Spec Check Please?

Dodger

Dodger

Dodger

Associate
Joined
17 Apr 2007
Posts
423
Location
London
PC Purpose: Gaming PC with overclock potential (~£1000-£1500)

Have been researching and back with this build/questions - please advise:


CASE: Fractal Design Define R4 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl [FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL] £99.98 inc VAT

PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £167.99

MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98

GRAPHICS CARD: HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE Sleeping Dogs, Nexuiz, Dirt Showdown & CODMW2 PC Games £251.99

MEMORY: Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.95

INTERNAL HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD30EZRX) [WD30EZRX] £124.99 inc VAT

SOLID STATE DRIVE: Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC256B/WW) **BTS £20 CASHBACK** £149.99

PSU: ??? (Which one, what brand - recommendations please?)

CPU Cooler: ??? (Which one, what brand, water cool? - recommendations please?)

MOUSE: Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £25.99

KEYBOARD: Logitech G110 Illuminated Gaming Keyboard (920-002241) £39.98



Some sound questions below:


SOUND CARD: ???

VIA VT2021 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel w/ Support for S/PDIF Out - Motherboard has onboard sound - I listen to music via my current 2.1 desktop speakers so

do I really need a sound card or is the onboard sound good enough - recommendations please? (~£50?)


HEADSET: ???

I already have a Sennheiser HDR 160 (Wireless) to watch films however, they are not good enough for gaming as I need more bass - recommendations please? (~£50?)


DESKTOP SPEAKERS: ???

Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System - 500W RMS (980-000469) £319.99 - Are these overkill?

Would I be better off with a high quality 2.1 setup instead?

Do people have a Standalone Amp + Speakers which are then connected to the PC? Is that a good idea? Does this idea work in reality?
 
Thanks Lemin.

I always have trouble working out what brand is 'good' for a PSU.

A friend of mine has the Noctua and it's a beast - do you think this CPU Cooler would fit in a R4?

Also, I have been using an Antec Freezer Pro 7 in the past which does a good job for around £15. Is the Noctua worth the premium at ~£57?
 
scwba06 said:
Go for Corsair/Seasonic on the Psu. Noctua/phanteks for the CPU cooler. If you like the r4 check out the arc midi for a cheaper alternative. I'd consider the new MSI Mpower board over the ud3h as its even easier to overclock, check the thread in news and latest deals sub forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

I'm very happy with the R4, been researching between R4/Corsair 550/BitFenix and chose the R4.

I'll check out the MPower - Thanks :D
 
Lemin said:
Noctua in a R4...

As your other parts were fairly high spec i didnt think a cheap cooler was apt. ;)
Click to expand...

The money is there to be spent, just like to justify it so I don't feel bad afterwards :rolleyes:

Have noticed in that picture that if I ever wanted to take out the RAM and put it back in, I would have to take out the CPU Cooler first or is there enough room?
 
Lemin said:
Yeh you'd have to remove a fan.

This is also a good option...


Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+) [0-761345-77085-9]
£55.98 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262
Click to expand...

I like this one - good price too.

I'd much prefer this watercooler than having a really large CPU Cooler where I had to reseat it every time I had to take the RAM out :(
 
I've just had it in the past where I have had issues with the RAM/troubleshooting components etc which effectively mean, removing the RAM - no other reason :-).
 
Mei said:
you dont need a big expensive cooler for ivy anyway it wont make much difference to ur overclock i doubt,

i bet you get the same overclock using this cooler
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-004-ZW&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=

and it wont leak all down ur psu^^

spend it on a gfx card or something
Click to expand...

That was my thinking behind the cost of the CPU Cooler, yes i'm going to overclock, but not at the extreme levels others get their rigs to. Hence my preference to go for a cheaper cooler.

Do people here think this is a good approach? :)
 
Thanks for the responses.

I will be aiming for a good overclock but definitely not too bothered if I don't get the last .ghz out of my system.

Good airflow is a must though, so I agree with scwba06 about keeping everything cool etc.

I also do want a silent setup so I don't have a problem going big :D
 
Lemin said:
Just remember, we like build pics ;)
Click to expand...

I definitely will be posting pictures :D

Another question for you guys :-)

I have selected the Kingston HyperX RAM purely based on reviews - plus my research shows its a highly reliable brand.

In the Hardware forum, I haven't seen it being recommended much, is this because there are better/cheaper alternatives that do the same job?

Also, what are people's opinions on 128GB vs 256GB SSD - Will only be used for OS, pictures, programs and games. Will 128GB be sufficient as I don't have that many pictures etc? Or, shall I try and future proof by getting the 256GB? :confused:
 
I like the Samsung Green RAM but they are more expensive than the HyperX still ~£40 for 8GB is pretty good.

I think I will go for 128GB SSD. I'll play games but I won't play that many to fill up the SSD imo.

Thanks.
 
Thanks again peeps :-).

I have looked at the MSI MPower Motherboard but there has not been many reviews yet so I don't know if I should be sticking with the UD3H or get the newer MSI Board :(
 
I'm inclined to go for the new Motherboard if i'm honest, just don't know if that's the right call given the few reviews.

With regards to overclocking RAM, i'm pretty sure with the i5, I can get away with just overclocking the CPU without overclocking the RAM?

I am guessing you would go with this RAM scwba06?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-336-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

The R4 can control fans via a switch near the front fans. I was going to fit everything in, see the temperatures and then decide whether or not I needed to get any further fans. Are you suggesting to get a dedicated fan controller or?
 
You can run 3 fans off the stock fan controller in the R4 as far as I am aware.

Yeah I will not bother with overclocking the RAM. Will only be overclocking the CPU :).

I don't personally think I need a fan controller so will purchase on at the moment, maybe in the near future if I feel I need it.
 
Thanks TD. Z5500 look better than the Z906's but have not heard the latter.

I will do some more digging later today and see if I can come to a conclusion.

Regarding sound card, I will stick to Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 - highly recommended, very cheap :)
 
Lemin said:
Get retail cpu for 3 year warranty...

Corsair Professional Series HX+ 650W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020030-UK) [CP-9020030-UK]
£99.98 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-095-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084
Click to expand...

For anyone to answer...

I may do SLI in the near future, add a few more storage hard drives but will not be doing RAID. Will 650W from the PSU be enough for my future needs, or shall I opt for 750W version of the Corsair Series HX+?
 
Also, which 7950 Graphics Card?

MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 3072MB GDDR5 has a 3 year warranty.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-148-MS

Should I go for this card or are any of the other 7950 better in terms of brands?

I have seen the Gigabyte HD 7950 WINDFORCE 3X OC 3GB GDDR5 being mentioned quite a lot and can get that card for ~£270 from another retailer. Would this be the better card to go for?

Opinions please? :-)
 
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