New Build From Scratch(mostly)

[Simsl]

Critique My Build!

I'm starting a new PC, and only have the RAM, which is 8GB, from Crucial. The rest of the items I will buy:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99

Motherboard: Asus P8H67-M Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** [90-MIBEB0-G0EAY0DZ] £83.99

Hard drive:Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) [ST500DM002] £61.99

Graphics Card: MSI HD 6870 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [R6870-2PM2D1GD5/OC] £129.95

PSU: XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply [P1-750S-NLB9] £82.99

Case: In-Win Mana 136 Midi Tower Case - White [Mana 136 white] £47.99

CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/775/1155/1156/1366) [CNPS10X] £26.99

Disk Drive: LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (Retail) [CH10LS28.AUAR] £59.99

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I was also wondering if it would be possible to have to monitors working simultaneously (i.e. one on the left, one on the right and be able to move the mouse from one to the other) by using the graphics card for on monitor and and on-board graphics chip for the other. Would I be able to do this just by attaching one cable from the graphics card/chip to each monitor?

I would not like the total cost to exceed £700.

Any suggestions/comments about the build would be very appreciated!

-Simsl

 

[Simsl]

Bump

 

[ljt]

Is the budget £700 for just the Tower? or will that include the 2 monitors as well? and will you need a copy of windows and keyboard and mouse?

If not then for around £700 I'd go for the following build;

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
£173.99

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti "448 Edition" WindForce 3X OC 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£167.99

MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
£84.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003)
£74.99

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 650W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXV2UK)
£74.99

Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM)
£54.98

Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black
£53.99

Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
£25.99

Total :

£732.34

The reasons are;

I chose a full sized current chip motherboard, you chose an older chipset and a micro board which limits expansion (unless you specifically want a micro ATX board?) even then I would still go for the Z77 chipset as you chose an Ivybridge CPU, so you might as well make use of all the features it brings. It's also the same price as the one you chose

The case you chose is a little "tacky" for want of a better word, but this is just my opinion. I choce a smarter black one, but if it's a white case you're after then you could get the BitFenix Shinobi Core found here

I only chose a lower wattage PSU, as the 750W is a little overkill for that system, but there is nothing wrong with the one you chose

I chose a slightly better graphics card with the Nvidia 560Ti 448 core, as it is not that much more expensive than the ATi 6870 but performs better and has more VRAM (which will help if you're running multiple monitors)

I chose the Gelid Tranquillo CPU cooler as it gets pretty good reviews and is the same price as the Zalman you chose (which I haven't heard much about)

I chose the samsung Blu-ray drive, simply because it was in stock, where as the one you chose isn't

I chose the 1Tb Hard drive as it was only £13 dearer than the one you chose, but has twice the capacity.


With regards to the multiple monitors;

On the graphics cards there are 2 DVI ports so you'd just cable each one to a monitor and set up the 2 monitors in windows, there's no need to use the onboard GPU.

Hope this helps, but I'm sure some of the more experienced members will have slightly better or different specs for the money.

 

[Simsl]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I have one query though, some of the products which you recommended were OEM. Would I have any problems with missing leads/drivers etc, or would it still be useable out of the box?

 

[beejjacobs]

They will be fine, the motherboard/PSU will come with cables.

I'd possibly make a few changes to the above. What's it going to be used for?

Do you have a 64bit OS?

 

[Simsl]

They will be fine, the motherboard/PSU will come with cables.

I'd possibly make a few changes to the above. What's it going to be used for?

Do you have a 64bit OS?

Its going to be used mostly for gaming (Counter Strike Global Offensive, League of Legends).

I do have a 64 bit OS, and have the installation CD/code aswell so there will be no problems in that regard.

Hope this answers your questions, and you'll be able to grant some insight!

 

[stulid]

Is the budget £700 for just the Tower? or will that include the 2 monitors as well? and will you need a copy of windows and keyboard and mouse?

If not then for around £700 I'd go for the following build;

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
£173.99

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti "448 Edition" WindForce 3X OC 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
£167.99

MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
£84.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003)
£74.99

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 650W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXV2UK)
£74.99

Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM)
£54.98

Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black
£53.99

Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
£25.99

Total :

£732.34

Thats about as good as it gets.

Get a Retail Blu-ray drive as it will include playback software.

And a modular PSU - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-165-CM&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1103