New Budget Build Help

[Sret43rg]

Hello i am going to be building my first pc very soon and these are the parts i have chosen to go with:

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K @ 3.4GHz
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB 2x4GB 1600MHz
GPU: XFX Double D Radeon HD 7950 3GB
HDD: Western Digital Cavier Blue 500GB
PSU: Silverstone ST50F-ES 500W PSU
Optical Drive: LiteOn IHAS124-19C

Thoughts on this budget gaming build? Any improvements for around the same price?

Thanks in advance.

 

[g-unit1111]

The case, RAM, and PSU should all be switched out. For a cheap case - either go with a HAF 912 or Antec One. If you want to spend a bit more the Fractal Design Arc MIDI and Corsair 300R are excellent choices.

For PSU get a Corsair or Seasonic. For RAM - get G.Skill Ares or Mushkin Blackline.

If you post your budget I can suggest a better system.

 

[Sret43rg]

I live in the UK and my budget is around £600-£650 pounds, if you could could you please use amazon.co.uk scan.co.uk or cclonline.com prices please, also could you try to include the 7950 in the build, thanks so much in advance!

 

[g-unit1111]

I live in the UK and my budget is around £600-£650 pounds, if you could could you please use amazon.co.uk scan.co.uk or cclonline.com prices please, also could you try to include the 7950 in the build, thanks so much in advance!

On that budget it might be tricky to include a 7950 and not have to cut corners. If you want to increase your budget to £700 that would definitely work. Maybe try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.38 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£72.11 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£40.03 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.00 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card (£215.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.69 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£70.15 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£14.99 @ Novatech)
Total: £676.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-08 18:30 GMT+0000)

 

[GreedFusion]

^ his build looks fine for your budget.

 

[Sret43rg]

Over budget :/ could you try make it any cheaper?

Here is what i am thinking of:
http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/mXci

How is it?

 

[g-unit1111]

Over budget :/ could you try make it any cheaper?

Here is what i am thinking of:
http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/mXci

How is it?

That's not bad - I'd get the NZXT Source 210 instead of the Elite 430 and otherwise everything else looks fine.

 

[GreedFusion]

you know I've heard the FX-4100 is only ~10% slower than the i5 3570k in game, and it's like 100$ cheaper, however many pounds that is.

 

[Sret43rg]

Do i need to buy fans for the case? because it doesn't come with any :/

 

[GreedFusion]

if it doesn't come with any fans are pretty cheap. 2 120mm fans would be like, idunno, 10 pounds? not really sure how that translates, but a normal 120mm fan is like 8-10 USD here.

 

[g-unit1111]

you know I've heard the FX-4100 is only ~10% slower than the i5 3570k in game, and it's like 100$ cheaper, however many pounds that is.

Not true at all. The only AMD CPU in the sub-£130 range that's worth anything is the FX-6300. The FX-4300 is decent but it's in no way shape or form able to compete with the 3570K.

Do i need to buy fans for the case? because it doesn't come with any :

Wait until you get your build setup before spending money on fans - you can only buy as many fans as your case has mounts for and size and positioning is important.

 

[Sret43rg]

So i will be able to operate the machine without any fans? Also why did you suggest the NZXT Source 210 over the Cooler Master? is the cooler master bad or something?

 

[GreedFusion]

the CM HAF 912 is a great case.

 

[bliq]

The case, RAM, and PSU should all be switched out. For a cheap case - either go with a HAF 912 or Antec One. If you want to spend a bit more the Fractal Design Arc MIDI and Corsair 300R are excellent choices.

For PSU get a Corsair or Seasonic. For RAM - get G.Skill Ares or Mushkin Blackline.

If you post your budget I can suggest a better system.

why? All of those items in the original build are first tier companies. The only reason I could think of is you could get better pricing. But the 912 is more expensive. (Note I think the Elite 430 is mATX, is that mobo mATX?). That RAM and that PSU are also top notch parts from top notch companies too.

 

[Sret43rg]

bliq, so the original build was completely fine? the only thing i am worried about in the first build is the Silverstone PSU which doesn't have many reviews and it seems a bit cheap...

 

[GreedFusion]

you could just get whatever pats you want and a really low end gpu like a 6670 then upgrade later to the 7950/70

 

[g-unit1111]

why? All of those items in the original build are first tier companies. The only reason I could think of is you could get better pricing. But the 912 is more expensive. (Note I think the Elite 430 is mATX, is that mobo mATX?). That RAM and that PSU are also top notch parts from top notch companies too.

I've used the Elite 430 on builds - it's about as basic of a case as you can get. So is the Source 210 but it has better cable management and air flow. XMS RAM is just nothing compared to G.Skill Ares or Crucial Ballistix. If you get Corsair RAM the best would be low profile Vengeance or nothing else really.

 

[Sret43rg]

g-unit1111, would this ram be better than both XMS and Vengeance RAM? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-Ballistix-BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU-DDR3-Memory/dp/B006YG94Y2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352410407&sr=8-1 It has really good reviews and is priced right in between the two

 

[bliq]

bliq, so the original build was completely fine? the only thing i am worried about in the first build is the Silverstone PSU which doesn't have many reviews and it seems a bit cheap...

So the thing with PSUs is that you have to find out who REALLY made it. Silverstone has a stellar reputation so it would be hard to believe they would choose a sucky OEM. They might even make their own PSU's. for the case, I'm a fan of simplicity. I don't care about windows and all that stuff anymore so cable management boils down to can I get enough airflow and if I have a cable bundle running down the middle of the inside of my case, does it really impede airflow? I tend to think that the effect is negligible. g-unit says Corsair XMS is not as good. Maybe they can elaborate on why. But I've never had a bad experience with XMS, but I've never had bad experience with any premium RAM either, just the generic stuff.

 

[Sret43rg]

bliq, which case would you suggest to me for around £30-£45 using amazon.co.uk or scan.co.uk? thanks for the great answer btw

 

[bliq]

I personally love the looks of the Elite 430. But I'm also a fan of the simplicity of Fractal Design Core 1000 and the very similar looking Antec One case. Antec 300 has been used by Tom's in several of their $500 builds. I personally have been using an Antec 900 for several years- not the best design in hindsight but it's been fine. BitFenix also has the Outlaw which seems nice. BTW, the HAF series like the 912 are FANTASTIC cases- I'm not steering you away from them. they're just a little higher up the price ladder.

I'm partial to those cases with a bottom mounted PSU since it makes them less tippy but it also makes it easier to accidentally drop a screw or something into it so be careful. Some things to think about- make sure there's enough clearance for the GPU to not interfere with or block some drive bays. Also some of the cases are mATX, like the Elite 430. that might play a factor.