Custom Gaming Rig (1st timer)

[piano man]

Hi, I'm looking to build a custom rig for about 1000 dollars (£650)

Looking to play games like BL2, skyrim, far cry 3 etc at high-max settings.

Preferably 1tb+ storage and maybe a small ssd in there. I already have a copy of windows 8 plus keyboard and mice so that's not an issue. Overlocking would be preferred as well.

I live in the UK so can't buy from newegg to my knowledge, so I reckon ebuyer is the next best alternative

Thanks!

 

[envy14tpe]

Overclocking?

Need monitor?

 

[Impmaster]

Do you have a monitor?

 

[piano man]

Overclocking?

Need monitor?

Nope, already got one. Yes to overlocking

 

[nguyenm]

Here is your best bet:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-performance-overclocking,3437.html

You can probably get most of the parts in UK for the same converted price. Also, you could remove the SSD for a 3.5 inch HDD or a hybrid drive. For the GPU, degrading it from the HD7870 Taithi LE to a Pitcrain HD 7870 GHz will help the Performance/Watt ratio (1) and it could be easily overclock to 1.3 Ghz. Using the spare cash, i would recommend a higher quality CPU heatsink/cooler as overclock is your requirement.

Hope i help

 

[piano man]

Here is your best bet:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-performance-overclocking,3437.html

You can probably get most of the parts in UK for the same converted price. Also, you could remove the SSD for a 3.5 inch HDD or a hybrid drive. For the GPU, degrading it from the HD7870 Taithi LE to a Pitcrain HD 7870 GHz will help the Performance/Watt ratio (1) and it could be easily overclock to 1.3 Ghz. Using the spare cash, i would recommend a higher quality CPU heatsink/cooler as overclock is your requirement.

Hope i help

Thanks! I'll have a look at the converted prices and report back here

 

[envy14tpe]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£83.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.59 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£45.39 @ Dabs)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£80.29 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.99 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£185.39 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case (£35.98 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£52.93 @ Dabs)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.66 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £633.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 04:45 BST+0100)l

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£104.22 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£32.00 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.59 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£51.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£89.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.78 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£224.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.15 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£53.29 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Total: £709.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 04:51 BST+0100)

 

[piano man]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£83.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.59 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£45.39 @ Dabs)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£80.29 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.99 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£185.39 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case (£35.98 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£52.93 @ Dabs)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.66 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £633.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 04:45 BST+0100)l

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£104.22 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£32.00 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.59 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£51.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£89.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.78 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£224.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.15 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£53.29 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
Total: £709.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-05 04:51 BST+0100)

I've heard good things about both the HD 7870 and I know the 660 Ti outperforms it in some benchmarks, but do you think it's worth the extra money?

 

[envy14tpe]

For the price, the Sapphire 7870XT is awesome. I'd buy that if you want to reach your budget, but you'll have to look around to find it.

I'd buy from multiple sellers to save money. Just keep track of warranties and receipts.