What do you think to this?

[Predator]

Hi guys about to make my second system!!

I have shortlisted these components:

MSI HD 5850 1GB Twin Fozr
i5 - Sandybridge
SandyBridge mobo - Maybe UD7
OCZ Vertex 2 "25nm Edition" 50GB SSD
Corsair 500w
Corsair xms 4Gb (2x2GB)

Everything else I have (i.e. large HDD, optical drives, fans, case, memory card reader, mouse, monitor and keyboard )

What do you think?

Motherboard maybe a bit overkill?

I have a budget of 500, with that I am just over, but, if sandy bridge is more than people are guessing at (150) then hopefully it will push 1156 down in price so I will get that.

Its mainly for wow gaming at a medium rez

[neonplanet40]

Ill be surprised if its less than £200 on release

[Predator]

I don't mind either way

If its more then I'll go for the older socket 1156 which will hopefully be pushed down in price

[neonplanet40]

Well I have the 5850 and its a very capable card! So id say thats a good buy but depending on price check around that you cant get a newer gen card for similar outlay.

As for SSD's, I want one but price per Gb is a joke so im holding out for another year

[Predator]

Indeed ssd prices are high!

the verdict is still out for me on it, the main reason I have gone for it is because I like my computer to turn on asap..

However because I am over budget I don't mind dropping it out.

What other card would you recommend then?

I was looking at the GTX 460 aswell

[Ulti]

That's pretty overkill for WoW gaming at a medium resolution but it's pretty good for future proofing. I'm guessing you might want WoW on your SSD? If so then you might wanna go with a higher capacity version of the Vertex and get a less expensive motherboard as the UD7 will be far too overkill. Something more like the UD4 will be enough. Which Corsair 500W are you getting though? If it's the newer CX range or the GS series you might want to choose something else as their reviews aren't brilliant. If you're going to be overclocking you may want to go with a 600W PSU too but a good 500W should be enough providing you're not overclocking too much.

[Predator]

Hey, I thought it might be a bit overkill, and yeah, I want some future proofing.

My last build lasted me five years!

It was the corsair 500w CX, I was told they are pretty good? Whats wrong with them? Currently I have a Jeantech 500w which has lasted me a while!

I won't be overclocking just yet, I will only overclock if I need to which I don't think will be for a while!

[Ulti]

Hey, I thought it might be a bit overkill, and yeah, I want some future proofing.

My last build lasted me five years!

It was the corsair 500w CX, I was told they are pretty good? Whats wrong with them? Currently I have a Jeantech 500w which has lasted me a while!

I won't be overclocking just yet, I will only overclock if I need to which I don't think will be for a while!

Well when you have a budget of £500 I would certainly not be getting the most expensive motherboard, as I said even a UD4 is enough future proofing.

You can see here that the new CX series is quite poor compared to their highly rated HX models and previous TX models:
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...ooks-crap.html
http://forums.hexus.net/cases-psus/1...ally-300w.html

I'd suggest for you to either get the Antec True Power New 650W for £59 which is a modular PSU or the XFX 650W Core Edition for £61, both of which are on Scan's Today Only and come with a 5 year warranty!

[Predator]

Ok thanks,

I think i will have another look at psu's...

I'll also look a little more at the UD4 (I like a good looking motherboard )

I heard Gigabyte is better than Asus now? Is this true or just fanboys? I remember when I built my first pc Asus was better..

Also I heard Xfx RMA/Customer Services was poor?

Thanks

[Ulti]

Ok thanks,

I think i will have another look at psu's...

I'll also look a little more at the UD4 (I like a good looking motherboard )

I heard Gigabyte is better than Asus now? Is this true or just fanboys? I remember when I built my first pc Asus was better..

Also I heard Xfx RMA/Customer Services was poor?

Thanks

There's not really a Gigabyte is better than Asus or Asus is better than Gigabyte thing, it's more board vs board. The people who prefer a brand are usually just fanboys. E.g. I don't like Gigabyte's blue colour scheme but the H55n-USB3 is one of the best mini ITX H55 boards (for me anyway) so I ended up getting it. Obviously everyone has different requirements to a motherboard too so yeah.

I'm not sure what XFX RMAs are like in the UK though but I remember their 5 year warranty didn't apply here before so people would complain but I'm pretty sure it does now as I did read somewhere about it, not 100% sure though. The Antec does seem a better buy though with 4x PCI-E cables for complete future proofing and it's modular too as well as saving a couple of quid to go get a coffee haha.

[Pob255]

Have a look at the Antec High Current Gamer 520w PSU http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...ps12v-v291-psu
Very good unit made by Seasonic based on the S12II Bronze psu

Gigabyte vs Asus, as Ulti says varies by board, personally I also like MSi, they've really stepped up their game recently, esp on the higher end stuff.

[nibbler]

I'd get a 60GB vertex2e if I was you. £88 is a decent price for a boot drive IMO.

[Predator]

I like Gigabytes colour scheme, but seeing as there is not much difference between manufacturers I may be more willing to change from Asus

The antec psu looks good, what does modular mean? Does it mean the cables plug into the psu, rather than being wired directly meaning you can have a few sets of cables?

This is the SSD I was looking at (I know its not from scan, not sure on the rules but it is the one thing i found that is cheaper than on scan)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=HD-066-OC

[ed^chigliak]

Modular means you just plug in the cables you need as and when you need them. Less cable clutter is the main advantage and maybe being able to get different cables for compatibility should the connector standards change in the future.

60GB vs 50GB for a few extra pounds isn't a hard decision. The extra 10GB is worth it particularly if you plan to install any games.

Asus vs Gigabyte doesn't really make any difference. Check reviews on Newegg to see what feedback is like for a particular board. A single high end GPU has always served me well for my gaming needs and therefore anything above a UD3 is for me at least a waste of money. Not even interested in RAID since a single SSD is plenty fast for a boot drive.

[Pob255]

The antec psu looks good, what does modular mean? Does it mean the cables plug into the psu, rather than being wired directly meaning you can have a few sets of cables?

This is the SSD I was looking at (I know its not from scan, not sure on the rules but it is the one thing i found that is cheaper than on scan)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=HD-066-OC

Yep that's exactly what modular means, the cables are seperate, most modular psu's still have some cables that are fixed, most commonly the 24pin an 4/8pin motherboard cables, some have more cables still fixed, a few are fully modular (Seasonic X series)

For decent quality cheap modular psu's
Silverstone strider 500w (fully modular) http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w-...lus-bronze-psu
OCZ modxstream 500w http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152009

Higher quality
Be Quiet E7 480w http://www.scan.co.uk/products/480w-...fire-120mm-fan
Seasonic M12II bronze 520w http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...-12v-120mm-fan

EDIT: quite a few of us have had bad experience with OcUK in the past, it's fine as long as nothing goes wrong but when problems occure OcUK customer service has been a real joke in the past.
Scan's customer service is so much better.

[Predator]

Nibbler do you have a link to the 60gb Vertex for £88? I couldn't find it

Ed^chigliak Thats what i was getting at with the cables