My first build in 10 years need some help.

Buffalo Souljaa

Buffalo Souljaa

Buffalo Souljaa

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31 May 2013
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8
Hi all.
I am in the process of selecting parts for a mini itx gaming rig for under £1k.

Here is my list:

- i5 3570k £172
- AsRock Z77E-itx £117 OverClockers
- MSi GTX 660ti Power edition £235
- Western Digital Caviar Green 2tb £72
- Corsair Force GS 128gb SSD £100 OCs
- Corsair Vengeance 2x4gb £56
- Corsair Builder Series CX 600w (non modular) £60

- BitFenix Prodigy (black) £70 OCs
- BitFenix Recon £30 OCs
- BitFenix red/black mesh front. £14
- Corsair h80i £77


I am sorry if that looks a mess, trying to get use to the layout, (poor excuse, i know)

Now I have many questions regarding this build.

1- Will the PSU fit, I have choosen a non modular one because i have read the modular takes up a bit more room in the already cramped PSU case, and im pretty sure 600w is enough if i decide to overclock.

2- MoBo. Am i right in saying this has built in WiFi, and also a good enough sound card built in.
also the ram I have choosen, it wont be to high if i were to fit the Corsair h80i?

3- Fans. Would i need to add any additional fans? Im all for quite so I dont mind pay abit for the silance, would also like red leds if possible.

4- OS. This this really has me stumped but is more then likely very simple.
I want to install windows 8, but as you can see I have no disk-drive. Am i right in saying I can buy it digitally from windows on my laptop and pop it on a usb set the mobo to read USB to boot first and away i go. When I buy it from my laptop is it assigned to the laptop? this really has me stummped and like i said probs really simples.

I think thats everythink, I am really looking forward to building this and dont feel daunted at all. I have loads of time to get it right and I assume I have the Army of Overclockers behind me if I ever get stuck.

Thanks for taking the time to read my wall :D

Also I would need a 24" monitor mid price range, if any of you could recommend one that would be helpful. its like a minefield
 
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When you buy windows online you are just buying a key that can be used on any computer. You can then download the installer which will give you the option to create a USB or DVD install disk, which you then put on the computer your wanting to use.

Word of warning regarding the installer, If your laptop is 32bit windows then the installer will download 32bit windows 8 which caught me out, I was able to use another laptop to get a 64bit thankfully. So be sure to download on a 64bit machine to make the most of your ram.
 
Yeah man, the PSU is fine, you don't need the modular as there is a compartment below the motherboard tray to hide the wires (although the modular probably would fit.
For the fans, I would recommend bitfenix spectre pros (the black ones with the red LEDs if you fancy that) and make sure they're the pros. If you want brighter lighting, pick up a red bitfenix alchemy LED strip (about £15 or so).
Make sure the RAM is 1600 MHz when you buy it (you might wanna hold off as RAM is really expensive at this point in time. You shouldn't have clearance issues with a h80i unless you put it in push-pull (I recommend pull), if so, get some low profile RAM (you might have to look around as I don't think corsair vengeance low profile is available in red (just get a well known brand).
As for the monitor, I have a 24 inch Asus VE247H that I am pretty happy with, it was about £140 and, although my particular monitor does suffer from ghosting, I think you should be alright :)
 
If this were my build, personally, I would switch the SSD to a Kingston HyperX 3K and wait for the 760ti to come out but that's just my personal preference. Other than that, though (when including all the above improvements in previous comments) that's a solid build that should last you a while :D
 
@PHazlington
just out of curiosity why would you go for the kingston? is it just preference?
Thanks for pointing out the fans they will do the job :)
as for the Ram I might just go with some low-profile ones just incase and will defo make sure they are 1600MHz.


Just to throw a spanner in the works should I wait a few more weeks for the Haswell.
I know its out now but there does not seem to be a lot of mini-itx mobos to fit the required 1150 socket. I need a mobo with WiFi and a half decent sound chip.

The monitor looks nice, I like the thin bezel around the screen. very sleek and a fair price.
Thanks
 
The CPU socket on that board is very close to the PCI-E slot. An AIO cooler like the Corsair H-series or the Kuhler/Kraken series will fit, but you're very limited on space for air coolers. Luckily, this does mean that RAM clearance won't be an issue though.

That PSU is only 140mm long by the looks of things so you should have plenty of room.

For downloading a copy of Windows, Microsoft provide a tool that you can use to turn the ISO file into a bootable USB drive. You can use a guide like this one: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/install-windows-8-usb.htm
 
Buffalo Souljaa said:
@PHazlington
just out of curiosity why would you go for the kingston? is it just preference?
Thanks for pointing out the fans they will do the job :)
as for the Ram I might just go with some low-profile ones just incase and will defo make sure they are 1600MHz.


Just to throw a spanner in the works should I wait a few more weeks for the Haswell.
I know its out now but there does not seem to be a lot of mini-itx mobos to fit the required 1150 socket. I need a mobo with WiFi and a half decent sound chip.

The monitor looks nice, I like the thin bezel around the screen. very sleek and a fair price.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah, no problem dude. Yeah, Haswell would get you socket 1150 for more upgrade-ability but really, in games, the performance difference is maximum about 3fps more than Ivybridge so if you dont need to then don't feel you have to.

As far as the mobo goes, the only one with Wi-Fi on overclockers is this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-116-AK and to be honest, I can't see any real world benefits of upgrading to Haswell as the price increase could give you more money to spend elsewhere (such as GFX card *cough*700series*cough* ;) or just to save a bit.

As for the SSD, yes the Kingston is just out of preference as I have heard lots of good things about them although the Corsair will be fine and dandy as my friend has one and hasn't had any problems with it.

Kaku pointed out that RAM clearance shouldn't be a problem so any RAM you want :)

Something I forgot about the fans: If you're gonna put new fans on the H80i (which I suggest you do), make them Corsair SP120's or, preferably, Silverstone Air-Penetrators. (if you're going to put one fan on the rad then make it pull and not push - just a side note :P)

The monitor is a massive fingerprint magnet and colour reproduction is ever so slightly washed out and the on board UI is horrificly hard to master but, as far as value for money goes, there's not much else in the same avenue.

The sound on the motherboard you picked out should be fine, it is a realtek codec but it should be just fine, it might be better to ask someone else about that because I'm not a massive audiophile myself :/

Anyways, have fun building it when you get around to it :D
 
PHazlington said:
As far as the mobo goes, the only one with Wi-Fi on overclockers is this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-116-AK and to be honest
Click to expand...

I really hope you DO NOT buy that mobo. Thats not a good idea!
@PHazlington
You gave him a Z87 1150 socket Mobo when he will be buying a i5 3570k. I recommend this Z77 1155 ITX mobo: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-066-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071
But if you have a few more pennies, I really recommend this. I have heard its amazing for overclocking because of the side mounted DIGI+ VRM.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-530-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071

I would recommend a modular PSU becuase i have heard some stories of non-mod PSU's not fitting. Maybe a Modular version of the one you choose you be amazing, Corsair really do make solid products :)
 
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JCX50 said:
I really hope you DO NOT buy that mobo. Thats not a good idea!
@PHazlington
You gave him a Z87 1150 socket Mobo when he will be buying a i5 3570k. I recommend this Z77 1155 ITX mobo: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-066-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071
But if you have a few more pennies, I really recommend this. I have heard its amazing for overclocking because of the side mounted DIGI+ VRM.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-530-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071

I would recommend a modular PSU becuase i have heard some stories of non-mod PSU's not fitting. Maybe a Modular version of the one you choose you be amazing, Corsair really do make solid products :)
Click to expand...

I see you found me you steaming pillock ;) I recommended that board for if he decided to go with Haswell so you can fill your mouth with socks ahhaa and yes the I-Deluxe is good but it's also very expensive and doesn't fit the overall colour scheme WHADDAYATHINKOFTHAT?! :P
 
JCX50 said:
I really hope you DO NOT buy that mobo. Thats not a good idea!
@PHazlington
You gave him a Z87 1150 socket Mobo when he will be buying a i5 3570k. I recommend this Z77 1155 ITX mobo: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-066-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071
But if you have a few more pennies, I really recommend this. I have heard its amazing for overclocking because of the side mounted DIGI+ VRM.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-530-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071

I would recommend a modular PSU becuase i have heard some stories of non-mod PSU's not fitting. Maybe a Modular version of the one you choose you be amazing, Corsair really do make solid products :)
Click to expand...

Oh and earlier in the thread, I said you'd recommend your SSD (this was an assumption) and since you're here, would you?
 
So I did the build just now and I make it to be £804.92 without a graphics card (as mentioned before, I would wait for the 760ti, expect this to be about £240 minimum) and yes that is a cheeky Kingston HyperX in there (again, personal preference, it has a higher write speed than the Corsair and it's £1 cheaper).
Also I went for the Patriot RAM as it was the same price as the black and white LP Corsair Vengeance but the Black Corsair has a higher CAS latency than the white LP Corsair and the Patriot which both have the same latency but I assumed that the white Corsair Ram wouldn't fit your colour scheme :)

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail: £149.99

ASRock Z77E-ITX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard: £116.99

Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD (SH103S3/120GB): £98.99

Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s - OEM (WD20EZRX) HDD: £76.99

Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler: £76.99

BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black: £69.95

Corsair Builder Series CX 600W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' PSU (CP-9020048-UK): £59.99

Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz (PV38G160C9K): £59.99

BitFenix Recon Internet-Connected Fan Controller (Black): £29.99

Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - 2 Pack (CO-9050006-WW): £25.99

BitFenix Mesh Front Panel for Prodigy Case - Black/Red: £12.98

BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan Red LED - Black: £11.99

Sub Total: £659.02
Shipping: £11.75
VAT: £134.15
Total: £804.92

Obviously with a GPU included, this would take you about £50 beyond £1k so yeaaaaah, idk where you wanna go from here :)
 
Sooo whens the 760ti due.
Uhh might just wait, but its always a waiting game. Very tempting.

just noticed the 3570k is now £150. going to buy that now. and the case seeing as i am going with that.
That list is very helpful, thanks for that.
 
Get the 3570K if you buy it before the ones on the today only offer go out of stock.
Otherwise buy a 4670K and a socket 1150 board as Haswell is the replacement for Ivybridge and is very similarly priced.
 
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