Looking to build a new gaming PC

iaincarsberg

iaincarsberg

iaincarsberg

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Joined
27 Jan 2013
Posts
6
Hey all, I've been wanting to build a new pc for a while now. Having spent the past few years using MBP's for work I find myself slightly insecure as to what I should grab.

During the summer months a group of friends regularly meet up for BBQ and gaming, so I'm wanting to stick to the Prodigy case, but everything else is fair game.

Basically I need a complete system, I have an old unused copy of Windows XP MCE, hence only needing an upgrade to Windows 8. Oh and I have a keyboard and speakers so I don't need them.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey **1yr Warranty** £259.99
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £161.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe (Socket 1155/Intel Z77.DDR3/S-ATA 600/Mini ITX) £159.98
1 x Seasonic X-Series 650w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £114.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD £95.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £66.98
1 x Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Edition - from XP SP3 / Vista / Windows 7 £39.98
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £35.99
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £27.98
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
4 x Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Focused Flow PWM Cooling Fan £15.98 (£63.92)
1 x BitFenix Spectre 230mm Fan - Black £12.98
Total : £1,519.62 (includes shipping : £19.10).



Ideally I'd like this computer to be near silent, which is why I have opted for the h100i with 4 NF-F12's in push/pull. These will go in the top of the case, excusing heat through the roof.

I've read that the h100 sometimes emits a grinding noise, has this been fixed in the h100i revision? A random post alluded that this was a symptom that the 12volt rail wasn't overly stable, is the Seasonic PSU likely to solve this issue?

My hope is that this machine will last me at least two years, though I understand if I want to continue running max settings at 1080p I may need to grab a new card in a year or so, as the next gen of consoles is likely to push system requirements up.

I plan on ordering today or tomorrow, so fingers crossed I've not picked anything too stupid :D
 
I really like the thought you have put into your build. I've made some changes for you:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD128BW) £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £93.98
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
Total : £301.76 (includes shipping : £9.00).



SSD - Is quicker compared to the basic, pro version would be the one to go for
Mobo - Gigabyte boards are better value & you get UK RMA
PSU - Dont need a 650, the G-Series 550 will be fine for what you are building.

You could also look at the fanless PSU here:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-035-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383

Seasonic is the daddy of PSU's cannot go wrong with them at all. There is also a 450 & 400w version.

If you want silent, you could also throw in a BitFenix Recon. It allows you to have multiple profiles, depending on what you are doing and you can switch the fans off by lowering the RPM to 0.
 
Except for the changes made above which are really good the only thng i would say is that if your bothered about matching colors i would suggest getting some Corsair SP120's and they're really good aswell, super silent and keep my stuff cool.
 
i'd be more bothered about heat than noise in those sff cases.

nice monitor as well, but only 1 year warranty, then i'd look elsewhere and pick another one with a longer warranty.

the fanless psu will make it dead quiet, but cost more to start off with, but being platinum it would pay for itself over time with power/bills saved etc
 
Wow that was a quick reply :D

Going to take your advice on the PSU and SSD, wasn't sure if 650 was overkill for this computer.

Need to do some more reading into the Z77N-WIFI, originally picked the Asus because of the daughter board giving more power regulation, am working on the assumption that more is better for overclocking.


One thing I just realised, how am I going to power all these fans, the Z77N only has two fan sockets. Do I need to add a fan controller to power the 5/6 fans, or can they be daisy chained using the Y splitters that come with the NF-F12's and plugged into the motherboard?
 
One thing; you have chosen the OEM 3570k not the retail. As you are using another cpu cooler the only real advantage is 3 years warranty vs 1 year, so if you feel the extra £18 is worth it go for it.
 
So thats all ordered.

Stuck with the Asus motherboard, did some reading into the Z77N-WIFI and its not been overclocking amazingly well. My intention isn't to push this overly hard, but it gives me a warm feeling knowing that its only me limiting the hardware :)

Decided to get a Dell U2412M vs the U2410, cost less and came with a better warrantee.

Not 100% how I'm going to wire up the fans, because the h100i takes up most of the top of the case I wasn't sure I could fit in a BitFenix Recon, so I ordered two PWM Fan Splitter Cable.

Thanks everyone who commented, looking forward to the postman knocking on my door :D
 
iaincarsberg said:
Wow that was a quick reply :D

Going to take your advice on the PSU and SSD, wasn't sure if 650 was overkill for this computer.

Need to do some more reading into the Z77N-WIFI, originally picked the Asus because of the daughter board giving more power regulation, am working on the assumption that more is better for overclocking.


One thing I just realised, how am I going to power all these fans, the Z77N only has two fan sockets. Do I need to add a fan controller to power the 5/6 fans, or can they be daisy chained using the Y splitters that come with the NF-F12's and plugged into the motherboard?
Click to expand...

The fans will come with a 3-4 pin adapter so no need for a controller, unless you have the desire to change the speed of the fans.

iaincarsberg said:
Do you think the 230mm intake and the duel 120mm push/pull exhaust will be enough?
Click to expand...

What cooler you going for? The H80i on the back and 2x120 on the top would be better. I would think. H100 is overpriced.
 
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