Spec me pretty please with a cherry on top.

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 17:44

Hi all

Im wanting to build my first ever pc as I beleive I will get more bang for my buck. I have watched loads of you tube links posted in various other threads and read loads of this forum and am now confident I can manage it (well i hope so lol).

So im looking for a gaming build with a limit of £600, I have monitors (yes I would like to dual box but not while gaming), OS, Keyboard and mouse.

I hope I can get a I5 in with this price as I have read they are much better than I3 for gaming. I am not bothered about a SSD atm but would like the option to add one later if possible. I also like the thought of Xfire etc but dont think my budget will stretch to it just yet? Oh and I need wireless as well.

Thanks very much and I look forward to reading your replies.

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 17:49

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OCZ CoreXtreme 500w '80 Plus' Power Supply £32.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £604.74 (includes shipping : £11.75).

LukieBoy007 · 29 Jul 2012 at 17:54

I'd swap out that PSU for something else...

RJC · 29 Jul 2012 at 17:54

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x XFX HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £41.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £595.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).

or

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £41.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £624.95 (includes shipping : £11.75).

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:04

wow thanks for the fast repies.

What difference's are there between the two specs above?

EG is one ore future proof? Will there be a big performace difference between then?

thanks again

RJC · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:06

The 2nd spec in mine has a lower end CPU, but the motherboard can take the IB cpu at a later date if you want and also does SLI & Crossfire @ 8x, also has a better GPU.

Oh, forgot! Welcome to the forum

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:08

LukieBoy007 said:
I'd swap out that PSU for something else...

yeah, i would too =x
stupid xfx 450w is out of stock. that's like my to go to value psu lol

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:23

RJC said:
The 2nd spec in mine has a lower end CPU, but the motherboard can take the IB cpu at a later date if you want and also does SLI & Crossfire @ 8x, also has a better GPU.

Oh, forgot! Welcome to the forum

thanks

so at this price bracket im going to have to compromise on something by the looks of it :eek:

RJC · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:26

treefutom said:
thanks

so at this price bracket im going to have to compromise on something by the looks of it

At that price bracket yes, unless you can find extra funds to get either the of the Gigabyte motherboards and a 3550k & 7850 GPU.

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:26

correct, 700-750 quid is when the fun really starts
600 quid and you'll have to sacrifice an i5k or a 7000 series gpu

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:30

tamzzy said:
correct, 700-750 quid is when the fun really starts
600 quid and you'll have to sacrifice an i5k or a 7000 series gpu

so the extra £100 makes a big difference, mmmmm i feel my credit card coming out

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:33

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £675.74 (includes shipping : £11.75).

i5 3570k + ati 7850
675 shipped
add 80 quid for a 128 gb sammy 830 ssd (not that you should do that cuz its overbudget already!) ;p

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:40

tamzzy said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £59.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £675.74 (includes shipping : £11.75).

i5 3570k + ati 7850
675 shipped
add 80 quid for a 128 gb sammy 830 ssd (not that you should do that cuz its overbudget already!) ;p

wow nice, wish I could afford the SSD but I cant really.

Would I not be better adding the Z77X mobo for a extra £30 or does it not really add that much?

honosuseri · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:41

RJC said:
The 2nd spec in mine has a lower end CPU, but the motherboard can take the IB cpu at a later date if you want and also does SLI & Crossfire @ 8x, also has a better GPU.

Oh, forgot! Welcome to the forum

I had the same idea bud but I will suggest dropping to the G840 CPU. For gaming the G840 is very close to the i3. You are better off putting cash in the GPU budget to be honest and have a 2GB GPU than the i5K.

With the G840 being significantly less it's easier to justify "writing it off" much later to say a second hand i5K and overclock it.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme4 M Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £101.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 630W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £74.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £54.95
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £611.81 (includes shipping : £12.50).

The Z77-X GB mobo is good on offer, i'll offer an Asrock alternative. Modular PSU to Xfire midrange GPUs, not having a mess of cables improves airflow and helps temps. The Z9 is a great starters case with 4 fans, fan controller, digital temp display, P4/8 extension. If you changed the case you could reclaim £25 worth of kit from the Z9 its so well spec'd.

Hope this helps any questions, you know where to find us

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:57

thanks honosuseri

I think I have already blow my budget and added another £100 to make it £700, seems worth the extra cash to make sure I get a really good system.

Anyway have a look at this below.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £707.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).

I presume I wont need a cpu cooler with the z9 case?

I also upped the HDD to 1TB, seemed silly not too for the extra bucks.

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:58

you'll need a cpu cooler if you want to overclock

tranquillo for 25 quid, alpenfohn matterhorn pure for 30, coolermaster hyper 612s for 32

RJC · 29 Jul 2012 at 18:59

You will need a cooler full stop.

Unless you pay the extra £10 for the retail cpu.

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 19:01

RJC said:
You will need a cooler full stop.

Unless you pay the extra £10 for the retail cpu.

is there any drawbacks from getting the retail cpu? seems daft paying £25 for a cooler when a extra tenner will do the same?

tamzzy · 29 Jul 2012 at 19:04

retail chip = 3 year warranty + a really crappy heatsink. cant overclock with that pos
oem = 1 year warranty (and 10 quid cheaper), but you'll need to buy an aftermarket heatsink

cpus rarely, if ever fail, so i think its false economy to get the retail box
in effect, you'd be paying 15 quid over the retail if you get oem+aftermarket heatsink

treefutom · 29 Jul 2012 at 19:13

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x OcUK Value 300Mbps NWP300E Wireless-N PCI Express Adapter £13.98
Total : £732.65 (includes shipping : £12.50).

ok thanks guys, really helpful info from everyone. So the budget goes up, I knew this would happen lol

Any last minute tweeks or alterations? Also would I need anything to go ahead with this build eg cables etc?