A new build from complete scratch

Sharpsilver · 27 Nov 2009 at 14:10

speccing a £1500 Gaming PC.

I did make a topic before this one however after a bit more research and getting some opinions from various fellows I've decided to scrap my previous possible system setup and start from scratch.

I need some advice on the components that will give me the best performance for a budget of about £1,400
Plus any compontents that I've not listed

The system will be used for everything. But mainly and mostly gaming and general media activities. I've never overclocked and don't want to either because I don't trust my skills enough to risk it. However I'm up for buying a pre-overclocked bundle such as Core i5 Overclocked Bundle because I would rather have the peace of mind that a professional has tweaked it instead of my error prone hands.

Any advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated on the following bits I'm not limited to either intel or AMD CPUs however intel seems to be in higher favour nowadays so that's probably a bonus.

Processor, Motherboard, Graphics Card, Memory, Power Supply, Case, Cooling, Optical Drive, Hard Drive, Monitor, Keyboard + Mouse,

Thanks,

SS.

Sharpsilver · 27 Nov 2009 at 16:01

I should be able to pick up windows 7 home premium cheaper because I am a student but yes, that's easy to sort out I guess.

MCH, the bundle you recommended, the i7 version, would you say it would be worthwhile to downgrade to the i5 bundle and use the money saved to buy the Dell 2209WA? I've heard good things about that monitor and I feel if I'm going to also get the 5850 maybe the monitor will do the graphics card more justice? Or will I notice very little difference between the two?

Sharpsilver · 27 Nov 2009 at 16:13

mp260767 said:
yeah i'd go for the 5850, just wasn't sure how soon the system was wanted, as trying to find them available seems to be a bit of a lottery.

I hope to get the system after christmas/new year. I think it'll be a lot easier then to pick up the 5850 as well....hopefully anyway

...

@MCH, I'll probably pick the i5 then, if the difference is noticable

Sharpsilver · 28 Nov 2009 at 02:39

Taking in mind suggestions so far, here is version 1!

I spoke to a close-friend whom I've always been envious of his beautiful machine, and he recommended the logitech mouse which MCH also suggested, citing it for brilliant value for money, so that's a solidified!

I preferred the Razor keyboard however, due to the fact it's rubber keyed and has a nice blue backlight and will generally feel better to type with, (what they say anyway) I may be completely wrong, but I might just see how it fits in.

Seeing various suggestions for a 650w power supply, (the Antec Signature 650w and Corsair 650w) makes me think that the 750w above is a bit OTT and I might be just better to stick to a less powerful, cheaper and more worthwhile alternative like those suggested?. I could spend that money saved elsewhere like maybe getting a better case for instance. Afterall I can always upgrade to a 750w in the future, right?

Onto the choice of case. The suggested Coolmaster seems great, however, how does it compare to the Antec 902 and Twelve-hundred?. I've seen great reviews for both and they are only marginally more expensive for what seems more space, better cooling and future proofing. But I've not seen any reviews for the coolmaster.

Any advice provided is greatly appreciated!

SS.

Sharpsilver · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:31

<Delete>.

Sharpsilver · 30 Dec 2009 at 14:50

Throwing something out:

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - OEM
Antec 1200 Twelve Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)
Corsair H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1366/AM2/AM3)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB057000000)
Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - OEM
2 x Akasa AK-FN057 Apache Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM
Arctic Silver Matrix Thermal Compound (2.5g)

This is throwing together my basket so far at a cost of about £1,369.09. So that leaves around £75 left for any additions. One other thing I've not included is a keyboard because the keyboard I'm looking for cannot be found on OcUk and will need to go to a competitor for that. :eek:

... the keyboard is a Razer Lycosa.

I've heard a few stories of people saying they were able to get another 2c-3c from replacing the stock fan on the Corsair H50. So I decided to do that, and another Akasa 120mm fan fort the side panel.

What other accessories do you lot think I'll need in order to keep the case tidy and with good cable management? Plan to have it spotless, however what extensions/clips/ties are recommended?

.. or generally.. any accessories that I'm missing that will make my rig actually bootable

Sharpsilver · 30 Dec 2009 at 15:46

What would you recommend? Maybe the Dell G2410 is a good alternative?

Sharpsilver · 30 Dec 2009 at 17:17

Decided that.. if wanta performance build, then I can't have a processor that is poor in comparison of the rest of the system... which will gimp it's overall power....Bottlenecking with such awesome parts would suck.

-Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
-Dell G2410 24" Widescreen LED Monitor
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem)
-Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
-OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel
-Antec 902 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
-Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)
-Corsair H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler
-Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Sound Card - OEM
-Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse
-LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - OEM
-Akasa AK-FN057 Apache Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM
-Arctic Silver Matrix Thermal Compound (2.5g)

How does this spec look?

Sharpsilver · 30 Dec 2009 at 17:48

w1llyg said:
Sharpsilver he doesnt wan2 overclock himself, so that system is going to be a lot more if he gets the preoverclocked bundles :/ but nice setup

Ignore my first post. I think now after reading through some people's experiences of overclocking and the how it can be simpler than most beginners think.. I'm willing to give it a go. Would take it slow and steady!

Need some more scrutiny and or appraisal for this spec.

Sharpsilver · 31 Dec 2009 at 00:02

I've got a dilemma.

Fitting in every single component of a decent system, including keyboard, mouse and monitor, headphones/set and a Sound card into £1500 seems to be difficult when I want to get a decent system that won't bottleneck.

I fear that If I instead went for p55 motherboard, I5 Processor and got 4 gigs of DDR3 1600mhz RAM it won't complement the Graphics card as well and I'll loose key performance.. or is this just me being paranoid?

Mind you I'm not going to be video encoding.. and I also won't be adding a second 5870 in for quite a while.. (probably not ever) therefore is the i7's bonus lost in this instance?

Could fit in a decent pair of headphones, a sound card.. and not stray too far over my £1500 budget (also including £30 for the Student-discount Windows 7 home prem) with maybe some funds left over to purchase some steam offers to really test this thing.

What would you guys say? Doing it this way means I could probably also fit in the overclocked i5 bundle as well to put a stop to any worrys that I may end up screwing up the processor and not being able to replace it.. instead of buying the i5, p55 and ddr2 dual channel seperately.

Any suggestions/opinions. I5 Bundle instead of the i7....Y/N?