£1250-£1500 Gaming Build

[joeboy235]

BUDGET RANGE: Aproximately £1250-£1500 – Not including the monitor.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Photoshop, Multitasking.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: UK Based, but after that, no preference.

OVERCLOCKING: Not any time soon.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently 1024x768, but looking to upgrade, price of monitor isn’t built into budget.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 2.8 GHz Processor
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003FVNC0Q/ref=asc_df_B003FVNC0Q710798?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B003FVNC0Q

£160.40


MOBO: No idea, most advice is needed in this area. 64-bit, DDR3 1600Mhz

GPU: XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&utm_source=froogle

£319.99

RAM: KINGSTON HYPERX 4GB 1600MHZ DDR3-SDRAM
https://adsl24.co.uk/pcstore/memory/pc-memory/kingston-hyperx-4gb-1600mhz-ddr3-sdram-non-ecc-cl9-unbuffered-memory-modules-kit-of-2-/prod_14768.html

£97

SSD: Intel X25-V 40GB X2 - Raid 0
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0031X8HG2/ref=asc_df_B0031X8HG2710798?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0031X8HG2

£182

HDD: WD Caviar Black 2 TB Internal hard drive
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173388?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products
£143.48

CASE: Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Case - No PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164961?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products
£80.86

PSU: Like the motherboard, I have no idea.

Optical: Sony Optiarc DDU1681S 48x CD / 18x DVD

http://www.redstore.com/SONDVD222

£ 11.69

Anything Like that, DVD’s uses very rarely


OS: Windows 7 Home – 64 bit

Student Copy - £30

Any advantage to professional?

Total – Price for Mobo and PSU = £1025

Thanks for looking this over,

Note: I’m not attached to any of the parts I have picked, all I’ve tried to do is fill out my budget effectively, so if you want to head in a totally different direction that’s fine.

 

[cygone]

For an example, this is the sort of performance you can get from the money you are looking to spend.

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[Silvune]

For gaming an AMD hexacore is not good value for money as it performs the same as the ~£130 Phenom II X4 955. Often people faced with this argument come back and say that they want a bit of futureproofing, which potentially a hexacore would be able to provide over a quad core.

For one with SATA6G/USB3: Asus M4A87TD/USB3 £77
If you don't want that feature: Asus M4A785TD-V Evo £72

1.9V is awfully high for DDR3 RAM, while it may not be a problem on AMD motherboards (it definitely is on Intel ones) I think it is still a good idea to get RAM with as low voltage as possible. You also want the CAS timings to be low. This is an example of a good set at a good price: G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit, CAS 7-8-7-24, 1.5 -1.65v F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM £97, also available here: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Components/Memory-PCAndLaptop/DDR3-PC3-12800/1600MHz/G.Skill/F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM.html Or this: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-20) 1.65V £96.

The best performing/priced PSU in Britain is the XFX 650W on ebuyer @ £70. It's more than you'll need for one 5870, but not enough for two, but it's my default suggestion and you don't appear to be interested in crossfiring anyway.

The only 'advantage' I can think of to Win 7 Pro is that it has XP mode, which won't be that useful to most people. However if you can get any edition for £30, might as well get the highest end one you can.

 

[joeboy235]

Thanks for all the replies, but I wonder if I've almost set my budget too high. GTX470 CF certainly sounds to me at least overkill for a single monitor set-up, probably going to be around 24-26". Would it be worth going for an Core i7 Quad, and putting a bit less into GPU's, with a mind for CF/Card upgrade in the future?

 

[Silvune]

Yea I don't see the need to get two 470s at the start of a build unless you're thinking about 2560x1600 kinda res.
An i7 920/930 is also a bit more than you strictly need for a gaming build, but it would maintain a high performance level for quite a long time.