First ever build. Really need some help.

[Pmckenna]

Hi guys,

I'm making the leap from console to PC gaming and I was hoping you'll help me decide on the parts.
Also this is my first ever build, so expect a lot of dumb Q's :lol:

Here's what I've got so far...

CPU: i5 3570k - £159

MOBO: Asrock Z77 extreme 4 - £110

GPU: haven't decided yet... I might wait until next pay day for this.

Memory: Corsair vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB - £34

SSD: Samsung 830 128GB - Basic kit - £74

PSU: OCZ modXstream Pro 600W - £58

Case: Fractal design define R4 or NZXT Phantom 410 - £85 and £80

OS: windows 7 home premium 64 bit OEM - £73

Total - Around £588

Question time...

1.) I've heard that some people have had problems with this MOBO, would it be worth the extra £13 and get the Asus P8Z77-V instead?

2.) I know very little about RAM, the kit above was recommended by amazon and it has pretty good reviews, so if this kit is not suitable in anyway, what would you guys recommend?

3.) How much room would I have left on my SSD for games after the OS is installed? I'll play games like Skyrim, Xcom, Borderlands 2, Assassins Creed and maybe like, 6 more.. Or should I get a 256GB SSD just to be safe?

4.) Between these cases which would you recommend? I really like the look of the R4 but I hear that it runs HOT. Would this really damage the components inside? The Phantom looks cool too but what annoys me is the lack of dust filters. Has anyone had experience with either case?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[excella1221]

The motherboard's fine. It's great actually. It has more features than its ASUS and Gigabyte counterparts. Issues are most of the time just hit and miss.

RAM is okay.

Use the SSD for your favorite games, and add an HDD for storage. 128gb would be fine.

The PSU is kinda bad. Please look for another preferably from Antec, Corsair, Rosewill, Seasonic, or XFX.

I'll go with the Fractal.

 

[zared619]

+1 to excella.

For a couple of suggestions for a GPU, I will give you three recommendations all at different price categories.

MSI 7770 GHz Edition- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-radeon-hd-7770-4500mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-640-cores-1-x-displayport-1-x-dvi-1-x-hdmi

MSI 7850- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-twin-frozr-iii-oc-4800mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-900mhz-dl-dvi-hdmi-mdp

Asus 670- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-670-directcu-ii-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-915mhz-boost-980mhz-cores-1344-2xd

 

[Pmckenna]

Hi excella,

Glad to hear you think the asrock is good but what about it compared to the Asus:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Motherboard-PCI-Express-CrossFireX-Intelligent/dp/B007KZQEGC/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1349626735&sr=1-1

It's got a wifi dongle with it, so unless it's useless I think it's a good deal.

RAMs just okay? If there's much better around the £40-45 mark I'd like to know.

How's this for a PSU?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-600CXV2UK-Builder-Series-Supply/dp/B0050AFU46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349627453&sr=8-1

Thanks mate.

 

[Pmckenna]

+1 to excella.

For a couple of suggestions for a GPU, I will give you three recommendations all at different price categories.

MSI 7770 GHz Edition- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-radeon-hd-7770-4500mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-640-cores-1-x-displayport-1-x-dvi-1-x-hdmi

MSI 7850- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-twin-frozr-iii-oc-4800mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-900mhz-dl-dvi-hdmi-mdp

Asus 670- http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-asus-gtx-670-directcu-ii-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-915mhz-boost-980mhz-cores-1344-2xd

Thanks Zared

I'll most likely go for a nvidia card. That physx is purdy! What do you think about the gtx 660 ti?

Also I'll be playing at 1080p.

 

[zared619]

The 660ti is kind all by itself in terms of pricing. It is sitting around £240. The 7950 is close coming in at £260. I like Nvidia believe me, but I think that the 7950 is worth it. Look at these benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-9.html

In almost all games, the 7950 outperforms the 660ti, with the exception of BF3.

 

[Pmckenna]

It's definitely the better card but I really am a sucker for physx
Ill just wait till the end of the month and get a gtx 670 maybe.. Also what do you think of the rest of the build?

 

[zared619]

It is a great build with the exception of the PSU. I would get one of the brands that excella recommended. If you plan on going SLI, get a 750 watt PSU. If not, just get a 500 watt.

 

[geofelt]

To answer your questions:

1) Any product can fail. I would not be overly concerned about that. A motherboard that has been out for a while and has more reviews is likely to be a better bet. It will come with updated bios fixes to the inevitable small errors that always seem to happen.
Really, any with a Z77 based chipset will work for you. Buy your favorite brand.

2) The ram kit is fine. But it has tall heat spreaders which can interfere with some aftermarket coolers.
I would suggest a low profile version instead.

3) For a long time, I used a 120gb ssd as my only drive(111gb useable) It held the os and perhaps half a dozen games.
I have since gone to 180gb.
Considering what you will put on it, I suggest a 180gb or 240gb ssd instead. A larger ssd will perform a bit better. A SSD will slow down as it approaches full. Samsung830 or Intel 330 are the best for quality today.

4) Cases are a personal thing. Most will do the job. I have no personal experience with either.
If a case has two 120mm intake fans or equivalent in output, it will have adequate cooling. With today's22nm cpu's and 28nm based graphics cards, cooling really is no longer an issue. A cpu or graphics card will downclock itself to protect from damage if it gets too hot. Yes, I value a washable dust filter for a case. If "bling" is not important, look at the Antec 100/200/300 series cases. Good quality and not expensive.

Added thoughts:

5) Add a aftermarket cooler. It will run quieter and allow a better oc for your cpu. A $30 cooler like the cm hyper 212 will do the job. With the backplate mount, it will be easier than the stock Intel cooler.

6) OCZ seems to have iffy quality, depending on the particular model. It would be safer, and no more expensive to buy a tier 1 or 2 unit from this list. 600w is a good size.
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

7) For gpu selection, my rule of thumb for a balanced gaming rig is to budget twice your cpu cost for the graphics card. That would be about a GTX670 or the comparable performing 7970. GTX660ti is almost as good.

8)

 

[Pmckenna]

It is a great build with the exception of the PSU. I would get one of the brands that excella recommended. If you plan on going SLI, get a 750 watt PSU. If not, just get a 500 watt.

Thanks zared, and what did you think of the MOBO, ram, and that corsair PSU I linked?? Sorry for pressing you mate it's just I really don't want to be wasting any cash on poor parts

 

[Pmckenna]

To answer your questions:

1) Any product can fail. I would not be overly concerned about that. A motherboard that has been out for a while and has more reviews is likely to be a better bet. It will come with updated bios fixes to the inevitable small errors that always seem to happen.
Really, any with a Z77 based chipset will work for you. Buy your favorite brand.

2) The ram kit is fine. But it has tall heat spreaders which can interfere with some aftermarket coolers.
I would suggest a low profile version instead.

3) For a long time, I used a 120gb ssd as my only drive(111gb useable) It held the os and perhaps half a dozen games.
I have since gone to 180gb.
Considering what you will put on it, I suggest a 180gb or 240gb ssd instead. A larger ssd will perform a bit better. A SSD will slow down as it approaches full. Samsung830 or Intel 330 are the best for quality today.

4) Cases are a personal thing. Most will do the job. I have no personal experience with either.
If a case has two 120mm intake fans or equivalent in output, it will have adequate cooling. With today's22nm cpu's and 28nm based graphics cards, cooling really is no longer an issue. A cpu or graphics card will downclock itself to protect from damage if it gets too hot. Yes, I value a washable dust filter for a case. If "bling" is not important, look at the Antec 100/200/300 series cases. Good quality and not expensive.

Added thoughts:

5) Add a aftermarket cooler. It will run quieter and allow a better oc for your cpu. A $30 cooler like the cm hyper 212 will do the job. With the backplate mount, it will be easier than the stock Intel cooler.

6) OCZ seems to have iffy quality, depending on the particular model. It would be safer, and no more expensive to buy a tier 1 or 2 unit from this list. 600w is a good size.
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

7) For gpu selection, my rule of thumb for a balanced gaming rig is to budget twice your cpu cost for the graphics card. That would be about a GTX670 or the comparable performing 7970. GTX660ti is almost as good.

8)

Big thanks for the informative post geofelt!! Really helped

Gotta ask though, I don't wanna take the chance of the heat spreaders getting in the way of a cooler. So what low profile RAM would you suggest? Also do the heat spreaders actually work or are they just for show?

Thanks again.

 

[zared619]

The heat spreaders are more or less for show, unless you overclock your RAM, which not alot of people do. For low-profile RAM try these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233335&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

The motherboard you linked is probably a little better than the Extreme4. It has some more features.
The PSU will be more than enough, but if you plan to add another graphics card, you will need a bigger PSU. If not, you will be in great shape though.

 

[geofelt]

Big thanks for the informative post geofelt!! Really helped

Gotta ask though, I don't wanna take the chance of the heat spreaders getting in the way of a cooler. So what low profile RAM would you suggest? Also do the heat spreaders actually work or are they just for show?

Thanks again.

Heat spreaders are not even necessary for 1.5v ram. If ram is highly overclocked, then maybe.
Also, sandy and ivy bridge cpu's are not very sensitive to ram speeds.

For instance this 1333 ram would do entirely well for $34:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

Or this 1600 ram with low profile heat spreaders @$39 for not much more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544

 

[Pmckenna]

The heat spreaders are more or less for show, unless you overclock your RAM, which not alot of people do. For low-profile RAM try these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233335&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

The motherboard you linked is probably a little better than the Extreme4. It has some more features.
The PSU will be more than enough, but if you plan to add another graphics card, you will need a bigger PSU. If not, you will be in great shape though.

Ok, educate me here. I take it the lower Timing and Cas latency means the G.SKILL is the better of the two?

About a bigger PSU. Say I was going to use a dedicated GPU for physx. Would that card need as much power as if I was using it in SLI? If that makes sense?

 

[Pmckenna]

Heat spreaders are not even necessary for 1.5v ram. If ram is highly overclocked, then maybe.
Also, sandy and ivy bridge cpu's are not very sensitive to ram speeds.

For instance this 1333 ram would do entirely well for $34:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

Or this 1600 ram with low profile heat spreaders @$39 for not much more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544

All right, so 1600 ram is better than 1333 ram? And the lower the Timing and Cas latency the better?

 

[geofelt]

Ok, educate me here. I take it the lower Timing and Cas latency means the G.SKILL is the better of the two?

About a bigger PSU. Say I was going to use a dedicated GPU for physx. Would that card need as much power as if I was using it in SLI? If that makes sense?

Lower timings and faster speeds are better, but not my much.
Here is a good read on that. It applies to ivy bridge also since they share the same memory controller.
Benchmarks show a big difference, but the errect on real app performance or fps is perhaps 1%
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

I am no expert on physx, but it is my understanding that only a minimum number of processing cores is needed. 32, I think and so a inexpensive GT610 with 48 will do the job. Do some research there.

How much extra psu power you need will depend on the extra graphics card you install.
A pcie slot will deliver up to 75w to an installed graphics card.
If the card needs a 6 pin connector, add 75w, and if it needs a 8 pin connector, add 150w.
In practice, the draw will be less.

 

[DarkSable]

All right, so 1600 ram is better than 1333 ram? And the lower the Timing and Cas latency the better?

Exactly. As for your GPU, I advise you wait and get the 670; the 660ti is neutered by lack of memory bandwidth.

 

[excella1221]

Hi excella,

Glad to hear you think the asrock is good but what about it compared to the Asus:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Motherboard-PCI-Express-CrossFireX-Intelligent/dp/B007KZQEGC/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1349626735&sr=1-1

It's got a wifi dongle with it, so unless it's useless I think it's a good deal.

RAMs just okay? If there's much better around the £40-45 mark I'd like to know.

How's this for a PSU?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-600CXV2UK-Builder-Series-Supply/dp/B0050AFU46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349627453&sr=8-1

Thanks mate.

The deciding factor of the integrated Wireless LAN is within the end user. If you need it, go get it. It sounds like you're paying alot for it though, I would just get a discrete one when I find the need to.

By okay, I mean it's great. I usually just recommend G.Skill RAMs 'cause they're cheaper and I personally use them too so I know they're good quality (Sniper Low Voltage).
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-lp-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004I763AW/?tag=pcp0f-21
http://www.cclonline.com/product/82998/F3-1600C9D-8GAO/Desktop-Memory/G-Skill-8GB-ARES-1600MHz-DDR3-Memory-Kit/RAM0588/?siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-mDGQSTgzBY9YOKHf35XMKA

PSU is great. I would get 750w if you're planning on CF/SLI in the future.

Anymore questions, please feel free to ask!

 

[Pmckenna]

The deciding factor of the integrated Wireless LAN is within the end user. If you need it, go get it. It sounds like you're paying alot for it though, I would just get a discrete one when I find the need to.

By okay, I mean it's great. I usually just recommend G.Skill RAMs 'cause they're cheaper and I personally use them too so I know they're good quality (Sniper Low Voltage).
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-lp-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004I763AW/?tag=pcp0f-21
http://www.cclonline.com/product/82998/F3-1600C9D-8GAO/Desktop-Memory/G-Skill-8GB-ARES-1600MHz-DDR3-Memory-Kit/RAM0588/?siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-mDGQSTgzBY9YOKHf35XMKA

PSU is great. I would get 750w if you're planning on CF/SLI in the future.

Anymore questions, please feel free to ask!

Great, thats what I wanted to hear! I think I've decided on the RAM,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00569K7LM/ref=gno_cart_title_2. --- I take it the only difference between this and the one I mentioned earlier, is no heat spreaders?

Ok, so the ASUS MOBO isn't worth it for what you get? The main attraction for me was the wireless LAN, which I will need. I'm starting to look at USB wireless LAN adapters now, their cheap but they might do the job. Any experience with them?

I've thought about it for a while and decided that sli might not be worth it. A lot of talk of micro stuttering and a single high end GPU is probably the best bet. So a 600w is enough for a single GPU whilst overclocking?? Also will it be worth the money getting a corsair TX series PSU instead? Like this..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-650TXV2UK-Enthusiast-Series-Performance/dp/B004O0P9TO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349726433&sr=8-4

Thanks again lads

 

[geofelt]

Great, thats what I wanted to hear! I think I've decided on the RAM,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00569K7LM/ref=gno_cart_title_2. --- I take it the only difference between this and the one I mentioned earlier, is no heat spreaders?

Ok, so the ASUS MOBO isn't worth it for what you get? The main attraction for me was the wireless LAN, which I will need. I'm starting to look at USB wireless LAN adapters now, their cheap but they might do the job. Any experience with them?

I've thought about it for a while and decided that sli might not be worth it. A lot of talk of micro stuttering and a single high end GPU is probably the best bet. So a 600w is enough for a single GPU whilst overclocking?? Also will it be worth the money getting a corsair TX series PSU instead? Like this..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-650TXV2UK-Enthusiast-Series-Performance/dp/B004O0P9TO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349726433&sr=8-4

Thanks again lads

As I understand it, if you need wireless, it is better to use an add-in pci or pci-e card with a good antenna. USB types do not have good signal strength.

 

[dwaight]

î would switch the mobo to an MSI GD65 Z77.
do not worry about you're first build, everyone has made there first build i guess ^^
its just like making a puzzle in my eyes.

good luck with the build.

 

[Pmckenna]

î would switch the mobo to an MSI GD65 Z77.
do not worry about you're first build, everyone has made there first build i guess ^^
its just like making a puzzle in my eyes.

good luck with the build.

Come on! :lol: that's £30 more expensive! Is it really that much better than an extreme 4?? Cause if it is, I'll probably buy buy it, it looks class

I'm guessing everyone's build goes over budget, right?

 

[DarkSable]

Everyone's build goes over budget. Mine ended being 50% more expensive than I had planned, and then I bought a new monitor.

 

[Pmckenna]

Worth it though, amirite??

 

[dwaight]

Come on! :lol: that's £30 more expensive! Is it really that much better than an extreme 4?? Cause if it is, I'll probably buy buy it, it looks class

I'm guessing everyone's build goes over budget, right?

yes you're right most of the times is it. ( also happend to me ^^ )
Mine is about 1500-ISH.

and i would go for the GTX670 AMP! Nor EVGA GTX670 FTW.

just my opinion.