Spec me

[anuraj]

So my dad is going to start buying me new parts as on from next month and I think this is the time for me to know what I'm going to get.
Buget: £1200 try to spend the least as possible please.

Requirements:
Sandybridge 15 2500k
p67 motherboard
Windows
1TB hardrive
Good GPU
Good psu for future proofing
less than a £100 case.
Hdmi cable

Optional:
Mouse
Keyboard
Mouse mat

PS..
The Tv that I will be getting for a monitor will be the one named below it takes away £150 from the budget.
LG M227WDP 22-inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV/Monitor (5ms, 10000:1, HDMI) - LG


Got this so far:

 

[95thrifles]

Looks OK, but do you need the additional features the 65 mobo offers over the 55 or even 45? If not you could save some money there
Also for HDD Id either splash for a SSD plus storage drive which would vastly improve the overall experience or just get a Samsung F3
Spend a few quid more on a better DVD drive, I know it seems irrelevant but the cheaper ones tend to make quite a racket as they spin up, and it is only a few quid extra
You may not need the HDMI cable as it may be included in the gfx card box
Do you want an aftermarket cooler for the CPU? If you plan to OC you should prob invest in one, at least an arctic freezer 7 circa 18quid

 

[sk82jack]

If it's gonna be from next month, I'd wail till next month to get a spec as z68 boards should be coming out within the next week and bulldozer will be being released in just over a moths time which will all affect the prices of sandybridge stuff so I'd wait till a bit closer to the time.

As for the build, just an aftermarket cooler as 95thrifles said, apart from that it looks good.

 

[cmndr_andi]

As above, if you are waiting until next month then it would be a good idea to come up with a new spec closer to the time - since big new tech is incoming (Z68 out next week, AMD Bulldozer released in June).

As for the things that won't change much, I agree with 95thrifles that using an F3 HDD and an SSD would be a really nice idea and make your system feel a lot faster in general use. Also, going for an after-market cooler with an i5 2500K should be legally required

Also, that PSU is a decent one, but the "silencer" name is a bit inaccurate - it does use a 80mm fan after all. Instead I would suggest going for this unit (here is a review).

Also, I would go with this RAM - its corsair stuff and known to be great with sandy bridge.

Finally, you mention a 22in TV as your monitor - do you need the TV part? As you can get a 24in 1080p monitor for that price.

 

[anuraj]

As above, if you are waiting until next month then it would be a good idea to come up with a new spec closer to the time - since big new tech is incoming (Z68 out next week, AMD Bulldozer released in June).

As for the things that won't change much, I agree with 95thrifles that using an F3 HDD and an SSD would be a really nice idea and make your system feel a lot faster in general use. Also, going for an after-market cooler with an i5 2500K should be legally required

Also, that PSU is a decent one, but the "silencer" name is a bit inaccurate - it does use a 80mm fan after all. Instead I would suggest going for this unit (here is a review).

Also, I would go with this RAM - its corsair stuff and known to be great with sandy bridge.

Finally, you mention a 22in TV as your monitor - do you need the TV part? As you can get a 24in 1080p monitor for that price.

Yes my mum wants a tv to make some space up as I have a massive analogue tv an and monitor in the same room so cutting down to just a tv that can work with computers would be great. The monitor is 6 years old and has defections on the screen. I don't think I will get a z68 but it depends. This thread was to confirm what I was getting.And I dont really care about noise that much all I want is a good quality psu which I know the xfx is but I like the silver rating on the pc power and cooling.
What's wrong with the OCZ stuff anyway could someone explain that to me and for the optical drive which one should I get.
I also don't want an ssd and I would rather get it later on as an upgrade because I don't want to spend my money on something I know I probably I won't use or remember to use like an ssd.
Is anyone certain that the particular graphics card I speced comes with a hdmi cable.
What is a good after market cooler because I'm willing to spend money on that.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Yes my mum wants a tv to make some space up as I have a massive analogue tv an and monitor in the same room so cutting down to just a tv that can work with computers would be great.

That's fair enough.

I don't think I will get a z68 but it depends.

Yea, if you are going to be using a descrete graphics card and don't plan to use Intel Quick Sync technology then paying the extra for Z68 isn't really worth it. The one thing we are hoping for is the price of P67 boards coming down when the Z68 boards take over the top-end, I guess we will find out by the time you are ready to buy.

And I dont really care about noise that much all I want is a good quality psu which I know the xfx is but I like the silver rating on the pc power and cooling.

Again, fair play - here is a review for the silencer 760W, it's a nice unit.

What's wrong with the OCZ stuff anyway could someone explain that to me and for the optical drive which one should I get.

There is nothing wrong with it I suppose, but for sandy bridge you really want RAM that will happily do 1.5V. That OCZ kit is rated 1.55-1.65 and the corsair XMS3 stuff is known to happily run at 1600MHz @ 1.5V without issue.

As for optical drive, that Sony you picked is a nice one.

If you want a blu-ray drive then I would go with this one instead.

Is anyone certain that the particular graphics card I speced comes with a hdmi cable.

I'm pretty sure that it won't and neither does the TV (the graphics card comes with a dongle that converts between the mini-HDMI port on the card and a full-size HDMI port, but this can't be used on its own to plug into a TV). That said, for connecting up a PC, I would suggest using a DVI-D cable instead of HDMI so you don't have any issues with scaling and can leave the HDMI port free for any other devices (unless ofcourse you plan to use the crappy onboard speakers with your PC- if that is the case then this HDMI cable will be fine, but I would strongly recomend using proper speakers, even these would be much better)

What is a good after market cooler because I'm willing to spend money on that.

Are you planning to overclock or do you just want something that will keep the CPU cool at stock speeds while being very quiet.

If you're overclocking then I would use this, while if you are running it at stock then I would see how you find the noise of the stock cooler and if you want something better then buy this later.

 

[anuraj]

Some changes
Product Name Qty Price Line Total

Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £179.99
(£149.99) £179.99
(£149.99)

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £169.99
(£141.66) £169.99
(£141.66)

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £139.98
(£116.65) £139.98
(£116.65)

PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760W Power Supply £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)

Fractal Design Define XL Full Tower Case - Black Pearl £84.98
(£70.82) £84.98
(£70.82)

Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£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)

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)

Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156//LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)

LiteOn IHAS324-32 24x DVD±RW ReWriter SATA - (Black) Retail £19.99
(£16.66) £19.99
(£16.66)

Philips SWV3432W/10 - High Speed Premium HDMI Cable - 1.5m (Retail) £2.99
(£2.49) £2.99
(£2.49) Sub Total : £731.89 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £16.85 VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £149.75 Total : £898.49

 

[anuraj]

Any opinions anyone or am I going to have to wait till june

 

[Cookeh]

You're in very good hands with Andi, fully agree with everything he's said and will likely continue to do so

 

[Cookeh]

XL doesn't get particularly good reviews - certainly not as good as its smaller brother.

Fenrir is a pretty irritating thing to fit, and the A50 is just as good (slightly louder) but easier to fit by far.

The software bundle works out at about the same price as OEM + a Seagate Barracuda - a vastly faster HDD.

Rest looks good.

 

[sk82jack]

Yeah that looks good for now but check here before you buy in case prices change or there better options.

 

[anuraj]

KK
Product Name Qty Price Line Total

Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £179.99
(£149.99) £179.99
(£149.99)

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £169.99
(£141.66) £169.99
(£141.66)

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £139.98
(£116.65) £139.98
(£116.65)

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - Black £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)

PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760W Power Supply £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)

Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£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)

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)

Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.98
(£20.82) £24.98
(£20.82)

LiteOn IHAS324-32 24x DVD±RW ReWriter SATA - (Black) Retail £19.99
(£16.66) £19.99
(£16.66)

Philips SWV3432W/10 - High Speed Premium HDMI Cable - 1.5m (Retail) £2.99
(£2.49) £2.99
(£2.49) Sub Total : £746.06 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £14.75 VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £152.16 Total : £912.97


What about that

 

[Cookeh]

Looks better.

Still got the slow HDD

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
(£66.66) £79.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000528AS)
(£35.82) £42.98

Sub Total : £102.48
Shipping cost based on delivery to XXX with:
FREE SHIPPING (DX Secure Next Day)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £20.50
Total : £122.98

Works out at £5 more expensive than the bundle, but is faster by a fair margin.

 

[anuraj]

Leaves me 150 pound to spend on optionals what mouse keyboard and mouse mat should I but I would like matching and I prefer bundles as they are cheaper

 

[olivier renault]

depends really. If you want gaming, wireless, mouse and keyboards can be a matter of personal preference. My cheaper option would be a MX518 and a Sidewinder X4. The expensive option would be a Deathadder Respawn and a mechanical gaming keyboard (I like the QTec, simple, backlit, mechanical cherry blue).

It all depends on personal preference at that price. Could also include surround gaming headset if you need to quiet it down.

 

[Cookeh]

£5 for a performance boost when you're spending around £800? K then

Deathadder/G500. Cyborg V5/Sidewinder X4. Rzer Goliathus or BoogieBug XL.

 

[anuraj]

Yep I've done the £5 extra just didn't show it