Can I get some opinions/advice on my planned build please?

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Hi, I have been lurking about this site for a good few years looking for advice on software issues and it is obvious the user-base knows exactly what they are talking about.

I would like opinions on my current plan, mostly if it is practical and all the hardware is compatible with each other.

Any advice on making it more cost effective without sacrificing to much performance will also be welcome.

This will be my first proper build.

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case (includes some fans)

Extra fans:
140mm
200mm

Power Supply: OCZ OCZ600MXSP-UK ModXStream Pro 600W ATX Power Supply

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula 990FX

Processor + Heatsink + Thermal Compound:
Intel Core i7 3820 Quad Core CPU (3.60GHz)
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Thermal paste

RAM: 8gb x4

GFX: AMD Radeon HD 7950

1TB HDD

Blu-ray Drive: Lite-On iHBS212

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Sound Card
(I am not to bothered about sound and a cheap card will bring costs down, my current pc has a card from the 90s and it doesn't bother me.)

OS: Win 7 64bit OEM

 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Well I'd rather my budget not exceed the price of the current plan unless it has to for compatibility reasons (It is currently around £1500 but I would rather reduce this).

Not going to overclock.

Only going to run one gfx card to start but I would maybe like the possibility of adding another but it's not really a need.

Gonna shop around online for the parts with the best deals with the best reviews.
 

Devastater6194

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Nov 20, 2011
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For a start that processor won't work on that mobo. If you want the formula get the maximus v formula with a i5-3570k. Windows home premium as a limit of 16gb but you really don't need over 16gb so stick with that at the most.
And I'd also advise getting an ssd. Some Mushkin chronos deluxe and the Sandusky extreme are really cheap at the moment for same performance as the top ssd's.
 


Beat me to it lol, I was just going to say that.

If this build is for gaming, then the 3820 is a massive waste. May as well go for the 3570K or the 2500K and get a motherboard that has a Z68 or Z77, not 990FX.

Also, if sound doesnt bother you, you might as well just use the sound card that comes on the motherboard.

Also, you don't need more than 16GB of RAM (heck you really dont need more than 8 but you are building a really awesome computer)
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Tried to reformat to the best of my ability. Not too good with formatting sorry x_x.

Approximate Purchase Date: September/October time this year

Budget Range: Around £1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly

Are you buying a monitor: I will be using a 24" I already have.


Parts to Upgrade:

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case (includes some fans)

Extra fans:
140mm
200mm


Power Supply: OCZ OCZ600MXSP-UK ModXStream Pro 600W ATX Power Supply

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula 990FX

Processor + Heatsink + Thermal Compound:
Intel Core i7 3820 Quad Core CPU (3.60GHz)
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Thermal paste


RAM: 8gb x4

GFX: AMD Radeon HD 7950

1TB HDD

Blu-ray Drive: Lite-On iHBS212

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Sound Card
(I am not to bothered about sound and a cheap card will bring costs down, my current pc has a card from the 90s and it doesn't bother me.)


Do you need to buy OS: Windows 7 64bit OEM

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Not really sure where the best places to get parts is.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Switching from console to PC gaming due to the fact the money is now more available to me
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Switching to Intel Core i5 3.4 GHz CPU then, would you be able to suggest a good Z77 mobo to go with this?

I would rather have a dedicated sound card as most integrated sound have had has failed on me and I'm paranoid about it.

Will also downgrade to 16gb as suggested.
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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The main reason I am getting a HDD rather than SSD is because of the cost difference but I will consider adding one in the future.
 

l0v3rboi

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Mar 30, 2012
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Here is a gaming build that will be able to run all the current games, has overclocing potential, and SLI/xFire potential:
Corsair Carbide 500R
i5 - 3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme 4 or Gigabyte z77x-ud3h
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Mushkin Blackline 8 Gb DDR3 1600 1.5v RAM
Gigabyte GTX 670 or ASUS Direct CU GTX 670
XFX Core Edition Pro 750W or Corsair TX750
WD Caviar Blue 1 Tb
Crucial m4 128 Gb
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

I don't know how the pricing is there but the total of this build should be less than your budget.
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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My new plan based on suggestions.

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case

Extra Fans:
140mm
200mm

Power Supply: Corsair TX750

Mother Board: Asrock z77 Extreme 4

Processor + Heatsink + Thermal Compound:

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz CPU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Thermal paste

RAM: 16gb

GFX: Gigabyte GTX 670

HDD:
WD Caviar Blue 1TB HDD

Blu-ray Drive: Lite-On iHBS212

OS: Win 7 OEM
 

Devastater6194

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Nov 20, 2011
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This build comes in at around 1380 leaving you some money for mouse and keyboard.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/29-4intel-core-i5-3570k-s-1155-ivy-bridge-quad-core-34ghz-5-gt-s-dmi-650mhz-gpu-6mb-smart-cache-34x-
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-maximus-v-gene-intel-z77-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-pcie-30-(x16)-displayport-hdmi-micro-atx
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb-(4x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-jet-black-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/240gb-sandisk-extreme-25-ssd-sata-iii-6gb-s-read-550mb-s-write-520mb-s-83000-iops-max
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-wd-wd10earx-caviar-green-sata-6gb-s-intellipower-64mb-cache-8ms-quiet
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-palit-gtx-680-jetstream-28nm-pcie-30-6300mhz-gddr5-gpu-1084mhz-boost-1150mhz-cores-1536-2-x-dl-d
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-xfx-xxx-p1-850b-ukb9-88-eff-80-plus-silver-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-fan-atx-v22-psu
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lg-gh24ns90-24x-dvdr-16xdvddl-dvdplusrw-x8-rwx6-12xram-sata-black-retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-sp1-operating-system-single-oem

Just found a deal for this weekend that i would advise jumping on if you've got the money right now.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-297-SP down from 389.99 just for this weekend.
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Not going to have that much money for 3 weeks at least. :(

Which would be the better choice between the Asrock z77 Extreme 4 and the Asus MAXIMUS V GENE motherboard you suggested?
 

Devastater6194

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I'd go with the maximus v gene. Better quality components.
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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Will go for that one then.


New spec as follows:

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case

Extra Fans:
140mm
200mm

Power Supply: XFX XXX Edition 850w Silver 80+

Mother Board: Asus MAXIMUS V GENE Intel Z77 Socket 1155

Processor:
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz CPU

RAM: 16gb

GFX: Gigabyte GTX 670

HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive

Blu-ray Drive: Lite-On iHBS212 (I have dvd writers coming out my ears, my current pc is fitted with 3 of them)

OS: Win 7 OEM

Would this be a good build and what Heatsink would you suggest for it? I am straying away from liquid cooling due to fears of leaking onto the boards and with the amount of fans that are gonna be on the machine I don't think this will be an issue but I could be wrong.

I am also still thinking whether I want to get a SSD just yet due to the price but the speed alone might sway me.

 

Devastater6194

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Nov 20, 2011
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With closed loop liquid coolers you don't have to worry about ram clearance or Heatsink height. Plus if they leaked left right and centre do you really think they would be so popular?
If you go for the ram I recommended Then just about any Heatsink will do.
What graphics card you planning to use?
As for the ssd, I'd say definitely get one. If needs be you can use the ssd for the os then add a hard drive later for storage when you need it.
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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The graphics card I am now looking at is the Gigabyte GTX 670 but it was a hard decision over the 680. After really thinking about it that extra 5% performance isn't worth the £80 extra.

Will get a 120gb SSD to start as a 240gb is just too much for the use it would get.



Yes if you look at my initial specs I am planning to get that exact product.
 

Smeg45

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Mar 9, 2012
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You could save cash and get a 965 BE and a 7950 and an Asus M5A97, look at some Computer Shopper back issues, you can save a bit of cash going AMD and its not that much slower. Games need more GPU, the CPU isn't as important.
 


I've upgraded from a 965BE to a 2500K and noticed a huge difference. Not to say the 965 is slow, because it is not, but I'd just have to say that the price of the i5 is justified.
 

Smeg45

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Mar 9, 2012
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And the difference is 100% down to a new CPU? Are you really really sure? I doubt it . . .
 

wolfkin

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Jul 28, 2012
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What about this for a spec?

Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case

Extra Fans:
140mm
200mm

Power Supply: XFX XXX Edition 850w Silver 80+

Mother Board: Asus MAXIMUS V GENE Intel Z77

Processor + Heatsink + Thermal Compound:
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz CPU
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Thermal paste

RAM: 16gb

GFX: RADEON HD 7950

HDD + SSD:
1TB Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive
Sandisk Extreme 120GB SSD

Blu-ray Drive: Lite-On iHBS212

OS: Win 7 OEM