£700 Gaming Build

YdLeet

YdLeet

YdLeet

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Joined
25 Aug 2011
Posts
57
Hi,

Title of the thread is pretty self explanatory. This is my first build and I'm looking for the best possible build for gaming given my budget constraint. I already have a monitor, OS and peripherals.

I would also really like a SSD, modular PSU (first build) and want the system to be all round pretty future proof so I can upgrade a year or so down the line.

Budget can be stretched a little if necessary. Also, if I have missed anything please ask.

I'd greatly appreciate all your input. Thank you! :)
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £161.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £54.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - White/Blue £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Blu 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C10D3B1K2/16G) £39.95
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £17.99
Total : £760.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).



The retail CPU has a 3 year warranty and includes a stock intel heatsink. You could use that instead and ditch the T120 heatsink to save some money and add one later. 8GB of RAM is ample for gaming but this 16GB kit is a bit of a bargain. There is a cheaper MSI mobo with a heatsink included but it's voltage locked so not ideal for overclocking.

Is your OS 64bit? Or you are limited to just 4GB of RAM
 
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Thanks for the response. My OS is 64 bit and I think I want to stick to the stock CPU cooler for now, since I don't plan to overclock till later.

Taking a look over the build. Not too fond of all the white, but that can be easily fixed. Also why did you choose the Gigabyte board as opposed to the ASUS board which is priced the same?

Thanks again!
 
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YdLeet said:
Thanks for the response. My OS is 64 bit and I think I want to stick to the stock CPU cooler for now, since I don't plan to overclock till later.

Taking a look over the build. Not too fond of all the white, but that can be easily fixed. Also why did you choose the Gigabyte board as opposed to the ASUS board which is priced the same?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £54.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Blu 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C10D3B1K2/16G) £39.95
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £17.99
Total : £751.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).



THe Z77 D3H has a 3 year UK based warranty and it has a dual BIOS making updating the BIOS safer, it's also a full sized ATX not mATX likethe Asus. PSU is modular and is a rebranded seasonic unit so is of very good quality, as it was white I used a white case, easily changed as you say ;) This shinobi has a window panel and has 2 fans fitted, many shinobis only come with 1.

Case is personal preference, you could swap these parts in to save some cash and get back closer to the £700 budget

YOUR BASKET
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £29.99
Total : £74.68 (includes shipping : £9.75).

 
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500W is ample for a single GPU setup and to allow overclocking. If you want to use two GPUs you will need a more expensive mobo and say a 750W PSU to be safe (650W should be more than enough for two 7850s, depends on what you use). It often makes more sense to sell your single GPU and upgrade to a better one to be fair, makes things much simpler/cheaper
 
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I think I may go for a 650W PSU instead, just prefer a little more headroom. Any particular reason why you picked that specific graphics card? There's so many to choose from in the same price range!
 
YdLeet said:
I think I may go for a 650W PSU instead, just prefer a little more headroom. Any particular reason why you picked that specific graphics card? There's so many to choose from in the same price range!
Click to expand...

No point unless you up the mobo to something that does SLI/Xfire properly. With a single GPU it wont come close to 500W.

The Gigabyte 7850 overclocks well and is already clocked higher than it's closely priced rivals. It also has a 3 year uk based warranty like the mobo being from the same manufacturer, it also comes with three free games which is nice.
 
honosuseri said:
No point unless you up the mobo to something that does SLI/Xfire properly. With a single GPU it wont come close to 500W.

The Gigabyte 7850 overclocks well and is already clocked higher than it's closely priced rivals. It also has a 3 year uk based warranty like the mobo being from the same manufacturer, it also comes with three free games which is nice.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing AMD is the way to go then? I was always under the impression Nvidia were superior.
 
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AMD is ust best bang for buck at the mo, unless you can afford £300 for an nvidia 670. You will qualify for free delivery at 100 posts so no harm in discussing your options, especially for your first build.

I can do a mini-itx spec for a similar price with wifi onboard. Depends on you what you really want

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £54.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Blu 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C10D3B1K2/16G) £39.95
1 x Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) £17.99
Total : £764.95 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
Ah, 70 or so posts may take a while. Also, I have no reason for a mini ITX build.

So far the following parts are the ones I'm not too sure about:

- GPU, so many to choose from!
- Motherboard, could possibly pay a little more if worth it.
- PSU, subject to the motherboard.
- RAM, not too sure about all the different specs on RAM sticks. Not sure why 16GB is so cheap.

Everything else is fine I guess.
 
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And I'm guessing I don't need to worry about the graphics card not fitting in the case. The dimensions are confusing to read lol.
 
Just pointing out the requirement for free P&P. You said you would add parts later, free P&P helps you grab parts whilst on offer and receive them next day.

It's late so I'm signing off. Hopefully some other members will chip in at some point to help answer your questions
 
honosuseri said:
Just pointing out the requirement for free P&P. You said you would add parts later, free P&P helps you grab parts whilst on offer and receive them next day.

It's late so I'm signing off. Hopefully some other members will chip in at some point to help answer your questions
Click to expand...

Okay, I have until tomorrow to order so that's not too much of a worry.

Thanks a lot for your time! Really appreciate it.

Input from anyone else is very welcome!
 
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Awesome spec by Hono as usual ;) Someone remind me not to drink Pepsi early in the morning :p


YdLeet said:
- GPU, so many to choose from!
- Motherboard, could possibly pay a little more if worth it.
- PSU, subject to the motherboard.
- RAM, not too sure about all the different specs on RAM sticks. Not sure why 16GB is so cheap.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about different GPU models or manufacturers, we tend to spec the same sorta one (Gigabyte, MSI, HIS) since they are good brands, not overpriced and have a reputable warranty procedure.

Its only worth it if you want a specific feature which nobody has really found a major use for yet ;) Or if you want SLI / X-fire. I have the D3H as do a lot of the people here and the only thing I could say was bad was the colour :p

A decent 500W PSU will do any single GPU setup, and since PC parts are using less power higher models will not require anymore than a 500W system.

The RAM is cheap because it is on offer, thats the only reason :)
 
9000!! jks ;)

Less than 400W I think? The 7850 only uses 1 PCI-E connector so its quite low, never been good with power draw myself.
 
honosuseri said:
1.21 Gigawatts ;)

Have you noticed the 16GB of RAM is now £80? Shame you missed out on it :(
Click to expand...

I know! :( I'm trying to find a replacement. Any suggestions?

Edit: I've chosen to go with these this Corsair set as a replacement. There is a set of Corsair vengeance sticks priced the same, but they are red which I don't think I'd be too fond of. Which ones do you recommend?
 
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Bacon? said:
9000!! jks ;)

Less than 400W I think? The 7850 only uses 1 PCI-E connector so its quite low, never been good with power draw myself.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing my power draw will be very similar to the build you have in your sig. Any way you can tell how much you use?

I trust hons advice on sticking to 500W, just really curious to know. :p
 
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