£1000 gaming system - advice on components

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Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Hi there guys, i'm currently looking to replace my 3 year old laptop with a big ass desktop, and have decided to go down the self build route, as i recon i can pull it off!

I'm looking to spend near the £1000 mark, and i'd like to get into some overclocking, gonna mainly use it for gaming, with a bit of DJ software heavily used, rest of the usage is pretty much standard stuff

Looking around, i've pretty much decided to go for a Core i5 750

Motherboard wise, is it worth spending a bit and geting sata 6.0 gbps and usb 3 now, or saving the money and getting a pci card later, bearing in the mind the pci bandwidth issues with P55

A good board i've found that sorts the bandwidth bottleneck is the Asus P7P55d-E Pro
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-s1156-intel-p55-ddr3-atx-a-l--sata-6gb--usb-3-0--6CXS.html

Is this gonna be good for overclocking?

Next choice i made was the graphics card, intereseted in the Ati 5850, but open to other suggestions
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-ati-radeon-hd-5850-1gb-pci-express-hdmi-6L3L.html?refs=442000000

I like the look of the coolermaster Haf 922 case, and interested in keeping everything cool, quietness isnt the biggest issue for me, again, open to other suggestions, i like the price/size/width of the case
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-176-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=29

Everything else i'm not too sure about, as in how much ram, psw rating, modular or not, bluray drive or not

Any and all input is welcome!

Cheers
 
Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Sorry, missed this format, much better setout and advice welcome!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2-3 weeks
BUDGET RANGE: £1000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, music, surfing the internet, watching movies, genral use etc

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITES FOR PARTS http://www.overclockers.co.uk http://www.dabs.com http://www.overclock.co.uk

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK

PARTS PREFERENCES:

CPU - Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz = £170
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-299-IN

MOBO - Asus P7P55d-E Pro = £162
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-s1156-intel-p55-ddr3-atx-a-l--sata-6gb--usb-3-0--6CXS.html

GRAPHICS - ATI Radeon HD 5850 = £225
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-215-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

RAM - 2x OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 = 2x £90 = £180
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-181-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
(will 8gb be a noticeable boost, i kinda like the idea of having 8gb) :sol:

HDD - Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB - £65
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279

OPTICAL - Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW = £15
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

CASE - Coolermaster HAF 922 = £85
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-176-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=29

CPU COOLER - Titan Fenrir TTC-NK85TZ/CS(RB) = £37
http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Titan-Fenrir-TTC-NK85TZCSRB-Special-Edition-AMD-AM3--Intel-1366--1156--775-CPU-Cooler_25088.html

PSW - OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w = £73
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098

WIRELESS - Edimax EW-7727In nMax 300Mbps = £20
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-014-EX&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=1622

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: More airflow the better!

Already the total is £1032 so i dunno if i can afford to go to a core i7 socket 1366
 
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Silvune

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These are some of the things I would change in the build you came up with.

CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B £36
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158603
Only needed if you will overclock or perhaps if you want to eliminate some noise.

RAM: G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V £105
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

You don't need 8GB of RAM for a gaming build. And this set is better as it has lower latency.

XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular 80Plus Bronze. £80
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191826
Very positively reviewed, can deliver almost all of it's power on the 12V rail. And 650W is plenty for two 5850s.
 
Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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No worries, cheers for the Ram tip, that' will save me another £100
What is the difference between the two psw's? it seems like the ocz is £30 cheaper for a bit more wattage?
How does the 5850 stack up against the 5870? cos if it'll run most games at full quality on my 1920x1080 monitor, i might save the £90 difference
 
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Silvune

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Well the XFX has enough PCI-E connectors for two 5850s, which is a clue as to how powerful it is, while the OCZ 700W only has enough for one. The single rail on the XFX is rated at 52A which equates to 624W. Apparently the two 12V rails on the OCZ amounts to 50A, which is 600W, but then the sticker at the bottom of this page only says 552W http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/OCZ_ModXStream_Pro_600w/index.shtml
So it is not really true that the OCZ has more wattage. Also the XFX has been shown to have exceptional voltage regulation and noise/ripple suppression: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=181
Which are important in maintaining the health of the other hardware in the system. --------------- Now that I've seen that you seem to be convinced by the XFX PSU I will move on to the 5870 vs 5850.

The 5870 is going to be more future proof, but it will mean that you have to rethink power supply if you want to be able to crossfire them. It probably depends on what games you want to play and how high you want to crank up the settings, or conversly how much you are willing to compromise on them. But both are solid and only crysis would let you down with the 5850.
 
blackjellognomes

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OCZ PSUs are more value-oriented, though they're still decent.
The difference between the 5850 and the 5870 at a res of 1920x1080 is marginal. Get the 5850.
 
Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Awesome, thanks for all the help, i think i was nearly there on selection, just needed some refining
Now that i've saved £100 on the ram, is it worth plowing it back in to an upgraded gpu, or is it not really worth that much for my monitor?
 
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Silvune

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Is there a particular game that you are wanting to play? I'd recommended checking benchmarks of that game that compare both those cards, and if the 5850 doesn't give playable framerates then that would be a pro in the 5870 column, altho you can always turn down the settings with a 5850 to get playable framerates.
 
DraconianGamer

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The 5850 should be fine for just about any game really. Even Crysis.

However, If you can afford it, i would strongly recommend upgrading to the i7 9XX. The socket 1156 could end up costing you more if the long run if you ever want to upgrade your processor (since you'll most likely have to buy a new mobo to do so).
 
Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Well my email client wasnt on, so i apologise for my questions appearing after the answers, forgot to refresh the page....

Thanks for all the advice, really appreciate it, one last question, and i cant seem to find the answer anywhere...
I really like the idea of installing a big 200mm led fan on the side of the haf 922 case...
If i get a large heatsink air cooler (150-160mm high) will there be enough clearance for the fan?
 
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Silvune

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Well according to newegg the HAF 922 is 10in wide. Which in metric is 25.5 cm/255mm, so the mobo would have to be 10cm/100mm away from the right hand side of the case to not fit a heatsink that is 160mm high or the fan would have to be that kind of thickness, which is extremely unlikely and 120mm fans are usually 25mm deep. So yes the Scythe Mugen will fit in there.
 
Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Fantastic! thanks!

Yeah i'm looking at crysis, bioshock 2, mass effect 2 that kinda stuff, i'll check a few of the benchmarks...

If i get a 5870, will that psw still be able to run one of them?

I've been looking at the i7 9xx series, it just seems waay more money, cos the mobos are a bit of a price step up, as is the processor, will the 1156 socket have a limited life, and is the performance difference noticeable if i overclock the i5 750?
 
blackjellognomes

blackjellognomes

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There really isn't much of a difference in gaming performance between an i5-750 on the P55 platform and, say, an i7-930 on the X58 platform. LGA 1156 does have a very limited upgrade path, however, and even Intel recognizes that it will be EOL soon (~3 years from now). Unlike LGA 1366 (and AM3), it will not even see hexa-core CPUs. Upgrading will mean replacing mobo and RAM, in addition to CPU.
 
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Silvune

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Yea that power supply would be overkill for one really...

The problem with saying that you will end up paying more for a 1156 system eventually is fine apart from that by the time it is old enough to be upgraded significantly you would have to replace everything anyway. And it seems extremely unlikely that you would be able to get a good powerful card into a Bloomfield, which is the most important thing in gaming.
And the i5-750 is actually very similiar in gaming performance to the i7-920. And an overclock would probably make it comparable to the i7-930.
 
DraconianGamer

DraconianGamer

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If you can get a mobo with PCI-E 3.0 (which means waiting a few months, but you should be fine without it) , SATA 6GB/S, and USB 3.0, then I really doubt you will have to get a new one when you want to upgrade (unless you wait like 5 years or something). So, if you plan on upgrading within the next three years or so (by that time, hex-core CPUs will probably be mainstream), then definitely go with the i7 930.
 
DraconianGamer

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Hereisphilly

Hereisphilly

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Awesome, its a large chunk more than the previous boards, i'll hunt around and see if there are any cheaper from other companies

Before i go to bed, are there any issues with usb 3/sata 6gb and x58 like there are with p55 and bottlenecks?
And does the i7 930 offer drastically greater performance over the i7 920 seeing as i'm really hitting the top end of the budget now

Thanks for all the help btw guys, really friendly helpful forum, much appreicated!
 
DraconianGamer

DraconianGamer

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Well, its $10 bucks (atleast it should be) difference, and it clocks a bit higher. If you don't want to spend an extra $10, then its your call. Obviously it won't be a drastic improvement.
 
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