Time for a new PC again :)

Loke

Loke

Loke

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Joined
28 Apr 2010
Posts
178
Time for that annual/bi annual upgrade to the rig.

Budget is around £1000

Since last time my use of a computer has changed, while I'll still play games the main use of the computer will now be:

Web browsing, watching DVDs, accounting, and occasional gaming.

My main games are strategy games like Hearts of Iron, Europa Universalis, RTSs, Civilization etc. I also play RPGs like Mass Effect and similar.

The computer will also be the media centre for the house, and there will be a Sonos multiroom system pulling music off the computer via spotify/iTunes.

Last thing to mention is that the monitor will also double up as the TV we watch films on.

Need Monitor, mouse, keyboard as well, since my old kit is no longer suitable.

Would be heartily thankful if anyone could give some suggestion for builds. I'll be building the computer myself, but have considered a ready overclocked bundle as I've not done an overclock in so long I can hardly remember where to begin.

Kind regards,
Loke
 

asus ati radeon hd 6950 directcu ii 1024mb gddr5 pci-express graphics card £171.98

intel core i5-2500k 3.30ghz (sandybridge) socket lga1155 processor with free operation flashpoint red river game £161.99

iiyama prolite e2407hds 24" widescreen lcd monitor - black £153.59

gigabyte p67a-ud3-b3 intel p67 chipset (socket 1155) ddr3 motherboard - (sandybridge) ** b3 revision ** £114.98

crucial realssd m4 64gb 2.5" sata 6gb/s solid state hard drive £91.99

xfx 650w xxx edition modular power supply £76.99

coolermaster cm-690 ii lite dominator case - black £59.99

samsung spinpoint f3 1tb sata-ii 32mb cache - oem (hd103sj) £43.99

corsair xms3 4gb (2x2gb) ddr3 pc3-12800c9 1600mhz dual channel kit (cmx4gx3m2a1600c9) £39.98

corsair a50 high-performance cpu cooler (socket am2/am3/lga775/lga1155/lga1156/lga1366) £24.98

blaze bl-6400 2.4ghz wireless desktop £18.98

sony optiarc ad-7260s 24x dvd±rw sata rewriter (black) - oem £17.99

total : £1,001.57 (includes shipping : £20.10).



6950 will be good enough for any game you want to play.

i5 2500k is a great cpu and very easy to overclock. have a quick read through this Sandy Bridge Overclocking Guide and it should all come flooding back to you! lol

A nice 24" screen

An SSD for your OS and apps/games just to make things feel smoother and make windows fly!:p

Quality PSU and will be plenty for that spec.

Corsair XMS3 are great quality RAM and don't have ridiculously high heatsinks and so will fit under any CPU cooler.

Corsair A50 is a good cooler at an even better price.

I'm not sure about the keyboard and mouse, so I just threw a basic set in there.
 
Last edited:
Obviously I have already got a spec prepared for this build:) ands its epic as usual,

but I would come back tomorrow when the new weekly special offers are updated and the new Z68 motherboards are due soon too, OCUK have even created a landing page for them:)
 
stulid said:
Obviously I have already got a spec prepared for this build:) ands its epic as usual,

but I would come back tomorrow when the new weekly special offers are updated and the new Z68 motherboards are due soon too, OCUK have even created a landing page for them:)
Click to expand...

Stulid comes to the rescue as per usual? Think you actually came up with the build I used last time..
 
Surely Z68 won't apply to him as he's using a dedi graphics card? :confused:

Worth waiting for the offers tomorrow though, although sk82 has provided a solid base spec.
 
Stulid,

Do you just have a set of builds written up for all different budgets? Pretty good Idea if you do and everyone seems to think the builds are of best value from yourself! Cheers for this :-)
 
Meekal said:
Stulid,

Do you just have a set of builds written up for all different budgets? Pretty good Idea if you do and everyone seems to think the builds are of best value from yourself! Cheers for this :-)
Click to expand...

No I dont, i just know whats hot and whats not, and whats a good price etc, been doing it for a while too helps.
 
I've been on another few forums, and must say the service you give to this one is great. there seem to be a good few users who are up to speed with all the latest merchandise and all seem to be able to help under each heading.
 
That'd be my standard selection as well. That's a powerful machine. Can save a fair bit by recycling some components (hard drive, optical drive, maybe PSU if it's any good), and spend on other stuff, like a bluray player, wireless wifi, TV card, 8GB.

Note that a 24'' screen, while massive for gaming and computing, is rather small for watching movies. But it's got HDMI which is always a plus.
 
stulid said:
What about the Virtu technology? SSD caching and other stuff im sure they will bring? what about price reductions etc?
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Hadn't heard of them.

I don't pay attention to pre-release stuff really - I've never found it to be wholly accurate or correct.

Like the sound of SSD Caching however.
 
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There you go:)

• IPS monitor, you said you wanted to watch films on it, so you should have the best possible picture quality.
• Decent quality gaming mouse and Keyboard.
• 6950 2GB that can be flashed into a 6970.
 
Loke said:
I got a windows Vista license lying around, but think I'd like an upgrade to Windows 7 :)
Click to expand...

Make sure you get an upgrade version of Win7, not the full version - they're a fair bit cheaper.

You can (theoretically ;)) do a full/clean install just with the upgrade version - which saves installing Vista first, and a few beer tokens.
 
Just got approval for the build by the other half, she did mention something about Sexy iMacs for £999 but I said something about buying a PC being my job, she is pretty much in charge of everything else! :)

We'll be picking it up at beginning of July when we move house. Might be some new weekly deals then, so will have a quick look what so offer till then.

Thanks again for a solid build Stulid, well impressed with what you squeezed out of the budget and keeping within the required needs as well.

Will probably get another 500gb harddrive at some point later as well.

-Loke
 
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