New Gaming Build For £1000

Hey guys,

I'm looking to make a new gaming pc (current one is a q6600 system), willing to spend max £1000 on it and need some pointers.

Now i know the first thing people are going to say is that i don't need to spend that much for a gaming pc but this is for an eyefinity setup (resolution isn't the highest, 5980x1080) but i want a build that will (hopefully as there's no way to tell) run the likes of Battlefield 3 and Skyrim at that resolution.

At the moment i have a 6970 in my system which i will be taking and crossfiring with another 6970 on the new rig.

Now i've been out of the latest stuff for a while but from what i've read the i5 2500 is the best processor at the moment for gaming and also one of the best for overclocking, so i'm pretty much set on getting that (unless i'm wrong), however i'm stuck on which motherboard to get, any suggestions for which motherboard would overclock best with the i5? Both PCI-e lanes being 16x in crossfire would also be a bonus (I know there's not a huge difference between a 8x/8x and 16x/16x setup but would still like to look at all my options nonetheless:)).

I'm also looking to get 8GB of Ram, preferably 2x4GB, is there much difference between dual channel and triple channel ram?

I'm sure i read somewhere the 1155 motherboards are going to be compatible with the Ivy Bridge due out next year, would that be correct? Would also appreciate any cpu cooler suggestions.

Would also like some case suggestions, don't really mind what it looks like (I have an antec 300 atm) as long as it does the job and has nice airflow, i'd keep the Antec but i'd have to modify the bottom of the HDD bay for the second 6970 (already done it to top) so my hdd's would have nowhere to go.

And lastly the power supply...i have a Corsair TX850...enough for an overclocked i5+two 6970's (also overclocked) or would i need to get another power supply?

I know i went on a bit there...sorry, would really appreciate any help, thanks:)

Bulldozer is just round the corner, I'd wait a bit

I was originally going to but apparently it's been delayed...again, delay may not be huge but i've gotten tired of waiting to be honest, which is why i'm just going with a new system now.

No one knows for sure if they have been delayed they are just rumours, AMD will make an announcement 2moro

You have a Q6600 though which is not really a huge bottleneck ATM especially if it is overclocked. Also,both the games you listed will be out in November.

Are you willing to use water? You could probably afford to go on water with that sort of budget.

Either way, I'm with the other guys. I'd wait at the very least until the AMD key speech tomorrow at computex. If they confirm the long delay, by all means, go for it. I know I will be if they're going to take until July as I have a buyer for my current rig who wants to take it off my hands this month.

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

You have a Q6600 though which is not really a huge bottleneck ATM especially if it is overclocked. Also,both the games you listed will be out in November.

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It's not, but i want 60 fps+ on FPS's/Racing games, take Bad Company 2 for instance...i have to set everything at low to reach 60fps (falls short on some maps), i can get 30fps+ on most games and i know that's fine for most people, but 30 fps throws me off on alot of games.

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Originally Posted by RabidDeathGnome

Are you willing to use water? You could probably afford to go on water with that sort of budget.

Either way, I'm with the other guys. I'd wait at the very least until the AMD key speech tomorrow at computex. If they confirm the long delay, by all means, go for it. I know I will be if they're going to take until July as I have a buyer for my current rig who wants to take it off my hands this month.

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I was originally going to go with water but from what i've read the i5 overclocks pretty well on air so i'm going to give it a miss, might go with water on a new system in 2-3 years time.

AMD have confirmed Bulldozer has been delayed to 'late summer', have put up with 775 but i think i've had just enough now so a system built around the i5 it is, come on people, would really appreciate some suggestions;)

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

but i think i've had just enough now so a system built around the i5 it is, come on people, would really appreciate some suggestions;)

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Keep PSU and 6970, add:

HAF912+
i5 2500k
artic cooling freezer 13
8GB corsair vengeance 1600 DDR3 (2x4GB)
MSI p67a G45
120GB OCZ agility 3 SSD
1TB Samsung F3
Windows 7 x64 home premium
DVD drive of your choice

I'll bite, no SB motherboard will let you run 2 16x lanes. Hardocp did a review comparing 16x/16x to 8x/8x and there is virtually no difference. No hard info on compatibility with Ivy Bridge yet.

MB: Asus P8P67 Pro, GB UD4 or MSI equivalent.
RAM: no difference dual or triple. 2x4GB of DDR rated at 1.5V preferably.

Case is a tricky one. You will need to shift a LOT of air to cool dual 6970s. I'd look at a HAF-X or Antec DF-85 ( both ugly as sin but have great cooling performance). Another option would be a Raven or FT02. Would need to be careful though since I think Blower style cards work a lot better in these cases. Bit-tech do good case reviews and have benchmarks to look at.

Thanks for the suggestions so far:) But i forgot to add...i won't be needing a hdd (have three at the moment, 600gb, 2tb for backup, 1tb Samsung F3 Spinpoint), DVD drive/Keyboard/Mouse will also be carried over from the current system.

Also good suggestion on the SSD but i've decided to give it a miss for now, i'll get it when they drop in price more, would have deffo gotten one if it made a huge difference fps wise but i can live with the load times for the moment, and thanks for the case suggestions aswell i'll definitely be looking into those, ugliness is not an issue as long as it does the job well:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

Now i've been out of the latest stuff for a while but from what i've read the i5 2500 is the best processor at the moment for gaming and also one of the best for overclocking, so i'm pretty much set on getting that (unless i'm wrong)

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If you're wanting to overclock, make sure you have the 2500K model. It has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. And if you're going for stock air cooler. you'll need to buy retail - OEM has no heatsink/fan

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

I'm also looking to get 8GB of Ram, preferably 2x4GB, is there much difference between dual channel and triple channel ram?

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Dual channel is like what you said: 2x4GB. It'll be two identical sticks.
Triple chanel is with three sticks, e.g., 3x2GB
It all depends on the motherboard and processor. Dual channel is most common and popular.

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

Would also like some case suggestions, don't really mind what it looks like (I have an antec 300 atm) as long as it does the job and has nice airflow, i'd keep the Antec but i'd have to modify the bottom of the HDD bay for the second 6970 (already done it to top) so my hdd's would have nowhere to go.

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I'm currently in love with the Corsair 600T White Graphite Series Mid Tower Case. Check it out. Rather portal-esque!

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

And lastly the power supply...i have a Corsair TX850...enough for an overclocked i5+two 6970's (also overclocked) or would i need to get another power supply?

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You're going to need more oomph - mainly due to the double GPU. Check out the voltage calculator on Newegg. If you go computer hardware -> power supplies, there is a link on the left. (or you could just follow this link :P)


Hope I was of some help!

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Originally Posted by EvanJackPenn

You're going to need more oomph - mainly due to the double GPU. Check out the voltage calculator on Newegg. If you go computer hardware -> power supplies, there is a link on the left. (or you could just follow this link :P)

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Respectfully, I couldn't disagree more. PSU calculators are always over cautious, and one provided by a shop trying to sell you more than you need is going to be more so. 850W is more than enough for a dual GPU system provided you've got the connectors.

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Originally Posted by EvanJackPenn

If you're wanting to overclock, make sure you have the 2500K model. It has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. And if you're going for stock air cooler. you'll need to buy retail - OEM has no heatsink/fan



Dual channel is like what you said: 2x4GB. It'll be two identical sticks.
Triple chanel is with three sticks, e.g., 3x2GB
It all depends on the motherboard and processor. Dual channel is most common and popular.



I'm currently in love with the Corsair 600T White Graphite Series Mid Tower Case. Check it out. Rather portal-esque!



You're going to need more oomph - mainly due to the double GPU. Check out the voltage calculator on Newegg. If you go computer hardware -> power supplies, there is a link on the left. (or you could just follow :P)


Hope I was of some help!

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Thanks for all the info:) It will be an i5 2500k, as for the case the mid tower looks nice but i'm not sure it'll be enough for two Asus CUII 6970's (triple slots) unfortunately so i'm having to look into full towers at the moment.

Here's what i've come up with so far:

Coolermaster HAF 932
Asus P8P67 Pro Rev3, Intel P67, S1155
Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked 1155
1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus
8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Twin Pack Vengeance
2GB Asus HD 6970 DirectCU II

Any areas where i could do better? I'm still going back and forth between the HAF 932 and Antec DF85 cases at the moment, was originally going to get the HAF 932 but it's got no dust filters for the fans so i might just go with the Antec.

As for the power supply i've been getting alot of mixed opinions, at the moment i'm leaning towards just keeping the 850.

Isn't that particular non-reference card 3 slots long? If it is you'll need to think carefully about a suitable MB. If it is then there will be very little distance between your cards in xfire and one of them will be starved for air.

I don't know for certain but it's something worth looking into if that is the case.

That is the first thing that came to my mind, but i'm thinking if the side fan is blowing enough air into that area the fans should be able to suck the air up so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, i have looked for boards with more space between the pci-e slots but they're alot more expensive unfortunately, unless i've missed a cheap one somewhere...

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Originally Posted by epicwaffle

As for the power supply i've been getting alot of mixed opinions, at the moment i'm leaning towards just keeping the 850.

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If anything, 850W is more than you need. Keep it.