Spec Me A Gaming PC! =)

Cheers. I'm looking to build the whole system though, not just to get a CPU. I'll possibly go for the cheaper CPU and get a more expensive graphics card. Any ideas for the mobo, psu, ram etc? :)
 
Something like this maybe, slightly over, but you get £40 cashback with that monitor.


YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £299.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung S23B550V 23" Widescreen LED MHL Monitor - Black **BTS £40 CASHBACK** £143.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £85.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002) £64.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £48.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £31.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99
Total : £1,036.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
I'd go for a better PSU, mobo, ram, case and cooler. Lol.
I know what you mean though, what would you suggest?
You could maybe get a cheaper monitor to make a bit of a saving.
 
I really don't know very much about how good something is or isn't or if it's good value for money. Any decent critics on the build above? Thanks.
 
If you can stretch the budget a bit I would get this: YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £349.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung S23B550V 23" Widescreen LED MHL Monitor - Black **BTS £40 CASHBACK** £143.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX4-25SAT3-128G) £88.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ / ST1000DM005) £67.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £65.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £48.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
Total : £1,105.58 (includes shipping : £13.75).


Otherwise get the retail cooler on the graphics card.
Another option is to get a 7970 which in general performs worse at stock but better when overclocked. However, this varies a lot depending on the game.
You can also get a 7970 with WF 3x for £335 which is cheaper or stock for £300 which is the same price. 7970 also comes with some free games which could make it better value if you were going to buy them anyway.
Could also save some money by changing some of the stuff (HDD, SSD, Retail CPU) to other models which have shorter warranties.
EDIT: Looks like we both left out Optical Drives I would get this.
 
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Why would you switch the storage options?
I agree with the GPU, i'd pay the extra for the windforce, or the the MSI PE maybe, but keeping to the budget you will defiantly not be disappointed with a reference card.
You could save on the graphics, go with a 7950. then spend the saving on a corsair modular PSU, and step up the mobo maybe. I would stick with the 670 tho.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 OC 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-01-20G) with FREE Sleeping Dogs PC Game £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung S23B550V 23" Widescreen LED MHL Monitor - Black **BTS £40 CASHBACK** £143.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £108.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £85.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 650W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020038-UK) £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002) £64.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £48.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £31.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £26.99
Total : £1,042.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
sands2038 said:
Why would you switch the storage options?
Click to expand...
I switched them for longer warranties, with the SSD you are paying £3 for 2 years longer warranty, and with the HDD you are paying £8 for an extra years warranty. Its up to the OP to decide whether these extra costs are worth the extra warranty length but I personally think they are.
I guess extra warranty length is the reason you are specing the retail version of the CPU as well?
Also why would spec the Segate over this? the segate only has a 1 year warranty and is £5 more expensive.
sands2038 said:
i agree with the gpu, i'd pay the extra for the windforce, or the the msi pe maybe, but keeping to the budget you will defiantly not be disappointed with a reference card.
you could save on the graphics, go with a 7950. then spend the saving on a corsair modular psu, and step up the mobo maybe. i would stick with the 670 tho.
Click to expand...
i do agree that going to a 7950 may be a good idea if the op doesn't have enough cash. one thing to note is that nvidia cards have cuda would be good for the op if his 3d modeling programs can use it.
sands2038 said:
your basket
1 x sapphire hd 7950 oc 3072mb pci-express graphics card (11196-01-20g) with free sleeping dogs pc game £249.95
1 x intel core i5-3570k 3.40ghz (ivybridge) socket lga1155 processor (77w) - retail £184.99
1 x samsung s23b550v 23" widescreen led mhl monitor - black **bts £40 cashback** £143.99
1 x gigabyte z77x-d3h intel z77 (socket 1155) ddr3 motherboard £108.98
1 x crucial realssd m4 128gb 2.5" sata 6gb/s solid state hard drive (ct128m4ssd2) £85.99
1 x corsair enthusiast series tx 650w v2 high performance '80 plus bronze' power supply (cp-9020038-uk) £78.98
1 x seagate barracuda 1tb sata-ii 32mb cache - oem (st1000dl002) £64.99
1 x zalman z9 plus tower case with fan controller - black £48.98
1 x teamgroup elite 8gb (2x4gb) ddr3 pc3-12800c11 1600mhz dual channel kit (ted38192m1600hc11dc) £31.99
1 x cooler master hyper 212 evo cpu cooler (socket intel® socket lga1366/1156/1155/775/amd socket fm1/am3+/am3/am2+/am2) £26.99
total : £1,042.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Click to expand...

the true spirit 120 is a better cooler than the cm hyper 212 evo, and is quieter. Look at this.

Windforce is very good if the OP is concerned about noise levels as it is considerable quieter than reference.

Why would you spec a SLI/Crossfire motherboard then not give a big enough PSU for it? 2x 7950 needs at least a 700W power supply. 2x 670 needs at least a 750W power supply.

I chose the CM power supply because it is quiet and has a 5 year warranty.

Any reason for that RAM when the GEIL stuff I chose has better timings and is fractionally cheaper?
 
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I've decided to go with this. Thoughts?

KFA2 GeForce GTX 660TI EX OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Intel Core i7-2700K 3.50GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail [BX80623I72700K]

Samsung S23B550V 23" Widescreen LED MHL Monitor - Black **BTS £40 CASHBACK** [LS23B550VS/EN]

Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard [GA-Z77X-D3H]

Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) [CT128M4SSD2]

Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply [RS600-AMBAD3-UK]

Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002) [ST1000DL002]

Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black [ZM-Z9-PLUS]

GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) [GEL38GB1600C9DC]

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket Intel® Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2) [RR-212E-16PK-R1]

OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM [OcUKSATADVDRW]
 
Are you sure you need an i7? It gives no extra performance for gaming.
Why not the new Ivybridge i7 over the sandybridge one? Is it to save money?
It feels like you did not read my post or chose to ignore me, which is fine I would just like to understand why.
In case you missed my previous post:
Why pay £5 extra on the HDD to get 1 years less warranty?
You can get this HDD with 2 year warranty: toshiba (7k1000.d) 1tb or this drive with 3 year warranty: samsung spinpoint f3 1tb
The True Spirit 120 is a better cooler than the CM Hyper 212 EVO, and is quieter. (Click here)

Why would you spec a SLI/Crossfire motherboard then not give a big enough PSU for it? 2x 660ti needs at least a 700W power supply.
That is a very good SSD but for £3 more you can get 2 years extra warranty with the Vertex 4.

It would be nice to know your reasoning behind these things, I can only speak for myself with what I would want if I was in your situation.
 
I probably don't need an i7, no, but I'll end up getting one some day so I'll get one now. I've swapped out the Sandybridge for an Ivybridge, is this one okay? It looks to have better integrated graphics.

Intel Core i7-3770 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail [BX80637I73770]

As for the SSD and the HDD, I've taken the ones you linked.

Will the following PSU be good enough for SLI? I don't plan on buying two cards outright, but I'll pick up another one in future.

Xigmatek Tauro 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply [CPA-0700BDD-U52]
 
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Riserri said:
I probably don't need an i7, no, but I'll end up getting one some day so I'll get one now. I've swapped out the Sandybridge for an Ivybridge, is this one okay? It looks to have better integrated graphics.

Intel Core i7-3770 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail [BX80637I73770]

As for the SSD and the HDD, I've taken the ones you linked.

Will the following PSU be good enough for SLI? I don't plan on buying two cards outright, but I'll pick up another one in future.

Xigmatek Tauro 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply [CPA-0700BDD-U52]
Click to expand...

OK I agree that games might use an i7 eventually, although you will probably want to upgrade before then, and could just get an i7 next time you upgrade. It really depends how much value you place 3d modeling against gaming. If you want to save a little rendering time then spend the extra on an i7, but otherwise a 670 is better than a 660ti at gaming, or just save the money for future upgrades.

Make sure you get a k series processor otherwise you can't overclock.
The difference between the ivybridge and sandybridge is not large. For i5 I think ivy is worth the extra money as the price differance is only £5, but with the i7 I am not sure the ivy is worth the £30 extra for the retail or £20 more for OEM. The ivybridge has better quick sync which improves video encoding by a considerable amount (not something you said you do). In rendering the difference is nearly nothing (around 2%). You will not be using the inter graded graphics so that makes no difference.

I would get a modular PSU. Otherwise you will get higher temps as the massive bundle of cables block air flow and pretty much negate the front fan.
I would get one of these three:
Xigmatek Centauro 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply
Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Akasa Venom 750w Modular '80 Plus' Power Supply
I would go with the cooler master as I think it is the quietest and has the longest warranty.
 
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Swapped out the i7 for the ivy i5 and changed to the cooler master PSU. Do you have a Skype account I could add you on, or any other form of instant messenger? I need to clear a few things up before I order. :)
 
Please post your basket again before ordering just incase

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 660TI EX OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung S23B550V 23" Widescreen LED MHL Monitor - Black **BTS £40 CASHBACK** £143.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £108.98
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002) £64.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £56.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.19
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/AM2/AM3/FM1) £24.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,070.57 (includes shipping : £13.75).



i5K isn't a bad shout over the i7. The nvidia GPU gives CUDA support which you might find handy, check if your 3d modelling software supports it.
The PSU is overkill for SLI but considering the 750W version is only a few quid cheaper it makes sense to go overboard for the price ;)

Hope this helps, any questions or problems let us know
 
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