Building my gaming PC

Hey guys,

Im not sure if im in the right place to post this but ill give it a go.

Im looking to create my own gaming pc, which can play recent games at high specs (cod, mw3, brink etc), with maximum fps and no fps drops or lags. Armed with little knowledge on whats good and not I had an online friend help me greatly and created this setup for me;

i5 2500K £163
750w Antec £94
8GB Corsair Vengeance £66
Asus P8P67 £92
MSI Geforce GTX 570 £240
Xigmatek Utgard Case £65
Akasa Cooler £23
500GB WD HDD £29
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi £35
DVD £18
23" LG 120hz £154

all the parts above come to £979 from scan, my budget is maximum £1000

Ive looked at all the parts via links and have brief knowledge on the items and they seem good, just wanted to know opinions of people who are experienced at this sort of thing. Things like is there a better combination of specs/parts? Will these parts fit together in the case properly? and is this good specs? Im particularly worried about playing the games without no lags or fps drops and about overheating. Any advice you can offer a newbie is immensely appreciated :D

Thank you guys

you planning on a modular psu? I will keep the case alot neater without much fuss and help with airflow. And also it might be worth considering a 64gb ssd just to have a boot drive (although that may take you over budget).
And don't forget to take into account the the OS, 64bit to make use of all the ram. Win7 Home prem retail is cheap enough these days.

Im not sure here is the link to it: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-...-120mm-pwm-fan

In regard to the ssd, it will go over my budget, is it really a necessity? What does it do?

and I forgot to mention but the OS system is taken care of, thank you anyway

strange, posted and it didnt take, anyways..

An SSD is a Solid State Drive, a hard drive that is extremely fast, starting at around £90 for a 60GB drive. Near instant boot times and fast fast access, a must in any new build imo, but then thats just my opninion :)

list prices for each component bud, we might see better equipment for a cheaper rate or give some other advice that way.

Also, buying smaller hard drives like a 500GB drive is a waste of money, can double storage for less than half the cost in many cases, just a thought :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dareos

strange, posted and it didnt take, anyways..

An SSD is a Solid State Drive, a hard drive that is extremely fast, starting at around £90 for a 60GB drive. Near instant boot times and fast fast access, a must in any new build imo, but then thats just my opninion :)

list prices for each component bud, we might see better equipment for a cheaper rate or give some other advice that way.

Also, buying smaller hard drives like a 500GB drive is a waste of money, can double storage for less than half the cost in many cases, just a thought :)

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I think the mod deleted the one you posted in and moved this one.
Could you recommend a good ssd? Dont really want to spend that much on one, so something around 30gb would be sufficient I would think.

I've updated the prices, and I was considering getting the Samsung F3 1TB HDD, its about £42..Might have to, thanks for your input also :)

The OCZ agility is 60 GB and looks good to me, theres others on here with more experience of them and can do the recommendations tho :)

On the sound side, I had a glance at Asus P8P67, and theres lots of them, the one I looked at was £136 and had 7.1 sound built in. Now i know tis not the same as having a separate card, but is the card necessary?

Prices added, good move :)

Ok, you are spending more on your PSU than you are on your MOBO, but that mobo also has 7.1 channel sound, so maybe some saving there, bear in mind that adding sound cards and so on can be done as needed, whereas PSU's and Mobos and boot drives can be a pita to replace or addon.

Do you need a modular PSU, as far as I can see the only advantage is some cable management that can be achieved by some cable ties wrapped to the side of the casing.

The link to the MOBO is; http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...-sata-raid-atx

I cant see anything in the description saying its got a 7.1 channel sound?

I dont have knowledge on PSU's so not sure what a modular one is, I just need it to power the parts im going to be getting, and thats the one my friend picked, so im unsure on it. Sorry for the lack of knowledge on my behalf

Modular just means you can attach different power cords for different devices, where a standard PSU has all the cords permanently attached, AFAIK, I will stand corrected if anyone chooses to correct me :), And if you look at the Tech Specifications, under I/O ports, you will see 7.1 channel sound input/outputs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dareos

Modular just means you can attach different power cords for different devices, where a standard PSU has all the cords permanently attached, AFAIK, I will stand corrected if anyone chooses to correct me :), And if you look at the Tech Specifications, under I/O ports, you will see 7.1 channel sound input/outputs

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Ahhh ok, im not sure if I need a modular one then, either way the sole purpose is to power my computer, but it might be best to stick to the modular one as I may upgrade components in the future.

Ah yes I see it, 7.1 Audio l/O, well I listen to alot of music so the additional sound card will aid in the quality of the music right?

I would think better speakers would make more of a difference tbh :)

Its early days of this thread yet, i'm sure some of the regs will be posting ideas soon. I'm off home for the evening but I will keep an eye on this to see if theres anything I can add to the discussion, priming my own build atm so keeping a close eye on things atm.

Ok thanks alot for your advice :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dareos

I would think better speakers would make more of a difference tbh

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Agreed. Or if like me, the missus is complaining about all the gun fire and explosions, get some nice comfy headphones. I'm only using a pair of cheapish trustmaster headphones which my brother didn't want, it has "virtual 5.1" which is surprisingly good!

Also agree with Dareos in regards to Ssd, highly recommended in a new build, again, just an opinion. I'm looking to get a 60-64gb ssd for my htpc, then another one eventually for my gaming pc. It's not just about the bootup time it's all the little background processes and services running all the time, having uber fast read/write will certainly help.

If you look at the combo Scan are offering on Today Only, you could stick another 4 gig of RAM on there, an SSD, cooler, graphics card and soundcard and still come under budget :), case probably isnt as nice (not looked) and the RAM is slower, but 1.5V stuff so i think its clockable....

The OP can get free postage from Scan after 20 posts:

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

I assume the OP is getting a 3D monitor and a GTX570 since they want to play 3D games?? They will need to buy 3D glasses too.

I come up with the following build which includes an SSD.

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/s...ingbuild-1.jpg

The PSU is not modular but is made by Seasonic and gets good reviews:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=216

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...roduction.html

The newer OCZ SSDs are faster than the Crucial M4 but AFAIK the Crucial and Intel SSDs are more reliable.

CAT-THE-FIFTH, thanks for your advice

I have noticed the free delivery deal and will go for it when I get back from football training later.

Well my main concern is playing the high end games (Call of Duty, Brink etc) without any lag or fps problems, hence the powerful Graphics card, and the 3D monitor as I may dive into 3D games or movies etc in the future.

Thanks for posting your build, I will have a look at it in more detail when I get back. :)

I knew Cat couldnt resist this thread :) and thats a pretty nice build too. Everything I have been pricing for myself for the next machine appears to be running to £1k without a monitor, will post it before long :0

Just 1 thing Cat, why that SSD, is the agility from OCZ not a faster drive?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dareos

I knew Cat couldnt resist this thread :) and thats a pretty nice build too. Everything I have been pricing for myself for the next machine appears to be running to £1k without a monitor, will post it before long :0

Just 1 thing Cat, why that SSD, is the agility from OCZ not a faster drive?

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Indeed,the OCZ Agility is faster.

However,I would check this out:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...34nm-test.html

That makes for some interesting reading, without hijacking the thread too much, how badly does the slower speed affect boot times, as this would be the main function in my onw build?

CAT-THE-FIFTH, I've talked to my friend that basically designed this whole setup for me, he said your take on the build is pretty good, however he added "I would've chosen that cpu cooler too but i didn't think that it would support the 1155 socket sandy bridge cpu?"

So would the cooler do its job of supporting the 1155 socket sandy bridge cpu?

AFAIK,the cooler mounting holes for socket 1155 and 1156 are identical. You could check with Scan just in case.

One, more thing I listed a non-Crossfire capable motherboard as it was cheaper.

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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

AFAIK,the cooler mounting holes for socket 1155 and 1156 are identical. You could check with Scan just in case.

One, more thing I listed a non-Crossfire capable motherboard as it was cheaper.

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

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I checked the specs for the cooler and it says it supports 1156 but it doesn't list 1155? although you and my friend say that it probably would as their pretty much identical..but I don't want to really take a risk and find out it doesn't fit when it arrives, Im not sure how else I can check if it would fit?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akifh

I checked the specs for the cooler and it says it supports 1156 but it doesn't list 1155? although you and my friend say that it probably would as their pretty much identical..but I don't want to really take a risk and find out it doesn't fit when it arrives, Im not sure how else I can check if it would fit?

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It seems Scan uses the cooler themselves for their overclocked Core i5 2500k bundles:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?S...rCategoryID=38

BTW,if you don't intend to overclock I would get the standard Core i5 2500,a cheaper motherboard and use the stock cooler.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

It seems Scan uses the cooler themselves for their overclocked Core i5 2500k bundles:

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?S...rCategoryID=38

BTW,if you don't intend to overclock I would get the standard Core i5 2500,a cheaper motherboard and use the stock cooler.

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ok thanks, my friend just told me the "K" stands for better overclocking, well I wouldn't really need to overclock it, so I guess i'll opt for the standard i5 2500.

Would you mind recommending a motherboard and the cooler for me?

also I haven't really gotten a clear answer from a third party if the setup that you provided + the standard i5 2500+cheaper motherboard+stock cooler, would play the games I mentioned (Call of duty, brink, team fortress 2 etc) at max settings with max fps/ no fps drops etc.

thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akifh

ok thanks, my friend just told me the "K" stands for better overclocking, well I wouldn't really need to overclock it, so I guess i'll opt for the standard i5 2500.

Would you mind recommending a motherboard and the cooler for me?

also I haven't really gotten a clear answer from a third party if the setup that you provided + the standard i5 2500+cheaper motherboard+stock cooler, would play the games I mentioned (Call of duty, brink, team fortress 2 etc) at max settings with max fps/ no fps drops etc.

thanks again

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A 570 and 2500 would wipe the floor with any of those games. My 5770 with e5200 can do CoD and TF2 maxed out no problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revol68

A 570 and 2500 would wipe the floor with any of those games. My 5770 with e5200 can do CoD and TF2 maxed out no problem.

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haha sweeeet!!!!
:rockon:

This motherboard would do the job but has not been in stock for a while:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...s-raid-atx-vga

It lacks overclocking options but has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports.

This motherboard is around £80 but lacks USB3.0 ports and overclocking options:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...6gb-s-raid-atx

TBH,I would stick with the motherboard I suggested as the ATX H67 motherboards don't seem much cheaper.

I would also stick with the supplied stock cooler.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

This motherboard would do the job but has not been in stock for a while:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...s-raid-atx-vga

It lacks overclocking options but has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports.

This motherboard is around £80 but lacks USB3.0 ports and overclocking options:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...6gb-s-raid-atx

TBH,I would stick with the motherboard I suggested as the ATX H67 motherboards don't seem much cheaper.

I would also stick with the supplied stock cooler.

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Would you know any good motherboards with the USB 3.0? I'm not bothered about overclocking tbh.
Regarding the cooler, is it supplied or do I have to buy it separately? I'm getting confused bout the cooler :help:

The stock cooler comes with the retail CPU which I listed in the build I suggested. The OEM CPUs lack a CPU cooler. The MSI motherboard I suggested has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports.

This mATX motherboard has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-h...-raid-matx-vga

This ATX motherboard also has USB3.0 and SATA3.0 ports:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...3gb-s-raid-atx

However,it has a lower number of audio outputs on the backplate and lacks the monitor outputs normally seen on a Z68 motherboard.

Ok many thanks,

I will do a final build and post it here and wait for the thumbs up from
you professionals :D

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...y4/mybuild.jpg

Ok! I've added a wireless adapter card as im using wireless.
-I will use the free p&p deal.

Is everything in this build good to go? will it all fit together with no problems?
Any advice left to say before I buy it later today?

:)

You will need to follow the instructions for the free postage in post 15. It might take a day or so to get activated although I cannot remember who long it took me (might be less TBH).

Also,look at the links in post 21 to see if any of the parts are on special offer today.

The RAM is pre-order so your order will be delayed until it is in stock. Since you are not overclocking this RAM will be fine:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...-9-9-9-24-150v

Edit!!

Having said that I am uncertain whether Sandy Bordge even takes adavntage of faster RAM fully when overclocked. The important thing is to have the RAM rate at 1.5V or thereabouts.

Some bits are on offer today:

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

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

I would get:

1.)Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz GPU 850Mhz 6MB Cache 95W Retail + 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.50V

£213.59

2.)64GB Crucial RealSSD M4, 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, MLC-Flash, Read 415MB/s, Write 95MB/s

£86.39

3.)23" LG W2363D Full HD 120Hz 3D Black DVI 2xHDMI 1920x1080 1000:1 400cd/m2 5ms

£151.19

Spotted mate,if its possible to buy today then that should shave a few quid off for the OP :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Some bits are on offer today:

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

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

I would get:

1.)Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.3GHz GPU 850Mhz 6MB Cache 95W Retail + 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.50V

£213.59

2.)64GB Crucial RealSSD M4, 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, MLC-Flash, Read 415MB/s, Write 95MB/s

£86.39

3.)23" LG W2363D Full HD 120Hz 3D Black DVI 2xHDMI 1920x1080 1000:1 400cd/m2 5ms

£151.19

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ah you sir are a legend

I will update everything and post again for final checks!

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...fy4/mypc-1.jpg

Ive added the deals you suggested..however I couldn't find this:

2.)64GB Crucial RealSSD M4, 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, MLC-Flash, Read 415MB/s, Write 95MB/s

£86.39

I got the same ssd in the build however its only couple of pounds more.

Everything else correct in the build above?

edit!

The P&P deal worked like a charm as you can see from the pic! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akifh

The P&P deal worked like a charm as you can see from the pic! :D

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Just do us a favour and hang around after you buy the damn thing - they'll drop the offer if people end up just posting to get it and then clear off :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akifh

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...fy4/mypc-1.jpg

Ive added the deals you suggested..however I couldn't find this:

2.)64GB Crucial RealSSD M4, 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, MLC-Flash, Read 415MB/s, Write 95MB/s

£86.39

I got the same ssd in the build however its only couple of pounds more.

Everything else correct in the build above?

edit!

The P&P deal worked like a charm as you can see from the pic! :D

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The Crucial SSD is at the bottom of the Today Only web-page:

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/#9

BTW,do you need the aftermarket heatsink??

Yeah Im playing it better safe than sorry with the cooler :)

i think OCZ Vertex 2 120g is a better choice 64g is just too small for anything