It's about time I just build it myself

InlikeFlynn79

When I moved to Ireland a couple years ago I just got a machine from Harvey Norman's and it's actually served me well (with a little tinkering of my own) but now it's time for an upgrade and I'd like to get away from these budget prebuild's where there is always something sacrificed and everything is integrated. This will be mainly for gaming and I'd like to do it proper. I'm looking for mid-range parts as this seems to be the best bang for buck and will upgrade again in 2-3 years. I'm confident in putting it together myself, just not sure about some of the differences in components (eg. which PSU for which CPU for which motherboard for which case)


1. What is your budget? €1,000 +/-

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Ultra-high settings on games like Skyrim, Lord of the Rings Online (etc), hosting Minecraft server and play at same time. Internet streaming. This will be my main media hub as well. No need for rendering or editing though.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yep. 64-bit win 7

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Nope.

5. Do you need a monitor? NEED? No.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. n/a

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1680x1050. Would like to upgrade in near future, or even add a second display.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Maybe a proper gaming keyboard/mouse depending on prices.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Sure.

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] Any of these.

9. When are you purchasing? Hopefully by end of month.

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


Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks!


:pac:. . . . .

Monotype

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€17.86
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€33.59
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€88.03
Thermalright True Spirit 120|€25.29
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.98
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€106.33
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€208.05
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€81.89
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850, 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€190.98
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€71.04
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€107.10
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht|€3.32
BitFenix Halterahmen für 2,5 & 3,5 Zoll in 5,25 Zoll, SofTouch, schwarz|€5.26
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1012.71

Download an English windows or whatever language from digital river. The one above is German so you're buying the license key.
Keyboards there are German layout, but they have a good mouse selection.

InlikeFlynn79

Thanks Monotype! Just few questions..... This looks great actually but unsure why you're chosen what you have (just trying to get an idea here). I tried finding reviews to look up on everything.
What's your feelings on:
Item|Price
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€121.79


would
Item|Price
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Window USB 3.0 - pure black, ohne Netzteil|€102.93
be a better option so I don't need to buy the storage bay adapter?

Am I right in saying the 3570K doesn't seem to have anything leaps and bounds above the 2550k? Would I get away with this?
Item|Price
Intel Core i5-2550K Box, LGA1155, ohne integrierte Grafik|€185.00
and is the fact that it doesn't have integrated graphics an issue? Is it worth saving €30?

I think I might get away with using the old card reader and optical drive from my old (current) system so wouldn't need those either.

So would this work?
Item|Price
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€121.79
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€33.59
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€88.03
Thermalright True Spirit 120|€25.29
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Window USB 3.0 - pure black, ohne Netzteil|€102.93
Intel Core i5-2550K Box, LGA1155, ohne integrierte Grafik|€185.00
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.98
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€88.90
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850, 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€190.98
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€71.04
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€981.52

Thanks again.

Monotype

The Z68 Extreme3 is a fine board. On the other hand though, it's an older chipset. You'll get a few small things with the Z77 chipset. Many of the boards come with a USB 3 header, for example.

Yeah, go with that case, if you like it. Case mostly depends on your own preference. I picked out the previous case because it's so quiet.

3570K - yeah, there's only a bit of a difference, but I'd go for it anyway. The integrated graphics can be handy for trouble-shooting, if you decide to put it into a different machine, sell it or use it for encoding. The 3570K would be slightly more powerful, but not tremendously. It overclocks a little worse on account of Intel's change in the internal heatsink so it doesn't dissipate heat as well, but it balances out with the increase in performance with the newer technology. Finally, you can also use PCI-E 3 with it. That's no use at the moment but in the future, graphics cards will need the additional bandwidth and you will be unlikely to need upgrading your CPU for a long time with the power of the 3570K.

InlikeFlynn79

ok.... So this is what I've come up with:

Item|Price
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€85.51
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.99
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€70.81
ARCTIC COOLING CPU-Kühler Freezer i30|€29.26
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€105.75
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€208.05
Cooler Master CM Storm Inferno Mouse, USB|€39.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€35.58
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€82.36
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€54.95
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 royalQueen, 1GB GDDR5|€149.00
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€935.24

Am I cutting corners here? Anything I should change? I'm running just slightly under budget so happy but if there's something I should change, we have room. I found the keyboard I want (Logitech g19) at dabs.ie for a great price because it's a US layout but since I'm from Canada that's not a big deal .

A lot of the changes I made where just because some of the stuff wasn't listed as ready for dispatch.
Thanks again for your help!

InlikeFlynn79

Basically I'm going to make an attempt to OC the crap out of the graphics and processor. Is this set up a bad idea for that? PSU? Cooler? Should I get anything else? Or should I just get a better graphics card that doesn't 'need' to be overclocked? Have been reading great reviews about everything listed here but haven't really done much overclocking so going to take it slow and easy to see what I can get. Any suggestions?

ED E

Its a K processor, so you can OC that, and should make some ground.

7850 could be OC'd too, looks like a decent cooler.

Airflow will be your main concern, you get three fans already, so should be good, but if you wanted to you have open slots to use:

Front : 120 mm fan mount x 2 / intake ¦ Rear : 120 mm fan x 1 / exhaust / 1 x 92 mm fan supported ¦ Top : 120/140 mm fan mount x 2 ¦ Bottom : 120 mm fan mount x 1

You could put another intake on the base and exhaust on the top. Few quid for fans, good Noctuas are about 12/unit.


Main thing to do first of all though is properly test it before you do any OCing. When its built you want to install a temp monitor, then run 48hrs prime95 and say 5hrs Furmark to ensure everything is stable and working well. Then game a bit and see how you get on with high/ultra settings. If you're getting consistently higher FPS than your refresh rate(60Hz most likely) theres no need, if not, then start a little OCing.

InlikeFlynn79

Thank you kindly, exactly was I was after. So looks like I have a build here, now just to order everything. It seems that everytime I look at it though, something else is out of stock, ha ha.

Item|Price
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€85.51
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.99
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€70.81
ARCTIC COOLING CPU-Kühler Freezer i30|€29.26
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€105.75
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€208.05
Cooler Master CM Storm Inferno Mouse, USB|€39.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€35.58
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€82.36
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€54.95
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 royalQueen, 1GB GDDR5|€149.00
2 x Enermax T.B.Silence 12x12cm|€12.98
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€948.22

InlikeFlynn79

I've just been advised that I may need a bigger PSU? Like a 700W. Any thoughts?

Eboggles

InlikeFlynn79 wrote: »

I've just been advised that I may need a bigger PSU? Like a 700W. Any thoughts?

Eh no... You could run this build off a good 350 watt, in theory.

U_Fig

You mentioned earlier that you may be interested in adding a second monitor If thats the case bump up the GPU to a 2gb model the extra VRAM will be needed for dual monitor setups.. Go for sapphire or msi

InlikeFlynn79

I think I'm just going to stick with the one monitor for the time being, haven't really got the space for it yet and can always upgrade later.

so this is final build. well under budget. should overclock fairly well and be easy to upgrade should the need arise. thanks all for the insight and assistance.

Item|Price
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€85.16
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€71.15
ARCTIC COOLING CPU-Kühler Freezer i30|€28.69
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€208.05
Cooler Master CM Storm Inferno Mouse, USB|€39.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€35.69
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€81.71
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€54.06
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 royalQueen, 1GB GDDR5|€149.00
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€53.68
2 x BitFenix Spectre 120mm Lüfter Red LED - black|€13.58
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€105.25
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€945.00

Monotype

Go for the low profile vengeance or something like the G-Skill RAM. The heatsinks on those are very high which will get in the way with some big heatsinks.

InlikeFlynn79

Parts arrived yesterday, in less than a week. Running the graphics card off HDMI and not really pleased with how crap my monitor is, lol. Been playing with settings in windows, the monitor itself, and in catalyst. It just seems like the whites are too bright(?) or that it's missing colours(?) I don't really know how to describe it. It's all good though. Very pleased. Games are running like a dream, absolutely gorgeous. Windows boots in under ten seconds, leaps and bounds from the old one that took nearly ten minutes, ha ha.

Thanks again for all the help!