New Build Opinion

Cagerty

Cagerty

Cagerty

Associate
Joined
28 May 2012
Posts
224
Location
Durham
Hi guys. After much debate I have put together a potential new build and was looking for some opinions on it. Are there some glaring omissions or overkill in some areas, or any potential savings to be made? I have put together a build that will hopefully last me for several years. I will mainly be using the system for heavy gaming use ( e.g. Diablo III, Skyrim, BF3 etc ). Will also be using the system for general web browsing, photoshop etc. Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I will be overclocking and will possibly be going SLI in the future.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £333.29
1 x Benq XL2420T 24" TRUE 120Hz 3D Vision 2.0 Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red £249.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £159.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £151.66
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £144.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series AX750 High Performance 750W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (CMPSU-750AXUK) £108.32
1 x Qpad MK-85 LED Pro Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - UK Layout £108.29
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £95.82
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £83.32
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £66.65
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £51.20
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £49.99
1 x Zowie AM GS 2300 DPI Optical Gaming Mouse £41.66
1 x Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Surface £16.66
Total : £2,020.84 (includes shipping : £22.20).

 
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Is your basket showing price minus the VAT?

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 EX OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £329.99
1 x Benq XL2420T 24" TRUE 120Hz 3D Vision 2.0 Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red £299.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £181.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £173.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC256N/EU) £144.98
1 x Qpad MK-85 LED Pro Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - UK Layout £129.95
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £114.98
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1156/1155/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/FM1) £61.44
1 x Zowie AM GS 2300 DPI Optical Gaming Mouse £49.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £37.99
1 x Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Surface £19.99
Total : £1,836.88 (includes shipping : £22.20).



The samsung RAM is overkill for this socket, so I've used a cheaper 1600mhz set. GPU is still preoverclocked high for less cash. SSD is a lil cheaper and just as good if not better than the M4. PSU has more than enough to SLI the 670. Tried to keep a lot of what you wanted, hope this helps a lil....did you not need an optical drive?
 
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Good idea, will change to the Samsung SSD, looks decent :) I did quite a lot of research regarding the GPU, and it really was a toss up between the Asus Top and the Windforce. Had decided on the Asus, but now you've got me thinking again lol
 
Looks good Honususeri, Yeah I already have an optical drive. Will definately change the RAM and possibly the GPU too. I only went with the ASUS because of the good reviews it had and also as I've had Asus cards in the past. Are KFA2 any good?
 
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Cagerty said:
Good idea, will change to the Samsung SSD, looks decent :) I did quite a lot of research regarding the GPU, and it really was a toss up between the Asus Top and the Windforce. Had decided on the Asus, but now you've got me thinking again lol
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Well tbh, I'd consider the KFA2 Hono specced, as its better value. But if you're going to spend that much I'd argue the Gigabyte is the best one :)
 
beejjacobs said:
Well tbh, I'd consider the KFA2 Hono specced, as its better value. But if you're going to spend that much I'd argue the Gigabyte is the best one :)
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I would agree.....obviously lol I did use the eco 2TB storage HDD too, incase that wasn't noticed in the spec (my own fault for not saying).
 
beejjacobs said:
Ah yeah, and the 850W PSU would allow for more headroom, and is cheaper (not fully modular mind).

OP you might want to see this regarding GPUs:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...ight=gigabyte+670+username_gibbo#post21882854

To be honest, I don't think out of the three mentioned here any are a bad choice :)
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I dont get the fully modular argument. You will definately use the 24pin and aux power cables in the build so they dont need to be removable. That's why the semi modular PSUs have them "hardwired"
 
honosuseri said:
I dont get the fully modular argument. You will definately use the 24pin and aux power cables in the build so they dont need to be removable. That's why the semi modular PSUs have them "hardwired"
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I agree, however the 850W XFX annoys me as it has 2 CPU power cables hardwired and most people don't need 2.

Fixed 6+2-pin PCI-E:2
Fixed ATX12V / EPS12V:One 4+4-pin, One EPS 12V 8-pin
Fixed Motherboard Connector:20+4-pin
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http://xfxforce.com/en-gb/Products/Power-Supply/XFX/Pro-Series/ProSeries-850W-PSU.aspx

...but I'm just pedantic :p
 
honosuseri said:
I dont get the fully modular argument. You will definately use the 24pin and aux power cables in the build so they dont need to be removable. That's why the semi modular PSUs have them "hardwired"
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For me it's because those cables look awful and are often flimsily braided looking even worse. If it's fully modular then you can buy some decent braided cables to use. Not everyone is happy just to have the cheapest functional components in their rig that's all :)
 
Cheers guys, damn your right not sure what I've done but the individual components are showing minus VAT

I think regarding the above suggestions I will change the SSD to the Samsung mentioned above, The GPU to the Windforce, but will probably stick to the Corsair AX as I wanted a fully modular PSU. Could get the 850w AX PSU instead but more expensive. Surely 750w would be enough for SLI, considering the AX will push out close to its full wattage on the 12v rail?

I did suspect that the RAM was a bit overkill and would probably be of more use say on an i7. Wasnt planning on OC'ing the RAM anyway so a bit pointless getting the green i suppose. Will get some LP Corsair Vengeance instead.
 
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Cloudstomp said:
For me it's because those cables look awful and are often flimsily braided looking even worse. If it's fully modular then you can buy some decent braided cables to use. Not everyone is happy just to have the cheapest functional components in their rig that's all :)
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I have the bequiet L8, the braiding is ok. Prefer it to the coolermaster flat cables. Granted it's not a high end PSU (630W) but for £60 im not grumbling. With cable management I don't really see the PSU cables at all. Each to their own though

Cagerty said:
Cheers guys, damn your right not sure what I've done but the individual components are showing minus VAT
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I thought the prices looked strange ;)
 
honosuseri said:
I have the bequiet L8, the braiding is ok. Prefer it to the coolermaster flat cables. Granted it's not a high end PSU (630W) but for £60 im not grumbling. With cable management I don't really see the PSU cables at all. Each to their own though
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Yeah I guess a lot depends on the case it goes in as well. I think to be fair you are right but I have mild OCD when it comes to the aesthetics and tidiness of builds. It's a curse and not a blessing I know :)
 
Cloudstomp said:
Yeah I guess a lot depends on the case it goes in as well. I think to be fair you are right but I have mild OCD when it comes to the aesthetics and tidiness of builds. It's a curse and not a blessing I know :)
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It's usually good practice to mount the PSU "fan down". So it draws in cool air from outside the case. When it's fixed this way the heavyduty power cables (the ones that are hardwired on the semi-modular) are already at the back of the case and ready to route straight behind the mobo. If you mount it fan up there is a longer distance to route these "fat cables" behind the mobo out of sight.

As you say there are braided extensions you can buy so when you come back into the case the wires are a different colour and look all pretty.
 
Some really great suggestions here guys, many thanks! Saved me a bit of cash too! I always tend to fill my basket with higher end stuff then I really need just because i think it looks cool etc lol
 
Give us some feedback on the mouse if you go for it :) I'm looking (maybe) for a small and light gaming mouse, like a Intellimouse 1.1 with better build quality and sensor, 5 buttons (two thumbs).

I also have a BoogieBug XL, so that should be interesting.

Aso for the build, Hono's build looks pretty swish.
 
Will do, am currently using an MX 518 at the moment on my old machine, which is falling to bits after some heavy use. Some good reviews on the Zowie so I thought I would give it a go!

Decided to go with the KFA2 670. Looks like a decent card and saves me some pennies compared to the Gigabyte and Asus cards :D
 
Case alternative

Ponder over that case. It will certainly save you a few quid and it is packed full of kit. 4 120mm fans, fan controller, digital temp display, cable management (P4/8 extension lead included......this and the 4 fans has to be £25 to buy).

olivier renault said:
Aso for the build, Hono's build looks pretty swish.
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Thanks bud :) I kept a lot of what the OP wanted though to be fair lol
 
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