Sabertooth or Bundle Build?

[mikemhz]

Option 1:

Scan.co.uk Overclocked Bundle

CPU: i5 3570K @ 4.3GHz
RAM: 16GB DDR3
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

Pros: Comes overclocked and with a 600W PSU to replace my current 500W PSU.
Cons: No Sabertooth MB. Must use my old HDDs which means pulling them out of the old PC.

Option 2:

Scan.co.uk Today Only Deal

CPU: i5 3570K @ Stock
RAM: 16GB DDR3
MB: Asus P8Z77-V LX

Pros: Comes with a 3TB HDD and is £50 cheaper than the Overclocked Bundle.
Cons: No Sabertooth MB. Must use my old 500W PSU which means pulling it out of the old PC. Must buy new CPU cooler and PSU if I want to overclock in future.

Option 3:

My Custom Build:

CPU: i5 2500K @ Stock
RAM: 16GB DDR3
MB: Asus Sabertooth Z77

Pros: Sabertooth MB for overall better features and stability as well as future overclocking potential.
Cons: Must use my old HDDs and 500W PSU which means pulling it out of the old PC. Must buy new CPU cooler and PSU if I want to overclock in future.

All of these will be purchased alongside 2x128GB SSDs with a CoolerMaster HAF XB case.
They all come to an average price of £675.

 

[mikemhz]

Mouse is hovering over the buy button (overclocked bundle)... please advise.

 

[jonjonjon]

do you need the 16GB of ram for anything. is this for gaming? do you have a video card?

 

[mikemhz]

Not really, no. Probably going for 8GB now. Save 30 quid.

Yes, I have an XFX Radeon 7870 Core Edition.

 

[jonjonjon]

are you planning on using the 2 ssd's in raid? with the speed of ssd's its easier to get a single 256GB.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£74.39 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£30.60 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£124.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£89.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Total: £558.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-05 18:30 GMT+0000)

 

[mikemhz]

Yeah, in RAID0. I love RAID0. I'll be playing a lot of DayZ and the ArmA 2 engine is especially heavy on HDD and CPU for huge maps, draw distance and AI.

Thanks for that list... Should shave off some bucks for the sound system.

I'm hesitant to try overclocking myself tho. Never done it before because my motherboard+CPU combo doesn't support it.

 

[jonjonjon]

with the speed of ssd's you probably wont notice the speed difference. you also get double the chance of it failing. i would get whatever is cheaper and if they are the same price i would get the single drive.

you can pretty much change the multiplier to 42 and get a 4.2GHz overclock. anything above usually needs more settings. here a guide showing how to do it on gigabyte z77 boards.
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48359-ivy-bridge-overclocking-guide-extreme-ln2-section-guide-included.html