So over the past couple of weeks, I've been writing up some proposed specs for a new gaming pc. I have a budget of around £1200 and have come up with the following: (Also note prices have probably changed. In addition, I am building this PC in about 2 weeks and it's a first build!)
Case: CM HAF 932 Advanced - £99.52 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-932-v2-advance-black-full-tower-case-with-usb-30-w-o-psu
I've chosen this due to the looks, the size and the fact that it is more future proof than the other cases I considered. Oh, and the great airflow!
PSU: Corsair TX 650W PSU - £73.49 - http://www.ebuyer.com/257232-corsair-tx-650w-v2-psu-80plus-bronze-certified-cmpsu-650txv2uk#product-reviews
A PSU I've heard great things about with a 5 year warranty also.
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio -£84.94 - http://www.ebuyer.com/345353-msi-z77a-g43-z77-socket-1155-8-channel-hd-audio-atx-motherboard-z77a-g43
Whilst I'm not using an Ivybridge processor, it still provides performance with the PCI-e 3 ports and so on, making it future-proof. (I realise I cannot use the PCI-e3 due to having a Sandybridge CPU)
CPU: Sandybridge i5 2500k - £168.18 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i5-2500k-unlocked-s1155-sandy-bridge-quad-33ghz-hd3000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail
Looking to overclock in the future (could use the MSI OC Genie) and the best performing gaming CPU
CPU fan: - Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo - £25.45 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-hyper-212-evo-4-heat-pipes-direct-contact-with-120mm-quiet-fan-lga775-1155-1156-1366-am
A HSF which provides excellent cooling for it's price
RAM: Crucial 8GB Ballistix 1.5v RAM - £33.83 - http://www.ebuyer.com/342351-crucial-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-ballistix-sport-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-bls2cp4g3d1339ds1s00eu
1.5v RAM, ideal for the i5 2500k and also comes with a lifetime warranty
GPU: Gigabyte 2GB GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X - £339.20 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-gigabyte-gtx-670-windforce-3x-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-980mhz-boost-1058mhz-cores-13
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB SSD - £83.00 - http://www.ebuyer.com/349750-sapphire-hd-7870-ghz-oc-edition-2gb-gddr5-hdmi-dvi-dual-mini-11199-03-20g
When it comes to SSDs, reliability, for me, is the most important. It also provides good speeds and will be my boot drive
HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 - £72.00 - http://www.ebuyer.com/173804-samsung-hd103sj-spinpoint-f3-1tb-hard-drive-sataii-7200rpm-32mb-cache-hd103sj
One of the cheapest and best HDDs out there (so I've heard)
OR Seagate Barracuda 1TB - £70 - http://www.ebuyer.com/319639-seagate-1tb-barracuda-hard-drive-st1000dm003
Optical Drive: LiteOn - £14.50 - http://www.ebuyer.com/176026-liteon-ihas124-sata-dvd-optical-drive-oem-ihas124-19
Peripherals and such
Monitor: BenQ 24" monitor - £126.93 - http://www.ebuyer.com/169099-benq-g2420hd-24-lcd-monitor-9h-l3alb-qbe#reviews
To be honest, I was a bit lost when looking for a monitor. However, this is a nice, 24" monitor and I've heard only good things about it.
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 - £6.24 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-silver-5-thermal-compound-for-cpu-and-chipset-coolers-35-gram
Paste offering some of the best performance at a good price. Not much more to be said
Mouse: To be decided upon visiting and testing mice at a nearby shop
Mouse Mat: SteelSeries QcK Mass Mouse Mat - £9.58 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/steelseries-qck-mass-mouse-mat-285-x-320-x-6mm
Heard great things about the steelseries mouse mats so I decided to try one out, and it's cheap!
2x SATA III Cables for HDD and Optical Drive, since they are OEM. -£1.79 each
Keyboard: I have a cheap, standard one but any gaming keyboard suggestions would be appreciated! Total comes to £1136.86 (give or take due to changing prices) Once again, thanks!
Case: CM HAF 932 Advanced - £99.52 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-932-v2-advance-black-full-tower-case-with-usb-30-w-o-psu
I've chosen this due to the looks, the size and the fact that it is more future proof than the other cases I considered. Oh, and the great airflow!
PSU: Corsair TX 650W PSU - £73.49 - http://www.ebuyer.com/257232-corsair-tx-650w-v2-psu-80plus-bronze-certified-cmpsu-650txv2uk#product-reviews
A PSU I've heard great things about with a 5 year warranty also.
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio -£84.94 - http://www.ebuyer.com/345353-msi-z77a-g43-z77-socket-1155-8-channel-hd-audio-atx-motherboard-z77a-g43
Whilst I'm not using an Ivybridge processor, it still provides performance with the PCI-e 3 ports and so on, making it future-proof. (I realise I cannot use the PCI-e3 due to having a Sandybridge CPU)
CPU: Sandybridge i5 2500k - £168.18 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i5-2500k-unlocked-s1155-sandy-bridge-quad-33ghz-hd3000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail
Looking to overclock in the future (could use the MSI OC Genie) and the best performing gaming CPU
CPU fan: - Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo - £25.45 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-hyper-212-evo-4-heat-pipes-direct-contact-with-120mm-quiet-fan-lga775-1155-1156-1366-am
A HSF which provides excellent cooling for it's price
RAM: Crucial 8GB Ballistix 1.5v RAM - £33.83 - http://www.ebuyer.com/342351-crucial-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-ballistix-sport-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-bls2cp4g3d1339ds1s00eu
1.5v RAM, ideal for the i5 2500k and also comes with a lifetime warranty
GPU: Gigabyte 2GB GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X - £339.20 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-gigabyte-gtx-670-windforce-3x-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-980mhz-boost-1058mhz-cores-13
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB SSD - £83.00 - http://www.ebuyer.com/349750-sapphire-hd-7870-ghz-oc-edition-2gb-gddr5-hdmi-dvi-dual-mini-11199-03-20g
When it comes to SSDs, reliability, for me, is the most important. It also provides good speeds and will be my boot drive
HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 - £72.00 - http://www.ebuyer.com/173804-samsung-hd103sj-spinpoint-f3-1tb-hard-drive-sataii-7200rpm-32mb-cache-hd103sj
One of the cheapest and best HDDs out there (so I've heard)
OR Seagate Barracuda 1TB - £70 - http://www.ebuyer.com/319639-seagate-1tb-barracuda-hard-drive-st1000dm003
Optical Drive: LiteOn - £14.50 - http://www.ebuyer.com/176026-liteon-ihas124-sata-dvd-optical-drive-oem-ihas124-19
Peripherals and such
Monitor: BenQ 24" monitor - £126.93 - http://www.ebuyer.com/169099-benq-g2420hd-24-lcd-monitor-9h-l3alb-qbe#reviews
To be honest, I was a bit lost when looking for a monitor. However, this is a nice, 24" monitor and I've heard only good things about it.
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 - £6.24 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/arctic-silver-5-thermal-compound-for-cpu-and-chipset-coolers-35-gram
Paste offering some of the best performance at a good price. Not much more to be said
Mouse: To be decided upon visiting and testing mice at a nearby shop
Mouse Mat: SteelSeries QcK Mass Mouse Mat - £9.58 - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/steelseries-qck-mass-mouse-mat-285-x-320-x-6mm
Heard great things about the steelseries mouse mats so I decided to try one out, and it's cheap!
2x SATA III Cables for HDD and Optical Drive, since they are OEM. -£1.79 each
Keyboard: I have a cheap, standard one but any gaming keyboard suggestions would be appreciated! Total comes to £1136.86 (give or take due to changing prices) Once again, thanks!
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