New Gaming System

[diellur]

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a while as I put together a new build, and now that I've assembled it I wanted to ask this august body their opinion.

So here goes...

Raven 2 RV02B-E case
Asus P8P67 motherboard
i5-2500K processor (which I will probably OC, not sure though...it depends on stock performance)
MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II graphics card
2x2GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz RAM
750W Corsair Enthusiast PSU
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm HDD
Sony SATA DVD Drive
Coolermaster Hyper-212 Plus with extra fan (push-pull config)

The link to all this is here: http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/e85366dec3594fc4a6b57ee50fd23886

I'm happy with this build, but if there's anything that needs tweaked either for better performance without going too far over circa £850, or that is OTT for this build (for instance, is 750W necessary in the PSU, or can I get away with a less powerful one?)

I also had the thought of running another card in SLI at a later date, but this motherboard doesn't support that. Suggestions for an alternative motherboard that could do so are welcome (but bear in mine I'm using an aftermarket cooler and would probably upgrade to either 6GB or 8GB RAM in the future.

Thanks folks!

 

[obsidian86]

well there might be some things that you can consider

like this yeah the corsair is good but in the end you paying a premium for the name

this is the exact same psu internally for cheaper

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-xfx-p1-750s-nlb9-pro-core-edition-80-plus-bronze-85-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-135mm-fan

but just for one card this is a good deal

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/520w-antec-high-current-gamer-80plus-bronze-135mm-quiet-fan-atx12v-23-eps12v-v291-psu

for good value and quality the asus p67 pro is a popular choice

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8p67-pro-rev3-intel-p67-s1155-pci-e-20-x16-ddr3-2200(oc)-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid

some others to look at might be

MSI P67A-GD65

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-p67a-gd65-(b3)-intel-p67-s-1155-pci-e-20-(x16)-ddr3-1600-2133-sata-6gb-s-raid-atx

or

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-p67a-ud4-b3-intel-p67-express-s-1155-pci-e-20-(x16)-ddr3-2133-sata-6gb-s

 

[diellur]

Thanks for the input. Seeing as the XFX PSU is similar, I've swapped that out and taken the ASUS P67 Pro m/board. I'm still debating what case to get. The Raven looks ace, but it will be in cramped conditions (beside my sofa, next to the wall) and I'm not convinced the 3 180mm fans will get sufficient airflow to do their job, as opposed to a front facing fan. I'm finding the hardest part about this build is picking the case / cooling system!!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

You want the 900 MHz version of any 560 Ti. Prices can vary substantially. with some even cheaper than reference boards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=560+900MHz&x=0&y=0

I'd suggest an XFX Black Edition 750 or 850 ... the latter has a bit more headroom for twin GFX and OC'ing and both get 10.0 performance rating on jonnyguru.com Corair TX750 gets a 8.5. The XFX Core Editions get 9.5's

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=73
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=Search

I'd recommend a 2 x 4GB set of RAM

A 1 GB HD is a bit more and worth the additional investment.

The Scythe Mugen 2 will keep ya CPU 7C cooler than the hyper 212.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/scythe-mugen-2-quiet-cpu-cooler-for-s775-1366-1156-1155-and-amd-754-939-940-am2-am2plus-am3

P8P67 Pro is the best choice for x8 x8 SLI