Building a gaming rig for the first time. how does this setup look?

Asmodean

Hi guys. I really miss my days of pc gaming so I'm looking to save up for the next couple of months and get this build hopefully. Just wondering if it looks okay because I'm pretty much a beginner but I've been doing a lot of research and looking back over the other threads on here and want to make sure I haven't left anything out. I haven't included windows or peripherals because I can look after that sort of stuff myself. Feedback much appreciated guys, thank you.



Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155
174,57 €

ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX
100,97 €

8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9
66,29 €

Sapphire HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express
218,18 €

Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W
51,98 €

Cooler Master HAF 912 schwarz, ohne Netzteil
70,24 €

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
47,24 €

LG GH22NS50 bare schwarz
23,09 €

Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 Heatpipe Cooler 120mm
21,99 €

Samsung SyncMaster P2470HD
197.87

Total = 972.42

deconduo

Looks great. I don't know a whole lot about that cooler but I'll have a look now. The rest is perfect.

Asmodean

Excellent! Thank you very much. Just wanted to make sure I had all the basics covered. This might sound incredibly stupid but i presume to run a basic wired broadband connection to a pc you just need the motherboard right?

deconduo

Yeah, the motherboard will have an ethernet connection.

Asmodean

Yeah I was thinking that alright, cheers.

Serephucus

Same as above; looks like a solid build, though I don't know that cooler, so I can't say anything there. I'd maybe look at a 600-650W PSU though? 550W doesn't leave you much wiggle-room.

Asmodean

Okay very good. I might get a different PSU instead so, don't want to scrimp on anything important. If you're not familiar with that cooler would you be able to recommend a suitable one?

Monotype

In the next step of PSUs, there's the
Modular 650W Truepower New
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=31373

and the efficient 650W Golden Green
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=38006

The Scythe Mugen 2 is a good heatsink for the price, although it can be awkward to install.
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=25731

savemejebus

This PSU is powerful, cheap and best of all Seasonic based if you don't need modular http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=42451&agid=1630

deconduo

Don't listen to the people telling you the PSU isn't enough, even a good 450W would run a single 6950 with plenty of room to spare. That SuperFlower Amazon is great value for money and there's no need to spend more than that.

Have a look at this thread for more info about PSUs:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056268210

Asmodean

Thanks for the tips there guys I'll have a browse through them. I guess I'd be looking for something relatively easy to install. I will probably pay the extra 20 to have them install it but from reading on previois threads they never pre-install coolers due to shipping.

Am I right in thinking they are PSU's with cooling equipment built in? As in I wouldn't need a PSU and a seperate cooler system?

Elisabeth Blanctorche

Make sure to get 1.5V ram, sandybridge cpu's prefer it to 1.65V

Also I don't think there's much difference in price between a sata 2 and 3 hard drive, your motherboard supports sata 3.

Also I know it's probably obvious but make sure to get 64-bit windows or only 4gb of your ram will be accessible.

Asmodean

make sure to get 64-bit windows or only 4gb of your ram will be accessible.

I didn't know that at all. Cheers. Would Sata 3 really make that much of a difference?

Elisabeth Blanctorche

Asmodean wrote: »

I didn't know that at all. Cheers. Would Sata 3 really make that much of a difference?

Well I'm open to correction on this but I think the max transfer rate for sata2 is 3gb/s and for sata3 is 6gb/s. It won't have much of an impact on gaming though.

marco_polo

Asmodean wrote: »

I didn't know that at all. Cheers. Would Sata 3 really make that much of a difference?

None for mechanical hdds as they are too slow to hit the SATA 2 transfer limits. for a fast SATA 3 enabled ssd it would improve performance.

Asmodean

Interesting. Ill look into that. I want it mostly for gaming though so that would take priority. Looks like that first setup i had listed is okay then? With the exception of windows 64 bit.

merc.ie

Here's a review of the Gaia cooler - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cooler-heatsink-roundup,2788-6.html

Asmodean

Ah very good thank you!
Is it v difficult for a first timer to install a fan or would I manage it okay? Doesn't seem too difficult.

dwighet

Asmodean wrote: »

Ah very good thank you!
Is it v difficult for a first timer to install a fan or would I manage it okay? Doesn't seem too difficult.

Its a piece of cake....:cool:

Serephucus

It can be a bit of a pain if your cooler needs a backplate and your motherboard tray doesn't have a cutout, but even then it's not hard, just a bit time-consuming.

Asmodean

Hi everyone i'm back again. I just wanted to throw my final buuild specs up again because I'm going to go ahead and order this in the next week or two and I just want to see what peoples opinions are again. Another little question I wanted to ask was do you think the 8 gig ram is suitable for my needs? I'm going to be using it for gaming and I doubt 12 gig would be necessary for that, or am I mistaken?

Thanks again for all the previous replies from before

Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155
174,57 €

ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX
100,97 €

8GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL7
62.09 €

Sapphire HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express
218,18 €

Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W
51,98 €

Cooler Master HAF 922
€103.01

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
47,24 €

LG GH22NS50 bare schwarz
23,09 €

Samsung SyncMaster BX2450L LED

270€


Total = € 1051.13

deconduo

Cheaper RAM:
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44319&agid=1192

The HAF 922 is a great case, but €100 for it is ridiculously overpriced. Have a look at the Fractal Design R3

€270 for a 24' monitor is pretty expensive too, but I don't know a lot about them so someone better qualified to talk about them might be better.

Asmodean

Cool thanks for that! I'll check out that case. I still have another bit of time to scope out a monitor. Everything else looks okay though? The 8 gigs of ram will be enough for gaming?

deconduo

Asmodean wrote: »

Cool thanks for that! I'll check out that case. I still have another bit of time to scope out a monitor. Everything else looks okay though? The 8 gigs of ram will be enough for gaming?

8GB is plenty

PseudoFamous

BenQ G2420HD is full HD monitor with HDMI input. It'll cost €150ish in euro, with free delivery from amazon. I don't see what's so special about LED backlighting, it doesn't make a massive difference..

Asmodean

Excellent that monitor seems much better value. I actually cant find that samsung monitor anymore, its not on hwvs or pixmania anymore anyway.

jack888

Your specs are very similar to a build I ordered yesterday.
But you need an SSD!, they are too awesome not to include. Maybe get a cheaper case?

jack888

Also I read a few reviews and the consensus seems to be you may as well spend the 20 quid extra for the z68 motherboard

http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=46921&agid=1601

Asmodean

Damn I've looked up the SSD's and seem fantastic but pretty expensive for not a lot of memory. Don't tempt me though, I nearly have this build nailed down!
I think I will throw the extra money at the motherboard seeing as I'm saving a good bit on the monitor now!

What about this case actually? Would it work the same with my current setup?

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=18537&agid=631&apop=0

jack888

Asmodean wrote: »

Damn I've looked up the SSD's and seem fantastic but pretty expensive for not a lot of memory.

DO IT!!!!

Im tempting you.

Fluffy88

Asmodean wrote: »

What about this case actually? Would it work the same with my current setup?

http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=18537&agid=631&apop=0

That case would fit your build no problems the only thing is, the Coolmaster is a much better case. It's got more space for fans to help with air cooling and it has some space to feed cables behind the motherboard tray to help with cable management. Which will keep your build tidier and help with airflow. And, this is just my opinion from looking at pics of them, but the Coolmaster just looks like it's made of better material. All that said though any ATX case will do you just fine.

Also I would recommend an SSD too, they are awesome
Best of luck.

Asmodean

Actually you know what, I'm saving a hundred quid on a different monitor so I might just go for the ssd. I'm trying to gear my build towards a higher end spec so I think I may as well. I'll miss the tb of space but tbh I play a lot of open end sandbox games like the witcher, fallout, wow etc and I'm planning on getting skyrim in November. I hear that the ssd's are great for such games due to faster boot and loading times.
I presume I don't need a different psu or anything. The 550w will still work okay. I think I'm gonna stick with the 922 as it's better for cooling and a good friend has one and recommended it.