Mid Level System - £750+

Flucty · 14 Jul 2012 at 12:48

First time builder, looking for some builds/opinions for a mid level system. Price doesn't really matter, I don't want a system that's too over the top, just a system that will run games on high settings with high fps without any difficulty.

I already have a 1920 x 1080 monitor and all peripherals, just looking for a tower.

The only component I have chosen is the case, which will be the Fractal R3 - Black Pearl.

I've done a bit of research on Intel vs AMD and AMD vs Nvidia.. If anyone has a little infomation to add about the different companies then please do post it with the build.

Thank you in advance for your time if you decide to post.

olivier renault · 14 Jul 2012 at 13:03

MSI and gigabyte have UK RMA support.

Corsair PSUs always a first choice.

Forget AMD on your budget. Or any budget.

In your price range, a 670 looks the ticket.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC) £309.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £89.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £89.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £79.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9B) £44.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £1,071.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Lots of variations possible, but that's the target. higer tier GPU (7970 / 670 / 680), 3570K, good quality Z77, 8GB, 128GB SSD, 2TB storage drive (or 1TB), decent PSU (this one does SLI / crossfire), and decent cooler (this depends how far you want to go).

I prefer the shrouded reference designs for a closed case like the R3. If it was the Carbide 500R with lots of airflow, then a KFA EX OC would probably be my choice.

TBH, I'd love to see if people have tried a KFA EX OC in a R3 and got good case and CPU temps.

Flucty · 14 Jul 2012 at 13:23

Excellent, cheers for the fast reply. Lots of relevant infomation and something to work on.

I may try the KFA EX OC, will post results if I do.

Flucty · 15 Jul 2012 at 18:18

Why do I need SLI/Crossfire if I only have one graphics card?

Is the Gigabyte 670 better than the MSI?

I also plan on overclocking, is this build ok to do that?

Are there better cases for your money than the R3?

olivier renault · 15 Jul 2012 at 19:29

Flucty said:
Why do I need SLI/Crossfire if I only have one graphics card?

You don't but you can in the future. To be fair, I think Crossfire / SLI is unnecessary for single screen gaming (different story for triple displays). You can get a cheaper PSU. The point is, given your budget, you have a bit of wiggle to add good quality components. But you can save about £75-£50 on the motherboard and PSU if you are not interested in SLI and fancy motherboards.

Is the Gigabyte 670 better than the MSI?

I suppose. The 670 Windforce is generally considered the card to get. Probably quieter and a lot cooler.

I also plan on overclocking, is this build ok to do that?

Sure. Should give you 4.2-4.4GHz. The motherboard is made for overclocking. Can get a bigger cooler if you want to experiment higher.

Are there better cases for your money than the R3?

I like my 500R. If you are looking for a case similar to the R3, the Obsidian 550D is very nice. Same problem with noise dampened cases, to keep internal temps low, better have a card that exhaust all heat outside the case than leak air inside the case. Although as I said, I would like to see a direct comparison with both types of cards, on system and CPU temps inside a R3 / 550D.

Flucty · 17 Jul 2012 at 10:25

I'll only be doing single screen and maybe duel screen gaming.

I'm unsure about which Motherboard and PSU to choose if I don't need crossfire/SLI.

Flucty · 17 Jul 2012 at 10:32

I'll probably stick with the R3 also as I've heard good things.

tamzzy · 17 Jul 2012 at 10:35

if you are intending not to sli (ever)
this should do fine

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
Total : £137.47 (includes shipping : £8.75).

imo, i wouldnt get a 'green' hdd, they have less performance than a 'standard' 7200 hdd iirc, i'd probably go for something like

YOUR BASKET
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £99.98
Total : £108.68 (includes shipping : £7.25).

olivier renault · 17 Jul 2012 at 12:05

get the 600W version (40A). 500W is cutting a bit short (34A).

Z77-D3H, or Z77X-D3H. Either should do well. Z77X has SLI capabilities, but besides that it's a good motherboard.

Stretch to the Gigabyte 670 Windforce.

tamzzy · 17 Jul 2012 at 12:10

olivier renault said:
get the 600W version (40A). 500W is cutting a bit short (34A).

.

o yea, that's true. my bad