New to building my gaming PC

Trueomega

Trueomega

Trueomega

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Jersey Channel Islands
Hello everyone!

I'm looking at upgrading my 27" iMac to a new gaming PC which I have decided to build myself, it's been a while since I built a computer, I used to do it as a hobby, but since buying the Mac I haven't really been in touch with what's going on in the PC world, so I'm in need of some assistance if anyone can help me.

I've chosen everything I want to buy apart from the GFX card.

Mostly this PC will be used to play, world of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3 and Overwatch, I may possibly play other games like Terraria and Rust but nothing really GFX intense, though I'd like the games I do play to be playable on high GFX settings.

Here's what I have so far:

Case:

Corsair Carbide Midi Tower

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...ase-black-window-cc-9011081-ww-ca-216-cs.html


Motherboard:

Asus z170 Pro Gaming

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...cket-1151-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-648-as.html


CPU:

Intel i5 6600K 3.9Ghz

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ocket-lga1151-processor-retail-cp-579-in.html


Cooling Unit:

Sapphire Capour 120MM

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapphire-vapour-x-w-dual-fan-120mm-cpu-cooler-hs-001-sp.html


RAM:

16GB DDR4 Corsair

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...el-kit-red-cmk16gx4m4a2666c16r-my-420-cs.html


PSU:

Corsair 500w

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...nze-power-supply-cp-9020047-uk-ca-034-cs.html


SSD:

Samsung 250GB

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sams...olid-state-drive-mz-75e250b-eu-hd-191-sa.html


HDD:

WD-Black 2TB

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/wd-b...-64mb-cache-hdd-oem-wd2003fzex-hd-410-wd.html


Screen:

Samsung 27"

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sams...n-widescreen-lcd-monitor-black-mo-22b-sa.html


Now the only thing left is a GFX card, and I'm honestly stuck with which one to get :(

Also I'd like to know if the items I have chosen are all compatable with each other, the reason I've gone for the motherboard is that I'm needing a Thunderbolt PCI card installed onto it so I can use my 2 Thunderbolt external drives for storage and only asus seem to do one.

Any recommendations or help or even other items to get instead of the ones I have chosen (maybe cheaper ones) would be greatly appreciated!

Many Thanks in advance

-Chris
 

Danny75

Danny75

Danny75

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Hello and welcome to the forum.


AMD Ryzen is released first days of March. Best to wait if possible.

i5-7600K is newer than i5-6600K. Z270 boards newer than Z170 boards.

The PSU could do with improving for a gaming/overclocking computer.

HDD is where you could save a chunk of money by going for an ordinary Toshiba P300 or Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue. The speed you'll already get with the SSD, i.e. put stuff you want to open fast, on that. You could even get a decent 500GB SSD with the money saved.

You don't state budget for video card, or total budget. However, the monitor is 1080p and 60Hz and very good cards for that are currently the RX 480 8GB and GTX 1060 6GB. The GTX 1070 is a little overkill (with higher refresh rate it wouldn't be).
 

Trueomega

Trueomega

Trueomega

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I noticed the z270 boards but the asus thunderbolt card doesn't state whether it's comparisons with it :( that's why I've gone for a z170

I probably won't end up overclocking the computer if I'm honest, but yeah gaming I'll be using it lots for.

I shall have a look at the HDD, I'll be hosting most of my stuff on an external anyway (pictures and iTunes) saving on the HDD would be great!

My total budget is around £1000 (excluding VAT) for everything except the monitor

I was looking at a GTX 1060 3GB before I made this post, would that be able to cope with what I want to use it for?
 

Danny75

Danny75

Danny75

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Trueomega said:
I noticed the z270 boards but the asus thunderbolt card doesn't state whether it's comparisons with it :( that's why I've gone for a z170
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Some probably will be but I can understand not wanting to risk.


Trueomega said:
I probably won't end up overclocking the computer if I'm honest, but yeah gaming I'll be using it lots for.
Click to expand...

Alright. This PSU is better anyway, and cheaper: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/supe...0-plus-gold-power-supply-black-ca-002-sf.html

Gold, 5 year warranty, and actually delivers more power on its 12v rail than the CX500Wv2 (408W).




Trueomega said:
I was looking at a GTX 1060 3GB before I made this post, would that be able to cope with what I want to use it for?
Click to expand...

I know there's a few games that can make use of more than 3GB memory at 1080p now so I personally would avoid (I play GTA V which is one example). Not sure about the games you've mentioned. The 6GB variant is also slightly faster then the 3GB. And the RX 480 is doing better across a wider variety of games than the 1060. So if anything I'd go for the RX 480 4GB but preferably the 8GB version (or the 1060 6GB).

I did say that the 1070 would be a little overkill for 1080p @ 60Hz but a great model on special offer, along with everything else, is pretty close to your max budget:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,047.39 ex-VAT
(includes shipping: £0.00)



​
 

Danny75

Danny75

Danny75

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Trueomega said:
That's actually really helpful!

The GFX card is slightly too expensive for me if I'm honest, what about this one?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/xfx-...s-graphics-card-with-backplate-gx-23i-xf.html

I've swapped out the power supply for the one you mentioned also :)

Is there anything else I would need for building my PC? Have I forgotten anything?
Click to expand...

Windows, maybe? Any peripherals like keyboard/mouse?

That XFX 480 isn't bad but a little expensive in my opinion, when the MSI Gaming X and Asus Strix OC Aura are around the same price, and the Sapphire Nitro+ OC even cheaper. My choice would be any of these:


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,206.95
(includes shipping: £0.00)



​
 

Killerg

Killerg

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You can pick up a RX 480 8gb for under £190 if you shop around, thats what i would chose if i was looking right now. Non OC 4GB for even less (id stick to the 8GB version).
 

Trueomega

Trueomega

Trueomega

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Ok, so I've looked over everything and read some more online, this is what I have:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,269.86
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​
Works out at £1058 ex VAT

Note the change in monitor, GFX card (I want to stick with Nvidia, let me know if this one is ok), the change in HHD and PSU.

Is there anything I can improve on here?

Also I take it I'm ok buying that CPU fan? Don't need a certain one or anything?
 
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