Gaming PC for $1500/£1000

[Jacques89]

First time new build, although I've installed the odd component in the past.

Approximate Purchase Date: Sooner the better, but if it means waiting for a new release then that's possible.

Budget Range: $1500/£1000


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, TV/Movies. Internet.


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: UK based.


Country of Origin: England


Parts Preferences: N/A


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future, I would like the option put it that way.


Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 (I am using my 32" plasma tv as a monitor)


Additional Comments: I would like a quiet pc with good airflow/low temps whilst maintaining high performance (basically I want everything ) A future proof build would also be preferred. As this is a lot of money for me I want it to last at least 3 years.


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I have not yet fully decided on what parts I want to use but have a few ideas. Therefore I'll post what I've got and hopefully somebody can narrow my selections down or offer better alternatives.

CPU

Intel Core i7 875k 2.93Ghz (Socket LGA1156) Processor - Retail - $393/£255

Intel Core i7 870 'Lynnfield' 2.93Ghz 8Mb Cache LGA1156 Processor - Retail - $320/£208

Intel Core i7-920 Socket 1366 Processor 2.66GHz - $336/£219

Heatsink

Corsair Hydro H70 CPU Cooling Fan Heatsink - $108/£70

I singled out this as the best heatsink, would you agree?

MOBO

Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 1366 Motherboard - $214/£139

Gigabyte Ga-X58A-Ud3R Motherboard - $215/£140 (Is this V2? that's what I searched for but it is not indicating that it is V2. This happens on all the stores I have searched (

GPU (I chose these mainly from oc performance benchmarks, but also opinion. I am slightly confused though as there seems to be different versions of the same card e.g. the HD 6850 has sapphire and xfx versions. I do not know which version is the best, or whether there is any difference at all!)

SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGY Radeon HD 5850 - 1 GB GDDR5 - $212/£138

XFX ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 - $234/£152

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 - 1024 MB GDDR5 - $211/£137

RAM
I am having trouble identifying any suitable ram as I find it quite confusing.

Case

CoolerMaster HAF 922 - $122/£79

I chose this based on forum opinion from various sites; it is regarded as the best case by some. I would choose performance/airflow/accessibility over the look of a case.

PSU

I am also having trouble identifying a suitable PSU. I did however notice this one in another similar budget (I may need a slightly more powerful PSU):

Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX 750W Power Supply - $126/£82


I thought it was also worth mentiong that I already have a 'Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB internal Hard Drive'. Would it be worth buying another and setting up Raid. I must admit that I know very little about Raid. I am prepared to wait for the price of SSD's to go down before buying one. I know that these can give a great performance boost.

 

[obsidian86]

wait a bit intel will be launching some new stuff 5 jan 2011

 

[Jacques89]

Any idea on price? Is it definitely worth going for the new CPU's? I've not looked into it, I just knew they were releasing new CPU's.

 

[obsidian86]

prices are said to be similar to current options but with estimated 20% increase in performance across the board

even if you dont get one the new release should push down current hardware prices

 

[Jacques89]

Thanks for the advice, I've just started to read up on them. I can't much solid info though, despite the fact they are due out soon. Any ideas on the other components I have selected?

 

[wasylni]

please be careful with this config, I have problem with very similar build, please refer to my other post from 28/12/10 @ 22:10 GMT

 

[Jacques89]

So I see, good luck with that. BSOD is a pain in the ass, hopefully a simple fix eh.

 

[obsidian86]

just a few things

the cpu and board you gonna have to see what is available at the time

the h70 is kinda the best heatsink from a noise/space perspective but i do believe the Noctua ud 14 and thermalright silver arrow just edge it on performance

the gtx is the best value out of your 3 options the 6850 is bout the same and the 5850 also round the same place

for ram g.skill and mushkin will give you th best value,look for some cas7 1600 mhz ram for some overclocking options

case is personal choice but the haf is good

and for power supply the tx line is a bit dated and there seems to be some shenanigans brewing in the corsair camp but this is a better performer and a bit cheaper most people got a problem with the cosmetics but is a top class performer

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-xfx-p1-750s-nlb9-pro-core-edition-80-plus-bronze-85-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-135mm-fan

 

[Jacques89]

Thanks for your help, I'll checkout your suggestions.

 

[Jacques89]

I think I'm going to go for the Noctua NH-D14 for my heatsink.

As for ram, I'm still confused . Should I go for 1600mhz with cas6/7 or 2000mhz with cas 8/9? 4gb or 6gb? At this point I don't know what would be overkill and what would be suitable. I have found these 2 sets:

Mushkin 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 6-8-6-24 Redline - £134

or

Mushkin 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000 8-10-8-27 Radioactive - £148

Both of these seem great. Are they good for overclocking?

I agree about the gpu, I think I'll go for the 460 .

As for the PSU, the one you suggested looks good, I'll probrably go for that too.

 

[obsidian86]

usually faster with lower timings is better

 

[Jacques89]

Here's my revised build:

Intel Core i5-2500K - £160-£180
Asus P6X58D-E - £142
GeForce GTX 460 - £125-£170
Coolermaster HAF 922 - £82
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler - £62
Mushkin 6GB DDR3 PC3-12800 6-8-6-24 Redline - £137
XFX Core Edition Pro 850w - £86

Total (Using highest prices) = £859

What do you guys think of this build? Any room for improvement or ways to save a bit of money, I really welcome your suggestions.

It would be really helpful if somebody could suggest to me the best version of the GTX 460. There are so many that's it's confusing. I've read the article on this site but I still didn't come away from it with a solid choice. What are the differences between the versions, is it just how much they have been overclocked? Could I buy a regular GTX 460 and do this myself to save money?

I'd just want to say also that this is a great site that has given me a lot of great information, so thanks.

 

[Jacques89]

If I could just get a few opinions on this it would be really appreciated. I'm ready to buy this build. The cpu is now on scan.co.uk for £176.

 

[Jacques89]

Anybody?