£850 MAX Gaming PC for BF3, Skyrim and Arma 3 @ 1680x1050

[Heaney]

Hello!

In a couple of months I will be building a gaming PC for playing Battlefield 3, Skyrim, and Arma 3 at 1680x1050 at MAX details.

This will be my first self-build PC.

I have come up with a build by shopping around.

The reason I have chosen 8GB RAM is that I will be running a game server that takes 2GB + of RAM and with lots of people on can hit 3GB, and I want to be able to play games while it's running.

Here's the build I'm thinking of:
■Case: Z9-Plus Zalman Black Mid Tower Case w/o PSU = £40
■PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 650W = £63
■Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V = £127
■CPU: Intel CPU Core i5 2500K Quad Core @ 3.3 GHz = £159
■RAM: Corsair Memory Vengeance 8GB Kit DDR3 1600 MHz = £65
■GPU: EVGA 1.28GB GTX 570 Superclocked = £251
■HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive = £62
■SSD Cache Drive (For HDDBoost): OCZ 60GB Vertex 2E = £78
■Silverstone HDDBOOST = £17
TOTAL = £858 (Math done quickly; may be wrong)

The blue bits are links.

So, firstly, I would like some critique on this rig.

Things I am sure about: Mobo, CPU, GPU, Main HDD
Things I am iffy about: RAM, HDDBoost System
Things I am completely open to advice about: PSU, Case

I also have some questions.

1. Are all these components compatible ?

2. Is HDDBoost compatible with my HDD and SDD chosen?

3. Does anyone know anywhere else in the UK that has all these components cheaper?

4. Does anyone have any experience with using HDDBoost? They claim 70% performance increase.

5. Is thing rig likely to max out Battlefield 3 and future games for the next few years at 1680x1050 ?

Any other advice would be great too!

 

[AdrianPerry]

1) Yes it looks like they are
2) Haven't heard of this before
3) YES www.SCAN.co.uk (8GB Corsair Vengeance is like £45 on there)
4) Nope :-(
5) There's a big question mark over BF3 requirements, but the 570 is a damn good card so i dont think you should have any issues. Im expecting to max it on a GTX 560Ti.

8GB of RAM is a good choice.
You haven't included a CPU aftermarket cooler? Do you plan on overclocking at all?
You could save yourself £20 and get 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HDD.

 

[Heaney]

Thanks for the reply.

On 3, I AM using scan.co.uk
Click the links.

I THINK HDDBoost is a product that combines your HDD and SSD together and plugs into a SATA slot. It then uses the SSD for recently and frequently used things, like the HDD cache but bigger.

It's the same as Intel SmartResponse I think too.

 

[ps3hacker12]

hows this mobo?:
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-z68a-d3h-b3-lga1155-intel-z68-ddr3-atx-7HYP.html?refs=469740000-473330000

this modular PSU:
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-psu--modxstream-pro--700w---uk-5D16.html?refs=55430000

or if you don't mind non modular (i would highly reccommend it) thers this:
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-650w-zs-80--psu-7H4C.html?refs=55430000

this ram:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-memory-8gb--2-x-4gb--vengeance-ddr3-1600mhz-dimm-240-pin-cl9-low-profile-7JZ8.html?refs=418700000-468550000

this graphics card: (unless you really like the EVGA brand)
http://www.dabs.com/products/pny-geforce-gtx-570-732mhz-1280mb-pci-express-2-0-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-7934.html?q=gtx%20570

i would reccommend going to sites like ebuyer, novatech, dabs (all three of which have free PandP!) along with amazon too. Sites like scan often end up costing more inc. shipping.

for example the components you listed from scan inc. PandP comes to £879.22.

[EDIT]:

this SSD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/225415-ocz-60gb-vertex-2e-ssd-oczssd2-2vtxe60g-oczssd2-2vtxe60g

 

[AdrianPerry]

Link here for 8GB Corsair Vengeance on SCAN at £45
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-150v

EDIT:
Just noticed the one you listed is more expensive because for the lower CAS Latency. Generally i believe its considered the extra cost just isn't worth the very minor difference in performance. CL9 @1600MHz would be more than adequate for gaming.

 

[Heaney]

hows this mobo?:
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-z68a-d3h-b3-lga1155-intel-z68-ddr3-atx-7HYP.html?refs=469740000-473330000

Is this better than the Asus P8Z68-V or just faster?

The thing about the Asus P8Z68-V is that this guide, which I'll be using, features it.

this modular PSU:
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-psu--modxstream-pro--700w---uk-5D16.html?refs=55430000

or if you don't mind non modular (i would highly reccommend it) thers this:
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-650w-zs-80--psu-7H4C.html?refs=55430000

What does non-modular mean?

I like that non-modular PSU. I'll get it.

this ram:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-memory-8gb--2-x-4gb--vengeance-ddr3-1600mhz-dimm-240-pin-cl9-low-profile-7JZ8.html?refs=418700000-468550000

As AdrianPerry says, that model has a higher latency.

this graphics card: (unless you really like the EVGA brand)
http://www.dabs.com/products/pny-geforce-gtx-570-732mhz-1280mb-pci-express-2-0-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-7934.html?q=gtx%20570

I prefer the manufacturer superclocked version from EVGA.

i would reccommend going to sites like ebuyer, novatech, dabs (all three of which have free PandP!) along with amazon too. Sites like scan often end up costing more inc. shipping.

PandP = plug and play = what?

 

[Heaney]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a case?

 

[ps3hacker12]

Is this better than the Asus P8Z68-V or just faster?

The thing about the Asus P8Z68-V is that this guide, which I'll be using, features it.



Sorry but what's the difference between modular and non-modular?



As AdrianPerry says, that model has a higher latency.



I prefer the manufacturer superclocked version from EVGA.




PandP = plug and play = what?

both boards have the same features, the gigabyte boar dis just cheaper,

modular means you can remove cables you don't need for better cable management/airflow.

higher latency will not make a noticeable real world performance difference (latency can be reduces anyway).

yes EVGA is good (i own an EVGA superclocked gts450 )

PandP= postage and packaging (shipping)

[EDIT]:
if you want CL8 theres still this cheaper 8gb corsair cl8 ram:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-vengeance-8gb--2x4gb--ddr3-1600mhz-cl8-xmp-79V2.html?refs=418700000-468550000

EVGA super OC gtx 570:
http://www.dabs.com/products/evga-geforce-gtx-570-797mhz-1280mb-pci-express-hdmi-sc-7K83.html?q=evga%20gtx%20570

the Samsung F3 1TB offers the same performance as the caviar black drive:
http://www.ebuyer.com/173804-samsung-hd103sj-spinpoint-f3-1tb-hard-drive-sataii-7200rpm-32mb-cache-hd103sj

 

[Heaney]

Okay.

So I'll go for that modular PSU you recommended, and that mobo, although I'm scared that the mobo will be inferior and non-future proof now...

■Case: Z9-Plus Zalman Black Mid Tower Case w/o PSU = £40
■PSU: OCZ Technology PSU, ModXStream Pro, 700W = £60
■Mobo: Gigabyte Intel Z68 = £100
■CPU: Intel CPU Core i5 2500K Quad Core @ 3.3 GHz = £159
■RAM: Corsair Memory Vengeance 8GB Kit DDR3 1600 MHz = £65
■GPU: EVGA 1.28GB GTX 570 Superclocked = £251
■HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive = £62
■SSD Cache Drive (For HDDBoost): OCZ 60GB Vertex 2E = £78
■Silverstone HDDBOOST = £17
TOTAL = £827 (Math done quickly; may be wrong)

 

[AdrianPerry]

Case:

Always a big question. There's no real right answer here.
Any mid tower, and certainly any full-tower ATX case will house everything you need it to.

Find a case you like thats within your price range, check out its features (fan support/USB header support/interior size) and buy something you like the look of

CoolerMaster are a very popular case choice and have a huge range of different cases and priced. The same applies to Antec. So id recommend start looking there If your unsure if something wont fit, feel free to ASK.

 

[ps3hacker12]

hows this:

Ebuyer:
samsung F3:
http://www.ebuyer.com/173804-samsung-hd103sj-spinpoint-f3-1tb-hard-drive-sataii-7200rpm-32mb-cache-hd103sj
OCZ vertex 2E SSD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/225415-ocz-60gb-vertex-2e-ssd-oczssd2-2vtxe60g-oczssd2-2vtxe60g

i5-2500K:
http://www.ebuyer.com/251596-intel-core-i5-2500k-3-3ghz-socket-1155-6mb-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80623i52500k

total £277.30 (with free shipping)

mobo:
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-z68a-d3h-b3-lga1155-intel-z68-ddr3-atx-7HYP.html?refs=469740000-473330000

ram:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-vengeance-8gb--2x4gb--ddr3-1600mhz-cl8-xmp-79V2.html

gtx 570:
http://www.dabs.com/products/evga-geforce-gtx-570-797mhz-1280mb-pci-express-hdmi-sc-7K83.html?q=evga%20gtx%20570

modular PSU:
http://www.dabs.com/products/ocz-technology-psu--modxstream-pro--700w---uk-5D16.html?refs=55430000

total: £474.93 (inc. PandP)

total 752.23

windows 7 64bit: (£82)
http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050

case antec 300:
http://www.dabs.com/products/antec-300-three-hundred-case-black-6252.html?refs=11

or NZXT M59:
http://www.dabs.com/products/nzxt-m59-midi-tower-case-no-psu-77SP.html?refs=11

DVD-RW drive:
http://www.dabs.com/products/samsung-22x-dvd-rw-sata-black-7H33.html?q=dvd-rw

oh yeah and scan for that Silverstone HDD boost: (£21.55 inc. shipping)
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silverstone-hddboost-for-25-sata-ssd-inc-35-enclosure-increase-system-performance-by-70