Looking for some wise input on my first build :D

[electro_kiwi]

Hi, I'd like to know how well these parts will work together and I'd love to take on some advice or alternatives that you may offer!

1. What wil this PC be used for?

Mainly gaming really.

2. What is my budget?

Upto £1000 (1560 US Dollars) ideally.

3. I will be buying my parts from England, UK

4. Brand preferences

Just one, I prefer intel, otherwise I'm impartial 😛

5. Do you intend on using your other parts?

No because, (laugh if you must 😀), my main computer is a mac....

6. Do I plan on over clocking?

Maybe, just a little, in the future i.e the 3570k to 3.8ghz

7. I want to use 1080p resolution on a 22-24 inch monitor.

8. I plan to build it this summer, probably July.

This will be my first build but I'm fairly confident that I now know what to do. I'll play games such as BF3, GTA and the Elder Scrolls Online when it comes out; with other games in-between. I really do feel that I have found a good Price/Performance position...

Ok, here are my proposed components :

CPU - Intel i5 3570k @ £160 - $250

GPU - Palit GTX 570 sonic @ £180 - $280

Case - Bitfenix Shinobi Windowed @ £49 - $76

Motherboard - Gigabyte z77-d3h @ £80 - $125

CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo @ £27 - $42

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz 8gb @ £37 - $58

PSU - Corsair enthusiast 750w @ £90 - $140

SSD boot drive - OCZ agility 3 60gb @ £42 - $66

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 500gb @ £47 - $73

Operating System - Windows 7 Home Premium @ £56 - $87

Optical Drive - Asus 12b1st Blu Ray drive @ £45 - $70

Monitor - AOC e2343f2 (it has a slightly different name in the USA apparently) @ £118

Thermal Paste - Arctic Cooling MX4 @ £4 - $6

Total - £937 - $1457

I'd just like to hear what others think about this and maybe where I should change parts if necessary. I know it is under budget a bit but extra cash is always nice 😀. Also, if you have heard about or used the monitor, what did you think to it?

Many thanks!

 

[DSF]

Can you link to the site you're buying parts from? Overall it looks decent, but there are a few things I might change.

GPU - At this point that graphics card is a generation old, and if you're planning to play games like BF3 there's no reason to skimp. I would do one of three things:

1) See what happens with the GTX 660, since you're not building for a couple weeks at least.

2) Get an AMD 7-series card instead. These are often very overclockable as well.

3) Bump it up to a GTX 670 if you're able to squeeze on in. It looks like there might just be room to get one under budget.

PSU - 750W is a lot more than you need for a single-GPU system.

Drives - I think you're making major sacrifices here. 60GB is vanishingly small for a boot drive these days. With games getting larger and larger you'll get the OS and maybe your favorite game or two, but not much more than that. BF3 alone would take up something like 1/4 of the drive or more. For a storage drive 500GB is also anemic these days. You should be able to get 1TB for not too much more money.

I recognize that getting larger drives is going to push you up to the limit of your budget, but there are some ways you can save money. First, cut down the PSU, as I mentioned. Second, if you're not going to overclock right away, the $42 on an aftermarket cooler could probably be better spent. You also just don't need the thermal paste at all. All heatsinks will come with their own.

 

[electro_kiwi]

Thanks for your reply 🙂

Considering I was first going to opt for the 560 ti, I thought the 570 was more a stretch than a skimp hehe. But I have been considering the 7850 but went for the 570 as it seemed to score a bit higher.

How much more performance will the 670 offer? Is there any news as to the 660's release yet?

On the drives, the ssd was really just for windows really but maybe just 1tb hard drive is the way to go.

If you think 750w is overkill then that is good news because I thought that myself but many people on the net stated that 750w was a minimum for a gtx 570 which confused me :S in your opinion, would a 650w be better or should I go even smaller on the psu to save cash?

Lastly, I'd like to keep an aftertermarket cooler for the longevity of the system, so is there a cheaper cooler that you would recommend?

Thanks for your help so far DSF !

EDIT: just found a great deal on a 7870, however it is a European model which supposedly comes with UK adapters. Does the region of a gpu make a difference? http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/283090/SAPPHIRE-TECHNOLOGY-Radeon-HD-7870-GHz-E

 

[WiseUp216]

Not a bad list at all.

I would swap the 570 for a 7850 and use the money saved to get a better SSD. M4 or 830 seems to be the consensus.

Also, I prefer the Asrock Z77 to the Gigabyte Z77 but that is just personal preference.

Also, agree with previous comment regarding PSU. 600-650W is plently and will save you another ~$50 USD.

 

[lehtv]

CPU Good
GPU get a 7850 2GB £180. Consumes less power, has more VRAM, overclocks a lot better.
Case Not what I'd get but it's not bad.
Mobo Good
RAM Good as long as it's the low profile version
PSU Way overkill. Your mobo of choice doesn't even support SLI/Crossfire. A 500W unit would be more than enough: XFX 550W £47. Saves you £43.
SSD You can afford a better quality and bigger drive. Samsung 830 128GB £80. More reliable, faster, better £/gb.
HDD I wouldn't want to be limited to 500GB, and 1TB or 2TB drives are better £/GB. Seagate ST1000DM003 £67 or Seagate ST2000DM003 £81.
OS Good (64bit oem)
ODD Good I suppose
Monitor Good, I suppose. Nice design
Paste Unnecessary

6. Do I plan on over clocking?

Maybe, just a little, in the future i.e the 3570k to 3.8ghz

That's not even overclocking, 4.0-4.4GHz is more like it. 3.8GHz is the max. turbo speed of 3570K at stock.