£450 Gaming PC

Casterina

Casterina

Casterina

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17 Nov 2011
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I've £450 to spend on a gaming PC, The parts I already have is,

PC Case
DVD Writer
Keyboard/Mouse
Monitor

My requirements of components are,

1TB HDD 7200RPM
8GB DDR3 RAM
2x 120mm fan (Must have good dBA and CFM level)
1x 92mm fan (Must have good dBA and CFM level)
 
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £74.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £65.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-500CXUKV2) £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £35.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.12
2 x BitFenix Spectre Plain BLACK 120mm Fan £5.99 (£11.98)
1 x Arctic F9 PWM Case Fan - 92mm £3.49
Total : £463.08 (includes shipping : £10.50).



There we have it.
 
 
olivier renault said:
Samey.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ / ST1000DM005) £64.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £35.99
1 x Noiseblocker BlackSilent Fan XE2 Fan - 92mm £5.99
2 x BitFenix Spectre Plain BLACK 120mm Fan £5.99 (11.98)
Total : £450.86 (includes shipping : £10.00).



No after market CPU heatsink (shouldn't need one). better 'gaming' PSU.
Click to expand...
I've few questions to ask,

1. The HD 6850 single fan is better than the dual fan?

2. Since I won't be able to overclock the i3 2120, the Z77 motherboard is still suitable for my needs? If so what are the difference between this Z77 motherboard and with other brands? Is it a mATX or ATX motherboard?

3. Which HDD is better? Samsung F3 or Seagate Barracuda?

4. Should I go for 1333MHz or 1600MHz RAM? As i3 2120 default is 1333MHz
 
Casterina said:
I've few questions to ask,
1. The HD 6850 single fan is better than the dual fan?
Click to expand...

Comments about constant fan speed, which is an odd design decision. But there you go.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18411362

2. Since I won't be able to overclock the i3 2120, the Z77 motherboard is still suitable for my needs? If so what are the difference between this Z77 motherboard and with other brands? Is it a mATX or ATX motherboard?
Click to expand...

You spoke of a gaming PC, so the CPU is an important part. Since you cannot fit a decent quad-core in your budget now, that will allow you to put something like a 2500K, maybe second hand, later in case you feel the need. Same thing with the PSU. It is a bit OTT for a 6850 and a i3, *but* you can upgrade the GPU without having to purchase another PSU.

And the H77 boards are not that much cheaper. You would have to go H61, ect... The D3H has extra VRM power over the DS3H (which has apparently no vcore adjustment?), which imo is a big deal on an overclocking board. It is full atx. The G43 has had mediocre reviews, the D3H was better reviewed. Look around :)

3. Which HDD is better? Samsung F3 or Seagate Barracuda?
Click to expand...

I have two samsung F3 1TB, and no complains. They are very similar in terms of performance and reliability record. Either really. The WD Caviar have a bit better track record in terms of reliability, but don't perform quiet as well according to benchmarks.

4. Should I go for 1333MHz or 1600MHz RAM? As i3 2120 default is 1333MHz
Click to expand...

The price difference is minuscule. Might as well with the faster rated memory, although tbh there is little difference in real terms. These are probably 10666 in disguise anyway (would work at 10666 with lower latency).
 
Last edited:
olivier renault said:
Comments about constant fan speed, which is an odd design decision. But there you go.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18411362
Click to expand...
I'll go for the single fan version of HD 6850

olivier renault said:
You spoke of a gaming PC, so the CPU is an important part. Since you cannot fit a decent quad-core in your budget now, that will allow you to put something like a 2500K, maybe second hand, later in case you feel the need. Same thing with the PSU. It is a bit OTT for a 6850 and a i3, *but* you can upgrade the GPU without having to purchase another PSU.

And the H77 boards are not that much cheaper. You would have to go H61, ect... The D3H has extra VRM power over the DS3H (which has apparently no vcore adjustment?), which imo is a big deal on an overclocking board. It is full atx. The G43 has had mediocre reviews, the D3H was better reviewed. Look around :)
Click to expand...
I'll go for the Z77 motherboard as you mentioned that later on I might do a upgrade, The Gigabyte Z77 motherboard is good?

olivier renault said:
I have two samsung F3 1TB, and no complains. They are very similar in terms of performance and reliability record. Either really. The WD Caviar have a bit better track record in terms of reliability, but don't perform quiet as well according to benchmarks.
Click to expand...
What does cache do? As Samsung F3 has 32MB and Seagate Barracuda has 64MB[/quote]

olivier renault said:
The price difference is minuscule. Might as well with the faster rated memory, although tbh there is little difference in real terms. These are probably 10666 in disguise anyway (would work at 10666 with lower latency).
Click to expand...
If I go for 1666MHz and used it on my motherboard with the i3 2120, will I get 1333MHz or 1666MHz?

Will the temperature be appox 20-25 normal use if I use the stock cooler? What will be the appox temperature when it's overloading with a stock cooler?

Is this 120mm fan good? Is it the best out there?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-059-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

Also do I need to purchase thermal paste?
 
Last edited:
Casterina said:
I'll go for the single fan version of HD 6850
Click to expand...

Looks like the safe option.

I'll go for the Z77 motherboard as you mentioned that later on I might do a upgrade, The Gigabyte Z77 motherboard is good?
Click to expand...

The Z77-D3H, Yes.

What does cache do? As Samsung F3 has 32MB and Seagate Barracuda has 64MB
Click to expand...

Not much to be honest. It helps with write speeds, but is also a liability if your computer shuts down while the cache has some data. In both case, it is a moot point for consumer hard drives. Go with the Seagate if you want.

If I go for 1666MHz and used it on my motherboard with the i3 2120, will I get 1333MHz or 1666MHz?
Click to expand...

IIRC, it will be 1333MHz, as supported by the i3-2120.

Will the temperature be appox 20-25 normal use if I use the stock cooler? What will be the appox temperature when it's overloading with a stock cooler?
Click to expand...

You cannot overclock the i3, so it will remain at stock. The stock cooler is designe to work with the i3 so I wouldn't worry about it.

If you took a 2500K / 3570K with stock cooler and tried to overclock, you could probably go 3.6-3.8GHz overclock.
 
olivier renault said:
Not the best, but quite good. Why do you need expensive fans on a budget build?
Click to expand...
I want to keep the temperature as low as possible for normal and gaming use

The thermal paste provided is good enough? Will other brands of thermal paste lower abit of temperature?

Also before what time I order today so I can receive it tomorrow?
 
Gigabyte review and OC.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1275914/entry-but-complete-z77-gigabyte-z77-d3h-oc-guide

Casterina said:
I want to keep the temperature as low as possible for normal and gaming use

The thermal paste provided is good enough? Will other brands of thermal paste lower abit of temperature?
Click to expand...

MX-2, or Gelid GC-Extreme. The MX-2 is tried and trusted, the Gelid GC-E is a new compound that performs very well. If you want to lower the temps the best, you will need a 3rd party cooler (£15-£25), but the i3 is not a hot chip. Maybe handy to have thermal paste anyway, in case you screw up and need to re-seat the cooler.

Also before what time I order today so I can receive it tomorrow?
Click to expand...

You'll have to look at the delivery options. The sooner the better. And prices will change tomorrow lunchtime on some components.
 
olivier renault said:
Unlikely. I would order now, or Wednesday for the new offers, and build over the weekend.
Click to expand...
I'm having credit card issues and I'm contacting the bank now, I'll try my best to order it tomorrow and deliver it on Thursday,

If I select the option DPD Delivery Next Day Before 12PM, will it definitely arrive before 12PM?
 
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