Could you ok this build please?

nesf

Budget around £1000.

Benq XL2410T 24" TRUE 120Hz 3D Widescreen LED Monitor - Black

Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail

Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (CSSD-F120GB3-BK)

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6850 Cyclone Power Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Corsair HX 750W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-750HXUK)

Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower Case - Black

OcUK Value 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit

Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST - Retail (Black)


Thoughts? Power supply is much more than he needs but I don't want to have to replace it for a good few years and might be selling him my 2 x 6970s in a few years on the cheap so I want a PS that can handle them easily. Could go for an i3 processor but I figure he'll get a longer life out of the i5 and it falls within budget.

This board: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-198-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990 looks possibly a better option but I can't find any reviews of it.

Eamonn Brophy

Is that the gen 3 z68 board? get one that'll support ivybridge. I wouldnt go for the cheapest "value" RAM either, but that's just me.

nesf

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

Is that the gen 3 z68 board? get one that'll support ivybridge. I wouldnt go for the cheapest "value" RAM either, but that's just me.

I think by the time he's upgrading processor he'll need a different socket to what's around today and need a new mobo anyway. The whole Ivybridge thing only really is useful if you're a serial upgrader interested in the cutting edge.

Point taken on the RAM.

Eamonn Brophy

nesf wrote: »

I think by the time he's upgrading processor he'll need a different socket to what's around today and need a new mobo anyway. The whole Ivybridge thing only really is useful if you're a serial upgrader interested in the cutting edge.

Point taken on the RAM.

Yeah you're right, with overclocking I'd give the 2500k a 5 year life-span easy. There is the option of buying the cheaest cpu for that socket now, and then upgrading to ivybridge after but if he's not crazy on tech like you say that wouldnt server much of a purpose either!

nesf

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

Yeah you're right, with overclocking I'd give the 2500k a 5 year life-span easy. There is the option of buying the cheaest cpu for that socket now, and then upgrading to ivybridge after but if he's not crazy on tech like you say that wouldnt server much of a purpose either!

Yeah I'm torn about getting him a 2500K or not, he has zero interest in overclocking, though I could do it for him I suppose.

Eamonn Brophy

nesf wrote: »

Yeah I'm torn about getting him a 2500K or not, he has zero interest in overclocking, though I could do it for him I suppose.

That sounds like a good idea, maybe a really stable one to 4.2 or something?

Serephucus

Except for the PSU being overkill - which you have reason for - the build looks fine. I'm not sure how reliable ASRock are. I know everyone here uses them, but I'm very much a Gigabyte person, when it comes to motherboards (they were excellent for 1366 at least).

Everything else looks good. Nice choice on the case.

nesf

Serephucus wrote: »

Nice choice on the case.

Yeah it was that or the Corsair 400R but we both prefer the aesthetics of the Fractal Design case.

ShadowHearth

nesf wrote: »

Yeah it was that or the Corsair 400R but we both prefer the aesthetics of the Fractal Design case.

corsair is great m8. my 500R looks way better in real life, then in pictures. 500R is same design as 400R, just with added usb 3.0

nesf

ShadowHearth wrote: »

corsair is great m8. my 500R looks way better in real life, then in pictures. 500R is same design as 400R, just with added usb 3.0

He saw my Define XL case though and *wants that except smaller* etc.

nesf

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

That sounds like a good idea, maybe a really stable one to 4.2 or something?

Yeah, easily doable even on relatively modest cooling. So long as it's completely stable and don't have to spend all my time on the phone fixing it etc.

Serephucus

ShadowHearth wrote: »

corsair is great m8. my 500R looks way better in real life, then in pictures. 500R is same design as 400R, just with added usb 3.0

Define R3, perhaps? (Dunno what the price on that is like)

nesf

Serephucus wrote: »

Define R3, perhaps? (Dunno what the price on that is like)

A tenner extra. Torn between the two, I think the Arc is the smaller of the two but the R3 has sound proofing while the Arc doesn't. Etc.

Edit: I might go with the R3 thinking about it, he'd probably appreciate a quieter machine.

Serephucus

The Arc is nice, but I think you get more for your money with the R3.

It also looks a lot nicer, IMO.