First Big Budget Build - Advice needed!

[Sacred]

It doesn't happen very often but thankfully I've come into a nice little sum of money and really want to put it to good use by building a new gaming rig to replace my current one. My budget is around the £2,000 mark so am happy to spend a fair bit of cash to build a really solid gaming rig.

I'm looking at pretty much the full works so really looking for some advice as to what components I will need. I've got a few starting points listed below but there's still a lot of things I'm unsure of.

External:

Case - Corsair Obsidian 650D - I really like the looks, the interior looks very clean and easy to use and with a USB 3.0 female - MOBO header converter inside will not have to re-route the cables.

Optical Drives - DVD Writer - Originally I wanted a slot loading drive but these seem stupidly expensive for something that's adding no benefit to my system so am just going to save the £'s and spend them elsewhere. Any advice as to which brand or are the differences here so little its hardly worth comparing?

Fan Controller - ??? - I know the 650D comes with a fan controller but as far as looks go its awful! Is it worth investing in a front panel 5 1/4" fan controller? I do quite like the look of the digital ones rather than sliders, buttons and knobs.

I will probably look to take advantage of the side window and because of this try and draw together a colour scheme with perhaps some lighting that's going to give a nice finished look to my new rig. (black/red/white perhaps?)


Internal:

CPU - i5 3570K - I'm going to bite the bullet and go for the new i5 3570K Ivy Bridge processor even with its heat problems with OCed. I've thought about this a fair bit and really wanted to have a solid starting point.

CPU Cooler - Corsair H100 - I've read mixed reviews on this, what do you guys think? I really love the small form factor meaning the insides of the case are easily visible and there's no huge heat-sink to contend with.

MOBO - Unsure! - So many different MOBOs on offer in the Z77 range starting off fairly cheap and quickly becoming very very expensive! I don't really know where to start on choosing a MOBO or even what to consider other than "ooo that ones pretty coloured" this is probably where I'm going to need the most help/advice especially since finding reviews of Z77 boards in comparison to other Z77 boards running an Ivy Bridge processor seems impossible.

GPU - nVidia GTX680 - Been a bit of an nVidia fan boy since swapping over from my old ATI AGP card last decade. I've read a fair few reviews and this card seems to pull out on top for the single GPU range. Still open to other opinions though!

RAM - DDR3 1600 - Does manufacturer make a huge difference here? I've seen some really nice offerings from Corsair especially seeing as they offer most of their RAM in different colours. What's with the huge heat-sinks on the top though? Does this make a difference or is it just for the look?

HDD Boot - SSD - Since I'm starting a new build I thought I may as well take full advantage and start with a SSD as my boot option. As for drive specifics and stability I'm at a loss, any advice on which SSDs make a good boot drive?

HDD Games - ??? - Not sure what to do here, am I better off staying with a larger mechanical drive say 2TB and doubling up my games and media on the same drive? Or will I see better performance increases within games using an SSD? (price vs performance?)

HDD Media - 2TB Mechanical Drive - I can't see having a SSD for a media drive being of any major benefit so am going to stick to the older mechanical style drives however what manufacturer should I be looking at here? They all seem very close in terms of price but where should I be looking for good stability? Should I even consider two drives in a RAID configuration in order to protect for HDD failure?

PSU - ??? - I've currently got a Corsair 450W Modular PSU and because of the simplicity and ability to only have the cables I require plugged in I will be looking at going modular again. Benefits of fully modular over partly modular? I do want the inside of my computer to be as clean as possible allowing for maximum airflow although with the cable management system in the 650D I don't see it being a problem. How would I calculate what watt power-supply to invest in?


Software:

OS - Windows 7 - Don't think I have any choice here when building a gaming rig! However what's the difference between the three on offer? Is the Home edition really all I'll need or do the pro or ultimate editions sweeten the deal?

Office - Microsoft Office 2010 Student/Home - Would be nice to actually have some office based programs again for the bit of word processing that I occasionally do and since I've got a fair bit of spare cash I was considering forking out for the retail version however I'm still tempted by Open Office. Opinions?

Anti-Virus - ??? - I've honestly not ran a system with any anti-virus software since back in the late 90's so don't have a clue where to start with anything like this. Should I look at investing in some AV software or am I safe to just keep going as I have been without it? (I found that AV software did more harm than good by massively slowing my computers down)


I've already got my new monitor (U2412M) and am very happy with that so wont be looking to replace my display. I'm however looking for a new kayboard and mouse but want to try and get the main build tied down first so that I can be really sad and get backlighting to match my computers colour theme!


Not sure if I've missed anything? Really looking for some additional help and advice with this build!

[Rookie1986]

Don't help this guy, he's just trying to one up me

Rookie

Love yah bro

[Phage]

I'm sure that Cat 5th and Pob will be along shortly, but in the meantime I'll pass on my 2 cents.
Case - The 650D is nice, but I like the silencing of the 550D
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...30-atx-w-o-psu
Optical drive - Any old thing. I use a Pioneer, I think Samsung are highly regarded.
+1 for the H100
+1 for the 680. Personally I like Gigabytes Windforce model but YMMV http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-g...cores-15362xdl
RAM - Corsair Vengeance
SSD - 128Gb/256Gb Crucial M4. On special right now for £88/173 ! Big enough for your OS and a few games as well.
HDD - How much storage do you need. I would probably just go for a JBOD solution for media files.
PSU - At least 650w, from a name brand. Antec, Corsair etc. Modular helps with cable management, but it's not a deal breaker.
OS - I'd advise HP unless you have a real need for foreign language support and bitlocker.
Office - MS Office is still the best, but it's not cheap. I have MS for my work machines and Open Office on the homework and sofa-surfing laptop. Depends on your usage.
AV - MSSE. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ity-essentials Free, lightweight and good quality. Back this up with occasional scans with Malwarebytes http://shop.malwarebytes.org/lpa/342...Fc4LtAod1S-L2w and Superantispyware. http://www.superantispyware.com/ All free.

[Spank]

I'm putting a similar build together myself.

Case - if you get you CPU with a wrist strap put it on when you get it out the box or you will be zapped to buggery with static.

Personally I like Pioneer DVDs I'd get 2 writers, there's not much price difference & if 1 goes you still have a writer

Controller - I'm sticking with the one on the case (might change if I don't like it)

CPU - Should last you a few years

Cooler - I'm not convinced by these closed systems (& want a near silent system for when I'm watching TV) so have a Be Quiet BK016

GFX - Again should be gr8 for a while

Memory - Don't think the size of heat sinks makes much difference, but if you have the H100 you can put massive heat sinks on as they wont hit the cooler

SSD - On line games will benefit from SSD (grab vehicles before others join), off line just means you wait a few more seconds

PSU - http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp this will give you a rough idea of how much you will need (shouldn't be more than 600W)

Software - good free software such as libreoffice & Avast

[Rookie1986]

Awwww my little brothers building his first PC..... I see your ripping off most of my build that I've just ordered and then trying to on up me

Case - Corsair Obsidian 650D - I'm a big fan of this case, it has a well thought out design for cooling and cable management which is important. It also has a nice simple look to it which I really like. It is expensive though but you can't put a price on looks

Optical Drives - DVD Writer - Maybe go with two DVD drives or even pay the extra for a Blu-ray writer. Its all about what your wanting to get from your computer. With a blu-ray drive u can rip your Blu-rays and then have them all available on your media drive for quick and easy access.

Fan Controller - ???? - All depends on how much cooling your going to need. If your not going to overclock much or don't plan on going SLI with two 680's then the case fan controller might give you enough options. If your going to need the extra cooler though I've read some really good reviews on the NZXT Sentry range, they offer a nice entry level touch screen model that can control up to five fans for around £25-£28 depending where you shop.

CPU - i5 3570K - Perfect for a gaming system & will let you use PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0 on your Z77 Motherboard plus a few other features. It does run a little hotter then the last generation i5 2500k but your plans for CPU cooling should cover this no problem should you plan to overclock (You should get a nice 4.5Ghz out of it easy enough).

CPU Cooler - Corsair H100 - I'm not sure how these will fair in the long run as a self contained set up but they do seem to offer reasonable cooling and are not as expensive as one would have thought.

MOBO - Unsure! - Where to start lol! Its all about what your going to need, your case has USB 3.0 and Firewire connectors so if you plan on using them then a motherboard that will support them might be worth looking at. Are you wanting a regular ATX or mATX sized board (you can save a few £££'s going mATX and not lose too many features) but by the looks of things your set up is no expense spared so I would say you might as well go for a good ATX Z77 board. The ASUS Sabertooth or the ASRock Fatal1ty both offer a whole range of features and are well rated boards then if you have crazy money you could look at the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 (might be too big for your case) or the Asus P8Z77 WS.

GPU - nVidia GTX680 - The best single GPU card on the market, not really much else to say really. maybe look at the 690 if your budget will reach its huge retail price or if your build is getting a little expensive you could wait for the 670 or 660..... or dare I sat it get an ATI card (7970 // 7950).

RAM - DDR3 1600 - Corsair Vengeance is good stuff and you can get it in black which goes with everything or if your wanting to make the inside of your system look pretty they also offer it in red, white, blue and green. Ripjaws are also good as an alternative

HDD's - In my new setup I'm going to have a 64Gb M4 SSD to boot from and for office and anti-virus software, a 256Gb M4 SSD for my games and then a 2Tb HDD for my media, i think this is a good basic setup that offers enough for the average user but your own needs will differ.

PSU - ??? Use the site that has been linked, make sure to add an extra 680 if you plan to SLI it at a later date - You shouldn't need anything bigger than 700w//750w and you could always go a little OTT with a 850w. I'm a fan of Corsair when it comes to PSU's, they make good quality long lasting PSU's which is what most people want

Software - W7 HP should be enough for your needs, you can even go for the OEM version to save a few £££, I'm sure I have Office 2010 kicking about with two licences so just pop round and u can have it .

Looks really good to me (I should think so to since it basically the build I've just bought). Good luck with things bro - we will have to make a building//project thread together once you get your stuff ordered

Rookie

[Sacred]

Thanks for all of the advice, I'm going to outline a build on Scan and will post once I'm done. Will see if you guys can offer any additional tweaking to the system before I splash the cash!