New build for upcoming games

[Hoonigan]

I'm planning on building a new rig within the next couple of weeks, preferably before BF3 and CoD are released. I've set aside £1000 for all of this, including a second monitor and new speakers. Broken down into £700 for the PC, £140 for the monitor and £150 for the speakers (I will be creating a separate thread in the audio section for these).

What I'm struggling with is all the different chipsets within the Intel family, and finding one with the features I like and possibly some future proofing.

I've already decided that I want an Intel CPU. I've got a GTX580, 2x Intel 80GB SSDs, an Enermax Modu82+ 625w and an Antec 300 which I'll be keeping; everything else is going.

As for the motherboard, I'm looking to go i7 I think, 1600MHz memory, and to include SATA3 and USB3.

CPU - what's the best at the minute within my budget?

RAM - Looking for something good value and more than good enough for general computing and heavy gaming (6-8GB).

SSD - Can someone please suggest some good SSDs (around the 128 mark) that will make good use of a SATA3 connection?

Soundcard - This is something I know absolutely nothing about, but I feel that if I'm going to fork out on some new speakers, will a good sound card be beneficial to me?


I'm going to be using Scan for the entire order, might as well make use of this free delivery eh?


I thank you all in advance for any contributions you're willing to make

[scaryjim]

For a £140 monitor with a GTX580, I'm inclined to say it really doesn't matter. You're only going to get 1080p at that price and your 580 will monster it. If you're determined to spend £700 on CPU, Motherboard, RAM and a 120GBish SSD, then you can look (links are indicative, do shop around ) at an i7 2600K (£230), a Z68 motherboard (up to ~ £150 - lots of choices here), 8GB DDR3 1600 CL9 (~ £40 - yes, RAM is that cheap), and a 120GB SATA3 SSD (~£180, again plenty of options). That's a grand total of ~ £600, which gives you plenty of money to get a decent cooler for that i7 2600K (I linked you to the OEM version which comes without a cooler - if you're overclocking you'll want something better than the stock cooler anyway ). Or, you could get a better monitor that'd actually make it worth having an i7 2600 and a GTX580, 'cause they're kinda wasted on a £140 1080p screen...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

A few things. I would get an M4 128GB as it is decent value for money. I would also consider getting a Crossfire or SLI combination. TBH,I would also just waiting until BF3 is released and AMD and Nvidia have tweaked their drivers. On top of this I would get a GTX570 or HD6970 too. The GTX580 is overpriced IMHO.

[scaryjim]

The GTX580 is overpriced IMHO.

The OP already has a GTX580 in their current build

[Hoonigan]

The monitor I currently have is a 2048x1152 resolution screen and I'm gonna be getting another to match. The GTX580 will beast through games for now, but I want this computer to last about 2 years before I even think about upgrading any components.

I'll have a proper look through the components listed later on, once I'm on my PC.

I also forgot to mention, I've got a TRUE Black with 2 fans mounted, will this CPU cooler be compatible with newer motherboards?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The OP already has a GTX580 in their current build

I missed that its seems!!

[shaithis]

TRUE should fit (you will need the bracket supplied or a new one I suspect though).

Are you planning to go multi monitor for gaming or just productivity work? If it's for gaming.....get a 3rd monitor. 2 monitors are total sucketh for gaming.

[shaithis]

TRUE should fit (you will need the bracket supplied or a new one I suspect though).

Are you planning to go multi monitor for gaming or just productivity work? If it's for gaming.....get a 3rd monitor. 2 monitors are total sucketh for gaming.

[scaryjim]

The monitor I currently have is a 2048x1152 resolution screen and I'm gonna be getting another to match.

Ah, that makes a lot more sense. Then definitely get a board that's SLI-ready, as you need 2 cards to run three monitors off an Nvidia setup, and ...

If it's for gaming.....get a 3rd monitor. 2 monitors are total sucketh for gaming.

This. Seriously. Gaming on 2 monitors you'll spend all your time trying to peer through / round / between the bezels. One big, or three small. Don't do two... (yeah, the problem with that is that a 27" 2560x1440 monitor is > £600, and 3 monitors means either another 580GTX or switching to AMD. Never rains but it pours, huh ).

[Hoonigan]

How does this look? Will them parts all work together?



I'll be buying that 2nd GTX580 now and then in a couple of months I'll buy 2 more of the monitor I'm currently using..

Can anyone suggest a PSU? I've a feeling that 2x GTX580s and all that high end kit will probably be a bit too much for a 625w Enermax Modu82+

[jim]

Where are you going to get an SM2343BW from?

Aren't they pretty much all gone?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

How does this look? Will them parts all work together?



I'll be buying that 2nd GTX580 now and then in a couple of months I'll buy 2 more of the monitor I'm currently using..

Can anyone suggest a PSU? I've a feeling that 2x GTX580s and all that high end kit will probably be a bit too much for a 625w Enermax Modu82+

Socket 1155 runs the RAM in dual channel. You have chosen a triple channel kit.

[Hicks12]

Id get an crucial m4 drive instead, its more reliable than the current gen sandforce!.

Ram as mentioned you should either get a 2x4gb set or a 4x4gb kit, 8gb is plenty!.

2x 580 is a BIG investment, if i was you id wait before getting your second one, it will be fine till the new amd and probably nvidia series, amd 7900 looks set to decimate current gen stuff so since you dont really need it asap id say wait as long as possible .

PSU: dont know what youll need but TT range are quite good apparently http://www.scan.co.uk/products/875w-...ps-12v-fan-atx or if you want to blow a load on a psu... http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-...2v-quiet-fan-a awesome stuff from bequiet normally so i doubt this is any different!

[Hoonigan]

Where are you going to get an SM2343BW from?

Aren't they pretty much all gone?

Do ya know, I hadn't even looked for them, I just assumed they'd still be around; I've just had a look now and they're nowhere!

That's something I'm gonna have to think about...

Socket 1155 runs the RAM in dual channel. You have chosen a triple channel kit.

Oooops, my bad! What's the voltage limit on the RAM? Is it 1.5v for the new i7's?

[jim]

Same here, hence my post :/

[Noxvayl]

All DDR3 is around 1.5v standard, 1.6v for extreme memory profiles I think... These should be fine: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb-...-9-24-xmp-150v

Anyway I'd get a different PSU, two power hungry GTX580's might be too much for the Modu82+ 625W even though it can handle 75A on it's three rails. Considering price isn't too much of a bother for you you might want to look at the platinum series from Enermax or the equivalent Seasonic platinum rated PSU's. This would be my recommended PSU: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/760w-...-quiet-fan-atx or this if it has to be in stock: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-...iet-fan-atx-v2