So I've been shopping around a bit last night and all day today for prices and specs on parts and such. I'm sitting and reading about parts, but any descriptions aren't exactly helpful to me, because I don't know what people are building their machines to do.
I want a gaming build, but I probably won't be paying all of the latest games on ultra-high settings (hell, I've been happy playing on ultra-low settings just to get 10-20 FPS as of now) Ideally I'd like to be able to handle games like Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod and Minecraft on high settings with high FPS, whilst still being able to play other more demanding games (I'm partial to RTS), even if I have to sacrifice graphic quality in order to achieve high frames.
Budget is not an issue (maxing at about £750), but I seem to be drawn to expensive parts that I probably don't need, and I'll be oblivious to any compatibility issues until it's too late. I want a build that is reliable, economic (powerwise, also) and that will last. I don't mind paying a premium for reliable and proven parts, and I almost certainly won't be overclocking anything. Also, I'll be using it for multimedia programs like Photoshop, so being able to handle working large is a must.
Parts I've been looking at:
Zalman Z9 or Z11 cases (functionality > aesthetics all the way)
Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz Sandybridge (may be more then I need but is futureproof, right?)
Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (reliable and efficient, I believe)
Xigmatek Loki SD963 CPU Cooler (cheap, reliable and effective)
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3
Aerocool Shark Fan - 120mm (not sure how many or if I even need these)
Corsair 120GB SSD Force3 (I don't use much memory anyway, is it worth it?)
Radeon HD 7750 1GB (Sounds like all I'd need)
Obviously I'll need a motherboard of some kind and probably a wireless card and well, I'm looking forward to whatever response I could get from this.
I want a gaming build, but I probably won't be paying all of the latest games on ultra-high settings (hell, I've been happy playing on ultra-low settings just to get 10-20 FPS as of now) Ideally I'd like to be able to handle games like Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod and Minecraft on high settings with high FPS, whilst still being able to play other more demanding games (I'm partial to RTS), even if I have to sacrifice graphic quality in order to achieve high frames.
Budget is not an issue (maxing at about £750), but I seem to be drawn to expensive parts that I probably don't need, and I'll be oblivious to any compatibility issues until it's too late. I want a build that is reliable, economic (powerwise, also) and that will last. I don't mind paying a premium for reliable and proven parts, and I almost certainly won't be overclocking anything. Also, I'll be using it for multimedia programs like Photoshop, so being able to handle working large is a must.
Parts I've been looking at:
Zalman Z9 or Z11 cases (functionality > aesthetics all the way)
Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz Sandybridge (may be more then I need but is futureproof, right?)
Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (reliable and efficient, I believe)
Xigmatek Loki SD963 CPU Cooler (cheap, reliable and effective)
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3
Aerocool Shark Fan - 120mm (not sure how many or if I even need these)
Corsair 120GB SSD Force3 (I don't use much memory anyway, is it worth it?)
Radeon HD 7750 1GB (Sounds like all I'd need)
Obviously I'll need a motherboard of some kind and probably a wireless card and well, I'm looking forward to whatever response I could get from this.
