Final evaluation of £400 UK build

[Launde]

Hey,

I am just looking for final opinions and advice from other people, for my new build in the UK. I am hoping to start purchasing witin the next few days if possible. At the moment i wont be SLI/Xfireing and may overclock in future. Here it is:

i5 3570K
Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
Zalman Z11 plus
OCZ Technology PSU, ModXStream Pro, 500W PSU

Then later on, i will buy a proper graphics cards with more fundings. I have the rest of the things required/other parts are not included in budget ie. OS.

For just the Motherboard, processor, case and power supply, i think i will definately want to keep it under £400.

Let me know what you guys think, or if i have missed anything, and your opinions.
Thanks.

 

[metal orient]

Do you have the other bits?

 

[Launde]

I added the PSU to the list. yes, i have the monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS. I wil buy a GPU later on.

I have a lot of problem especially choosing a PSU. For about £50 i can get a Corsair 600W, but the ModXStream Pro has some good reviews and is mostly modular, so that'll help in cable management. They are about the same price, but i chose the modular one anyway, even though it has only 500W. What do you guys think?

 

[Launde]

also, simmilar dileama's with the Case. I chose the Zalman Z11 plus because it has 5 preinstalled fans and IMO looks quite good too. But there are so many in the price range. I was looking at the antec 300, and also the Xigmatek asgard III. So many choices

 

[Launde]

Also found this deal: http://www.ebuyer.com/270605-cm-storm-enforcer-case-with-coolermaster-650w-gx-psu-sgc-1000-kwa-650w

Looks quite good. Let me know your opinions on all this

 

[dreadlokz]

I would go for ASUS P8Z77-V LK (sli/xfire for future upgrades) and Corsair PSU. 750w can handle SLI of GTX670 for a feel years.

 

[metal orient]

You're still missing a hard drive. PSU recommendation depends on what you want to do, mostly it will depend on what graphics card you want to upgrade to later on.

 

[Launde]

I have a small hard drive for programs, and will store files etc. on an external HDD. If you guys dont think modular PSU's is not required, i will go for that Corsair one then. I don't plan on Sli/xfire anytime soon, but thanks for letting me know those options will be open. I do however later plan on getting a nice GPU for about £200 if that's any help but ill choose it later, because there allways new ones coming out!

 

[metal orient]

if you go for a HD 7000 series or GTX 600 series and don't SLI/CFX then 550W will be more than enough.

e.g. from dabs.com:
XFX 550W Core
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-550-watt-core-edition-full-wired-80--bronze-psu-7NSW.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200

 

[Launde]

OK, thanks. Do you guys think i should Crossfire? would two chaper cards like the 6850 x2 would be better than a 7870 on its own?

And what do you think about the case, any recomendtations?

 

[metal orient]

They may do better but they will likely suffer from microstuttering which will ruin your experience.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,review-32256.html

The Z11 is a good case, i'd stick with it you could look at the fractal design 3000 though as it's around the same price.

 

[Launde]

ah ok, thanks for the link.
I read about a few problems wit the Z11 case, and mainly it was the lack of internal USB 3.0 support, which to be honest doesn't seem to bad to me, but there were quite a few other problems on top of that too. Ill have a look around, thanks.

What do you guys think of that combo deal: http://www.ebuyer.com/270605-cm-storm-enforcer-case-with-coolermaster-650w-gx-psu-sgc-1000-kwa-650w

 

[Launde]

The fractal doesn't have USB 3.0, so ill have to leave that. Has anyone got any more recomendations.

 

[metal orient]

The PSU in that bundle is garbage, yeah the pass through cable is a bit ugly but if you don't mind it what's the problem?

 

[Launde]

Ok. Thanks. Yeh, i probably will go for the Z11, but apparantly the expansion slot covers aren't re-usable. But otherwise, i am probably going to buy it. Might also get some external to internal conector thingy's for the pass through's.

 

[Launde]

So overall then, It looks like:

Zalman Z11 case
Corsair 600W Builder Series PSU
i5 3570K CPU
Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard

Hope to get all final opinions now, and hopefully i'll order tommorow morning. Thanks guys.

 

[Launde]

Just a quick question. Is the voltage on the 12V rails the only power required, and in this case, would this mean the more voltage on the 12V rails the better, and so disregarding the wattage number altogether?

 

[metal orient]

no your pc will use the other voltages but 12V amperage is the value you should pay most attention to.

 

[Launde]

in that case, i think the: OCZ Fatal1ty Series 550W is better. Im not sure about the numbers so could comeone else double check this, but i think it has 2 12V rails at 25A each. Thanks.

 

[metal orient]

It's OK but i'd really recommend an XFX core 550W over the OCZ one.

 

[Launde]

yeh, i saw lots of people reccomend that. Why though? It has 44A vs the OCZ 50A. The XFX one has 5 years warranty though, and OCZ has 3 years.
I was hoping to find something over 45A (to possibly Xfire in future) and have a 5 year warranty, so it's pretty even for me. So, yeah, let me know why you prefer the XFX

 

[Launde]

Also do you think I should go for the GA-Z77-D3H motherboard or stick with the asus one

 

[Launde]

It looks like the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H is better than the Asus P8Z77-V LX, but i have just based this on a rough Specs. overview. Can anyone else confirm this is true?

 

[metal orient]

XFX is better because: it has a better OEM is the same price and has a longer warranty, while the OCZ does have more amps on the 12V line it also has more ripple (fluctuations in voltage) than XFX does so your PC will be less stable, also If you want to Xfire while it is doable on 550W a 650W would be safer.

 

[metal orient]

Yeah The gigabyte board is better IMO, you get a better back panel selection, an mSATA port and the nice SATA ports (horizontal rather than vertical), as well as a slightly better PCI selection and slightly better fan header selection. Cheaper too!

You do miss out on ASUS FanXpert which is the only regret I ave had not going with them.