Help with an Intel Build please

[hcashmore11]

Hi, i've wanted to game on a PC for ages, i finished college, and eventually got a job as a computer technician, so now have some money, can you review this build for me please, criticise as much as you want, it needs to have SATA 3, HDMI, and 4 RAM slots, don't comment if you're just going to slate intel, and go for AMD over intel or AMD over Nvidia, thanks, also this is a £400 EXVat PC, i will play GTA5, 4, Minecraft, maybe battlefield, and other games on it.

(speaking to a mate, says i will need a bigger PSU, so dont comment that, and maybe a better case)

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/d0...cf7406457407e5

[shaithis]

You can get the 1600MHz RAM for the same price.
The 430W PSU is more than ample for that setup.
You have a non-overclocking CPU and an overclockers motherboard. That may be due to features you are after now or in the future but might be worth looking at.

[hcashmore11]

You can get the 1600MHz RAM for the same price.
The 430W PSU is more than ample for that setup.
You have a non-overclocking CPU and an overclockers motherboard. That may be due to features you are after now or in the future but might be worth looking at.

thanks for your answer, the RAM speed makes next to no difference in anything though? and i may overclock it, if it struggles to play future games etc, but for now, i dont really want to overclock it

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would also change the graphics card too.

[watercooled]

and i may overclock it

You have a non-overclocking CPU

RAM speed makes next to no difference in anything though?

You can get the 1600MHz RAM for the same price.

Other than what's already been said, you don't have a HDD or Windows listed in that spec; unless you already have them, you'll presumably need to include them in your budget.

[mynameissi]

You have a non-overclocking CPU and an overclockers motherboard. That may be due to features you are after now or in the future but might be worth looking at.

What this guy said

Other than what's already been said, you don't have a HDD or Windows listed in that spec; unless you already have them, you'll presumably need to include them in your budget.

Also what this guy said
Thats pretty much it

[Bonebreaker777]

I can see (from your perspective) the reason to go for a Z97 MoBo. If you have cheap RAM you can just overclock (only Z class chipsets can overclock RAM).

Also, any specific reason for SATA3 by any chance? Unless you have some SSD, no reason to go for over your needed speed limit with some plain HDD.

Sticking with box cooler?
Sticking with current state RAM modules?

[hcashmore11]

ah right, and yes, i plan to get an SSD sometime soon, or use the one from my laptop if i stop using my laptop, or it breaks again,

Here's another draft, (hopefully the final one) of the build going by what people have said

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/93...091a423a6ce574

and for now (until I need to OC) i will use the standard cooler, and sorry, what do you mean by, current state RAM modules?

What this guy said

Also what this guy said
Thats pretty much it

yeah, i have HDD's all over, and multiple copies of Windows i can use, so i dont have to add those, or monitors, keyboard, mouse, speakers etc to the build either. Also the post i've just made, has a 4670K CPU in it, which is unlocked, ready to be over clocked, thanks

[watercooled]

As mentioned earlier you can get faster RAM for near enough the same price:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...as-9-9-9-28-15
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...1-11-11-30-15v

You're correct in that it doesn't make much of a difference in a lot of client workloads, but then neither does a few hundred MHz due to higher CPU models/small overclocks, but people still choose to. Faster RAM can make quite a difference to IGP performance, for example in case you want to re-purpose it in the future.

[hcashmore11]

As mentioned earlier you can get faster RAM for near enough the same price:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...as-9-9-9-28-15
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...1-11-11-30-15v

You're correct in that it doesn't make much of a difference in a lot of client workloads, but then neither does a few hundred MHz due to higher CPU models/small overclocks, but people still choose to. Faster RAM can make quite a difference to IGP performance, for example in case you want to re-purpose it in the future.

Oh right, i see, i wanted the XMS there, but someome told me it will make no difference at all, from the value stuff, so for like £2 more, i might as well go for the faster stuff, right? awesome, thank you

[watercooled]

I just picked the XMS as an example as it happened to be one of the cheapest 1600 kits available, but as you say it doesn't really matter; the heatsinks are more for aesthetics than anything especially if used at stock.

[hcashmore11]

right, i may OC the RAM later on, if it doesnt work well enough, so is the XMS a better choice than the Value?

[watercooled]

Well my advice would be to generally avoid overclocking the RAM unless you have a really good reason to; and having the faster stuff in the first place kind of negates that need.

Just to reiterate, RAM speed doesn't make a huge difference in many client applications, so wringing a bit more performance out of it with overclocking probably isn't worth it at the expense of risking stability.

I personally don't really consider 'value/performance' in my RAM buying decisions; at stock, it really doesn't matter provided the specs are the same. The 'performance' stuff might be binned higher to allow for some OC/timings headroom, but that's not necessarily a guarantee.

[hcashmore11]

right, i understand, thanks for clearing that up, and do you think i'd notice the difference between 1333 and 1600mhz ram then?

[DanceswithUnix]

right, i understand, thanks for clearing that up, and do you think i'd notice the difference between 1333 and 1600mhz ram then?

In everyday usage? No.

On my AMD FX8350 I went from normal desktop 1600 RAM to 1333 server ECC ram. ECC can really slow things down, and I can't feel *any* difference. I'm sure I could measure one if I tried.

But there are times when it will help a bit. I would always spend the extra couple of quid on the quicker stuff.

[hcashmore11]

right, i see, what times would it be able to help then? i might be rendering videos and things too sometimes, so would it help then, and yeah, for £2 more, i think i will just get the better stuff

right, i get you, when would it help then for the RAM to be faster? i will get the XFX just wondering, and i will be video rendering as well as gaming, this sould be pretty fast at that too, right?