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Looking for Build Review Before I Purchase

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    #2
    Eboggles
    Registered Users Posts: 1,600 ✭✭✭Eboggles


    acorn1702 wrote: »
    Hi guys - I'm just looking for some quick insight before I begin purchasing the parts for my new PC.. which I will be doing a lot of coding and gaming on. I have a few questions and also would love if you guys could try and spot any compatibility issues I might have with the build so far:

    CPU:Intel Core i5 3570k - £168 (E 215)
    CPU Cooler:Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator and Fan - £56.50 (E 70)
    Motherboard:ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - £104 (E 130)
    Graphics Card:EVGA GeForce GTX 660 superclocked 2gb - £178 (E 222)
    Power Supply:EVGA SuperNova Nex 750W Full Modular - £84 (E 105)
    RAM:Corsair 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 - £30 (E 37)
    HDD:Seagate 1TB SATA 3 - £56 (E 70)
    SSD: Samsung 128GB 830 Series SSD - £83 (E 103)
    Case: Sharkoon Tauron Green Mid Tower - £73 (E 91)
    Optical Drive: Sony 24x SATA DVD Writer - £14 (E17)
    Monitor (x2):Acer 23" DVI LED Full HD DVI/VGA - £207 (E 258)

    Total: £1055 (E 1310)

    1. Will I be able to overclock this CPU easily?
    2. I want a Dual-Monitor setup, is this compatible?
    3. Do I need a Sound Card?
    4. Will the CPU Cooler fit in my case?
    5. Will these monitors be good for gaming?
    6. Mechanical Keyboard or not?
    7. I am buying an SSD but not sure what it is for? Anybody help explain it?
    8. Does the case have adequate ventilation?
    9. Is this a decent graphics card?
    10. Which parts are lacking/overkill in relation to my other parts, also it seems a bit expensive for the performance I expect from it.. am I correct?


    Edit: Thinking about switching the GPU to this: GTX660 Ti

    1: Yeah, especially with that CPU cooler.

    2: I'd go for AMD if you want more than one monitor; their Eyefinity seems to be better than Nvidia Surround. Maybe a HD7950?

    3: You don't need a sound card unless you have a reasonably high-end speaker set up, nowadays integrated sound is actually quite good.

    4:The cooler should fit in your case, the case looks pretty spacious. There are better alternatives for cases though in that price range, namely the Fractal R3 and Coolermaster HAF 912

    5: The monitors look fine for gaming, yeah.

    6: I've heard that mechanical keyboards are the bees knees, so if you can afford it then go for it.

    7: And SSD is like an incredibly fast hard drive; you put your most used programs on it along with your Windows installation. Windows 7 home screen is usually on within seconds of turning on your computer.

    8: See no. 4 in regards to case choice.

    9: HD7950 would beat the 660 and 660ti, and will be much better once overclocked. It's also a much better performer in multi-screen configurations than the other 2 cards.

    10: I'd change the motherboard down to the Pro3, if you're not going to crossfire. The PSU is definite overkill, you could run the GTX 660 and 660ti off a 450 watt I'd say, and the HD7950 off a 550 watt with loads of room left for overclocking both GPU and CPU.

    I'd recommend this PSU.


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    #3
    acorn1702
    Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭acorn1702


    Thanks for the advice! Very similar to what my friend has told me.. I don't plan on gaming on both together, just want two for working/movies etc.

    I have dropped the power supply to 650W, want to keep it more than adequate so I have scope for upgrading in the future..

    I'm looking into the 7950 right now, looking to spend around £250 max on the GPU.

    As far as the case is concerned I really want one with a window, I'm pretty happy with the look of the Tauron so will be getting that unless advised not to for whatever reason.


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    #4
    Eboggles
    Registered Users Posts: 1,600 ✭✭✭Eboggles


    acorn1702 wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice! Very similar to what my friend has told me.. I don't plan on gaming on both together, just want two for working/movies etc.

    I have dropped the power supply to 650W, want to keep it more than adequate so I have scope for upgrading in the future..

    I'm looking into the 7950 right now, looking to spend around £250 max on the GPU.

    As far as the case is concerned I really want one with a window, I'm pretty happy with the look of the Tauron so will be getting that unless advised not to for whatever reason.
    It's not that the Tauron is a bad case, it's just that there are better ones out there for the price. Still though, there are worse ones too...


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    #5
    acorn1702
    Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭acorn1702


    Since when did Windows 8 come out? Haven't heard anything about it... anyway, I'm assuming Windows 7 Home Premium is the way to go for now?


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    #6
    Eboggles
    Registered Users Posts: 1,600 ✭✭✭Eboggles


    acorn1702 wrote: »
    Since when did Windows 8 come out? Haven't heard anything about it... anyway, I'm assuming Windows 7 Home Premium is the way to go for now?

    I find Windows 7 to be fine, but if you want you can get Windows 8. It was only released yesterday.


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    #7
    Serephucus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,180 ✭✭✭Serephucus


    acorn1702 wrote: »
    1. Will I be able to overclock this CPU easily?
    2. I want a Dual-Monitor setup, is this compatible?
    3. Do I need a Sound Card?
    4. Will the CPU Cooler fit in my case?
    5. Will these monitors be good for gaming?
    6. Mechanical Keyboard or not?
    7. I am buying an SSD but not sure what it is for? Anybody help explain it?
    8. Does the case have adequate ventilation?
    9. Is this a decent graphics card?
    10. Which parts are lacking/overkill in relation to my other parts, also it seems a bit expensive for the performance I expect from it.. am I correct?


    Edit: Thinking about switching the GPU to this: GTX660 Ti

    Just add to what Eboggles has already said (all good advice), and to give you another opinion:

    1. Yes.
    2. Yes.
    3. Hell yes (though this is subjective. If you have decent ears you'll notice. I'd be one of the more audiophilic guys here, and I couldn't live without my sound card.)
    4. Should do, yeah, but there are better cases. Something like this, though a bit more expensive, would serve you far better.
    5. Yup, but I'd much sooner recommend these. Far, far superior, and cheaper.
    6. I'd go with yes. You'll want to give the section on Cherry switches from this guide a read though. For reference, I use Browns, but also quite like Blues. I don't really like Reds or Blacks that much.
    7. What Eboggles said. Good drives are the Samsung 830 series, or Crucial's M4.
    8. See above RE case.
    9. Yup, though the 660 Ti is probably better value. Depending on your usage, an AMD card might suit you better either. They tend to work a bit nicer with multi-monitor setups, though NVIDIA's cards use CUDA to accelerate certain applications (Photoshop, some video editors, etc.)
    10. Eboggles covered this nicely.


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    #8
    acorn1702
    Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭acorn1702


    Price stated in OP is for both monitors, not sure if I can go much higher on those, but if you could recommend better monitors 22-24inch without going over £230/240 I'd appreciate it.


    I'm looking at the Razer Lycoza as apposed to a mechanical keyboard now, thoughts?


    As for the graphics card I've decided to beef it up to the XFX 3gb Radeon 7950 DD Black Edition


    Also do I need to buy any extra monitor cables for a dual monitor set up? I've never done this before and I'm confused on how it works.

    These are the monitors I'm getting: Monitor (x2)

    This is the Graphics Card


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