Build for a friend.

[Razargh]

Does this look good to everyone?


YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £334.99
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM £217.99
1 x Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £174.98
1 x Corsair Obsidian 650D Gaming Midi Tower - Black £139.98
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £99.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT064M4SSD2) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £61.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £47.99
Total : £1,234.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[cmndr_andi]

Hi there,

May I ask what he will be using it for?

If it is mainly gaming then personally I would switch the board to a Z68 like this one and the CPU to the i5 2500K. Then spend the money saved on a faster GPU, larger SSD or a better/bigger monitor.

 

[Razargh]

He will be using it for gaming but he wants to future proof himself and get all the e-peen. I did advise but he said no.

 

[cmndr_andi]

You should tell him that for future proofing the Z68 boards will support the shiny new Ivy Bridge CPUs (as mentioned here), so LGA2011 isn't inherently better for upgradability (unless he plans to spend ~£450 on a Hex core).

Though if he has his heart set on X79 then the above build is a nice one and good value.

Looking at this review I would consider going for the Thermalright Silver Arrow or Noctua NH-D14 over the Mount Doom.