology, which is great if you want to use RAID or add an SSD as a very fast cache. Admittedly all these mouth watering things come at a price, so you need to decide if you actually need them now, or if you can envisage you having a need for them in the future--a Z68 board would be about twice the price of an H61 based board.

[gptech]

....is it still possible to purchase motherboards (capable of an Intel Core2Duo or better) that do not have built-in sound (since I already have the X-Fi I purchased for my previous project)?

Probably not, as integrated sound is more or less a standard feature in modern boards. Doesn't stop you disabling it though.

[gptech]

Also the GTX 560TI has a 1 gig or 2 gig memory. What difference would that make? I have no idea how many connectors this would need.
I have been looking at a CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Sorry to be asking so many questions but I really want to understand this.

Kind regards James.

2GB of vRAM is OTT today, but a few years down the line could well be the norm---if the budget allows go for the higher spec. If you visit the board manufacturers site you'll find full specs to see what it's power requirements are and how many connectors are needed.
The PSU you're looking at has 2 PCI-e connectors, which should be enough for the graphics card and is of my preferred type being a beefy single rail unit chucking out 53A so does the job nicely.