Yet another build to be questioned!

[funke_munke]

Hi Hexus folk, I am planning a new £650 build that must include the following components:

Motherboard - sata 3, usb 3
Processor - Must be quad core
Ram - 4/6gb dual/triple channel dependent upon processor and mobo
SSD - preferably something sandforce, no smaller than 100gb
Graphics Card - 460/5850/6850, something mid range around that area, willing to take second hand.


So far I have come up with:

Motherboard: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...-sata-raid-atx

Processor: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...che-95w-retail

Ram: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(...-9-24-xmp-150v

SSD: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225416...edium=products

Graphics Card: http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...odid=GX-259-SP


Total cost: £602


Obviously it's a little over budget so knocking some money off would be lovely, if anyone has any thoughts I would appreciate hearing them! Also... Does anyone know if x58 is the way to go? Or should I go Sandy Bridge? The rig will mainly be used for gaming - Total War, Crysis and similar.

Thanks guys!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Do you need a cop of an OS?? Are you going to overclock the CPU?? What parts can you re-use??

[Phage]

If you're going to CF/SLI then X58 is a better solution. Otherwise Sandy Bridge.
Vertex 2e is cheaper at ebuyer
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225416...edium=products
I'm a big believer in getting the best gpu you can afford. Howabout a 460
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247833
Or you could replace the whole thging with with the Sandy bridge system on Today Only ? Total price is ~£700, with the 460 but it's a lot faster than your spec, and you can sell off parts of your old box to re-coup the difference.

[ik9000]

for plain gaming I'd go Sandy Bridge. x58 is a dead platform come the summer. Sandy Bridge performs just as well, and clocks faster as far as I understand it. Cheaper RAM, cheaper MOBO, cheaper all round, and more likely to still be around in 12 months time for an upgrade.

multi-threaded intensive CPU, RAM heavy tasks might benefit from x58 if you get the higher end chips, but for most things an i7-2600k is just as good, if not slightly better than an i7-950.

[funke_munke]

Cheers for the input so far - Cat I only put the parts I need in the top post; all other parts and os are being re-used from my current build. And I can't sell anything as I'm building a media pc out of it and passing the graphics card to a friend! I would most likely oc the cpu, as I understand it I'll need a K series chip to do so? Does anyone have any suggestions on mobo, ram and cpu now that the general consensus seems to be to go Sandy Bridge? And Phage - it's a shame I don't quite have the cash yet! Cheers though guys!

[ik9000]

If your OC'ing I'd go 2500k since it clocks to the same as 2600k (should clock - it'll be chip dependent, but in theory)

MOBO, I've always been a bit partial to ASUS - find their BIOS well thought out. Personally I'd go for at least the P8P67 Pro since it offers dual PCIe 2 16x Lanes which will run at 8x, 8x for future SLI/Crossfire. RAM you want 1.5V kits, Corsair XMS3 is a good start point, Venegance is slightly better spec'ed but costs more. Watch out for what CPU cooler you get though. If it needs a fan to overlap the RAM venegance may be too high.

RAM type is less important with Sandy Bridge since OC'ing is multiplier driven rather than base clock. With x58 you had to up the voltages, so RAM spec was really important to get right. With Sandy Bridge the RAM isn't affected by the OC to the CPU mutliplier.

[funke_munke]

Original post edited to include your suggestions - hitting the £600 mark (a huge boon as I work part-time) and now going the Sandy Bridge route. Phage: I decided against the 460 purely due to the difference in cost being out of proportion with the performance changes. Any advice on the motherboard, processor and ram that I have chosen would be great guys! Thanks for the input so far!

[ik9000]

I have to admit that for gaming, it's all about the GPU.

I'd sooner run an i5-760 and a decent GPU than a 2500k and a worse GPU.

Only get 4GB of RAM, ditch any blu-ray aspirations, sell some garage clutter, skimp it together and get at least a 1GB GTX460.

Budget limited, get 2x2GB XMS3 1.5V RAM
Have a look at MSI motherboards - from memory they do a good one which will support SLI for less than the P8P67 Pro. Might not clock as easily/as well but if it gives you a better GPU I'd be prepared to accept that.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

[ik9000]

another thing I'd do is get a 60GB SSD and a 1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoint HDD (or if you prefer a quieter machine a 1TB Seagate 7200.12)

then follow the advice here http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how...ia_storage_ssd to keep your system lean and nippy.

That'll save you £40 right there if you wait for Scan's Today Only Offers this Friday.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This HD5870 1GB is on offer too:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-147-XF

The HD6870 1GB has higher tessellation performance but the HD5870 1GB has more shaders.

This HD5850 1GB is on offer until the end of today:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...56&subcat=1711

The HD5850 1GB is faster than the HD6850 1GB but has slightly lower tessellation performance.

[ik9000]

the Sapphire 5850 isn't a bad card btw.

edit: oops CAT beat me to it.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

the Sapphire 5850 isn't a bad card btw.

It also has an 8.5" PCB too.

[funke_munke]

I'm pretty much sold on this build - If anyone can better it then brilliant but if not, new pc ahoy! Cheers!

[ik9000]

I'm unable to see the picture - can someone imageshack it or list it as text?

[Phage]

I have the same issue. All images are blocked at work.