The "not getting carried away" build

[Rookie1986]

This is what I love about this site - good solid feedback

Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the motherboard. I'll swap it out for PCIe 2.0.

I won't be getting into "extreme" overclocking. 4ghz max. That Noctua is certainly a beast, and I'd imagine probably a bit more than I need. I'll do some more investigation, there's probably a good middle ground to be found somewhere.

Oh and I'd totally forgotten about the fan controller, thanks

Hey,

If your looking to OC to 4GHz then I would seriously consider the i5 3570K and a Z77 (most people are getting 4.5GHz out of the 3570K without heat problems and some are getting as high as 5.2GHz before things start to become a problem), neither the Z68 or the Z77 offer much (if anything) in the way of an upgrade because Intel's next chip release (Haswell) will use a new type of motherboard with a new type of socket so as far as "future proofing" goes your better getting the latest and greatest allowing you access to the newest tech available now and for the next few years.

I was in your position a few months back, but I decided on a Sandy Bridge setup as it was part of the 'TICK' of Intel's tick tock cycle. I.E. their Flagship CPU which is a breakthrough and big advancement in comparison to their 'Tock' cycle which is not such a big improvement.

In addition you might need some TIM paste for the CPU if you plan on getting a 3rd party. I know NOctua give their own with their D14 which i am a big fan of. Not sure if the Hyper 212 include some, so something to consider for your basket.

If you get a good CPU cooler, it will keep the longevity of the CPU as well temperatures down both in the CPU and in the case, hence the fan noise won't be as loud, whereas if you used the stock cooler, it's going to be awful in terms of efficiency and noise compared to other 3rd party oones

Also does your case have dust filters, if not consider getting some filters or a cheap air can to blow the dust out once in a while. Dust is really good for your case, TO HEAT things up.

I would also advise looking in to some good paste unless the cooler you decide on ships with some (a quick google search should let you know what people make of it). Although its not that expensive to buy a good brand anyway...

csgohan4 is right about the filters, I'm not sure if the 550D has them or not (the 650D does) but its worth looking in to - Its a really nice case though and would have been in my top choices for my new build if I didn't love the 650D like I do!

Good luck with the build though, it looks like you will have a solid build equipped for several years of good gaming

Rookie

P.S. Oh and swap that Sandisk SSD for either an Crucial M4 or Samsung 830

[csgohan4]

Agree with Rookie with the brand swap for the SSD. Look for high Write and read speeds at your price range. But SSD's are cheaper now than when I bought mine, I have the Corsair Force GT 120GB write/read over 500 but cost me £180 6 months ago, see how much has changed.

In terms of Thermal compounds for your CPU you generally cannot go wrong with the Artic silver brand or Noctua's own in house TIM.

Equally important is how you apply them as well. I didn't know how to at first and wasted a whole tube of TIM for nothing lol. But after a few videos on youtube and reading, you get used to it

[Pob255]

The 550D has very good filtering, the side and top panel vent have magnetically attached filters and push on covers, so if you don't use fans there you can put the cover on to reduce noise.
This is one of the few cases I know of that has filters on both top an side vents and they are both very easily removable for cleaning from the outside.
It has a large full length filter in the bottom which sides out the back and a front fan filter which is again removable from the front so no need to remove the bezel or open the case to get at it.

Yes the hyper 212 evo does come with thermal paste, might not be the best out there but that'll only be a degree or two difference, getting the correct amount on will have a bigger effect.
But having spare is often helpful personally I'd go with arctic cooling MX4 it's a bit more forgiving to use and tends to work a bit better on direct touch heatpipe coolers and rougher based coolers due to it's thicker consistency

[csgohan4]

Yes the hyper 212 evo does come with thermal paste, might not be the best out there but that'll only be a degree or two difference, getting the correct amount on will have a bigger effect.
But having spare is often helpful personally I'd go with arctic cooling MX4 it's a bit more forgiving to use and tends to work a bit better on direct touch heatpipe coolers and rougher based coolers due to it's thicker consistency

Pob255 is right about there being little difference. Good thing about Noctua's TIM is you need only a blob in the centre and you don't need to spread over the whole CPU which can be quite tedius and gets everywhere lol. You also save yourself a credit card smeared with TIM

[Rookie1986]

Agree with Rookie with the brand swap for the SSD. Look for high Write and read speeds at your price range. But SSD's are cheaper now than when I bought mine, I have the Corsair Force GT 120GB write/read over 500 but cost me £180 6 months ago, see how much has changed.

In terms of Thermal compounds for your CPU you generally cannot go wrong with the Artic silver brand or Noctua's own in house TIM.

Equally important is how you apply them as well. I didn't know how to at first and wasted a whole tube of TIM for nothing lol. But after a few videos on youtube and reading, you get used to it

Ah thats the stuff, it was killing me trying to think of which Thermal Compound everyone recommends lol!!

[Nobull]

For your monitor you should definitely look at the Dell trade-in scheme. Get up to £70 off a monitor for sending any old crappy one in (including a CRT which you can pick up for free quite easily).

T&Cs: http://delltradetosave.com/en/trade-...e/how-it-works

23" Monitor would be effectively £78.

Personally for your requirements I'd get two these 21.5" dell monitors which after the trade in would only be £60 each. Thats £120 for two! Full details here

The 24" one mentioned earlier in the thread also qualifies. Which I think would come in at around £150 after trade in. I personally think it offers the worst value of the three options though.

[Rookie1986]

For your monitor you should definitely look at the Dell trade-in scheme. Get up to £70 off a monitor for sending any old crappy one in (including a CRT which you can pick up for free quite easily).

T&Cs: http://delltradetosave.com/en/trade-...e/how-it-works

23" Monitor would be effectively £78.

Personally for your requirements I'd get two these 21.5" dell monitors which after the trade in would only be £60 each. Thats £120 for two! Full details here

The 24" one mentioned earlier in the thread also qualifies. Which I think would come in at around £150 after trade in. I personally think it offers the worst value of the three options though.

Where to start, the ST2320L in comparison to the U2412M doesn't have an IPS panel, has worse viewing angles, is 16:9, worse connectivity (imo) and most importantly doesn't share the UltraSharp Warranty which is one of the best selling points of the range.

Including the above the two 21.5" monitors will mean that the central viewing point for gaming will be right down where the centre bezel runs making games very very very bad when playing them, sure you can swap back to just gaming on 1 monitor but then your down to 21.5"

I might be a little bias running three of the U2412M but then why would I be running 3 if they weren't good monitors?

Rookie

[Petherwin]

Phew loads more information thanks

Nobull - good idea with the Dell monitors, the trade in value plus coupon discounts makes them tempting. However, on balance, picture quality is not something I'd be prepared to compromise on so I'll do some further research on that. The U2412M is a contender though.

[Petherwin]

ok build v1.1 follows. (Again apologies for just a link, still haven't figured out how to post the Basket picture lol).

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/b2...57cb834b5cc0be

I've stuck with the i5 2500k build for now, although I do find myself being more tempted by a 3570k / z77 option. Not much price difference...

I'm coming in at just under a bag of sand (excluding monitor), so well within budget and have now included the fan controller.

Crucial M4 ssd has been substituted in for the Sandisk and thanks for the reminders on the thermal paste - I hadn't forgotten, I was just focussing on the core build at the time

[Petherwin]

Finally (for now!) here's a link to a review by newegg tv reviewing the Corsair Obsidian 550D case - loads of features, 3 pre-installed fans, dust filters, sound proofing and plenty of expansion room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFND40atnls

[Nobull]

Fair enough, I just thought it was definitely worth mentioning. i mean at the price of £60 each you could even go for a glorious 3 screen setup for only £180...now that would be nice

[marshalex]

ok build v1.1 follows. (Again apologies for just a link, still haven't figured out how to post the Basket picture lol).

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/b2...57cb834b5cc0be

I've stuck with the i5 2500k build for now, although I do find myself being more tempted by a 3570k / z77 option. Not much price difference...

I'm coming in at just under a bag of sand (excluding monitor), so well within budget and have now included the fan controller.

Crucial M4 ssd has been substituted in for the Sandisk and thanks for the reminders on the thermal paste - I hadn't forgotten, I was just focussing on the core build at the time

make sure you check the today only page for some of the components on the list as you can probably shave a few more pounds off there.

ssd wise check out hotukdeals as there have been a mass volume of deals on there lately for ssd's and you will probably be able to find the crucial m4 cheaper (or the samsung 830 which i believe has been £80 at various online retailers this week).

price difference on sandy vs ivy bridge if you look at similar board works out at no more than £15 (assuming a 3750k and a Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H)

all in all its looking like a pretty good build!

[Rookie1986]

Fair enough, I just thought it was definitely worth mentioning. i mean at the price of £60 each you could even go for a glorious 3 screen setup for only £180...now that would be nice

Indeed it would be a good tri-monitor set up for only £180 that's £27 cheaper then just one U2412M!!!

OP - Do you have windows for the new build?? Because if not that's another £70-£80 to factor in I would think!

Rookie

[Petherwin]

Thanks marshal. A quick check through the today only page does indeed provide some extra savings A few more posts and I'll qualify for free delivery too ^^

Rookie - windows is already taken care of, thanks for checking

Nearing final build now. A couple of tweaks here and there + some monitor research to finish off. I appreciate all the help.

[Petherwin]

ok. I'm pretty happy with the following link as a final build.

I'll actually link 2 - both builds use the same components except the first is a Sandy Bridge usin i5 2500k + z68 motherboard; the second is Ivy Bridge with i5 3570k + z77. It's a £20 price difference so I'll probably just go with the IB build.

SB - http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/b8...77c88478e0a978
IB - http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/43...8c1b230d77d0e5

I've swapped out the Hyper 212 Evo cpu cooler for something Scan has in stock - the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro.

Now to decide on a monitor...

[dangel]

I can't stress enough how GOOD the u2412m is - I now have one at work and home and they're wonderful monitors for the money. To me it's an absolute steal at it's price point and I couldn't imagine having to suffer a 1080p monitor by comparison.