New Build - what are peoples thoughts?

[rj86]

Considering trading in my current gen iMac for a purpose built gaming machine. This would be my first build.

First of all:

What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Primarily for gaming.

What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
£1000ish + a display (around £200)

What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
The UK, amazon.co.uk, scan.co.uk, overclockers.co.uk most likely

IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Not really, Intel are fairly objectively better for this type of build though.

If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Completely new build, will use current mouse + keyboard.

IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Would consider overclocking the processor

What resolution will you be using?
1920*1080 most likely. (I would be interested in knowing what may be required to run at 2560*1440)

WHEN do you plan to build it?
soon

Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
windows 7


This is a spec I've been thinking about:
Case - Silverstone FT03 - £115
PSU - 65W around £70 ish? open to suggestions - £70
CPU - i5 3570k - £176
GPU - GTX 670 Windforce - £330
MoBo - GA-Z77MX-D3H - £100
RAM - a 2x4GB kit 1600Mhz again, v open to suggestions - £40
SSD - 240GB OCZ Agility 3 - £135
Optical - Cheapish DVD writer - £20
OS - Win7 OEM - £80

The things I'm not sure about with that build: heat. Will a 670 and possibly OCed cpu be okay in there? If that is okay, what if I were looking at 2 670s in the future?

 

[Ken g6]

I don't pay attention to cases, but if you're worried about heat, get a rear-exhausting GTX 670, like this one.

What you need for higher resolution is a big monitor that can handle it. One or two GTX 670s will be fine.

For the PSU, I assume you forgot a "0"? Here's a Corsair.

It's hard to go wrong on RAM. Just look for 1.5V or less without big heat sink fins.

It's easy to go wrong with SSDs, though. The best you can get is a Samsung 830. If you need cheaper, you'll basically have to go smaller (128GB).

 

[rj86]

Thanks Ken,

The case has an unusual (I think ) motherboard orientation (rotated 90º) and the manufacturer says to use top venting cards for best efficiency cooling. I've seen reviews/builds of the case with previous generation cards like the GTX 590 (which it coped fine with) so I suppose a better question would be whether I can expect similar or better results with a 670.

Thanks for the advice on RAM/SSDs.

 

[lehtv]

CPU 3570K £168
Cooler Alpenfohn Brocken £24
Mobo Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H £120
RAM 2x4GB Kingston £38
GPU Asus GTX 670 £328
SSD Samsung 830 128GB £77
HDD Seagate 2TB 7200RPM £80
DVD Samsung DVDRW £13
PSU Antec TruePower New 750W £72
Case Fractal Design Core 3000 £55
OS Win7 OEM £78
Monitor Asus VH247H £137

= £1190 + shipping

The board and PSU are both good for 670 SLI + OC. If you're going to stick with 1080p @ 60hz though, I think it'd be a better idea to forget about SLI: Gigabyte Z77-D3H £78 and XFX 550W £50 --> save £64 towards a GPU upgrade later.

If you're not that sensitive to GPU fan noise you could also get EVGA 670 for £284. Oddly, reference cards and Gigabyte 670 triple-fan are both $400 but in the UK you pay a £30-40 fee just to have aftermarket cooling :-(

 

[mfenn]

I would definitely recommend against an exotic case design like an FT03 for your first build. Something with a simple design and quality construction will serve you a lot better. The Core 3000 that lehtv suggested is a little on the less expensive end, but it is certainly a nice case.

Oh yeah, and lehtv's build is good as usual. I wouldn't worry about a GTX 670 exhausting inside any reasonable case; it's just not that hot of a card relative to its performance.