First Build, £500 Gaming PC

[Paulw]

Hey, this is my first PC build

I was wondering how could improve this build, this is what ive got so far: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/yous

I mainly will be using it for gaming and video editing, still need to get a monitor too.

I don't want to go too far over £500, also im from the UK, Northern Ireland.

 

[AMD Radeon]

great build :O i fix the cpu

http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/yoAX

ivy bridge cpu

 

[Paulw]

great build :O i fix the cpu

http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/yoAX

ivy bridge cpu

Why do you recommend this cpu when the 2500 is faster and can be overlclocked more? Also is it compatible with the mobo?

Thanks for the reply

 

[casper1973]

The i5-3470 is faster than the i5-2500k at stock speeds due to it's newer architecture (ivy bridge)...but it can't be overclocked.

It sounds like you want to overclock so I suggest the i5-3570k - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007RUZKK6/?tag=pcp0f-21

Only a few pound more and it uses the newer architecture, is faster, and highly overclockable.

And yes, it is supported - http://uk.msi.com/product/mb/B75MA-E33.html#/?div=CPUSupport


As for the rest...all looks good
- Good GPU
- Good quality PSU
- Nice case. I've always like the carbide series
- RAM is compatible and plenty of it

Only thing missing is a CPU cooler. You will need one if you plan to overclock. I reommend the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo... as will many others. It's a bit of a favourite for budget builds.

 

[AMD Radeon]

if you want to OC, then you have to buy 100~ mobo

 

[Paulw]

The i5-3470 is faster than the i5-2500k at stock speeds due to it's newer architecture (ivy bridge)...but it can't be overclocked.

It sounds like you want to overclock so I suggest the i5-3570k - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007RUZKK6/?tag=pcp0f-21

Only a few pound more and it uses the newer architecture, is faster, and highly overclockable.

Not that you would have any problems with 2500k...it's a beast! I just think for the sake of £7 or whatever it is, you might as well get the newer technology.

Thanks alot, ill go for that one. Just to make sure, would it be compatible with this motherboard? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-b75ma-e33-intel-b75-s1155-2xddr3-1x-pcix16-1x-pcix1-1xpci-usb30-sata6g-vga-hdmi
Im a bit of a newbie haha

 

[Paulw]

if you want to OC, then you have to buy 100~ mobo

Any suggestions?

 

[AMD Radeon]

get this cpu 3570k
mobo asrock z77 extreme 4
cpu cooler coolermaster 212 evo

i believe it will break your own 500 budget

 

[casper1973]

I was going to mention getting a better mobo but as it would mean either breaking your budget or getting a cheaper GPU, I didn't think it worthwhile.

The one you have is capable of overclocking. Depends how high you want to go with it though. If your after a huge overclock you will need something better quality. If you are looking for around 4GHz or less, you should be ok.

 

[casper1973]

Just out of interest, how long do you plan on keeping this machine?
If more than a couple of years, what would you think about spending a bit more to make it easily upgradeable? For instance, take a look at this...

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.21 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£40.14 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (£138.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£66.98 @ Novatech)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £627.65

Changes made
- Changed the CPU to i5-3570k, as we discussed earlier.
- Changed the motherboard. This one has Crossfire support so you can add a 2nd HD 7850 graphics card in the future if you are needing more performance. It also has 4 RAM slots instead of 2, so you can easily add more in future. It will also overclock much better.
- Changed the graphics card to the 2GB version. It only costs £8 more, totally worth doing even if you don't change anything else.
- Included the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo for cooling. You will need it to overclock.
- Swapped the PSU to the 650W version. If you did add a 2nd GPU in Crossfire, you would need more than 550W.


I know it's way over your original budget of £500 but just something to consider. Better spending an extra ~£100 now than having to buy a whole new system in a few years time?

 

[Wisecracker]

Asus M5A99X EVO Rev 2.0 AMD 990X AM3+ Motherboard: £94.79 Inc VAT

AMD FX 8320 Black Edition Vishera: £128.20 Inc VAT

I cheated on your motherboard 😀 The Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 should work just dandy for £20 less.

Annnnnnnd, just a suggestion. The AMD FirePro V4900 is £127.79 Inc VAT. It would game roughly like an HD 6670. I know. It's a let down, isn't it? :lol:

It would help your video/graphics/modeling, however. Especially if you are using Vegas or Cinema4D. The FirePro V4900 is an OpenCL/GL tough guy in GP-compute.

 

[Paulw]

Just out of interest, how long do you plan on keeping this machine?
If more than a couple of years, what would you think about spending a bit more to make it easily upgradeable? For instance, take a look at this...

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.21 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£40.14 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (£138.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£66.98 @ Novatech)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £627.65

Changes made
- Changed the CPU to i5-3570k, as we discussed earlier.
- Changed the motherboard. This one has Crossfire support so you can add a 2nd HD 7850 graphics card in the future if you are needing more performance. It also has 4 RAM slots instead of 2, so you can easily add more in future. It will also overclock much better.
- Changed the graphics card to the 2GB version. It only costs £8 more, totally worth doing even if you don't change anything else.
- Included the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo for cooling. You will need it to overclock.
- Swapped the PSU to the 650W version. If you did add a 2nd GPU in Crossfire, you would need more than 550W.


I know it's way over your original budget of £500 but just something to consider. Better spending an extra ~£100 now than having to buy a whole new system in a few years time?

Thanks for the help, I'm going to wait a while longer so I can get money for this machine, I do plan on keeping it for a while and upgrading as well so this setup will be allot better