Future build

[inaamrahman7]

Winter now, sure.
Will you be buying a second, more efficient cooler for Summer as well, then?
How about an Autumnal one?
I mean if budget is a concern, then buy once, buy well and buy right.

I meant I could put off getting a proper cooler until the summer when temperatures are higher. And I can save up till then and get a decent one.

Now, probably. Six months' time, who knows...
But either way, if you're spending that much on the big parts, why not save up and get higher end supporting components too?

I have to compromise somewhere and I can easily just add a new cooler later.

Fans can fail, too...

When fans fail, they won't take out other components with them. But you're probably right, I'm just being extremely overcautious. I've never spent this much money on anything before, and I've been saving up for a long time to buy this computer.

[inaamrahman7]

What's your budget for the new system? Balancing the parts to your needs within that budget is the tricky bit.

I see you are using a 1080P TV as a display. To be fair even the AMD 270 GPU is a decent performer at that resolution and is significantly cheaper than the 280X, that frees up cash to get the SSD you would like to have. For a gaming rig 16GB of RAM is OTT to be honest dude so again there is money that can be shunted elsewhere or pocketed

The Corsair CX range is their budget line but it would be nice to have a semi-modular PSU. Seasonic, Antec, Bequiet are good brands to name a few, in fact many are rebranded units (XFX PSUs are Seasonic for example). For most single GPU setups ~500W is enough, 650W would run a pair of 270s, 750W for dual 280s although 850W would make more sense if you were serious about running dual top end GPUs and overclocking.

I think most if not all of the Z series mini-itx mobos have wifi and bluetooth built in. If you are running the rig through a TV you might prefer the smaller size and use a case like the Bitfenix Prodigy or Corsair's 250D. For a fullsized mobo (ATX) I'd be looking at the Gigabyte Sniper which is awesome value for money (£120ish). It has great onboard audio and xfire/Sli ready, read some reviews it really is the "entry level" mobo to aim for. I'd personally forget about a wifi card for mATX/ATX and get a pair of powerline network adapters to be fair.

Think I've waffled enough so I'll shhh for now till you have filled us in on your thoughts All the best with it dude, I'm sure we are all looking forward to seeing what you settle on in the end

Budget wise, I'm trying to keep component costs as low as possible without compromising too much on performance. I really want to play most games maxed out rather than just mid settings, hence I'm going for the 280x. Based on yours (and others) suggestions, I've decided to just get 8GB RAM and if I really want 16GB later on, I can just add another 8GB later.
I've decided to get the Corsair CS650M because its 80+ Gold efficiency, semi-modular and 'Haswell Ready'.
As far as the motherboard goes, I won't be using Crossfire ever (because of the extra cost and no significant benefit to my usage) so I'm happy going for a something like the Gigabyte Z87-HD3.

In what way are powerline adapters better than a wireless card? Haven't come across these before.

Thanks!

[inaamrahman7]

This is why most people stress test their overclocks.

This guy isn't even sure about overclocking, he certainly isn't going for an extreme overclock.
Sure an H100 will beat most air coolers on temperature, but that isn't most peoples primary concern.

For most people a few degrees just doesn't matter, it won't hurt their chip and it won't hurt their overclock either.

You got me; I barely know how to use the forums But yes, you're right. I think Ttaskmaster's view on water coolers is based on his personal experience and I believe he's just trying to help me out. I appreciate that a lot, but my circumstances are fairly different. So whilst water cooling made a huge difference for him because he was overclocking, it probably won't have such a massive effect for me, and I could probably do fine with an air cooler.

[inaamrahman7]

This an updated version of the specs based on all of your feedback.

Original list:
Processor: Intel i5 4670k
Motherboard: Asus Z87-K or Asus Z87-plus or Gigabyte Ga-Z87-HD3
Graphics card: MSI or Gigabyte R9 280x
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile CML16GX3M2A1600C10 16GB 1600MHz
Power supply: Corsair CS650M or CXM 600W
Hard drive: 1TB 7200 RPM Samsung Hard Drive
Case: Mid Tower ATX case (NZXT Lexa S CA-LEXS3-01)

Updated:
Processor: Intel i5 4670k
Motherboard: Gigabyte Ga-Z87-HD3
Graphics card: Gigabyte R9 280x
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws-X PC-3-14900 8 GB (2x4GB) Main Memory 1,866 MHz 240-Pin DDR3 (Ripjaws-X F3-14900CL9D-8GBXLD)
Power supply: Corsair CS600M
Hard drive: 1TB 7200 RPM Samsung Hard Drive
Case: NZXT Lexa S

I'll probably go with the Gigabyte R9 280x as that seems to be a lot cheaper, plus it has 3 fans, so hopefully it has better cooling. Feel free to suggest otherwise.

Any other general comments are also welcome.

Thank you to every person who has posted so far.

[flufflogic]

If you're not bothered about overclocking or 3-way SLI, consider a cheaper H87 board. Use the savings to get a Seidon watercooler for about £40...

[Willzzz]

If you're not bothered about overclocking or 3-way SLI, consider a cheaper H87 board. Use the savings to get a Seidon watercooler for about £40...

LOL?
Yeah, save money on the motherboard and CPU, but don't then blow it on a cooler, spend it on beer.

[inaamrahman7]

These are the parts that I have already purchased, and everything apart from the SSD, HDD, OS and optical drive have been set up. Hopefully they will be delivered soon.
Thank you to all that have helped me complete my build.

Final specifications list:
CPU: Intel i5 4670k
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87-HD3
GPU: XFX R9 280x TDFD
PSU: Corsair CS650M
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB 1866MHz CL9
Case: NZXT Lexa S
SSD: 120 GB Crucial m500
HDD: 2TB Seagate Barracuda SATA III 7200
Optical drive: Samsung 24x DVD re-writer
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro

[Pob255]

The Corsair CS series are made by Great Wall there decent enough, better than the budget CX range and frankly rubbish corsair VS series (CWT made, but so many corners has been cut I'm surprised they are not round)
A 550watt version would probably be a better option I'd go with the TX550M http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...et-fan-atx-psu

Personally I'd not go for the NZXT Lexa S, it's an older case (2009), 196mm width means it'll fit a 120mm fan based tower cpu cooler However space for cabling is going to be tight.

For the price the corsair 200r http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...usb-30-w-o-psu 230T http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...ack-with-red-l or 300r http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...usb-30-w-o-psu are all really good options
The low cost Corsair options are now great value for money, seeing as how many other cases have gone up and I was very impressed with the 300r when I saw it in the flesh, so to speak.

The Cooler master HAF 912+ or Storm enforcer (both have the same internal structure) are really nice cases but the price has gone up on them http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coole...su-new-version

The new Sharkoon BD28 doesn't look too bad (in trems of case not looks) for £49 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shark...window-w-o-psu http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rid=476994 Not a massive amount of space behind the motherboard tray but that's off set by pressed out side panels to give more space in limited areas (the actual case is 195mm wide)
As long as you keep the thick psu cables in the pressed out area behind the motherboard tray cabling should be easy.