First build in 8 years

BATTLE99 · 2 Sep 2011 at 20:35

Hello all,title says it all really.I am running a P4 3.4ghz skt 478 and an ATI X1950PRO 512MB and 2 GB ram(all very old school).So after some thought and some serious saving I have decided to build (To me) a super computer that will run all my flight-sims (FSX plus add-ons,Lock-on plus-addons includinding DCS A10 that I dont have yet (that looks amazing)plus BF3 and any other games that come along.Here is my selection which I dont mind being critisized on but Im looking for some advice aswell.My budget is roughly £1200.00 give or take £100.00.Dont need a mouse(have the Logitech G5)or Joystrick(Saitek Cyborg Evo Force).Dont need keyboard either.

OcUK GeForce GTX 580 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £399.98
(£333.32)

Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £161.99
(£134.99)

Iiyama ProLite E2409HDS 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99

MSI Z68MA-ED55 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - Black £104.99
(£87.49)

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CMPSU-850TXV2UK) £99.98
(£83.32

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050)

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £59.99
(£49.99

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £41.99
(£34.99)

Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £37.99
(£31.66)

LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16)

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £7.99
(£6.66)

Total : £1,315.98

The only thing that is bothering me is the Mobo and the Gpu.Was thinking that the 3 GB card was excessive(dont plan to SLi until maybe the middle of next year)but have read that more vram is better.I dont really know which mobo is better (advice again please).Thanks for taking the time to read this from a very old gamer.And if I have missed anything out you's can point me in the right direction.Hoping to send the order tonite or tomorrow.Thanks again

BATTLE99 · 2 Sep 2011 at 21:18

Wow, thanks guys for the replies.I do plan on overclocking the cpu (sorry typo in were the 2500k i5 is) but is there much difference between the 3 gb and the 1.5 gb card. thanks

BATTLE99 · 4 Sep 2011 at 16:27

stulid said:
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Gainward GeForce GTX 580 "GOOD Edition" 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £371.99
(£309.99) £371.99
(£309.99)
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)
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £154.98
(£129.15) £154.98
(£129.15)
Iiyama ProLite E2409HDS 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - Black £104.99
(£87.49) £104.99
(£87.49)
OCZ Z-Series 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
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)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
(£21.66) £25.99
(£21.66)
Samsung SH-S222AL/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £1,043.57
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £22.20
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £213.15
Total : £1,278.92

Re-done it for you.

• i5 2500K so you can overclock.
• Gen3 motherboard is more future proof.
• Gold rated PSU uses less electricity.
• Win7+HDD bundle saves some money.

Update::

Put order in on Saturday,unfortunately the Phantom case and the dvd drive was out of stock.I went with the Cooler Master HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black and a Sony dvd writer.Hope to have it all delivered on Tuesday.

Thank you stulid and the other peeps for your advice.

ps I went with the 3gb Palit GTX 580, sorry stulid. :cool:

BATTLE99 · 4 Sep 2011 at 16:43

BringTheRain, I managed to view 1 review on the case (because I had already hit the purchase button and I was determined to purchase the day) and it got a good write up.

stulid ,will do with the pics.

Just cant wait till Monday night itll be like Christmas Eve. lol

BATTLE99 · 4 Sep 2011 at 17:34

BringTheRain said:
Do you mean only one review on the HAF x ? Stonking case mate. The NZXT is horrid, runs

No no,the HAF-x case kind of jumped out at me,was lookin at other cases but that one looked great,only looked at at one review mate and that was enough for me.

BATTLE99 · 6 Sep 2011 at 16:17

Well it arrived 25m ago woohoo...

Now the task of setting her up,cannot wait. :cool:

BATTLE99 · 6 Sep 2011 at 17:35

Will post more,have just got the HAF-X out of the box and its a lot bigger that Ive saw on yt.Gonna be starting the build just shortly,wish me luck.

BATTLE99 · 6 Sep 2011 at 18:05

Thanks guys,right this is the last boxes photo,gonna start just shortly,will keep you all updated.cheers again. :cool:

BATTLE99 · 6 Sep 2011 at 19:45

Gregry254 said:
Good luck

Mine arrived at the works mail room today and I will be starting to build mine after 9pm (I am on night shift as security haha)

Good luck with yours mate

A quick question I had bought the Artic MX-4 compound but the Gelid came with GC-2 compound which one is better :confused:

BATTLE99 · 7 Sep 2011 at 09:14

Just got the GPU to fit then the cables and that should be me done,just a couple of pics of inside this monster :cool:

BATTLE99 · 7 Sep 2011 at 11:59

Having some trouble connecting the 3 case fans.The mobo has PWR FAN1,CHA FAN 1.2.3.Will I disconnect the big plugs and just plug the small 3 pin fans straight onto the mobo. Pic blow,if its not good enough I can post onther one.

BATTLE99 · 7 Sep 2011 at 12:09

Azza said:
That'll be the simple way. The fans will probably be regulated by the motherboard sensors, so will speed up / slow down depending on the temps. If you connect them straight to the PSU via them molex connectors then they will run at full speed. Up to you, what you want to do really, faster fans = more noise. I'd plug the one on your CPU cooler and the back fan into the motherboard and then the front fan straight into the PSU.

Thanks for that Azza,there is also a fan at the top of the case aswell,will I just plug that into mobo?

BATTLE99 · 7 Sep 2011 at 12:45

ok mate ,thanks for that.

BATTLE99 · 8 Sep 2011 at 22:15

Well that's me up and running,thanks to all that gave me advice and thanks to OverClockers for a good service,delivered on time.

Cheers all. :-)

BATTLE99 · 8 Sep 2011 at 22:36

Not managed to O'C yet but the case is HUGE.Temps at first run are 30-32 for the CPU for 1 hr and thats all I ran it for.Will have rearrange my room just to fit in the HAF-X.Havent had the time to post the final pics yet but I will do.The last of the pics was before the GPU and cm was done.

BATTLE99 · 8 Sep 2011 at 23:46

Buchanan0204 said:
Looking forward to seeing it. I noticed the space in the case between the PSU and board. I take it that case can accomodate E-ATX mobos?

You could probably fit your king size bed in it mate (j/k) but I'm sure you could.I saw a review about it but dont want to send a link incase I get banned.Its another pc company. :cool: