Building a Rig for my Brother

Kendros · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:04

I have only built one PC before and that was my own and now I am going to build a computer for my brother and I am using my one as the basis and modifying if needed.

This is my one:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 760 DirectCUII OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Plextor M5S 256GB Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5S) £139.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £136.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £129.95
1 x Silverstone Strider Plus 850W Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply (SST-ST85F-P) £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-08289) £109.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY8GX3M2A1600C9) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800) £27.98
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-14 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £20.99
Total : £1,288.96 (includes shipping : £20.10).

Due to familiarity and the fact he wants something similar to mine, I was wondering if there is a build similar to mine that might be better at the same price or even cheaper or just in general any changes it would be wise to make to the build and if I am forgetting anything.

Thanks for the help in advance

SiDeards73 · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:06

Personally i would use a Haswell Z87 Motherboard and a Haswell I5. Let me spec something up real fast.

Idleman · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:09

What`s the budget, circa £1300?

Kendros · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:10

I would prefer to keep it around £1000 but if it goes up to 1200-1300 then I don't mind as long as its good.

SiDeards73 · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:13

Ok ive used many of the same parts you have and swapped bits where i think better value is

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Windowed Case - Black £124.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-08289) £109.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800) £27.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £1,236.29 (includes shipping : £17.85).

Doomedspeed · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:15

Si's spec is similar to what I was thinking.

Are you dead set on that case though?

SiDeards73 · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:17

Couple of things, that CPU cooler is brilliant and currently on a very good price, the 280x is a better card than the 760 and carries 3gb of Ram, better futureproofing.

Dont be fooled by only 650w on that PSU, its gold rated and among the best you can buy for your money. The motherboard has some of the best features you will find and its an incredible price. Samsung SSD is better than the one you listed.

Incidentally i have a CM Stormtrooper case, its a decent case but i found it a bit limited for cooling options, if your only ever going to air cool and not go down a custom water loop route then the case is perfect, should you ever consider going for a full loop though you will want something a bit more flexible, look at perhaps the Corsair Carbide 540 Air, around the same price as the CM Stormtrooper but a lot more viable for watercooling and it looks wicked.

Idleman · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:18

Kendros said:
I would prefer to keep it around £1000 but if it goes up to 1200-1300 then I don't mind as long as its good.

Does he really need Windows 7 Pro?

Kendros · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:29

The windows is just from my build but that is not a factor to worry about.
If you guys think there is a better case like that corsair air for example I am Open for ideas.

I am liking that build so far unless others come about I might go for it.

Since I am here a quick question, My Friend has an Nvidia GTX 670, is it better for him to SLI it or to upgrade to a 780ti?

Idleman · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:34

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £71.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800) £27.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £1,203.24 (includes shipping : £17.85).

SiDeards73 · 30 Dec 2013 at 17:44

+1 Idlemans Cart, pretty much everything i linked except the motherboard and case, Solid build there with plenty of room to improve in the future should he want to.

With regards to the 670 question, im no Nvidia expert, if it was me i wouldnt lob the money Nvidia want for a 780ti at that card, instead i would sell the 670 and plough the cash into a non ref 290x when they arrive, 780ti levels of performance for a lot less money.

Kendros · 30 Dec 2013 at 18:20

Alright thanks for all the help!
I have a much better idea what to go for now.

lee32uk · 30 Dec 2013 at 19:04

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £169.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £109.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £76.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £69.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733) £67.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x Prolimatech Red Megahalems CPU Cooler £52.99
1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800) £27.98
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM Low Noise High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050012-WW) £25.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
1 x Akasa PWM fan splitter (AK-CBFA04-15) £2.99
Total : £1,284.61 (includes shipping : £23.20).

Kendros · 30 Dec 2013 at 22:05

Curiously thought, all you guys link this Radeon card, is it a lot better then the Nvidia ones?

lee32uk · 30 Dec 2013 at 22:11

Kendros said:
Curiously thought, all you guys link this Radeon card, is it a lot better then the Nvidia ones?

280X v GTX760

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1038?vs=1041

Idleman · 30 Dec 2013 at 22:26

But if you compare the 770 to the 280x, then it comes down to what games you play.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1037?vs=1041

hakank68 · 30 Dec 2013 at 23:53

SiDeards73 said:
Ok ive used many of the same parts you have and swapped bits where i think better value is

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280X Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Battlefield 4 PC Game £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Windowed Case - Black £124.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-08289) £109.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler £49.99
1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800) £27.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £1,236.29 (includes shipping : £17.85).

+1

Kendros · 1 Jan 2014 at 08:51

as one last thing, would a Nvidia build of same quality be more expensive?

fowler002 · 1 Jan 2014 at 09:24

Kendros said:
as one last thing, would a Nvidia build of same quality be more expensive?

You and/or your brother nvidia fanboy/s then? If you're simply changing the GPU from the 280x to a 770 then it'll be around the same price, if you go for a 780 then obviously it'll be quite a bit more.

Oh just to point out the prices have gone up of a number of the parts that were speced couple days back, they were on the 'this week only' offer that ended today.

Kendros · 1 Jan 2014 at 09:52

Well fanboy sounds bad, but considering i guess I could say a lot of people are ATI faboys.
I just had bad experience before with non Nvidia graphics, I had 2 ATI Radeon before and had major problems with it, however past 4 years Been using Nvidia Graphics card without a single issue.