Build spec advice

darwinian · 28 Apr 2012 at 17:21

Hi,

First post here, but I've been reading the forums for a while whilst deciding on my new build. Primary usage will be gaming, but all round performance is also important. I will more than likely swap the cpu for a 3570k if the price is right. I'm looking for best value for money so if I can make savings without compromising quality/performance I will do. That said, what do you think of the following?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti "448 Edition" WindForce 3x OC 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £80.40
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £79.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5 SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT064M4SSD2) £59.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM) £54.98
1 x Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £44.99
1 x Samsung Green 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit (MV-3V4G3D/US) £38.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £803.71 (includes shipping : £17.85).

beejjacobs · 28 Apr 2012 at 17:24

Hi and welcome

That looks pretty good. Antec 300 is a bit old now, I'd get:

BitFenix Shinobi
Zalman Z9

This cooler is a bit cheaper for similar performance.

Do you need bluray? If so, get a retail drive as this will come with software to play it with

Also, this hard drive is very similar, bit cheaper and an extra years warranty.

Stinger53 · 28 Apr 2012 at 17:24

looks good. get the retail blueray drive tho as u dont get the software with OEM

darwinian · 28 Apr 2012 at 17:38

Thanks for the tips. I prefer the more understated look for a case, so the shinobi looks good.

Bluray is a bit of a luxury I suppose, but I don't currently have one, so I figured since I need an optical drive anyway I'd upgrade to bluray. Although that extra £40 could make a difference elsewhere..!

beejjacobs · 28 Apr 2012 at 17:39

With the extra you could then get a 128GB SSD:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-009-CR&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=1427

Which would give you much more space for programs. Guess you have to decide if you'll actually use bluray!

darwinian · 28 Apr 2012 at 18:02

The extra SSD space is tempting. Alternatively, would there be much benefit in upgrading the motherboard? I suppose the main difference would be future SLI support, but I don't envisage using it - I'd probably just replace the GPU.

beejjacobs · 28 Apr 2012 at 18:03

If you dont plan on SLI, then leave the motherboard as it is