First build - need advice!

Mike P · 8 Nov 2011 at 15:15

Hi, I am putting together some parts for my first gaming PC. Never built or owned one before but always wanted to!

I have looked around and read up about a lot of parts and have so far came up with the following:

PROCESSOR - Intel I5 3.3GHZ Quad Unlocked = £170
MOBO - ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 - £150
GPU - MSI GTX 560 Ti - £180
RAM - G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V - £38
PSU - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 Power supply - 650 Watt - £65
COOLING - Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus - £25
CASE - CM HAF 912 plus - £65
DVD Drive - SATA 22x DVD Writer SAMSUNG SH-S222AB/BEBE - £15
HDD - WD 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6Gb/s Caviar Blue Hard Drive - £100
OS - Windows 7 64 bit - £70

Total - £878

Is this going to be a decent build? Would like to be able to play most things on high settings, not worried if they aren't maxed though! Will play wow, diablo 3, battlefield 3 etc.

Will a 650W power supply be enough? Will probably overclock but have not looked too far into it yet.

Wondering whether I would need to get some extra fans for the case too?

Also I am going to need a decent monitor, 22"-24" and full HD if anyone has advice on that? Want to spend about £150 on it.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

mp260767 · 8 Nov 2011 at 15:39

check the Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB kit, the RipjawsX has the bigger heat spreaders and can sometimes cause issues with there proximity to the cpu cooler.

did you check the software pack that gives win 7 + hard drive ?

wouldn't bother with more fans, see how it performs once you've got it all set up, maybe check the case forum see if there are suggestions for the case your looking at.

rest looks fine.

monitor wise have a look at the Asus VH242H 24":

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-023-AS&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

moody89 · 8 Nov 2011 at 17:40

Looks a solid build to me. Agree with mp260767, you can swap the memory for lower profile stuff just to make sure it doesn't interfere with your cooler. 650W should be plenty for that build. You could probably even drop to a 550W unit if you wanted to save a little cash. You may need a little more power if you intend to have a dual card setup in the future.

The front and rear fans that come with the 912 Plus should be fine for now. You may wish to add the 200mm fan in the roof as an extra exhaust fan at a later date and the side panel fan may help cool your GPU if you feel you need it.

As far as monitors go, I've heard nothing but good things about the LG IPS231P-BN. It's an IPS panel and should give far better quality than a TFT screen. It can be had for around £150, the only problem is that OcUK don't sell them so you'll have to look elsewhere if you wanted to go that route.

Hope this helps!

Reaper 392 · 8 Nov 2011 at 17:57

mp260767 said:
did you check the software pack that gives win 7 + hard drive ?

thats currently more expensive than buying win7 + HDD separately. i've already told 5UB and he's on the case

not sure where your getting those prices, because they're a hell of a lot better than over here (dont say where your getting them from, because your not allowed to talk about competitors here)

Mike P · 8 Nov 2011 at 20:14

mp260767 said:
check the Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB kit, the RipjawsX has the bigger heat spreaders and can sometimes cause issues with there proximity to the cpu cooler.

wouldn't bother with more fans, see how it performs once you've got it all set up, maybe check the case forum see if there are suggestions for the case your looking at.

Will take your advice on this and switch to the Corsair memory. Does it matter that it is 1600mhz instead of 1333? On Intel's website it says that the I5 supports 1333mhz max.

moody89 said:
As far as monitors go, I've heard nothing but good things about the LG IPS231P-BN. It's an IPS panel and should give far better quality than a TFT screen. It can be had for around £150, the only problem is that OcUK don't sell them so you'll have to look elsewhere if you wanted to go that route.

I've read a bit about LED backlit screens and a few people say that whites can look blue etc. Is this just people nit picking or is it actually a concern?

Thanks for all the help so far!

mp260767 · 8 Nov 2011 at 23:28

Mike P said:
Does it matter that it is 1600mhz instead of 1333?

no, it will be fine, plenty of people running the same sets.

Mike P · 9 Nov 2011 at 01:07

Final order:

Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155 1 £140.15
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Intel Z68 1 £124.68
1GB MSI GTX 560Ti OC Twin Frozr II 1 £149.79
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 PC3-1 1 £34.80
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO, 4 Heat 1 £19.98
Coolermaster Silencio RC-550 Mid To 1 £52.95
Samsung WriteMaster SH-S222AB/BEBE 1 £12.39
1TB Western Digital WD10EALX Caviar 1 £82.97
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium UP 1 £71.07
Antec Silicone Thermal Compound - F 1 £4.96
650W PSU, OCZ Technology ZS Series 1 £46.65
1.5m Ross HDMI to HDMI Cable 1.3b G 1 £3.98
----------------------------------------------------------
Net Total £758.35
Carriage £13.98
Total £910.02

Changed a couple of bits as the site I ordered from didn't have the Crucial ram and went for a slightly cheaper but still well reviewed PSU.

Thanks for all the advice!

dalehitchy1 · 9 Nov 2011 at 01:18

Looks like the build I've just ordered buddy.... Except I went with the HAF x and a different cooler.

fowler002 · 9 Nov 2011 at 01:56

Mike P said:
Final order:

Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155 1 £140.15
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Intel Z68 1 £124.68
1GB MSI GTX 560Ti OC Twin Frozr II 1 £149.79
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 PC3-1 1 £34.80
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO, 4 Heat 1 £19.98
Coolermaster Silencio RC-550 Mid To 1 £52.95
Samsung WriteMaster SH-S222AB/BEBE 1 £12.39
1TB Western Digital WD10EALX Caviar 1 £82.97
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium UP 1 £71.07
Antec Silicone Thermal Compound - F 1 £4.96
650W PSU, OCZ Technology ZS Series 1 £46.65
1.5m Ross HDMI to HDMI Cable 1.3b G 1 £3.98
----------------------------------------------------------
Net Total £758.35
Carriage £13.98
Total £910.02

Changed a couple of bits as the site I ordered from didn't have the Crucial ram and went for a slightly cheaper but still well reviewed PSU.

Thanks for all the advice!

sorry but bad move on the psu, I'm sure people will say the ocz is good but I'd rather pay extra on corsair etc.

arctic silver mx-2 mx-3 or mx-4(even acs5) would have been better choice on the thermal paste, tho theere should already be some with/on the cooler so not needed until you come o change mb/cpu/etc.