My First Custom Build

[Stetra]

Hi Guys,

I decided it's time to acquire a new desktop. My current desktop is an XPS 600, which as you can guess I have had for a very long time now. I spent a hell of a lot on it which made me stick with it for so long to scrape every last molecule of value out it but I can't take it any more, the time has come!

A week ago I had no idea about the latest processors, graphics cards ect. I spent this week looking into all the different components and I have now came up with my first build. I would appreciate it if you guys would have a look over it and let me know if I have made any obvious mistakes before I go ahead and order the parts.

The goal is to make a system that can play the latest games on medium/high settings and achieve high frame rates. I'm not concerned about ultra high res.

Budget £700 ($1120)

CPU : Intel 3rd Generation Core i5-3570K - £168.94 ($268)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007RUZKK6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

GPU : MSI GTX 660 Twin Frozr III OC 2GB - £168.25 ($268)
http://www.ebuyer.com/395662-msi-geforce-gtx-660-twin-frozr-dual-dvi-hdmi-pci-e-graphics-card-n660-tf-2gd5-oc

MB : Asus P8Z77-M - £80.11 ($128)
http://www.ebuyer.com/363737-asus-p8z77-m-z77-socket-1155-8-channel-hd-audio-matx-motherboard-p8z77-m

PSU : Corsair GS 600W Gaming Series - £61.50 ($97)
http://www.ebuyer.com/390262-corsair-gaming-series-600-watt-80-bronze-atx-ps-2-uk-version-cp-9020012-uk

RAM : Corsair 8GB 1600MHz Vengeance Memory - £33.90 ($54)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&smid=A1AUCPBF2P18HS

HDD : Toshiba 1TB Hard Drive - £53 ($84)
http://www.ebuyer.com/393828-toshiba-1tb-hard-drive-dt01aca100

SSD : Samsung 128GB 830 Series SSD - £77.68 ($123)
http://www.ebuyer.com/318421-samsung-128gb-830-series-ssd-kit-mz-7pc128d-eu

ROM : Samsung 22x DVD Write Optical Drive - £12.99 ($19)
http://www.ebuyer.com/342873-samsung-sh-222bb-sata-dvd-write-optical-drive-oem-sh-222bb-bebe

Case : Sharkoon T9 Case - £46.66 ($73)
http://www.ebuyer.com/262922-sharkoon-t9-case-white-edition-4044951011414

Total £703.03 ($1125)

Well that's what I have come up with. Slightly over budget but I can live with that. I really struggled choosing a graphics card. I was initially going to go with the 560 Ti at £110 ($176) while the OC/SSC versions where going up to £160 ($256). Then I saw the 660 OC at £168 ($268) which was a lot cheaper than all the other prices I had found for it, I decided that I would go for that as it seemed to have much better performance which looked like good value for money. The 660 Ti just looked out my price range and might be over kill for what I'm looking to do.

So guys if you see anything I can downgrade to or upgrade for cheaper please let me know because I'm a bit hesitant to order the parts before someone approves my set up in case I have overlooked something big.

Many Thanks!

 

[Onus]

I'd get a HD7870 for ~$240USD. It's a little more powerful, and it's compute performance is not crippled, unlike the GTX660. Your RAM price looks a little high, but that could just be because of where you are. G.Skill and Crucial may have some good sets at a lower price.
The PSU price looks a little high too, but don't get a V2 "Builder;" those were built by CWT using some inferior Samxon capacitors known to fail early. Anything built by Seasonic will be decent (like their own, most if not all XFX, and some Antec). New FSP is also good; their Raider series has reviewed well and is inexpensive.
If the warranty on that HDD is only one year, I'd look at something with at least a three year warranty. Most of the WD Black drives still have five year warranties.

 

[Stetra]

Thanks for the reply.

Theres the MSI HD 7870 OC 2GB for £183 ($293).
http://www.ebuyer.com/411818-msi-hd-7870-oc-2gb-gddr5-pci-e-graphics-card-r7870-2gd5t-oc

This is where I start to struggle a bit with the OC and non OC editions. The above costs more than the GTX 660 but I can off set that by swapping the PSU for a cheaper variant like you said.

 

[Onus]

OC editions have been factory overclocked for better performance, and are warrantied at those clocks. They typically include better and quieter coolers, and may be able to be clocked still higher if desired.
I may not care for their mobos, but MSI makes good graphics cards, with exceptionally good coolers.