My first build

JustJaay

JustJaay

JustJaay

Associate
Joined
19 Mar 2015
Posts
5
Hi guys, new to the forum and to building PC's.

This is a list I've put together for a gaming PC I'm looking to build in the very near future, there are some things I think that are not needed but I'd like opinions, feedback and any tips you can give me when I undertake this.

Case - Zalman Z11 Midi Tower £52.98
CPU - Intel Core i5 i5-4690K CPU (Quad Core 3.5GHz Processor, 6MB Cache, Intel HD 4600 Graphics, Socket H3 LGA-1150) £174.00
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 Intel LGA1150 Z97 ATX Motherboard (4x DDR3, 6x USB3.0, 8x USB2.0, HDMI, DVI-I, DSUB) £104.98
PSU - Corsair CX750 £68.94
RAM - 8gb Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) DDR3 £54.74
Hard drive - WD - 2TB Desktop SATA Hard Drive £62.90
Cooling - Cooler master hyper 212 evo £24.99
Graphics - MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card (4GB, PCI Express, DDR5, 256 Bit) £279.99
Total = £823.52

Looking to go all out on gaming performance. I'm very open to suggestions and maybe cutting the price down of things not needed, Thanks.

Not totally sure what OS to get but open to suggestions.
 
 
Another option:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£12 Saving** £277.98
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290X LE Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £72.98
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £51.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £42.95
1 x Antec VSP5000 Silenced Tower Case - Black £39.95
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £885.77 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Basically the same spec as above, slightly cheaper (and worse) and a good quality air cooler instead of the AIO specced above.
 
Hi Jaay, welcome to the forum.

As you're new to this, I'm guessing your PSU and RAM choices are mostly based on the name Corsair and the good reputation those products of theirs had some years ago? They aren't the top dogs of the present, unless you pay a premium for their highest quality products (which are at the very least matched by some other companies and usually at a considerably lower price-point). In particular, avoid the CX range of PSUs.

Here are some better alternatives:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £94.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £84.95
1 x Antec TruePower Classic 750w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £72.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Semi-Modular Power Supply - Black £72.95



The two more expensive ones are in a different class, just like the cheaper two are in a different class to the CX750, and have a 5-year warranty unlike the CX750. The EVGA has a 10-year warranty.

As for the Vengeance RAM, what model/speed is it? Basically any 2133/2400MHz kit will do, unless you want leds or a specific colour.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Avexir Core Red Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001104G-2CIR) - Red Light £53.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001104G-2CI) - Blue Light £53.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAED38G2400HC11CDC01) £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2400HC11CDC01) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99.





Actually there are two with leds cheaper than the Vengeance. Very nice if the case has a window (I have an Avexir 2400MHz kit myself). Most Zalman Z11 seem to have windows but there are different models.

And an SSD is a "must" these days.
 
Danny75 said:
Hi Jaay, welcome to the forum.

As you're new to this, I'm guessing your PSU and RAM choices are mostly based on the name Corsair and the good reputation those products of theirs had some years ago? They aren't the top dogs of the present, unless you pay a premium for their highest quality products (which are at the very least matched by some other companies and usually at a considerably lower price-point). In particular, avoid the CX range of PSUs.

Here are some better alternatives:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £94.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £84.95
1 x Antec TruePower Classic 750w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £72.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Semi-Modular Power Supply - Black £72.95



The two more expensive ones are in a different class, just like the cheaper two are in a different class to the CX750, and have a 5-year warranty unlike the CX750. The EVGA has a 10-year warranty.

As for the Vengeance RAM, what model/speed is it? Basically any 2133/2400MHz kit will do, unless you want leds or a specific colour.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Avexir Core Red Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001104G-2CIR) - Red Light £53.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001104G-2CI) - Blue Light £53.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAED38G2400HC11CDC01) £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2400HC11CDC01) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99.





Actually there are two with leds cheaper than the Vengeance. Very nice if the case has a window (I have an Avexir 2400MHz kit myself). Most Zalman Z11 seem to have windows but there are different models.

And an SSD is a "must" these days.
Click to expand...

Yes, since I can't really tell you how good other brands are other than basing it off user reviews.

I've looked at the SSD drives but don't fully understand them.

Again the case I've chose is generally because of reviews.

Thank you for you're suggestions.
 
Andreas.96 said:
Another option:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£12 Saving** £277.98
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290X LE Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x Crucial BX100 250GB SSD SATA 6Gbps 7mm Solid State Drive (CT250BX100SSD1) £72.98
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £51.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £42.95
1 x Antec VSP5000 Silenced Tower Case - Black £39.95
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £19.99
Total : £885.77 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Basically the same spec as above, slightly cheaper (and worse) and a good quality air cooler instead of the AIO specced above.
Click to expand...

This looks good, I wanted to go Nvidia for my first graphics card but I've heard good things about the 290 so might look into it.

Appreciate you're suggestions.
 
Only suggested the 290x that I specced above because it is cheaper than the 970 at the minute but matches it on performance on almost all things (and beats it in a few).
 
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