First Build

[makson404]

Hello everyone! So finally its time for me to upgrade to a better pc. I dont really have much knowledge about pc components (price/brand) but i've been reading around the forums and the net for what to get.

What im aiming for is a highend gaming rig and will be video editing abit. I will not be overclocking.

My budget is £500/£600

Need to get a new monitor: 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 dont know which to get. (Not included in budget)

Case: Black nzxt phantom - £105

8gb RAM: RAMOS 4GB DDR3 1333MHZ PC3-10600 x2 - £30.67 (£13.49 Each)

PSU: Corsair 850W Enthusiast Series TX550 Modular Power Supply - £99.99

MOBO: Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3 Motherboard Socket 1155 Intel P67 ATX RAID SATA Gigabit LAN - £74.98

GPC: Sapphire Radeon Hd 6970 2Gb gddr5 - £215(Its cheap because bought from ebay) Was going to go for a gtx 580 but radeons 6970 are cheaper.

CPU: intel i7 2600k £185

Arctic Cooling MX-4 4gm Thermal Paste £3.99

Total: £714.63

HDD: Will use the one from old System

Optical Drive: Will use the one from old System

Will the graphics card fit into the Nzxt phantom case? Also if you have any better suggestion could you list down the price aswell.

Thanks.

 

[yassarikhan786]

If your not going to be overclocking then a 500 - 650w PSU would be fine for your needs and will ensure you stay within or slightly over your budget. If you're primarily going to be gaming then an i5 2500k will be good enough for both gaming and a bit of video editing. The i7 2600/2700k's would perform better, but since you're only going to be doing editing sometimes a 2500k would be the better choice (you will save 80 odd quid).

For the motherboard I would suggest sticking with Asus, Gigabyte or MSI as they seem to be the most reliable one's and are highly rated.

Here is a good motherboard for a good price:

Asus P8P67 LE - £90

 

[sheroo]

Unfortunately, the board you linked to is an X58 1366. This is now the previous generation, and therefore your upgrade path is somewhat limited. As mentioned the current Sandy Bridge platform is the way to go.

 

[yassarikhan786]

1155 sockets are the way to go and the one I suggested should be in your budget along with your other components.

The TX550W PSU should be more than enough for your build since you won't be overclocking.

TX550W PSU

 

[makson404]

Thanks for the suggestions. I just dont have a clue on motherboards or power supplys.

I've search up the ones that you've listed and found cheaper prices. I've updated on what to get list.

PSU: Corsair 550W Enthusiast Series TX550 Modular Power Supply - £69.99

MOBO: Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3 Motherboard Socket 1155 Intel P67 ATX RAID SATA Gigabit LAN - £82.79

For the CPU im going to try and get a Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4 GHz Processor Cpu Overclock Sandy Bridge for around £120 on ebay if not then might try getting the i5 2500k as you suggested.

 

[fcb]

Yup, looks like you're all set. If you're planning to OC in the future, you should get a 600 - 650W just for a bit of headroom. The Phantom looks great, if you don't mind it being a full sized case.

 

[makson404]

Just a few more questions.

Why is the Corsair 550W Enthusiast Series TX550 Modular Power Supply more expensive than Corsair 650W?

Should I just get the Corsair 650W instead of the 550W?

Also lets just say in the future I plan on getting the same graphics card (Sapphire Radeon Hd 6970 2Gb gddr5) to use as a dual card. How much PSU wattage would I need? Would the MOBO (Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3 Motherboard Socket 1155 Intel P67 ATX RAID SATA Gigabit LAN) be able to support both GPC's. Will both GPU's cause to much heat that i'll need to add more fan's or watercooling system in.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Just a few more questions.

Why is the Corsair 550W Enthusiast Series TX550 Modular Power Supply more expensive than Corsair 650W?

Should I just get the Corsair 650W instead of the 550W?

Also lets just say in the future I plan on getting the same graphics card (Sapphire Radeon Hd 6970 2Gb gddr5) to use as a dual card. How much PSU wattage would I need? Would the MOBO (Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3 Motherboard Socket 1155 Intel P67 ATX RAID SATA Gigabit LAN) be able to support both GPC's. Will both GPU's cause to much heat that i'll need to add more fan's or watercooling system in.

The enthusiast series is of a higher quality, thus it should be more reliable. It is also mostly modular, which explains the higher price. If you want to Sli in the future with 6970's an 750/850w PSU is recommended to be on the safe side.

The heat issue with two cards will be present, but it depends on how close the cards are. If the PCI-E lanes are pretty far apart, the heat won't be too much of a problem. It would still be a good idea to direct some air towards the top card if the temperatures seem too high.

 

[fcb]

Totally agree with you. Side panel fans can be good and bad. It disturbs the flow direction of air, but as long as every is able to be kept cool then it's great.