First build

gubz1992 · 29 Sep 2012 at 16:09

Hi all, looking to put together my first build and have put together a little basket on this site. Wondering if I could get a little help with it as I'm not entirely sure how good it'll be...
It won't be used for anything too high power, a little bit of gaming (things like DayZ, maybe Skyrim e.t.c) and a little bit of fairly basic sound and video editing for my uni course... little bit of music production that sorta thing.
Component list is as follows:

Motherboard: MSI H77MA-G43 Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX (£74.98)
Processor: Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 - Retail (£87.59)
Graphics Card: Gainward GeForce GT640 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express (£83.99)
RAM: Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) (£37.99)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) (£59.99)
PSU: OcUK Crusade 650W Dual-Rail High Efficiency '80 Plus' Power Supply (£49.99)
Case: Aerocool Qs-202 Midi Tower Case - Black (£39.98)
Priced at £448.61 on OverClockers (Inc. VAT and delivery)

Would be happy to change any of the parts...the case and PSU in particular I just added on quickly to finish off the build and to get a complete list.
It's come a little under my budget of £500-600 so I'd be prepared to get some more expensive parts if anyone would recommend something different.
Anyway, any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

Idleman · 29 Sep 2012 at 16:19

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £27.98
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £23.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £603.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Have you an OS or will you get it from the Uni?

Gav_881 · 29 Sep 2012 at 16:41

Just a note, if you dont go for something like idlemans spec then consider holding out for the trinity processors as your likely to get a better overall system for your money then the one you have chosen so far.

Graphics on a par with 640 and cpu power rumored to be at the I5 level on trinity

Idleman · 29 Sep 2012 at 16:48

The 640 is`nt even in the same league as the 7850.

gubz1992 · 29 Sep 2012 at 17:23

Yehh I can get my OS from my uni which is why I'm gonna put a little more money in to the build.
Also what are thoughts on an SSD. Unnecessary to begin with??

Idleman · 29 Sep 2012 at 17:31

If you can fit it in your budget, it makes for faster boot and loading times. A nice little addition.

tamzzy · 29 Sep 2012 at 17:35

once you go ssd, you'll never go back

gubz1992 · 29 Sep 2012 at 20:47

Will I need to get an extra cooler, or will the stock cooler with the CPU be sufficient? Just to start off, as I can always upgrade bits later

Gav_881 · 30 Sep 2012 at 13:44

Idleman said:
The 640 is`nt even in the same league as the 7850.

Never suggested it was, I said if he were not to go with the spec you suggested or similar then he should wait for trinity as the spec he had chosen in OP has performance on a par with trinity which should be a cheaper solution.