Gaming PC Build Advice

IanAye · 23 Jun 2013 at 01:01

Hey everyone,

My friend tasked me with coming up with a build for his gaming PC today as he isn't very tech savvy. I however, have never built my own machine before (will hopefully be doing so in the future) and thus am not sure if what I've came up with will be fully compatible in the sense of which parts work together. Also, I'm not sure on whether the parts I've chosen are reliable and the best option for around their price.

I'd just like to know if the parts are compatible& future-proof, and if the resulting machine will perform well with high graphics games (Crysis, Battlefield, Skyrim etc). I'd hate to lead him in the wrong direction so any advice on this build would be GREATLY appreciated.

If there are any better parts that are cheaper but have the same effect that would also be great.

Also, I'm unsure as to whether network/sound cards etc are required as extras?

Build:

Thanks in advance guys.

snips86x · 23 Jun 2013 at 10:42

Building a machine which is future proof is kind of impossible. This is due to technology, software/games always changing, it's a matter of making do.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11199-16-20G) £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH128GCST) £89.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1866C10DC) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A [BW] Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £24.98
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £803.89 (includes shipping : £12.50).

On-board sound is pretty good now and all motherboards will have a LAN connection.

Deleted member 2277 · 23 Jun 2013 at 13:06

If you shop around you can get a 2Gb GTX 660 with Metro last light for ****, most reviews show this card as been as fast as a 7870, you could save yourself some money. Unfortunately I can't mention competitors or prices.

IanAye · 23 Jun 2013 at 17:24

snips86x said:
Building a machine which is future proof is kind of impossible. This is due to technology, software/games always changing, it's a matter of making do.

Yeah I understand that, I should have phrased it differently. What I mean is will this build last a decent while?

Deleted member 2277 said:
If you shop around you can get a 2Gb GTX 660 with Metro last light for ****, most reviews show this card as been as fast as a 7870, you could save yourself some money. Unfortunately I can't mention competitors or prices.

Yeah I'll have a look around, I've already gotten this build down to about £720 by shopping about.

Any opinions on the current build at all?

Deleted member 2277 · 23 Jun 2013 at 17:34

I personally would go for the 3570K instead of the 4570 for similar money and overclock it, obliviously you would then need a Z77 board such as:

MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard @ £89.99 (I like MSI boards

)

IanAye · 23 Jun 2013 at 17:36

Deleted member 2277 said:
I personally would go for the 3570K instead of the 4570 for similar money and overclock it, obliviously you would then need a Z77 board such as:

MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard @ £89.99 (I like MSI boards )

Ahh see, if it was my build I'd be going for a k too and down the overclock path, but as it's my friend who doesn't know a lot about computers I opted against it haha.

I asked him if he'd be overclocking it and his reply was "say what???". I think it's safer to keep him away from all that.

snips86x · 23 Jun 2013 at 17:47

Something different, slightly over:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11199-16-20G) £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1866C10DC) £59.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q07B Mini-ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £743.36 (includes shipping : £11.25).

stulid · 23 Jun 2013 at 18:15

snips86x said:
Something different, slightly over:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11199-16-20G) £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1866C10DC) £59.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q07B Mini-ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £743.36 (includes shipping : £11.25).

Nice, but....

Did you see this gfx card? - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-185-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

And the case says it takes upto 180mm long cards, the MSi is 241mm, the Sapphire must be similar.

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q07/

Maximum Compatibility VGA Card length: 180mm
PSU length: 140mm
CPU cooler height: 70mm

P.S you might find even the psu is too big? (I've not checked its dimensions)

Idleman · 23 Jun 2013 at 18:27

stulid said:
P.S you might find even the psu is too big? (I've not checked its dimensions)

140mm x 86mm x 150mm

Should be fine.

stulid · 23 Jun 2013 at 18:34

If you take what snips has specced mostly and alter the case to fit and the gfx card and finally a unlocked CPU,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £194.99
1 x MSI HD 7870 Black Knight 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R7870-2GD5T/OC) £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £69.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1866C10DC) £59.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £781.46 (includes shipping : £10.50).

--------------------------------

Just a wee bit more money gets some seriously fast RAM,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £194.99
1 x MSI HD 7870 Black Knight 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R7870-2GD5T/OC) £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £109.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £69.95
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £787.46 (includes shipping : £10.50).

Worry about adding a aftermarket heatsink later and use the stock item.

snips86x · 23 Jun 2013 at 19:02

Nice find on the graphics card Stulid

Also, you can downgrade the CPU as he's not planning to overclock. That would bring the price down a little.