Budget Performance Rig. GPU + PSU.

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30 May 2011
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5
Hello, this is my first post and I apologize If I'm asking questions that have been asked before, I've read through many reviews and the hardware threads here but sometimes the information can be a little bit overwhelming and I tend to lean towards the more personal advice approach.

So a little bit about what I'm building. (I should probably say that my computer knowledge, while not being limited is also not expansive).

I'm looking to build a performance rig on a reasonable budget, the bare bones approach with very little features, bells and whistles, that kinda thing.

So far I've got:

CPU: i5 unlocked 2500k 3.3ghz.
MB: MSI H61M-P23 (B3) (Extreme budget H61 chipset, this is what I mean without the lack of anything fancy, Ha.)
Ram: 8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333Mhz

= £298 (Already bought)

I'm looking for advice on a PSU and GPU also on the budget, I realise that a budget PSU is just not good practice if you favor you're system remaining usable, I've been looking at the Corsair CX range, online calculations suggested that with a mid to high spec GPU I'd be looking at a minimum 500W PSU, so probably the CX600, but thats just my research, I'll gladly take advice on that. £50 Budget.

From the GPU's perspective, I'm looking at spending around the £160 mark. I've had a look at a few of the GTX models in that price range and the ATI HD6800 series, but I've seen varying results on benchmarks, so again, personal experience and/or alternative suggestions welcome.

I apologize again in advance for this wall of text and the "me coming here just asking for what to buy" approach, but you're advice and expertise is more than appreciated.

Thank you.
 
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £49.99

Great Seasonic based design and an absolute steal at that price. They are on offer at that price while stocks last and then will be sold at a regular £20-25 more:)

If you can push the extra £15 then I would go for this:

MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £175.99

If not then this:


MSI GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £159.98

Also do you realise you bought a K-edition CPU, which is K-branded as it has unlocked multipliers for overclocking, and then you bought a H61 motherboard which will not allow you to overclock.

You could always return it and buy a P67 or Z68 motherboard (which will allow you to overclock) but these will more than likely be more expensive than what you paid.

Cheapest motherboard that will allow you to overclock is an MSI P67A-C45. This board also comes with software which will allow you to do an automatic overclock, which will boost you up to 4.2GHz without having to mess around in the bios.

Out of curiosity what other parts for this build are you looking at? (i.e. case, HDD, anything else)
 
I did not, thank you for clearing that up, I've just ordered the board you suggested and will aim to return my current. Everything else I already have, It's just the major components that I needed to sort out.

Thanks for you're quick response.
 
Ok cool.

What case do you have? Just to make sure your not restricted by the length of the graphics card.

Also here's some reviews of the Antec PSU.

Hardware Heaven give it 9/10

Funky Kit give it 8.5/10

Final words. All-in-all, I think the Antec High Current Gamer 620W is a very good power supply. It's ticked all the boxes in terms of features, stability, performance and power efficiency. I can't think of any other power supply that could match it. It's definitely one of the better power supplies we've tested in the 600-650W range.
 
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If you tell me the make and model I can check.

But if it is definitely MicroATX then the MSI motherboard won't fit as it's a full size ATX board. You will want the Asus P8P67-M @ £95 which is a microATX but it isn't in stock at the moment here. You could look around elsewhere but we're not allowed to link to competitors so I can't help you out there, sorry.

Also check my edit on previous post for Antec PSU reviews.
 
I'm not entirely sure, The case was from a bundle bought a few years ago and it bares no recognizable identification. I may just settle with my cheap board for now and not overclock, although that seems a huge waste. Im failing at this rig malarky.
 
I just did a quick search on Google Shopping for 'Asus P8P67-M B3' and have seen it for £89.50 inc. shipping so if you look around you will definitely find it somewhere.

Either that or upgrade your case to an Antec 100 for £44 which will take any standard sized ATX motherboard and has some nice cable management features.

What would be ideal is a total budget and we can see what your best choice would be.

@neoglow - that's a great link...bookmarked:D
 
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