after so many years....time to build a new computer, assistance required with spec

shadowsnypa1

shadowsnypa1

shadowsnypa1

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154
hello all

So having built several computers a few years back (7+yrs) :) I have finally decided to ditch my slow q6600.
having researched over the last few months i would like to go down the Kaby Lake route.


So looking at the i7 7700K with a z270 Gigabyte Mobo, DDR4 Ram, and a gtx1060 or 1070 depending on costs.

im trying to keep to a £1100 budget, but if i need to go a little further i will for quality components.

What im currently keeping from my old system is my PSU which is a bequite modular 650W, keyboard, mouse, monitor & windows 7.


I will be using the computer for everyday activities, as well as online gaming (Eveonline) and some video and photo editing.

definitely not looking at AMD at this stage or 4k gaming. (yet)

Wanted to know if there were any issues with windows 7 and the z270/i7 7700K combination?
No water cooling, so looking at a decent air cooler, and a decent case (perhaps with a clear side)

Ideally I would like an M2 drive (for windows and some files), 1TB storage, cdrw.

so in brief:-
CPU i7 7700K
mobo z270
m2 drive for windows & game files
1tb storage (7200) or would a 512GB SSD be better?
memory 8 or 16 gb ddr 4
air CPU cooler
GFX card = gtx1060/1070
sound card - i gather the sounds on the new motherboards, will be good enough for my sound setup.
Case- ?
cdrw

also will the bequite 650w PSU be sufficient for this build?
i plan to oc this system moderately for everyday use....

any suggestions or alterations to the above will be greatly appreciated. thank you
 
Your branded PSU should manage the above build no problem with a single dedicated card.

I personally would save the money and get the 1tb conventional drive, as you're getting the m2, and put the money towards the 1070 as it's a bigger bang for buck compared to the 1060 and would compliment your new build far better (You can pick them up for £330 if you wait for sales etc).

The M2 should should hold windows, your major apps and the games you play most - then put the rest on the conventional drive.

Edit: And again, personally, (if you're still within budget) I would get 16gb memory. There's still very few games that benefit from more than 8Gb but they are starting to appear more and more.
 
What res do you game at? If youre a moderate gamer and don't require max graphics then a 480 8gb might be decent enough, could save money there..
 
thank you Plec and Trusty, a few choices to make here...i think the idea of the 480 8gb is an excellent suggestion, also the 16gb memory. ill research the 480 vs the 1060 and see which is better ( im guessing the 480?)
any suggestions for a case and a decent cpu cooler please?

thanks again
 
shadowsnypa1 said:
any suggestions for a good case and cpu cooler (air)
Click to expand...

Will you be after a hefty clock or a comfortable safe stable clock and is relative silence paramount? Also what is your desired budget for a cooler - some people don't like to spend big bucks on cooling?..

As for the case - again comes to how much you want to spend and whether you want windowed, wired up for lighting display and whether you like angular shapes etc... For example, I'm boring, and like the smooth plain black monolith style with plenty of room to work in, loads of sound proofing with only one small light emitting diode visible. Other people like to illuminate their house via their side window - so lots of choice.

shadowsnypa1 said:
thats bad news...love win 7, dont like the look of win 10...but then again if needs must I may be able to live with win 10 :(
Click to expand...

Don't worry about windows 10 - I had the same concerns but once you disable all the nonsense (Cortana etc...) it's actually very good.
 
thanks again Plec, the overclock will be moderate as initially mentioned, nothing too much, as it will be used everyday for light browsing as well as gaming and other editing stuff. i like the idea of a windowed case, nxzt apparently do some good ones.....wanted opinions.. :)
regarding the cooler, well as long as it fits and is bang for buck I have no issue paying a premium (for reliability, cooling ability and fitting)

thanks again
 
No worries but you're getting a very one sided opinion here - but as it happens I too like the NZXT cases as they seem to get the balance of showing off your internals with simple lines (with a lot of their cases).

I've presumed you're going for a midi? tower - and as you're on a budget I personally like the NZXT Source 340 Midi-Tower Case- Black Window at £67 -link. It's a lot of case for the money and looks easy to work on and will fit most coolers.

I've always gone for air but would probably pick an all-in-one water cooler - I've fitted the Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler - link - into a custom build and was really impressed with the results for a single fan unit. You can buy cheaper ones and I suspect they would suite your cooling needs but giving it as an example for your budget. If you're not going to go nuts on your clock this type of setup will keep it chilly and relatively silent.

The ease of getting to components in the case is so much easier with one of these fitted over a massive heatsink and fan. I have a Thermaltake Silverarrow fitted in my rig and i'm looking forward to upgrading just so I can be rid of it. It sliced me for the last time when fitting my GTX 1070...

These are just examples for you to look at - there are cheaper options - e.g. you can get similar coolers for under £50 and they're still very competent.
 
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lee32uk said:
Just be aware that there is no optical drive bay in the S340 so you would have to use an external dvd drive if you wanted one.
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Good point - I've got an external drive now so I don't ruin the aesthetics of my case as I barely ever use dvds. Nothing wrong with external drives but if you regularly use a dvd drive you may want to consider a different case.
 
lee32uk, thank you for that info, i really did want a cdrw built in.....any suggestions for a decent nzxt case with optical drive bay?
oh and my old PC is going to be used ny the kids now, so i will either grab another power supply for the new build (suggestions?) or buy a cheap one for the old pc.....
thank you both for your input so far.
 
How old is the beQuiet PSU? - if it's still under warranty I would save some pennies (£40 approx. - if it's a newish model) and buy a cheaper lower wattage PSU for the kids PC.

EDIT: As for cases really depends on how much you want to spend - as you can get a Bitfenix Nova Midi Tower Case - Black Window for as little as £30. Looks similar to the NZXT you liked (but with optical bays) and is a solid case for the money. Or you could go to the other extreme and get the Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black all singing and all dancing (great for water cooling) overkill case - but fantastic to work in/on at a whopping £140. I've owned one in the past (a revision of) but wouldn't compromise hardware over an expensive case. Oddly enough I swapped it out for a case with zero bays as it really annoyed me how the DVD drive altered the sleek look - especially at that price - mine wasn't windowed, bought for ease of working on, bliss.

I would always get a decent case - but I wouldn't spend loads if it compromised my overall internals 'if' you don't expect to be working/fiddling inside your machine a lot. If once you've built your new rig - and you expect to leave the insides alone - as long as its airflow is good, reasonably solid and it's to your taste - the case has done it's job, no matter how cost effective it was.
 
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All these have an optical drive bay/s depending on what you want to spend. The Fractal R5 has a door that opens to reveal the drive bay if you want it hidden when not in use.

If you want NZXT then I think all of the 'Phantom' series (410/530 etc) cases have 5.25" bays. It should say in the description.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £593.44
(includes shipping: £44.58)



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