£700 gaming build - needs checking

[BobTheFish]

This is my first time building my own PC, but I've done some research and I believe that this is a good build. I would just like to check that I haven't overlooked any compatibility issues, and any suggestions for small changes to the build are welcome, as long as the parts are available from my retailer of choice (ebuyer.com).

Case: Antec Three Hundred
CPU: Intel i5 750
Motherboard: Asus P7P55D LE
Graphics: Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB
RAM: Crucial 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Hard Drive: Samsung Ecogreen F2 1TB
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±RW

Also, will I be alright without a heatsink for the CPU, and do I need to buy any additional cables that won't come with these components?

 

[mosox]

How about that?

Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/218937
AMD Phenom II X4 955
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190673
G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804
LG GH22NS40
Sapphire HD 5850
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/233917
XFX 650W
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191826
CM Storm Scout
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165238

 

[BobTheFish]

Thanks for the suggestion, although I was intending to stick with an i5/460 system, which is why I only said "small changes". I probably should've been more clear, sorry. I'm more bothered about whether or not what I've got works.

 

[mosox]

It works. Worse than my suggestion. Get a SLI mobo for that, you'll gonna need it. Also get my PSU and HDD.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Unless your planning on overclocking the Rig, You'll be fine on the standard H.s/fan
people may advise you to change the psu,
but it looks a good build to me.
all cables supplied should be enough for your needs.
Moto

 

[BobTheFish]

Thanks for the replies. I'll admit I had an irrational prejudice towards Intel and Nvidia, but I'm now looking at your suggested build with an open mind. Are the differences between the Phenom II X4 955 and the i5 750, and the 5850 and the 460 that significant though?

 

[njure]

Oh no Stay away from the AMD fan boys! Go with your instinct and pick Intel You'll love the i5-750, I've built it in three systems for clients. I would recommend that you get a Corsair H50 cooler with that so that you can overclock the hell out of it (or not, you'll be fine with the stock cooler which takes one second to install, no screws). Also, I would suggest going with a Corsair PSU, I've always trusted those guys, and boy do they deliver

 

[Silvune]

If I was you, I'd change the RAM either to what mosox suggested, or this Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Ballistix Memory Kit CL7 (7-7-7-24) 1.65V £87.

And definitely change the harddrive to what mosox suggested as a 'green' drive will be slow and isn't worth the energy savings imo.

You can save money on the PSU seeing as you won't be able to add another card:
OCZ StealthXStream II 600W £54
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W £54
Be Quiet Pure Power 530W £49
Corsaiv VX450 £55.

If you're hoping to keep your system open for future GPU upgrades then the XFX 650 is worth the extra price over the OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W imo.

Thanks for the replies. I'll admit I had an irrational prejudice towards Intel and Nvidia, but I'm now looking at your suggested build with an open mind. Are the differences between the Phenom II X4 955 and the i5 750, and the 5850 and the 460 that significant though?

The processors will be pretty equal, the i5 will be slightly superior in performance, but not by much, absolutely not worth ~£50. So then it comes down to the GPUs, where the 5850 is superior. Altho maybe it is not worth the price difference. I would say it is worth it if a 5850 can give you playable framerates where the 460 cannot. To check this you would probably have to chech benchmarks of game(s) you want to play.

Oh no Stay away from the AMD fan boys! Go with your instinct and pick Intel You'll love the i5-750, I've built it in three systems for clients. I would recommend that you get a Corsair H50 cooler with that so that you can overclock the hell out of it (or not, you'll be fine with the stock cooler which takes one second to install, no screws). Also, I would suggest going with a Corsair PSU, I've always trusted those guys, and boy do they deliver

Maybe your love of the i5 is justified and your point valid, but you lose credibility when you throw around the 'fan boy' phrase and when you suggest the H50, which is outperformed by many aircoolers, some of which are cheaper than it. The Corsair TX650 is a similar price to the OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W. But as far as I can see you lose modularity and gain very little apart from ~125 watts on the 12V rail which BTF's build won't need.

 

[mosox]

Oh no Stay away from the AMD fan boys!

What fan boys? He wants it for gaming and for that the 955+5850 is better than the i5+460. Fan boys are those who disregard the performance for a particular brand.

 

[BobTheFish]

Am I definitely safe using 1.65V RAM with the i5 build? The last thing I want is another system with a short lifetime.

 

[Silvune]

Yes you would be safe using 1.65V for the RAM. However if you check the product page for the G.Skill it looks like it's rated at 1.6V http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=243
If you really want 1.5V RAM, then there's little reason imo to spend £90 getting it. You can get the same specs for 10 or even 22 pounds less: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered CL9 CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 £80 Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz i5 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V KVR1333D3N9K2/4G £68.

 

[njure]

What fan boys? He wants it for gaming and for that the 955+5850 is better than the i5+460. Fan boys are those who disregard the performance for a particular brand.

Yes! And I'm an Nvidia fan boy thus (according to your statement) I'm disregarding the performance of AMD. Fair enough?