Yet another 'can you check my spec please' thread

Jimbo_Edin · 27 Dec 2011 at 18:29

Evening there everyone. First time poster, long time lurker here.

Have been putting together a list for a new comp I will be building. Finally taking the plunge and building a comp myself.

Here's what I've got so far.

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155
Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Z68 Socket 1155
Asus GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Casecom Black Mid Tower Case
XFX 450W Core Edition Pro PSU

Now, to answer the obvious, I will be re-using the HD that I have in my current machine, bought a new one around 6-7 months ago, fairly standard 7200 rpm Seagate 500gb which is more than I need. Also going to re-use the DVD RW thats in this comp, I think i used it at some point in the last 4 months so will just keep it and not bother buying a new one.

I know that i wont be able to overclock it with the factory cooling, but I'm more interested in just getting it up and running before I look into that. hence I havent looked at a decent fan.

I will be using Windows XP at first, but will be upgrading to windows 7 in the near future. Will that bring an increase in performance or is it mainly for the new features and supported drivers, DX11 etc. Have discovered that because I'm a student *cough cough* I can get it for £40.

I just wondered if one of you pro's would be nice enough to have a quick look at this and make sure I'm not buying something thats just going to cause me problems.

Thanks in advance guys.

RJC · 27 Dec 2011 at 18:34

Hello and welcome to the forums:

Memory below is on offer until tomorrow:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-095-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

I think you should be ok with the rest of the system.

mickyflinn · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:05

You should up your power supply as the gts 560ti draws 350w at load which doesnt leave much for the rest of the system. I would say at least 500w min as recomended by nvidia.

RJC · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:07

Andantech shows the card pulls 317w whilst gaming and 352w with Furmark, this will include the whole system, they tend to use a overclocked i7 system, so in the op system should pull a little less.

mickyflinn · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:17

Under full load the Core i5 2500K system consumed 151w + the 560ti gpu is aproxamatley 468w. Give or take for variations in system spec is very close to 450w which gives no room for expansion.

http://www.techspot.com/review/353-intel-sandy-bridge-corei5-2500k-corei7-2600k/page15.html

fowler002 · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:41

I would say go for the 2gb vram 560ti rather than 1gb

antec option use the voucher code ag15 to get 15% off

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £195.95
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £72.98
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £46.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £29.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £660.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).

£642.88 with the 15% off

coolermaster option use cmdouble to get £20 off

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £195.95
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Cooler Master HAF 912 Case - Black £52.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £29.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £651.48 (includes shipping : £10.50).

with the £20 off its £631.48

the price of the ram goes back up tomorrow afternoon as its on a 'this week only off' from last week that ends tomorrow and new offers start.

Jimbo_Edin · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:42

Thanks for the heads up about the power supply. Looking at replacing it with

Be Quiet 530W Pure Power PSU

which sounds like it will be more than enough. I have also seen

Arctic Power 500W PSU

which is a fair bit cheaper but have heard bad things about arctic power. are they justified?

Thanks

Edit, wow, the post above me was done while i was typing this. let me have a look all that and get back to you!!

RJC · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:43

Considering my system in my sig has 580 gtx with a overclocked i7 920 pulls 500w from the mains with prime and Furmark running together.

Nvidia show the card having a power draw of 170w + CPU and system would come to 320w

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-560ti-us.html

Which is not to far off Andantech review:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/330

fowler002 · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:45

stick to antec, corsair or xfx psus, don't go for cheap psus, the psu is really the one place you DON'T want to skimp on.

Threepwood · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:47

I've heard bad things about both, the BeQuite not putting out full rated power and the arctic the same.

Both will be fine I guess but I wouldn't choose either of them.

Jimbo_Edin · 27 Dec 2011 at 22:41

Thanks for all the input guys. Decided to up the power supply a bit to Antec True Power 550W. Will probably be ordering later on tonight

fowler002 · 27 Dec 2011 at 23:14

guess I wasted my time doing that spec then

RJC · 27 Dec 2011 at 23:23

Jimbo_Edin said:
Thanks for all the input guys. Decided to up the power supply a bit to Antec True Power 550W. Will probably be ordering later on tonight

Enjoy your new system

Jimbo_Edin · 27 Dec 2011 at 23:26

Sorry Fowler, it was apreciated and I've no doubt that it will give me a better PC. But it works out about £130 more than what I've got.