£700 - £800 Upgrade

Soldato
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Hi all,

This is going to be a bit of a mammoth upgrade from my current PC (10 years old)..

AMD 3400+
Assus K8VSE Deluxe motherboard
1gig Corsair RAM
Nvidia 6800 Ultra


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyhow, let's move on to the build! A few things about the build and what i'll need included: -

- I'm looking to spend £700 - £800
- Main use will be gaming.
- Going to need a new OS, Windows 7 or Windows 8?? (I'm thinking Windows 7 64bit?)
- New PSU (Modular?)
- New Case (looking at the Corsair 300r, is this spacious enough?)- Other alternatives?
- SSD
- Third party cooling for CPU
- Which thermal paste for CPU?
- Intel build
- Looking to overclock the CPU

I've been out the game for so long, I really have no idea what's good and what is not!




Cheers peeps
 
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Underboss
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+1 for Fulfax's build.

If you have £40 today get the BitFenix Shinobi on OcUK deals, much like the 300R, could put the extra £30 saved towards a bigger ssd or an OS.
 
Soldato
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Same build with Intel;

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 280X TurboDUO "BF4 Edition" 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-SLI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £65.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black (CC-9011014-WW) £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Pro SR1 CPU Cooler £39.95
Total : £884.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Some options to get it back down towards £800 (you will get free shipping, of course):

1) drop the SSD, add it later
2) get a Shinobi on Today Only instead of the 300r and drop the CPU cooler (use the stock one for now and add an aftermarket one later)
3) get a 270X instead of a 280X

I'd discount option 3 unless you really really really really want an Intel CPU.
 
Soldato
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Other than the price, is there any difference between the motherboard that you've listed and the following board (in terms of performance and overclocking)?

Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard ?

That CPU cooler that you've listed is not in stock, any other suggestions? Of course it has to into the Shinobi case?

I've come up with the following spec so far:-

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 280X TurboDUO "BF4 Edition" 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £143.99
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £99.95
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £39.95
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £865.93 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Cheers
 
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Soldato
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Have you upped your budget? ;) :D

There won't be a huge difference between the motherboards in terms of performance/overclocking: Haswell overclocking is more limited by the chip than the motherboard. You'll get a bit more from a more expensive board with bigger heatsinks and whatnot, but it's the features you want to be looking at more than anything. If I was buying a sub-£150 ATX board I'd get the Sniper for the onboard audio. I've got the mATX version myself.

The Shinobi has around 160mm for a CPU cooler.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 280X TurboDUO "BF4 Edition" 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Phanteks PH-TC12DX CPU Cooler - Black £44.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £39.95
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £847.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Do you realise there is no HDD in your spec?

I've kept the Superflower PSU. It isn't modular, but it is great value for a gold-rated unit. The Corsair's 650w would have you covered for Crossfire, but for that you'd want a case with better airflow than the Shinobi.
 
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Soldato
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I'm just trying to get a feeling for different combos and appreciate any feedback from yourself and the community. Nothing is final at this moment :)

I'm not really digging the looks of that sniper board to be honest! I would like to try and get parts as close together in terms of colour.

With the RAM, do I need that 2400mhz stuff? I'm looking for some sort of colour matching with the motherboard, but will still let me overclock to say 4.4ghz - What about this 1600mhz stuff -

YOUR BASKET
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99
Total : £59.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).

 
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Soldato
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Ah, colour coordination. 'twas the death of my own budget.

I bought the white version of that RAM, and it works just fine. The timings are very good. RAM speed isn't hugely important - that TeamGroup stuff is just good value.
 
Soldato
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Yes it's already starting to add up! lol - What the heck, I've not upgraded since 2004!

Budget might have gone up slightly but I'm coming up with the following rig now:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Rev2.0 WindForce 3X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £289.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Corsair Graphite 600T Midi Tower Case - Limited Edition White (CC600TWM-WHT) £145.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £99.95
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £65.99
2 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £55.99 (£111.98)
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
Total : £1,036.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I'll more than likely purchase the motherboard and PSU elsewhere as it's cheaper. I'll purchase a third party CPU cooler at a later date.

As for the case, what are people's thoughts on these? Are they good? Anything better that's cheaper or around the same price?

Cheers :)
 
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Soldato
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A good compromise on the motherboard, I'd say. Do you need 16gb RAM, though? (You don't for gaming). Get back to 8gb and you're well on the way to fitting a 4770k in your new and improved budget.

The case looks good from what I can find, if a little expensive. Here are a couple of alternative cases:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Silver (CC-9011034-WLED) £129.95
1 x NZXT Phantom 530 Full Tower Gaming Case - White £97.99
1 x CM Storm Scout II Advanced Gaming Case - White £89.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black (CC-9011017-WW) £78.95
Total : £561.80 (includes shipping : £29.15).



There's also this little beauty on the horizon if you are able (and can be bothered) to house your components elsewhere until it's available in February. Looks like it's an updated version of the 600T.

 
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Soldato
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Errm yeah I meant it to be 8gig of RAM!

I'm really not sure about the Corsair Carbide 300R! The 600T looks nice, but it does seem a tad expensive and I could put the money elsewhere into the build hmmm!! :)
 
Associate
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nothing wrong with the 300r matey, tis very popular
good cooling
good cable management
very spacious
and doesnt look too bad either

got one myself :D:D:D
 
Soldato
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YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Rev2.0 WindForce 3X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £289.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Corsair Graphite 600T Midi Tower Case - Limited Edition White (CC600TWM-WHT) £145.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x Corsair RM Series RM 650 '80+ Gold' 650W Power Supply (CP-9020054-UK) £99.95
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £79.99
1 x Avexir Core White Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CIW) - White Light £71.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
Total : £1,110.83 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I've upped my budget some more. Changed the RAM from that Team Group orange 2400MHz to Avexir Core White Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz, reason being is that I'm wanting to colour match. Few questions: -

- Would the 2400mhz stuff have made much difference?
- What sort of overclock can I expect with this system?
- I've gone with the Corsair Hydro H100i, Is this a good choice for overclocking?
- Any other alternatives for the PSU? Ideally i'm looking for full modular to make the build as neat as possible.
- Will be adding white braided cables in thefuture, which pre-braided do I use?
- Any other build suggestions? (Intel)


Much appreciated! :)
 
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Soldato
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I was looking at that RAM but was thinking if I'd have enough room, I guess I will as the case is quite chunky? Plus it mentions this in the description "Based on the memory architecture evolution on Intel Core i7, Team raises the frequency of the Xtreem" so wasn't sure if it'd work in an i5 build.. (I've been out of the game for far to long! lol).

What about the rest of the build?
What sort of overclock can I expect?
Is the CPU cooler good?
PSU good? (Any other alternatives that is full modular?)

Cheers

:)
 
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Soldato
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@RJC

Yeah there is no doubt that's good value on that Team Group RAM, the only reason why I don't want it is because of the colour.

@stulid

And to lower the speed, I can do this through the Gigabyte bios? Apologies for asking such noob questions :)
 
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