New Build on a Budget

[ToRnUK]

Hi Guys, i am currently saving for a wedding but i always seem to want to do other things whilst saving so ideally want to build a system capable of playing most of the latest games using some of my old bits think ive got the system down but really want some advice on Gfx Card and power supply

here is what is on the cards at the moment

Antec 900 Gaming Case (From Previous System)
Intel i5 2550k Processor - looking to clock to 4.3ghz..thoughts?
Asus P67 Sabertooth
Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600mhz
OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD
Samsung DVD RW (From Previous System)


GFX i would like an ASUS (presuming the asus mobo and card would be well suited...) card so was looking at the 560ti DirectCU II TOP

The Antec 900 is not really a case suited for watercooling so would be air cooled and this looks quite good for the price

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-032-AS&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

As for powersupply not really sure, would like it to be modular due to the fact the Antec 900 isnt really amazing when it comes to cable management but trying to keep the cost down for now...

But open to suggestions and opinions...

 

[RCoon]

I have a friend who is utilising the Axe cooler on his Phenom II system, it doesnt offer obscene overclocks, but i reckon that 2550k would hit 4ghz on air cooling pretty easy on it.
the ram is fine, the case is fine, the mobo is fine, processor is fairly good, great that you have an ssd, and for gfx, i would roll with an ati with 1.5 to 2gb vram 6950 and above for games like BF3, or an nvidia 560 if you're more of an rts player with less texture packs to unload onto your screen. for a PSU, you can rolll with anything from 650w and around that mark, the OCZ modulars are a great start

 

[BluSky]

Ok a few things to cover here:
1. The make of a GFX card, generally, has no bearing on it's compatability with a motherboard... be it of the same make or otherwise.
2. The Antec 900 is a good case but as you say, better suited to air cooling.
3. That 2550k will almost certainly be good to get to 4.3GHz, but a 2500k would do just as well and save you a few quid
4. The Asus Axe square might look nice, but it really doesnt cool very well and I would recommend something else. I note you are on a budget so how about:
Gelid Tranquillo or
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
both of those coolers pack a lot of bang for your buck and should be good for your suggested overclock. I prefer the Gelid personally but they both have pretty good reputations
Power Supply wise any good branded one 550w or more is probably fine. 80 plus is a bonus, ocuk have loads that would suit you. Have a look at OCZ ZX series, Corsair, XFX (rebrand of someone, I forget who) and Antec. You haven't mentioned your budget so I don't know what you are looking to spend.

Edit: If you are unsure about your power requirements, have a look at the extreme outervision PSU calculator (google it) for a rough nudge in the right direction

Hope that helps

 

[Surveyor]

Save yourself some money by buying an i5-2500K.

It'll easily overclock to the speed you're looking for.

Use the money saved to buy a decent cooler such as the Gelid Tranquillo

Also buy yourself A Z68 board.

There are plenty available for around the price (or less) of the Sabertooth.

If nothing else you'll be able to use the integrated GPU on the i5-2500K for troubleshooting or if you ever have a problem with the graphics card.

The RAM is a good choice.

It's all you need for Sandy Bridge and works at 1.5V out of the box.

 

[ToRnUK]

Cool thanks for the advice so far guys, will have another look.. not sure about the AMD/ATI 6950 although its quite good spec, CustomPC magazine didnt give it a very good rating...

 

[Roverney]

The 6950 is a great card for the price. If you want to look at something else then the 2GB 560ti is in the same sort of price/performance region.

 

[honosuseri]

As surveyor said the i5 2550K has a dead IGP the i5 2500K doesn't!

The Z68 mobo is capable of using this IGP to help with encoding when you have a dedicated GPU fitted (it's called quick sync). Your sabretooth mobo choice isn't a z68 mobo though.

Considering the 2550K is just a faulty 2500K they should really be selling it off much cheaper. Did you have a rough budget in mind so we could make some suggestions?

 

[ToRnUK]

Really i would like to stay as close to the £800 mark, i really like the look of the Sabertooth - ive always been an Asus fan too but if you could give me benifits for going MSI or Gigabyte for instance then i could be tempted to swap.

But after a few suggestions here is what i have so far

Antec 900 Free
Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z GEN3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard [MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z/GEN3] - £139.99
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM [BX80623I52500K] - £169.99
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) [GEL-TRANQUILLO ] - £25.99
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLTCP4G3D1608DT2TXRGCEU) (Red & Green Activity LEDs) **WORLD FIRST** [BLTCP4G3D1608DT2TXRGCEU] - £59.99
OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-120G) [AGT3-25SAT3-120G] - £123.95
XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply [P1-650X-NLG9] - £81.98
MSI HD 6970 2048MB Twin Frozr III GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game [R6970-2PM2D2GD5] - £279.95

Total of 881.84 - these prices dont include this weeks deals because realistically i dont think ill be able to buy it this week or even this month but any suggestions on how i could get the price down lower - 750-800 would be better.

Would also just like to thank you all for your help so far, its good to see a community pulling together in this day and age - makes me sound older than i am LOL!

 

[ToRnUK]

This post may have slipped onto the 2nd page due to the large number of other posts just bumping it up to the top again as i am impaitent but what are thoughts on my second selection of hardware? can i save money on any of my components...

 

[olivier renault]

Looks fine.

Get the 2500K retail for a few bucks more. You get 3 years warranty, and they are easier to re-sell (with the box and all).

The Gelid is a good budget cooler. Should give you 4.4GHz without much fuss and noise.

The Gene-Z is a micro atx board. Not a problem in itself and it's a good board.

You don't really need to spend that much on the RAM. It's a bit gimmicky.

I prefer the M4 over the agility. Corsairs are OK, however the Force3 isn't that good performance-wise.

The 6970 TFII (aka 6970 Lightning) is a MASSIVE card. Although the Antec 900 is quite roomy (?). It's about the size of a 7970.

If you want to save a bit of money, and have a quiet and cool card, the HIS HD 6950 IceQ X PLUS is good. It's a bit of a dog, and not a great look with a red board. Not so bad with a P8Z68V-Gen3, if that's something you are considering.

 

[ToRnUK]

Didnt even clock that it was mATX... hmm what board would you suggest instead.. is the benifit of going with a z68 rather than potentially the p67 asus sabertooth worth the additional 50 odd quid for the P8Z68 Deluxe? hmm the money saved on the card would be quite a benifit too..

 

[olivier renault]

Not sure about the Deluxe, but the Pro is virtually identical to the standard P8Z68. Deluxe has better VRM, maybe a few extra goodies (SATA and USB ports). Worth £50? I would think not.

The Sabertooth is ok. P67 looses a few toys over the Z68. Lucid Virtu, PCIE3, onboard IGP, Intel SRT. Still, it's a good board.

 

[honosuseri]

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £161.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £136.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-GEN3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.98
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 730W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £43.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £780.92 (includes shipping : £10.00).



I'd just opt for the 6950 and OC it myself. Mobo is slightly cheaper and does SLI/xfire if you'd like to add another 6950 later when they are going cheap cheap.

PSU is good but out of stock (you did say you wouldnt buy right away anyways). RAM is good and looks "slick" but is cheaper as it doesnt have flashy lights on it. As mentioned the Crucial M4 SSDs are the preferred choice for peformance and reliability.

That cooler is great for the cash. You can set the multiplier to 44 and have a the i5K running quite happily at 4.4Ghz ( i just built one in a zalman z9 and it was at 45 deg stress tested on the OC).

Hope this helps, good luck with the build. Any questions hit us up