watch a noob waste his cash! or help!

superkingbest · 22 Mar 2013 at 16:16

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 !!!

superkingbest · 22 Mar 2013 at 16:26

Was interested in the 840 but it was pretty much the slowest of all the cheaper 120gb drives. Why is the Kingston a no no?

Cpu? Yeah im kinda stuck. Thanks for the suggestion

superkingbest · 22 Mar 2013 at 16:32

Uncle Petey said:
Lose the Vengeance and go for something lower profile

Also, maybe request getting this moved to General Hardware.

What's up with the vengeance?

Good write ups and doesn't seem much more expensive than anything else?

superkingbest · 22 Mar 2013 at 16:56

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 · 22 Mar 2013 at 17:42

Could the mods please move this to the general section?

Humblest apologies.

superkingbest · 23 Mar 2013 at 14:49

well, this thread died quick...

thanks for all the advice.

superkingbest · 26 Mar 2013 at 22:32

KaiserDJG said:
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

I did indeed come on here for advice, but that doesn't mean I have to take that advice as gospel.

One forum champions one thing and recommends another and vice versa. Beginners like myself can quickly feel like there stuck between a rock and a hard place.

For example, samsung 840 was the original ssd I chose but over on another forum ive been told its not worth buying. I check out recent round up of ssds on tomshardware and they recommend the Kingston ssd as best in class. I come on here and you gentlemen tell me thats a wrong un and point me back to the beginning and a Samsung 840!

So please dont get upset when someone listens to your advice and decides to go in another direction. I can only ask questions, do the research and then make the final decisions myself. I am always greatfull for any constructive input.

Yup, and I ended up buying the corsair low profile anyway.

superkingbest · 26 Mar 2013 at 23:00

Anyone like to recommend a heatsink?

Wasnt going to bother just now but if I can pick up a good one that doesn't break the bank (further) I suppose I may as well just get it done just now.

superkingbest · 29 Mar 2013 at 01:47

Thanks chaps.

Went with the cooler master 412.

I will upgrade when I eventually get round to trying out serious over clocking.

I am waiting on one more delivery and I'll have everything ready to start building. Unfortunately being easter weekend I doubt I'll receive it now till next week.