£1.1k budget gaming PC

Davidthewin

New member
Pretty much finalised the part list below, but if there are any changes I should make do tell :)

Note that I'm keeping the two HDDs I already have and the wireless card. I don't see the need for an optical bay, I have my windows 7 install disc but I could burn the .iso to a pen drive if needed so that isn't a problem.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£160.74 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£56.86 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£95.40 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB\) DDR3-1600 Memory (£68.59 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£78.96 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£284.15 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£102.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£88.50 @ Scan.co.uk)
Monitor: LG IPS224V-PN 21.5" Monitor (£103.08 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1039.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-14 14:23 GMT+0000)

I have the compatibility filter on so it should all be compatible, but if you notice anything please tell. What I was considering doing with the interior of the case is removing the top HDD cage and taking the fan from it and placing it behind the front bezel. Would this give me enough airflow or would it be good to get some exhaust fans in the top? If not, I'd quite like to get some sort of fine mesh to cover the existing mesh because I don't really like the look of it.
 
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It all looks fine, there are a couple of changes I'd make but I think that's down to my personal preference.

16GB is not necessary but if you want it get it.

Also I'm not sure about that GPU for OC purposes.
 
Personally I would get faster ram but youll be happy with it as it is. Also, I would go H100i over the Noctua
 
Some of the newer xfx cards seem to have the voltage locked on them so you might want to go with a different one if you want to push it :).
 
I've decided to change to the H100i but I'm going to stick with the XFX graphics card because I won't be overclocking it. I'm still undecided on the issue of 16gb 1600 vs 8gb but faster RAM, I'm not sure I'd notice the different in the RAM speed and they cost similar amounts when you take the higher speed into account.
 
Some of my preferences that shouldn't mess up your budget too dramatically:

-8GB ram, 16 is indeed overkill.
-HD 7950; get a more reliable manufacturer at that price. You can easily OC beyond stock 7970.
-I like Fractal cases. The new R4 is even cheaper than the one you listed. Great construction and tons of configuration options to balance out noise reduction and circulation.
-I prefer the newer UD3H over the D3H.
-If you are set on that Corsair PSU, then make sure you get the TX-750 v2 that is manufactured by Seasonic.

As for other people suggesting water over air cooling - it really depends on how far you want to overclock. If you want to overclock beyond 4.5Ghz, then, yes, you'd be better off going water. If you want a light to moderate OC - 4.2 to 4.5 - then air is perfectly fine and is definitely more affordable. The only thing to consider when choosing tower air coolers is clearance - both for case and ram.

Oh and a bit more on air circulation and case selection. Ideally you want to create a positive air pressure system, which means you have more intake than exhaust. The opposite, more exhaust than intake is a negative pressure system. Positive pressure reduces dust and increases overall circulation, particularly for the GPU. Also, you never want your top fans to be intake (heat rises).

With the R4 you get 7 possible fan locations: 2 front, 1 bottom, 1 side (only if not using tower cooler), 2 top, 1 back. All are 120/140mm. I am getting an R4 very soon and my fan configuration is going to be a 3:2 intake/exhaust ratio: 2 front and 1 bottom intake, 1 back and 1 top exhaust. Oh and R4 comes with dust filters, too!
 
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I'm still undecided on the issue of 16gb 1600 vs 8gb but faster RAM, I'm not sure I'd notice the different in the RAM speed and they cost similar amounts when you take the higher speed into account.

Above 1600 you are not going to notice any day-to-day difference in performance. You might see a few frames difference between 1866 only when benchmarking. If you have the money, I'd rather focus on getting better timing on your dimms instead of worrying about speed/capacity.
 
It looks fine ... maybe get a Sapphire Radeon card (they have never failed me!) and yea as stated above i like the R4 aswell (if you are looking for a quiet,clean case).
Im not sure about the SSD though i think OCZ Vector/Vertex is a better choice.Id pick the NH-D14 rather than H100i(The Noctua has 6year warranty :) ).
Allso if you have some budget to spare get 2-4 case fans allwais good to get some (cause most cases come with 2-3 max and if ur gona overclock ... might be better to get some more :) )
 
The only thing i will change is the Motherboard to a MSI Z77 - GD55 or a GD65 if you have the money to it, but that is just me. Cant tell any thing on Gigabyte, have never try them.

But the rest i do like, and the case is just lovely :D
 
But don't limit yourself to just the NH-D14 if you go tower air, there are a ton of alternatives at that price bracket!
 
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