1st time gaming pc build / specific question on harddrives

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1stTB

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Apr 9, 2013
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hi (im new btw) and this is my 1st ever build as I want a pc that can run games at a medium / high standard ... (budget around £750 - £1000)

im looking to put a 250gb (maybe 500) SSD in and to save money on the o/s and a 2nd harddrive just use the standard one in my old pc, what would I need to do to check compatibility issues ? would it be motherboard releated ?

a rough build from looking around on the web btw is this ...
ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard
Intel i5 3570k
ASUS GeForce GTX 660TI
8/16 GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
250/500 SSD

not looked into yet ....
Sound Card / Case / Power Supply / CD/DVD Drive / Card Reader
my monitor isnt great at the moment but can live with it.

also any reccomendations / advice on parts ive looked into would help me alot ...
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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A SSD is a very big improvement than the old standard HDD in terms of speed and load times. You can put in SSD as a system drive carrying up your programs and games and HDD for storage purposes. As long as it's a SATA HDD there's no problem.

You don't have to get a dedicated sound card as long as the MOBO comes with a pretty good one. For a case I like CM Storm Enforcer or HAF X.

You need a True Quality 500W for your needs, 650W if you wanna upgrade your graphics card in the future or SLI it.

Look at my build suggestion;

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($175.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($128.54 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer
Total: $1085.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-17 09:04 EDT-0400)
 
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n1ghtr4v3n

n1ghtr4v3n

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Feb 27, 2013
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With 1000sterling budget (which is like $1500 roughly) you can get a lot better system...
here is what i recommend...
(if you want monitor/mouse/keyboard/op.sys. you shall raise the budget like $300 more)

1. Asus MB and Gigabyte MB i offered are typically similar. its only a matter of personal choice both are good boards. (gigabyte are slightly cheaper btw)
2. With that budget its more appropriate to get 3770K its a performance rise after all
3. For memories be aware to choose at least ddr3 1600mhz 1.5V CL9 version. corsair is a good brand. But usually overclockers choose GSkill (people claims the heat sinks are more efficient)
4. as for SSD samsung 840 pro series are tier1 these days.. if you prefer another brand, be sure that they are Toggle-NAND type Sandforce controllers.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($135.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($453.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.78 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.96 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1279.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-17 09:07 EDT-0400)

Good luck.
 
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1stTB

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thanks for the 2 builds so far ... ill have to see what there like UK prices, im trying to find out if the harddrive I have is sata via the bios as that would help, because I could just stick that in and save on a standard hdd and o/s

but im asuming these are close to high end machines without going over the top price wise and buying a nvidia titan for example !

looking to run games for roughly 2/3 years off this ... so may as well spend what I can on the processor/graphics card

ive read a few comments on here saying i5 is fine for gaming and the boost to i7 wouldnt make much difference ? is it worth the extra in terms of gaming ... ?
 
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n1ghtr4v3n

n1ghtr4v3n

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i7 has a higher peak frequency and it comes with hyper threading feature. it will slightly boost your performance overall. usually the difference is like 50-100$ depending on the retailer. if you are not tight on budget definitely go for it. hyper threading makes difference especially if you are using more than one process at a time.
 
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1stTB

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thanks ....

yeah tbh, when i was thinking of the build and what I want it for obviously was thinking of a £300+ graphics card ...

found the 680 for £400 and 670 for £311 - gonna have to shop around a bit more i think !

so like 1/3 of my budget !
 
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1stTB

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Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor £177
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler £22
Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard £122
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory £38
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk £125
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card £300
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case £61
SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply £105
Sony CD/ DVD drive £15

£965

Intel Ivybridge i7 3770K Quad Core 3.5GHz Socket 1155 £231
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler £22
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard £108
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory £38
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk £125
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card £400
Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case £36
SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply £105
Sony CD/DVD Drive £15

£1080


 
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1stTB

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to be honest found the coolmaster enforcer case and a 650w power supply for £111 which would save a few £ / $ !

or is it key to spend this much on the power supply with the gtx 670/680 ?
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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PSU is perfect this way, GTX 680 doesn't justify the additional £ in terms of performance as it's only 8% faster than GTX 670. Check the price of HD 7970 GHz edition. 3770K is £54 more the 3570K. Case is your own preference, you may check in another one.

Gigabyte UD3H is awesome and approved by many reviewers, you can build upon i5 and this board and save the extra for HD 7970 GHz.
 
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1stTB

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i5 or i7 mentioned ... £177/£231
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler £22
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard £108
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory £38
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256 GB 2.5" Solid State Disk £125
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 or GTX 680 £300/£400
Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case + 650W £111
Sony CD/DVD Drive £15 £899/£1053

its looking good so far ...

an i5 system on overclockers with a gtx 670 is £1120 ...
so if i built it i could get an i7/680 cheaper ....
 
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n1ghtr4v3n

n1ghtr4v3n

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well... if its same tier gpu's (gtx680 and 7970 are same in same tier, performance wise) i'd always prefer nvidia over amd for its physx, cuda, less power consumption, less heat etc... Also amd usually have more problems with its driver optimizations and i believe it worths some extra bucks. (unless there is too large difference)
but yea both are great gpus. probably its personal preference...

good luck...
 
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1stTB

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well i think my budget of £1000 was now a good choice , i can just about do an i7/680 i think my original spec could of been had for £600/700 ....

how well can an i5/660ti/8gb/256ssd system run current games out of interest?

BF3, Black Ops2, FIFA 13, WOW etc ?

found a youtube vid of BF3 - with them specs (i5-3570k) ... and seems ok ...

edit: im guess very well on medium, but what sort of fps on high/ultra ? sub 30 ?
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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BF3%20%201920.png
 
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1stTB

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thanks ! every comp ive owned has had intel intergrated graphics, so whatever i get its bound to be a huge improvment ! and also be able to play games , lol ...
 
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simon12

simon12

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I recommend et a 500-650W XFX or Corsair PSU they are beter than coolermaster and are good for the price in the UK also make sure you check Aria.co.uk for prices. The Radeon 7950/70 are good for the price and you get Bioshock, Tomb Raider and Crysis 3 included.
 
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