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Finally making a new build, need some advice

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  • Water Cooling
  • Computers
  • HDMI
  • CPUs
  • Systems
  • Cooling
  • Build
  • SSD
  • GPUs
  • New Build
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September 15, 2013 3:34:58 PM

Hi guys, my computer has finally blown up (it's had pretty intensive use for the past 7 years!) so it's time for me to build a new one.

Here is a list of what I've come up with so far;

Case: Aerocool X-Predator Evil
Motherboard: AsRock Z77 Extreme4
CPU: i5 3570k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz
GPU: EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost

Also for the case I'm getting 6x Cooler Master 12cm SickleFlow fans for the optional slots.

So there's a few things I'd like some advice with.. According to a PSU calculator I will need 426w, bearing in mind I'm aiming to overclock to hopefully 4.2-4.5ghz, will I be safe with a 450w or will I need a 550w to be sure, also what PSU would you recommend?

In terms of wanting to overclock, which aftermarket cooling should I get? I've heard some good stuff about these pre-built watercooling blocks now days.

I'm not a heavy user of hard drive space, to be fair I use hardly any, I install my games and that's about it, so I'm aiming to only get 1 SSD and not bother having a storage HDD, which SSD would you recommend I get for the most fluid read/write for games? Also is it still beneficial to run RAID0 with SSD's, like you would with 2 raptors?

Finally, I intend to have this plugged into my TV via HDMI, does the GTX 650 have the capability of transferring audio or is there something else I need to do?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

More about : finally making build advice

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September 15, 2013 4:03:25 PM

Hii
I wount give you answers everything but plizz for your PC sake DONT buy a Ti graphic card - its performance isnt quite what u need + a TV needs a bigger resolution then 1920x1080 so the Ti wont be enaugh .
About OC for a stable PC and for long terms get somthing like 600W from seasonic or antec.

Hope that helped a bit , good luck
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September 15, 2013 4:12:21 PM

What games do you play?
Are you planning to do anything like video rendering, or just gaming?
What's your budget?
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September 15, 2013 7:30:35 PM

I only really play TF2 at the moment, but I will probably start playing GW2, A Realm Reborn, any other decent MMOs that get released. I will do a bit of video rendering, but not a lot.

£600-£800 is my budget really and I'm already at £600 with what I've listed.
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September 15, 2013 7:32:19 PM

And I saw good reviews on the gtx 650 ti boost? Isn't it more like the 660?
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September 15, 2013 8:05:13 PM

You might want to look at this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.85 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card (£147.46 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.55 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.24 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.78 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £520.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-16 04:03 BST+0100)

By using an AMD processor, you save a lot of money that gets to be put into the gpu.
The 650 ti boost is a fairly strong gpu, but not as strong as the 660. The radeon hd 7870 easily beats the gtx 660.
Overclockable, but not by much. If you really want to get the best possible overclock you can, grab this board: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a99x...
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September 16, 2013 10:25:42 AM

I'm sorry but that's nothing like what I'm looking for, I have nothing but bad experience with both AMD and ATI, yet I have nothing but good experience with Intel and nVidia, so I'll be sticking to those.

From my research, mostly reading topics on this site and others, the parts I have picked so far have been quite highly recommended by most, unless things have changed lately?

Looking at that list though you picked the XFX 550W Bronze, is that a good PSU that wont let me down? From my experience the PSU is the one thing that's worth investing in as you tend to pay for what you get, I've always gone with Tagan and had no problems with them, but I've heard that there's been a lot of changes in the PSU market, so I'd like to know which PSU's are topping the table.

You picked a 1TB 7200RPM HDD? Even though I don't want huge space as I have no need for it? An SSD is pretty much mandatory for a gaming rig due to the massive increase in load times and read/write speed, I only want to know which SSD to go for and whether or not running 2 in RAID0 is a cost-effective upgrade?

The CPU cooler seems alright apart from the high noise level, are there any waterblocks you'd recommend?



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September 16, 2013 5:49:19 PM

Well, Intel is definitely better, but at this price point you'll get a much better gaming performance out of AMD. Games are mostly gpu dependent, so you want to spend as much on the gpu as possible without skimping on any other parts. Since AMD processors are so cheap, yet still pretty good, it's great for a budget gaming rig like this. The build I posted would do a much better job in games because the graphics card on it is much better.

I know AMD was bad in the past, but I'm 100% positive that it is much better now. Although they aren't necessarily the best (The i5 and GTX 760/770 is the ideal processor and gpu for a gaming rig), they pack a lot of performance at a cheap price. There's no NVIDIA gpu at the $200 price point that can beat the Radeon HD 7870. AMD is best in budget rigs.

As stated, the parts you chose aren't necessarily bad, but by going with an AMD processor you can put more money into the graphics card which gives you a better gaming performance.

The XFX 550w psu is a highly recommended psu. You are right, never skimp on a psu. XFX psus are Seasonic OEMs, and Seasonic psus are one of the highest quality psus in the market. It's also at a great price, which is why it's recommended in a lot of rigs.

It's always nice to have a big HDD rather than a small SSD. Unless you are 100% positive that you won't use over 128gb or already have a HDD, then it's best to grab an HDD. SSDs are expensive and they don't last as long as HDDs. You can always add a SSD later on as well.

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is a great cpu cooler for the price. At a $30 price point, it performs nearly the same as the $60-70 closed loop water coolers. Great performance at a great price. It may be a bit loud, but it's definitely worth it if you can tolerate it.
I wouldn't suggest any closed loops coolers because the only ones worth buying over high-end heatsinks are in the $150 price range. For example, the $70-80 heatsink Noctua NH-D14 performs the same as the $100 Corsair H100, and the Noctua is much quieter.
To sum it up, unless you're willing to pay a premium for a cpu cooler, heatsinks are the way to go.


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September 17, 2013 2:05:11 AM

Well.. if your budget is 800 pounds. Nothing beats this beast right here. This is a good build and would serve your needs just fine.

+ 4670k is the best gaming CPU currently in the market.
+ 760 is an awesome card from Nvidia for an awesome price. (Asus Direct CU version is awesome too.)
+ You can do safe overclock upto 4.2 - 4.3 Ghz with the Hyper 212 EVO
+ Bitfenix Shinobi is a very good case for pretty much any build.
+ Keep the OS on SSD and keep everything else on the HDD.
+ 8GB RAM is the sweet spot for gaming.
+ 650W PSU would be enough for most future upgrades and overclocking both CPU as well as GPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.98 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£112.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£40.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£71.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.85 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card (£199.99 @ Novatech)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.58 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.78 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £809.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-17 10:00 BST+0100)

I hope you like it. Take a look at the build and tell me what you think about it. Your feedback would be highly appreciated.
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