£400 Gaming Build

[Diggerdave]

Hello,

This is a repost of a question I proposed yesterday however following the template which was posted. Sorry about that.

Approximate Purchase Date: Roughly the week after Christmas.

Budget Range: £300-£400

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming>surfing the web>watching movies

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, case (The one from my current Acer Predator G7200), CD/DVD drives, Hard drive.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.aria.co.uk as they seem to have the cheapest i5 2500k amongst other parts

Country: UK

Parts Preferences:

Intel i5 2500k processor.

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CPUs+%2F+Processors/Intel+Core+i5+%281155%29/Intel+Core+i5-2500K+3.30GHz+%28Sandybridge%29+Socket+LGA1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43216

Any compatible motherboard althought I was looking at the MSI Z68S-G43-G3 as it is a cheap Z68 chip:
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+1155+Z68+%28B3%29/MSI+Z68S-G43-G3+Intel+Z68+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=46929

Preferably ATI graphics card as they appear to be cheaper + I currently use a 4850 and it is very stable. I was thinking of either the 6850 or the 6870

6850:
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+ATI+Radeon+HD+6850+XXX+1024MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+%2B+FREE+DIRT+3+Game+Voucher+?productId=45726

6870:
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+ATI+Radeon+HD+6870+1024MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+%2B+FREE+DIRT+3+Game+Voucher+?productId=44533

8GB of Corsair ram as it is very cheap and reliable.
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3/Dual+Channel+1600MHz/8GB+Corsair+Vengeance+Blue+LP+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C9+1600MHz+Dual+Channel+Kit+-+CML8GX3M2A1600C9B+?productId=45510


Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Currently only play/use my computer at 1360x768 although will likely be upgrading to a 1920x1080 display before upgrading my computer again.

Additional Comments: Do you think that the case of the G7200 will be sufficient for everything? Will the motherboard fit into place just fine bearing in mind that it is built with an AMD mobo? These are the things which I am unsure about..

Thank you

 

[metal orient]

Okay, well build looks pretty solid I do wonder if you really need the 2500k?
As if you go with the 2300 you can save £30 which goes towards a better graphics card.

So
I'd say get:

Intel i5 2300 £138
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Intel+Core+i5-2300+2.80GHz+%28Sandybridge%29+Socket+LGA1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43219

Gigabyte Z68AP D3 £80
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+1155+Z68+%28B3%29/Gigabyte+GA-Z68AP-D3+Intel+Z68+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=45563

and then the memory and the 6870 although you could go for 8GB rip jaws which are a little cheaper and just as good:
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/8GB+G.Skill+RipJawsX+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+1600MHz+9-9-9-24+Dual+Channel+Kit+-+F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL+?productId=46060

If you really want the 2500k you'd have to drop the graphics to the 6850. SO it's your choice really

Can we also assume you have a decent size power supply as well?

 

[danraies]

I generally recommend against MSI for motherboards. There's nothing wrong with the boards, but the customer service and tech support are just terrible - at least in the US. ASRock, ASUS, and Gigabyte are the way to go. If you ever want to crossfire you'll need a board that supports x8/x8 although that will cost you more. Also, P67 motherboards are sometimes a little cheaper (although not as much in the budget range) and it's not really a downgrade for a gaming computer.

You're going to need a power supply. 500W from a reputable manufacturer should be perfect. The website you linked does not have a good selection, but out of the ones they offered I would recommend the Corsair CX500
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/650W+or+less/500W+Corsair+Builder+Series+500CX+Power+Supply+?productId=42489

The 6870 is worth the extra money in my opinion.

If you want to give up on overclocking you can get a cheaper H61 or H67 motherboard and an i5-2400 to save a little money. Overclocking is good, but benchmarks typically show that with SB your graphics card is more important. If you stick with overclocking you'll probably want a cheap aftermarket cooler.

I can't seem to find detailed specs on your old case anywhere. AMD vs. Intel motherboards don't matter in terms of fitting into the case, what matters is that your old motherboard is ATX (*not* micro-ATX). When you look at it, if it's got 6 or 7 PCI/PCIe expansion slots then it's probably ATX but you'll want to check the manual just to make sure.

 

[Diggerdave]

Thanks for the quick responses

I think I will stick with the i5 2500k as I would really like to over-clock some time in the future. I may just be able to get the 6870 with some extra money but I am not sure as of yet.

My PSU is a Delta GPS750-AB: http://www.yycase.com/psu_eps-750ab.htm
From what I can determine, it is a 750W PSU so it will be more than sufficent for all of my parts excluding OCing however I would prefer someone to tell me that it would be fine.

Thank you

 

[danraies]

My PSU is a Delta GPS750-AB: http://www.yycase.com/psu_eps-750ab.htm
From what I can determine, it is a 750W PSU so it will be more than sufficent for all of my parts excluding OCing however I would prefer someone to tell me that it would be fine

That looks good as long as its still working well. 648W on the +12V rail is plenty of power even for a sizable overclock.

 

[metal orient]

Can't say i have any idea how well the PSU would work but in terms of the wattage you'd be fine even for OC'ing.

This is a PSU calculator
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

If you get the memory and Mboard i linked to with the 6870 you linked and 2500k it's £423 which is eminently doable i'm sure.

 

[Diggerdave]

Thank you for the responses, it was exactly what I was looking for

The current mobo I have now (K9A2 CF) is ATX form factor and the one which I linked is also ATX form factor. I take that this is good news and the new mobo will fit into place just fine?

 

[metal orient]

They are both the same size, so it should fit.