New Build - Any alternatives/suggestions? :)

guitaristanime

guitaristanime

guitaristanime

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Joined
18 Oct 2012
Posts
210
Location
Teignmouth, Devon
Firstly Merry Christmas - hope you're all having a good festive period. The big day tomorrow for those celebrating :)

I'm building myself a new PC shortly after the season is over, around £600 is my budget, although based on reviews and current offers I think I've come up with a good mid range PC. After agonising over a case for weeks, I picked the Xigmatek Midgard II, based on a review in Custom PC this month.

Anyway, here's my basket, I'm fairly good when it comes to picking and researching components but I'm not afraid to admit there's a hole in my knowledge when it comes to airflow, and upgrading the fans will come at a later date when I know what's what.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7870 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H787QN2G2M) w/ FARCRY3 & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £160.00
1 x Gigabyte Z77-DS3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £75.98
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 430W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £54.95
1 x Xigmatek Midgard II Gaming Tower Case - Black £51.98
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 Intel Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011) £32.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1333C9DC) £29.99
Total : £619.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).



I've not researched the RAM much, I know it's a good brand and a good price but I was just intending on going for whatever decent RAM was around the £25-£35 mark.
 
I'd go for a 3570K + 7950 :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K) £34.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler(Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £640.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
Go Ivybridge not sandybridge dude. The 3570K has a better IGP. Don't get the DS3H, get the D3H as it's the better mobo and includes the LucidMVP software which can use the IGP to boost the GPU. The heatsink you picked isnt great to be honest and your 1333mhz RAM is too slow as well.

For the price of that 7870 you might as well look at the 7950. Triggers spec is quite nice btw

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £72.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £627.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Just to mix it up a little I've used the GB 7850 as it has a 3 year uk based warranty (as does the mobo), has a good cooler so you can overclock it further. Using the D3H mobo and i cant help myself the RAM is colour coded to the RAM slots/mobo colours. Case is better but there are cheaper alternatives. PSU is modular and gold rated, Trigger used the P&C (it's actually seasonic too) which is bronze rated for efficiency.

Hope this helps. Look forward to seeing what you put together :)
 
Thank you for the suggestions, a few contradictions to what I thought.
The 7950 is worse for AA according to HWCompare, that bothers me slightly dunno how that plays out in the real world?

According the GB website comparison table the D3H and DS3H are identical, bar the connections and audio chipset? http://www.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=4147,4140 has that changed then?

I read that the 3570k wasn't any better than the 2500k, infact it was hotter after O/C, guess that's been resolved. I'll change my chip.

I thought GB made terrible heatsink designs, have to think about that one, but I was gonna go for a 7970 at that price point and get the HIS.

Seems like a credible swap to PC Power and Cooling PSU, honestly thought they were a no-name brand until I looked at your link.

I'm sticking with the case I've picked, maybe personal preference or the reviews I've read. Also confused about the i30, I read it was the best cooler at that price point..

Honest mistake with the RAM didn't see that it wasn't full 1600.

Oh one last thing, bear my budget in mind, £600 is pretty much it. I'd rather stray the lower side of that if poss :(
 
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Not sure I like where you get your info bud. Hwcompare is useless.

The D3H has more USB, Sata and PCI-Express X1. It has a better audio output for connecting to surround sound speakers (this is all shown in your link). The D3H also has lucidMVP which makes use of the IGP when needed to save power and will kick in the GPU when needed and let the IGP give it a little boost.

If you like that case fair enough, im not arguing over it. The windforce series are the best cards you can get basically wether it be 7850/7950 or even nvidias 670. The 7950 and 670 windforce have a 3 fan cooler. Oh and turn AA/MSAA off, it kills the FPS and the effect isn't really worth it in my opinion.

The i5 2500K is cooler because the IGP is worse. The 3570K's IGP is better so expect a little more heat as it's built into the CPU. Also Ivy does more clock for clock and consumes less power.

Oh and P.S a very merry Xmas to you too :)
 
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This is without an aftermarket heatsink but with the 7950 and case you want.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Xigmatek Midgard II Gaming Tower Case - Black £51.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
Total : £630.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).



I personally am not a fan (get the pun) of single fan GPU's. However the nearest priced dual fan 7950 is an extra £20 and doesnt work with the mobo.
 
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Right last question then... might not get a reply today though,
I can't pick the card but based on my budget the three to pick from seem to be...

The HIS 7950, the Sapphire 7950 or the GB 7850..

I'm leaning towards the Sapphire because of the price, seems like a good buy.

Thanks for all your help.
 
What I ended up with just to let you good people know.
Thanks for all the suggestions.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Xigmatek Midgard II Gaming Tower Case - Black £51.98
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £35.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £660.91 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Some of the prices have changed since I placed my order, total came to around £620 :)
 
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