£1300 budget build - spec me! Please!

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23 Dec 2012
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Hello,

Now that the new Intel and Geforce products are out I've begun to look at getting a new desktop again.

I currently have £1300 quid to spend on the PC and monitor (I don't need keyboard, mouse or speakers).

I have no real preference over Intel / AMD or AMD / Nvidia. I don't know whether its worth waiting until AMD release their new gen (I understand this will be around BF4 release anyway)

I will be using this to work with CAD, some basic programming but mainly to play BF4 when it comes out (until then I don't actually really need a new computer).

If possible I would like it to be in the BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case. I know its not the smallest case in the world, but other mini-ITX cases look a rubbish and I don't have the space anymore for a full tower. Note it doesn't have to be a Prodigy but I would like a relatively small tower (ie roughly two shoe box size). - An additional note: I'd like it to be fairly quiet so I don't mind spending £50-100 on good quality low dB fans.

Monitor wise, I not really fussed over 3D and would like either a 24" or 27" (although think 27" may be a bit too big).

I have built PCs in the past a long time ago (now 6 years ago) so don't mind having another go, but if, prices wise, there's not going to be much of a difference (less than £150) then I'd rather have it pre-built!

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
*ahem* you forgot the fans!
also, that RAM is really expensive...
Better than mine though
Might need a beefier CPU cooler though
I'll give it another go
 
*ahem* you forgot the fans!
also, that RAM is really expensive...
Better than mine though
Might need a beefier CPU cooler though
I'll give it another go

I'd rather put the cash into the CPU than £70 into fans fella ;) The retail CPU has 2 extra years on the warranty for not much more on the i5K, the i7K retail is cheaper than the OEM.

That's also because there is 16GB not 8GB (2X8GB the mobos will only have 2 DIMM slots), it also has good OC potential. If he doesn't use a ODD he can fit a large CLC in the chassis......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3x OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N770OC-2GD) £329.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £263.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS 23" Premium IPS Panel Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £139.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16001008G-2CW) - Blue Light £89.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH128GCST) £89.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £69.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x Thermaltake Smart Series 530w Modular '80Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Warranty £39.95
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
Total : £1,299.23 (includes shipping : £17.85).



SP120s are to upgrade the Refurb'd H100s stock fans
 
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You do need fans so I put some in there (a bit less OTT than last time).
Ahh yeah I didn't read it properly (i missed the 16 and the x2) although I don't really see the need for 16gb of RAM tbh (unless CAD programs use lots more, although I get the impression that Kalath won't be doing stuff that's too heavy) and seems as Haswell runs hotter than IvyBridge, I put a beefier CPU cooler as the Dark Knight wouldn't be able to handle too much overclocking (mine runs fine but I'm sure with the added voltage and the fact that Haswell runs hotter, I put in a thicker cooler).
I put in some pretty lights and a window because hey it looks really nice and I'm staying with 1tb and an Adata SSD because 2tb is a lot, especially for Kalath's type of usage and I've heard good things about Adata SSD's and nothing about Toshiba SSDs (so that one is mainly personal preference) but yeah
 
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You have to be careful with Tower coolers as they can overhang the PCI-E slot. I'd rather have a modular PSU too. The mobo has only the CPU and a single system fan header, those extra fans will have to be run off molex adapters making more mess with cables.

You won't see much through the side window just the GPUs fans. I'd get LED fans over a lighting strip but each to their own. I also used a 23 inch IPS panel and have more storage. I look forward to seeing what he settles on in the end :)
 
or yeah, maybe the h100, but then that raises issues with having to add more fans (the corsair ones that come with it are really loud) I guess just another pack of SP120s...?
 
And that XFX is semi modular which is just fine imo

No it isn't! The Corsair you used is but I'd rather use the thermaltake as it's cheaper 500W or there abouts is ample really.

or yeah, maybe the h100, but then that raises issues with having to add more fans (the corsair ones that come with it are really loud) I guess just another pack of SP120s...?

The Z77N-Wifi was voltage locked which prevents pushing for high overclocks, if the Z87N is the same then going OTT on the cooling is pointless anyway. Haswell is about 200Mhz ahead clock for clock on Ivy so that's a bonus. I added Corsair Quiet edition SP120s to upgrade the CLC. Works out the same price roughly as the H80i but with better cooling and quieter fans ;)

I'll let the OP decide what RAM he needs and the storage required. I've just put an option out there and tweaked it a little for the CLC option.
 
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