How's my build?

Looks good

Here's a GTX 970 in stock - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-gigabyte-gtx-970-windforce-3-oc-7010mhz-gddr5-gpu-1114mhz-boost-1253mhz-1664-cores-3x-dp-1x-dvi-

Looks good

Here's a GTX 970 in stock - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-gigabyte-gtx-970-windforce-3-oc-7010mhz-gddr5-gpu-1114mhz-boost-1253mhz-1664-cores-3x-dp-1x-dvi-

Never used it to be honest mate, I always get stuff delivered via DPD.

I think it looks fine. I'm not entirely sure I like the design of your case, but I don't think that's an area where you're looking for feedback. I haven't seen any real reviews on the ZM550-XG, which makes me a little worried about your power supply, but I can't say that's enough for me to recommend changing it.

From what I see, your build looks great.

I think it looks fine. I'm not entirely sure I like the design of your case, but I don't think that's an area where you're looking for feedback. I haven't seen any real reviews on the ZM550-XG, which makes me a little worried about your power supply, but I can't say that's enough for me to recommend changing it.

From what I see, your build looks great.

There's this for a little more -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008O50WKG/?tag=pcp0f-21

Regardless of warranty, I would invest in a XFX, Seasonic or Antec

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xRwrxr
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xRwrxr/by_merchant/

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.93 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £46.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

This is cheaper than your PSU, has the same amount of watts and is a reputable PSU.

Since the warranty only covers your PSU, I wouldn't take that as a sign of comfort. What good is a 5 year warranty if it fries your components? Sure, you might get a new PSU out of the deal, but who knows what else you might lose? Your new GPU, or your whole MoBo? It's like buying a power strip from Walmart with a "lifetime warranty," and you assume it's going to protect your equipment with it's "surge protection"... and it only costs $10. A bit of an extreme comparison (and it's American lol), but I'm only trying to paint a picture here. I'm an abstract artist.

Also, there are semi-modular PSUs from quality manufacturers, but they're not going to be cheap. The XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply would be a nice choice, but it's £61.


Bronze v. Silver v. Gold is kind of like comparing different trim packages on a new car. Unless you really care about efficiency to the Nth degree, it's kind of pointless to quibble over efficiency levels. The real difference you'll notice is in your power bill (barely noticeable), and how much heat the PSU gives off under load (typically marginal, unless you're running a hardcore build). The best part of getting a PSU with the 80+ Bronze (and up) certification is you have piece of mind that your PSU won't run super hot, and your power bill will come down a bit (compared to a non certified PSU). The downside is the certification testing does not seem to take into account heat from your tower, which can reduce the efficiency.

While the 80+ gold PSU will be more efficient, the 80+ bronze and silver units won't do much more than produce a little extra heat, and increase your power bill my marginal numbers. Unless the cost of cooling your room makes a huge difference, you might want to calculate the cost of a PSU, and figure out how long you'd need to run it before you recoup your losses. My guess is it will take a few years. This reminds me of the whole Intel v. AMD debate over efficiency (which is relatively pointless).

80+ bronze will be plenty of efficiency on a low budget. If anyone notices that there's something I've ignored, please point it out.

EVGA isn't that bad, but the ones you've picked out so far aren't ideal when you can afford better ones without spending too much more. Check out the Power Supply Unit tier list; pick something tier 2B and above. You're picking tier 3 units, which are decent enough, but there's no point in going with lower quality when a tier 2A/B is of higher quality, and marginally more expensive. No point at all.

As far as the Corsair CX/CXM units... they're also T3 units. The original CX series units were much better; but the manufacturer was switched a few years back, and they've dropped in quality. Only get T3 units when you have no other option, or a 2A/B unit is going to really be a lot more money.

EVGA has some nice units, but they're going to cost you more than what you want to spend. I don't see why you're adamant on EVGA, but it's all your call.