Where to start? spec build please

Buckleheid · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:14

im thinking of embarking on my first pc build,i need help choosing the components as i havent got a scooby on whats going to give me the best bang for buck.
ill be using the pc for mostly gaming,bf3 and bf4 and whatever games i can run in the future,budget wise id say about 1200 quid.
i like the cm storm stryker case,and would like a watercooler for the cpu,theres so much choice out there and as this is going to be my pc for at least 18-24 months it needs to be able to stand the test of time.

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:22

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Have you any components from an existing PC you can reuse, including an OS?

Or will you require everything? Monitor, k&m and speakers?

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:30

Welcome to the forum. It helps us help you if you tell us what you need for the cash

is the OS, Keyboard & mouse, monitor etc needed?

Just to get the ball rolling......

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £148.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £113.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £94.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,140.77 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This 7950 also comes with a tasty bundle of games. Excellent OC'ing mobo and it can run dual GPUs if you want to drop in another later, the modular PSU makes this possibubble.

I've not used the Stryker but this Cube carbide 540 is a great watercooling case and really does show of the internals nicely. I look forward to seeing what you need and settle on in the end

teppic · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:32

Here's a suggestion, assuming no OS or monitor is needed, with the case you wanted:

YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) £249.95 (£499.90)
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £119.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £74.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G160C9K) £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
Total : £1,215.19 (includes shipping : £17.85).

Under water you've a good chance of getting the CPU to 5GHz

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:41

The MSI 7950 is cheaper and clocked faster out of the box. It would like nicer on that mobo too Tepic. The saved cash could have got the modular PSU and I would have picked a different RAM kit to colour code.

I'm not a fanboy but I really would take an intel spec. The AMD rig at stock will use more power than an Intel IVY i5K when OC'd. Intels Haswell has even better power saving features. An OC'd AMD 8350 with a 7970 actually lost to a OC'd Ivy i5K with the 7870LE (that's a lightened 7950 really). It's on the timetolivecustoms youtube channel if you look for a Bitfenix Prodigy system review

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:43

honosuseri said:
Welcome to the forum. It helps us help you if you tell us what you need for the cash is the OS, Keyboard & mouse, monitor etc needed?

Just to get the ball rolling......

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £148.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £113.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £94.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,140.77 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This 7950 also comes with a tasty bundle of games. Excellent OC'ing mobo and it can run dual GPUs if you want to drop in another later, the modular PSU makes this possibubble.

I've not used the Stryker but this Cube carbide 540 is a great watercooling case and really does show of the internals nicely. I look forward to seeing what you need and settle on in the end

What`s going on here? You`re under budget!!!! :eek:

Nice build mate.

teppic · 27 Jul 2013 at 17:45

honosuseri said:
The MSI 7950 is cheaper and clocked faster out of the box. It would like nicer on that mobo too Tepic. The saved cash could have got the modular PSU and I would have picked a different RAM kit to colour code.

I'm not a fanboy but I really would take an intel spec. The AMD rig at stock will use more power than an Intel IVY i5K when OC'd. Intels Haswell has even better power saving features.

My build wasn't against yours, I put it together without seeing yours first

People on here have been generally recommending the HIS 7950 (it's only at reference clocks, way too low), but the MSI 7950 is cheaper sure.

It'll use more power, yeah. Bit cheaper, and can be upgraded with Steamroller (and the next gen after that), which might change things a bit.

As for performance, in BF3 it makes no difference:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1598/pg6/amd-fx-8350-processor-review-battlefield-3.html

And EA has been demoing BF4 on an 8350 with 2x7970s, if anything the 8350 might have an edge.

As the OP wants best bang for buck that's why I came up with this suggestion.

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 18:07

Idleman said:
What`s going on here? You`re under budget!!!!

Nice build mate.

Sweet Mary and Mother you are right! I must be feeling ill!! lol Cheers bud, I look forward to seeing your spec come in when he know what's needed

teppic said:
My build wasn't against yours, I put it together without seeing yours first

People on here have been generally recommending the HIS 7950 (it's only at reference clocks, way too low), but the MSI 7950 is cheaper sure.

It'll use more power, yeah. Bit cheaper, and can be upgraded with Steamroller (and the next gen after that), which might change things a bit.

Please don't take it personally fella. We can nit pick specs all day long, I could make changes to my spec but I can't till I know what he wants/needs.

I can't link that review as the system is from a competitor (we have rules on the forum I can't break). The 7870LEs are a lot cheaper than a 7970 so for an Ivy i5K to win using a 7870LE is quite frankly an eye opener. TTLs videos are always worth a watch btw

The HIS is external exhaust but that cooler makes it a much longer GPU too. I agree stock clocks are pretty pointless as most people will OC but things are what they are. The MSI still has the games bundle. with a better stock clock speed and looking nicer whilst being cheaper makes it a win in my eyes.

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 18:12

honosuseri said:
Sweet Mary and Mother you are right! I must be feeling ill!! lol Cheers bud, I look forward to seeing your spec come in when he know what's needed

Think I`ll wait until we get a response from the OP. Other wise we are just, ******* in the wind.

Buckleheid · 27 Jul 2013 at 19:10

wow,they look amazing
i currently have a monitor,k/b and mouse,really just need a rig,although my monitor isnt that good dvi input i think
my current pc setup is
Asus m3a32 mvp mobo
amd phenom 9550 quad @2.2
radeon hd5770
4gb ram
500gb hdd
creative x-fi extreme gamer soundcard.
i can run bf3 on low settings and get 30-40 fps steady with a wee overclock on the gpu but thats it,im really wanting something easyish to put together and is a powerhouse for battlefield 3 and 4.i really like the cm stryker case,thats a must!
almost got all the cash to spend just another 200-250 to go,need moar cash NOW!
thanks for the warm welcome and the already very helpful input

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 19:43

If your panel is lower than 1080P it might be wise to have a rethink a try and work a new panel into the spec.

Pity you don't like the Carbide 540. It's cheaper and can mount a larger rad than the Stryker for watercooling without having to mod it but case is a personal preference.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £148.99
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £94.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM Low Noise High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050012-WW) £25.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,199.18 (includes shipping : £17.85).

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 19:51

A little shuffle and hey presto, 24" monitor.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £113.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,203.67 (includes shipping : £19.10).

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:01

Idleman said:
A little shuffle and hey presto, 24" monitor.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £113.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,203.67 (includes shipping : £19.10).

Would you believe I nearly spec'd that too but couldn't face you saying I was overbudget

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:08

honosuseri said:
Would you believe I nearly spec'd that too but couldn't face you saying I was overbudget

Touche.

Was going to spec this ram.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
Total : £68.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:13

Worth going over ever so slightly I think. I won't hold it against you

That panel is a good size, 1080P and a pretty low response time which is good for gaming. It really will depend what he currently has at the mo

Idleman · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:20

honosuseri said:
Worth going over ever so slightly I think. I won't hold it against you

That panel is a good size, 1080P and a pretty low response time which is good for gaming. It really will depend what he currently has at the mo

If he is not buying the monitor this week, then it`s irrelevant.

honosuseri · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:29

Idleman said:
If he is not buying the monitor this week, then it`s irrelevant.

On the contrary bud. He said he doesn't have a scooby about what's what. So explaining the choices is very important. When he is ready to buy the spec might well need adjusting true as the offers could well have changed but the spec needs balancing and he should understand why we pick what

Buckleheid · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:38

Idleman said:
A little shuffle and hey presto, 24" monitor.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x BenQ GL2460 24" Widescreen LED Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £113.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,203.67 (includes shipping : £19.10).

wow,this is amazing,i didnt think i could include a monitor into that budget at all,i could give my old monitor to my son along with the pc im typing this on,its an old alienware pc i have atm,2-3 yrs old but will be fine for my son,ill add a network card for wireless connection and hes good to go.
i may be able to squeeze more cash later on depends on how much i can save,i really dont know much about pc builds at all,i can swap out the parts but dont really know which part is best suited to another

will have to really watch the pennies and see how i get on

teppic · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:43

If you can add extra for the monitor, I'd still go with something like this myself (modified on the last spec). It'd give absolutely amazing performance in BF3/BF4. With one card, but including the monitor it would come out at £125 under budget.

YOUR BASKET
2 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x CM Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case - White £139.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £119.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,207.60 (includes shipping : £23.20).

scotsdragon · 27 Jul 2013 at 20:43

Very nice build for the money and a descent monitor good going guys