New build help. For gaming around £600.

[Gary Lowe]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1month at most

Budget Range: £600~ After Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Music, surfing the internet.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes and no. If my budget allows for it, otherwise I will hold off and use an old monitor till I can afford one (suggestions on monitors welcome)


Do you need to buy OS: No/Yes. Can get cheap student one I think. Again if budget allows include if not il steal one of my mums spare copies

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any website that ships to UK. (free if available) i.e. Amazon

Location: Portsmouth, UK.

Parts Preferences: Pretty set on getting an i5-3570k as Ive heard good things about it. Open to suggestions though..

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Most likely not anytime soon.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 is the monitor res Im aiming for if my budget doesnt allow for monitor.

Additional Comments: I would like a quite PC with decent airflow and cooling in the case. A case preferably with lights and stuff so it looks nice, and most importantly I want to be able to run current games at a decent FPS (Im moving up from console gaming and want the difference to be superior!)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Cause I wanna

If anyone can help me Id greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into it!

Thanks in advance,
Gary

 

[properbuilds]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£41.40 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£40.18 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£32.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£47.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.22 @ Dabs)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£93.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £622.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Hi, get the psu here -> http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/XFX/P1-550S-XXB9.html?#utm_source=affiliatewindow&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=PCPartPicker

Goes a bit over, but totally worth it

But if you need cheaper, i recommend an amd build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£99.98 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£14.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£47.94 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£40.18 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£32.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£47.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.22 @ Dabs)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£93.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £594.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[Gary Lowe]

Thanks dude, never heard of club 3d. Are they a good manufacturer?

Also I was always told to go for a named PSU brand too. not sure why...

One more question. Is that mobo any good for OC'ing? Im willing to spend more for a better one if needs be. z77's are supposed to be good.

 

[properbuilds]

Hi, you can't overclock with that motherboard or cpu, you'll need a bit more £ for that, i don't know if you want to spend much more, the i5-3470 will do the trick with stock speeds.
Club3D is a known brand, you can see a review here -> http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/club_3d_7870_joker_xt_edition_review/16

The xfx 550w is a seasonic oem psu, it's a quality one, better than most psus at this price range.

If you need the urge to overclock the cpu i recommend going with the FX-6300 build or spending around this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.79 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£16.27 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£73.38 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£40.18 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£32.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£47.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.22 @ Dabs)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£93.50 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £687.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It will reach ~700£.