spec check £725

Associate
Joined
21 Jul 2011
Posts
173
Location
derbyshire
hello OcUK

i have recently been converted to PC gaming by a friend and have decided to get a gaming PC. i would greatly appreciate it if someone could have a look my spec and tell me if the components are compatible.

MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti Twin FrozR II http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-130-MS
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-052-AK
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-000-OP
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-037-ZA
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD
Sony Optiarc AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW SATA http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-046-OT

i already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse (although all of these will probably end up being replaced around Christmas time) i addition to this i also have a Microsoft office 3 user license disk to use and a spare copy of antivirus software.
the monitor has a maximum resolution of 1440x900 so it shouldn't stress the GPU to much i do plan on getting a 1920x1080 monitor some time in the future though however i would expect the GPU to be capable of handling this resolution pretty well. the games i plan on playing are a couple of RTS including various total wars and company of hero's i also plan on playing BF3 and skyrim
also could anyone tell me if i need any other cables apart from a DVI-I to VGA adapter as i think the mother board comes with 2 SATA cables and the PSU seems to have all the relevant cables included.

thanks
The darjeeling
 
all looks good except the motherboard. i'd change it to:

Asus P8P67 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION **

it's only a tad more expensive but has SATA3 (which by the looks of it the one you specced doesnt) which means you'll have the option of an SSD upgrade when they come down to a reasonable price.

also RAM is so cheap these days you may as well get 8GB. if you check the site regularly, there's almost always at least one 8GB set which is on a weekly offer so just order whichever one that happens to be at the time.

if you get both those upgrades i suggested, you'll be an extra ~£50 out of pocket but will have a more future-proofed system. the Asus mobo also has a much nicer bios and is an excellent overclocker if you choose to go down that road (and if you don't, then there's little reason to get the aftermarket CPU cooler).
 
all looks good except the motherboard. i'd change it to:

Asus P8P67 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION **

it's only a tad more expensive but has SATA3 (which by the looks of it the one you specced doesnt) which means you'll have the option of an SSD upgrade when they come down to a reasonable price.

also RAM is so cheap these days you may as well get 8GB. if you check the site regularly, there's almost always at least one 8GB set which is on a weekly offer so just order whichever one that happens to be at the time.

if you get both those upgrades i suggested, you'll be an extra ~£50 out of pocket but will have a more future-proofed system. the Asus mobo also has a much nicer bios and is an excellent overclocker if you choose to go down that road (and if you don't, then there's little reason to get the aftermarket CPU cooler).

Sata 3 and Sata 6Gb/s are the same

from asrock website
- 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s connectors
 
huh thanks, that'll teach me to trust the overclocker's site product description (it only lists SATA2). my/their bad.

to OP: i'd still recommend the asus board though, or maybe a cheaper P67 one. there's really not much point in getting a Z68 given you're getting a discrete GPU and you won't be using SSD caching.
 
to OP: i'd still recommend the asus board though, or maybe a cheaper P67 one. there's really not much point in getting a Z68 given you're getting a discrete GPU and you won't be using SSD caching.

What about Lucid Virtu and Quicksync?
 
The Pro 3 is a good board. A bit short on overclocking (6 phase VRMs?), but should be good for something sensible.

yeah i recall seeing in a review that it isn't the greatest overclocking board out there but i only plan on going for a small OC around 4.0-4.2GHz, enough to make a noticeable difference to speed (plus making it worthwhile having a CPU that can be overclocked) and without a massive increase in the processor's temps, which i figure the Gelid should be able to handle easily.
 
Gelid is great value. It's a big motha though, don't be deceived by the price :)

BTW I'm not a massive fan of the Zalman. It's quite noisy but you have a fan controller. Although for the price, I can't really argue. And it can be fixed rather easily.

Good build BTW.

For the memory, look out for deals, prices fluctuate rapidly. For example, 8GB HyperX for £40.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom