New gaming PC

S

Spruce

Posts: 29   +0
Hi

I've put together a gaming PC with some help from the buying guide here on Techspot, now I'd like to know if the components will work together/if something is totally wrong...

Motherboard: ASROCK S1155 P67 DDR3 SATA6 USB3 GBE ATX
CPU: INTEL CORE I5-2500K 3.3G 6M LGA1155 BOX
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6850 PCIE 1GB DDR5 COOLSTREAM
Sound: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer (soundcard really necessary? or can I save some money and skip it without too much trouble?)
Storage: SEAGATE BARRACUDA 12 1TB SATA3 7.2K 32MB
SSD: CORSAIR FORCE 3 60GB 2.5" SATA3
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK
Power: CM GX PSU 650W 12CM ATX12V2.31 80+BRONZ
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA

Budget is a little stretched, can I save some bucks somewhere without too much negative impact on performance?

Regards
 
You can definitely do without the sound card imo. Its really a terrible time to buy Hard Drives now as well, they've essentially tripled in price since the floods. I'd say if you have a spare Hard Drive to use that for now until prices come down some. I'd personally hold off on the HD and just upgrade my SSD choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442 is pretty cheap rite now. Besides that great choices on components, have fun :D
 
If all you want is gaming performance then you could get a cheaper processor (i3 2120 for example) and spend that money on a better graphics card (6870/GTX 560/560 Ti).
 
Your selections are good, but of course you are pushing the budget. A simple sound card serves most folks very well... It depends a bit on what speakers this will be driving.
I agree with slh28 on the graphics card improvement... among several available options.
If budget becomes an issue, is there a specific reason why you cannot switch to AMD 4 CPU and perhaps ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard?
You can always put some real meat into the board and CPU, and short cut elsewhere for upgrades later on... 250 or 500 GB HDD until prices come back down... or go for only the SSD which has prices dropping rapidly now.32MB
I would stick with your CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS and case.
Get your top motherboard, CPU coolere, and power supply, then create an upgrade plan for the other components... as your budget improves
Playing the budget too close to the wire might reduce your flexibility when you discover a desirable change...
Think of your purchases as flexible anyway. A year from now the market will be different, as will all your choices... We all look back on our previous equipment design plans and wonder why we chose such and such or paid as much for another item we rarely use.
The Ideal of today will change within three months... build in your own flexibility.
 
Hi

Thanks for the inputs, this is my new setup:

* = Changed

Motherboard: ASUS AM3+ AMD990X DDR3 USB3 SATA6 ATX*
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640/AM3 3.0GHz 2MB-L2, BOX*
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6870 PCIE 1G DDR5 2XDVI+2X DP*
Storage: WD CAVIAR BLUE 500GB 3.5" SATA3 7.2K 16M*
SSD: CORSAIR FORCE 3 60GB 2.5" SATA3
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK
Power: CM GX PSU 650W 12CM ATX12V2.31 80+BRONZ
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA

As for speakers, I only use SteelSeries Siberia headset right now.
I think this was some good changes, don't need luxury system =)

How does that look?
 
Looks great.
You will be very happy with that system, and you can upgrade components as your experience dictates, for what I suspect will be relatively very little additional cost.

Keep us informed on how you like it and what needs tweaking.

We have used that motherboard and AMD4 combination recently with superb results.
 
Hi

Been thinking if some extra cooling fan would be good idea.

Had either of these in mind right now:
CM HYPER TX3 1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2
CM EXCALIBUR 120X120X25 BALL BEARING
 
Spruce said:
Hi

Been thinking if some extra cooling fan would be good idea.

Had either of these in mind right now:
CM HYPER TX3 1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2
CM EXCALIBUR 120X120X25 BALL BEARING
Click to expand...

I would suggest these.
https://www.google.com/search?q=noc....,cf.osb&fp=2de55b0a1ffbc1be&biw=1280&bih=920
I've been looking at these also (heard good things)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...an_-_900R1300PM_Standard_120mm_Fan_Mount.html

If you are already doing a build from scratch I would add a CPU cooler now so you don't have to remove the MoBo in the future. It will be a cheap efficient add-on.
 
I would go against Noctua fans. They're very expensive.
Last time I looked, the new revision of the Thermalright true spirit 120/140 was extremely good for the price.
 
The AMD CPU was out of stock until 20th, here's another setup I've put together,

Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK
Power: CM GX PSU 650W 12CM ATX12V2.31 80+BRONZ
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6870 PCIE 1G DDR5 2XDVI+2X DP
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
Storage: WD CAVIAR BLUE 500GB 3.5" SATA3 7.2K 16M
SSD: CORSAIR FORCE 3 60GB 2.5" SATA3
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA (dvd/rw is not included in the chassi right?)
Motherboard: ASROCK S1155 Z68 DDR3 USB3 SATA6 MATX
CPU: INTEL CORE I3-2120 3.3G 3M LGA1155 BOX
Cooling: CM TURBINE MASTER MACH0.8 120X120X25

Would it be better to wait for the 'AMD Athlon II X4 640/AM3 3.0GHz 2MB-L2, BOX' instead of grabbing the intel one? not much difference i guess.
 
I would. There is a huge difference in cost toward AMD, and a sometimes significant difference in performance toward Intel.

The AMD is excellent, and worth the wait. The Intel is if you you are a high level player of games and design.

You have made some decisions already... do you know the difference between WD Caviar Blue and WD Caviar Black, for instance? You are getting a fairly inexpensive, but decent, case, and motherboard...

You have already picked an Intel CPU and motherboard... Did you also want an AMD, or do you want an AMD-based motherboard to go with the AMD X4?

Take note of the fact that the motherboard and CPU should be bought as a package so you know the CPU will fit the motherboard... Remember that all components can be upgraded, but if you have the "Right" motherboard for you and the correct CPU to work with it, the rest of your life on that computer is less hectic... Knowing what you want is important... and it appears you may not be quite ready to give the vendor your credit card number.
 
I will go for the AMD approach after all, like this:

ASUS AM3+ AMD990X DDR3 USB3 SATA6 ATX
AMD Athlon II X4 640/AM3 3.0GHz 2MB-L2, BOX

Then I can go for Phenom X6 etc. in the future...

What's the difference between WD Caviar Blue and Black?
Can I skip the extra cooling fan for now?
 
Blue will be slower than a black.
IMO don't buy a mechanical hard drive unless you absolutely need it with your computer. You can install run windows have a healthy amount of room for programs and files with just the SSD, then pick up an HDD when prices go back down.

Sure you don't need the fan anyway.
 
Hi

I've been playing around again with components, but now I think this is final.
I think it will run nice, please tell me if not! =)

Motherboard: ASROCK S1155 Z68 DDR3 USB3 SATA6 MATX
CPU: Core i5-2400/3.1GHz 6MB LGA1155 (I don't plan to overclock at this moment and save some money over the 2500k)
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6850 PCIE 1GB DDR5 COOLSTREAM
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 Series 60GB SATA3
Storage: SEAGATE BARRACUDA 12 1TB SATA3 7.2K 32MB (I want some storage, and this one was cheaper than a WD Black 500GB)
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA
PSU: CORSAIR GS PSU 600W 14CM V2.3 80+
Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK
 
Seems decent, but if I can convince you to just hold off on that HDD purchase... But of course, if you need it, there's nothing to say.
 
Graphics card (bad choice?)

Hey, I have built many Pc's

The card "ATi Radeon 6850" is quite a let down to your build there. for the people who I have built pc's for (their choice of video card) have asked for an upgrade on the card as it just doesnt push out those extra frame rates needed to play games such as battlefield 3 etc at ultra with no lag at 60fps (vsync)

I would try and tempt you into buying a 6870 (which is still not that great from what I've seen) or a 6950 which you can buy for around £200 from amazon (1gb version - dual fan)

Thanks, any other comments or questions dont hesitate to reply.

ReConnected
 
Skipped the mechanical drive for now and made some other changes.

Motherboard: ASUS S1155 P8Z68-M PRO
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6870 PCIE 1GB DDR5
CPU: Core i5-2500K/3.3GHz 6MB LGA1155
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
PSU: CORSAIR GS PSU 600W 14CM V2.3 80+
SSD: CORSAIR FORCE GT 120G 2.5"
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA
Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK

I will somewhat be missing having some storage space, hopefully prices go down soon...on the other hand, I think the Corsair Force GT 120 will rock =)
 
Spruce said:
Skipped the mechanical drive for now and made some other changes.

Motherboard: ASUS S1155 P8Z68-M PRO
Graphics: CLUB 3D HD 6870 PCIE 1GB DDR5
CPU: Core i5-2500K/3.3GHz 6MB LGA1155
Memory: CORSAIR DDR3-1600 2*4G CL9 KIT XMS3+CHS
PSU: CORSAIR GS PSU 600W 14CM V2.3 80+
SSD: CORSAIR FORCE GT 120G 2.5"
Optical: OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA
Case: CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK

I will somewhat be missing having some storage space, hopefully prices go down soon...on the other hand, I think the Corsair Force GT 120 will rock =)
Click to expand...

Yeah cool I'm glad you went for that graphics card, I know it will perform much better. You still wont be able to play games at ultra with 60fps vsync but you will be able to pretty much play them at ultra hight with 60fps! :D
 
ONE MORE THOUGHT! :D

I have used ASUS boards in the past and they suck with overclocking, gigabyte is a better option, but its your choice, if you dont want to overclock it doesnt even matter :)
 
This is the final setup and was sent today.

ASUS AM3+ AMD990X DDR3 USB3 SATA6 ATX
AMD PHENOM II X4 960T 3.0G 6M AM3 95W BE
ASUS HD6870 DIRECTCU PCI-E 1GB GDDR-5
CORSAIR GS PSU 600W 14CM V2.3 80+
KINGSTON HYPERX 8GB KIT (2x 4GB) 1600MHz DDR3
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 12 1TB SATA3 7.2K 32MB
CORSAIR FORCE GT 90G 2.5" SSD
OPTI 5280S DL DVDRW 24X BLACK SATA
CM ELITE 430 MID TOWER BLACK

Thanks for the help everybody, my first custom setup by me, will be interesting... :)
 
I know I'm new to this thread but the specs look good to me, and the computer has room for upgrades. Just out of curiosity what monitor will you be using to play games with? I'm still running with an HD 4850 at 1080p with most games on high/ultra settings and your card is 2-2.5 times better than mine so it'll last you awhile.
 
I will use a BenQ 24" LED monitor, but my aim is not to be able to run Battlefield 3 on ultra settings.
 
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