What do I need?

yellowputty · 13 Jan 2013 at 17:34

I've spent so long building my numerical analysis rig designed towards highly parallel jobs, I'm completely out of my depth now it has come to building my own home pc. Here's what I want it to do:

1) Boot fast into Windows.

2) Run cool, quiet and low power when not gaming.

3) Suitable for gaming on high settings at 1600 x 1200

4) Optional: Allow gaming at 1080p.

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My current PC:

* Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced Case
* AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition 3.2GHz
* Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB
* Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu Memory Kit CL9 1.65V
* Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
* I forget the GPU - something comparable to a 8800GT

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So unless I am persuaded otherwise, I am intending to keep the case and the PSU. I figured I should pick up 8GB ram - or is more necessary? I was very happy with my brief encounter with the 120GB Vertex 3 - so that seems likely. But what about the processor? Should I get an i3 and put more into the GPU? What about the heatsink?

But most importantly, I don't have a clue about GPUs. Hit me!

Many thanks for you help - I will be reading each reply in detail.

Fire_fly · 13 Jan 2013 at 17:43

Just to clarify you would like a new

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
GPU
SSD

What is your budget?

yellowputty · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:08

Fire_fly said:
Just to clarify you would like a new

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
GPU
SSD

What is your budget?

Yes, unless the items I intend to carry over are not suitable..
£700.

Fire_fly · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:13

Your PSU and case are fine to reuse.

LukieBoy007 · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:21

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £39.95
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
Total : £699.85 (includes shipping : £10.00).

Fire_fly · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:22

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £93.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £31.19
Total : £700.13 (includes shipping : £10.00).

I have included an aftermarket cooler to let you OC the CPU better.

Motherboard will let you crossfire the GPU.

yellowputty · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:38

Ok, so you both recommend the 7950 and dismiss the i3. Will anything below this perform at 1080p?

LukieBoy007 · 13 Jan 2013 at 18:58

Yeah I have an i5 and a 7850 and run BF3 at 1080p on High settings, getting 60fps 95% of the time.

Fire_fly · 13 Jan 2013 at 19:03

You could drop the CPU down to an i3. Depending on the game you may not lose too much performance.

yellowputty · 13 Jan 2013 at 19:28

I should have mentioned my current CPU is unlocked so it is quad core. Does it actually need upgrading?

LukieBoy007 · 13 Jan 2013 at 21:01

yellowputty said:
I should have mentioned my current CPU is unlocked so it is quad core. Does it actually need upgrading?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/120?vs=701

Audigex · 13 Jan 2013 at 21:16

1) Boot fast into Windows.
SSD. Two SSDs in RAID if you really want speed

2) Run cool, quiet and low power when not gaming.
CPUs and GPUs cut their own fans and power usage when idling, but a decent aftermarket cooler wouldn't go amiss. A fan controller for case fans would be helpful, too.

3) Suitable for gaming on high settings at 1600 x 1200
4) Optional: Allow gaming at 1080p.
1080p (1920x1080) and 1600x1200 are fairly similar in terms of gaming requirements - a 7950 probably fits the bill best but a 7850 would suffice if you want to save a bit money.