building a Gaming Pc

SamPazz · 16 Sep 2011 at 20:42

Hi, ive been looking into building a pc for around £700, it would be nice to be able to run current games such as the cod series, l4d2 ect and up coming games like BF3 on high settings. I have a build in mind but id like to see what other people think.

So here it is:

I5 2500K
GeForce GTX 560 TI
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3
Zalman Z9 Plus Case
Corsair Builders Series CX 600W V2
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Corsair XMS3 2x4GB
Windows 7 Home Premium
DVD RW will be reused from an old pc

Whats everyones opinion? Thanks in advance, Sam.

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 20:49

I think thats brilliant, almost.

You can get a Win7+HDD bundle here - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-000-OP

And spend £5 more for this PSU - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

Its made by Seasonic, so is great, it also has four PCI-E connectors (2per gpu) so you can do SLI/Crossfire with that great motherboard which is tested here - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/z68xp-ud3-dz68db,review-32228.html

Is the DVD drive you will re-use SATA?

Make sure you get the Retail CPU so you get a heatsink to use

logi-cat · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:08

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game [BX80623I52500K] - £173.99

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 OC HAWK 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game - £149.99

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - £99.98

Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit - £99.38

Options applied to the above product:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply - £59.99

Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black - £44.99

G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit - £39.98

Sub Total : £568.59

Shipping cost : DPD Next Day Parcel - £13.75

VAT : £116.47

Total : £698.81

logi-cat · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:10

It's pretty much the same as yours with a few tweaks. The performance of the 560ti and 6870 are very close but with the hawk edition 6870 it will give you better overclocking. Other than that i think it's a good all rounder.

logi-cat · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:11

What resolution are you running at?

logi-cat · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:12

Forgot to add, you might want to wait for AMD Bulldozer chip before you make up your mind.

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:12

That OCZ psu is naff as it only has two pci-e cables, no good for dual cards with a motherboard like that.

The Ripjaw RAM is very tall and will get in the way of aftermarket heatsinks, the XMS3 is a much better choice as its low profile.

GTX560ti over a 6870 any day.

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:16

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £169.99
(£141.66) £169.99
(£141.66)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** LOWEST UK PRICE ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
(£54.15) £64.98
(£54.15)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) £23.99
(£19.99) £23.99
(£19.99)
Sub Total : £576.09
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £117.97
Total : £707.81

Much better PSU,

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-650-W-Power-Supply-Review/1165
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=216
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...s-650w-750w-and-850w-review-introduction.html

So your now SLI/Crossfire ready.

logi-cat · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:18

You said the XMS3 is a better choice, how comes you didn't go for that?

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:19

logi-cat said:
You said the XMS3 is a better choice, how comes you didn't go for that?

Its a better choice over the Ripjaw, the Kingston is cheapest

its still 1600Mhz and CAS9

SamPazz · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:20

logi-cat said:
What resolution are you running at?

not a clue, it will be ran on a 32" Samsung tv untill i can afford to buy a decent moniter

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:21

SamPazz said:
not a clue, it will be ran on a 32" Samsung tv untill i can afford to buy a decent moniter

1080p (1920X1080) then?

fowler002 · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:30

another option for the psu http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat= £5 more but its modular, can't tell you if its any better/worse than the xfx.

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:33

You sure its modular

fowler002 · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:34

SamPazz · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:39

stulid said:
Is the DVD drive you will re-use SATA?

its off a 3 year old packard bell, how do i find out if it is or not?

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:41

SamPazz said:
its off a 3 year old packard bell, how do i find out if it is or not?

Is the data cable like this?

Or,

SamPazz · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:45

stulid said:
Is the data cable like this?

the pc is still together so i couldnt tell you, is there any other way to find out?

fowler002 · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:46

just take the side panel off and peak inside.

stulid · 16 Sep 2011 at 21:48

SamPazz said:
the pc is still together so i couldnt tell you, is there any other way to find out?

Nope. Just take the side panel of and have a look, if its a big fat wide ribbon cable then you need £16 more for a SATA DVD drive.