£1200 gaming build -- help someone out of the loop!

[adamscybot]

Hello everyone!

Old time poster, very out of the loop, exhuming my OCUK account to get some solid advice on my new build.

Right now I have:

• i7 920
• Gtx 560ti
• Gigabyte ex58-ud3r
• 6gb 1600mhz ddr3 triple channel

I think it's about time to move on (might retire this build to a TV FIFA machine ). I have £1200 to spend. This is what I've come up with so far:

Purposefully lacking PSU as I plan to continue using my trusty modular corsair HX750.

As you can see, I have a tiny bit of room to spare. I'm basically looking for suggestions where I can swap something for better value or better quality at a similar price. I'm particularly unsure about the RAM, and the questionable benefits of 4gb vram on a card which I realise will be superseded by the 800 series at some point not too long in the future.

Any and all suggestions really really appreciated.

 

[tamzzy]

my 2p:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-03-40G) £329.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x NZXT Phantom 530 Full Tower Gaming Case - White £97.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
Total : £1,048.84 (includes shipping : ).



290 is a much better card than the 770
4770k > 4670k
cheaper mobo, but still sli/xfire capable
16gb ram is overkill, 8gb is more than sufficient for gaming
better case (and newer model)
better aio cooler
full spec is cheaper ;p
ps: you get free shipping

 

[Fulax]

£360 on a 770 is a baaaad deal, no matter how much VRAM it has. Just get a 780 or a 290 at that price range.

I suspect the recommendations will be to keep your current CPU and just upgrade the GPU for now. Your i7 920 will last you until the next generation of Intel processors.

 

[adamscybot]

Good suggestions thanks.

I should have mentioned I do have Nvidia 3d vision. I'm not that bothered about it, but it would be nice to keep it as an option. What nvidia option would you suggest on (tamzzy's specs)?

Secondly, am I being an idiot for not waiting for the haswell refresh + z97 boards?

I like the price of the cheaper board you've suggested...but surely im missing out on something else in that price range?

 

[tamzzy]

I should have mentioned I do have Nvidia 3d vision. I'm not that bothered about it, but it would be nice to keep it as an option. What nvidia option would you suggest on (tamzzy's specs)?

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Geforce GTX 780 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x NZXT Phantom 530 Full Tower Gaming Case - White £97.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
Total : £1,078.84 (includes shipping : ).

Secondly, am I being an idiot for not waiting for the haswell refresh + z97 boards?

possibly, if you can wait, then wait and see what the new stuff offers over the current gen. its not too long now (month tops?)

I like the price of the cheaper board you've suggested...but surely im missing out on something else in that price range?

yea, you're missing out on epeen for owning an asus rog, that's about it i think =)

 

[ShivP]

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Geforce GTX 780 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x NZXT Phantom 530 Full Tower Gaming Case - White £97.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
Total : £1,078.84 (includes shipping : ).






possibly, if you can wait, then wait and see what the new stuff offers over the current gen. its not too long now (month tops?)



yea, you're missing out on epeen for owning an asus rog, that's about it i think =)

If you read the reviews for that 780 it is actually a Palit Jetstream
I also think that extra ~£30 for a cheaper case can be used to a visual (and performance) benefit


YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX Superclock 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-2784-KR) £409.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H110 280mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060014-WW) £91.99
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX316C10FBK2/8) £61.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Cable Bundle - Green £28.45
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25
Total : £1,166.44 (includes shipping : £11.75).




G1 Sniper Board

- Killer LAN
- Great onboard sound chip
- GREEEN

H110
- Better

EVGA 780
- Excellent RMA service
- Superclocked
- Can take stock cooler off without voiding warranty


But yes, I'd wait for the new chips to come out (that's me though, dunno about OP)

 

[tamzzy]

If you read the reviews for that 780 it is actually a Palit Jetstream
I also think that extra ~£30 for a cheaper case can be used to a visual (and performance) benefit

lol! so it is!

/snip
But yes, I'd wait for the new chips to come out (that's me though, dunno about OP)

i'd change that ram, its slow (for haswell) and since you've specced aio cooling anyway, going for the kingston hx beast isnt a bad idea

 

[adamscybot]

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Geforce GTX 780 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £249.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x NZXT Phantom 530 Full Tower Gaming Case - White £97.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
Total : £1,078.84 (includes shipping : ).






possibly, if you can wait, then wait and see what the new stuff offers over the current gen. its not too long now (month tops?)



yea, you're missing out on epeen for owning an asus rog, that's about it i think =)

Again thanks for the input.

I will now go away and consider plumping for the graphics card now and using that in this system for a month. Originally the plan was to hold out until the high end 800 series was released, but its looking more and more that that will be closer to 2015. That said, an extra month wont kill me.

 

[adamscybot]

lol! so it is!


i'd change that ram, its slow (for haswell) and since you've specced aio cooling anyway, going for the kingston hx beast isnt a bad idea

Haha yeh I saw the reviews...though that could be a mistake and probably not something I should automatically expect.

I have also looked at the EVGA cards purely for the reasons mentioned (mainly, warranty support).

 

[ShivP]

Haha yeh I saw the reviews...though that could be a mistake and probably not something I should automatically expect.

I have also looked at the EVGA cards purely for the reasons mentioned (mainly, warranty support).

The superclocking should help too


Good call on the RAM, £3 ain't much


Revised spec;
YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX Superclock 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-2784-KR) £409.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H110 280mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060014-WW) £91.99
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Cable Bundle - Green £28.45
2 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050001-WW) £11.99 (£23.98)
Total : £1,169.41 (includes shipping : £11.75).






With those green extensions the build would look an absolute treat

 

[tamzzy]

psst, the h110 has 2x140mm fans, the fan pack wont fit (2x120) ;p

 

[ShivP]

psst, the h110 has 2x140mm fans, the fan pack wont fit (2x120) ;p

The pack is for the case, not the cooler, though good idea to add some for the cooler
Changed in spec.

EDIT: Not changed xD Can't get SP140s, the stock fans will do nicely anyhow

 

[tamzzy]

damn, if you're gonna spend so much on case fans, just get a better case lol ;p

 

[ShivP]

Completely revised (again)

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX Superclock 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-2784-KR) £409.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Cable Bundle - Green £28.45
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25
Total : £1,168.43 (includes shipping : £11.75).





SP120's for the H105

 

[spankingtexan]

Completely revised (again)

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX Superclock 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-2784-KR) £409.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £114.98
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £89.99
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) £65.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Cable Bundle - Green £28.45
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25
Total : £1,168.43 (includes shipping : £11.75).





SP120's for the H105

This^ absolute dogs dangles, awesome components, only thing I'd change here is the case and would go for the Corsair Obsidian 450D at £91.99, have to pre-order it though. Also best to get conformation on whether the 105 will fit either of the cases as it has a thicker rad, if not fit then the H100i would do just fine.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-173-CS&groupid=2362&catid=1489

 

[Avenged7Fold]

I would wait for the Z97 boards at least (i think k processors come later) as their new SSD feature looks pretty cool.

Do have a lot of love for G1 sniper builds. Great board with awesome on board audio and overall stunning build quality for the money and the added bonus of a local RMA.