Building my first ever desktop. Need a bit of advice please

Corbettz · 4 Oct 2011 at 22:33

Firstly hey guys im new to the forum

. So i've decided to build a new desktop PC to replace my 3 year old laptop. I've never built a pc but i thought i'd give it a crack. Ok so the pc is going to be primarily for gaming (BF3 skyrim when its out and also starcraft 2). This is what i've got so far guys, lets see what you think, is anything a bit overkill etc.

motherboard 108 ASUS 1155 P8P67 REV 3.0 S/L

processor 157 Intel Sandybridge i5-2500 Core i5 Quad-Core Processor (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache, Socket 1155)

graphics card 190 MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 Twin FrozR II OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

power supply 55 OCZ 600W ModXStream Pro Power Supply

hdd 32 Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATAIII 6Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 inch Internal Hard Drive OEM

dvd drive 15 LG GH22NS50.AUAA 22x SATA DVDRW Drive - Bare Black

ram 42 G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X for Intel Sandybridge Platforms DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz 8GB Kit

case 31 Coolermaster Elite 360 Mid Tower Case

keyboard 34 Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard (UK Layout)

comes to a total of 664

BrightSpark101 · 4 Oct 2011 at 23:01

Hey Corbettz,

Firstly welcome to the forums! That's a good list of parts there, you shouldn't have any problems running BF3 and Skyrim on that. I take it you have a monitor and OS? If not don't forget to incorporate that into the total cost. You might want to think about one of the ASRock motherboards as they support Gen3 tech (this basically means they will be able to support the new GPU's and Intel CPU's when they come to market). The other thing I would say is you don't really need 8GB of RAM if your just gaming, very few games require more than 4GB so you could save some money here. But other than that it looks like a good list of parts

. Good luck.

Howling · 4 Oct 2011 at 23:10

I'd upgrade the P8P67 to a Pro, and the 2500 to a 2500k - not huge price difference but the performance potential is much greater.

Corbettz · 4 Oct 2011 at 23:10

thanks

Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it, i've got a monitor and OS lined up so all thats cool. I will defo consider reducing the ram as the only thing stopping me buying the parts atm is the fact im a little short on cash.

Corbettz · 4 Oct 2011 at 23:13

Thanks howling just realised i'd picked the wrong processor as i was getting the 2500k anyways. would the pro upgrade on the p8p67 be worth the extra 25 or so pounds

olivier renault · 5 Oct 2011 at 07:57

the main difference is the pro has x8 x8 sli / crossfire, and the non-pro has x16 x4 crossfire.

here's a good view of the various asus boards.

olivier renault · 5 Oct 2011 at 08:19

Oh and BTW, that coolermaster case? I would be surprised if you could fit it all in there.if your budget is already stretched, get a bitfenix merc, CM elite 430, or a antec 100. All can use a exhaust / intake fan at some point.

If you can afford a little extra, get a zalman z9.