First PC build advice on spec? £1050max

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:14

So I was going to buy my first gaming pc, the INSANITY Gamer Pro (moving away from consoles) but was reccomened to build a better system for the same price pretty much (£1000ish area) and i've just received my student loan so i'm now ready to buy!
I'm not going to say I really have a big idea about 'the best parts' so I'm looking for some advice on building the best pc for my money.

Budget is about £1050 however if it's cheaper it's fine too

looking at the build i'm currently going for can anyone reccomend any improvements? I do want a gaming rig to run games like Farcry 3 on ultra, so looking for the improvment on the Insanity like I said.

Build:
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £53.99
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99

Total : £1,043.34

I was thinking about waiting until the new week sale starts but I'm not sure if I should?

MORE SPEED · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:19

Are you going to be crossfiring that 7950 in the future?

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:22

MORE SPEED said:
Are you going to be crossfiring that 7950 in the future?

I was looking into it but it wouldn't be for a while since after this I won't have too much money

077tommy · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:23

Hi just a thought, you might want to go for this hdd rather than the on you put up its the 2tb versions and its not much more expensive.

Also you may want to think about downgrading the os to windows 7 and spend the money you save on a better psu. My advice with psu's is to buy the best you can afford so that you can upgrade an over clock without being limited buy it (I love the xfx pus's, i've got an 850 watt in my comp).

Finally get some bitfenix alchemy lights to go with your colour scheme as they look great !!!

MORE SPEED · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:32

If a while is longer than a year, I'd be looking to save some cash now and just go for a single card setup. That way you can lower the cost of the motherboard and power supply.

snips86x · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:35

Wizziokid said:
So I was going to buy my first gaming pc, the INSANITY Gamer Pro (moving away from consoles) but was reccomened to build a better system for the same price pretty much (£1000ish area) and i've just received my student loan so i'm now ready to buy!
I'm not going to say I really have a big idea about 'the best parts' so I'm looking for some advice on building the best pc for my money.

Budget is about £1050 however if it's cheaper it's fine too

looking at the build i'm currently going for can anyone reccomend any improvements? I do want a gaming rig to run games like Farcry 3 on ultra, so looking for the improvment on the Insanity like I said.

Build:
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £53.99
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99

Total : £1,043.34

I was thinking about waiting until the new week sale starts but I'm not sure if I should?

Personally, I think you've got a great build there. Windows 7 & 8 are the same price, but your choice.

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:40

MORE SPEED said:
If a while is longer than a year, I'd be looking to save some cash now and just go for a single card setup. That way you can lower the cost of the motherboard and power supply.

I'm going to see how money goes, since i get one more loan I may be able to afford it sooner that a year

R-evans · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:41

Few changes, cheaper but just as good. Kept windows 8, took me a while to get use to it but I love it now.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £107.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £78.98
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Phanteks PH-TC12DX CPU Cooler - Blue (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £44.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £1,010.92 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:41

snips86x said:
Personally, I think you've got a great build there. Windows 7 & 8 are the same price, but your choice.

thanks, I may upgrade to a 2gb hdd just for that extra storage (which i personally could use)

R-evans · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:50

Wizziokid said:
thanks, I may upgrade to a 2gb hdd just for that extra storage (which i personally could use)

2GB might not be enough

honosuseri · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:50

That's quite a nice spec there

If you are going to uni maybe you might like something a little more portable though......

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £94.99
1 x NZXT KRAKEN X40 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 140mm (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM3+ / FM1) £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,057.44 (includes shipping : £10.50).

triggerthat · 7 Jan 2013 at 13:51

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £107.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler(Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £931.87 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 14:03

honosuseri said:
That's quite a nice spec there

If you are going to uni maybe you might like something a little more portable though......

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £94.99
1 x NZXT KRAKEN X40 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 140mm (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM3+ / FM1) £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £64.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,057.44 (includes shipping : £10.50).

Yeah my girlfriend tells me to get a laptop but I'm just not a fan of them, besides this is my last year, It wouldn't be worth getting one now when I only have 4 or 5 month left and I'll not want to use it anymore ^^

I like that build! i may still upgrade the hdd to 2gb and maybe change case to compinsate for the price, any other recomendations on a case?
ps: whats the difference between the two motherboards i.e the one i had and this one you chose?

MORE SPEED · 7 Jan 2013 at 14:20

The last one is ITX which is designed to fit inside smaller cases such as (well, not really

) the Bitfenix Prodigy.

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 16:34

Kind of went over budgest here :/ need to make more changes, would it be worth going for the ITX motherboard over the one I have here? want to have a decent future proof one (even though nothing is future proof)

honosuseri · 7 Jan 2013 at 16:41

I used the Kraken as on the little mini-itx mobos fitting tower coolers is a pain. If you use a bigger mobo and case use an aircooler like the K2 Mount doom you had to start, better value mate.

Your mobo choice can run dual GPUs but the PSU doesn't have enough grunt to run two 7950s. If you aren't bothered about xfire then that's cool the seasonic is a lovely PSU but you could save a few quid on the mobo

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 17:20

honosuseri said:
I used the Kraken as on the little mini-itx mobos fitting tower coolers is a pain. If you use a bigger mobo and case use an aircooler like the K2 Mount doom you had to start, better value mate.

Your mobo choice can run dual GPUs but the PSU doesn't have enough grunt to run two 7950s. If you aren't bothered about xfire then that's cool the seasonic is a lovely PSU but you could save a few quid on the mobo

what sort of psu are you looking at for two graphics cards or the crossfire upgrade? I'm trying to find a cheaper case but I like the breathing space on this one for the time when i want to add more fans.

the Seasonic M12II 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply is around £22 more expernsive, is that wort the upscale or

stulid · 7 Jan 2013 at 17:23

Wizziokid said:
what sort of psu are you looking at for two graphics cards or the crossfire upgrade? I'm trying to find a cheaper case but I like the breathing space on this one for the time when i want to add more fans.

the Seasonic M12II 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply is around £22 more expernsive, is that wort the upscale or

650-700W+.

So the Seasonic you mention will be fine.

If you want a cheaper case with some space then the BitFenix Shinobi is popular.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850&subcat=

honosuseri · 7 Jan 2013 at 17:33

If you like that case then go for it bud. The Corsair 300R is popular, I tend to favour the windowed shinobi

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Silverstone Strider Plus 850W Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply (SST-ST85F-P) £116.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £78.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £53.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,101.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

PSU has ample power for dual high-end GPUs and it's modular and silver rated. You could well get away with 700-750W but i'm playing it uber safe as i don't know what you will have upgraded to down the line, you will have the PSU for a long time.

EDIT

It's hard spec'ing a PSU as so many of the usual suspects are out of stock

The seasonic 550W I used in the prodigy in it's reviews actually managed to get to 650W and it does have a healthy amount of amps on the 12V rail. I have a Bequiet L8 630W PSU which can do 700W according to it's review. Guess it depends on what you think you might upgrade to in the future fella

Wizziokid · 7 Jan 2013 at 17:46

Ok so the windowed shinobi (black) is out of stock so i went for the one Stulid reccomned as it has floor stands (the available windowed ones do not) and i also saw that you can buy the window pannel so if i want it in the future i can always do that. the build is a little over budget but im hoping with psu and motherboard etc i can upgrade it down the line with more ease (when i have money ofc).

This is what i currently have which is basically what you reccomened, i noticed that he SSD is a little slower but im not sure how much that will really matter.