Out of loop - gaming build advice appreciated...

jarvis82

jarvis82

jarvis82

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Joined
10 May 2008
Posts
285
Location
Sandhurst, United Kingdom
Hi guys,

Current system is in my sig, and has developed some significant issues - whether its the graphics card or the mobo, or even the memory, I am not sure....either way, I have decided its time to start from scratch and build a new gaming rig.

I have been out of the loop for way too long, so not up to speed on anything really. Was thinking i7 930, currently at £211 quid this week only. However, given that the graphics card will arguably be +200 quid, the i7 may be restrictive on my budget - looking to spend 700 - 800. Budget could move a little (in either direction!).

I would like to stick to nvidia, its just my personal preference (GTX465 perhaps - I literally have no idea as am so out of the loop on hardware?!) About the only thing I know I'd like is the case, a Coolermaster CM-690 II lite/dom/black, at 62.99. That said I love my Antec 300, so could prob just have another of these - current one is a bit tired.

What I DON'T need - OS, PSU (assuming the be quiet 650 will do for a non-SLI setup?), monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, and in theory DVD drives (although my two are IDE - is this a bit archaeic?).

I would like to incorporate a SSD, just for the OS, and prob buy a new 1TB standard drive to replace the two standard's I currently have.

So, CPU, mobo, GPU, SSD, memory?

Any help is most appreciated.

Thanks.
 
How does this look, gone for the 460 which is better than the 465.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £211.49
(£179.99) £211.49
(£179.99)
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £173.89
(£147.99) £173.89
(£147.99)
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £145.99
(£124.25) £145.99
(£124.25)
OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G) £134.98
(£114.88) £134.98
(£114.88)
Kingston HyperX 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (KHX1600C9D3K3/6GX) £111.61
(£94.99) £111.61
(£94.99)
Sub Total : £662.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £117.53
Total : £789.13
 
RJC's build looks good.

but did you need to fit that case into the budget as well, or did u plan to get that seperatly ?

if you need to save some money, u can get a small SSD, like the intel 40gb
i would suggest getting a new DVDRW, the samsung is only £14 and then u can get ride of your messy IDE cables :P

dont bother with the 465, the 460 is way better and cheaper.

the Be-Quiet should be fine for that setup
 
This includes the 1TB drive you want and a nice DVD drive:

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 GS 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £187.99
(£159.99) £187.99
(£159.99)
Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £146.86
(£124.99) £146.86
(£124.99)
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £119.99
(£102.12) £119.99
(£102.12)
Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £105.99
(£90.20) £105.99
(£90.20)
G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM) £84.59
(£71.99) £84.59
(£71.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £45.99
(£39.14) £45.99
(£39.14)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.91) £13.99
(£11.91)
Sub Total : £600.34
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £106.72
Total : £716.56

Picked the Sony drive as I've heard a few bad things about the Samsung DVD burners.

edit: you could also go for this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-135-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1810

or this if you want a 5 year warranty:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-032-ZT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1810
 
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Thanks for the input gents.

Oh the agony of choice. Would the drop to an i5 but a better graphics card (e.g. 470) be best given that this is going to be a gaming rig?

I am not sure that I really need 6GB RAM, but is this proof of how out of the loop with hardware I am?

For the motherboard, I don't overclock (although maybe I should!), if this makes any difference.

The SSD only needs to be big enough for Windows 7, I assume 40GB would be enough?

Definitely going to get new drives, but at less than 20 quid that isn't an issue. If I slip over 800 quid I can live with it, its just the agony of choice! Plainly I am going to anyway, as the case isn't in any of the above price examples. So if I get to 900 quid but have a nice rig I won't be that bothered!

Problem is I am off to Jersey for a week, so won't be ordering until Friday for delivery Saturday - I bet the i7 deal of 211 quid is gone by then.

EDIT - I've three weeks off before I start a new job, so should be watching my money, but sod it - if I have to go to 950 quid so be it! :-0
 
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replaced my 8800gtx with a zotac 470gtx, tha agony of choice was definatley worth it for me, over the moon with the card.
 
Think this is what I will be going with. £150 over original budget, but am happy with that. Any glaringly obvious mistakes or oversights that anyone can see?

Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £211.49
(£179.99) £211.49
(£179.99)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Prince of Persia PC-Game ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Prince of Persia PC-Game £189.99
(£161.69) £189.99
(£161.69)
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
G.Skill Ripjaw 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit G.Skill Ripjaw 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit £129.24
(£109.99) £129.24
(£109.99)
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £117.49
(£99.99) £117.49
(£99.99)
Coolermaster CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black Coolermaster CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99
(£53.61)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £45.99
(£39.14) £45.99
(£39.14)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.91) £27.98
(£23.82)
Sub Total : £795.88
Shipping cost based on delivery to Work Address, GU24 8HX with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £141.12
Total : £947.50

The case is winding me up a bit - so many versions of the CM690 to choose from! Maybe I should just go with another Antec 300. Also, only chose the Zotac version of the 460 as read a review in this months PC Format raving about it, but think it was more a rave about 1 gig versions of the 460 in general - so what is generally regarded as most reliable manufacterer at the moment? Had an XFX 260 go t*ts up on me last year, and currently running a Gainward 260 with no complaints. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
hi mate sorry to jump on your post, think this will be near enough the same spec as what im gonna build except i need windows so its a hundred quid more lol, any ways just wanna ask everyone, is that motherboard sli ready and is it easy to overclock? im a total nooob when it comes to overclocking. also Ive been thinking of maybe getting a cheaper processor and a better gpu, like a i5, but dont know what will be more important in buying first a better proccesor or a better gpu, as i cant afford both at the moment but will be able to upgrade in about 6 months, im currently playing on a ps3 so are the graphics on a 460 better than a ps3? if so i will get an i7 with a 460 and maybe get a top end gpu in 6 months or so. what do you rekon guys?
 
JonKLJ said:
any ways just wanna ask everyone, is that motherboard sli ready and is it easy to overclock?

im a total nooob when it comes to overclocking. also Ive been thinking of maybe getting a cheaper processor and a better gpu, like a i5, but dont know what will be more important in buying first a better proccesor or a better gpu, as i cant afford both at the moment but will be able to upgrade in about 6 months, im currently playing on a ps3 so are the graphics on a 460 better than a ps3? if so i will get an i7 with a 460 and maybe get a top end gpu in 6 months or so. what do you rekon guys?
Click to expand...

Yes it's SLI ready and yes it's (relatively) easy to overclock.

If you go for the i5 you'll need a socket 1156 motherboard though. If gaming is the main use of the system then the i5 is more than fast enough.

I won't comment on 'better than a PS3' as I don't own one.
 
Doesn't muddle it up at all, it brings it to a satisfactoy conclusion - I'll definitely go with the Lancool, thanks for highlighting it!

A question - the mobo has support for USB 3.0, but can the case's front USB ports utilise this?
 
Whats wrong with your current Antec 300? I have just bought one and its the best case Ive had for a long time... and cheap! Even buying another would save you £16.

Save yourself a little more (£14 less) by going for the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-064-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1830 and its overclocked a little, so would be faster than your proposed 460 card.

So there you go, I saved you £30, you give me £10 and keep the £20 and everyones happy :)
 
jarvis82 said:
Doesn't muddle it up at all, it brings it to a satisfactoy conclusion - I'll definitely go with the Lancool, thanks for highlighting it!

A question - the mobo has support for USB 3.0, but can the case's front USB ports utilise this?
Click to expand...

on most boards, its only a few of the usb slots that run at usb 3.0 afaik
so it would first depend on the motherboard, and if they have any usb headers than run at 3.0

but would also depends if the sockets on the case can run at 3.0

either i would say its not worth worrying about too much, there isn't much that uses usb 3.0 atm, and at least u'll have a few ports available if you need to use it in the future
 
Yet another question, regarding SATA connections - I would guess my current SATA cables are standard ones. Given that the Asus P6X58D has support for two SATA 6gb connections, and the Crucial SSD has 6gb transfer rate, do I need SATA 3 cables?

The Samsung F3 is SATA 2, so assume SATA 3 cables would be backwards compatible, but could someone clarify about the SSD and which cable it requires!

Thanks yet again.
 
You can use the same cable for SATA 2 or 3.

Edit: There are some cables which show as 6gb/s.

9: Does SATA 6Gb/s require different connectors and cables to support the higher
transfer speed?
A9: The same cables and connectors used for current SATA 1.5 and SATA 3.0 Gb/s
implementations can be used to connect SATA 6Gb/s devices, although SATA-IO recommends
quality components be selected to ensure data integrity and robust operation at the faster SATA
6Gb/s transfer rate. Keeping the existing SATA connector form factor enables SATA 6Gb/s to
be designed into the same cost-conscious hardware architectures while minimizing
infrastructure changes.
Click to expand...

http://www.sata-io.org/documents/SATA-Revision-3.0-FAQ-FINAL.pdf
 
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Just a word of thanks for everyone's advice last week - Overclocker's Saturday delivery meant that by late yesterday evening I had built an awesome i7 rig that posted first time. Just need to change my sig now...

Thanks again!

Couple of pics:-

P1000400.jpg


P1000398.jpg
 
What did you do with all your old kit? If you still got it, try swapping things round in your new pc, see what works and what don't. What works, sell...get some money back.
 
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