budget gaming rig

[isi786]

hi, I want to build a budget gaming rig <£600. I want to know every single (everything) part ill need to build this rig. Here is what I have so far:

Processor : i5-2500k@3.3GHz
Graphics Card : XFX HD 6870 1GB GDDR5
Motherboard : ASUS P8Z77-v DDR3 MOTHERBOARD
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB CACHE-OEM
RAM : RIPJAW 8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1333MHZ
PSU : OCZ CoreXtreme 500w '80 plus' PSU
CASE : Aerocool Vs-4w Midi-Tower Windowed Case

Cost=£594.89

I want to know if its good or if I can make it better. (OS not needed)

Your help is greatly appreciated!^_^

 

[ChrisGlobe]

Lose the plug, that'll save you a couple of quid

Also, I wouldn't go near an OCZ PSU - or anything from OCZ for that matter. I'm just heading home, so if no-one else has some up with anything in about an hour, I'll put something together

 

[Josh Weston]

Do you have an OS ready to use?

 

[jamesriley94]

Based on your current spec: Try and bump up to a 3570k if you can and get an MSI Z77a-G45.
As said go for a Corsair psu over OCZ.

Now - what I'd do...
Drop to an i3, again MSI Z77-G45 (or wait for Ivybridge i3s) and try and squeeze out a 7850 out of the budget.

 

[AverageNinja]

based on your current spec: Try and bump up to a 3570k if you can and get an msi z77a-g45.
As said go for a corsair psu over ocz.

Now - what i'd do...
Drop to an i3, again msi z77-g45 (or wait for ivybridge i3s) and try and squeeze out a 7850 out of the budget.

this.

 

[isi786]

Do you have an OS ready to use?

yes i have win 7 64bit

 

[Josh Weston]

Then what James said

 

[isi786]

Based on your current spec: Try and bump up to a 3570k if you can and get an MSI Z77a-G45.
As said go for a Corsair psu over OCZ.

Now - what I'd do...
Drop to an i3, again MSI Z77-G45 (or wait for Ivybridge i3s) and try and squeeze out a 7850 out of the budget.

when are the ivy bridge i3's released and I heard a 2500k is better than 3570k because of its over-clocking potential.
overclockers uk has two 3570k's OEM and retail. OEM is cheaper but which is better

 

[jamesriley94]

when are the ivy bridge i3's released and I heard a 2500k is better than 3570k because of its over-clocking potential

Should be soon - month or two maybe.

You can overclock Ivybridge to 4.5ghz and keep temps well under a similarly overclocked 2500k. It's only after that that they get hotter - and it's unsafe to be running at those kind of voltages on Sandy and Ivy anyway so in that sense there's no difference in overclocking potential.
Other than just overclocking - you get a far better memory controller and graphics chip in the Ivybridge than Sandy - so you're better off getting Ivy really. Plus they're more power efficient - not that it makes a lot of difference

 

[isi786]

thanks i think ill go with what you said. is everything else alright? I've changed OCZ PSU for Corsair equivalent and MOBO to Z77A-G45. Ill probably wait for the ivybridge i3 but I dont like the fact that i3's are only dual core.
Is the case alright, I care more for cooling than looks. Full tower or midi tower

 

[jamesriley94]

Dual core with Hyperthreading

It doesnt matter - nothing's coded to use 4 cores while gaming anyway, so you're far better spending the money on graphics card than a processor that will only be in 30% use while gaming anyway

 

[Ru5ty_t00l]

I would go for what u have listed except from the psu. take a bigger(in case u want to x-fire in the future) and more reliable psu

 

[isi786]

i just checked the cost on scan.co.uk and its £557.44. Not exactly the same but close
-Intel Core i5 3570K,1155, Ivy Bridge, Quad Core, 3.4GHz, 5 GT/s DMI, 650MHz GPU, 6MB Smart Cache, 34x Ratio, 77W, Retail
-1GB XFX HD 6870, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz, 1120 Cores, EyeFinity, HDMI/ 2x mini DisplayPort/ 2x DVI-I +Free Nexuiz*
-1TB Seagate ST31000524AS Barracuda 7200.12, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.5ms, NCQ
-8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3, PC3-10600 (1333), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V
-MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0 (x16), D-Sub/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX
-500W Corsair Builder Series CMPSU-500CXV2UK, 80% Eff', Uncertified, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.3, PSU
-AeroCool Strike-X One Advance Black Gaming Micro/ATX Case USB3

 

[Josh Weston]

You'd be surprised what you can get for ~£600.

That case is only there as it's of similar price to the one you chose.
But yeah...a 7950. Ooft.

P.S. I can't read your thumbnails at all

 

[isi786]

which i3 should i use?

 

[jamesriley94]

Atm - the 2120. But if you're waiting for Ivy I have no idea

 

[Josh Weston]

I'd go for the cheapest. Or, wait until Ivy.
Another alternative:

Overclock that little CPU and it shall outperform the i3s.

 

[isi786]

do i need cooling and if so which one.

btw thanks for all the replies

 

[Josh Weston]

For an i3 you wouldn't need an aftermarket cooler to be honest, as you can't overclock it etc. The stock cooler can get a little loud, though, so it may be a good idea.
To overclock the AMD solution, you would indeed need a cooler. Note the one I included.

 

[isi786]

i checked a rig similar to this and it only need a 350w psu