Comments & Motherboard Suggestions Please

[JakeEng]

My previous computer died on me so i decided to have a go at building my own which i want in preparation for Rome Total War 2 but also playing on other current games. Ive been looking at hardware for the past 2 weeks trying to decide what to choose here's what Ive got so far:

Motherboard - "Suggestions Please"
CPU - 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5 3570 3.40GHz Socket LGA1155
GPU - SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 7850 1024MB GDDR5
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 500GB 16MB Cache Hard Drive SATA 6GB/s 8.5ms 7200rpm – OEM
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Power supply - PowerStation Gaming 500W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply
DVD Drive - Samsung S222A 22x DVD+/-RW IDE Black - OEM
Case - Sharkoon T9 Value Gaming Case Black with Red LED Fans
Cooler - Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler - £17.99

This build costs around £550 without a motherboard, need general comments about it so far and any suggests for a motherboard under £90, any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[bigcyco1]

It looks good except if your not planing to overclock no need for cpu cooler and 15-3570 is not for overclocking.The power supply is a no go here change these things and your good to go. OVERCLOCKING

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£169.20 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£26.65 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£93.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £339.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 02:39 GMT+0000) PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

NOT OVERCLOCKING

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£144.05 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£85.44 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £279.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 02:46 GMT+0000)

 

[JakeEng]

Thanks a lot for the reply and advice, so if i don't intend to overclock it there is no need for a CPU cooler? Ive noticed you've changed the CPU in the NOT OVERCLOCKING part, is there any particular reason? just interested.

Are there any motherboards on the novatech website you would suggest? Just because there is one down the road from me.

Thanks

 

[bigcyco1]

Hi yes that's correct you don't need a aftermarket cpu cooler. If not overclocking because the stock one which comes with your cpu will work fine.As for motherboard i try i couldn't find any good on that site sorry.I changed the cpu to save you money you can switch it back if you prefer.

 

[JakeEng]

Ok thanks i will switch to the cpu you suggested. Is the MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 no good?

 

[samuelspark]

That motherboard will be ok.

 

[bigcyco1]

http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/overclockerscouk/asrock-motherboard-h77m
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/dabs/asus-motherboard-p8h77v

 

[bigcyco1]

Ok thanks i will switch to the cpu you suggested. Is the MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 no good?

Yes that is fine.

 

[DarkSable]

Ok thanks i will switch to the cpu you suggested. Is the MSI Z77A-G45 Intel Z77 no good?

Only if you plan on getting the 3570K and overclocking. If not, save yourself some money and get an h77 chipset motherboard.

Also, pay attention to what bigcyco changed in both builds... the power supply. The one you have in your OP is extremely, extremely bad.

 

[JakeEng]

Ye Ive changed the power supply to XFX ProSeries 550W Core Edition Power Supply - 80 PLUS Bronze Certified

Whats the GIGABYTE GA-H77M-D3H Intel H77 like?

 

[DarkSable]

Okay, just making sure. Don't want your computer blowing up in your face.

I have the z77 chipset version of that motherboard, and absolutely love it - though mostly due to it's overclocking ability. I've heard good things about the h77 board too, though.

 

[bigcyco1]

Yeah it would be o.k. if you prefer mirco ATX

 

[bigcyco1]

I guess we should explain what a Mirco ATX mobo is or do you know ?

 

[JakeEng]

I think i know is it for smaller cases? and i didn't realise that motherboard was micro ATX

 

[bigcyco1]

Small-form factor motherboards, such as microATX and Mini-ITX boards can often be cheaper than full-feature ATX models with the same chipset. Meanwhile, compatible cases are not as expensive as you might think.

Using a smaller board inside a standard ATX case can also make for a simpler, cooler running and easier to manage setup. All of which just leaves the minor matters of performance and features. Surely there must be downsides to downsizing?

Perhaps, but the drawbacks may be less acute than you imagine. The big issue here is increased feature integration in the latest CPUs. Put simply, with more and more features from memory controllers to graphics cores being integrated into the CPU, motherboards are becoming gradually less critical to performance.

Every feature that moves onto the processor is one less component on the motherboard, freeing up space and reducing complexity and cost. In other words, squeezing a full feature set into smaller boards is only getting easier.

Of course, there are limits. Mini-ITX motherboards, in particular, tend to be thin on features and expansion options. Multi-card graphics solutions, for instance, are not an option. There are also question marks regarding outright performance and overclocking headroom.

Smaller motherboard dimensions give the manufacturer's engineers fewer options in terms of electrical layout and in turn current management and signal integrity. Ultimately, a full ATX board is always going to be the best option for any self-respecting extreme overclocking enthusiast and absolute performance nutcase.


For the record, the ATX standard officially measures 305mm by 244mm while the larger extended ATX or EATX form factor weighs in at 305mm by 330mm. The two most common SFF sizes are microATX and Mini-ITX. Standard MicroATX boards are 244mm by 244mm but can be as small as 171mm by 171mm.