Build check, please help

HexagonalBolts · 28 Aug 2011 at 17:41

Hey guys, please help me with this build check before I buy it - Is it all compatabile? Should I change anything? Parts are from various websites:

HDD: Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB Hard Drive SATAII 64MB Cache - OEM Caviar Green - £58.97
SSD: OCZ 60GB Agility 3 SSD - 2.5" SATA-III - Read 525MB/s Write 475MB/s 50,000 - £89.45

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor - £161.13
RAM: G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V - £39.46
GRAPHICS: 1 x MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 - £205
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V LE Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard - £113.52

CASE AND PSU: Coolermaster CM690 II Lite with Coolermaster GX 650W PSU (bundled) - £97.98
DVD DRIVE: LiteOn iHAS224 24x DVD±RW DL RAM & Lightscribe SATA Optical Drive - £14.99
COOLER: Corsair A50 Socket Intel 775, 1156,1155, 1366 AMD AM2 AM3 Performance CPU Cooler - £24.45
CASE FANS: 4x Xilence case fans ~ £15

Total: £820ish

Shadz · 28 Aug 2011 at 17:45

Looks good to me mate, should work like a dream.

I take it you already got a copy of Windows that's why its not on your list ?

Everything else will work perfect though m8.

HexagonalBolts · 28 Aug 2011 at 17:48

Shadz said:
Looks good to me mate, should work like a dream.

I take it you already got a copy of Windows that's why its not on your list ?

Everything else will work perfect though m8.

Cheers man. Sorry, I forgot to say I don't need any peripherals or operating system. Does anybody have any recommendations for better parts - or know much about the motherboard? That's probably the part I know least about...

Jony27 · 28 Aug 2011 at 17:56

few things i would change
SSD to Crucial M4
Ram to either XMS3 or Kingston HyperX as the RipjawsX have very tall heatsinks which might get in the way of some coolers.
Mobo to the Asrock Z68 Pro3 if you dont need Sli/CF, or to MSI P67A-GD53 if you want Sli/CF.

you really dont need any extra case fans with the CM690 II lite, as it comes with 2x120mm fans.

HexagonalBolts · 28 Aug 2011 at 18:27

Jony27 said:
few things i would change
SSD to Crucial M4
Ram to either XMS3 or Kingston HyperX as the RipjawsX have very tall heatsinks which might get in the way of some coolers.
Mobo to the Asrock Z68 Pro3 if you dont need Sli/CF, or to MSI P67A-GD53 if you want Sli/CF.

you really dont need any extra case fans with the CM690 II lite, as it comes with 2x120mm fans.

Great, thanks a lot man! I'm sorry but I'm really rather out of the loop with tech at the moment, could you explain your decisions at all? It'd really help me!

I know very little about SSDs, just reading through the statistics I can see that the m4 has one quarter of the write speed of the OCZ SSD (not that I know if that means much) - however just looking very quickly it would appear to be better reviewed.

The RipjawsX are rather cheap and the cooler I'm using isn't over-the-top, so hopefully it will be ok? Edit: Although having said that the HyperX is cheap on overclockers, I presume it's compatible...? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS

Perhaps it'd be worth having CF if the card comes down in price in the future, which would provide a cheap-ish graphics upgrade, but it seems unlikely... Why the p67 over the p68 though?

scrlk · 28 Aug 2011 at 18:37

Apparently at this time, OCZ SSDs are suffering from stability issues.

HexagonalBolts · 28 Aug 2011 at 18:41

Vinni3 @H|H said:
Apparently at this time, OCZ SSDs are suffering from stability issues.

M4 it is then, cheers Vinni3, any other help anyone?

Jony27 · 28 Aug 2011 at 18:46

HexagonalBolts said:
Great, thanks a lot man! I'm sorry but I'm really rather out of the loop with tech at the moment, could you explain your decisions at all? It'd really help me!

I know very little about SSDs, just reading through the statistics I can see that the m4 has one quarter of the write speed of the OCZ SSD (not that I know if that means much) - however just looking very quickly it would appear to be better reviewed.

The RipjawsX are rather cheap and the cooler I'm using isn't over-the-top, so hopefully it will be ok? Edit: Although having said that the HyperX is cheap on overclockers, I presume it's compatible...? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS

Perhaps it'd be worth having CF if the card comes down in price in the future, which would provide a cheap-ish graphics upgrade, but it seems unlikely... Why the p67 over the p68 though?

as Vinnie said, people have complained about firmware issues giving BSODs with OCZs SSD.

yes the HyperX is compatible and have been recommended quite a lot to to it being on offer most of the time

unless you need the Z68 feature which are Quiksync,Lucid Vitue and SSd caching and onboard graphics, i would get a P67 as its quite a bit cheaper.

Cooler masters GX range of PSUs arent the best, but that budnle saves quite a bit and will be good for a single HD6950, if you ever wanted to add a second HD6950, then swap it for a quality 650w from antec/xfx/corsair or to a 750w to give you headroom.

HexagonalBolts · 28 Aug 2011 at 18:57

Jony27 said:
as Vinnie said, people have complained about firmware issues giving BSODs with OCZs SSD.

yes the HyperX is compatible and have been recommended quite a lot to to it being on offer most of the time

unless you need the Z68 feature which are Quiksync,Lucid Vitue and SSd caching and onboard graphics, i would get a P67 as its quite a bit cheaper.

Cooler masters GX range of PSUs arent the best, but that budnle saves quite a bit and will be good for a single HD6950, if you ever wanted to add a second HD6950, then swap it for a quality 650w from antec/xfx/corsair or to a 750w to give you headroom.

Thanks a lot mate. Yes I dislike taking a coolermaster PSU, i'm building it for my brother, I'll see what he thinks. Thanks again!