My First Build. Mistakes, suggestions?

PC Noob Theo

PC Noob Theo

PC Noob Theo

Associate
Joined
16 Jul 2011
Posts
22
Hello everyone, I am new to PC building and this will be my first build. I've been using a lot of guides and friends advice to put together a build list and I will be ordering it all soon.

I just wanted it to be looked over by people who know what they are doing before I do :P.

If anyone has any suggestions, concerns about compatibility or ANYTHING please say!

CPU: i5 2500k £163.71
GPU: XFX ATI Radeon 6950 XXX £179.99 link
MOBO: Asrock P67 PRO3 £89.46
RAM: G-Skill 4GB £35.99
HDD: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB £40.98
CDR: Sony Optiarc AD-5260S £14.99
CASE: Coolermaster Elite 330 £0.00 Bundle with the PSU
PSU: Coolermaster eXtreme Power 500W £56.99
DISP: Hanns-G HH221DP £92.99

Total: £675

I wanted the K version of the CPU combined with the motherboard so I can overclock in the future but for now I won't to save myself the cost of an extra fan. The main use of this build is for gaming, I don't play too many high graphics games but I want to be able to run Battlefield 3 at an acceptable level when it comes out.

My biggest concern right now is the PSU, everyone I spoke to said it would be fine until recently when I was told it wouldn't even work due to the Wattage being too low for the GPU! Is this true? If so it will be kinda devistating to my budget (Which is already streatched at £675) if I have to buy a more expensive one.

Any help appreciated!

Edit: Ah, I see a certain E merchant where I would be a BUYER isn't very popular here as all but one of the links are broken. Don't worry I will look around this site for better deals if they exist! Any links for better deals would also be appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT: REVISED BUILD

Phew, Ok then. Thanks so much guys! Only a few hours ago I was stressing out but it seems like with the other savings you lot have helped me with the price barely goes up even with the PSU and Case!! Unless I have added it up wrong.

So here we go, revised build.

CPU: i5 2500k £163.71 Other Website
GPU: XFX ATI Radeon 6950 XXX £179.99 link
MOBO: MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 £89.98 link
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 £29.99 link
HDD: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB £40.98 Other Website
OPTICAL DRIVE: Sony Optiarc AD-5260S £14.99 Other Website
CASE: Xigmatek Asgard All Black Interio/Exterior Mid Tower Case £28.99
PSU: BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W £44.99 link
MONITOR: OcUK V-Line 221V2SB 22" £83.99 link

Total: 677.61

I forgot to add that Windows 7 I already have avaliable.

What do you all think now? Looking better?
 
Last edited:
I would say the psu is the weak link there. Listed below are a couple of good ones for the price of one less McDonalds

Try the cosair 600w unit for only a couple of quid more http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-048-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

The antec 620w unit http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-148-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

You might get by with a 500w unit, but you'll be limited and worried when you come to change your graphics card or add a hard drive.

Also, you'll need to factor in the cost of a windows license(make sure you install the 64 bit version) unless you plan to use the one you have(a quick call to Microsoft will sort you out a new activation code)
 
Thanks, I removed the offending links.

Also, that Corsair memory does look like a much better deal!

The PSU stuff though, agghh! Frustrating. Problem is that the PSU bundled with the case looked like such a good deal. Buying a PSU on it's own for the same price is really going to mess with my wallet. Do you think I can get by with the 500W for the time being then upgrade later? By adding a hard drive you do mean adding an EXTRA hard drive right?
 
Yes I meant adding an extra drive. I didn't realise the psu came with the case, although in my experience psu's in case usually aren't that great

This thread talks about your gfx card and power requirements http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18266688

500W *should* in theory be enough, I guess you can always see. This page here
http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/product.php?category_id=3579&product_id=6696 I think is the power supply you mean and I notice it only has 1 6 pin PCIE connector, and for your card you'll need two. You can use an adapter but they are messy and since you are on the edge of power requirements might not be enough.

I think you can suck it and see, but you might be better off buying a case without a PSU then using the savings to go towards a better one. If you want the PC right now, then give it a go. But if you can wait a month or so to save up then do so.
 
CM 500W and the lepa are not adequate. Neither are designed for handling a 6950 (one PCIE connector, that's an indication, without the rated power on 12V rail). There are all kind 500W PSUs. The ones that can ouput over 350W on 12V, and the ones that don't and will get bloodied by a 6950 and 2500K.

For me it would have to be the Be Quiet L7 at minimum, and Antec HCG 620W recommended. Then a case that can accomodate a 6950.
 
Last edited:
You can save a tenner on the hard drive going 500GB. Then you can add another one later if you ever need more. That's the easiest thing to upgrade while still not gimping your build.

You just have to compromise somewhere, or add a little extra.

best I could do

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** *WITH FREE MSI GRENADE* £89.98
1 x OcUK V-Line 221V2SB 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £83.99
1 x OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £47.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £29.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
1 x Xigmatek Midgard Midi Tower Case - White £29.99
1 x LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £693.89 (includes shipping : £12.50).



That's £679 ex. shipping.

I don't like OCZ PSUs very much, but that's an option. That or the BeQuiet.

And secondly, between a 560ti and a 6950 1GB, it's 50/50 depending on the game. I don't know which BF3 will favour. Could just be a few fps in it, or could be an advantage to Nvidia and CUDA, or the 6950 as it's a little bit more powerful. Dunno which one you will prefer, but since they are the same price, it's up to you.

I would also prefer the Asrock P67 pro 3 over the MSI, but it's not available at OcUK.
 
Last edited:
Well the card has been something else I've been torn over but after quite a bit of research I think I will prefer the HD 6950.

As for PSU, will this be enough then? OcUK Rage GT 700W PSU 80+ Dual Rail "80 Plus" Efficient Power Supply.

Thanks for that list oliver I can probably save some money with some of those. Though I don't like the look of that case.

Can anyone one suggest another dirt cheap? (<£25) case that would be suitable?
 
PC Noob Theo said:
Well the card has been something else I've been torn over but after quite a bit of research I think I will prefer the HD 6950.

As for PSU, will this be enough then? OcUK Rage GT 700W PSU 80+ Dual Rail "80 Plus" Efficient Power Supply.

Thanks for that list oliver I can probably save some money with some of those. Though I don't like the look of that case.

Can anyone one suggest another dirt cheap? (<£25) case that would be suitable?
Click to expand...

I would look at the OCZ psu posted above rather than that PSU.

Have a look at the Ocuk value cases below, but I would remove the psu which come with them:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=7&subid=505


PC Noob Theo said:
Also can the overclock feature on the Motherboard you suggested (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-167-MS) overclock the i2500k?
Click to expand...

The motherboard will be fine with the 2500k cpu.
 
PC Noob Theo said:
So this case minus the PSU: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-043-OP&tool=3 (I like the look of that case aswell).

I thought a 500W PSU wasn't enough?
Click to expand...

Its the quality of the psu, a decent one from BeQuiet / Corsair ect would be fine but a cheap make then I would not risk it.

I just checked that case it only takes matx board, you might need increase your budget by a few pounds and get the coolermaster below:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-155-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=29
 
All PSUs with same wattage are not equal, that's the tricky bit. You need to do your research before finding a suitable candidate. The OCZ or BeQuiet have what it takes, just about. I would aim at over 400W on the 12V rail and 80% efficiency at load to have some margin and no overheating / noise / reliability problems.
 
As for the OC Genie, it tends to put too much Vcore voltage. What you can do is set it up for 4.2GHz, and tweak the Vcore voltage down, with a run of couple of prime95 1 hour stable. Then after best tweak the Vdimm / Vram voltage down at around 1.5-1.55 volts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom