Any specific details im missing?

[MillionAirL]

Hey,
I was interested in building my first gaming PC soon and have a £600 budget. I know some people probably don't think thats enough but i'm certain it will suffice for my needs.

This is the parts list:

HARD DRIVE - Seagate 1TB Barracuda 6Gb/s 7200rpm 64Mb 8.5m/s (ST1000DM003)
CASE - Coolermaster Elite 430
POWER - OCZ Stealthxstream II 700W Power Supply (OCZ700SXS2-UN)
GRAPHICS CARD - MSI TWIN FROZR II GeForce 560
PROCESSOR - Intel i5-2500k
MOTHERBOARD - Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket 1155

So my question is what RAM would you recommend? it cant cost over £20 because that would break my budget but I don't mind compromising now so i can upgrade later.

And I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on the build and if you spot any mistakes (Parts not compatible etc..) please tell me, as i mentioned it's my first build but I'm pretty certain the RAM needs to be 1.5V as someone told me.

Many thanks for reading, many more thanks for any responses

 

[ddan49]

Your GPU is not very good... at least go for a 6870. If possible, GTX 560 Ti. If you can go higher, the best option would be 7850 at your budget.

I would get any 1.5v DDR3-1600 CAS 9 RAM... but keep in mind it'll put you over 20. You may have to cut something somewhere else. I'm getting the idea that your money is going away on your motherboard and PSU.... your PSU doesn't need to provide that much juice, and ASUS is expensive. Try the Extreme3 Gen3 (I don't know how much it costs in UK). Go for 8GB of RAM, 4GB will also suffice (although not ideal).

 

[azeem40]

For single GPU, 500W is plenty.

 

[MillionAirL]

Really sorry about the format of the thread and bad title but it wont let me edit(?)

To clarify:

Some stuff you should probably know:
I will probably start the build by the end of next month.
Usage: gaming PC, Photoshop, Movies, Internet.
I live in the UK (Southampton) so no use of newegg.com.
Possibly overclock after stable.
No SLI or Crossfire.
Monitor is 24" and is usually connected to 42" 1080p HDTV
No care for looks or anything of the sort. Just want performance.

This is the parts list:
HARD DRIVE - Seagate 1TB Barracuda 6Gb/s 7200rpm 64Mb 8.5m/s (ST1000DM003)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

CASE - Coolermaster Elite 430
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

POWER - OCZ Stealthxstream II 700W Power Supply (OCZ700SXS2-UN)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341040

GRAPHICS CARD - MSI TWIN FROZR II GeForce 560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127593

PROCESSOR - Intel i5-2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

MOTHERBOARD - Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131781

 

[MillionAirL]

Wrong link for graphics card. Yes, you were right and I am going for this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

 

[ddan49]

For next month, change the CPU to an i5-3750k and the motherboard to ASRock Extreme4 Z77. The CPU is coming out April 29th, and the mobo is on newegg (so it'll come to other places pretty soon, I'm assuming). I love MSI Twin Frozr OC, but keep in mind it's not as overclockable as say the Hawk... although it is ALREADY overclocked. This is really up for debate. If you're doing photoshop, definitely go with 8GB. If you do a lot, go with 16GB (of RAM). Your PSU seems a little unreliable. Other than that, everything is fine.

 

[MillionAirL]

I appreciate the advice.
I was just looking into Z77 Pro4 But I cant seem to find reviews of it. Any significant differences that make it better than the Z68 Gen3?

P.s. Im not worried about the overclocking, If i can survive playing games on lowest setting for 3 months im sure i can withstand medium :L As long as it works fairly well I wont contemplate messing up the settings

And yes I only noticed all the reviews about the PSU, Im going to look into that further. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[ddan49]

No reviews because it just got released like two days ago!

If you aren't going to overclock, then get the IB equivalent of an i5-2400 and you don't need an overclockable motherboard... I think the other types are H61 and some other stuff... just Google "IB motherboard". Also, ditch the CPU fan. You'll save a bundle.

However, I would really recommend overclocking. It's really simple. If you ARE going to overclock on the i5-3750k, then DEFINITELY get the Z77 motherboard... it's more compatible with IB than Z68. It takes advantage of PCI 3.0, as well, which is a big benefit of IB.

 

[MillionAirL]

No point getting a non over clockable pc when I can get one that can

What I meant was that I don't know how to overclock at the moment so while I would prefer the option to overclock later, it is not a big point now.

So you think its worth the wait?
Im in no desperate need of a pc at the moment as we already have two iMacs and two laptops.

And I'm torn between buying all parts in one go or buying said items over time (i worry parts will become obsolete)

 

[Why_Me]

Hey,
I was interested in building my first gaming PC soon and have a £600 budget. I know some people probably don't think thats enough but i'm certain it will suffice for my needs.

This is the parts list:

HARD DRIVE - Seagate 1TB Barracuda 6Gb/s 7200rpm 64Mb 8.5m/s (ST1000DM003)
CASE - Coolermaster Elite 430
POWER - OCZ Stealthxstream II 700W Power Supply (OCZ700SXS2-UN)
GRAPHICS CARD - MSI TWIN FROZR II GeForce 560
PROCESSOR - Intel i5-2500k
MOTHERBOARD - Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket 1155

So my question is what RAM would you recommend? it cant cost over £20 because that would break my budget but I don't mind compromising now so i can upgrade later.

And I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on the build and if you spot any mistakes (Parts not compatible etc..) please tell me, as i mentioned it's my first build but I'm pretty certain the RAM needs to be 1.5V as someone told me.

Many thanks for reading, many more thanks for any responses

http://www.novatech.co.uk/ <----- Look for any of these two boards down below next month at that site for cheap.

This board down below should sell for somewhere around £60

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z75%20Pro3
ASRock Z75 Pro3

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Pro3
ASRock Z77 Pro3

Match one of those boards up with this cpu down below. This cpu is due to be released on April 29th.

http://pcper.com/news/Processors/Intel-Ivy-Bridge-Processors-Launch-March-23-2012
Intel i5-3750K Ivy Bridge CPU 3.5Ghz

Quality psu that gives you some headroom.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies+-+PSUs/Non-Modular+650W+or+less/550W+OCZ+ZS+Series+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+?productId=45457 £46.79 inc. VAT
550W OCZ ZS Series 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory+-+RAM/DDR3/Dual+Channel+-+%281600MHz%29/8GB+Mushkin+Enhanced+Blackline+Frostbyte+%23996995+%282x4GB%29+1600+%28PC3-12800%29+240-Pin+DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=44336 £32.39 inc. VAT
8GB Mushkin Enhanced Blackline Frostbyte #996995 (2x4GB) 1600 (PC3-12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM CAS 9-9-9-24 1.5V

 

[ddan49]

^Yeah. Wait... the new processors don't come out THAT often (at least not as often as GPUs). I'd suggest an ASRock Z77 motherboard... an Extreme4 if you can spring for it, otherwise a Pro will do.

 

[MillionAirL]

^Yeah. Wait... the new processors don't come out THAT often (at least not as often as GPUs). I'd suggest an ASRock Z77 motherboard... an Extreme4 if you can spring for it, otherwise a Pro will do.

Im leaning more towards the extreme version but whats the difference?

 

[azeem40]

The Extreme4 Gen3 has an extra PCIe 3.0 lane and runs dual GPUs at x8/x8.

 

[MillionAirL]

And does anyone know anything about the whole problem with the 560TI failing after a few months? it seems a real shame because its apparently great otherwise?

 

[azeem40]

What failing?

 

[ddan49]

I don't know if it's anything that'll impact single-GPU systems, though.

 

[MillionAirL]

Apparently the fans stop working and another user mentioned that the screen would flicker off and on... Just check the reviews on newegg.com

The thing is it seems to only have really bad or really good reviews and the bad ones say it broke after a few months which makes me wonder that maybe the other reviews were written soon after the purchase?

 

[ddan49]

Don't go off of newegg alone...RMAs are usually pretty pain-free, as well

 

[ddan49]

Also, driver problems can often cause that

 

[MillionAirL]

I thought that the Corsair Vengeance was better than the Mushkin

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory+-+RAM/DDR3/Dual+Channel+-+%281600MHz%29/Corsair+Vengeance+8GB+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C9+1600MHz+Dual+Channel+Kit+%28CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9%29+?productId=48117

As oppose to:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory+-+RAM/DDR3/Dual+Channel+-+%281600MHz%29/8GB+Mushkin+Enhanced+Blackline+Frostbyte+%23996995+%282x4GB%29+1600+%28PC3-12800%29+240-Pin+DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=44336&rqcType=r#rqc

 

[MillionAirL]

CoolerMaster
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies+-+PSUs/Non-Modular+650W+or+less/550W+Cooler+Master+GX+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+?productId=47891&rqcType=r#rqc

OCZ
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/342104-13-specific-details-missing#t2567128