Contribute your ideas!

[Casjj]

Basically looking for a system for gaming/media

Got some ideas in mind but I'd like to have other opinions thrown in too.

Amd or intel, single or dual gpu I have no preference as it stands as long as it handles hd gfx as it will be used with a large screen.

Go wild, let me hear your suggestions however trying to keep to a budget of around £1000

 

[Cyanide89]

Start with a GTX 590.

So, now you have £300 left... what should we buy?

 

[Cyanide89]

You could check this out... it's how to build a gaming PC for cheap.

 

[Casjj]

I wish I had more money to invest in the build but as I said I'm open to suggestions on which components, just trying to squeeze all the performance I can for as little as possible, ive had the intention to build for years so I fear most components I had in mind are outdated, the i5 2500k seems to be a popular choice but Im doing my best to avoid the pitfall of a good CPU but sacrifice on graphics

 

[Cyanide89]

Did you check out the link I posted? It has some great hardware in there for a great price.

 

[Casjj]

I did indeed, but I got thrown off by the dollars as to what prices realistically I can get components for, as much as I shop around it's impossible to find things as cheap in the uk

 

[daniSAUR]

CPU: intel i5 2500k

[optional for overclocking CPU cooler: Noctua D14]

Mobo: any p67/z68 boards

Ram: 8GB Mushkin Blackine 1.5v

GPU: 560GTX (possibly SLi this cards)/6950 (possibly XFire this card)

HDD: 1TB Samsung F3 (you can always add more and an SSD)

[optional SSD: Crucial/Kingston drives, 60gb/64gb/124gb]

Case: kind of a personal preference really, but Coolermaster, Silverstone, Lian-Li, Corsair and Caselabs are favourites here.

PSU: single card set up; 500W-650W, dual card setup - 750W+. Go for anything Corsair, Coolermaster, Be Quiet! or Seasonic.

OS: Windows 7 64bit OEM

Just something I'd suggest looking at.

 

[Matthias2437]

CPU: intel i5 2500k

[optional for overclocking CPU cooler: Noctua D14]

Mobo: any p67/z68 boards

Ram: 8GB Mushkin Blackine 1.5v

GPU: 560GTX (possibly SLi this cards)/6950 (possibly XFire this card)

HDD: 1TB Samsung F3 (you can always add more and an SSD)

[optional SSD: Crucial/Kingston drives, 60gb/64gb/124gb]

Case: kind of a personal preference really, but Coolermaster, Silverstone, Lian-Li, Corsair and Caselabs are favourites here.

PSU: single card set up; 500W-650W, dual card setup - 750W+. Go for anything Corsair, Coolermaster, Be Quiet! or Seasonic.

OS: Windows 7 64bit OEM

Just something I'd suggest looking at.

Yeah this is definitely a good start.

To add my own personal preference though I would say that the Sabertooth board from Asus is a fantastic motherboard. Also maybe instead of a 560ti I would recommend the Twin Frozr III GTX 570. That is a fantastic card. Either way though if you follow that schematic for your PC you are sure to have a very nice rig.

 

[yassarikhan786]

daniSAUR has pretty much chosen the best you can get with your budget

.

 

[fcb]

daniSAUR has pretty much chosen the best you can get with your budget

.

Yup, that's a good base template for you to follow and work around your budget.

 

[Casjj]

Sounds like I wasnt too far off the Mark with what I had in mind, thanks a lot guys, just needed some reassurance before I take the plunge.

Only one question, i know about the sandybridge p67/z68 mobo but iv never heard of seen or heard about the sabertooth, what's the low down on that board?

But in the mean time, I'm going shopping

 

[yassarikhan786]

Sabertooth boards seem to be pretty good from what I've heard

.

 

[equk]

Is the sabertooth the same one that mayhem said he tried to RMA to asus as he lost all USB, 4x RAM slots and 1x PCIe slot after testing and then Asus wouldn't RMA it as it had no serial sticker attached?

ref this thread: Going from Asus to Gigayte for good reasons

CPU: intel i5 2500k

[optional for overclocking CPU cooler: Noctua D14]

Mobo: any p67/z68 boards

Ram: 8GB Mushkin Blackine 1.5v

GPU: 560GTX (possibly SLi this cards)/6950 (possibly XFire this card)

HDD: 1TB Samsung F3 (you can always add more and an SSD)

[optional SSD: Crucial/Kingston drives, 60gb/64gb/124gb]

Case: kind of a personal preference really, but Coolermaster, Silverstone, Lian-Li, Corsair and Caselabs are favourites here.

PSU: single card set up; 500W-650W, dual card setup - 750W+. Go for anything Corsair, Coolermaster, Be Quiet! or Seasonic.

OS: Windows 7 64bit OEM

Just something I'd suggest looking at.

I think this is probably the best advice.

Personally I would go for a WD Caviar Green as my old Samsung was stupidly noisy in comparison.

 

[yassarikhan786]

It doesn't mean all Sabertooth boards will be the same. Generally speaking they are still very good boards. But to stay on the safe side get an Asus P8P67/Z68 or a Gigabyte board.

 

[Casjj]

So basically back to the original system, with the alteration of the gtx570's, and swap the samung for a WD?

If anyone else has had or uses a sabertooth board I'd quite like some other opinions on it.

Lastly, with the intention of overclocking to squeeze out every last bit of performance for my money will the air cooling be enough or is the corsair h60/80/100 line just well advertised which makes me see it as a viable alternative

 

[yassarikhan786]

The stock fans on the H100 are pretty loud when cranked up as shown on Tom's review. However on lower speeds you can achieve quite a high overclock with very good temperatures. With a Noctua or Silver Arrow you can achieve a similar/better overclock than with the H100 and the fans are much quieter.

As for the hard-drive a WD Black will be better in terms of performance. I have a 2TB one and my games load very quickly indeed.

 

[daniSAUR]

The D14 is one of the best air coolers out there. It could probably beat the few Corsair kits you've listed.

But really it's all down to chance, you might get a terrible chip that doesn't OC that well. But on the flip side you could get one that's absolutely amazing. It's a luck of the draw though. Although on air I've seen stable results get to at least 4.5GHz (you could probably go further).

 

[equk]

It doesn't mean all Sabertooth boards will be the same. Generally speaking they are still very good boards. But to stay on the safe side get an Asus P8P67/Z68 or a Gigabyte board.

I think the main point is regarding Asus' support and RMA procedure.

 

[yassarikhan786]

I think the main point is regarding Asus' support and RMA procedure.

Oh ok. RMA'ing with most companies is a pain tbh.

 

[equk]

Oh ok. RMA'ing with most companies is a pain tbh.

I've been working as a IT Tech since 1996 and I don't think I've had the sort of problems Mayhem described in his post.

Maybe just lucky but have had to go thru loads of RMA's for customers etc.