How does this sound, Gaming-Z77 Build.

[Lucky7]

Hey everyone, this will be my first post on this forum , and would just like to ask for your opinions on this build.

Looking to make this rig last me for a 2-4 year period.

Asus Maximus V Formula 1155 Z77 E-ATX (£215.72)
Intel i5 3570K 1155 Ivy Bridge (£172.98)
Corsair H100i (£91.32)
Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB 4x4GB 1600Mhz CAS 9 (£147.67)
Asus GTX 670 2GB GPU 915Mhz, Boost 980Mhz (£323.60)
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB HDD Sata III (£70.74)
Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD Read 555MB/S Write 515MB/S Sata III (£98.23)
Corsair AX760i Full Modular 80 Plus Platinum (£158.11)

Total build without OS and Case (already have peripherals) = £1278.37

As the title suggests this will primarily be used for gaming, browsing, youtube and maybe some video rendering in the future but only minor amounts.

I have done some basic overclocking before and would like to get more into it, hence the k-series proccessor and the cooler.

Any input would be great, good or bad.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jamesriley94]

You're better off with the MSI mPower as it gives the same performance for a lot cheaper.
Which 670 is that?
And you're overspending on RAM. Firstly, you only need 8gb for a gaming rig - can always add more later. Look at Mushkin and the 'lower' end Corsair stuff. The Platinums are just for looks really, and they're massively overpriced.

Also, where are you getting parts from? On the whole, your list seems a few £ more expensive than other places.

 

[Master&Puppet]

I think it looks good. You have chosen a solid set of components stats-wise. The only things I'd mention to give you something to think about would be:

1. The motherboard is lovely but you can get the same performance from a mobo half the cost. The MSI z77 mPower would be perfect for you and suit a similar colour scheme.

2. Corsair Dominator RAM is, again, on the pricey side given you are just getting 1600MHz and using it for gaming. I'd suggest something much more simple like this. If you are going to get 16gb straight out of the box then you might as well get 2x8gb sticks and pushing it up to 1866MHz gives more headroom for the future although 1600MHz and 8gb in total is fine today.

3. I take it that 670 is the ASUS DirectCU II? I wouldn't get a standard single-cooler reference card. That ASUS would fit the black and red colour scheme you're going for (although there are better coolers out there but the ASUS is good enough).

4. I'd consider getting a bigger, 240GB, SSD for a gamer - 120GB can go pretty fast depending on how many games (and how big the games are). My OS is pretty streamlined at 40GB which gives me 80 to play with and that is enough room for 4-5 games typically.

 

[OcSurfer]

im sure you can get bits cheaper i got my 240GB Musking SSD's for £100 and 8gb G.skill Trident 2400 mhz for £60 though i wouldnt advise getting 2400 ram

 

[Lucky7]

You're better off with the MSI mPower as it gives the same performance for a lot cheaper.
Which 670 is that?
And you're overspending on RAM. Firstly, you only need 8gb for a gaming rig - can always add more later. Look at Mushkin and the 'lower' end Corsair stuff. The Platinums are just for looks really, and they're massively overpriced.

Also, where are you getting parts from? On the whole, your list seems a few £ more expensive than other places.

I think it looks good. You have chosen a solid set of components stats-wise. The only things I'd mention to give you something to think about would be:

1. The motherboard is lovely but you can get the same performance from a mobo half the cost. The MSI z77 mPower would be perfect for you and suit a similar colour scheme.

2. Corsair Dominator RAM is, again, on the pricey side given you are just getting 1600MHz and using it for gaming. I'd suggest something much more simple like this. If you are going to get 16gb straight out of the box then you might as well get 2x8gb sticks and pushing it up to 1866MHz gives more headroom for the future although 1600MHz and 8gb in total is fine today.

3. I take it that 670 is the ASUS DirectCU II? I wouldn't get a standard single-cooler reference card. That ASUS would fit the black and red colour scheme you're going for (although there are better coolers out there but the ASUS is good enough).

4. I'd consider getting a bigger, 240GB, SSD for a gamer - 120GB can go pretty fast depending on how many games (and how big the games are). My OS is pretty streamlined at 40GB which gives me 80 to play with and that is enough room for 4-5 games typically.

First off thanks for your immediate responses, i have been using www.scan.co.uk for prices and to look for products, if there are better priced sites then please tell me

The GPU i chose was the DirectCU II is there any problems with this one? the reason it was picked over other 670's was colour, hoping to have a window for this build where people can admire my work and was hoping to match the colours as best i could, looked at the mpower seen great reviews and the price is brilliant but in my mind imagining this build i just can't get away with the yellow bits on the board (might be different in person) with the RAM i got a little carried away (they do look great though don't they ) but yeah i think some red or black vengeance dimms will do

As for the SSD i will have to look at what exactly i was planning on putting on the drive OS+Game sizes but think a 240GB would be a safer option for the long run.

Thanks again.

 

[WillSK]

As the others have said you've put together a very nice mix of components. I agree with everyone on the Mpower motherboard. Also maybe consider a samsung 840 pro SSD instead of the corsair?

 

[NeverBackDown]

Samsung 840 pro ssd's are basically the best of the best. On the motherboard side of things the Z77 mpower without a doubt is the best board out there. Why a 670 i ask? 7950 offers more performance with the 12.11 drivers, unless the games you play all perfer nvidia cards. But 670 still a good option just not what i would buy, but hey your money not mine

 

[Master&Puppet]

First off thanks for your immediate responses, i have been using www.scan.co.uk for prices and to look for products, if there are better priced sites then please tell me

You'll also find a lot of people using overclockers.co.uk, ebuyer.com and aria.co.uk. It is worth shopping around for better prices and component selection!

The GPU i chose was the DirectCU II is there any problems with this one? the reason it was picked over other 670's was colour, hoping to have a window for this build where people can admire my work and was hoping to match the colours as best i could.

It's a good card - at the end of the day it is a GTX670 with a third party cooler. There are slightly better coolers and 670s out there but is it arguable that there's no need to alter your vision for the rig based on that. You don't have to have the best unless you are a total performance freak and want to get an extra few FPS more out of it which isn't going to be necessary. The ASUS is very recommendable.

looked at the mpower seen great reviews and the price is brilliant but in my mind imagining this build i just can't get away with the yellow bits on the board (might be different in person)

I think the colouring is relatively subtle (I think it is actually brown and yellow) but there are alternatives (the mpower is the performance enthusiast's top choice but it might not work for you or even be necessary).
How about an ASrock board?
For a black mobo you could get the z77 Extreme4 or Extreme6. There's also the fatal1ty which is black and red.

As for the SSD i will have to look at what exactly i was planning on putting on the drive OS+Game sizes but think a 240GB would be a safer option for the long run.

You can always buy another SSD in the future just for installing games/programs on if your first SSD isn't enough

 

[nex-s]

I would get the MPower as well. Well, I wouldn't, but you should, haha. If you're not a freak like me it's the better and cheaper option for your needs.

As for the RAM I support what everyone else said - get a cheaper version. I got 2x 8Gb black Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz CL 9 sticks for just over 70 pounds. All the extra you pay is just for the looks really. If I had to choose, I'd rather go for 32Gb Vengeance than 16Gb Platinum with the same speeds and price. But then you don't need 32Gb, even 8Gb is totally enough for gaming + you can always add them on when they get cheaper. The only difference is that they might not perform the same when you overclock them.

Video card - I have an Asus 670 DCII, I love it. There might cards with better coolers out there, but I don't really see that much difference. I mean, I can't hear my card at all. All my case fans are running on the lowest and CPU fans are on speed reducers, even at 50% I can't hear the GPU cooler... I definitely wouldn't go for the reference design.

You could also save on the PSU. 650W would be more than enough. Not sure about the prices at the moment, but maybe you could save quite a lot if you got the non "i" version and an AX650 or AX750 instead?

And finally, just as everyone said, I would surely go for a 256Gb SSD. I've got one now and it's not enough, will probably get a faster second one in the future when they get cheaper and mirror my system onto that one and use the old one as a second drive. 120Gb these days is nothing.

Shop around, I'm sure you can get all the stuff quite a bit cheaper. Just search it on google shopping, it's easier that way, although some stores aren't there. You may want to consider Amazon, as I got most of my stuff from there cause it was quite a bit cheaper that way. I know, I know, they don't pay taxes...