Need advice on gaming pc build, First time building.

[Rook28]

Hey all, wondered if I could get some help.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week preferably.


Budget Range: £700 to £800 Ideally


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Browsing the net, maybe some films or music but not a priority.


Parts Not Required: Already have keyboard, mouse and Win7 Pro. I have some old speakers but will probably use headset most of the time.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ebuyer.com


Country of Origin: UK, England


Parts Preferences: I would prefer to use Intel CPU, and as for the rest I am not too fussed, not too good with computer parts so that's why I'm here.


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 but may use bigger, if I need to. (I am using a mbp 13" right now, so used to the smaller resolution)


Additional Comments: I would prefer if I could make one good enough to run most of the games coming out this autumn eg. Bf3, Skyrim. It would be nice to run them smoothly, or as high as I can on my budget if that is possible. I have been playing whatever games I can on this laptop, so anything would be an improvement.

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Here is what I currently have in my cart:

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

G Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333mhz Ripjaws Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 Socket 775, 1156, 1155, 1366, AM2, AM3 Heatpipe CPU Cooler

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard

Gigabyte GTX 560Ti OC 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card


Thanks to anyone that can help, first time trying to put one together. If I missed anything, let me know.

 

[rvilkman]

Well this is closer to £900 with the monitor, but maybe you can get ideas from it:

CPU: i5 2500k £163.71
MB: Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 £110.03
Mem: Gskill ripjawsX 2x4GB 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz £51.08
GPU: Asus DirectCUII 560Ti 1GB £180.88
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint HD103SJ F3 1TB £40.98
DVD: Lite-On 24x Burner £16.00
PSU: Corsair TX750 V2 £87.15 ( hx750 is £23 more if you want semi modular 80+ silver )
Case: Antec 300 £48.99
Case fans: Antec 120mm TrueQuiet x2 £7.77 each
HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ £26.50

Monitor: Samsung BX2231 LED FullHD 21.5" £119.99

Total: £860.84 incl VAT

If you need more kick for graphics later on you can just buy a 2nd 560Ti for SLI, everything needed is included.

 

[Rook28]

Thanks! Was just the kind of help I needed. Is there any major difference between the Asus 560ti and the Gigabyte one? I would prefer the Asus one as it saves money.

Oh and I don't want to push my luck, but I see that monitor goes up to 1920x1080. Would that have a big impact on the performance quality in anyway?

 

[rvilkman]

There is very little difference between the 2 560Ti cards. The gigabyte might be overclocked slightly higher to begin with.

The 560Ti should be able to run your games at that resolution with most graphics options turned on.

And both cards have good non reference heatsinks so I don't think you will lose much by going with the cheaper one.

 

[Onus]

I have an Asus GTX560Ti. It is a very quiet card, even with the two fans (the different blade count on them may reduce fan harmonics; no other reason makes sense). Even at 1920x1080, my games probably aren't demanding enough to stress it much, but I bought it for some future-resistance, and don't anticipate replacing it for years.

 

[Rook28]

Here is my latest choice which I am pretty happy with, though it goes a little over my budget. Would all this be ok? Just changed the case and board a little bit, not sure if it was needed, but was searching around.

Oh and is the number of fans ok? Wasn't sure if I needed more.

Coolermaster HAF 912 Plus Case

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

LiteOn iHAS224 24x DVD±RW DL RAM & Lightscribe SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Socket 775, 1156,1155 AM2, 1366, AM3 Processor Cooler

Asus GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDM Out PCI-E Graphicas Card

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard

As for the power supply, someone suggested the Antec 750W High Current Gamer - 80plus Bronze 13.5cm Fan 4x PCI-E 9x SATA But I wasn't too sure if the corsair would be better (and of course, cheaper)

This comes to a little over £800, without the monitor.

 

[rvilkman]

That's excellent.

You will be happy with it.

 

[Rook28]

That's good. So would you personally say go with the corsair PSU or the Antec? I don't know much about the brands, or if some have been known to have faults with them.

 

[rvilkman]

For your use they are pretty much equal and as brands in this range they are also equal.
So pretty much get whichever you want, you can't go wrong either way

 

[Rook28]

Ok about to order tonight, just wanted to ask one more thing.

I swapped out the Haf 912 for the Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced Case.

I noticed this has three fans so decided to try and save some money by dropping the Cooler Master hyper 212+. Was that a good move, or will I regret not having the extra fan? I know I've been swapping around quite a few bits, but hopefully this will be the last worry I have about it.

Oh and I saw the Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced All White Case *Special Edition*. It is about £20 cheaper, and the only difference I notice is that it's white. Is there anything I am missing there, seems weird to have such a big difference in price over colour.

 

[rvilkman]

Without the hyper 212+ you won't be able to overclock. But the computer can be run with the stock heatsink and fan just fine.

 

[Rook28]

Ok thanks, I'll probably add that back in then.