Finally going to build a PC, need help with component selection!

[koopatroopa90]

So far I've been bombarding Speedlolita with questions so to save him many more pms, I thought I'd start this thread! Any help really appreciated, so far I have ordered (/hopefully won't get cancelled):
i7 2600k
Intel 120gb 330 SSD
16gb (4x 4gb) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM

Things I need/price wanted to pay:
Motherboard (?100ish)
PSU (?30-40?)
GPU (?100ish)
BR RW (depends whether I need a slim or normal drive, probs ?50)
Case (haven't decided yet as I like HTPC cases but they are pricey...)

Extra info:
Not sure I'm going to keep all the ram, might sell 2 sticks, but got a good deal on the lot.
I want to overclock the cpu but not huge amounts.
I want to be able to play games comfortably, although I'm not expecting awesome things with my budget.
Do I need the ability for SLI on the m/b?
What wattage do I want the PSU to be (using a calculator I roughly got that I need a 450w at least)?
Anything I've missed?

Not including the case or blu ray writer I'd like the total to come to about ?500, so far I've spent ?270! I can source W7 cheap so not including that either.

Thanks peeps

[Synthesthesia]

So far I've been bombarding Speedlolita with questions so to save him many more pms, I thought I'd start this thread! Any help really appreciated, so far I have ordered (/hopefully won't get cancelled):
i7 2600k
Intel 120gb 330 SSD
16gb (4x 4gb) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM

Things I need/price wanted to pay:
Motherboard (?100ish)
PSU (?30-40?)
GPU (?100ish)
BR RW (depends whether I need a slim or normal drive, probs ?50)
Case (haven't decided yet as I like HTPC cases but they are pricey...)

Extra info:
Not sure I'm going to keep all the ram, might sell 2 sticks, but got a good deal on the lot.
I want to overclock the cpu but not huge amounts.
I want to be able to play games comfortably, although I'm not expecting awesome things with my budget.
Do I need the ability for SLI on the m/b?
What wattage do I want the PSU to be (using a calculator I roughly got that I need a 450w at least)?
Anything I've missed?

Not including the case or blu ray writer I'd like the total to come to about ?500, so far I've spent ?270! I can source W7 cheap so not including that either.

Thanks peeps

I ran a pretty similar setup on a 650w psu no problem. I would spend slightly more than what you've budgeted on your PSU though. You'll want to overclock the 2600k, since it's so easy to do (have mine running at 4.5Ghz). I paid ?120 (?80 now) for this motherboard back in October and I've never had any problems with it (despite what the review says on there, works great with my hardware/the 2600k). Use the money saved off that to get the better PSU.

RAM- it's fairly cheap but if you have no reason for having 16GB (Video editing, 3D work etc) I'd just go with 8 since that'll suit you well for quite a while for games etc.

I have a graphics card I'd part with for ?100 if you want it. It's an AMD 6870 1GB. Had it since late October, only selling it because I upgraded to a GTX 580. Fully boxed, never had any problems with it, played everything I threw at it I just wanted a better card for 3D work/ I like to run things maxed out at 1080p . Perfect condition etc. (to be honest that card runs most things maxed out, just not things like battlefield 3 or the Witcher 2, they still look great with it though).

It's this one for ?140 on ebuyer. Let me know either way

[NW2013]

Any reason for the Sandy Bridge processor rather than Ivy Bridge? Just the cost?

[koopatroopa90]

Thanks for the advice Synthesthesia!

I was thinking I'd need a 550w psu at the least but if it helps future proof me for a bit (as in, so I can upgrade without needing to replace the psu) then I'm happy to pay more/get a higher wattage. Are there any particular brands I should look out for?

Speedy suggested a z77 motherboard might be good. As far as I've read they are basically a newer version of z68 and I've found a few under a hundred but trying to work out the differences between models is proving hard. That z68 you've linked to I think has a better spec than the sub ?100 z77 boards but then it's around a year old now so am I better off getting something released this year? I've also heard Asus boards are the slowest to boot but no idea if that is bs or not.

Thanks for the offer of the graphics card, if it's ok with you I'll carry on looking around but will keep you in mind as it was a model I've been suggested I think. Something I find confusing is that the same graphics cards seem to be produced by different manufacturers- there are 3 or 4 different HD6870s as far as I can see! Just had a look at that GTX 580 and Jesus that is quite an upgrade

Any reason for the Sandy Bridge processor rather than Ivy Bridge? Just the cost?

Yeah pretty much price I was open to anything i5 2500k or better, missed out on some bargains but the 2600k seemed a decent price and I got bored of waiting so just went for it!

[speedlolita]

Any reason for the Sandy Bridge processor rather than Ivy Bridge? Just the cost?

Ivy run hotter and are only about 10% better.

[Adrock]

Do they run more than 10% hotter? Thats an important question really. If the trade off is less than 10% more heat and 10% improved performance then thats a no brainer.

As for the system you're building. How much extra does the i7 give over the i5? From what I understand there isn't a massive difference and the money saved could go towards other stuff.

[koopatroopa90]

Already bought the i7 but it was only ?30 more than the cheapest 2500k I could find, and about the same as a 3570k

[Baseley09]

I'd recommend getting a good graphics card, the 570's are falling fast now that the new techs out and are still near that top end performance wise.

So glad I paid ?250 for mine 5 months ago now they are ?180 0_o

Thing is, you don't want to be dissapointed that you cant max out most games.

[koopatroopa90]

True, I just don't like the idea of spending ?200 on a gpu

I guess I could go to say, ?150, IF the damn thing will definitely last me a few years....

Is something like the gtx 550ti too old now to be much cop? Seem to be available for about ?100, or the gtx 560 for around ?110?

[speedlolita]

I'd grab a 560Ti for around ?150 if you can.

[koopatroopa90]

Is the make important? I'm guessing the "Ti" is important as the non Ti version seems to be cheaper generally, it's just the differences in prices between the makes I'm confused by...

[speedlolita]

The Ti is very important.

[Synthesthesia]

Could drop it to ?90 if that'd persuade you? Honestly if you're not bothered about maxing out your FPS/ turning everything on the 6870 is pretty great, I debated whether or not to get the 580 and tbh in most games I barely notice a difference. If you don't have the money/ need the better GPU it's just the upper crust that need the extra push of top tier cards and even then the 6870 runs them fine if you bump the spec down from ultra to high/medium.

I ran pretty much everything maxed at 1080p with that card apart from BF3 and Witcher 2 iirc and I still can't run witcher 2 maxed out at 60fps so... (Damn Uber-sampling!)

And remember 90% of 360 games only run at 30fps 720/640p (quite a lot are 640p surprisingly) which frequently will dip into the low 20s...

[Brad]

I have a 6870. No intention of upgrading as there is no need. Everything runs at 1080p 60fps at max or close to max settings. Eg. Arkham city, skyrim

[speedlolita]

?90 for a 6870 isn't bad. You'd want to probably get a 7850 to upgrade from that which is almost double.