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superkingbest

superkingbest

superkingbest

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20 Mar 2013
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10
Hi chaps, this is my first build.

I am 33 and been playing consoles all my life. I barely switch the xbox on anymore through boredom of the games available. Ive always loved strategy games and have looked longily at all the rts and tbs (and sim city) games you lucky pc owners enjoy. A month ago I dipped my toe in the water and bought a cheap used pc which gave a glimpse of what I could be enjoying and I'm now looking onwards and upwards toward building a mid level gaming rig.

Anyway, I have done plenty of research over the last week and come up with the list below and would value the opinions of more experienced souls, so please chime in!

Cpu - i5 3570k
Mobo - asus p8z77 v le plus
Gfx card - saphire hd 7870 xt 2gb
Ram - 8gb corsair vengeance
Hd - Kingston v300 120gb ssd
Optical drive - asus 24b5st
Os - windows 7 home premium (oem)
Case - zalman z9 u3
Psu - corsair cx600
Monitor - lg ips 234v-pn

I am dead set on the cpu and it took me a long time to settle on the mobo.
The gfx card is new and been getting great reviews and is right around the money.
I like windows 7 and have heard 8 is no better for desktop and gaming in particular.

I have went with a Kingston ssd as it also received very good reviews and the size will store my os and a few games. I will eventually plonk a wd 1tb hdd in there too for media storage in the near future.

The monitor is a cheap ips with a decent response time (5ms) which I hope will be good enough for the type of games I play. Im not a fan of lg but this is where I have cut a corner price wise. Had my eye on a similar asus but it is £50 more expensive.

The psu has been a tricky one. Used a couple of online wattage calculators and one said I need 400w and the other said 520w. I dont want to pay extra for a much bigger size I wont ever need but at the same time I understand the dangers of skrimping and going too low or buying a bargain basement special.

I will not be overclocking straight away but will probably dabble in the future.

Any and all comments appreciated !!!
 
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That SSD is a no no, I would recommend a reliable drive such as Crucial M4 or Samsung 840 :)

I don't like the PSU either :p XFX 550w would be my recommendation or be quiet 430w :)
 
superkingbest said:
What's up with the vengeance?

Good write ups and doesn't seem much more expensive than anything else?
Click to expand...

It somewhat limits your choice of CPU coolers should you want one later down the line. The vengeance ram is tall, so could interfere with the heatsink. A lower profile ram will sit below the heatsink, thus not have any compatibility problems.
 
Why is it a no no? Because it uses the Sandforce controller which is frowned upon due to reliability issues.

Plextor M5S or M5 Pro would also make great choices
 
Thanks but I'll stick with the vengeance. Seems good enough for me.

The ssd, psu and monitor I am open to suggestions. Im aware there are better ssds out there (there always are) but im looking at the best I can get around the cheaper end of the market like £80.

Psu is proving a pain to nail down as I get conflicting advice the more I read around the net, which I could say for any of the components on my list.

Any opinions on the monitor?
 
superkingbest said:
well, this thread died quick...

thanks for all the advice.
Click to expand...


Well you did just ignore advice about the RAM height, I have the same RAM and it clashed with my Artic 7 Pro cooler, I had to bend some fins down to get it to fit.

No problem now i'm water-cooled.


Also if your going for a SSD don't skimp get the newist you can afford !
 
comes on for advice , then completly ignores said advice... thread fails and he wonders why.

Cooling is probably the most important aspect of your rig, it controls how efficiently everything runs and efficiency is key as it improves the lifespan of your equipment + the performance of it... Follow the advice for low profile ram and budget in a heatsink also
 
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Wouldn't go with the PSU, Corsair have moved over to CTW, lost my custom that's for sure, when people stop buying, they will realise, charge premium for **** tech and expect people to continue paying... Go with an XFX PSU or an Antec one :)
 
I fell for the same thing with the vengeance and let me tell you just swap it. I've swapped mine with Samsung Green and putting in a Phanteks cooler, that should be arriving tomorrow.

Much better choices, could swap the SSD for a Samsung 840 which is also great.
YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £94.99
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £64.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
Total : £226.37 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 
Hyburnate said:
Wouldn't go with the PSU, Corsair have moved over to CTW, lost my custom that's for sure, when people stop buying, they will realise, charge premium for **** tech and expect people to continue paying... Go with an XFX PSU or an Antec one :)
Click to expand...

Its CWT. Not all Corsair PSUs are CWT based, the higher end stuff is all still Seasonic or Flextronics. Good site here for that: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page447.htm
 
Indeed but they've been using CWT for ages, it isn't anything new really, maybe a bit more often than not. You do tend to pay for the longer warranty, customer care etc and frankly a lot of OEM snobbery is just that, means very little for the low to mid range build.

XFX are good value due to the Seasonic OEM, but make sure to deal with the retailer as their customer care is atrocious.
 
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