My first rig, need help

Monkeywithagun · 9 May 2013 at 00:30

Hey there, I'm new to pc gaming and the forums in general, always being a console fanboy I've been tempted to the darkside, but most of you won't think that.

Anyway I want to build my own rig, but I don't want to spend ridiculous amounts. These are the 2 rigs I've been eyeing up.

1:
Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge)
Gainward GeForce GTX 650Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD
Cooler Master B Series 500w Power Supply
Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit
Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Windowed Case
Or rig 2:
1TB Hitachi Deskstar 0F13180 3.5" SATA-III Hard Drive - 7200RPM 32MB Cache
GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard
ARIAnet Titan Black Midi Tower Window Gaming
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Overclocked NVIDIA Graphics Card -
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair Value Select 1333MHz CL9 DDR3 Dual/Quad Channel
650W Cooler Master GX 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply
Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor

I'm going to put a cd drive in from an old pc of mine,
My budget is around 400£
I'm looking at playing games like arma 2 bf3 skyrim and counter strike.

Look forward to your help,

wazza300 · 9 May 2013 at 00:33

pick up a cheap gigabyte z77 d3h board instead,it'll be better than z68

id also try and look for 1600mhz ram minimum,1333mhz is cutting it fine

Hyburnate · 9 May 2013 at 00:35

Do you need a Monitor, OS, HDD, keyboard and mouse?

Is your CD Drive SATA or IDE?

Monkeywithagun · 9 May 2013 at 08:42

I have a monitor, that's it I wanted to set a budget for the tower but this is only a realistic one.

So a z77 mobo and higher frequency ram?

Thanks

Gibbo3771 · 9 May 2013 at 09:38

Faster RAM and a Z77 mobo will give you the option of sinking a second hand 3570k in it when Haswell forces everyone to sell them

.

However if you do not care for much of an upgrade later, a Trinity build will be more suited to your budget.

Also I seriously reccomend, if you can afford, stretch to a 2gb 650ti Boost

You will most likely be sourcing one or 2 things elsewhere unless you get B-Grade gear:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 650Ti BOOST SC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £43.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD £40.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £28.99
Total : £516.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This one is cheaper and has a slightly more competitive GPU, but its a hit and a miss with the 7850 and 650ti boost, really depends on the game:

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £129.95
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £60.00
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £43.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30.00
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £28.99
Total : £455.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

If you don't care about upgrading later, just get a Trinity build:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor **FREE SIMCITY PC GAME** (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte F2A85X-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £64.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1866C10DC) £59.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 430W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30.00
2 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £28.99 (£57.98)
Total : £374.28 (includes shipping : £17.85).

There is quite a bit of wiggle room in the above build, some budget left over.

paintguy · 9 May 2013 at 10:02

Gibbo3771 said:
Faster RAM and a Z77 mobo will give you the option of sinking a second hand 3570k in it when Haswell forces everyone to sell them .

Ha!

That's why I haven't done my upgrade just yet. I'm expecting a flood of 3570k / d3h bundles appearing in MM soon

Monkeywithagun · 11 May 2013 at 10:12

Thanks for the replies guys,

Almost finished speccing this pc up, Just one last thing about the GPU?

Cant really afford a GTX650 ti BOOST so I pose the question, Best graphics card for around 100GBP

So far i have this

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor.
MOBO: B Grade-GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) ATX Motherboard
Ram:Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Case:Cooler Master Elite 430 Black Midi Tower
HDD:B grade-Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache
PSU:Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply
GPU:HEEELLLPPP!!

Thanks

Gibbo3771 · 11 May 2013 at 16:12

Monkeywithagun said:
Thanks for the replies guys,

Almost finished speccing this pc up, Just one last thing about the GPU?

Cant really afford a GTX650 ti BOOST so I pose the question, Best graphics card for around 100GBP

So far i have this

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivy Bridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor.
MOBO: B Grade-GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) ATX Motherboard
Ram:Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Case:Cooler Master Elite 430 Black Midi Tower
HDD:B grade-Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache
PSU:Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply
GPU:HEEELLLPPP!!

Thanks

The best GPU for around £100 would be the 7770, really though you are going to feel FPS drops in pretty much every game with decent settings @1080p.

I currently run an i3 3220 with a 7870XT and even in Assassins Creed III and Tomb Raider, I need to tone the settings down just a little, the 7770 has no where near the power.

My suggestion?

Bite the bullet, do some overtime, win a scratch card, sell something lying around the house and raise the extra £30 and get a B-Grade 7850, only the 650ti Boost comes close to its performance for value.

Even better, actually read my builds above and take the advice, you don't need to spend 65 on RAM when the RAM I have spec'd is £20 cheaper...

The B-grade D3H is still in the clearance line.

I don't think you seem to see the bargain this build is lol:

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £129.95
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £60.00
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £43.99
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30.00
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £28.99
Total : £455.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

David Bisset · 11 May 2013 at 17:00

The 7770 is 'good enough' (I still use an old 5750 in my desktop and can play most stuff if not in full pretty mode) but the 7850 really is worth the extra. Compared with the total cost of the computer its a small upgrade, but final performance will be much better.