Gaming Desktop build

akazzz

1. What is your budget? €1000+

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming. Upcoming Guild wars 2, FF14, Crysis 2

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Nope. This is my 1st desktop

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes but don't include it into the budget.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 24" - 27"

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920x1080

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes, maybe after 1-3 years of usage?

8. How can you pay? Credit card

9. When are you purchasing? Not sure

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Dublin

I'm open to all suggestions on whether the parts I chose is good,reliable, price/performance,etc.

Case: NZXT Phantom
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO or ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z or Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
System Memory: 4 gb x 2 Corsair Vengeance or G.Skills RipJawsX
HD: 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 SATA-II 3.5" (€50)
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Video Card: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (€300-350) or ATI Radeon 6950 (€200-250) or GTX 580 (€410-470) <- Thinking of SLI/xfire in the future.
Power Supply: Recommendations?
Cooling: Noctua Nh-d14 or CM Hyper 212 or Corsair A70
Internet Access: Wireless PCI 802.11n Up to 300Mbps (Supports 802.11n/g/b) <- I'm not sure if I need this to connect to my wireless.

I'm most worried about whether are these parts compatible or not.

Monotype

I think the maximus is a bit steep for the board, so the other two get my recommendation. I think the asrock looks very good with the PCI-E 3 option, although I haven't looked into the specs of the asus.

I don't think that the 580 is worth the money, so one of the other cards would be better.
Crossfire 6950s would run on 650W with room for overclocking.
You'd have lots of room with the XFX 850W, and it's a good price relative to others around it.
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=42450

... but you said that you want to pay by credit card. Hardwareversand only takes bank transfers. Where are you thinking of buying from? Scan.co.uk are about the next best in line (you can substitute their poor RAM selection with memoryc.com). I could take a look what PSUs are there if you are ok with that site.

Go for ripjaws ram as the vengeance will get in the way of some CPU heatsinks.

Everything looks compatible. You might be able to fit an SSD into that budget, depending on your other choices and where you buy.

Serephucus

With that budget I'd look into a 64GB SSD as well. If you're getting the SSD, you might as well spend the extra tenner and pick up a 2TB drive.

Maybe look at the H60 as a cooler as well?

Yes you'll need a wireless card to connect to your wifi network, but for the love of god, do yourself a favour and buy an ethernet cable.

akazzz

Another other good price/performance motherboards you guys recommend?

I'm thinking whether should I get the gtx570 or the radeon 6950 for the start. I'm definitely gonna sli/xfire in the future when its needed.

Thanks. scan.co.uk looks brilliant !

How about the cooling system? Should I stick with the CM 212+ or go for the more expensive noctua nh-d14 which is $40 more expensive? I'm just gonna do some mild overclocking.

For the reviews and community feedback for H60 cooler doesnt look as good as the CM 212+ or the noctua nh-d14.

Ok. RipJawsX it is!

My computer will be upstairs and the wireless router downstairs so I don't think I will need the cable.

Monotype

The CM 212+ is a good cooler and you shouldn't have any problem getting the the mid 4GHz range. The Noctua is a lot better for noise and cooling, but for "mild overclocking", you should be fine and it's much better than the stock one.
You could get homeplugs if you don't want cables or wireless.

I see scan only has the phantom in red.

Serephucus

Monotype wrote: »

You could get homeplugs if you don't want cables or wireless.

This is an excellent idea. From what I remember, the 300Mbs ones will give you about 220-250 consistant speeds, which are far beyond wireless.

Monotype

Some wireless n adapters claim up to 600Mbs. :eek: Homeplugs still provide generally a more reliable connection though.

Kells...

Lad's I'm not installing a Wireless adapter in my pc,will I get homeplugs cause my UPC router is downstairs while the PC is going upstairs.