Please help with 1st build

Do you have any parts you can salvage? You said you have a screen, how about a HDD or DVD drive......better still both :D

£15 off just for the DVD drive doesn't sound like much but was the price difference between the reference 6950 and the FROZR III 6950 you debated over. You are right to be cautious especially with expensive parts like the gpu and cpu.

As a gaming rig you want the best gfx card you can get for the budget period. You can add a bigger HDD later relatively cheaply to improve the system but there is no £20-30 boost you can make to the gpu. It's either x-fire or replace the card both are expensive options.

Did you mention you may buy a new monitor in the near future? Just to throw a spanner in the works....how do you feel about gaming in 3D? An nvidia card would offer the simpler solution than the radeon you are considering. Of course you will need to buy a 120hz 3D capable monitor but atleast the rig is ready to rock with it. Remember to reuse the old monitor for dual screens ;)

I look forward to see what you settle with :P

*edit I'm not trying to be akward, you obviously want the system to "be all it can be".
 
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Hi, honosuseri. I had originally considered salvaging parts from the old PC but it is pretty much only the dvd that would be useful and that seemed a bit pointless when a new one is £20. I am going to keep the old one as it is and probably give it to my brother.

I am not too fussed by 3d gaming. I don't think I will add that to my list of pros and cons although it is a fair point. My monitor is an old CRT type so I definitely need a new one but that can come later. I won't be buying a massive one when I do.

Having slept on this I am comfortable with a £700ish budget now that it can include Windows. Really now I just want to make sure I choose the best Graphics card for my money. I was set on the 6950, expecially the 2gb model but then Stulid threw in the 560 which according to a PC gamer mag I have is basically the same level card but Nvidia's version (although they appear to have compared a 2gb 6950 with a 1gb 560. Might have been a typo) apparently a bit more powerful and the ATI being able to upgrade to a 6970 which would then make that gain the upper hand.

I had been quite excited about the prospect of the 2gb 6950 even though it is way above my first budget range ideas. i had thought to avoid paying for a bit more power when a budget one would do but that may be short sighted if I want to save on upgrading for a few years so was going to pay for the higher range card. Now I wonder if I am paying for nothing much more.

So the choices are

GTX560 1gb http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=gx-130-ms

6950 2gb basic model http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=gx-119-ms (i think my only concern is this will be noisy due to earlier advice

6950 2gb twin frozrii http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=gx-113-ms (this was the favourite until stulid said it cant be flashed. there are comments on the user reviews saying it can howvere so bit confused with this.) then there's the froxriii!!

looking at theis from sttulid's earlier post http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/msi/gtx_560_twin_frozr_ii/23.html it appears that the 1gb 560 is actually as good or better that a 2gb 6950 so I am edging toward that card, especially as it is a bit cheaper but then again, if I am wrong, the extra £15-£20 for a long term gain would be worth it.

To be honest I don't see how I will ever make this decision!! If I had bought the 6950 2gb last night i would have thought I have something amazing and the 560 somehow felt like a concession to price but then again I am probably talking a load of rambling nonsense. I am starting to think I had over estimated the amount of added power the 2gb 6950 would afford.

Maybe I shouldn't deliberate this so much. Basically after my cash outlay and the work of building my own pc I hope to be able to stick on today's games and be able to turn them up high!! And I want to be playing games as they should be for a good while to come before I upgrade anything again. I suspect that every one of the choices above would accomplish that. I am very confused.

Let's face it. I dont know what I am talking about here!!!:D
 
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To clear up the Frozr II vs III debate,

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6950_Twin_Frozr_III/27.html

Can be modded to HD 6970
Click to expand...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6950_Twin_Frozr_II/32.html

Our sample could not be modded to HD 6970
Click to expand...


I think from the resolution you mentioned earlier, and the replacement screen when it comes wont be higher than 2560X1600 as they cost lots of money, the GTX560 is best for you, its easier on the wallet, its performance is close to the 6950 2GB at resolutions you use, its an overclocked model so will be faster than the reference design 6950.
 
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Thanks again Stulid. I am starting to warm to the 560.

This comparison you posted yesterday shows that nvidias have far fewer shader units than the atis. Is this something i should consider?

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6950_Twin_Frozr_III/

I just noticed that the 480 you said you would buy above all others is actually the same price as the 2gb 6950 or at least only a few quid off.

I am off to town for an hour or so to sort the cash situation out and when I return I will hopefully be ready to order something.

Thanks so much for your help. That goes for everyone who has kindly posted on my thread.

Cheers and I will be back soon to confirm my final spec!!!
 
You can not compare the individual parts that make up a GPU core from Nvidia and ATI, they use different techniques to attain the goal, and count things in different ways.
 
Ah,ok. I thought you might say that.

So now the GTX 560 is in the lead. I still have an idea that the 6950 is somehow better but the stats dont support that view and I think it's just because so many people seemed to like the 6950 selection. .

i am going to order this evening to give me a few hours of consideration time.

I am pleased with the motherboard and cpu selection. The windows+hdd bundle is great for saving some money and I trust the fact that you said I wont notice any real difference to the better model hdd. In any case I can buy another HDD for cheap enough should the need arise in the future. It is the graphics card that seems the only part I am not 100% on and that is just because there is no clear winner and it seems such an important component.

So this looks likely to be the final build....

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £175.99
(£146.66) £175.99
(£146.66)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game
(£129.99) £155.99
(£129.99)
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache WD10EALX - OEM £48.98
(£40.82) £48.98
(£40.82)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Sub Total : £589.42
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £120.63
Total : £723.80

Am I missing anything? Everything will work together? Should i buy further fans for the case? I can barely belive I am buying such a good pc (assuming I dont mess up the build!!)

So sorry to be a pain with all these posts!!
 
You are not missing anything.

The motherboard will have SATA leads for the DVD and HDD drive.

The CPU has a heatsink complete with thermal paste.

The case comes with loads of fans fitted as standard,

Front: 120mm /140mm fan x 1 (120mm Blue LED fan x 1 standard)
Top: 120mm /140mm fan x 2 (120mm Blue LED fan x 1 standard)
Bottom: 120mm /140mm fan x 1 (option)
Rear: (L) 120mm fan x 1 (standard)
Side: 120mm fan x 2 (120mm Blue LED fan x 1 standard)

 
Nice looking spec! When it's comes to putting it together just be patient any more questions or problems come back to us.

Stulid had answered your questions so nothing more to add really. No need to apologise, i think you've been most wise. There are never stupid questions......just stupid people who dont ask questions ;)
 
The order is placed!!! This is amazing.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your help, especially Stulid. I never thought i would get such great help from the forum and I certainly didn't think my spec selection would be sorted out within a week!

I would like to say I wont bother you again but the next stage is building the thing! ;)

Take it easy....
 
I went for the 560 in the end. It seems to be that bit better than the 6950 yet cheaper so i couldn't really justify the ATI.

I can barely believe that I could be using the new set up this time next week:D (if I dont mess up the build!:()
 
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I really do appreciate all the trouble you have gone to to help me out with this. I wouldn't have got to grips with it without all those comparisions and benchmarks on the links you posted.

Cheers
 
I look forward to seeing how it turns out :D

Possibly the best way to look at it is this, you spec'd a well rounded rig. Now think of the graphics card budget as an extra so you can game as a hobby. What you have spent equates to buying an xbox 360 lets say. However you play crysis 2 or battlefield on your rig and look at what the aged xbox 360 can do....I think you'll be more than happy with your choices ;)
 
The components have arrived!!

I think I am going to go straight ahead and start putting this thing together this evening. I am fairly confident about connecting the main components but having looked through the mainboard manual I am a bit scared of the wiring. Specifically the various case connections.

Anyway, if anyone has any advice at this stage it would be much appreciated!!

Wish me luck!!
 
nice set up looks sweet, would be a nice decision to go with the 6950 imo,
looks like stulid has already set you on the right path on deciding certain components.
hope to see pics once the build is complete, good luck.
 
To start,



Take out the motherboard and place on anti static bag.

Lift the CPU cage, insert the cpu (only goes one way) and close the cage and lever, yes its tight.

fit the cooler, if theres protective plastic underneath keeping the paste save remove it, check the pushpins have gone through the motherboard and have twist the tops to lock them, check the pushpins again, insert the fan cable to the CPU_FAN header on the board.

Fit both ram sticks to the right memory slots, manual for motherboard will say what to fill first for dual channel operation.

----------------

Open the case, remove the extras bags.

Fit the I/O shield plate to the back, Insert a brass standoff for ever hole to correspond with the holes on the motherboard.

Fit the PSU with the cables hanging out the case.

Lift the whole motherboard assembly into the case, making sure the I/O shield plate ports are all aligned and free from obstructions, screw the board in.

Fit the HDD and DVD drive.

Connect the wires for the HDD LED/PWR switch/RESET switch etc.

Add two SATA cables for the two drives.

Fit the GPU to the top slot.

Put the 24pin and 8pin into the motherboard, SATA power to each drive and put two 6pin power connectors into the GTX560.

Work out how the Fan controller gets power and make sure the case fans are connected to it.


Every connector/wire etc only goes one way, except the case front panel wires, if for example the power LED light dont come on but the system does start up, just turn the connector around 180 degrees.
 
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Good setup. Enjoy :)

Take your time and look up online guides. The wiring is pretty straight forward, fiddly bits are the case connectors (HD light, power button, reset button, front USB...). Don't use too much force, things should just slot in. Ask if you get stuck.
 
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