Associate
- Joined
- 29 Aug 2011
- Posts
- 3
About four and a half years ago I set out on an adventure. I'd spent a couple of months looking up components and putting together dream builds for a new PC. The sort of thing an 18 year old would do. Then I got myself a job... and suddenly I was facing the prospect of actually being able to build that dream PC.
I spent six weeks pouring over possible combinations of parts and learning the black art of overclocking. Juggling performance and cost to find the perfect balance. I had help from forums and articles - and boy did I need that help! And then I got my paycheck and I took the plunge.
Best purchase of my entire life. Not that it worked straight away mind you. I had to get the RAM replaced. That was agony at the time, but I've since witnessed a friend have to RMA three mainboards, and now a duff stick of RAM doesn't scare me at all...
Anyway I always had in mind for that PC to last four years. Two years and then upgrade, then two years and replace. It's been four years. I've been through University and have myself a good job. The taxman is cutting me a break for a few months (I'll pay for that later no doubt) and so I find myself only a month away from an entirely new rig!
So here's the rub. I'm a bit rusty and have no intention of buying anything until I am certain the build is powerful, compatible and future-proof. I'm looking for feedback, suggestions and answers. And yes, if I can I intend to buy everything from Overclockers. It was Overclockers who recommended the Antec 900 to me all those years ago and they even delivered it in person. All my upgrades have been bought from here since. My loyalty is unwavering!
So now for the juicy bit. What I'm currently eyeing up. So, to the build!
Mainboard
I'll go into a little detail now on why I've chosen these parts.
For the processor I'm doing what I did last time. Go for the low end of the high end (that would be the 930 in the i7 line) and overclock. You get the performance of the more expensive chips for half the price. My initial thoughts for the overclock are to get the base clock at 160. 3.36GHz is more than good enough for me, and at that speed the memory (@1600MHz) can sit at a 2:10 ratio, which seems nice to me.
I always try to go with EVGA where I can so both the mainboard and the graphics card are by them. With the mainboard it's a case of get the best on offer (that isn't a dual processor board!). With the GTX 570... I'd prefer to spend less, but the GTX 560Ti is quite a drop in performance. About 15% from what I read in reviews.
Memory has to match the processor. I think 1600MHz works out best in this case. I've gone with corsair because I've never had a problem with them in the past and I like the look of their sticks.
The sound card is an area where I am very open to suggestions. I don't know a lot about sound cards. I want one because I know there is a difference in sound quality. It's just what to get that troubles me...
The power supply is the most important part of the build. Having said that I am not going to get stupid with it. I'm not planning SLI or crazy overclocks so I do not need a massive power supply. I'm currently using a 600W supply and I figure the 650 from corsair will easily handle this build.
Storage... now this is probably the area I am most interested in hearing peoples opinions. I have two ideas regarding storage at the moment. My first idea was to have an SSD for Windows and two HDDs. One for users and programs, the other for games. Then I came across the Caviar drive I've listed above. My current idea is the have the SSD for Windows and split the HDD into three partitions. One for users/data, one for programs and one for games. I'm thinking a 200/200/600 split.
What do you guys think? I would configure windows to default to the new partitions for users and the like of course.
Lastly we come to the case. Another area where I really want feedback and suggestions. I already mentioned I have a 900. It's a wonderful case. But it does have one horrible flaw... dust. I dare not open my case now. I gave up keeping it clean years ago.
So for my next case my two primary concerns are airflow and dust. The DF35 looks about the same as the 900. Same size, same fan layout. It comes with filters on the front intakes though, which I really like.
I am open to suggestions on alternative cases however. It's an area I don't have much knowledge of. I don't have a problem going for a full tower if that is the best option, but the 900 size is my preference. It's a bit easier for taking to LAN parties. We all love LAN parties, right?
Anyway I've written loads. Thank you for reading it. Your opinions are really appreciated!
P.S. The price must not go over £1,500. That's my maximum. If I can get it down to £1,200 for the same performance (or thereabouts) that would be ideal.
I spent six weeks pouring over possible combinations of parts and learning the black art of overclocking. Juggling performance and cost to find the perfect balance. I had help from forums and articles - and boy did I need that help! And then I got my paycheck and I took the plunge.
Best purchase of my entire life. Not that it worked straight away mind you. I had to get the RAM replaced. That was agony at the time, but I've since witnessed a friend have to RMA three mainboards, and now a duff stick of RAM doesn't scare me at all...
Anyway I always had in mind for that PC to last four years. Two years and then upgrade, then two years and replace. It's been four years. I've been through University and have myself a good job. The taxman is cutting me a break for a few months (I'll pay for that later no doubt) and so I find myself only a month away from an entirely new rig!
So here's the rub. I'm a bit rusty and have no intention of buying anything until I am certain the build is powerful, compatible and future-proof. I'm looking for feedback, suggestions and answers. And yes, if I can I intend to buy everything from Overclockers. It was Overclockers who recommended the Antec 900 to me all those years ago and they even delivered it in person. All my upgrades have been bought from here since. My loyalty is unwavering!
So now for the juicy bit. What I'm currently eyeing up. So, to the build!
Mainboard
EVGA Classified 3 Intel X58
£299.98
ProcessorIntel Core i7 930
£199.99
HeatsinkThermalright Venomous X Black Edition
£45.98
MemoryCorsair Vengeance 6GB DDR3 1600MHz
£74.99
Graphics CardEVGA GeForce GTX 570 Classified
£311.99
Sound CardCreative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
£71.99
Power SupplyCorsair Enthusiast Series TX 650 V2
£62.99
StorageCorsair Force GT 60GB
£109.99
StorageWestern Digital Caviar Black 1TB
£72.98
Optical DriveSony Optiarc AD-7280S
£17.99
CaseAntec Dark Fleet Series DF35 Gaming Enclosure
£86.99
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
£79.99
Grand Total£1,435.85
I'll go into a little detail now on why I've chosen these parts.
For the processor I'm doing what I did last time. Go for the low end of the high end (that would be the 930 in the i7 line) and overclock. You get the performance of the more expensive chips for half the price. My initial thoughts for the overclock are to get the base clock at 160. 3.36GHz is more than good enough for me, and at that speed the memory (@1600MHz) can sit at a 2:10 ratio, which seems nice to me.
I always try to go with EVGA where I can so both the mainboard and the graphics card are by them. With the mainboard it's a case of get the best on offer (that isn't a dual processor board!). With the GTX 570... I'd prefer to spend less, but the GTX 560Ti is quite a drop in performance. About 15% from what I read in reviews.
Memory has to match the processor. I think 1600MHz works out best in this case. I've gone with corsair because I've never had a problem with them in the past and I like the look of their sticks.
The sound card is an area where I am very open to suggestions. I don't know a lot about sound cards. I want one because I know there is a difference in sound quality. It's just what to get that troubles me...
The power supply is the most important part of the build. Having said that I am not going to get stupid with it. I'm not planning SLI or crazy overclocks so I do not need a massive power supply. I'm currently using a 600W supply and I figure the 650 from corsair will easily handle this build.
Storage... now this is probably the area I am most interested in hearing peoples opinions. I have two ideas regarding storage at the moment. My first idea was to have an SSD for Windows and two HDDs. One for users and programs, the other for games. Then I came across the Caviar drive I've listed above. My current idea is the have the SSD for Windows and split the HDD into three partitions. One for users/data, one for programs and one for games. I'm thinking a 200/200/600 split.
What do you guys think? I would configure windows to default to the new partitions for users and the like of course.
Lastly we come to the case. Another area where I really want feedback and suggestions. I already mentioned I have a 900. It's a wonderful case. But it does have one horrible flaw... dust. I dare not open my case now. I gave up keeping it clean years ago.
So for my next case my two primary concerns are airflow and dust. The DF35 looks about the same as the 900. Same size, same fan layout. It comes with filters on the front intakes though, which I really like.
I am open to suggestions on alternative cases however. It's an area I don't have much knowledge of. I don't have a problem going for a full tower if that is the best option, but the 900 size is my preference. It's a bit easier for taking to LAN parties. We all love LAN parties, right?
Anyway I've written loads. Thank you for reading it. Your opinions are really appreciated!
P.S. The price must not go over £1,500. That's my maximum. If I can get it down to £1,200 for the same performance (or thereabouts) that would be ideal.
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