Looking For Help and Feedback on building a PC! :)

[qqfgt]

Hello Guys,

Introduction

Im new to the forums so firstly hello to all of you and i appreciate anybody that can supply any help and advice on building a rig.

Over the past 6 months i have been wanting to build a PC but have never got around to it due to not being 110% sure that im making the right choices! I havent built one before but i have read alot about them and learnt alot to just by planning my own.

What Im Looking For?

Im looking for a new PC mainly for playing games when im not at work, i used to play games like World of Warcraft and Heroes of Newerth but my current pc just doesnt cut it especially when there is alot of action going on include lighting shadows and effects, my FPS just wont be good enough which is why i want to purchase a brand new machine, i will start to play games like Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft Cataclysm and Probably the likes of some FPS's like CSS, COD, BF etc (Not Crysis).

My Budget

£1400-£1600

I looking for a good pc that will perform very well with most of the latest games although i think im going a little overboard by pricing myself some nice machines at around £1750.

Im looking for something that i will be able to upgrade easily when i have spare money, and not make a huge loss when removing the old component.

Below i will list a build that i had sitting in my basket from around 4 Months ago but i have never got around to buying it due to not being so confident.

• 22" Samsung SMB2230W High Glossy Black Widescreen Monitor, 5 ms, 1680x1050, 70,000:1
• Intel Core i7 950 Bloomfield 45nm, 3.06 GHz, QPI 4.8, 8MB Cache, 23x Ratio, Retail
• 850W Corsair HX Series V2, Modular 80 PLUS Silver, 90% Eff', SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, 7 Yr Warranty
• Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev 2, Intel X58, S1366, SLi/Xfire PCI-E 2, DDR3 2200<, USB3 & SATA 6Gb/s
• 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator, DDR3 PC3-12800(1600), CAS 7-8-7-20, XMP, DHX, New Connector, 1.65V
• 60GB Corsair Force Series F60, 2.5" SandForce controller, Read 285MB/s, Write 275MB/s, 50,000 IOPS
• Coolermaster HAF X, Black, Full Gaming Tower Case inc Side Window/USB3, w/o PSU
• 4GB XFX HD 6990, PCI-E 2.1 (x16), 5000MHz GDDR5, GPU 830MHz, 3072 Cores, 4x Mini DP/ DL DVI-I
• LiteOn IHOS104-37 4xBlu-ray, 8x DVD Reader OEM inc Software
• Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme Rev.C 6x HeatPipes for Socket 775/1366/AM2/3 Cpus
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit SP1, Operating System, Single, - OEM

The card will definately be downgraded, it was a lower card until it got discontinued and scan auto added that into the basket.

Will also be ordering thermal paste, keyboard, mouse and external and internal HDD.

Any advice is greatly appreciated and sorry for rambling on!

[qqfgt]

I have also just been reading around the forums at some lower budgets, i think i just have money rather than sense

[Rookie1986]

I would change the Samsung Monitor, if your looking at highend gaming cards then imo you should consider a highend monitor to get the full worth out of it. Try a Dell Ultrasharp....

I will read through the list again later tomorrow (its to late now) and see what/if any other changes need to be made, the thing with this is that everyone has their own preferred brands so opinions will differ.

[kalniel]

That would have been a great build 6 months ago, but things have moved on

Go for a Sandy bridge CPU and motherboard - faster than the older 950/x58. Top range is the i7 2600k, but it's not noticeably faster than the i5 2500k. A decent Z68 motherboard from someone like Asus or Gigabyte. 8GB RAM (2x4gb) and two separate GPUs rather than a single dual card.

[qqfgt]

@Rookie1986
That graphics card i have in my basket will most likely not what i will take, due to the fact it very pricey and if the top end game im going to play will probably be MW3 which im sure some lower cards could handle and could save me some cash for other things, i think i will be currently buying 1 monitor then further investing in another one so i can run dual, for my own necessities, im not very confident in ordering the parts because im not sure if it will run to perfect standard, so any changes that people think could be made that would be an advantage would be appreciated.

@Kalniel
I made that PC from my own knowledge i wasnt sure if it looked terrible or looked decent and would fit together.
I dont have alot of knowledge regarding motherboards, the the advantages/disadvantages of what they offer, i could be better just asking somebody to build up a complete pc that they think is best for performance, and then i could make minor changes to suit myself.
Ive looked around the forums and i can see that alot of people seem to be going for i5 2500k, i guess its money saving compared to the i7 as there isnt much of a difference in performance?
Do you suggest running 2 seperate lower cards rather than one single better performing card, i actually having looked into Crossfire/SLI before either.

Cheers for the replys by the way!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The following build uses parts from Scan.



The PSU is OTT but if you look at the other 650W and 750W modular PSUs they are a similar price.

I would get this monitor:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1120&subcat=

It is the non-glass fronted version of the monitor in these reviews:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hazro_hz27wa.htm

http://www.trustedreviews.com/hazro-...Monitor_review

You can get free postage from Scan:

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

I would check the following web-pages for special offers:

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

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

[vinnyT]

I don't think qqfgt can get the free postage deal from Scan, as he is from Belfast and I think the deal is for mainland UK only.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I don't think qqfgt can get the free postage deal from Scan, as he is from Belfast and I think the deal is for mainland UK only.

Would qqfgt get a postage discount??

[vinnyT]

Would qqfgt get a postage discount??

I don't know, he would have to ask the man at Scan.

[phoenix20]

firat of all whats you budget

[qqfgt]

@ CAT-THE-FIFTH - That build looks pretty decent for the price although a few questions:

1. Why the HAF 932 Advanced, would the HAF X not provide more space for future upgrade, is there a reason behind this?

2. The MSI Graphics cards and those type of brands always look very cheap to me, even the packaging, are they worth the buy? Ive heard that the manufacturer doesnt make a different really apart from the warranty as they are all the same type of graphics cards, do you suggest running crossfire rather than a single card?

3. The monitor is very steep price, i mean there is alot of information in those reviews but what are the main benefits and reasons that you are pointing this specific one out to me? Im not sure if i want one like that, or to run 2 smaller monitors around 22" each.

@Phoenix20 My budget is stated above in the intro

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

@ CAT-THE-FIFTH - That build looks pretty decent for the price although a few questions:

1. Why the HAF 932 Advanced, would the HAF X not provide more space for future upgrade, is there a reason behind this?

It was cheaper and it seems the HAF932 has enough space.

2. The MSI Graphics cards and those type of brands always look very cheap to me, even the packaging, are they worth the buy? Ive heard that the manufacturer doesnt make a different really apart from the warranty as they are all the same type of graphics cards, do you suggest running crossfire rather than a single card?

MSI is not a cheap brand and their cards are quite decent especially since they have a three UK warranty. MSI is actually one of the best brands for graphics cards.

RMA is in the Netherlands but is far better than with other companies:

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...ally-look.html

It might be worth looking at the Gigabyte HD6950 2GB cards too but they are not in stock at Scan.

An HD6990 is a waste of money especially since a pair of HD6950 2GB cards will offer similar performance but at a lower price.

3. The monitor is very steep price, i mean there is alot of information in those reviews but what are the main benefits and reasons that you are pointing this specific one out to me? Im not sure if i want one like that, or to run 2 smaller monitors around 22" each.

Considering that the Hazro is actually using the same panel as that found in the 27" iMac and the Dell equivalent is over £700 it is not a steep price TBH. It is also assembled in the UK and has UK based support AFAIK.

It also uses a IPS panel meaning it is just a far better monitor than the glossy Samsung monitor you listed. The Hazro is not glossy although a glass fronted version is also available.

A pair of Dell U2311H monitors which use an IPS panel will be at least £400.

In retrospect it might be better gather a pair of these instead. You can use Eyefinity with them or have a free screen when gaming.

[qqfgt]

I guess your right it is cheaper, but if im going to invest a good bit of money i guess an extra £30 isnt going to be a big dent for now, for more space for future upgrades and more airflow, also the Nvidia HAF X case looks pretty sweet to ive gotta say.

From looking at the table i guess Gigabyte is the best looking and MSI not so bad also! The cards you have shown me are also not in stock for now? i will probably be adding some stuff into my basket within the next few days and then ordering at the end of the month.

That monitor does look amazing dont get me wrong, and i must say for a 27" LCD i guess it is a steady price! i was basically looking for 2 seperate ones for e.g. watching a movie on one and say talking on the other or even gaming, so unfortunately that monitor is something that wouldnt benefit me

Comparing the PC i showed above in my part, my one looks like quite a beast, but the one you have selected is a very steady machine, nice price and bang for buck! Tommorrows sunday, so im going to have a good look at the products you have shown me and a further look around the scan website.

I have only been on this forum for 3 days and ive seen your name pop up alot, you do know alot of what your talking about, not even about the hardware but about theyre reviews, benefits and disadvantages. A Good Sport you are i must say! I just wish there was an easier way of contacting you so i could get some answers from your knowledge faster

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the...thanks!!

The U2311H is a popular choice on Hexus. Check out some of the threads on it.

It also has a very flexible panel mounting mechanism too.

[qqfgt]

Well ive been looking around, im going to stick with the HAF X and im going to go with the CPU you have mentioned as the sandybridge 2500k seems to be a popular choice.

In regards to the MOBO is there Asus Sabertooth any good compared to the motherboard you have mentioned above?

Those MSI cards are pretty ugly in looks, pity theyre good with performance, but im considering going with them, a friend is trying to convince me to just run one card, but im thinking i want Crossfire!

PSU

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-...-year-warranty

Cooler

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/therm...366-am2-3-cpus

These are my original choices, do you think these are a better choice than the ones you have recommended above?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Well ive been looking around, im going to stick with the HAF X and im going to go with the CPU you have mentioned as the sandybridge 2500k seems to be a popular choice.

In regards to the MOBO is there Asus Sabertooth any good compared to the motherboard you have mentioned above?

Those MSI cards are pretty ugly in looks, pity theyre good with performance, but im considering going with them, a friend is trying to convince me to just run one card, but im thinking i want Crossfire!

PSU

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-...-year-warranty

Cooler

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/therm...366-am2-3-cpus

These are my original choices, do you think these are a better choice than the ones you have recommended above?

The XFX PSU seems to be a cosmetically changed version of the following PSU:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=165

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8168

The Thermaltake TRUE does not include a fan. OTH,the Corsair A50 should do the job IMHO.

There is also the Corsair A70 too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...56-amd-am2-am3