Building new PC

[skratchmasta]

Hello,
I want to build myself a new pc but would like some advice on hardware. Mainly for the motherboard as I dont want to spend more on features I dont want and there are a lot of them available with little simple information on feature differences.
Basically these are the specs I want.

Intel i7 2600 or 2600k sandy bridge

Gforce GTX570

8 or 16 GB of DDR3 1600mhz

80 GB intel SSD for Windows 7 intallation
1TB mechanical drive for storage.

I do not want to overclock any of my components. I'd rather not squeeze a bit more performance out as it can potentially reduce the lifetime of the hardware. Plus the power of the components is enough to max out any game.
My display is 1680 by 1050.

Also will a 600watt PSU be enough? the online calculators dont seem vey accurate as one eg says i need 475 when the GTX570 needs at least 550watt to run it.

I like the Asus motherboards I currently have an ASUS M2N32 Deluxe and its ran sweet as a nut for 5 years.

Looking at the p67's.
What does anyone else think?

 

[leandrodafontoura]

You can save a little here:

-get i5 insted of i7
-get 8 RAM (2x 4), this way you can add 8GB more if necessary...probably wont be
-Dont get Intel SSD, they are very expensive over competition. There are OCZ/Kingston 60GB selling for $70 and OCZ 120GB for $110.
-With the above savings, get 2 1TB and RAID 0, or if you dont have it alredy, a external drive for backup. If possible, get both.

 

[AdrianPerry]

Fill this out in order to get the best build advice: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261222-13-build-advice

 

[michxymi]

Most of today games aren't benefit from Hyperthreading, so you can save 100+ $ by getting an Intel Core i5 2500 I'm also against overclocking this CPU. It's very powerful and I wouldn't want to mess with temperatures and extra noise

Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

I would also get a Z68 motherboard. It has great features which you can see here. This particular model comes from Asrock, which is the small company of Asus. It has high quality components (gold capacitors), support for next generation Intel CPUs and PCI-E 3.0 and great price!

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

For your monitor's resolution you don't need such a powerful card. I don't know if you plan to upgrade, but even lower cost cards will max out every game with very good fps. A 6950 1GB is ideal for me! And it's going well on FULL HD resolution (1920x1080) also.

XFX HD-695X-ZNDC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150524

8GB is more than enough these days. The next kit is from Mushkin, it's 1333MHz speed (no real-word difference between 1333MHz and 1600MHz) and I choose it over other for the black heatsinks, so you can have a great black look in your build

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

And speaking of great look, this case comes in mind. Good airflow and side window to look inside your great build

LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W Black 0.8 mm SECC, Plastic + Mesh ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112238

For PSU even 550W are enough (if they come from a solid unit of course). XFX 550W is a great PSU, created by Seasonic, with a very powerful single rail that supports high end cards!

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013&Tpk=xfx%20550w

If you read the Z68 features, you know why you don't need a big SSD

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3B5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167045

The best seller HDD

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3

And optical

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model SH-222AL/BSBE LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151243

SUM 960$ without MIR

 

[skratchmasta]

Great advice guys Thankyou. Love that ASROCK motherboard and I definitely think I will go for an i5 instead.
Other than that I cant go for a radeon as the software company I work for has a few conflicts with the ATI drivers so NVIDIA it must be and seeing as I have an 8800GTX now, It may be old but its still a powerful card so I want something powerful to replace it. I dont just play games I have to do a lot of video rendering as well.
I think the lian li case is pretty nice, But its looks to simelar to the one I have now (Antec 900) and want some thing with a bit more penache . Namely the
NZXT Phantom. u can get them in black also. Suck a sleek looking case.
http://www.t3custompcs.co.uk/nzxt-phantom-white-enthusiast-gaming-case-full-atx-no-psu-phantom-white

BTW I live in the UK so newegg is pretty useless for me I can get parts here as cheap without the risk of overseas shipping.

Also getting this blu ray- ROM
http://www.dabs.com/products/samsung-bd-combo--bd-rom-and-dvd-rw--12x-sata-black-drive-only-7GNG.html?q=samsungbd

That cheap as chips!

 

[AdrianPerry]

Intel Core i5 2500 I'm also against overclocking this CPU. It's very powerful and I wouldn't want to mess with temperatures and extra noise

I HOPE YOUR JOKING!? It's purely CRIMINAL not to over-clock the i5-2500k! ;-)

 

[Why_Me]

I HOPE YOUR JOKING!? It's purely CRIMINAL not to over-clock the i5-2500k! ;-)

+1

If there was every a cpu meant to be o/c it's these SB's not to mention o/c with these 1155 boards is almost too easy these days.

 

[Why_Me]

Great advice guys Thankyou. Love that ASROCK motherboard and I definitely think I will go for an i5 instead.
Other than that I cant go for a radeon as the software company I work for has a few conflicts with the ATI drivers so NVIDIA it must be and seeing as I have an 8800GTX now, It may be old but its still a powerful card so I want something powerful to replace it. I dont just play games I have to do a lot of video rendering as well.
I think the lian li case is pretty nice, But its looks to simelar to the one I have now (Antec 900) and want some thing with a bit more penache . Namely the
NZXT Phantom. u can get them in black also. Suck a sleek looking case.
http://www.t3custompcs.co.uk/nzxt-phantom-white-enthusiast-gaming-case-full-atx-no-psu-phantom-white

BTW I live in the UK so newegg is pretty useless for me I can get parts here as cheap without the risk of overseas shipping.

Also getting this blu ray- ROM
http://www.dabs.com/products/samsung-bd-combo--bd-rom-and-dvd-rw--12x-sata-black-drive-only-7GNG.html?q=samsungbd

That cheap as chips!

If you had clicked Adrian Perry's link to the standard build format we use here at Toms it would have spared a lot of rubbish. Like you doing video encoding, living in the UK, etc... it's why we have that build format on here....so peeps on here aren't posting links to a US site in US dollars and trying to make an educated guess. It keeps these threads from going 2+ pages long.

 

[michxymi]

I HOPE YOUR JOKING!? It's purely CRIMINAL not to over-clock the i5-2500k! ;-)

I have my Phenom II X4 995 overclocked for my defense

 

[AdrianPerry]

I have my Phenom II X4 995 overclocked for my defense

Pssh. Child's Play Haha!

 

[skratchmasta]

Thanks guys. As you an see I'm a newbie newb on this site so was not familiar with procedure. Heres a revision of My specs taking the advice into consideration and using that template:

Approximate Purchase Date: probably january

Budget Range: £900 not $

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.rlsupplies.co.uk, www.ballicom.co.uk, www.overclock.co.uk, www.Novatech.co.uk

Country of Origin: UK

Parts Preferences: Intel SB CPU. NZXT Phantom case. GTX570

http://www.t3custompcs.co.uk/nzxt-phantom-white-enthusiast-gaming-case-full-atx-no-psu-phantom-white

Overclocking:No / Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:No

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: i want the rig to last as long as possible so reliablility and compatibility with future products is helpful.
Currently got an ASUS 8800GTX and an ASUS M2N32 Deluxe MOBO with an AMD Athlon64 X2 2600+ 2GB of DDR2 800mhz kingston HyperX and its lasted almost 5 years (apart from the odd hiccup with my GPU )

 

[skratchmasta]

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming , video rendering, 3D modelling and kinematics

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.ebuyer.com/239757-coolermaster-haf-912-plus-case-rc-912p-kkn1 £69.17 inc. vat
Coolermaster HAF 912 Plus Case

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-psu-xfx-p1-850s-nlb9-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx £77.87 Inc VAT
XFX P1-850S-NLB9 850W Power Supply (PSU)

http://www.ebuyer.com/268480-asus-p8z68-v-socket-1155-8-channel-audio-atx-motherboard-p8z68-v £132.84 inc. vat
Asus P8Z68-V Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

http://www.ebuyer.com/251596-intel-core-i5-2500k-3-3ghz-socket-1155-6mb-cache-retail-boxed-processor-bx80623i52500k £165.75 inc. vat
Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor plus FREE Trackmania 2 Canyon and Roxio PC Game Capture voucher

http://www.ebuyer.com/245376-cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-socket-775-1156-1155-am2-1366-am3-processor-rr-b10-212p-gp £26.76 inc. vat
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Socket 775, 1156,1155 AM2, 1366, AM3 Processor Cooler

http://www.ebuyer.com/264750-g-skill-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-ripjawsx-memory-kit-cl9-9-9-9-24-1-5v-f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl £40.10 inc. vat
G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/SATA+%28Serial+ATA%29/500GB+to+1TB/1TB+Samsung+HD103SJ+SpinPoint+F3+SATA-II+3.5%22+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726 £44.39 inc. VAT
1TB Samsung HD103SJ SpinPoint F3 SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive

http://www.ebuyer.com/176026-liteon-ihas124-19-24x-dvd-rw-dl-ram-sata-optical-drive-oem-ihas124-19 £13.98 inc. vat
LiteOn iHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black with Nero Essentials

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280mb-asus-gtx-570-directcu-ii-40nm-3800mhz-gddr5-gpu-742mhz-480-cores-2x-dl-dvi-i-dp-hdmi-plusfree £246.68 Inc VAT
Asus 1280MB GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II NVIDIA Graphics Card +Free Batman: Arkham City