My New Build!

[Parky-RFC]

Hi guys! Let me start off by saying, I have limited computer hardware/technology knowledge hence why I've created this thread. I've decided on the parts below from quite extensive research, reading and watching expert and user reviews! I have not purchased anything yet and I'm looking for feedback, be it positive or negative, don't hold back I will take all advice into serious consideration. There could be an embarrassing major flaw somewhere (feel free to insert face palm gifs) I will take it on the chin and learn from it. If you believe I can get better value for money on certain parts or if I push the boat out slightly for a certain part that would be a better purchase, please say.

The set-up below will be replacing a Dell Dimension 4600 (Dinosaur). I have been using this TANK for the best part of 8 years and I have to say it has been outstanding value for money, I've only had a few minor problems with it. Obviously as you will see this is a huge step up but after so long with a Dinosaur I felt it's about time to treat myself.

In terms of usage of this set-up, there will be plenty of web browsing, watching movies and I've just taken an interest in PC gaming. It won't be hardcore gaming but I would like a system that can play games well. I'd say the majority of gaming will still be on my PS3, I will be capturing a lot of footage with a Hauppauge HD PVR and rendering it using Sony Vegas.

I need a system that I can rely on, I'm not someone who upgrades every 6 months. (Dell for 8 years ) In saying that, I would like the potential to upgrade. I won't be overclocking for the foreseeable future, really don't know enough about it tbh.

I'm from the UK and most of the parts listed will be from Computer hardware, components & gaming PC retailer Overclockers UK. I know I could get parts cheaper from other outlets but I'm hoping I can get a deal with them for buying in such a bulk. In terms of my budget, I really can't afford to go any higher than what's below at the moment. (Just over £1,800).


Okay so here it goes:

Case: NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - £114.98
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case - Orange/Black [PHAN001OR]

Additional Fan: Cooler Master Megaflow 200 - £10.56
Cooler Master Megaflow 200 Blue LED Fan: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Optical Drive: Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST SATA ReWriter - £20.99
Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST SATA ReWriter - Black (Retail) [DRW-24B3ST/BLG/G/AS]

Hard Disc Drive: Solid State Drive: Crucial M4 128GB SSD - £136.99
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) [CT128M4SSD2]

Hard Disc Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache - £111.92
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Dig...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330704981&sr=1-1

Power Supply: Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular - £139.99
Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-850HXUK) [CMPSU-850HXUK]

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V GEN3 Intel Z68 - £134.40
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-493-AS&tool=3

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - £114.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-04649) [FQC-00765]

Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz - £239.99
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail [BX80623I72600K]

Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition - £263.99
MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE MAFIA 2 PC Game [N570GTXTWINFROZRIIIPOWEREDITION/OC]

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB - £39.95
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) [F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ]

Speakers: Corsair Gaming Audio Series SP2500 - £181.99
Corsair Gaming Audio Series SP2500 High-Power 2.1 PC Speaker System - 232 Watts RMS [SP2500]

Keyboard: Filco Majestouch-2- £120.00
The Keyboard Company's FKBN105M/UKB2 - UK Filco Majestouch-2, NKR, Tactile Action Keyboard

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 3500 - £49.99
Razer DeathAdder Respawn 3500 DPI Xtreme Precision Gaming Mouse - Retail [RZ01-00151400-R3G1 ]

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P - £157.72
ASUS VS248H at Passiontec.co.uk kaufen


You might notice I only have 1 HDD, the idea is to run my operating system, programs and applications off this drive. I have a 1TB external drive already which I use for media storage. Is this a feasible way to go? Or do you think I will need a bit larger SSD?

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

PS. I know some of the prices are incorrect..they change like the weather.

 

[Mischa]

For the most part the build looks pretty good, I personally wouldnt spend so much on the keyboard seeing as though you wont be doing a ton of gaming but thats down to personal preference, i would use the money for better graphics card especially because Nvidias new cards will release soon which may be a a lot better than the 500 series.

To answer your question a 128gb ssd will be enough depending on what your trying to do, i only have a 120gb ssd and a 1tb external, i have my os, battlefield, skyrim, TF2 and some other smaller games plus a few movies and 1000 songs on my ssd with just over 20gb to spare. Basically it will be fine if your only installing a couple of big games and a few other programs for editing.

Apart from the that i think everything looks good, although from what i hear asrock isnt the best company for mobo, not that there is something horribly wrong with them but most people go for someone more reputable.

 

[Sean W.]

i wouldnt go with an AsRock motherboard. they have made great strides recently in their motherboards, but i still dont trust them, they arent battle proven like a lot of the other mobo companies, and i wouldnt get a z68 board, you arent going to be using the features that it offers, a P67 board will be just fine. my favorite motherboard right now is the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard. Unless you are going to be doing a lot of video rendering, id bump the processor down to a 2500K. its going to still out perform your current computer by a thousand percent. So use the money saved with the motherboard and the processor and either get a GTX 580 on the nividia side, or if you want to go with a current gen graphics card, go with a 7950, and you are going to be good to go for another 3-4 years.

the only other piece of advice i can give is dont get a full size case unless you need one for a particular reason. they are big and heavy as hell...

other than that it looks good!

 

[Parky-RFC]

For the most part the build looks pretty good, I personally wouldnt spend so much on the keyboard seeing as though you wont be doing a ton of gaming but thats down to personal preference, i would use the money for better graphics card especially because Nvidias new cards will release soon which may be a a lot better than the 500 series.

To answer your question a 128gb ssd will be enough depending on what your trying to do, i only have a 120gb ssd and a 1tb external, i have my os, battlefield, skyrim, TF2 and some other smaller games plus a few movies and 1000 songs on my ssd with just over 20gb to spare. Basically it will be fine if your only installing a couple of big games and a few other programs for editing.

Apart from the that i think everything looks good, although from what i hear asrock isnt the best company for mobo, not that there is something horribly wrong with them but most people go for someone more reputable.

Thanks for the feedback mate! I have edited my OP, changed the motherboard (what do you think?) and I have added a 1TB internal drive. I will be doing a lot of game-play capturing and from what I've gathered, a capture of 20 mins will be around 3GB in size. I may as well back up my files which I've got on my external anyway. With regards to the keyboard, my mate has that keyboard and I just love the feel to it!

i wouldnt go with an AsRock motherboard. they have made great strides recently in their motherboards, but i still dont trust them, they arent battle proven like a lot of the other mobo companies, and i wouldnt get a z68 board, you arent going to be using the features that it offers, a P67 board will be just fine. my favorite motherboard right now is the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard. Unless you are going to be doing a lot of video rendering, id bump the processor down to a 2500K. its going to still out perform your current computer by a thousand percent. So use the money saved with the motherboard and the processor and either get a GTX 580 on the nividia side, or if you want to go with a current gen graphics card, go with a 7950, and you are going to be good to go for another 3-4 years.

the only other piece of advice i can give is dont get a full size case unless you need one for a particular reason. they are big and heavy as hell...

other than that it looks good!

As you can see I've changed the motherboard, still a Z68 but it seems to get good reviews! Asus have a decent reputation with motherboards from what I've read. I will be doing a lot of video rendering, still I've been advised elsewhere that I should perhaps bump down the processor down to the i7 2600. What do you think? The GTX 580 looks insane. If I can squeeze that in I will!

Do you guys think the 850W PSU is overkill for what I'm running? Would I better off with a 750? Thanks for your help!

 

[Sean W.]

if you go with a 7950 or a 7970, a 750W power supply would be fine, if you get a nivida card a 850W would be a good idea.

as far as the processor, get a " K " series one no matter what, its an unlocked processor so its a lot easier to overclock.

 

[Parky-RFC]

if you go with a 7950 or a 7970, a 750W power supply would be fine, if you get a nivida card a 850W would be a good idea.

as far as the processor, get a " K " series one no matter what, its an unlocked processor so its a lot easier to overclock.

I won't be overclocking mate. Does that change your thoughts or should I just stick with the 2600K. Thanks for your help!

 

[Sean W.]

overclocking is so easy now aday, its almost foolish not to overclock. you can literally get between 20-30% more perforamnce for free.

i strongly encourge you to overclock. but if you arent overclocking a non "K" processor will work just fine.

 

[Parky-RFC]

overclocking is so easy now aday, its almost foolish not to overclock. you can literally get between 20-30% more perforamnce for free.

i strongly encourge you to overclock. but if you arent overclocking a non "K" processor will work just fine.

I wouldn't know where to start lol. I'd probably end up trying to replicate someone on Youtube and totally fry my CPU.

 

[Sean W.]

its pretty easy peasy, on some motherboards all you literally have to do is push a hardware button on the motherboard, and you get a 4-7mhz extra clock speed, just by pushing a button...