First build.

Combat Butler

Combat Butler

Combat Butler

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Joined
28 May 2011
Posts
28
This is my first time building a computer but after reading guides I feel confident enough to be able to do it. I would like for you to recommend the parts you think I should buy; even basic parts such as thermal paste; I will be buying the components with the next 2 weeks. My budget is about £1000; it is flexible so I am willing to go higher if necessary.

The computer will be primarily for gaming, watching HD movies and a small amount of video encoding as well as mundane tasks such as browsing the web and such. I would like for the computer to be future proof for at least a few years.

I need everything necessary to build a computer including an OS, I don’t need a keyboard, mouse or monitor however. I would prefer if the computer had a large amount of storage space.
Thank you.
 
XFX ATI Radeon 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
(£166.66) £199.99
(£166.66)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £98.99
(£82.49) £98.99
(£82.49)
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £87.98
(£73.32)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £820.73
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £166.90
Total : £1,001.38

that would be a nice system and you could save about £150 if you only want one hard drive and dont get an ssd but that took you nicely to your budget :)
 
Last edited:
something like this could go well. the Z68 board will help with the video editing. it will also be able to use the small SSD for smart caching (this wont improve boot up time, but will improve loading time once you have booted up)
it can also do SLI if you want a graphics boost (although the 570 is one of the most powerful cards around)

2TB of storage. the drives are a different make, so i dont know that will affect your raid options (but raid probably isnt the best for storage drives)


Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
(£199.99) £239.99
(£199.99)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
OCZ Agility Series 30GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT30G) £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £821.89
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £167.13
Total : £1,002.77

feel free to criticise this build, because it just doesnt seem right to me
 
Yeah pretty much that ^^ (Pholy's build - reapers wasn't there when I wrote this:))but if you want some more headroom on the PSU for future upgrades (CF/SLI. etc) then go for a bigger PSU, perhaps an XFX Pro 850W Core Edition Power Supply or a modular version - XFX 850W Black Edition Modular Power Supply £118.99

Are there any parts you can salvage from your current machine such as HDD or DVD drive? That would mean you could take out the DVD drive and one of the HDDs from Pholy's build and chuck in the XFX modular 850W and you'd be at £1010 roughly (if my mental arithmetic hasn't failed me:p)
 
Unfortunately I can't salvage any parts from this computer because I will be giving it away after I build this one. Its a rather old computer too. Which build do you think is best?
 
Last edited:
Combat Butler said:
Unfortunately I can't salvage any parts from this computer because I will be giving it away after I build this one.
Click to expand...

When do you plan on buying because the motherboard Pholy specced isn't in stock at the moment.

What storage space did you used to have? Because large storage space is relative to what your already used to, if you get what I mean lol
 
Combat Butler said:
I'm going to be buying it by the end of next week probably on Friday. My computer currently has 100GB of storage space.
Click to expand...

I would imagine they had some on store by then if you do like the sound of his build.

Make sure to come back then for a revision on the spec as the weekly deals will change on Wednesday so you may be able to save some pennies:D

1TB should be plenty for you then (10 times your current space :eek: lol)

So here's my effort:


MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game £205.99

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99

Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £148.98

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £79.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99

XFX Pro 750W Core Edition Power Supply £72.98

Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99

OCZ Agility Series 30GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT30G) £44.99

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99

Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99

Cooler Master CM-690 II Case Window Side Panel £17.99

Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98

Total : £985.86 (includes shipping : £12.50)





Z68 motherboard with a 30GB SSD for same reasons as Reaper (but this board is in stock:D) it also is Crossfire/SLI capable (running at x8x8 speeds) and has 4 SATA III ports to connect all your drives up to.

XMS3 RAM won't interfere with your CPU cooler as the RipJawsX may.

I went with a Gelid Tranquillo just to give you another option but the Corsair A50 is a fine choice also.

The 650 Twin Frozr III is flashable to 6970 apparently, but even if it isn't it's a very capable card and will allow you to connect up to 3 monitors with 1 card (if that's an option down the road, Nvidia will give you option of 3D gaming, choice is yours)

As said, 1TB HDD.

A good case with an added windowed side panel, feel free to take that off if your not into that sort of thing, will also allow you to keep to budget if your remove that and want the GTX 570.

And to finish, a very good, Seasonic designed PSU:)

But as I said at the start (if you can remember that far back:D), make sure to come back on the day to get a spec revision.
 
Reaper 392 said:
something like this could go well. the Z68 board will help with the video editing. it will also be able to use the small SSD for smart caching (this wont improve boot up time, but will improve loading time once you have booted up)
it can also do SLI if you want a graphics boost (although the 570 is one of the most powerful cards around)

2TB of storage. the drives are a different make, so i dont know that will affect your raid options (but raid probably isnt the best for storage drives)


Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
(£199.99) £239.99
(£199.99)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
OCZ Agility Series 30GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT30G) £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £821.89
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £167.13
Total : £1,002.77

feel free to criticise this build, because it just doesnt seem right to me
Click to expand...

Buy this.

Best spec here.
 
sk82jack said:
The 650 Twin Frozr III is flashable to 6970 apparently, but even if it isn't it's a very capable card and will allow you to connect up to 3 monitors with 1 card (if that's an option down the road, Nvidia will give you option of 3D gaming, choice is yours)
Click to expand...

6950 twin frozr III will NOT flash into a 6970.

theres a very large thread of very angry people who have this card and couldnt flash it.
 
Just my two pence.

As its going to be a gaming machine, the current gen games are all pretty much console-ports so even a Socket 775 system with a decent graphics card will do just fine but as its all moved on to the Intel i Series now, something like the i5 would be a good cpu choice.

Intel chipsets seem to rule the mobo roost now so not much choice. The old nvidia chipsets wernt much good anyway.

Min of 2gig ram, go with Windows 7 or XP, stay well away from Vista.

Thermal paste wise, Arctic Silver (99% silver) is a good bet, cheap and efficient.

PSU, minimum of 500W, something like 600W would be fine. Seasonic make awesome PSU's.

GFX cards, the Nvidia GTX series seem very popular lately.

Cases are purely a personal choice, either something that looks super duper or just plain and nasty, a 'sleeper' case, looks plain to the eye but is a power house inside. Main concern would be air flow through the case. Have an intake fan at the front and an exhaust fan at the rear.

By the looks of things the other posters have given good shopping lists to get you started.

HTH's.
 
I have put together this preliminary build after reading the spec you all have given me, I wanted to run this by you to see if it is any good,
looking at the previous builds having two 1TB harddrives is a bit much, only one is enough. I will still be buying the components this week I just wanted to know if this build works.

Your basket
Product Name
MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£239.99
(£199.99)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
(£144.99)
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £148.98
(£124.15)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
£79.99
(£66.66)
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL )
£79.99
(£66.66)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black C
£59.99
(£49.99)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply
£50.99
(£42.49)
OCZ Agility Series 30GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT30G)
£44.99
(£37.49)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66)
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
£27.98
(£23.32)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Case Window Side Panel
£17.99
(£14.99)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£15.98
(£13.32)
Arctic Silver Thermal Epoxy (7g)
£9.98
(£8.32)

Sub Total : £829.03
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £168.56
Total : £1,011.34
 
I'm going to be buying the component this weekend and would like final input on whether the parts are correct.

I was thinking for trading out the Samsung spinpoint for a Seagate HDD because I heard the Seagate are less prone to breaking down and I was told that I would need a bigger PSU to power the components I have chosen.
 
The A50 will most likely come with pre-applied thermal paste so no need to buy seperate. The Corsair coolers usually have good pre-applied thermal paste too.
 
Managed to fit a 60GB SSD in there:D

The Seagate HDD isn't in stock but I've never seen a complaint on here about the F3, so I included it anyway.

600w is fine for a single GPU set-up, but this Antec is a lot better than the OCZ and would probably be able to output a bit more than 600w if asked, but that won't happen unless you add in a second graphics card.

This has a Z68 board with onboard graphics and Lucid Virtu which means it has Quick Sync Video too, should you need it.

Cheaper RAM, same performance.

OEM CPU to keep the cost down, change it back to retail if you wish.

As said above, A50 comes with pre-applied thermal compound

MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.98

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £155.99

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.00

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99

OCZ Vertex 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-1VTX60G) £79.99

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99

Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £49.99

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99

Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £27.98

Cooler Master CM-690 II Case Window Side Panel £17.99

Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98

Total : £1,014.37 (includes shipping : £13.75)

 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot for the list, I was under the impression Asus motherboards were harder to deal with then something from gigabyte. Also, What is the difference between the OEM and retail CPU?
 
OEM doesn't come with a stock cooler and only comes with 1 year retail but generally if a CPU doesn't work, it will be straight away or if you let it overheat too much or something.
 
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