£470 to spend on CPU, MOBO, RAM & PSU

[RogerRoger]

Hello,

So I'm upgrading an old PC. The CPU, MOBO, RAM & PSU are completely outdated and need to be replaced, so I'm hoping to be able to keep my CD drive, Hard drives (320gb & 2TB Sata II 5400RPM) and case. I'll be sticking with the 5770/250 (5770 seems to be on its way out, will have to switch to 250) and I'll be waiting for the 660.

What I'm hoping for is for a review of what I've put together to replace these ageing parts, and what you would recommend to switch/replace for better value or performance.

I'm hoping to run any games I throw at it when I put it together with a 660 (like the upcoming Generals 2, Dead Island, etc.)

I'd also like to have one of the Z77 boards (unless it turns out to be a huge waste of money). In regards to this, I'm really not sure which one I should go for, baring in mind It's only going to be using one GPU. I'd also want for it to have great built-in audio. Should I get another board / PRO version?

So, here are the parts. I seem to have around £50 spare, adding to a total of around £419

Processor: Core i5 3570 £180
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V £132.41 <-The part I'm most unsure about.
RAM: G-Skill 8GB 1600Mhz £39.26
OR Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600Mhz £38.76
PSU: Corsair TX 650W V2 PSU - 80plus £67.03

So I really need some input on this, any help is appreciated

 

[g-unit1111]

That all looks good - Asus and Gigabyte are usually my preferred motherboard manufacturers so anything by them. The Vengeance RAM is fine - just make sure you get the low profile version.

 

[RogerRoger]

Thanks, I'll look into that. Also, is it worth skimping out on the motherboard and getting the 3770k instead, along with the £50 spare?

 

[RogerRoger]

Actually, here's an update:

I do a 100 mile journey by train which usually takes around 4 hours, and want to make a portable gaming computer with all of the specs above, so I have a couple of questions.

Is the ASUS Maximus V GENE Z77 up for the job, or will I be losing performance?
Would it be dangerous to move it around? (I'd package the GFX card up so that it doesn't bend)

 

[RogerRoger]

Oh and finally, would it support 1600mhz? For example, G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

Sorry about reposting, I'm just frantic to buy this today 😀

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks, I'll look into that. Also, is it worth skimping out on the motherboard and getting the 3770k instead, along with the £50 spare?

Well that depends on if it's going to a strictly gaming machine or not. If the answer is yes the 3770K will be not useful. If the answer is no and you're going to be using it for other purposes - go for it.

 

[mousseng]

Is the ASUS Maximus V GENE Z77 up for the job, or will I be losing performance?

Well, let's do a quick comparison here:
The Maximus V supports up to 4 DIMMs of DDR3-2800 (up to 32GB) - the P8Z77 supports up to 4 DIMMs of DDR3-2600 (up to 32GB). So no real difference there.
The Maximus V has 2 PCIe 3.0 slots (16/0 or 8/8) and 1 PCIe x4 slot - the P8Z77 has 2 PCIe 3.0 slots (16/0 or 8/8), 1 PCIe 2.0 x4 slot, and one PCIe x1 slot. I doubt you'd want to use the extra PCIe 2.0 slot for anything more than a soundcard, so no biggie there either.
They both have 4 SATA 6GB/s connections.
The Maximus V is missing rear-panel DVI connections; the Asus is not.
The Maximus has 2 USB3 and 4 USB2 internal connections; the Asus has 4 USB3 and 8 USB2.

In my opinion (whatever that's worth to you), the Maximus V is a damn solid choice. I don't really see that you'd be losing performance in any way, simply losing a few options for the future.