Need comments on this gaming build

[kdon27]

I'm planning to put the following components together for a first-ever gaming build.

Intel Core i5 2400 - LGA1155
Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2P-B3 mATX
Corsair 4GB (2x 2Gb) Memory (1333MHz PC3-10600) DDR3 RAM, 240-pin DIMM
ASUS Radeon HD 6850 PCIe 2.1
Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 7200.12 160GB HDD, SATAII, 7200rpm, 8MB Cache
*Aywun A1-HC Mid Tower
*iCute 650W Power Supply, Titanium Series, ATX V2.3, 80-PLUS (iCute-AP-650A)

general comments very appreciated plus, I had some specific questions i was hoping to get some answers for...
- is everything compatible? are there any miscellaneous issues I am not seeing here?
- what are your recommendations for the power/case (the * shows I'm not set on those so suggestions are highly welcome).
- does it matter I'm trying to put an mATX board in an ATX mid-tower case?
- any cooling issues with the mATX in this setup?


Thanks!!!! =)

 

[inzone]

You must be working with a budget amout and where do you stand with what you have chosen and what is remaining.
1. Everything does look compatable and are you going with Win 32 bit.
2. I have never heard of a iCute power supply or a Aywun case. You must be in another country from where I am.
3. No , as long as the screw hole line up you will be ok and most cases have multiple hole patterns for the different motherboards.
4. There should be no cooling issues at all because there will be plenty of space for air flow.

Now the motherboard has only one x16 pci-e slot so if you wanted more performance you do not have the option of adding a second video card , you would have to upgrade the card you have.
The power supply is a brand I am not familiar with so if you are in another country you would have to give a list of the different brands that are avilable to you or a web site that you will be shopping from.
Same with the case.

 

[kdon27]

firstly, thank-you for your reply inzone.

actually yes, i failed to mention that i'm on a tight budget and i'm not looking to max out settings on BF3 or anything, just want to get smooth framerates is all i want..

im happy with the benchmark performances (and price v performance) of the parts i've chosen.

Yup i'm in australia actually, perhaps i'll look around local sites about quality on the case and PSU.

I had another question actually - would having 2 pcie slots and running 2 cards with SLI be better than just buying a more high performance card e.g. GTX 580 in future? if the latter is better than the former, would i have to up grade my PSU if I bought a 650W?

also I forgot to mention i dont want to buy an optical storage medium so that probably affects the power calculation?

and finally, i'm buying this now, but I have no idea where i'll be at the end of the year.. i might even have to sell the build/parts. hence i'm not looking at high-performance especially because of the high cost it entails. What would you recommend for a build that'll get me through this year and a bit of the next maybe? not a high performer - just something that gets smooth frame rates on GTA V (and GTA IV), BF3, Crysis 2, Assassins Creed series, LA Noire and similar titles.

cheers,
kdon27

 

[inzone]

The power supplies that are at the top for quality and relieability are Seasonic , Antec , Enermax and Corsair. Like I said I never heard of iCute so I don't know the quality , you may have a better chance of finding out by reading feedback on it.
Having two Pci-e slots gives you the option of adding a second card if you were not happy with the performance , so two 6850's will be much better then one obviously and some of the games that you play are very graphics card demanding and having a better cpu doesn't help in those situations. With the build that you have you will not be maxing out BF3 even with two 6850's but what you do want is good smooth gameplay so the games will be enjoyable.
The power calculation by having no optical storage is not worth including.
I have never been to Australia so I don't know how sales are for computers but I would think that if you were to try and sell the complete build and you had two video cards you would have a better chance then if you had one.

 

[ohhohoho222]

I'm planning to put the following components together for a first-ever gaming build.

Intel Core i5 2400 - LGA1155
Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2P-B3 mATX
Corsair 4GB (2x 2Gb) Memory (1333MHz PC3-10600) DDR3 RAM, 240-pin DIMM
ASUS Radeon HD 6850 PCIe 2.1
Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 7200.12 160GB HDD, SATAII, 7200rpm, 8MB Cache
*Aywun A1-HC Mid Tower
*iCute 650W Power Supply, Titanium Series, ATX V2.3, 80-PLUS (iCute-AP-650A)

general comments very appreciated plus, I had some specific questions i was hoping to get some answers for...
- is everything compatible? are there any miscellaneous issues I am not seeing here?
- what are your recommendations for the power/case (the * shows I'm not set on those so suggestions are highly welcome).
- does it matter I'm trying to put an mATX board in an ATX mid-tower case?
- any cooling issues with the mATX in this setup?


Thanks!!!! =)

I wouldn't trust that garbage psu to power my case fans, let alone my other equipment... There is a reason it is so cheap.

 

[inzone]

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7
$29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R
$49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$121.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100315VXL Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102953

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145533

LG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM
$18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

The total for this build is $1020.90 and those are prices that are from Newegg here and not in Australia unfortunatly , but it will give you an idea of the parts neede for a good performing Pc. It also gives you the option of adding a second video card and the power supply will support that . It will also be attractive to anyone who would be looking to buy it if you decide to sell. There is no monitor included in this list so that you will have to get seperately and the OS is the 64bit version which will allow for 8gb of ram to be used.

 

[inzone]

This is by no means a power Pc since there are no top tier components used , the cpu is the closest to the top but it is considered a normal component that is included in a lot of builds. A $1000 build is considered a medium range build and you will get medium range performance out of it. If you go less then that then you will get less performance and that is certianly your option to do so. This is just a recomendation that shows you what you can get.

 

[kdon27]

thanks for the replies. just a few last questions.. does it matter i dont have an optical storage device? and.. damn i cant think of the other one... lol

 

[kdon27]

oh now i remember, what brands of motherboard do you recommend? Ive heard bad things about MSI and Asrock but that was a while ago.. i'd expect things might be different now?

 

[inzone]

What do you mean by optical storage device? Do you mean a dvd drive?
Asus , Asrock , Gigabyte, MSI and Evga are all good motherboards and I might stay away from Foxxcon , Biostarr , ECS , Jetway and Zotac.

 

[kdon27]

yes i meant a dvd drive. i really dont need one at all as i have a laptop for that and i use my external HDD for storage.

oh and one last question, would you rely on internet based power wattage calculators?

 

[kdon27]

Best answer selected by kdon27.