Advice needed on first build please

Jaybe

Jaybe

Jaybe

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Joined
15 Aug 2011
Posts
7
Hi, first post here and most certainly not the last, far from it.

For about two years now I have been debating over building my own, this time must be now, and preferably this week for getting parts. Current pc was a pre-built (AMD Athlon 64, 4000+ 2.40), but since then I've become reasonably savvy with what's what, upgraded and taken apart when needed (don't ask!). A friend has offered to help/guide with the new one once I get the parts.

I need an all round pc, I'm not big into games but would like to have the option there, mainly video/photo editing/media centre as well as an all-rounder. Budget is around £1000 just for the pc alone - saying that my monitor went pop last week but there are separate funds for that. It's unlikely this will get an upgrade (cpu/board) in its lifetime so I'm looking at spending more now. It will however get smaller upgrades, one thing being SSD at some point in the future.

I currently have the following in mind and would really really welcome feedback/guidance, it would be much appreciated.

Case - has to be plain as it's going to be in the downstairs room, ideally without the window on the side
Silverstone Fortress 1 FT01B-W
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-055-SV&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-358-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1859

Board - I'm really struggling here, yes I'd be looking to OC and have been drawn to Asus or Gigabyte, these are the two I've been looking at:
Asus P8P67
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-447-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=
Gigabyte P67A-UD5-B3
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-326-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

Cooler - something which will run as quiet as possible but do the job at the same time
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-NC&tool=3

Memory - I'm just trying my luck here as it's not something I know much about
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS

Graphics card – I’m struggling to find something, I’ve heard EVGA are very good.

PSU – again something that will do the job:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-048-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

System drive – I’m currently sticking to just the one and will get a storage later, in fact I have a 1TB one in my current pc I could use for storage.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-336-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1953

Optical drive
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-106-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

OS – Windows 7 64 Professional

I will welcome any comments, I just feel that I'm spending way too much time on this :confused:
 
OK thanks, I'll look into that.
Not sure how the smiley face made it next to the subject on this thread, my mistake, a question mark would've been more apt I think.
 
What sort of graphics card are you looking at? and is SLI or Crossfire something you want? as these choices affects the PSU choice.
 
stulid said:
What sort of graphics card are you looking at? and is SLI or Crossfire something you want? as these choices affects the PSU choice.
Click to expand...

No I doubt I'd be looking at SLI or Crossfire - card will be used mostly for video/photo editing and occasional gaming, looking at something mid range, possibly a GTX 460?

I've had a look at the board you mention but am leaning towards the Asus P8P67 pro (this is the one I meant to quote in my first post) - I'm not too familiar with MSI and had Asus in the past
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-443-AS

Please can someone tell me if it is really worth going for the Deluxe version of this board

Also is there a better choice of RAM other than this, but at the same time not too costly:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS

And the cooler, is this overkill? - I want something to run with as little noise as possible and the Noctua has some good reviews. From what I've read I'll have to watch out for space restrictions, having checked on the Noctua site it is compatible with this board but may need to look at RAM clearence:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-NC&tool=3

Thanks again.
 
Well the MSI Gen3 I linked too is more future proof with having PCI-E3.0 support for the next gen graphic cards when the Intel Ivybridge CPU are released next year.

Asrock also do a Gen3 board - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-054-ak&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

review - http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z68_extreme4_gen3_review,1.html

Also is there a better choice of RAM other than this, but at the same time not too costly:
Click to expand...

Nothing better for the price.

And the cooler, is this overkill? - I want something to run with as little noise as possible and the Noctua has some good reviews. From what I've read I'll have to watch out for space restrictions, having checked on the Noctua site it is compatible with this board but may need to look at RAM clearence:
Click to expand...

You wont have issues with the height of the XMS3 ram as it doesnt have tall heatspreaders like other ram does.

No I doubt I'd be looking at SLI or Crossfire - card will be used mostly for video/photo editing and occasional gaming, looking at something mid range, possibly a GTX 460?
Click to expand...

Well for a pair of these or similar (ATI 6870's etc) then this Antec modular PSU is better as it has four PCI-E power connectors, more wattage too - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1088
 
I've been doing a bit of reading and think I'm better off with the Z68 so going to ditch the P67, however I definately wont be upgrading the CPU, what I get now will be present until my next major upgrade (new pc).

So many options!
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
(£199.99) £239.99
(£199.99)
Corsair PC Starter Bundle 1000c - 600TM Case / TX 650W V2 PSU / H60 CPU Cooler (Cooler Half Price) £217.96
(£181.63) £217.96
(£181.63)
Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £131.99
(£109.99) £131.99
(£109.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) £23.99
(£19.99) £23.99
(£19.99)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £559.08
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £114.57
Total : £687.40


Using this Z68 board - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-458-AS

This Case/PSU/Cooler bundle - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-041-OP

Just add the operating system and graphics card.
 
Thanks stulid this is really helpful - just out of interest and in your opinion would it be worth going for the Pro or Deluxe version?
I've looked at the specs and see that Deluxe doesn't have on board graphics so probably not that. However between the P8Z68-V and P8Z68-V PRO I can't see any difference at all in the specs, could it just be quality of parts?

Oh and I keep coming across 'ErP / EuP Ready'
Asus says that the PSU should have this but not all of them do, is this just a recommendation?
 
Last edited:
Its not worth the change to the PRO which looks like it has two more SATA ports and the odd extra bit ( I cant be bothered to trawl through the ASUS website to see the real difference)

If you want to spend more money on a board? then a Gen3 board that will be PCI-E3.0 compatible with intels next gen Ivybridge CPUs is a better choice.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-188-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZQ4aaDPVsw&list=UU0jTaJhHBm-w&index=10
 
OK the site I was comparing on wasn't the best, Asus site is better.
The Pro has the following which don't appear on the other:

Storage
Marvell® PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller : *2
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), navy blue

Audio
Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC

Internal I/O
2 x IEEE 1394a connector(s)

Accessories
1 x ASUS USB 3.0 Bracket(s)

IEEE 1394
VIA® 6308P controller
2 x IEEE 1394a port(s)
(2 at mid-board)
 
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