New build - £800

[doug17]

Hey guys,

I'm currently working on a specification with a budget of around £800.00.

This is what I've got so far:

1. Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor

2. HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games

3. Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) *

4. Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard *
5. Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650M High Performance 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020002-UK) *

6. Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) *

7. Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black

8. Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX)

9. SteelSeries Kinzu V2 3200 DPI Gaming Mouse - White (62040)

10. Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Total: £761.83

How could I improve this build? There are a few questions I have too:

i) Would the Ivybridge version of the processor be worth the price difference in terms of performance/budget (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-404-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=)?

ii) Has anyone had any experience with the PSU and could there be a more suitable one?

iii) is this the best Motherboard I could get for my system (within budget, around £80-100)?

any other suggestions are more than welcome!

Thanks a lot, guys.

 

[Idleman]

£20 cashback on the monitor. But no ssd, keyboard or mouse. Do you have an OS?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £63.98
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x OcUK Value 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit £26.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £760.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[foxrocks]

3570K @ £167.99
MSI Z77A-G43 @ £79.99
HIS HD 7950 3GB @ £224.99
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB @ £57.98
OCUK Value 8GB DDR3-1600 @ £26.99
XFX Pro 550W @ £59.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler @ £14.39
Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter @ £13.99
Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case @ £34.99
Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor @ £119.99

Total £801.29

Similar to Idleman's build but with a much better vid card, and an aftermarket cooler, but conversely a non-modular PSU.

 

[mglock90]

Hey guys, it's doug17's brother here (I'll be the one buying the PC, ha ha).

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

@Idleman: I don't have an OS yet, no. I'm a student so I am looking into getting a discount on software4students.

@foxrocks: is there a particular reason you chose the Samsung Spinpoint over the Seagate one in the original build? Just out of curiosity.

Based on these builds, I may hold off on the solid state for now (until I can afford one later on) because, as you guys are showing me, i could squeeze an extra bit of juice into the graphics and, of course, a monitor etc...

 

[foxrocks]

Hard drive - not really! Was a few quid cheaper, it differentiated my build from Idleman's a little, and they're both solid choices.

 

[Idleman]

Hey guys, it's doug17's brother here (I'll be the one buying the PC, ha ha).

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

@IdleMan: I don't have an OS yet, no. I'm a student so I am looking into getting a discount on software4students.

@foxrocks: is there a particular reason you chose the Samsung Spinpoint over the Seagate one in the original build? Just out of curiosity.

Based on these builds, I may hold off on the solid state for now (until I can afford one later on) because, as you guys are showing me, i could squeeze an extra bit of juice into the graphics and, of course, a monitor etc...

Bear in mind i left £60 on the budget towards k&m and student copy of windows. You can use Win8 preview until buy an os.

 

[mglock90]

Ah, awesome! Thank you for your conscientiousness. ha ha.

 

[dunn2010]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Power Edition Twin Frozr IV OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £179.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £49.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £31.99
1 x Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 2011/1366/1156/1155/775 and AMD FM1/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £28.08
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £809.48 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 

[doug17]

Thanks for all the replies guys. After reading over all of your suggestions we have come up with the following:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £49.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £47.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £31.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939/AM2/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £14.39
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £799.79 (includes shipping : £13.75).



What do you guys think?

 

[stulid]

Thanks for all the replies guys. After reading over all of your suggestions we have come up with the following:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung S24B300HL 23.6" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £49.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £47.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £34.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £31.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939/AM2/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £14.39
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £799.79 (includes shipping : £13.75).



What do you guys think?

Two better SSD's,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-025-CS&groupid=1657&catid=2101&subcat=2102
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-026-IN&groupid=1657&catid=2101&subcat=2102

Coolers,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-004-ZW&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-012-XG&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=