Help with Gaming Build

[Sret43rg]

Hello all i am going to be building a new computer soon and here is what im buying for the system, my budget is around £600-£660 MAX.

Case: Zalman Z9 Plus (£44.99)
CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 (£143.38)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H (£77.69)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB 1600MHz (£28.50)
HDD: Western Digital Cavier Blue 500GB (£46.64)
GPU: XFX Double D Radeon HD 7950 3GB (£219.35)
PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO550W (£49.99)
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD Writer 22x (£11.96)

Total: £622.50

I am going to be gaming only, at 1080p, will a 7950 be overkill and would a 7870 be sufficient? Also, would it be more future proof to buy an i5-3570K, feel free to make any suggestions or a completely new build if you want to, nothing needed apart from desktop. As i have already said, my budget is £660 MAX

Thanks in advance.

 

[generalissimo]

I would suggest getting the 7870 and upgrading the power supply.

 

[cutebeans]

how many topics are you planning to make on your build damn.

 

[Sret43rg]

As many as it takes to get my final build, every single thread gets like 2 answers and no one else replys... generalissimo, is an 7870 enough for gaming at 1080p on games like Battlefield 3 at Ultra settings multiplayer? or is that too much for it?

 

[mrdowntownkiller]

this is a great psu personally i have it don't change it unless you go for a modular one.
the 7870 is a good card @1080p gaming in most of the games , if you planning to play bf3 i suggest to go with the gtx 660 non ti specially with the physx support.

 

[Sret43rg]

mrdowntownkiller, would the 7870 be enough for BF3 ultra settings multiplayer? or would i need a 7950 in order to do that?

 

[mrdowntownkiller]

7870 is enough for ultra , i tested my 3 current systems on bf3
- my gtx 670 was the best then came my gtx 660 non ti and the 7870 was under them but it still good card.

 

[Sret43rg]

Even multiplayer 64 players on ultra will be fine? wow it seems like i have underestimated the power of the 7870 xD

 

[mrdowntownkiller]

the multiplayer is more based on the cpu not the gpu and any i5 will not bottleneck bf3 even with 500 player on the server , and still recommend to buy the gtx 660 instead of the 7870

 

[Sret43rg]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next few weeks

Budget Range: £600-£670

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, gaming, gaming and more gaming.

Are you buying a monitor: Already have one

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: amazon.co.uk scan.co.uk and cclonline.com

Location: Leeds, England, UK

Parts Preferences: None, don't really care

Overclocking: Maybe in the future

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: Single monitor 1920x1080

Additional Comments: So basically all i need is the desktop, i will be using it for gaming only on a single screen at 1920x1080 so if you could suggest me a build that supprts SLI/CrossFire that would be good just in case i want to SLI/CrossFire in the future.

Thanks in advance.

 

[malbluff]

Here you go
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.16 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.88 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£95.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£30.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card (£180.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case (£34.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£77.70 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer (£13.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £668.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-18 00:25 GMT+0000)

Mobo and power supply will support crossfire, although c/f is rarely the best option, unless to support multiple monitors.

 

[g-unit1111]

Here you go:

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 (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£39.28 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.00 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (£169.99 @ Overclockers.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: £627.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-18 00:28 GMT+0000)

 

[Sret43rg]

Here you go
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.16 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.88 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£95.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£30.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card (£180.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case (£34.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£77.70 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer (£13.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £668.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-18 00:25 GMT+0000)

Waow, that is like my dream build man, the only changes i am thinking of making is getting Crucial Ballistix RAM instead of the Corsair RAM because it is cheaper, by the way, does that case have good airflow and will it fit everything inside it?

 

[Sret43rg]

I think im going with an i5-3570K+7950 3GB but not buy a cooler yet until i have the money, will i be able to overclock with the stock cooler?

 

[mrdowntownkiller]

no it will not be a smart step , you can jump to a higher ghz from the boost but not overclock.

 

[Sret43rg]

So get i5-3570K+7950 3GB and don't overclock until i can afford a half decent cooler?

 

[Mousemonkey]

This next topics has been merged by Mousemonkey
■ Gaming Build Suggestions

 

[Sret43rg]

Another question, is this 7870 any good for overclocking? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7870-overclocked-28nm-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-1050mhz-1280-cores-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-mdp does it have the reference cooling or is it custom? because it's the cheapest 7870 i could find and it looks pretty decent for overclocking.

 

[ZephyrBit]

Ive got it, and its perfect.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138352
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Why is it perfect ?
Its perfect for Bang for Buck Gaming (BFB)
The radeon 7870 is excellent and boasts an Average FPS of 62 on High settings and 1080p.
CoolerMasters Haf 912 is another example of BFB with up to 6 120mm fans and a badass design.
The Biostar motherboard is fully equipped with a Z77 chipset to power the Beast of an i5-2500k, 2x SATA 6gb/s,4x USB 2.0, 2x 3,0, and Fully Capable CrossfireX support.
The Intel Core i5 2500k is Easily the best BFB Intel Processor out there with 3.3ghz Stock and a 3.7 Turbo Boost this CPU is Beast with sandy bridge running the processor and can be EASILY overclocked stable at 4.0ghz or if thats not enough 4.5ghz is an option with better cooling.
GSkill Ripjaws is a trusted, and reliable brand for your 8 gigs of memory (2x4gb) running at 1600mhz. Another BFB.
The CoolerMaster HYPER 212 EVO is a popular choice among stable and efficient overclockers. A brief example of its cooling potential is its ability to tame the i5 2500k at 60ºc (Very Safe if you do not know) 4.5ghz.
The Hard drive is 1tb of seagate drive running at speeds of 7200Rpm for only 49.99, this is a steal.
All of these excellent components are powered by a 500w Corsair CX500 Power Supply pulling efficient energy out of your home with a 80+ Bronze Certified PSU.