New computer build.

wildest_jjk

wildest_jjk

wildest_jjk

Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2011
Posts
2,741
Hey guys, this is the final updated version of parts for my gaming build and is what I have chosen. The components I purchased are:

1 x MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 Twin FrozR II OC 1048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Shogun 2
1 x Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
1 x MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** with FREE Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler
1 x OCZ 60GB Vertex 2E SSD 2.5" SATA-II Read = 285MB/s, Write = 275MB/s 50,000 IOPS
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM)
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply
1 x Coolermaster CM 690 II LITE Version
1 x Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM) [SH-B123L/BSBP ]

I am still undecided on the monitors but want to spend no more than a maximum of £220 for each monitor.

Many thanks!
 
Last edited:
Hello thanks for the response. Is there much difference spec wise between the RAM? For the GPU you mentioned Xfire. I am only having one graphics card for the dual monitors, is that what you mean? Or do you mean something else?

Also does anybody have any suggestions for my dual monitors?

Thanks guys.
 
Hello again. Many thanks for all your help it is much appreciated. I have updated a few of my components in line with what you have said. The shopping basket was very helpful! However I am still struggling with the GPU/monitors. Now I will be perfectly honest I am not really fussed about the 3D side of things. So if this is the case would you say the 6950? Of course this affects the monitors as well if I was to get the 6950.

Thanks!
 
Right thats very helpful. Loved the car comparison as well :P So for the graphics card I think I will stick with the 6950 as it is slightly cheaper as well (I think). One thing I can never really understand are the different brands of the same graphics card. Do they just have slightly different specs? I am thinking of going with this one:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-128-MS

As I believe it has been overclocked ready? And was hoping to get your opinion on the dell one I linked above? Considering you have more superior ones :P

Thanks again.
 
Ok thanks a lot! Unfortunately the weeklydeals have now changed and the RAM prices have been affected. Should I still buy the RAM previously suggested? This is also the same for the SSD and GPU. Lastly is the Antec 300 a better choice than the antec 100? Sorry about this about to buy now and didnt realise the weekly deals change in the morning!

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Just to add there are a few different types of RAM options that I can go with after looking at the new weekly deals.

Now this was the one I was now going to buy:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS

But there are some other options too:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-062-GS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-060-GS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-295-CS
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-299-CS

What do you guys think? I really want the best deal, so which one would be most appropriate? If none of these any alternatives?

Thanks again. :)
 
Also I have been looking a bit further into graphics cards and I have been able to find the GTX 570 for £240. Would it be worth getting this, instead of the Radeon 6950?
 
Right many thanks for your response. Would you say that the extra performance of the GTX 570 is worth the extra £30-40? If not I will forget it.

And I guess if that's the case I better stick to the XMS3. I was just seeing if I could get anything better such as latency wise, for a similar price. But it doesnt sound like its worth risking it!

Almost there I think, many thanks!
 
Well its definitely out of the 480/570/6950. The 570 I was talking about is:

MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCIe [N570GTX-M2D12D5]

This is the link to it on OC, I think it is the same one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-112-MS

Its off of another big site (not sure If I am aloud to say it or not). But its £240 on there. Would you class this as a good card? If not then I will just stick with the 6950 probably the Twin Frozr III one. Also SLI/Xfire is not on the agenda for a long time to come anyway.

Also there is also this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-222-AS&tool=3

Which again is quite similar to the price of the 6950.

Thanks again, sorry about all the questions. :)
 
Last edited:
Ok many thanks last few questions just to clear some things up.

Firstly I am going to have 2 monitors connected as well as my TV. However my TV will not be on all the time, it's only when I want to watch movies. I was thinking about this and was thinking that perhaps the Nvidia GTX 570 might be ok for this because I could use the TV as an external display. Is this correct or should I just stick with the 6950 to be sure?

Another thing is the XMS3 RAM that I am choosing:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS
I read on another sight that this RAM is 1.65v. Does this matter, even though the motherboard says 1.5v?

Also I cannot decide if the antec 100 is better than the antec 300?

Lastly the Agility 3 SSD that was recommended earlier, has now gone baack up in price:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-075-OC

Should I go back the previous one:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-047-OC
I can get this for £82, or does anyone know any alternatives?

This should be everything now! Thanks in advance.
 
First of all thanks very much, you have been very helpful.

The RAM defaults to 1.65V but can operate at lower voltage. The XMP profile will default to 1.65 I believe, but you can manually change the voltage. In any case, that wouldn't worry me.
Click to expand...

Well the RAM sounds fine then, just was a bit worried thinking that it won't accept the RAM or something.

The Antec 100 is generally considered the better case.
Click to expand...

This will be the case then, thank you.

The Vertex 2E is a great drive. I have one AG3 is £10 more, so maybe worth shopping around, on the other site you mentioned But my opinion of SSDs for OS is that the bandwidth performance doesn't matter as much as the random small file access, and the 2E is very good at that. In any case, the leap between a HD and a SSD such as a Vertex, Vertex 2E, or Vertex 3 (Agility) is much much bigger than the comparative performance between any of those drives.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought, just as long as I have one! :P

Secondly, if you plan on using a Z68 board and Intel SRT, you don't really need 60GB. 30/40GB would do. If you want to use the drive as a OS / Program drive, 60GB is a good capacity. Lower, and you will have to worry about managing what goes on it more carefully.

If you can get a Vertex 2E for £80, then go for it. It's still a VERY fast drive. Then you have the choice of using then as HD cache (SRT), or just a standard OS boot drive.
Click to expand...

Think you are talking about the other chipset, not sure though. But I am have the P67 chipset. The drive will be used for programs and OS so yer better stick to the 60GB. I will have to decide between the two!

As for monitors, I don't think NVidia cards can handle 3 displays. ATI should have no problem with Eyefinity (up to 6 I believe). Maybe Lucid Virtu on the Z68 allows you to do that, but you'll need to read up on that. But it's all a bit complicated if you ask me.
Click to expand...

I see what you mean, but what I want is to have the TV just connected to the port but then used as an external output, like the windows projector function. This would then turn the two monitors off so that I can watch movies. Would this work on the Nvidia GTX 570 or are you unsure? Was just thinking of this as a way to get around the maximum of 2 displays.

Post here the final components for a last minute check, even the ones you gonna buy off site (no links).
Click to expand...

Yep okay will post the final components. Just the GPU is the problem!

Many thanks as always.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI ATI Radeon HD 6970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £245.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £139.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G) £92.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £79.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 620W Power Supply £59.99
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £43.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £19.99
Total : £865.92 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This is where I am currently at, however I was thinking about changing the P67A-GD65 mobo to the P67A-GD53 model. Its just the only thing that I can see different is that the GD65 has two extra SATAIII ports, which I dont think I even need. This will save me about £20. Do you think that's ok?

For the GPU I have decided to go with the ATI 6970, but still cannot really decide out of the 6950/6970!

And think I am going to get the Vertex 2E SSD but again that might change at some point, although that's not a problem.

Last of all, something I said previously was about the RAM voltage. I was reading some forums that were saying you should only have 1.5v for sandy bridge. But I am assuming this is not correct now?

Thanks.
 
Hi oliver, thanks very much. I did not notice the deal on the processor either! Now the RAM (again) is obviously better? But is it a problem moving it to another channel? Also is this the one you would go with?

I was thinking the same for the 6970, a much safer bet which I would prefer.

The XFX 650W is the PSU on offer this week. Still a seasonic unit, with loads of juice on 12V. I recon it can still power xfire 6970's. In doubt, take the 750W (extra £15) version if that's something you consider. If it's getting too expensive (going proper 6970 CF is an extra £55), then take a 6950 Twin Frozr III for £205, and the XFX 650W PSU. Then you can add another 6950 later safely if it starts lagging behind.
Click to expand...

Is that PSU that you have changed to better than the previous? One thing here though, I presume you are talking about for the future and crossfiring? Do you mean an extra £55 for Xfire? Or just the 6970 compared to the 6950?

Thanks as always, almost there I think!
 
Many thanks. I am only going to have 1 6970 GPU for the time being, no plans to crossfire for a while yet. So would you say stick with the current mobo I have and the XFX650W or the Antec 620W?

I noticed you mention another mobo, which I presume does not support crossfire.

Just to add the RAM that you changed to, does it effect anything by moving it to another channel? Also is this the one you would choose now compared to the XMS3?

Thanks again. :)
 
Thanks for the response.

I have changed the PSU back again to the Antec 620W. The one final problem I have is this RAM problem. I understand what your saying, it's just I kind of want RAM that straight out of the box will be OK and will run at the best voltage for SB (1.5v). I can see that the other RAM might not fit, but do you know of any other type I can use that will run at 1.5v and fit?

Thanks a lot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom