Alright new plan, tell me what do you think?

[redlightning001]

Alright so before hand I posted saying that I was fed up with waiting and I just wanted to build something, however after talking to a few of my friends they essentially said I'm an idiot if I don't have enough patience to wait out 8-9 weeks for Ivybridge and I would regret it.

So after hearing that I've been thinking about buying things slowly till Ivybridge and Keplers release.

Also this is my first time building, so please bear with my stupidity.

Approximate Purchase Date: In all honesty I was hoping to buy components slowly till April 8th

Budget Range: £700- to around £900 could stretch to a £1000 to be honest. This is at this current moment, although I would like to save as much as I can for a great GPU.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Digital Painting, Photoshop, 3d animation, surfing the web
Parts Not Required: -

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any site for the best price for components

Country: England

Parts Preferences: Case NZXT Phantom (Full tower) , an Illuminated keyboard. Also an 1155 motherboard that is PCI 3.0 ready. Finally a 23inch-24inch monitor.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire:Maybe

Monitor Resolution:1920x1080, I will be going Dual Screen 1920X1080 resolution in the future

Additional Comments: I wish to have a cool and quiet system. Also I would like my case, psu, motherboard and processor to last for quite a while.

Okay to explain things a bit more, my plan now is to buy parts till the release of Ivybridge and Kepler. So stuff like a monitor, case, psu, HDD, SSD, stuff that won't change much in price 8 weeks etc... It's also by the time Kepler and Ivy bridge is release I would actually be able to dedicate at least £300 each to the CPU and GPU, by that time ofcourse.

Anyway to list the parts:
[Please note the processor,graphics card and possibly the RAM will not be listed]

Case: NZXT Phantom Special Edition Case White with Red Stripe

It's either that colour or the normal White version, which can be around £7 cheaper

NZXT Phantom V2 White Full Tower Chassis w/ USB3.0

I just want that case, I just don't which colour to choose.

Monitor What do you think of this monitor? HDMI is necessary (for the ps3).

Asus VE247H LED LCD 23.6" HDMI Monitor

Motherboard: I'm contemplating about buying this around now or in April when the other chip sets are released. I would like it PCI 3.0 ready though.
Anyway I'm down to this:

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

Or the Pro Version
paste the label here
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

or these the MSI ones:

MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

MSI Z68A-GD55-G3 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

Ideally I would like to switch between integrated and discrete graphics, so that I'm not always using the discrete card when it's not necessary. Also all these motherboards look the same to me, they all seem to do the exact same job and I could careless about the "special features" because I don't think I would actually use them.

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-S06XLB 12x BluRay RW / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black - Retail Boxed

HDD: Can anyone recommend me a good HDD, you don't even need to link it. Just name it.

SSD: Same thing here can anyone recommend me a good SSD?

PSU: 850W Corsair TX850 V2 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply

I don't want to neglect this component, if have to spend £150 for a reliable PSU, I will.

Keyboard: Cyborg V7 Keyboard

I play in the dark, that's why I want an illuminated keyboard.

Mouse: Need a recommendation

Speakers: Same thing here guys, need a recommendation

So what do you guys think? Think it's a good idea? What do you think of the parts listed? I would appreciate any help you guys can offer me. Also I haven't listed the RAM because I have no clue if it would work with Ivybridge or the motherboards I've chosen.

 

[redlightning001]

Sorry I forgot to add a cooler.

Could anyone recommend me a good cooler. It can be a fan or water cooling, what ever is more efficient in getting rid of the heat.

 

[g-unit1111]

So after hearing that I've been thinking about buying things slowly till Ivybridge and Keplers release.

That's never a good way to do it because you don't know what is going to be available once your system completes. Ivy is not going to be the deal breaker everyone thinks it is - it's really just going to be a gap-bridger - a few new CPUs with higher cores and clock speeds - until Intel's next major architecture change (probably not until 2013 I'm guessing).

First off - case, monitor, PSU and optical - all good choices. I don't see a CPU listed - I'm taking it you're using the i5-2500K?

For these this is what I would recommend:

Motherboard: I'm contemplating about buying this around now or in April when the other chip sets are released. I would like it PCI 3.0 ready though.
Anyway I'm down to this:

The Asus Pro is a far, far better choice than MSI is.

HDD: Can anyone recommend me a good HDD, you don't even need to link it. Just name it.

Western Digital Caviar Blue/Black or Seagate Barracuda. HD prices are a bit on the ridiculous side right now so a 500GB will have to do until prices drop.

SSD: Same thing here can anyone recommend me a good SSD?

The best bets right now are the Samsung 830 or Crucial M4. The Intel 510 is also a good choice as is the Plextor P2-B3 and the Mushkin Chronos.

The ones you should stay away from are the Corsair Force 3 and OCZ Agility 3, Solid 3, and Vertex 2.

I don't want to neglect this component, if have to spend £150 for a reliable PSU, I will.

The one you have listed is an excellent choice, pretty much all I buy are Corsair PSUs anymore.

Mouse: Need a recommendation

Maybe something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/174418-logitech-g500-gaming-mouse-usb-910-001262

Speakers: Same thing here guys, need a recommendation

I'd say wait until after you get the build up and running before you get the speakers - they're not critical to a build and you can always spend way more or less depending on how you want them to sound.

So what do you guys think? Think it's a good idea? What do you think of the parts listed? I would appreciate any help you guys can offer me. Also I haven't listed the RAM because I have no clue if it would work with Ivybridge or the motherboards I've chosen.

I honestly wouldn't plan that far ahead - like I said Ivy is only going to be a few new CPUs that will see higher clock speeds and maybe a couple of extra cores. Intel's already confirmed that it will use Z68 and P67 motherboards with a BIOS flash (I really hope Intel doesn't make the same mistake AMD did with Zambezi/FX/Bulldozer). But the key is to get low-profile RAM as that will not interfere with any heat sinks and coolers you plan to install.

Try something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/248449-kingston-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-hyperx-blu-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-khx1333c9d3b1k2-8g

Could anyone recommend me a good cooler. It can be a fan or water cooling, what ever is more efficient in getting rid of the heat.

The Hyper 212 is one of the best bets you can get for the money. I use one now and my computer's temps are unreal - 25'C - 27'C on idle. 35'C - 38'C on full use.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

some people would recommend cruicial 128gb ssd or if you want go with corsair force gt 120gb sata3 6gb/s SSD i use one my self for the 3 pc i have at home and all goes well for quite some time now.

for the psu maybe you might be better off with Corsair ax850w 80plus gold or seasonic x850w 80plus gold.

for the mobo, msi z68a-gd80 (g3)(gen 3) if you can squeeze out of cash from your pocket or if not go with the msi z68a-gd 65(g3)

well on my i5 2500k setup i use the gd80 (g3) and never looked back at the others, and my other pc had gd65(g3) both are good

for the chassis , i believe the white/black stripes one is really good or the white/red stripes

it looks more decent IMHO

 

[Tavo_Nova]

for the cpu cooler if you can spend quite a lot on it i would bet that you might want Noctua nh-d14 cpu cooler, i use it on 2 of my pc, an i5 2500k and an i7 2600k, you an never go wrong with it, i also wanted to use it on my i7 3930k but i don't have the stands off which is not available where i come from,

oh and i believe TS will be buying all the parts besides the GPU/CPU which should not be that much of a problem imo, since gpu/cpu are more important so long as he had a solid body build, but he might have some problems with ram if he get some dead ones

for ram, corsair/g.skill is the way to go, look for the low profile ones if your getting noctua if not get those big ones looks nicer

 

[Outlander_04]

do not buy things "slowly"

Your parts choices are sound , but if you wait till Ivy bridge and new motherboards then Z68 mb's are bound to be cheaper ..........

 

[redlightning001]

do not buy things "slowly"

Your parts choices are sound , but if you wait till Ivy bridge and new motherboards then Z68 mb's are bound to be cheaper ..........

Alright then should I just buy my stuff in the next 2 weeks and go for an i5 2500k build. Or should I hold off and wait 8 weeks? What would your honest opinion be? I just don't want to regret anything to be honest

 

[redlightning001]

for the cpu cooler if you can spend quite a lot on it i would bet that you might want Noctua nh-d14 cpu cooler, i use it on 2 of my pc, an i5 2500k and an i7 2600k, you an never go wrong with it, i also wanted to use it on my i7 3930k but i don't have the stands off which is not available where i come from,

oh and i believe TS will be buying all the parts besides the GPU/CPU which should not be that much of a problem imo, since gpu/cpu are more important so long as he had a solid body build, but he might have some problems with ram if he get some dead ones

for ram, corsair/g.skill is the way to go, look for the low profile ones if your getting noctua if not get those big ones looks nicer

Okay what do you think of this:

8GB Corsair Vengeance Red (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz 1.5v Dual Channel Kit - CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R

Since this my first build would you recommend me doing water cooling? Or go the fan route because it's safer?

How quite does that fan keep your build?

 

[Outlander_04]

if you dont need it NOW then waiting the 8 weeks should be easy

 

[redlightning001]

So after hearing that I've been thinking about buying things slowly till Ivybridge and Keplers release.

That's never a good way to do it because you don't know what is going to be available once your system completes. Ivy is not going to be the deal breaker everyone thinks it is - it's really just going to be a gap-bridger - a few new CPUs with higher cores and clock speeds - until Intel's next major architecture change (probably not until 2013 I'm guessing).

First off - case, monitor, PSU and optical - all good choices. I don't see a CPU listed - I'm taking it you're using the i5-2500K?

For these this is what I would recommend:

Motherboard: I'm contemplating about buying this around now or in April when the other chip sets are released. I would like it PCI 3.0 ready though.
Anyway I'm down to this:

The Asus Pro is a far, far better choice than MSI is.

HDD: Can anyone recommend me a good HDD, you don't even need to link it. Just name it.

Western Digital Caviar Blue/Black or Seagate Barracuda. HD prices are a bit on the ridiculous side right now so a 500GB will have to do until prices drop.

SSD: Same thing here can anyone recommend me a good SSD?

The best bets right now are the Samsung 830 or Crucial M4. The Intel 510 is also a good choice as is the Plextor P2-B3 and the Mushkin Chronos.

The ones you should stay away from are the Corsair Force 3 and OCZ Agility 3, Solid 3, and Vertex 2.

I don't want to neglect this component, if have to spend £150 for a reliable PSU, I will.

The one you have listed is an excellent choice, pretty much all I buy are Corsair PSUs anymore.

Mouse: Need a recommendation

Maybe something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/174418-logitech-g500-gaming-mouse-usb-910-001262

Speakers: Same thing here guys, need a recommendation

I'd say wait until after you get the build up and running before you get the speakers - they're not critical to a build and you can always spend way more or less depending on how you want them to sound.

So what do you guys think? Think it's a good idea? What do you think of the parts listed? I would appreciate any help you guys can offer me. Also I haven't listed the RAM because I have no clue if it would work with Ivybridge or the motherboards I've chosen.

I honestly wouldn't plan that far ahead - like I said Ivy is only going to be a few new CPUs that will see higher clock speeds and maybe a couple of extra cores. Intel's already confirmed that it will use Z68 and P67 motherboards with a BIOS flash (I really hope Intel doesn't make the same mistake AMD did with Zambezi/FX/Bulldozer). But the key is to get low-profile RAM as that will not interfere with any heat sinks and coolers you plan to install.

Try something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/248449-kingston-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-hyperx-blu-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-khx1333c9d3b1k2-8g

Could anyone recommend me a good cooler. It can be a fan or water cooling, what ever is more efficient in getting rid of the heat.

The Hyper 212 is one of the best bets you can get for the money. I use one now and my computer's temps are unreal - 25'C - 27'C on idle. 35'C - 38'C on full use.

Thank you for the reply, okay I'm going to have to decide if I want to buy parts in 2 weeks, or wait till April 8th till benchmarks and reviews are out. I know Ivybridge isn't that big of a leap, but I am interested in saving power and keeping the system cool, I want the system to be more efficient.

I just have to decide....In the mean time I'll buy the monitor and case since I need the measurements for the desk I got to buy.

With the SSD:

Intel 120GB 320 Series SSD - 2.5" SATA-II - Read 270MB/s Write 130MB/s - Retail - 5 Year Warranty

Or there's the Crucial with 8gb more at the same price
Crucial 128GB 2.5" M4 SSD SATA-III 6Gb/s - Read 415MB/s Write 175MB/s

Which one would you go after?

With the HDD: Is this one okay? It'll have to be 500gb for now, as you have said.
Seagate 500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6Gb/s Barracuda Hard Drive 7200RPM 16MB Cache

Is that one fine? Honestly I don't mind having 500gb I don't think I would actually fill it up.
Oh and thanks for the mouse recommendation.

 

[redlightning001]

if you dont need it NOW then waiting the 8 weeks should be easy

In all honesty I just want it mainly for my hobbies which is gaming and drawing. It's not for work or university, it's my hobby machine (that sounds so wrong...). It's just that I feel a little impatient because I've been saving spare cash for the past 4 months

Thanks for the reply by the way.

 

[redlightning001]

So after hearing that I've been thinking about buying things slowly till Ivybridge and Keplers release.

That's never a good way to do it because you don't know what is going to be available once your system completes. Ivy is not going to be the deal breaker everyone thinks it is - it's really just going to be a gap-bridger - a few new CPUs with higher cores and clock speeds - until Intel's next major architecture change (probably not until 2013 I'm guessing).

First off - case, monitor, PSU and optical - all good choices. I don't see a CPU listed - I'm taking it you're using the i5-2500K?

For these this is what I would recommend:

Motherboard: I'm contemplating about buying this around now or in April when the other chip sets are released. I would like it PCI 3.0 ready though.
Anyway I'm down to this:

The Asus Pro is a far, far better choice than MSI is.

HDD: Can anyone recommend me a good HDD, you don't even need to link it. Just name it.

Western Digital Caviar Blue/Black or Seagate Barracuda. HD prices are a bit on the ridiculous side right now so a 500GB will have to do until prices drop.

SSD: Same thing here can anyone recommend me a good SSD?

The best bets right now are the Samsung 830 or Crucial M4. The Intel 510 is also a good choice as is the Plextor P2-B3 and the Mushkin Chronos.

The ones you should stay away from are the Corsair Force 3 and OCZ Agility 3, Solid 3, and Vertex 2.

I don't want to neglect this component, if have to spend £150 for a reliable PSU, I will.

The one you have listed is an excellent choice, pretty much all I buy are Corsair PSUs anymore.

Mouse: Need a recommendation

Maybe something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/174418-logitech-g500-gaming-mouse-usb-910-001262

Speakers: Same thing here guys, need a recommendation

I'd say wait until after you get the build up and running before you get the speakers - they're not critical to a build and you can always spend way more or less depending on how you want them to sound.

So what do you guys think? Think it's a good idea? What do you think of the parts listed? I would appreciate any help you guys can offer me. Also I haven't listed the RAM because I have no clue if it would work with Ivybridge or the motherboards I've chosen.

I honestly wouldn't plan that far ahead - like I said Ivy is only going to be a few new CPUs that will see higher clock speeds and maybe a couple of extra cores. Intel's already confirmed that it will use Z68 and P67 motherboards with a BIOS flash (I really hope Intel doesn't make the same mistake AMD did with Zambezi/FX/Bulldozer). But the key is to get low-profile RAM as that will not interfere with any heat sinks and coolers you plan to install.

Try something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/248449-kingston-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-hyperx-blu-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-khx1333c9d3b1k2-8g

Could anyone recommend me a good cooler. It can be a fan or water cooling, what ever is more efficient in getting rid of the heat.

The Hyper 212 is one of the best bets you can get for the money. I use one now and my computer's temps are unreal - 25'C - 27'C on idle. 35'C - 38'C on full use.

I honestly thought I read you system is below freezing temperatures. I read -25'C - 27'C

But honestly that is good temperature, how quite is your system?

I'm interested because my laptop right now is like a blow dryer....

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay what do you think of this:

8GB Corsair Vengeance Red (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz 1.5v Dual Channel Kit - CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R

Since this my first build would you recommend me doing water cooling? Or go the fan route because it's safer?

How quite does that fan keep your build?

No - definitely go the fan route - it's much safer than risking a build with water cooling when you don't know what you are doing.

This would be better RAM (you don't want tall heat sinks if you're using any after market cooler): http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3/Dual+Channel+1600MHz/8GB+Corsair+Vengeance+Black+LP+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C9+1600MHz+1.5v+Dual+Channel+Kit+-+CML8GX3M2A1600C9+?productId=45511

I honestly thought I read you system is below freezing temperatures. I read -25'C - 27'C

But honestly that is good temperature, how quite is your system?

It's very quiet actually - I'm running my Hyper 212 with two fans, the case has one exhaust and a spare fan that I used in an old build attached to the side, and the only fan that really makes noise is the top 200mm fan but I'm looking at replacing that.

 

[redlightning001]

No - definitely go the fan route - it's much safer than risking a build with water cooling when you don't know what you are doing.

This would be better RAM (you don't want tall heat sinks if you're using any after market cooler): http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3/Dual+Channel+1600MHz/8GB+Corsair+Vengeance+Black+LP+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C9+1600MHz+1.5v+Dual+Channel+Kit+-+CML8GX3M2A1600C9+?productId=45511

I know this may sound stupid, but how come you wouldn't tall heat sinks if you're going to use an aftermarket cooler?
Is it a space issue? Like what would happen if I used a tall heat sink RAM?

 

[g-unit1111]

I know this may sound stupid, but how come you wouldn't tall heat sinks if you're going to use an aftermarket cooler?
Is it a space issue? Like what would happen if I used a tall heat sink RAM?

It's a space issue - on most heat sinks and with modern motherboard designs the outer-most fan will block DIMM slots 3 and 4, and when you install RAM there will always be a clearance issue on slot 3 since when you install your RAM you will want to alternate blocks with the matched sets (one set will use slots 1 and 3, the next set will use slots 2 and 4, and so on).

Here's a photo that explains perfectly what I'm talking about using the Noctua D14 and an Intel X58 motherboard with Kingston Hyper X RAM and the tall heat sink issue:

 

[redlightning001]

It's a space issue - on most heat sinks and with modern motherboard designs the outer-most fan will block DIMM slots 3 and 4, and when you install RAM there will always be a clearance issue on slot 3 since when you install your RAM you will want to alternate blocks with the matched sets (one set will use slots 1 and 3, the next set will use slots 2 and 4, and so on).

Here's a photo that explains perfectly what I'm talking about using the Noctua D14 and an Intel X58 motherboard with Kingston Hyper X RAM and the tall heat sink issue:

http://hardwarebg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/nt032-600x595.jpg

That doesn't look good, it looks like it causes way too many problems. Plus it seems like the dissipation of heat would become a problem. Thereby nullifying the point of having tall heat sinks.

Thanks for the pointing me in the right direction! I was going to go after that tall heat sink as well.