New Gaming pc spec, first build

Dean037

Dean037

Dean037

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Hi all i am building my first ever gaming pc soon i have just been sorting out my house to make room and recently moved, i am nearly ready to purchase my parts this is what i have so far

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Dirt3 & Deus Ex PC Games

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game

Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Gaming Case - Black

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

TP-Link 300Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN822N) [TL-WN822N]

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)

thats all i got so far still not sure about psu or cpu cooler and should i upgrade to 8gb ram ? my budget is around 800 pound the list above comes to £730, few more questions is this mother board future proof and will this spec play latest games like stronghold 3 battlefield 3 and diablo 3 etc, want it to last 3 year with latest games does this spec cound ok so far

thanks Dean
any help greatly appreciated
 
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For PSU/CPU I'd go with the OCZ Z-Series '80 Plus Gold' 850W(the bigger the better its efficient) As for the CPU cooler I'd recommend the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 does the job very well or you could think about watercoolers.
 
Get the Gen 3 version of that motherboard. The gen 3 version is more future proof :p

It should play the latest games, but obviously can't comment on BF3 because it's not out yet, but yes should manage fine, especially if you get a PSU that can support xFire in future.

In particular therefore I'd recommend this PSU:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-039-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098
CPU cooler - Get the Gelid Tranquillo, or if you want something quieter and more capable something like the Corsair H60/80
As for RAM. 4GB is perfectly fine, most people now a days are running 8 though, especially after the DX11 uber patch for Crysis 2 came out recommending all sorts of stupidly powerful stuff (including 8gb of RAM). So whilst it's not necessarily needed today, it might be more relevant in future, however you could get 4 for now, and upgrade another 4 in future when it's really needed if you wanted to save money now :)

kd
 
go for the gen3 version of the mb http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

psu if no plan for xfire http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-118-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

if planning xfire in future http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

blueray drive you'll need retail or buy seperate program to play bluerays.

if you can stretch to it in your budget then 8gb would be nice but not essential

cooler for overclocking the cpu http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

damn 3 replies as I was typing
 
thanks a lot can i ask what is xfire ? and for blu-ray would LG CH10LS20 10x BluRay-ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) be better and have program to play ? also will the 650w be good enought thanks Dean
 
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Yes, LG retail box will have software playback. Dunno between samsung and LG, as long as they are both retail. Look up reviews, but the LG does what it's suppose to do. play bluerays, burn dvds.

PSUs, 650W with 4 PCIE connectors or better, like the Antec TP-650. 750 gives more headroom, something like a Lepa B-750 (650W on 12V), TP-750, Corsair TX750V2. You probably want some form of modularity with a small(ish) case.
 
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thanks for that oliver, think i will just be getting the one graphics card , should it play latest games for 2-3 years ? i will build new system then, not sure weather to get the antec 550w or the 650 w ? will get 550 if that will be enough ?

thanks Dean
 
550W is enough for single 6950. In fact, on paper, probably enough for a two 6950's, but you'll run the PSU ragged.

The RAM is good. Everyone and their dog use it without much complains.

As for the card longevity, who knows for sure. It's equivalent to what the 5850 was 18 months ago. High-midrange, but powerful. Not quite top of the charts, but very capable. In terms of comparison now, a 5850 is between a 6850 and a 6870. So still pretty darn good.

The next gen is apparently on 28nm TSMC, compared to the current 40nm. This alone will probably make the current generation completely outclassed anyway. Don't know if Xfire will be the solution then :) Still a long way to go, and still a lot of speculation. So in the meanwhile, the 6950 2GB will do fine :)
 
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6950 xfire with the i2500k@4-5ghz should be enough to see you through the next few years unless there's a dramatic improvement in the games released(unlikely untill the next gen consoles are relased).
 
thanks a lot oliver and fowler really helpfull, i am going to order now then i will do a post when building and keep u updated and probibly a few more questions lol, how often do next generations come along ? and what is 28nm tsmc?

going to get the 550w should be ok with a few case fans yeah ?
 
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