Gaming pc £400+ (first build)

[Flashbeagle]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/h5La

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£32.39 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.56 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card (£86.02 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7261S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£16.98 @ Novatech)
Other: HDMI cable?
Total: £290.94
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-10 22:22 BST+0100)


Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: £400+ (I'm willing to pay a little more now if it will save money in the long term - by waiting longer to upgrade)

System Usage: Gaming - ARMA II and new releases over the next year (looking for games to play well not look their best)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: scan.co.uk, novatech.co.uk, etc (see pcpartpicker link above)

Country: UK

Parts Preferences: Intel CPUs seem to be best

Overclocking: Probably not

SLI or Crossfire: Probably not

Monitor Resolution: Using my Panasonic TX-L32S10 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV


I've looked at possibly getting an i5 3450 (+£50) and/or Radeon HD 7850 (+£60), would either give significant extra performance/longer rig life-span, to be worth the additional cost?

If you could recomend a decent motherboard (should I get a Z77, like below?), power supply and case that would be great.

Gigabyte SKT-1155 Z77X-D3H Motherboard (£99.97)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007KZQFEI/

Lastly, can I just buy a HDMI cable to connect pc to tv?

Cheers for any help,

Joe

 

[malbluff]

Firstly, regarding the upgrades.
Using the HD7850, instead of HD6850 would give an average increase in frame rates of around 40%
Using i5, instead of i3, is more complicated. Things which use multiple cores, like photography, certainly benefit. Multi-tasking will be less slowed. In many other ways, the difference is minor. Gaming will benefit, a bit, but difficult to quantify. In some games maybe 10%, in others, a bit more.
The motherboard is a reasonable budget Z77. As you are not overclocking the processor, you don't need a full Z77. It may be worth using ASRock's Z75 motherboard. They only do one, and it's not bad. About £75, on Amazon. You save £25 towards better GPU, and don't loose anything useful.
I don't see a power supply. You need something around 500W. Seasonic, XFX, and Corsair are good makes. Seagate Barracuda are better for hard drive (or WD Caviar BLUE or BLACK)

 

[Flashbeagle]

Thanks malbluff, could you also recommend a case?
I'll look at those PSUs & HDDs, any money I can spare will go towards getting a better GPU (such as HD7850)

 

[malbluff]

The PSU is the important thing to get right. A failing PSU can take the rest of your components with it. Good manufacturer, at least 80 Plus certified, modular (if possible), and a sensible wattage, should see you right, there.
Cases are a very personal thing, it's got to be something YOU like. You are the one that's going to be sat, looking at it. Corsair, Antec, Fractal are decent manufacturers, across their range. As you are not trying to cram a lot in, or overclock, most ATX mid tower cases will be ok. You just get what you pay for, in terms of build quality etc.

 

[Flashbeagle]

My budget build:

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

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£75.49 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£34.56 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£56.99 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card (£86.02 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.57 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£52.92 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£12.58 @ CCL Computers)
Other: HDMI KING - Double Insulated 1.8M (6ft) Imperial Series High Speed v1.4 HDMI Cable with Ethernet, 3D, Audio Return, 2k and 4k Support [Lifetime Warranty, Fuss-Free Packaging] (£4.99)
Total: £465.10
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-14 00:04 BST+0100)


But for £95 extra I think I'd rather get something like:

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

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£75.49 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£32.19 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£76.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£143.74 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£12.58 @ CCL Computers)
Other: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III PPCMK3S500 - Power supply ( internal ) - ATX12V 2.3/ EPS12V - 80 PLUS Bronze - AC 90-264 V - 500 Watt - active PFC - United Kingdom (£60.57)
Other: HDMI KING - Double Insulated 1.8M (6ft) Imperial Series High Speed v1.4 HDMI Cable with Ethernet, 3D, Audio Return, 2k and 4k Support [Lifetime Warranty, Fuss-Free Packaging] (£4.99)
Total: £561.26
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-14 00:07 BST+0100)


The main benefits being a significantly better GPU, a modular PSU, HDD with 5yr warranty and better RAM?

Or this case (it's hard to choose):

Fractal Design Arc Series ATX Case (£68.95)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0056AFBB2/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

I've been look at newegg.com a lot for comparing product reviews and either a Fractal case or the Cool Master one seem to be best for my price range.

Any final thoughts would be appreciated

 

[spat55]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/h5La

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£32.39 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.56 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB Video Card (£86.02 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7261S-0B DVD/CD Writer (£16.98 @ Novatech)
Other: HDMI cable?
Total: £290.94
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-10 22:22 BST+0100)


Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: £400+ (I'm willing to pay a little more now if it will save money in the long term - by waiting longer to upgrade)

System Usage: Gaming - ARMA II and new releases over the next year (looking for games to play well not look their best)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: scan.co.uk, novatech.co.uk, etc (see pcpartpicker link above)

Country: UK

Parts Preferences: Intel CPUs seem to be best

Overclocking: Probably not

SLI or Crossfire: Probably not

Monitor Resolution: Using my Panasonic TX-L32S10 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV


I've looked at possibly getting an i5 3450 (+£50) and/or Radeon HD 7850 (+£60), would either give significant extra performance/longer rig life-span, to be worth the additional cost?

If you could recomend a decent motherboard (should I get a Z77, like below?), power supply and case that would be great.

Gigabyte SKT-1155 Z77X-D3H Motherboard (£99.97)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007KZQFEI/

Lastly, can I just buy a HDMI cable to connect pc to tv?

Cheers for any help,

Joe

Take a look at my sig, the link their has a build at £525, take out the OS and it is £450, with a better CPU and GPU that you have picked!

CPU: i3 3220 and the GPU: radeon 7850

When you look their is somemore in the £700 range too