Work/Gaming build ~£1200 budget

Dolmio Chips · 31 Jan 2014 at 12:30

It's been a good 5 years since I built my last PC and thought I would get my hands dirty again.

It will mostly be used for work (programming and web dev) but I would like to have a blast on some of the latest games.

I have a few bits from my old computer which I plan on reusing:

Lian Li 80b case
Antec Quattro 1000w psu
DVD writer
Keyboard / Mouse
Monitors

Now it's been a while since I even looked at the latest CPUs, graphics so this is where I need some advice.

I've put together a possible build below but am interested in opinions, especially on the GTX 780. I want it to be as quiet as possible but not sure whether going down the AMD route would be better.

Any recommendations, critisisms, obvious things missing or things just plain wrong will be gratefully received!!

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 780 Phantom 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £399.95
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £179.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance RED 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMZ16GX3M4X2133C11R) £169.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler £44.99
1 x Akasa TIM Kit Thermal Compound + Cleaner & Spreader £7.99
Total : £1,232.48 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Danny75 · 31 Jan 2014 at 12:43

Looks pretty much okay although I'd change the RAM and GPU (the MSI Gaming's run cool and quiet, and it'll save you some money too):

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £369.95
1 x Avexir MPower Yellow Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330908G-2CIY) - Yellow Light £149.99

The reason for different RAM is two-fold: (1) it matches the mobo and CPU cooler you've chosen, and (2) two sticks instead of four in case you encounter any clearance issues with the cooler with the first RAM slot (and that Corsair RAM also has tall heatsinks). Also, the Avexirs are good quality.

Havana_UK · 31 Jan 2014 at 12:46

A few points...

Any reason why you've chosen that particular motherboard? It's fairly expensive and doesn't give you much over the cheaper options (e.g. G1.Sniper or UD3H).

You might have RAM clearance issues with that heatsink/RAM combo. The RAM heatsinks are very tall (and largely pointless IMHO!). This, for example, would be a cheaper (and faster) low profile solution:
YOUR BASKET
2 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99 (£131.98)
Total : £140.68 (includes shipping : £7.25).

As for GPU, everyone has their preferences. The GTX780 will likely run cooler (and therefore quieter) than an R9 290, but the R9 290 can be had cheaper. The Sapphire Tri-X on TWO is a cracking deal, and probably won't be much louder than the GTX780 you've picked out.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-00-50G) £365.99
Total : £375.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Havana_UK · 31 Jan 2014 at 12:49

Danny75 said:
Looks pretty much okay although I'd change the RAM and GPU (the MSI Gaming's run cool and quiet, and it'll save you some money too):

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £369.95
1 x Avexir MPower Yellow Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330908G-2CIY) - Yellow Light £149.99

The reason for different RAM is two-fold: (1) it matches the mobo and CPU cooler you've chosen, and (2) two sticks instead of four in case you encounter any clearance issues with the cooler with the first RAM slot (and that Corsair RAM also has tall heatsinks). Also, the Avexirs are good quality.

That Avexir kit is a great spot actually. I would wager than C9 2133MHZ > than C11 2400MHz in many circumstances, plus, as pointed out it would match the board well.

Combine that with my proposal of the Sapphire R9 290 and you've got the beginnings of a really nice looking black/yellow theme

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-00-50G) £365.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £179.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Avexir MPower Yellow Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330908G-2CIY) - Yellow Light £149.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler £44.99
5 x Akasa AK-FN063 140mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan - 3/4 Pin £14.99 (£74.95)
1 x Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Venom Viper Cool Fan - 3/4 Pin £11.99
1 x Akasa TIM Kit Thermal Compound + Cleaner & Spreader £7.99
Total : £1,265.45 (includes shipping : £8.00).

All those fans are to replace the stock (blue LED?) ones in the Lian Li case with very decent fans that match the colour theme.

Danny75 · 31 Jan 2014 at 12:54

Havana_UK said:
That Avexir kit is a great spot actually. I would wager than C9 2133MHZ > than C11 2400MHz in many circumstances, plus, as pointed out it would match the board well.

Combine that with my proposal of the Sapphire R9 290 and you've got the beginnings of a really nice looking black/yellow theme

Cheers, Havana.

Dolmio Chips · 31 Jan 2014 at 13:02

Excellent thanks guys. I like the idea of a yellow theme.

The last build was all blue so those new fans you suggested would definitely be required.

Havana's suggestions come in at my budget as well.

Havana_UK · 31 Jan 2014 at 13:10

Dolmio Chips said:
Excellent thanks guys. I like the idea of a yellow theme.

The last build was all blue so those new fans you suggested would definitely be required.

Havana's suggestions come in at my budget as well.

Unfortunately there don't appear to be any standard yellow braided cable kits, but there's a guy lurking on here who does custom cable braiding...maybe he could help you? Only problem is that I can't remember his name!

/edit Found him: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/member.php?u=155966

Here's some of his work: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18564334&highlight=custom+braid

He offers a colour called "Safety Yellow", which should be perfect!

Danny75 · 31 Jan 2014 at 13:25

All that ^ would for make an interesting build. Please post pics later on.

Dolmio Chips · 31 Jan 2014 at 14:11

Awesome thanks for the help - new kit should be arriving tomorrow!! Fun weekend ahead.

I'll have a look at sorting the cables once it's all up and running.

Just dug the old Lian Li case out from the garage and it needs a bit of TLC. I'll get it all cleaned up this afternoon.

Once all the bits have arrived I'll post a few pics of the build.

Havana_UK · 31 Jan 2014 at 17:46

Nice, glad we could help

Dolmio Chips · 1 Feb 2014 at 22:39

Everything turned up today which was great.

Started putting it all together and then found that the holes on my motherboard were too big for the CPU cooler.

Went to Maplins to find some nuts that fitted and the woman was really good and ripped the label off a pack of bolts to see if they were the right size. £1.70 later and I was sorted.

Next drama was realising I had lost the back plate for my PSU so I couldn't attach it. 20 minutes of searching through all my old computer bits and I found it.

Memory had to be placed in the far slots as Danny predicted. The CPU cooler is huge and they wouldn't go in the first 2 slots so thanks for mentioning that!!!

Hit the power switch and it booted first time. Just been having a look at the BIOS stuff but pleased to get it up and running. Going to install windows tomorrow although looks like I will have to create an ISO and try and install from USB as my ancient DVD drive is IDE and I can't connect it.

Other issue is the fans in the front of the case. The fans are all 4 pin and they connect to a circuit board at the bottom of the case. Can't get all the fans to attach as the pins on the board are too close together. I will need to see if I can get some other form of connection, sure I will get it sorted.

I've taken a few pictures along the way so I will post them once I've installed windows and tidied it up a bit.

Danny75 · 1 Feb 2014 at 23:14

Good stuff, Dolmio. Only thing is I didn't expect that cooler to also cover the second memory slot.

The on-board DDR3 memory slots are located in the lower right quadrant of the board, just below the CPU socket. Dual Channel memory mode is enabled by seating memory modules in like colored slots.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Mother...rboard-Review/Features-and-Motherboard-Layout

Are you sure you can't put in a stick of RAM into slot 2 (and then 4) before attaching the CPU cooler?

Havana_UK · 1 Feb 2014 at 23:46

Danny75 said:
Are you sure you can't put in a stick of RAM into slot 2 (and then 4) before attaching the CPU cooler?

^^This!

You're missing out on a lot of memory performance if you can't get them in dual channel. Can you adjust where the heatsink fan sits to any degree?

Havana_UK · 1 Feb 2014 at 23:54

Dolmio Chips said:
Going to install windows tomorrow although looks like I will have to create an ISO and try and install from USB as my ancient DVD drive is IDE and I can't connect it.

Other issue is the fans in the front of the case. The fans are all 4 pin and they connect to a circuit board at the bottom of the case. Can't get all the fans to attach as the pins on the board are too close together. I will need to see if I can get some other form of connection, sure I will get it sorted.

Just buy one of OcUK's dead cheap £15 DVD drives?

Either of these splitter cables might help to solve your problems with fan connections:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Akasa FLEXA FP5S 5 Fan PWM Controller (AK-CBFA07-45) £5.28
1 x Akasa AK-CB002 PWM Fan Splitter Cable £3.59
1 x Akasa AK-CB001 Single PSU 4-pin Molex to 4 Fans (AK-CB001) £2.99
Total : £14.83 (includes shipping : £2.48).

...although with the three pin adapters you'll:
a) need to cut of one side of the connector to allow the 4-pin adapters to fit
b) won't have any speed control (they'll run at full speed)

The best option would be either the FLEXA or the CB002, which will control all of the fans based on CPU temperature, all running from the CPU fan header.

Danny75 · 1 Feb 2014 at 23:59

Could also check for any BIOS updates and flash it if so, before installing Windows, as sometimes they contain important fixes/improvements. You will be able to do this after installing Windows as well, but sometimes doing so beforehand can eliminate some issues.

Dolmio Chips · 2 Feb 2014 at 09:11

Should have realised the memory slots were colour coded for a reason. I've managed them get it into slots 2 and 4, just!!!!

I like the look of the Flexa cable. I might have to rip the old circuit board out on the door of the case and mess about with the routing of the cables but I think I should be able to sort something out.

Could also check for any BIOS updates and flash it if so

OK so a quick google and it says to download latest version to formatted flash drive then open the file from within the BIOS. Then once it's done it's thing power down and press the CMOS reset button on the motherboard. Sound about right?

Again thanks for the help, you are keeping me right

Dolmio Chips · 2 Feb 2014 at 11:15

Found a SATA DVD in another computer so swapped it over for the time being. Got Windows installed

Just need to sort the front case fans, tidy the cables up inside and looks like it's good to go.

I'll post the photos tomorrow.

Danny75 · 2 Feb 2014 at 15:45

Dolmio Chips said:
Should have realised the memory slots were co-lour coded for a reason. I've managed them get it into slots 2 and 4, just!!!!

Dolmio Chips said:
OK so a quick google and it says to download latest version to formatted flash drive then open the file from within the BIOS. Then once it's done it's thing power down and press the CMOS reset button on the motherboard. Sound about right?

http://www.gigabyte.com/webpage/20/images/utility_qflash.pdf

And don't forget to enable XMP for memory in BIOS to run it at its stated speed/timings. Save and exit.

Dolmio Chips said:
Again thanks for the help, you are keeping me right

Most welcome.

Dolmio Chips · 3 Feb 2014 at 16:00

Got all my stuff installed now so I should be able to start working with it once the cables for the door fans arrive tomorrow.

I moved my old hard drive over which contains my steam installation and expected a bit of bother sorting it. Really surprised it just updated a couple of files and started working, well pleased!

Also looking forward to testing BF4 which I got with the Graphics Card.

Here are a few pics before and after.

Got the old case out of the garage and as you can see it has definitely seen better days

Cleaned it all up and it now looks almost as good as new

DPD arrive with a nice OCUK parcel

Yes, Haribo, would have been annoyed if that essential part was missing.

A few hours and a trip to Maplins later...

And we have lift off. BIOS screens have certainly improved in appearance since my last build.

Danny75 · 3 Feb 2014 at 16:47

Nice job. Thank you for the pics.