New build advice

[Sabian92]

Hey, first post!

I'm looking to build my first PC in the next few months or so - I have built before but with somebody watching over me. I want to build a tank of a gaming PC, and I was feeling a bit lost. It'll be used for general day to day stuff but I am into gaming, music production with Logic, HD video editing/rendering, that sort of thing.

I know what I want from it but I'm not sure on what fits with what component wise. I'm looking at just seeing what it costs at the moment then seeing where I can save money.

So far I've got the following:

Zalman Z9 (Case) - £50
Asus Rampage IV (Motherboard) - £335
Corsair Vengence 8GB 1600MHz Sticks (RAM) - £38.99 (I'll probably end up with 6/8 sticks of that eventually as the motherboard has 8 slots, but for now 8GB is enough)
Intel Core i7-3930K (Processor) - £448.50
Scythe GT 120mm (Fans) - £15 (I'm probably getting 5 of these so £75)

The rest of the components are open. I have no clue about graphics cards (although I do know I'll probably be spending £150 or so one) and wireless cards. I'm probably going to have an SSD for my OS (Windows 7 Ultimate to take advantage of all that shiny RAM ) and a 1TB 7200rpm hard disc for general storage.

I'm also looking at a 21"+ screen with an HD input too.

Thanks for your help!

 

[TimeLass]

Overkill on the CPU and MB...i7-3770K will do really really fine for your needs... Get asrock Z77 extreme4 for MB...you can save plenty of money by doing so and spend more on GPU since you are going to game on it...

 

[Agonyworm]

I'd suggest getting a Zalman Z11 case, it's £1 more expensive and in my opinion looks a lot nice and (I think) has more fans than the Z9.

I do agree that the CPU is overkill.

 

[TimeLass]

Go for core i7 CPU is a wiser choice... the Hyper-Threading and Quick Sync ability will definitely help up with task like video rendering/encoding etc... and a 4GB GTX 670 will be a good choice too...

 

[TimeLass]

hat intel xeon is same as 3770 only 100MHz slower clock speed. And it is HT cpu (Hyper-Trading) , Only thing is missing is integrated video chip. (that you do not need)
It cant be overclok so good like 3770K CPU. But it is cheap choice.
It is i7 for price of i5. Best bang for $ , with that CPU good MoBo is B-75 or H-77 mATX (cheap)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.microcenter.com/product/400271/Xeon_E3_1230V2_33GHz_LGA_1155_Boxed_Processor

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637e31230v2
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E3-1230+V2+%40+3.30GHz

3770: http://ark.intel.com/products/65719/
1230V2: http://ark.intel.com/products/65732/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1230V2-8M-Cache-3_30-GHz
3770K: http://ark.intel.com/products/65523

you missed out the Quick Sync ability offered by the core i7 CPU... if you're into video rendering/editing/encoding stuffs the Quick Sync ability will definitely help up a lot... you can go i7-3770 with an B75/H77 MB if you're not going to OC...

 

[Sabian92]

Overkill on the CPU and MB...i7-3770K will do really really fine for your needs... Get asrock Z77 extreme4 for MB...you can save plenty of money by doing so and spend more on GPU since you are going to game on it...

I looked at that mobo and I decided it was a good choice. It didn't have support for 64GB of RAM (8x8) but I was probably never going to have that much anyway. 32GB is still a hell of a lot of RAM. It's over £200 cheaper as well so that's good too. Would that support the Corsair Vengence 8GB sticks I specced? I couldn't find it anywhere online.

I'd suggest getting a Zalman Z11 case, it's £1 more expensive and in my opinion looks a lot nice and (I think) has more fans than the Z9.

I do agree that the CPU is overkill.

It's the same amount of fans (7) but it does look nicer, especially the window. I may actually have an incentive to do some serious cabling management if I can constantly see how awful it is I am torn between that and the Fractal Define R4 w/Window. Would I be able to rip out the existing fans and replace them with ones I've bought? I've specced some pretty serious fans (Scythe GT 120mm 5400RPM) to keep it all cool and I'd rather be able to fit them to all the vents rather than just ones they've left free.

This is good build for you.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FDKF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FDKF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FDKF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($90.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.59 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Sandisk 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1558.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-24 08:57 EST-0500)

Good (better) MoBo maybe this: It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on.
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4166#sp

For video editing maybe best to take two SSD one for cashing and other to put OS on.
Then Two HDD also because you want to have other HDD where is unedited material and other were you put the edited material.

OCZ vector , Samsung 840 PRO , Intel 520 are good SSD choice. Or maybe a RAID 0 set with two OCZ vector ?

http://www.rwlabs.com/article.php?id=746

No point to begin video editing with no good slow HDD setup.

For Monitor this is good:
http://www.amazon.com/Crossover-27QD-LED-BLADE-Resolution/dp/B00AR8MA9O/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4_3YSX

or some other brands like that:
http://www.amazon.com/YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q271-HDMI-1-4a/dp/B008KWJHV8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_3_3YSX

http://www.amazon.com/Nixeus-Resolution-2560x1440-Monitor-NX-VUE27/dp/B008M08SN6

Thanks for the advice. Looks like a good build - I may use a fair bit of this in my final build - the storage is a bit on the excessive though I may keep the dual SSD set up but change the 2/3TB drives for 1TB drives instead. Realistically I'm never going to have 5 and half terabytes of stuff (well, not in the next 4/5 years when I replace this) so it's money wasted for the time being.

If you really need that then you need a 3570k 3770 3770k or xeon 1245V2
http://ark.intel.com/products/65729/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1245V2-8M-Cache-3_40-GHz

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/processors/why-quicksync-is-intels-secret-weapon-1077916

I am into video rendering (gaming videos plus I'm a vlogger on YouTube) so while it's not a absolute definite must, it is nice to have. If it halves rendering time then great - but I wouldn't pay over the top for it. Does the i7-3770K have QuickSync?

How is this for a build now? It's a little more complete (and a lot more expensive! )

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£255.59 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler (£31.74 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Storage: OCZ Vector Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£185.97 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£90.56 @ Dabs)

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.98 @ Dabs)

Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£20.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Total: £918.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-24 22:24 GMT+0000)

 

[TimeLass]

I looked at that mobo and I decided it was a good choice. It didn't have support for 64GB of RAM (8x8) but I was probably never going to have that much anyway. 32GB is still a hell of a lot of RAM. It's over £200 cheaper as well so that's good too. Would that support the Corsair Vengence 8GB sticks I specced? I couldn't find it anywhere online.



It's the same amount of fans (7) but it does look nicer, especially the window. I may actually have an incentive to do some serious cabling management if I can constantly see how awful it is I am torn between that and the Fractal Define R4 w/Window. Would I be able to rip out the existing fans and replace them with ones I've bought? I've specced some pretty serious fans (Scythe GT 120mm 5400RPM) to keep it all cool and I'd rather be able to fit them to all the vents rather than just ones they've left free.



Thanks for the advice. Looks like a good build - I may use a fair bit of this in my final build - the storage is a bit on the excessive though I may keep the dual SSD set up but change the 2/3TB drives for 1TB drives instead. Realistically I'm never going to have 5 and half terabytes of stuff (well, not in the next 4/5 years when I replace this) so it's money wasted for the time being.




I am into video rendering (gaming videos plus I'm a vlogger on YouTube) so while it's not a absolute definite must, it is nice to have. If it halves rendering time then great - but I wouldn't pay over the top for it. Does the i7-3770K have QuickSync?

How is this for a build now? It's a little more complete (and a lot more expensive! )

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FJxh/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£255.59 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM CPU Cooler (£31.74 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Storage: OCZ Vector Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£185.97 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£90.56 @ Dabs)

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.98 @ Dabs)

Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£20.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Total: £918.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-24 22:24 GMT+0000)

yes i7-3770K have Quick Sync... is better to go for dual channel kit...e.g 2x8GB...
http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz?wapkw=i7-3770k
also... no video card?

 

[Sabian92]

yes i7-3770K have Quick Sync... is better to go for dual channel kit...e.g 2x8GB...
http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz?wapkw=i7-3770k
also... no video card?

Do you mean buy a kit with 2x8gb sticks in rather than 2 kits of 1x8gb sticks?

I left the video card out because I wanted advice on a dual monitor setup. They probably won't be the same size as I specced a 23" monitor and my desk isn't that big

What should I look for?

 

[TimeLass]

Yeap 2x8GB... Hmm how much is your budget for GPU? HD7970/GTX 670/HD 7950/HD 7870 XT will be good...

 

[Sabian92]

Yeap 2x8GB... Hmm how much is your budget for GPU? HD7970/GTX 670/HD 7950/HD 7870 XT will be good...

An, I understand. Any recommended kits?

And a maximum of £220-ish. If it's an amazing card then I can stretch that to maybe £250-280 but preferably £220 is the max. Do I need 2 cards for dual monitor output?

 

[TimeLass]

An, I understand. Any recommended kits?

And a maximum of £220-ish. If it's an amazing card then I can stretch that to maybe £250-280 but preferably £220 is the max. Do I need 2 cards for dual monitor output?

for the memory kits something like this is good enough...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pv316g160c9k

as for the GPU... if you can stretch your budget a little bit than you will be able to get HD 7950...if you don't want tospend more then go for HD 7870 XT which is very good for the price and is more worth it...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/club-3d-video-card-cgax7876xt

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.htm

if you're going to do a lot of video editing/rendering stuffs then you should go for Nvidia because the CUDA cores will definitely help out much with your tasks...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660tidc22gd5l

no you don't need 2 cards for dual monitor setup... you can always CFX your system in the future... if you're planning to do so then you will have to upgrade your PSU to 700+W...

 

[Sabian92]

for the memory kits something like this is good enough...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pv316g160c9k

as for the GPU... if you can stretch your budget a little bit than you will be able to get HD 7950...if you don't want tospend more then go for HD 7870 XT which is very good for the price and is more worth it...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/club-3d-video-card-cgax7876xt

no you don't need 2 cards for dual monitor setup... you can always CFX your system in the future... if you're planning to do so then you will have to upgrade your PSU to 700+W...

I saw this kit as I was googling about:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmx32gx3m4a1600c11

Is that okay? I know it's more expensive but it's less than double the price of the one you recommended for double the RAM.

I may go for the HD 7870 XT instead but i'm not sure yet. The HD 7950 looks pretty good.

Sorry but I don't know what CFX means How would I go about dual-monitoring my setup? Just plug another HDMI cable into my graphics card, then into the monitor?

I know I'm nooby at this, I'm a slow learner!

 

[TimeLass]

i don't think that much of memory is needed TBH... 16GB of ram is already considered as overkill...

CFX = 2x AMD radeon HD graphics card...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_CrossFireX

follow these guides for the setup...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organization/twomonitors.aspx#fbid=478yakVbJtl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhDgQjkX6Nc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPJe5guR78
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20078955-285/how-to-set-up-dual-monitors-in-windows-7/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xTVDbWM-z4
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/list/ten_best_ways_tame_multiple_displays

no you're not... slow or fast, you will still reach the goal in the end right?

 

[Sabian92]

i don't think that much of memory is needed TBH... 16GB of ram is already considered as overkill...

CFX = 2x AMD radeon HD graphics card...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_CrossFireX

follow these guides for the setup...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organization/twomonitors.aspx#fbid=478yakVbJtl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhDgQjkX6Nc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPJe5guR78
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20078955-285/how-to-set-up-dual-monitors-in-windows-7/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xTVDbWM-z4
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/list/ten_best_ways_tame_multiple_displays

no you're not... slow or fast, you will still reach the goal in the end right?

I thought it'd be good to have as i'll be doing a lot of video work/data analysis, plus it's probably cheaper to buy it all now rather than buy a kit now then buy another kit 6 months down the line. Plus, you can never have too much RAM, right?


Will that 650w PSU be enough? I know under powering your system can be as bad as over powering it and I'd rather not blow £1000+ of kit up the first time I turn it on.


Another question (I will stop soon, I promise!) - how do I know everything fits on to the motherboard and I have the right cables, and the PSU has the right cabling/sockets to power everything? Do I just go through every component and match it all up?

 

[TimeLass]

I thought it'd be good to have as i'll be doing a lot of video work/data analysis, plus it's probably cheaper to buy it all now rather than buy a kit now then buy another kit 6 months down the line. Plus, you can never have too much RAM, right?


Will that 650w PSU be enough? I know under powering your system can be as bad as over powering it and I'd rather not blow £1000+ of kit up the first time I turn it on.


Another question (I will stop soon, I promise!) - how do I know everything fits on to the motherboard and I have the right cables, and the PSU has the right cabling/sockets to power everything? Do I just go through every component and match it all up?

i don't think so... i believe the price for memory kit will decrease significantly in the future... i suggest adding more rams into your system in the future...

yes it will... but if you something more reliable then go for this
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm
but sometimes even the most reliable product will fail to work properly...it all depends on luck...you can still send it back for RMA if it really does fail to work...

hmm... don't worry about that, i am sure that all parts will be compatible with the MB... just follow the guides on youtube if you're not sure on how to assemble a system...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw&playnext=1&list=PLnFDavkxA6ydWqG4QNrj8a0xvXTw6DO3r&feature=results_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NvDMMrCNU

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£14.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£68.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£139.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£77.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£102.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer (£18.35 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £992.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-25 15:37 GMT+0000)

just make sure you hold the right place of the of the parts and don't apply too much pressure while you're inserting your parts then everything will be fine...

 

[Sabian92]

i don't think so... i believe the price for memory kit will decrease significantly in the future... i suggest adding more rams into your system in the future...

yes it will... but if you something more reliable then go for this
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm
but sometimes even the most reliable product will fail to work properly...it all depends on luck...you can still send it back for RMA if it really does fail to work...

hmm... don't worry about that, i am sure that all parts will be compatible with the MB... just follow the guides on youtube if you're not sure on how to assemble a system...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw&playnext=1&list=PLnFDavkxA6ydWqG4QNrj8a0xvXTw6DO3r&feature=results_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NvDMMrCNU

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£14.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£68.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£139.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£77.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£102.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer (£18.35 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £992.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-25 15:37 GMT+0000)

just make sure you hold the right place of the of the parts and don't apply too much pressure while you're inserting your parts then everything will be fine...

i don't think so... i believe the price for memory kit will decrease significantly in the future... i suggest adding more rams into your system in the future...

yes it will... but if you something more reliable then go for this
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm
but sometimes even the most reliable product will fail to work properly...it all depends on luck...you can still send it back for RMA if it really does fail to work...

hmm... don't worry about that, i am sure that all parts will be compatible with the MB... just follow the guides on youtube if you're not sure on how to assemble a system...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw&playnext=1&list=PLnFDavkxA6ydWqG4QNrj8a0xvXTw6DO3r&feature=results_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NvDMMrCNU

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FTDF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£14.99 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£68.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£139.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£55.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£77.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£102.93 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer (£18.35 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £992.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-25 15:37 GMT+0000)

just make sure you hold the right place of the of the parts and don't apply too much pressure while you're inserting your parts then everything will be fine...

I've changed the RAM kit to the one you suggested simply because I realised having my C drive as an SSD that'll speed everything up anyway - not a lot of point in having extra RAM for the time being.

How is this looking? I've changed some stuff to save money and deleted some things I simply don't need.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FYEc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FYEc/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FYEc/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£14.99 @ Novatech)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£68.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.75 @ CCL Computers)

Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£106.94 @ Scan.co.uk)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£239.75 @ Scan.co.uk)

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£28.27 @ CCL Computers)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£90.56 @ Dabs)

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.98 @ Dabs)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer (£18.35 @ Amazon UK)

Monitor: Asus VH242H 23.6" Monitor (£140.97 @ Dabs)

Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-K6800 Wired Standard Keyboard (£13.51 @ Dabs)

Mouse: Targus AMW25US Wireless Optical Mouse (£12.99 @ Amazon UK)

Other: Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (£11.78)
Other: Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (£11.78)
Other: Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (£11.78)
Other: Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (£11.78)
Other: Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (£11.78)

Total: £1254.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-25 22:59 GMT+0000)

 

[TimeLass]

Looks good...you might want to consider taking this monitor instead... is an IPS and LED panel...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-ips237lbn
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/dell-monitor-s2240m

and also... this...
http://promotions.newegg.com/OCZ/13-0507/index.html

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-case-fan-afaco12000gba01
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-mouse-gmm5050

 

[Sabian92]

Looks good...you might want to consider taking this monitor instead... is an IPS and LED panel...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-ips237lbn
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/dell-monitor-s2240m

and also... this...
http://promotions.newegg.com/OCZ/13-0507/index.html

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-case-fan-afaco12000gba01
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-mouse-gmm5050

That monitor looks good, I wanted thin bezels as eventually I'd like to go to a dual 23" monitor setup (if I have the room, I don't think the room is wide enough where my desk is!) It would be nice though. It's cheaper too!

I'm settled on my keyboard/mouse I think - I have used these before

Those fans shift a good amount of air and they're a quarter of the price, so I've changed them. I hope they're decent quality!

Thank you for your help

 

[TimeLass]

That monitor looks good, I wanted thin bezels as eventually I'd like to go to a dual 23" monitor setup (if I have the room, I don't think the room is wide enough where my desk is!) It would be nice though. It's cheaper too!

I'm settled on my keyboard/mouse I think - I have used these before

Those fans shift a good amount of air and they're a quarter of the price, so I've changed them. I hope they're decent quality!

Thank you for your help

Artic cooling's fans will not fail you... they are really good...
you're welcome...

 

[Sabian92]

Artic cooling's fans will not fail you... they are really good...
you're welcome...

I just read they're exhaust only fans so I'm on the hunt for some good intake fans. I might still go for some Scythe GT fans, probably the 1850 version. I need positive air pressure to keep dust out, right?

What thermal compound should I go for? I'm looking at that too, plus some cable wrap for some cable management (which with my builds is usually pretty rotten )

 

[TimeLass]

I just read they're exhaust only fans so I'm on the hunt for some good intake fans. I might still go for some Scythe GT fans, probably the 1850 version. I need positive air pressure to keep dust out, right?

What thermal compound should I go for? I'm looking at that too, plus some cable wrap for some cable management (which with my builds is usually pretty rotten )

Hmm my choices will be Tuniq TX-4 or Artic MX-4... Liquid Ultra is good too but it is much more harder to remove...
i'm not too sure about cable wrap... you can try sleeving kit for better cable management
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/premium-modding/alchemy-cables/