First PC Build - well balanced?

JoneseyBoy1

JoneseyBoy1

JoneseyBoy1

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13 Oct 2011
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32
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The Moon
So I'm planning my first pc build. Hopefully order soon and build over half term. I don't want any bottlenecks in the system so I want it to be fairly well balanced. I was going to go Bulldozer but since that spectacularly failed to excite anyone, I've gone Sandy Bridge.


Processor - Intel i5 2500K
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V Pro
RAM - G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) RipjawsX 2133Mhz
Hard Drive - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Graphics Card - XFX DD HD6950 2GB
Optical Drive Some generic DVD-RW drive
Monitor Iiyama ProLite E2208HDD 22"
I've seen this good bundle on OCuk which has a Corsair 600t, Corsair H80 cpu cooler and 850 watt psu.

Future upgrades would be an SSD for Intel SRT, Sound card etc
 
the 2133MHz RAM is OTT, 1600MHz is the sweet spot for SB setups.

use the saved money and get a Gen3 board.
 
Also, not sure if I need a Gen3 Board. Not much need atm until Gen3 graphics cards come out. Plus Z68 is compatible with Ivy Bridge right? So there's a nice little upgrade path.
 
Go for a MSI 6950 2GB instead. I wouldn't take my chances with XFX, as they don't have a UK base, and they don't deal with UK customer directly if I recall correctly. So whoever you getting the XFX card from, if they don't sort out the RMA on your behalf, you would be screwed.
 
KHAN said:
i hear anything above 1866mhz is a waste for gaming, the corsair vengence 8gig set are a good buy.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-292-CS
Click to expand...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-299-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 save £30 and not sure you'll see much gains with the 1866mhs over the 1600mhz in 'real life' use.

joneseyboy the gen3 mobo would mean that you don't need to change mobo when you come to upgrade to pci-e3.0 graphics card.
 
Looking good. The only things I would change have already been mentioned - change the RAM to 8GB Corsair Vengeace 1600MHz and the graphics card to the MSI Twin Frozr 6950. Honestly you won't see any difference between 1600MHz and 2133MHz RAM, it's pretty much pointless for Sandy Bridge setups. The vengeance RAM has big heatsinks which will be fine if you get that bundle with the H80, but may not be if you go for a large air cooler instead.

EDIT: Also change the motherboard to this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK better board and ready for Ivy Bridge and PCI express 3.0
 
So an updated spec based on your recomendations:


Processor - Intel i5 2500K
Motherboard Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
RAM - Corsair Memory Vengeance Red 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz
Hard Drive - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Graphics Card - MSI AMD Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC
Optical Drive Some generic DVD-RW drive
Monitor Iiyama ProLite E2208HDD 22"
I've seen this good bundle on OCuk which has a Corsair 600t, Corsair H80 cpu cooler and 850 watt psu.

Future upgrades would be an SSD for Intel SRT, Sound card etc

I had a look around over the internet and I found that Corsair do Vengeance RAM in red! Nice red too and an 8GB kit at £46.
I've seen good reviews on the Sapphire HD6950 Dirt 3 edition and it looks like it comes the with the vapor-x cooler? A credible alternative to the MSI board? In the end it depends which is the cheaper out of the two.
 
if you ever plan on going eyefinity with 3x monitirs the sapphire flex model would be the one to go for as it allows you to use 3x dvi cables without needing a displayport-dvi adapter.

normally with 3x monitors in eyefinity you need to connect at least one of the monitors to the displayport connector on the graphics card(so if the monitor doesn't have dp then you need to use a dp->dvi, dp-vga or dp-hdmi adapter dependent on what connection you monitor has).
 
JoneseyBoy1 said:
So an updated spec based on your recomendations:


Processor - Intel i5 2500K
Motherboard Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
RAM - Corsair Memory Vengeance Red 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz
Hard Drive - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Graphics Card - MSI AMD Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC
Optical Drive Some generic DVD-RW drive
Monitor Iiyama ProLite E2208HDD 22"
I've seen this good bundle on OCuk which has a Corsair 600t, Corsair H80 cpu cooler and 850 watt psu.

Future upgrades would be an SSD for Intel SRT, Sound card etc

I had a look around over the internet and I found that Corsair do Vengeance RAM in red! Nice red too and an 8GB kit at £46.
I've seen good reviews on the Sapphire HD6950 Dirt 3 edition and it looks like it comes the with the vapor-x cooler? A credible alternative to the MSI board? In the end it depends which is the cheaper out of the two.
Click to expand...

Looking sweet. The Sapphire card would be a decent choice, IIRC Sapphire is the most popular graphics card producer. I haven't read reviews specific to that card, but they have a good reputation. On the other hand, I can vouch personally that the MSI card runs ridiculously cool even under high load (my friend has one). In the end, either one would be fine, as you said just go with the cheapest.
 
OK, I got back from London last night. I combined going to LITS with a short break in London so I could do some touristy stuff.

Apart from coming home with a fairly irrational hatred of Londoners and The Tube, I came back with the graphics card I wanted from the OCUK stand for less than the price anywhere. I also picked up some Kingston HyperX RAM for £35 which is less than the Corsair Vengeance so I'm faced with the choice whether to flog it on ebay and make a slight profit and get some Corsair or whether to just stick with it? Luckily this too was from the OCUK stand and they chucked in a load of freebies such as a Logitech bag which I use to tote my little netbook about as well as a gaming mouse and flash drive.
 
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