Building my first PC... :S

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 22:31

I am looking to build a gaming pc between £600 - £750. all i wana do really is play RTS games on it such as starcraft 2 and command and conquer. i want to hook it up my 42 panasonic tv.

what graphic card etc would you normally use for the likes of those games?

stulid · 12 Mar 2012 at 22:56

Hi and welcome.

What do you need for your money? (base unit, OS, keyboard, mouse etc?)

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:01

the whole unit and i can get the OS keyboard mouse etc from the company i work.

stulid · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:05

YOUR BASKET
1 x evga geforce gtx 480 1536mb gddr5 pci-express graphics card (015-p3-1480-kr) £184.99
1 x intel core i5-2500k 3.30ghz (sandybridge) socket lga1155 processor - retail £167.99
1 x gigabyte z68ap-d3 intel z68 (socket 1155) ddr3 motherboard rev 1 £84.98
1 x crucial realssd m4 64gb 2.5" sata 6gb/s solid state hard drive (ct064m4ssd2) £76.99
1 x cooler master silent pro modular 600w '80 plus bronze' power supply £69.98
1 x seagate barracuda 7200.12 500gb sata 6gb/s 16mb cache - oem (st500dm002) £57.98
1 x crucial ballistix sport 8gb (2x4gb) ddr3 pc3-12800c9 1600mhz dual channel kit (bls2cp4g3d1609ds1s00ceu) £37.99
1 x xigmatek asgard pro gaming case - black £34.99
1 x lg gh22ns70 24x dvd±rw sata rewriter (black) - oem £18.98
total : £749.89 (includes shipping : £12.50).

• modular psu
• fast ssd for the os and a game or three - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18368623

the gigabyte board is good, uk 3 year warranty based in milton keynes, has two usb3.0 ports at the rear,

reviews,
http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_ga_z68ap_d3_review,1.html
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...herboards/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-1026263/review
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/10/11/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-review/1

Ivybridge ready as well - http://www.gigabyte.us/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1048

• You can overclock the i5 2500K to about 4GHZ safely using the stock supplied heatsink+fan, if you want 4.5GHz, then get a aftermarket keatsink later.

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:08

thanks man, im sorry im sure you get asked that question all the time lol..

do you think that would last me for future gaming?

stulid · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:15

weeroo said:
do you think that would last me for future gaming?

We cant predict the future, but the important parts like the CPU+GFX card are fast, the board doesnt support SLI and only does Crossfire at 16X/4X which isnt great so stick to single GFX cards with it.

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:20

what about maybe a 2gb graphics card then? or would you need to up the cpu?

im getting greedy lol. i know you get what you pay for but i am just looking as much bang for my buck as i possibly can...

if that spec above will do what i need and more then that will do me fine.

stulid · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:21

Well your TV is 1080P right? a GTX480 eats that for breakfast.

It was the fastest GPU Nvidia had at the time of the 4 series life span after all.

Sycho · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:23

That build is about the best you can get for £750 and should last 3 years or so at least....GTX480 with that cpu still eats games up with ease at 1920x1080 maxed.

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:25

cool. that will do me.

my only problem is that im going to get a better case. everything else is perfect.

thanks very much.

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:26

yeah the tv is 1080p. its also 3D but i wont be playing games in 3D.

stulid · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:27

Enjoy

weeroo · 12 Mar 2012 at 23:58

stulid...

i had a look to see if i could bump it up to about £850. what alterations would you make?

stulid · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:00

Better case and a cooler,

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (015-P3-1480-KR) £184.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT064M4SSD2) £76.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £69.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £57.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £56.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £37.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £21.98
1 x LG GH22NS70 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £795.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Maybe add a Blu-ray drive?

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (015-P3-1480-KR) £184.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard REV 1 £84.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT064M4SSD2) £76.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £69.98
1 x Samsung SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BluRay ROM / DVDRW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (Retail) £60.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £57.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £56.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £37.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £21.98
Total : £837.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).

weeroo · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:02

yeah accually a blueray drive would be good.

stulid · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:04

weeroo said:
yeah accually a blueray drive would be good.

Make sure its a "retail" drive so it has some playback software included.

weeroo · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:06

okay thanks.

out of interest what unit do you have?

stulid · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:07

weeroo said:
okay thanks.

out of interest what unit do you have?

PC specs?

weeroo · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:08

yeah.

stulid · 13 Mar 2012 at 00:14

i5 2500K
Gigbayte GA-Z68XP-UD4
4GB Dominator RAM
GTX570
Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD
1TB F3 HDD
Antec Kuhler 920
Antec High Current Pro 850watt
Antec DF85
DVD drive
Blu-Ray drive.

But there are some changes coming.