Another build thread - Gaming system

Soldato
Joined
1 Jul 2008
Posts
2,598
Location
Birmingham
Hi guys,

I apologise now for the numerous amount of threads on here all asking the same thing.

I am after a new gaming machine, I do an upgrade about once every 2-3 years, depending on money ;) Unfortunately, it is time for a big one again and need a little help deciding what to take.

Just a few pre-requisites:

- Must be an Nvidia based graphics card: I am not an nvidia fanboy, currently on a HD4870 - I just fancy trying a new nvidia card again

- 120hz Monitor Required - Something I have been after for a while, as I enjoy a lot of FPS games.

- I need a whole new computer, e.g. Case, PSU, DVD Drive (preferably one that can backup Xbox games), Mobo, Ram, CPU, HDD, SSD etc etc.

Here is what I have so far:

• EVGA GeForce GTX 580 DS SuperClocked 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £399.98

• Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £155.99(£129.99) £155.99 (£129.99)

• LG W2363D 23" TRUE 120Hz 3D Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £152.99

• Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (CSSD-F120GB3-BK) £149.99

• Asus P8P67 PRO Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £138.98

• Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply ** FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advanced ** £80.99

• Cooler Master CM-690 II Advanced Dominator Case - Black £79.99

• Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £59.99

• Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £57.59

• Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £35.99

• Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99

• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £6.98

Sub Total : £1,113.71
Shipping : £20.10
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £226.76
Total : £1,360.57

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome :)

Please note, the total above is already pushing my budget a bit too much so please, nothing above that :)
 
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not a bad spec, but id downgrade the GPU to a 570, so you can add another one in the future as that PSU should handle it.
for the case, have you looked at the dragonlord pc-k62 series, the red windowed version looks the shizz :)
 
not quite as good a graphics card, but the 580 is way too expensive for what it is.

heres what i would do:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £254.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £163.19
1 x LG W2363D 23" TRUE 120Hz 3D Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £152.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x Silverstone Raven 2 RV02B Full Tower Case - Black £129.98
1 x OCZ Z-Series 850W '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £59.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £57.59
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3) £50.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
1 x Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) £7.99
Total : £1,324.28 (includes shipping : £22.20).

its all ready for a second 570 for your next upgrade
however, i would shop around for the thermal material, because it can be had for ~£4 elsewhere. the monitor is probably cheaper elsewhere too, but im not sure
 
I think the 580s are great, if you can afford it, go for it. However, I would do what the build above suggested and swap the Asus P67 board for a Z68 chipset, probably the ASRock.
 
@ Reaper - Blimey that's an expensive case! Probably a bit too big for what I need it for I am afraid. I also noticed you stuck with the stock CPU cooler, I was looking to OC to around the 4.5 mark, would the stock be as efficient? I did notice the cheeky 128gb M4 SSD you added aswell, these are new release right?

Just on that Z68 note, I have not fully researched these boards. As I am lazy, is there any key differences between that and the P67? I have just taken a quick read and the caching idea looks interesting. Though do the boards OC aswell or as stable etc?

Now for the 570 vs 580...I am after that will last for some time, including BF3 etc. I did notice the MSI Twin OC and would bring the cost down considerably :)

Thanks the input thus far :)
 
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Sorry my mistake, I just saw the Retail i2500K and assumed it wasnt there

Just on the case you recommended, i'll hunt down some reviews
 
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Sorry my mistake, I just saw the Retail i2500K and assumed it wasnt there

Just on the case you recommended, i'll hunt down some reviews

It's one of the best air cooling cases and i get the white version today.:D

Reaper's build is spot on really.
 
Hi again,

Thanks for the info so far.

Just to ask a couple of questions again, would the Antec 750w PSU I have listed below power 2 x 570's, thinking of upgrades in the future as you said.

It's been a while since I have built a PC, I notice most cases allow for PSU's on the bottom these days, I assume there is a vent for the PSU fan to blow in and cool and blow out the back... whichever way it does it?

E.g. on the CM 690 2 Advanced it appears there is, I am still leaning towards this case as it seems a little bit more sturdy and more around the price I was after :)

Final point, was there a reasoning for the M4 ahead of the Force 3 SSD?

Cheers for the help
 
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Well here is what I went for:

- MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £212.49 1 £212.49
- Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £144.99 1 £144.99
- Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £141.66 1 £141.66
- LG W2363D 23" TRUE 120Hz 3D Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £139.99 1 £139.99
- Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £133.32 1 £133.32
- Corsair Graphite 600TM Midi Tower Mesh Windowed Case - Black £98.32 1 £98.32
- Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.66 1 £71.66
- Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £49.99 1 £49.99
- Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £48.32 1 £48.32
- Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3) £42.49 1 £42.49
- Samsung SH-S222AL/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.32 1 £13.32
- Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Surface £12.49 1 £12.49

FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day): £0.00
VAT: £221.81
Order Total: £1330.85
 
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