Spec check please - £1300 rig

Pliskin

Pliskin

Pliskin

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Hi

After about 2/3 weeks of reading up on hardware and spending way too much time on here :) I thought I would post my proposed build and seek some advice from the guru's.

I currently have a Dell Studio 1558 laptop and it struggles on games now so Im looking to build me a decent rig. At the moment its just in the planning stage, looking to spend around £1200 - £1300 give or take.

The Build

YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone Fortress FT02 USB3.0 Windowed Case - Black (SST-FT02B-W USB 3.0) £219.98
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.98
1 x Sapphire HD 6950 OC "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A2133C11R) £99.95
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £89.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK) £86.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH100) £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £1,251.32 (includes shipping : £13.75).




I have 22" LG Flatron, Razer Naga Mouse and will be buying a MS Sidewinder X4 keyboard.

Basically Im asking are all the components compatible especially the RAM with the Mobo and CPU.
I chose the case as not only does it look great but it has great airflow and has potential to be watercooled later on. Do you think it needs more fans?
I intend to OC and unlock the GPU up to 6970 spec as per the thread here.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
 
Personally I would spend less on the case and put the difference towards a better GPU. If you only intend on using one GPU you might be able to get a less powerful PSU as well. Samsung Green ram is cheaper and should easily clock to the same speed as the ram you have chosen.
 
Also, I have had to RMA my h100 due to the grinding noise which is a common fault - although I didn't buy my h100 from ocuk. You might want to read up on this problem first, google it and you'll see there is a homemade fix. Sadly my h100 fan controller started playing up before I could do it so I'm having to get a replacement.
 
  • Video card is pretty old and for the money you are spending should really have better.
  • Case is very expensive for what it is in my honest opinion.
  • The RAM kit is very expensive due to the speed of the RAM but I doubt you will see any difference between 2133MHz and 1600Mhz RAM (though I could be wrong).
  • PSU is total overkill for the spec really so can save money there.
Based on what I have mentioned here is a spec for you to look at, it is of course your money at the end of the day I just want you to get the best for your money :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £325.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £104.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 500R Midi Tower Case - Black £86.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £43.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3 £39.98
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £1,096.38 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Since there is £200 left still you could improve the SSD to the 256GB version which is another £100 ish.

Stoner81.
 
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Thanks for the replies and opinions. I want to OC the CPU so will that cooler be sufficient? I'm liking the look of the 670 tbh....yeah I will go with that one :)

I really like Asus board though for all of its features so I might stick with that. I will go for the Samsung Green RAM for OC'ing. I just like the red heatspreaders on the Vengeance RAM as it matches the Maximus V Gene mobo.

The case I chose is expensive I agree but another point i liked about it was the USB 3.0 ports on it. Can you suggest another Case that has that?

Thanks again folks
 
Almost all cases coming out of 2012 will have USB3 support. Loads to choose from. Best would be a selection that you like and we can point you to our preference. Personal fave is the RV03, but it's not pretty.

The cooler performance is ok, but ghastly looking. Note that with a cooler like that, you are limited to low-profile rams.
 
olivier renault said:
Almost all cases coming out of 2012 will have USB3 support. Loads to choose from. Best would be a selection that you like and we can point you to our preference. Personal fave is the RV03, but it's not pretty.

The cooler performance is ok, but ghastly looking. Note that with a cooler like that, you are limited to low-profile rams.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I'll have a look through cases later. Do you think the H80 cooler would handle the i5 3570k at 4.4Ghz? Or should I just hope that the H100 I get isn't part of the bad batch (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Corsair-H100-Fan-Controller-cooler,13589.html) I apologise if I shouldn't link in other sites here
 
Pliskin said:
TI just like the red heatspreaders on the Vengeance RAM as it matches the Maximus V Gene mobo.
Click to expand...

I get your point about the colour but it is far more expensive just for the colour and the extra speed (of which I doubt you see any difference as already mentioned).

Pliskin said:
Do you think the H80 cooler would handle the i5 3570k at 4.4Ghz? Or should I just hope that the H100 I get isn't part of the bad batch.
Click to expand...

The Antec Khuler 920 is a valid option here, I have one on my 1366 i7 930 @ 4GHz and have good temps about the 35-40 degrees mark (give or take a bit). Bear in mind that all CPU's are different so what one person gets on their overclock might not be the same for somebody else especially when dealing with the top end over clocks.

Revised spec keeping the motherboard and changing the RAM to match colour, also changing the CPU cooler for the Antec one.

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £325.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £161.99
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 500R Midi Tower Case - Black £86.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 920 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM2+/AM3+) £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX RED Limited Edition 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3B1RK2/8GX) £44.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £1,188.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).



The case has 2x USB3 sockets on the front of the case all the others are on the motherboard you wanted.

Stoner81.
 
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Just for comparison here's my spec that i'm currently building for gaming/good overclockability.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £377.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V PRO Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
1 x Cooler Master HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black (RC-942) £139.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2) £72.98
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £55.99
Total : £1,170.90 (includes shipping : FREE).

Click to expand...

You'd need to add an HDD, copy of windows and a dvd drive to that which I already have. That should take it upto £1300.

It's a very good build if I do say so myself although I'm 50/50 between the 7970 and 670 windforces atm and only decided on the 7970 as it should* overclock better and give better performance in most games so you may want a 670 instead (still get the Windforce 3X). I'll be going xfire in a while hence the large PSU (and I want one that will last for multiple builds no matter the spec) so you could prob get a cheaper one like in your original spec.

I chose the P8Z77-PRO as it's full ATX and the Gene can hinder airflow for one of the GFX cards in SLI as they're so close together. Very little in it but by my reckoning the PRO is better as it's full ATX while the Gene makes a great effort to perform the same as most midrange ATX boards but on a mATX board and it's not quitethere because of this limitation IMHO.

You could also shave money off on the case by getting http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-240-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=2231 which was my 2nd choice (both have red led's etc and fantastic airflow).

Finally if you insisted on red RAM get the HyperX suggested by stoner, but the Samsungs OC very well and would perform as well as if not better than RAM twice the price when OC'd.
 
Forgot to mention, high end air cooling will outperform closed loop water cooling and a lot of people like the director have issues with the H100. I wouldn't pay £72 for the NH-D14 thuogh as I got it from a competitor for £58.
 
Evening

Right so I have done some hunting around and looked into all your suggestions and I thank you all for that.


YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £325.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £189.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.98
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £103.98
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 920 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM2+/AM3+) £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
1 x Kingston HyperX RED Limited Edition 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3B1RK2/8GX) £44.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £1,320.52 (includes shipping : £14.75).



What do you wrekon now? Still viable?

I opted for the 700W PSU as it was only a few quid more than the 600W.

I went for the watercooling CPU solution...Is air cooling better than WC? I just dont want a massive block in the middle of my build plus the WC directs heat straight out the case. Thoughts?

Cheers

Is this now a solid build?
 
The Asus Maximus Gene is a m-atx card, if that's a problem (well, will look tiny in that case).

Otherwise, yeah looks good. Expensive CPU cooler. And yes might as well go 700W for a few quids.

Air cooling is on par, if better, if you take a NH-D14, Silver Arrow / Phantek. Probably quieter too. And less complications. That's why I prefer air cooling, unless you have to use water cooling, for example if the case is small, the motherboard layout is too compact (with m-atx cards, that would be possible), high VRM heat spreaders (like the sabertooth), or you have high ram heatsinks.
 
Last edited:
Pliskin said:
Evening

Right so I have done some hunting around and looked into all your suggestions and I thank you all for that.


YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £325.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £189.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.98
1 x CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Gaming Case - Black £103.98
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 920 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM2+/AM3+) £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £74.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
1 x Kingston HyperX RED Limited Edition 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3B1RK2/8GX) £44.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222BB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £1,320.52 (includes shipping : £14.75).



What do you wrekon now? Still viable?

I opted for the 700W PSU as it was only a few quid more than the 600W.

I went for the watercooling CPU solution...Is air cooling better than WC? I just dont want a massive block in the middle of my build plus the WC directs heat straight out the case. Thoughts?

Cheers

Is this now a solid build?
Click to expand...

Good build overall I just don't like that motherboard but that's just my personal preference and opinion :p

Stoner81.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 670 w/Backplate 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-2671-KR) £399.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Asrock Z77 Extreme6 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (ST2000DL003) £89.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £72.00
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156//LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £37.99
1 x GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £37.99
1 x LG GH22NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £1,223.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Case maybe budget minded but you do get 4 120mm fans, digital temp display and fan controller with cable management. You get a lot for the price, no USB3 ports but the mobo I spec'd has a break out box adding USB3 ports in the front 3.5 inch bay.

GPU is good and has oodles of VRAM (is on preorder will most likely go up in price once in stock). I have done my best to colour code the heatsink, RAM and mobo together if that is of any interest to you.

Hope this helps any further questions or problems you know where to find us :)
 
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