New build £800 (~$1300)

[metal orient]

Approximate Purchase Date: Future build, hopefully within a few months

Budget Range: £800 or so ~$1200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, internet, movies

Parts Not Required: OS, mouse, speakers, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: UK sites, amazon.co.uk, overclockers.net, ebuyer.com etc

Country of Origin: UK

Parts Preferences: None, coming at this from a dell inspiron 1525, have no loyalties.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, but not critical

Monitor Resolution: when i get a new monitor, probably after this build 1920 x 1200

Additional Comments: looking at building an understated, quiet PC with gaming prowess

Hello, was looking at building a new gaming rig. Have looked at parts and various other forum posts and have come to this build, a little generic it seems at times but i take that as a good thing:

tweaked build, v3:

Case: Fractal Design Define R3 £81.59
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/MIDI+Tower/Fractal+Design+Define+R3+Black+Pearl+Gaming+Midi+Tower+Case+?productId=41375

Antec p183 v3 £113 OverClockers

CPU : Core i5 2500K £161.39
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=61769&category_id=1258&manufacturer_id=0&tid=bx80623i52500kMother

board: Asrock extreme 4 LG1155 USB 3.0 Sata 6Gbs £131.14
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261255

RAM: Corsair XMS 8GB £74.54
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-xms3-ddr3-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-27-165v

GPU: MSI Twin Frozr GTX 560 Ti £199.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-114-MS

MSI twin frozr HD6950 2GB £214.50 Ebuyer

PSU: XFX Pro 750W £70.36
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/241552

CPU Heatsink: Sycthe Mugen V2 £38.24
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/scythe-mugen-2-quiet-cpu-cooler-for-s775-1366-1156-1155-and-amd-754-939-940-am2-am2plus-am3

HDD: Samsung F3 1TB £38.70
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/SATA+%28Serial+ATA%29/500GB+to+1TB/1TB+Samsung+HD103SJ+SpinPoint+F3+SATA-II+3.5%22+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726

Optical Drive: Lite On DVD drive £11.99
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/liteon-ihas124-19-24x-dvdr-8x-dvddl-dvdplusrw-x8-rw-x6-dvd-ram-x12-sata-black-oem

Logitech 600 Media Keyboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] 3&subcat=2 £17.99


Total: £825.74 (before P&P)

Original parts

Core i5 2500k
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-361-IN

Asus p8p67 m pro
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-000-OE

G skill 8gb DDR3 PC3-12800C8
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-062-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

MSI twin frozr GTX 560 ti
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-114-MS

seasonic M12II 620W
http://www.seasonic.com/pdf/datasheet/NEW/Retail/M12II Bronze.pdf

Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA

DVD-RW
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-002-OK

Total around £730

Its going to be used mainly for gaming and i do plan to overclock it, maybe add a second 560 later on if its required.

Interested to know what people thought of the build. Also if there's any recommendations for a case. Looking mainly at keeping things quiet.So leaning towards cooler master 690II advanced. or Fractal Design Define R3
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/10/29/fractal-design-define-r3-review/3

Many thanks for any input.

 

[Silvune]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261222-13-build-advice
Filling this out will answer all the questions we would otherwise have to ask to give you really good advice.
However in terms of quality of components, so far so good.

 

[metal orient]

apologies, did this post in the tiny box, have updated now.

 

[mdsiu]

Go with GTX 570, HD 6970 or HD 6950 2gb and BIOS unlock. You will be much happier.

 

[batuchka]

Approximate Purchase Date: Future build, hopefully within a few months

Juicy things under 2-3 mths so good news for you hehe

Since peeps been waiting this long for the top end i suggest for healthier/fatter budgets to
1. Await Z68 chipsets, Zambezi AM3+ on platform front
2. Await HD 6990/GTX 590 on the GPU front and price revisions trickle down lower down the foodchain
3. Await the Sandforce SATA 6GB/s SSDs to hit retailers

Leaked: FAH score of a 4 way Interlagos Bulldozer <--Pay attention to floating point numbers/chip architecture
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2148217

Intel Z68 Express Chipset Preview
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68-express-lucidlogix-virtu-ssd-caching,2888.html

 

[Why_Me]

This build gives you the option to run two of those factory over clocked gtx 560's in SLI. It also includes an after market cpu h/s (thermal paste included), large mid tower with great airflow, full size ATX mobo, etc...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164961 £80.81 inc. vat Free Delivery
Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Case - No PSU

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/241552 £70.36 inc. vat Free Delivery
XFX Pro 750W Core Edition PSU - Single Rail 9x SATA 4x PCI-E

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261255 £131.43 inc. vat Free Delivery
Asrock P67 EXTREME4 V3 1155 Socket 7.1 Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard

http://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+-+OEM+?productId=43635 £160.79 inc. VAT
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-hyper-212-quiet-cpu-cooler-4-heat-pipes-120mm-fan-intel-s775-am2-am2plus-am3-754-939-94 £15.56 Inc VAT
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Quiet CPU Cooler

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-060-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 £85.99 inc VAT
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) [F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA £42.98 inc VAT
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) [HD103SJ]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176026 £12.03 inc. vat
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black with Nero Essentials

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/253958 £196.99 inc. vat Free Delivery
Gigabyte GTX 560 OC 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card

Total: £796.94 inc VAT


http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/ [...] z1EqpvWFEN <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios update

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revi [...] reme4.html <---Review on that Asrock motherboard after the latest bios update

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4080 [...] 7-extreme4 <--- Review before the latest bios...and it still smoked the Asus and Gigabyte boards

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview. [...] 20Extreme4 <----- ASRock P67 Extreme4 Motherboard

 

[Silvune]

The Fractal R3 has quite a reputation for being quiet. You could probably get better temps with the CM 690 II Advanced, and as quiet if you replaced the fans with really quiet fans.

I think it would be a good idea to get an aftermarket heatsink as that will help with temps when overclocking as well as reduce the noise level. The CM 690 II Advanced can fit coolers up to 177mm in height (without a side panel fan installed), the R3 can take heatsinks up to 165mm in height.

To make it easier to choose a tower heatsink (if you decide to go with one of those) I would choose RAM without tall heatspreaders, such as this:
Geil Value Plus 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CAS9 1.4-1.6 £84
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-105-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
You could save some money by getting 4GB, as gaming doesn't need much RAM.

Scythe coolers are usually quiet and get decent temps:
Scythe Yasya £36
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-028-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
Has a fan control knob which you can install into one of the expansion slots.

Thermaltake Frio £43
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-031-TT&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395
You can also manually adjust the speed of the fans on this.

Thermalright MUX-120 Black £45
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-084-TR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

 

[metal orient]

Go with GTX 570, HD 6970 or HD 6950 2gb and BIOS unlock. You will be much happier.

Was considering the 6950 and the unlock to 6970 but not sure of my knowledge to risk it. Also i think i read in toms hardware that as no none reference versions are out yet to hold off until a better cooler is around. Although i think they vent out the back which would be a plus in the case i'd like (Fractal R3) As to 570 if i can find extra cash all the better but i'd rather have a cooler card and hopefully quieter, as i'd like a quiet build.

@batuchka

You raise very valid points as this seems to be a period of heightened activity, or is it just me?, and they are one of the reasons why i'm holding off for now.

@Why_Me

Looks good, is the Asus p8p67 m pro not capable of SLI then? i thought it was. The ASRock was another board i was looking at, things are still very much in the air at the moment so could change, i will check toms review of the boards later on, but i'm more than willing to take advice from people more versed in experience .

The Fractal R3 has quite a reputation for being quiet. You could probably get better temps with the CM 690 II Advanced, and as quiet if you replaced the fans with really quiet fans.

The fractal has really entranced me and i really want a quiet pc was talking to a friend who suggested an antec 182/183 and they both look like good boxes although i'm unsure which to get of the 2 as apparently the 193 is louder because of the top fan cutout.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article945-page7.html

 

[Why_Me]

Go with GTX 570, HD 6970 or HD 6950 2gb and BIOS unlock. You will be much happier.

Was considering the 6950 and the unlock to 6970 but not sure of my knowledge to risk it. Also i think i read in toms hardware that as no none reference versions are out yet to hold off until a better cooler is around. Although i think they vent out the back which would be a plus in the case i'd like (Fractal R3) As to 570 if i can find extra cash all the better but i'd rather have a cooler card and hopefully quieter, as i'd like a quiet build.

@batuchka

You raise very valid points as this seems to be a period of heightened activity, or is it just me?, and they are one of the reasons why i'm holding off for now.

@Why_Me

Looks good, is the Asus p8p67 m pro not capable of SLI then? i thought it was. The ASRock was another board i was looking at, things are still very much in the air at the moment so could change, i will check toms review of the boards later on, but i'm more than willing to take advice from people more versed in experience .

The Fractal R3 has quite a reputation for being quiet. You could probably get better temps with the CM 690 II Advanced, and as quiet if you replaced the fans with really quiet fans.

The fractal has really entranced me and i really want a quiet pc was talking to a friend who suggested an antec 182/183 and they both look like good boxes although i'm unsure which to get of the 2 as apparently the 193 is louder because of the top fan cutout.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article945-page7.html

That Asrock board I posted is a full size mobo and has way better spacing between PCI-E slots...meaning less heat for the vid cards. As far as that case I posted it runs 200mm fans which means quiet. The larger the fans, better air flow with less noise.

 

[metal orient]

I guess i shoudl change my mobo then! As to the HAF 922, i did look at this and was quite impressed by the cooling performance, but i'm not so sold on its looks and as i have got into the build i've realised i want a quiet pc as i grow tired of my noisy latop and its around 40dB, constantly, and i really would like my next pc to be quieter. Although this could be fixed by adding some sound insulation. But thats extra cost of course.

 

[metal orient]

Okay so tweaked build, v2:

Fractal Define R3 £84.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-FD

Core i5 2500k £167.98
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004FA8NX2/ref=asc_df_B004FA8NX22336716?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004FA8NX2

Asrock Extreme 4 p67 £131.43
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261255

Geil Value plus 8GB £75.17
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/8868055/art/geil/8gb-geil-pc3-12800-1600mh.html

MSI twin frozr HD6950 2GB £214.50
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261138

XFX Pro 750W Core Edition PSU - Single Rail 9x SATA 4x PCI-E £70.36
(Took Why_Me's advice ,i assume its the same as the review http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1042/pg7/xfx-pro-series-power-supplies-650w-750w-and-850w-review-750w-testing-results.html)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/241552 £70.36 inc. vat Free Delivery

Maybe the ANTEC 750W TruePower £91.24
http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/antec-750w-truepower-atx-power-supply-unit-07890358-pdt.html?srcid=867&xtor=AL-78&istCompanyId=4be69b13-f6de-4a80-8d9b-22e0185f57a7&istItemId=qwwwmll&istBid=t

Samsung F3 1TB £38.95
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =HD-082-SA

DVD-RW 14.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CD-002-OK

Scythe Mugen 2 £38.81
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158603

Total Cost: £837.17

 

[Silvune]

I fail to see what benefit you get from buying RAM which has been 'heavily tested for Sandy Bridge'. RAM is RAM, as long as it is DDR3 and has reasonably low voltage it will work with Sandy Bridge. And the fact that the Geil is low profile (compared to the Ripjaws X) means you are less likely to have problems installing CPU heatsinks.

The Scythe Mugen 2 is a very good cooler. If the coolers are going to be facing the rear fan then the MUX will take up less space, it would be what I would choose if you decided to go with the Ripjaws X.

I think one of the advantages of manual control is that the fan speed doesn't change unless you want it to, and one of the things I've picked up from SPCR is that people can be more likely to 'hear' or notice a fan changing speed than they are just hearing it at a constant low speed. So which is better is as much a personal thing as anything else in quiet computing.

I don't know why you would get the Corsair 650TX from Amazon when it is cheaper on ebuyer. I also don't know why you would get the relatively outdated Corsair 650TX when you can get the new 650TXV2 for ~£70 (which is better in that it is more efficient, and I believe the electrical performance is a step up over the original 650TX as well) and there are better options at that price (with four hardwired PCIe cables - the 650TXs only have two, so you would have to use adapters for a second graphics card).

 

[metal orient]

I fail to see what benefit you get from buying RAM which has been 'heavily tested for Sandy Bridge'. RAM is RAM, as long as it is DDR3 and has reasonably low voltage it will work with Sandy Bridge. And the fact that the Geil is low profile (compared to the Ripjaws X) means you are less likely to have problems installing CPU heatsinks.

The Scythe Mugen 2 is a very good cooler. If the coolers are going to be facing the rear fan then the MUX will take up less space, it would be what I would choose if you decided to go with the Ripjaws X.

I think one of the advantages of manual control is that the fan speed doesn't change unless you want it to, and one of the things I've picked up from SPCR is that people can be more likely to 'hear' or notice a fan changing speed than they are just hearing it at a constant low speed. So which is better is as much a personal thing as anything else in quiet computing.

I don't know why you would get the Corsair 650TX from Amazon when it is cheaper on ebuyer. I also don't know why you would get the relatively outdated Corsair 650TX when you can get the new 650TXV2 for ~£70 (which is better in that it is more efficient, and I believe the electrical performance is a step up over the original 650TX as well) and there are better options at that price (with four hardwired PCIe cables - the 650TXs only have two, so you would have to use adapters for a second graphics card).

Fair do's on the RAM.

I believe it would be opposite the exhaust fan, but i think i may need a beefier cooler than the MUX as the Fractal runs hotter because of its sound insulation.

I hadn't really thought about that but thats something else to consider.

Yeah, i'm not really searching out the best deals at the moment just getting pages to reference. Wasn't aware there was a 2nd version but found it so i guess i'll add that in . I chose it because of its supposed to be a high quality psu with bronze efficiency rating. I don't think i'd need to upgrade it if i wanted to SLI 2 GTX 560's either.Could you recommend any other options?

 

[Why_Me]

Okay so tweaked build:

Fractal Define R3 £84.98
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-FD

Core i5 2500k 173.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CP-361-IN

Asrock Extreme 4 p67 £131.43
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/261255

Geil Value plus 8GB 89.99 (Although maybe i like the fact that the ripjaws are heavily tested for sandy bridge)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-105-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

MSI twin frozr GTX 560 ti 215.99 ( Not so sure on having this now and considering a radeon 6950, probably 2GB and then upgrade)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =GX-114-MS

Corsair TX Series 650 W
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000Z7KHLA/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A38UDII8M9Z5GS

Samsung F3 1TB 41.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =HD-082-SA

DVD-RW 14.99
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CD-002-OK

Scythe coolers are usually quiet and get decent temps:
Scythe Yasya £36
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] ubcat=1395
Has a fan control knob which you can install into one of the expansion slots.

Thermaltake Frio £43
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] ubcat=1395
You can also manually adjust the speed of the fans on this.

Thermalright MUX-120 Black £45
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] ubcat=1395

Looked at a few articles:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535-15.html
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

i don't know but i think they're compatible with socket 1155. The Thermalright MUX looked very quiet with low noise which is good but it'd be a tight fit. was thinking maybe the scythe mugen 2 (still a tight fit but a little more space)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158603

or maybe the Gelid Tranquillo
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2010/01/20/gelid-tranquillo-cpu-cooler-review/1

Although i would quite like it to be PWM controlled rather than have to set the speed manually, although i don't really completely understand which would be better. Anyone have a good link that explains it?


Thanks again for any help.

I would be hesitant trying to push dual 560's and over clock on a 650w psu.

 

[metal orient]

Yeah, just had a quick flick through the PSU/Case forums and they seem to say the same thing. Have changed to HD6950 now but i'll still look for a 750W. I also ran a quick check on the recommended PSU and it suggested 612W as the best with these settings:

Tried to put everything to the maximum, for the more hungry bits anyway
crossfire 6950
OC of 4.8GHz @ 1.36v (i think is the right voltage)
2 HDD
2 sticks DDR3 (4 sticks adds 6W)
3 x 140 mm fans
5 x 120mm fans
+ fan controller

Also updated build, price is with XFX PSU

 

[metal orient]

Any suggestions for a good gaming keyboard? Seems like for people who aren't bothered about macros and so on and just want some multimedia controls there aren't alot of good choices.

Saitek Cyborg V5 seems like a good choice, if anyone can source a Saitek Eclipse II that would be awesome.

 

[Why_Me]

Any suggestions for a good gaming keyboard? Seems like for people who aren't bothered about macros and so on and just want some multimedia controls there aren't alot of good choices.

Saitek Cyborg V5 seems like a good choice, if anyone can source a Saitek Eclipse II that would be awesome.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-136-LG&groupid=702&catid=23&subcat=2 £17.99 inc VAT
Logitech 600 Media Keyboard (920-000031) [920-000031]

 

[metal orient]

Could RAM rated at 1.35 V pushed upto 1.65 V for better speeds?

Or would it just break?

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/44844/G-Skill-4GB-ECO-PC3-12800-1600-MHz-1-35V-Cas9?source=AffiliateFuture