New Build - Comments please

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:20

Hi,

I've been fiddling with this spec for a while but looking for any suggestions on where to cut costs/improve quality etc;

Haven't built a machine since 2004 (AMD64!). That's now starting to die on me. HDDs are still good in that so I'll use them so I'll be using the SSD as a boot drive with essential programmes installed there.
I'm a very casual gamer, don't have much spare time these days, so there'll be a bit of Portal 2 action but that's probably about it in the main.

Thanks,

Chris

mraerosmith1981 · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:26

looks reasonable the only bit i would look to change would be the video card

Something more like this

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-259-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711

I know your not a heavy gamer, but for the extra £35 u would be getter a much better card

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:26

Looks nice but i would chnge the ram to the Kingston hyper-X 4gb for £40ish and change that hideous PSU to something a little better with cash saved on the ram. Something like this.

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:27

mraerosmith1981 said:
looks reasonable the only bit i would look to change would be the video card

Any suggestion? Interestingly that was the part I was least confident on.

EDIT: Your stealth edit defeated me. I'll read up on that card. Thanks.

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:32

Go for a ati 6850 or 6870. theres this one for 149.00

mraerosmith1981 · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:33

and I would sub in a different psu

something like this

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-048-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:34

getcarter said:
Looks nice but i would chnge the ram to the Kingston hyper-X 4gb for £40ish and change that hideous PSU to something a little better with cash saved on the ram. Something like this.

Thanks. Is that PSU modular?

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:37

Christophorus said:
Thanks. Is that PSU modular?

If modular is what u want then have a look at this.

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:39

I would also have a look at this motherboard as i think it is a tad better than the one you have picked. This one.

mraerosmith1981 · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:41

I like your choice of mobo myself, I have an asus sabertooth, hasn't missed a beat

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:44

getcarter said:
I would also have a look at this motherboard as i think it is a tad better than the one you have picked. This one.

I knew exactly what motherboard that was without clicking. What's the main advantage of it?

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:44

Its a newer board and has quite a few advantages over other boards and the price is great. Also makes overclocking childs play. And being able to access the bios in windows is a big win.

EDIT: oh it also has this feature called lucid virtu that will change between your onboard graphics to your main graphics card in certain situations making the whole process faster. Basically it calculates which one will be faster for the task at hand.

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:55

getcarter said:
Its a newer board and has quite a few advantages over other boards and the price is great. Also makes overclocking childs play. And being able to access the bios in windows is a big win.

EDIT: oh it also has this feature called lucid virtu that will change between your onboard graphics to your main graphics card in certain situations making the whole process faster. Basically it calculates which one will be faster for the task at hand.

OK, now that is an interesting feature. Time for some reading....

Thanks to mraerosmith1981 and getcarter for all your help

getcarter · 16 Jun 2011 at 09:58

This is from the Asrock site.

You will al;so find a few video reviews on youtube.

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 10:14

getcarter said:
This is from the Asrock site.

You will al;so find a few video reviews on youtube.

It looks like the lucid virtu is on all Z68 boards. Am I going mad or was this called QuickSync before?

http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PRO/

Lemin · 16 Jun 2011 at 10:15

Id consider...

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **

with FREE Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler

£139.99 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-036-OP&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

shorter ram for cpu cooler...

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) [CMX8GX3M2A1600C9]
This Week Only Offer
was £79.99 inc VAT
£69.98 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

+

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply
This Week Only Offer
was £59.99 inc VAT
£49.99 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-148-AN

Christophorus · 16 Jun 2011 at 11:19

Lemin said:
Id consider...

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **

with FREE Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler

£139.99 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-036-OP&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

shorter ram for cpu cooler...

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) [CMX8GX3M2A1600C9]
This Week Only Offer
was £79.99 inc VAT
£69.98 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

+

Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply
This Week Only Offer
was £59.99 inc VAT
£49.99 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-148-AN

Thanks Lemin, I've swapped the RAM for your suggestion. Good call as it'll ensure my CPU Cooler doesn't collide. I'm going to stick with the Z68 chipset though. Tempting offer on that motherboard but I think the Z68 gives me better options.

Lemin · 16 Jun 2011 at 11:33

Id definalatley change that cheap PSU !

olivier renault · 16 Jun 2011 at 12:08

Yeah, grab an Antec. Good quality, good power, good brand.

Ben Cole · 16 Jun 2011 at 12:10

Ditch that SSD and pay £10 or so more for the Agility3. It's over twice as fast!!!

As others have said, get a good quality PSU too.

You might not need the 2.5" to 3.5" adapter either. I'm sure one or both of my OCZ SSDs came with them.