Gaming Rig £1300 budget

[Arawyn]

Hello I've been thinking about buying a new PC for a while now, currently running with an Intel Due E8200, 2GB Ram in Widows vista so it's reasonably old.

I realised that choosing the components individually and building the rig yourself stretches your budget considerably, however, I have no experience in such a field.

After a considerable amount of time spent watching PC's being built and reading guides I'm fairly confident I could piece one together. Choosing the individual parts for my basket is a totally different matter. This is where I need your guys expertise.

The budget I have will need to, unfortunately, include an OP system and a good 24 inch size monitor. I have a keyboard and mouse (go me...)

I would quite like it to include the i5 375k processor and the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2048MB GDDR5 card. I would like a good case for the rig with reliable cooling and enough space for the required parts. An SSD would also be a requirement in this build.


The PC will be used for college work, usual net browsing, listening to music and.. GAMING of course lol. I would love to see nice graphics while playing BF3, Mists when it comes out and the total war genres.

Can anyone help me to compile a list of compatible components within my budget please?

Edit : I think going with one of the overclocked bundles is the best idea since I would like the processor overclocked therefore needing a good cooler.

 

[Doomedspeed]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £309.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x BenQ GL2450 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £131.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £64.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.98
1 x NZXT Havik 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/2011/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £42.79
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x BitFenix Mesh Stripes for Shinobi Tower Case - White £6.98
1 x BitFenix Optical Drive Bay Stealth Cover - Black £3.98
1 x BitFenix Logo for Shinobi Tower Case - White £1.98
Total : £1,245.70 (includes shipping : £20.10).

 

[Arawyn]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £309.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x BenQ GL2450 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £131.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £64.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.98
1 x NZXT Havik 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/2011/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £42.79
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x BitFenix Mesh Stripes for Shinobi Tower Case - White £6.98
1 x BitFenix Optical Drive Bay Stealth Cover - Black £3.98
1 x BitFenix Logo for Shinobi Tower Case - White £1.98
Total : £1,245.70 (includes shipping : £20.10).

Wow thanks for the speedy reply. Looks like everything I need/asked for is included here. Would I need to Overclock this system myself though?

How does the Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 compare to the one I listed?

 

[Doomedspeed]

You would, yes! It is so easy to though. Just a matter of changing the Multiplier & vcore (accordingly) in the BIOS. Watching some Videos. Will show you how easy it is to do.

The Jetstream is clocked higher but the cooler isn't as efficient as the windforce, though this doesn't matter as you don't really need to OC it any more.

 

[Idleman]

Do you need speakers?

 

[Arawyn]

You would, yes! It is so easy to though. Just a matter of changing the Multiplier & vcore (accordingly) in the BIOS. Watching some Videos. Will show you how easy it is to do.

The Jetstream is clocked higher but the cooler isn't as efficient as the windforce, though this doesn't matter as you don't really need to OC it any more.

Thanks again mate, keyboard stuff then

I've had cooling problems before on a graphics card, would it be just a waste of money going for the windforce one in your opinion then?

 

[Katsumoto]

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 EX OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £317.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower Case with USB3.0 - Black £99.98
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Noctua NH-U12P SE2 Dual Fan Quiet CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £57.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £53.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9B) £44.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £20.99
1 x TP-Link 300Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN822N) £17.99
Total : £1,178.56 (includes shipping : £14.75).



Here's the sort of spec i'm looking at buying now. Going to ring OCUK up soon about it. If you add in that same monitor specced above, you're more or less bang on the £1300 budget.

 

[Arawyn]

Do you need speakers?

They would be a great luxury as the ones I have are..... rubbish lol

 

[Doomedspeed]

Thanks again mate, keyboard stuff then

I've had cooling problems before on a graphics card, would it be just a waste of money going for the windforce one in your opinion then?

At current price, yes. If they were similarly price id say get the windforce as it may keep the temps a little lower. Only a few C mind. Though if you were to overclock it to jetstream levels it may be just as hot. Im not sure.

 

[Arawyn]

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 EX OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £317.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower Case with USB3.0 - Black £99.98
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Noctua NH-U12P SE2 Dual Fan Quiet CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £57.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £53.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9B) £44.99
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £20.99
1 x TP-Link 300Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN822N) £17.99
Total : £1,178.56 (includes shipping : £14.75).



Here's the sort of spec i'm looking at buying now. Going to ring OCUK up soon about it. If you add in that same monitor specced above, you're more or less bang on the £1300 budget.

Looks quite nice mate, seen you've went for quite a more expensive case than the one I've been recommended. Any particular reasons for that?

Is the 60ggb SSD not quite small?

Thanks for reading and posting.

 

[Arawyn]

At current price, yes. If they were similarly price id say get the windforce as it may keep the temps a little lower. Only a few C mind. Though if you were to overclock it to jetstream levels it may be just as hot. Im not sure.

Honestly thanks allot for your recommendations and information here, been a big help.

 

[Katsumoto]

Looks quite nice mate, seen you've went for quite a more expensive case than the one I've been recommended. Any particular reasons for that?

Is the 60ggb SSD not quite small?

Thanks for reading and posting.

60gb is plenty for core programmes and Windows. That's really all i'll be using it for. Bigger games that may benefit from SSD load times won't really fit all that well on a 120gb either to be honest. You'll fit one or two big games.

I picked a better case because I may use it for a long time, and wanted good airflow. Figured HAF (aka, high air flow) would be a good start

My build also has a wireless thingy lol. Clearly therefore the better build.

One more thing, might be worth checking if that geil ram is low profile? Some heatsinks don't fit with the bigger RAM sticks.

 

[Arawyn]

60gb is plenty for core programmes and Windows. That's really all i'll be using it for. Bigger games that may benefit from SSD load times won't really fit all that well on a 120gb either to be honest. You'll fit one or two big games.

I picked a better case because I may use it for a long time, and wanted good airflow. Figured HAF (aka, high air flow) would be a good start

My build also has a wireless thingy lol. Clearly therefore the better build.

One more thing, might be worth checking if that geil ram is low profile? Some heatsinks don't fit with the bigger RAM sticks.

Hahaha nice, I might look at a different case also then because I would like this to last quite a few years.

I'm quite confused by your comment on the RAM, I don't understand. Basically saying make sure the RAM fits in the MoBo? sorry

 

[Katsumoto]

Hahaha nice, I might look at a different case also then because I would like this to last quite a few years.

I'm quite confused by your comment on the RAM, I don't understand. Basically saying make sure the RAM fits in the MoBo? sorry

I've picked a big CPU cooler to cool my CPU. To avoid any complications I specifically went for low profile RAM (it's in the name of the product) so that the RAM wouldn't be too tall, and thus block the cooler from fitting on. For many it's fine to have the taller RAM, just be careful what CPU cooler you use. I

Also not sure if that Geil is or isn't low profile.

 

[Arawyn]

I've picked a big CPU cooler to cool my CPU. To avoid any complications I specifically went for low profile RAM (it's in the name of the product) so that the RAM wouldn't be too tall, and thus block the cooler from fitting on. For many it's fine to have the taller RAM, just be careful what CPU cooler you use. I

Also not sure if that Geil is or isn't low profile.

I see what you mean thanks

 

[Arawyn]

Would I be better off building my rig around this?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-001-GI&tool=3

 

[Doomedspeed]

60gb is plenty for core programmes and Windows. That's really all i'll be using it for. Bigger games that may benefit from SSD load times won't really fit all that well on a 120gb either to be honest. You'll fit one or two big games.

Well, not technically true. I have a 64GB SSD with 2 Full games on it plus my OS and a few other bits. Only got a few GB left but im not using it for much more.

The bigger the drive 120GB/240GB ect, the faster the read and write speeds are.

I picked a better case because I may use it for a long time, and wanted good airflow. Figured HAF (aka, high air flow) would be a good start

HAF does stand for High air flow. Its a good case for that but wildly overpriced consider the value of other case. The shinobi may not have the best airflow but it's got lots of features, very well made, highly upgradable and cheap.

My build also has a wireless thingy lol. Clearly therefore the better build.

Can't argue with that

One more thing, might be worth checking if that geil ram is low profile? Some heatsinks don't fit with the bigger RAM sticks.

The Geil is low profile.

Would I be better off building my rig around this?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-001-GI&tool=3

Not better off money wise or performance, no.

The cooler is good, CPU obviously ood, though the motherboard isn't as good as what we both specced. The one specced supports Xfire/SLI (x8 x8) when the board in the bundle doesn't. So SLI/Xfire in the future won't be effective.

Other overclocking features are also lacking.

 

[stulid]

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £227.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £96.98
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Silverstone Precision PS06 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black (SST-PS06B-A USB 3.0) £69.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £64.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £59.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £1,309.50 (includes shipping : £22.20).



• IPS panel monitor is much better than a TN panel.
• PSU is made by Seasonic.

Reviews,
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=184
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/933
http://hardocp.com/article/2010/04/20/xfx_black_edition_750w_power_supply_review

Its is the same PSU, they done away with the Green bits.

• 7950 vs GTX670 - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/550?vs=598

 

[Arawyn]

Well, not technically true. I have a 64GB SSD with 2 Full games on it plus my OS and a few other bits. Only got a few GB left but im not using it for much more.

The bigger the drive 120GB/240GB ect, the faster the read and write speeds are.



HAF does stand for High air flow. Its a good case for that but wildly overpriced consider the value of other case. The shinobi may not have the best airflow but it's got lots of features, very well made, highly upgradable and cheap.



Can't argue with that



The Geil is low profile.




Not better off money wise or performance, no.

The cooler is good, CPU obviously ood, though the motherboard isn't as good as what we both specced. The one specced supports Xfire/SLI (x8 x8) when the board in the bundle doesn't. So SLI/Xfire in the future won't be effective.

Other overclocking features are also lacking.

Looks like I will probably be going for the build that you linked then Doom Might add some speakers on or upgrade the SSD to a 256 size.

Thanks for all the help

 

[Idleman]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £309.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £129.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 650W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020038-UK) £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £64.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £59.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £54.98
1 x Creative A320 2.1 Speakers (51MF0405AA003) £32.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £29.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £1,266.47 (includes shipping : £14.75).



Case has good cooling and you can claim £20 back on the monitor