What do you guys think of my PC build? :)

[WhyHelloThere]

Hey,

First of all I want to build a gaming PC capable of playing the latest and most future games on high/max settings. I really want to be able to play the latest flight simulator games on max settings as I love that game.

I would really appreciate it if you could all give me your honest opinions on my PC build. Also if I could improve or replace anything in my list please tell me as I appreciate other people opinions. I am not that familiar with PC specs so any help would be greatly appreciated.

My budget is £670 max:-

G-Skill 4GB (2*2GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ripjaws Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5v. £33.92.

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor. £161.10.

Coolermaster Elite 430 All Black Interior Mid Tower Case with Side Window. £32.90.

1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9ms, NCQ. £39.58.

Sony AD-7263S-0B 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, Labelflash, OEM. £16.76.

MSI P67A-G45 (B3), Intel P67, S 1155, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2133, Xfire, SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX. £93.20.

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game. £214.99.

Lepa W-Series 600W '80 Plus' Power Supply. £56.99.

Delivery charges includes £10 approx. What do you guys think? What does OEM mean btw? Am I going to need additional cables etc for the OEM product? Thanks.

I also need a mouse and keyboard (as a temp thing) and will soon get a gaming mouse and keyboard. Any suggestions on a keyboard or keyboard and mouse for £18 approx?

[Blackmage]

Lepa are not new to PSU game as they make Enermax PSU's but this is there first range of PSU's under there own brand, still check reviews or go for the Antec gamer range.

Plus you can get free postage from scan after a certain number of posts.

[WhyHelloThere]

Lepa are not new to PSU game as they make Enermax PSU's but this is there first range of PSU's under there own brand, still check reviews or go for the Antec gamer range.

Plus you can get free postage from scan after a certain number of posts.

Should I replace my PSU? Any recommendations at around about the same price or cheaper? (with the same specs or better) Thanks for the delivery tip btw. I don't think I'll be able to replace my PSU to an Antec Gamer one as I will go over my budget.

[Blackmage]

These are some I recommend

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-...ps12v-v291-psu

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...23&subcat=1497

Well the higher end Lepa PSU got a good review on Jonnny Guru but I don't know how there low end PSU's stand Up.

[WhyHelloThere]

...

Hey there,

I think I am going to go for the Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU you recommended. But can I just ask is this compatable with all of my other components? Does this support 2 * 6pin PCI-E? etc etc. Also wouldn't this PSU be underpowered for my build? I thought anything under 550W would be pushing it for this. I dunno. :L

Thanks for your help? Also what do you think of the rest of my build?

[WhyHelloThere]

With my recent PC build will I be able to play FSX, Civ 5, TF2 etc etc on high to max settings? Thanks.

[kalniel]

Hey there,

I think I am going to go for the Antec High Current Gamer 520W PSU you recommended. But can I just ask is this compatable with all of my other components? Does this support 2 * 6pin PCI-E? etc etc.

Yes.

Also wouldn't this PSU be underpowered for my build? I thought anything under 550W would be pushing it for this. I dunno. :L

No. You only need about 350W.

Also what do you think of the rest of my build?

It's great, it'll play your games great. Stop wasting time and go for it!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Are you going to overclock the CPU?? You need to include an aftermarket cooler too if you want a bigger overclock. You can save a few quid going with a Core i5 2400.

I assume you have a copy of an operating system??

Here are some builds I suggested for around £600:

http://forums.hexus.net/2097613-post8.html

Even with an HD6950 2GB and an F3 1TB the first build should be under £680.

If you go with one of the PSUs suggested by Blackmage the build will be around £660 to £670.

The second build has lower overclocking ability but has a faster graphics card meaning it is faster in games.

If you have 20 posts on Scan you can get free postage:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...-delivery.html

Also,check the following web-pages for offers:

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/inde..._icmp=AkaIX3H4

http://www.scan.co.uk/shops/homepage..._icmp=7Uz238zS

[WhyHelloThere]

...

Hey there,

Would the specs of my build decrease if I use stock fans for the cpu etc? So will my hardware underperform due to overheating issues with the stock fans? ... under normal gaming conditions and with no overclocking.
?

Will I be able to keep my build as it is for now and maybe get a larger PSU and a stock fan etc etc at a closer date to when I want to overclock?

Thanks.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The stock fan will be fine and one of the PSUs mentioned in this thread will be fine too. For a single card setup a decent 500W to 600W is enough. Even a decent 450W PSU can run cards like an HD4980 1GB and an HD5850 1GB.

[oolon]

My build that is a bit bigger than yours only full on gaming it draws 350w at the wall, idle arround 150-175w (6 core processor, 4 drives, 6970). The 80+ allowance does not apply if use less than 20% of the power output . My computer takes 8w to be "switched off". The only reason for getting more than a 550w is if you REALLY think you might get a second GPU, don't forget money is always better if your pocket than your computer as you can get something much better in a year or so.

[WhyHelloThere]

Thanks all, I didn't really notice that my PSU didn't need to be that large.

Out of the two PSU's recommended by BlackMage, which one do you all think I should get? I'm not sure tbh. Thanks.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Antec is a slightly newer Seasonic design whereas the XFX is based on an older Seasonic design IIRC. OTH,the XFX has a longer 5 year warranty.

Scan is also much cheaper for the XFX than OcUK:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...l-power-supply

[WhyHelloThere]

The Antec is a slightly newer Seasonic design whereas the XFX is based on an older Seasonic design IIRC. OTH,the XFX has a longer 5 year warranty.

Scan is also much cheaper for the XFX than OcUK:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...l-power-supply

I think I might go with the XFX from scan then. Thanks everyone for all your help.

[Blackmage]

The Antec is a slightly newer Seasonic design whereas the XFX is based on an older Seasonic design IIRC. OTH,the XFX has a longer 5 year warranty.

Scan is also much cheaper for the XFX than OcUK:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...l-power-supply

I'm also curious to know which one is the better PSU. Any opinion on this, or is there no real difference?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I'm also curious to know which one is the better PSU. Any opinion on this, or is there no real difference?

I had another look at both PSUs and seems they are both based on the same Seasonic S12II platform. OTH,the Antec is rated 30W lower, so I suspect the XFX is probably closer to that rating as both PSUs look very similar inside IMHO:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4343/a...good-bargain/4

http://www.kitguru.net/components/po...pply-review/5/