Assistance with build - £900 to £1,000

Spike560

Spike560

Spike560

Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
239
Hi,

I am looking to upgrade to a new PC, and as a project will attempt to build it myself.

It has been a while since I put a PC together, and the components in my current PC are not worth recycling into the new one (save for a monitor, mouse & keyboard). I must admit I am slightly out of touch with the current hardware available. I assume a £900-£1,000 budget is still reasonable...?

Basically don't want top-end, but at the same time want to at least play current games on a medium-high setting comfortably.

In addition, I would like it to be a quiet setup! So any tips with that would be great (would be out of my depth with water..!). I have very little knowledge of the PSU requirements also and what PSUs are quiet.

I would appreciate any comments on the below to determine if anything is:

- incompatible
- overly expensive/cheap given the general level of the build
- whether anything is missing...
- how to make it quieter when idle/under load
- any other recommendations

Many thanks in advance!

Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £190.00
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
Asus P8Z77-V Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £139.99
Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-120G) £89.99
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £84.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £47.99
OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £46.98
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99

Total £997.87
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £190.00
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £181.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £114.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £99.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £84.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £47.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £37.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £976.33 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Thanks for the responses guys.

It looks like an upgrade to the M4, and a saving on the RAM is in order.

With regards to the case, I want to put a really strong emphasis on quietness with good air flow. I figured the 550D would deliver this, but can a saving on the case be achieved without compromising the above?

I also acknowledge the addition of a non-stock cooler:

1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99

Will this deliver a difference in sound levels under load? I do not plan on adjusting the CPU from stock.

Thanks!

EDIT: And as per above, a significant saving on the motherboard may be appropriate. £60 difference between the Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 and the Asus P8Z77-V Intel Z77. What key features are compromised on the saving?
 
Last edited:
Motherboards: the main difference would be SLI/crossfire support. If you want this, get either of these (note the PSU is not powerful enough for two cards):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-390-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-389-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

Otherwise the one stulid selected is (of course) perfect, Gigabyte have a good 3yr warranty, UK RMA base too.

The cooler will be better for sure, especially if you want quiet - stock coolers do a job but they have small ish fans so are rarely very quiet.
 
Hi Guys,

Sorry for resurrecting this, but havent got round to buying it all!

No crossfire needed so will opt for stulid's.

I guess I would like to ask if there are any alterations to the below that could make the setup quieter?

Should I buy any external fans to replace the external fans that come with the case?

Thanks
Spike

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £190.00
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £181.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £99.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £84.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £47.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £37.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
 
Just a couple.

- M4 -> Samsung 830 128GB (Desktop or notebook, they are the same).

- Sapphire 7850 MSI Twin Frozr II 7850. Think the Sapphire is well regarded too. Either tbh. MSI RMA maybe easier to deal with (3 year warranty, UK based, and has OcUK support).

- Hyper 212 Evo -> Thermalright True Spirit 120 (better performance, build quality, very quiet).

In any case, build looks really solid.

Would look like this with mods.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £194.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £89.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £972.32 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Last edited:
YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £285.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £65.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £38.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £885.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).




you said you dont need xfire/sli, so the motherboard and psu is specced accordingly
and for 900 to 1000 quid, not getting a 670 and settling for a 7850 is just pure insanity ;p
z9 has 4 fans included, temp monitor and a fan controller, so value wise, this case is at the top
and at 885 quid, comes under budget, so there's room to upgrade if the components here if you wanna

edit oops just realised you needed win7 too...


YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £285.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £65.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £38.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £969.83 (includes shipping : £12.50).



edit2, you qualify for free shipping so the price is closer to 950 quid
 
Last edited:
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated. Looks like the Samsung SSD over the M4 then and the Thermalright CPU Cooler should do the trick.

Feels tough to take spending the best part of £300 on a graphics card! Not sure thats right for me. Is the performance a marked improvement to match the 50% price increase? An extra £90 there, where I guess the saving will mostly be made out of the case.

Will save the money on case fans.
 
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