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Thread: 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

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    Wink 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

    I'm planning my first custom build and would like your views on it. I'm planning to OC both my CPU and GPU and it will be used for gaming, programming and general usage.

    I'd like to know whether 530W will be enough, as well as general suggestions on all the other parts. I'm planning to buy the parts one by one when I see a good deal for each part. There is no rush and I'm planning to fully finish around Decemberish or January 2014, fully exploiting potential Black Friday and Christmas deals.

    CPU: Intel Core i5 4670k
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
    Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45
    Storage: Any cheap 128Gb SSD as boot drive (Please suggest)
    Storage: Any cheap 1Tb HDD, probably that Seagate one
    RAM: Crucial 8GB Ballistix Tactical/Corsair Vengeance/Crucial Gskill Ripjaws (Please suggest)
    Video Card: MSI GTX 670 Power Edition 2gb
    Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power l8 530W (80+ Bronze and semi-modular)
    Optical Drive: (Please suggest)
    Operating System: Windows 8
    Case: Zalman Z11 Plus

    For my budget, I don't want to spend over £800. My target is £700; I understand that that is really tight for the components listed but I feel that it may be possible if I buy one by one.

    Thanks in advance.

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    Re: 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

    things not to skimp on:

    SSD - you want solid all-round performance here. Samsung 840 or even better 840 Pro were good last time I checked, but there's been a few released since then.
    PSU - stability is your friend. Research well and choose carefully
    Optical drive, anything will do. No need to do blu-ray, I'd go with a Samsung or LG DVD RW for about £15 NB you might need software. For burning but CDBURNERXP is freeware and good (does DVDs too). Won't give you a DVD player like Cyberlink PowerDVD though.
    RAM i'd go for Corsair, but that is personal preference and usage history - others have used crucial just fine. No need to worry about RAM so much these days - it isn't so vital to the overclocking of the CPU as it used to be. Ballistix probably overkill - save your money. I use Corsair XMS and it is absolutely fine, and stable, though I don't run it above spec. I'd use venegance (low profile spreader to miss the cpu cooler) if I wanted to overclock the RAM speed. In theory it should give more potential.
    Motherboard - not used MSI boards myself. Check how they fare re overclocking. Others will know better so I'll leave it to them
    case have a look at bitfenix cases. Often a cheap but well-built option. Eg the Merc Alpha/Beta used to retail for a very reasonable price

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    Re: 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

    SSD: The 840 EVO has solid reviews and I'm keeping an eye on those. Hopefully in a Black Firday deal, I could grab a 120gb gor ~£55-60.
    PSU: AFAIK, that be quiet! PSU is solid. It has great reviews, its supposedly extremely quiet, its 80+ Bronze certified and is available for ~£55. The quality is fine, I've read many articles about how I shouldn't skimp on the PSU. My concern is whether 530W is enough since I will be OC'ing.
    RAM: The ballistix is overkill? I quick check shows that the ballitrix is cheaper than the others mentioned.
    Case: The Zalman just looks so awesome lol. But I'll check out Bitfenix.

    Thanks for your output.

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    Re: 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

    How much is the hyper 212 evo? Theres a Corsair H20 for £35 atm gives very slightly better cooling but generally gives you more space in your case. http://www.cclonline.com/product/981...oler-/CLR0517/

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    Re: 'Bang for the Buck' Haswell build

    The Be Quiet pure power L8 530w has 480w on the 12v rails so is more than enough for your build. I doubt if you would hit more than 350-370w fully loaded and overclocked.

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