£1200 build

[teenwolf]

looking to build a gaming pc and have £1200 to spend immediately.
no windows or monitor needed.

hit me with it.

 

[mickyflinn]

The sandybridge -e will give you more lanes if you plan on crossfire.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7970 OC BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £335.99
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £164.99
1 x Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £163.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Carbide 500R Midi Tower Case - Black £99.95
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K4/8GX) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,250.32 (includes shipping : £13.75).



or I-5 ivybridge with z77

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7970 OC BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £335.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £164.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Carbide 500R Midi Tower Case - Black £99.95
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K4/8GX) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,149.36 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[stulid]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £335.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) £139.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Antec P280 Super Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Black £99.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £69.98
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,194.38 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[Incrauze]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £335.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Windowed Gaming Tower Case - Black £69.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £69.98
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,215.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[snips86x]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £335.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Windowed Gaming Tower Case - Black £69.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £69.98
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,215.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Nice build, but change the 7970 for the MSI version. Gigabyte is v/locked and the MSI will o/c to extremes.

You could also save money and get the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H @ £112 instead of the UD3H.

 

[teenwolf]

Very similar builds there.

Thanks guys

 

[Armageus]

You could also save money and get the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H @ £112 instead of the UD3H.

or even the regular Z77-D3H... no real benefit for the Z77X-D3H unless you need 8x SATA ports vs 6, or are planning on doing Crossfire - saving another £20

PSU is arguably also overkill - you could drop down to a 650 or 750 watt XFX and save £25

SSD could be changed for the Samsung 840PRO as on TWO is a similar price, but maybe better regarding firmware updates/support.

i5-3570k only needs to be OEM not Retail edition if you are planning on clocking anyway - another £12 saving


Other than that all looks fairly standard

 

[joshcowin]

would change the psu down as 850w is too much and it wont be as efficent otherwise

 

[stulid]

Nice build, but change the 7970 for the MSI version. Gigabyte is v/locked and the MSI will o/c to extremes.

Is it?

The stock code says its the OC model (GV-R797OC-3GD), Guru3D had no problem increasing the voltage to the core in their review of the OC model,

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7970_oc_windforce_review,23.html

As for the 850W PSU, Guru3D do say a 750W or higher PSU is needed for Crossfire,

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7970_oc_windforce_review,7.html

Radeon HD 7970 Crossfire - On your average system the cards require you to have a 750 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

As the XFX 850W PSU was only a few quid more than the 750W version I thought it was worth it, its also "Silver" efficiency rated.

 

[Armageus]

would change the psu down as 850w is too much and it wont be as efficent otherwise

Hasn't been true since the 80Plus certification was introduced - PSU manufacturers have to test at 20% / 50% / 100% and ensure over 80% efficiency.

Is it?
As for the 850W PSU, Guru3D do say a 750W or higher PSU is needed for Crossfire,

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_radeon_hd_7970_oc_windforce_review,7.html

They also say that 567W was the peak load, and they are running an X79 platform which is slightly more power hungry, plus 50-100w more than a standard pc due to watercooling and cold cathodes etc. Crossfire 7970s also don't really fit with the original budget.

As the XFX 850W PSU was only a few quid more than the 750W version I thought it was worth it, its also "Silver" efficiency rated.

Silver vs Bronze effiency or even just regular 80Plus, will be next to no real world saving over the course of a year, the £15 saved by buying e.g

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

would outweigh the bronze->silver savings

 

[stulid]

They also say that 567W was the peak load, and they are running an X79 platform which is slightly more power hungry, plus 50-100w more than a standard pc due to watercooling and cold cathodes etc. Crossfire 7970s also don't really fit with the original budget.

One of the specs in this thread is X79, also Crossfire could be something to get later on when games start to struggle, the OP could pick up a 2nd hand 7970 for a quick boost in performance, I never said buy 7970 Crossfire outright.

Silver vs Bronze effiency or even just regular 80Plus, will be next to no real world saving over the course of a year, the £15 saved by buying e.g

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

would outweigh the bronze->silver savings

Most people keep PSU's longer than a year.

 

[zakblood]

1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £113.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77M-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £86.99
1 x BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower Case - Black £74.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £44.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,155.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 

[stulid]

1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £113.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77M-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £86.99
1 x BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower Case - Black £74.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2133HC11DC01) £44.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,155.38 (includes shipping : £11.25).

No good.

The motherboard is lacking Vcore control.

 

[zakblood]

ah well, duped again

 

[stulid]

It also only does crossfire at 16X/4X, the Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H has neither issue.

 

[snips86x]

or even the regular Z77-D3H... no real benefit for the Z77X-D3H unless you need 8x SATA ports vs 6, or are planning on doing Crossfire - saving another £20

PSU is arguably also overkill - you could drop down to a 650 or 750 watt XFX and save £25

SSD could be changed for the Samsung 840PRO as on TWO is a similar price, but maybe better regarding firmware updates/support.

i5-3570k only needs to be OEM not Retail edition if you are planning on clocking anyway - another £12 saving


Other than that all looks fairly standard

Yes! I was assuming he would xFire at some point