New Gaming Rig

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 8:30pm #1

Hello all, looking at getting a new computer built, the requirements are below.

1. What is your budget? €1500

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming (battlefield 3, cod, ms fsx)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? 1TB seagate external drive (no data on the drive the moment)

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 24"

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? n/a

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? DVD rw, card reader, love a nzxt sentry lx fan display (looks cool)

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes (would love a corsair H series water cooler)

8. How can you pay? Bank transfer, debit card

9. When are you purchasing? January

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? East Meath

I have made a list below, I included 3 sata cables because I don't know how many come with the motherboard, I also included 4 blue led fans because it just looks better.
Hopefully I have everything there, let me know how I got on !

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,289.75 + €30 shipping
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower black, ohne Netzteil|€48.36
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W|€68.22
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€189.99
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€31.92
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC, 2GB, PCI-Express|€254.52
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€15.58
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€8.55
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.74
NZXT SENTRY LX - Multipanel|€50.99
Corsair Hydro Series H70 (Sockel 775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3 +/FM1)|€65.99
4 x Thermaltake Thunderblade Fan 12cm / 120mm / LED / PWM / Blue|€5.94
3 x Good Connections® SATA 6Gb/s Anschlusskabel mit Metallclip, 1m|€1.19
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€117.29
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€174.29
BenQ GL2450|€151.98

nesf · 05-12-2011 8:42pm

If you're spending that kind of money I'd go with a better case. A Fractal Design Define R3 or XL, or one of the Corsair Obsidian series. The improved air flow and design will pay you back when you're overclocking later.

This cooler is better than the H70: http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=31818&agid=669

Quieter and I believe a better cooling performance. Though I can understand the attraction of the H series, I looked long and hard at them myself before going for the Noctua cooler. You'll also want Thermal Paste for attaching the cooler. Arctic Silver is a good brand: http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=1058&agid=1347

Eamonn Brophy · 05-12-2011 8:44pm

nesf wrote: »

If you're spending that kind of money I'd go with a better case. A Fractal Design Define R3 or XL, or one of the Corsair Obsidian series. The improved air flow and design will pay you back when you're overclocking later.

This cooler is better than the H70: http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=31818&agid=669

Quieter and I believe a better cooling performance. Though I can understand the attraction of the H series, I looked long and hard at them myself before going for the Noctua cooler. You'll also want Thermal Paste for attaching the cooler. Arctic Silver is a good brand.

Recommending that noctua cooler over the corsair ones everyone seems to buy....MAN AFTER ME OWN HEART!

Also, Op, if you've 1500 to spend, bite the bullet and buy a 6970 or 570, good step up and they'll max anything at your res.
That cooler comes with a tube of noctua brand paste, it's good stuff, better than the stuff you'd buy for a few quid, they dont cut corners!

nesf · 05-12-2011 8:47pm

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

Recommending that noctua cooler over the corsair ones everyone seems to buy....MAN AFTER ME OWN HEART!

That cooler comes with a tube of noctua brand paste, it's good stuff, better than the stuff you'd buy for a few quid, they dont cut corners!

The Corsair ones look really cool but after reading some reviews and watching a few Youtube reviews of the Noctua even some watercooling nuts were raving about how good the cooling performance is on the Noctua and I've read a lot of complaints about noise in the H series etc.

Eamonn Brophy · 05-12-2011 8:48pm

nesf wrote: »

The Corsair ones look really cool but after reading some reviews and watching a few Youtube reviews of the Noctua even some watercooling nuts were raving about how good the cooling performance is on the Noctua and I've read a lot of complaints about noise in the H series etc.

Yeah I ordered one for my build the other day, it really is the piece de resistance, the company really seems to know what they're doing, and give a ****! The fans on it are amazing, great cooling and near silent, I'd love to replace all my case fans with their 120mm ones but they're 20 quid a pop! You get what you pay for I guess :P

nesf · 05-12-2011 8:53pm

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

Yeah I ordered one for my build the other day, it really is the piece de resistance, the company really seems to know what they're doing, and give a ****! The fans on it are amazing, great cooling and near silent, I'd love to replace all my case fans with their 120mm ones but they're 20 quid a pop! You get what you pay for I guess :P

Yeah and there's far less that can go wrong with them. They're basically just a big lump of metal with two fans attached that you can replace easily. The H series has a pump and coolant to worry about on top of the fan. Fans are easy to replace, coolant in a factory sealed system or the pump going means needing a new cooler.

The simple approach with a reduced chance of failing is by far the preferred method. That it cools better is just icing on the cake really.

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 8:55pm

Eamonn Brophy wrote: »

Recommending that noctua cooler over the corsair ones everyone seems to buy....MAN AFTER ME OWN HEART!

Also, Op, if you've 1500 to spend, bite the bullet and buy a 6970 or 570, good step up and they'll max anything at your res.
That cooler comes with a tube of noctua brand paste, it's good stuff, better than the stuff you'd buy for a few quid, they dont cut corners!

it wont max out BF3

sli 570 maybe.....

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 9:02pm

Is there enough in my budget for a extra card for sli ?

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 9:09pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

Is there enough in my budget for a extra card for sli ?

I would not bother with it yet. I Biult few days ago similar system to yours with 570 card.

I play bf3 all ultra, but motion blur turned off and AA droped to x4 filtering to x2 or x4 too.

Anything else out there - maxed out. I don't eve have it over locked yet as I don't see an red in it. ( I can thought as I got lots of fans and h70 cooler )

nesf · 05-12-2011 9:14pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

Is there enough in my budget for a extra card for sli ?

Get a XFire/SLI board and stick with either a 6970 or 580 if you want the extra performance although to be honest a 6950 is perfectly good enough for 1080p gaming at the moment.

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 9:22pm

nesf wrote: »

Get a XFire/SLI board and stick with either a 6970 or 580 if you want the extra performance although to be honest a 6950 is perfectly good enough for 1080p gaming at the moment.

Yup. I think that mobo is already sli/Cs ready. So it's better getting something like 6950/6970/570, so it's cheaper to buy second down the line in near future, then buying full high end now for stupid money.

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 9:46pm

Many thanks for your advice so far guys, I have taken on board what has been suggested and have made a new list below, as already pointed out I could drop another 6950 later on when funds permit.
Be delighted to hear your thoughts on the new list.

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,421.40 + €30 shipping
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€144.83
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W|€68.22
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€161.15
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€189.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Low Profile blau PC3-12800U CL9|€33.79
Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156|€67.99
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€174.29
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€15.58
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€8.55
NZXT SENTRY LX - Multipanel|€50.99
3 x Good Connections® SATA 6Gb/s Anschlusskabel mit Metallclip, 1m|€1.19
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.74
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC, 2GB, PCI-Express|€254.52
Samsung SyncMaster S24A300BL|€163.19

nesf · 05-12-2011 9:48pm

Get yourself a 1GB 6950. You don't need the 2GBs at 24". You might as well save yourself €30-50.

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 9:51pm

nesf wrote: »

Get yourself a 1GB 6950. You don't need the 2GBs at 24". You might as well save yourself €30-50.

Agree, drop to 1gb and saved money invest in 750w psu, so you would have more leg room for your crossfire setup in future.

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 9:51pm

nesf wrote: »

Get yourself a 1GB 6950. You don't need the 2GBs at 24". You might as well save yourself €30-50.

So this would do ? http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43704&agid=1004

I thought I would have had better quality graphics with the card I picked.

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 9:54pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

So this would do ? http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43704&agid=1004

I thought I would have had better quality graphics with the card I picked.

After 1gb it only matter what resolution you will be playing on. If you go 1080p then stick to 1gb and upgrade psu.

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 10:02pm

Really sorry for all the list but hopefully the final list. I put in a corsair modular unit so I can keep the cabling as tidy as possible. Good to go ?

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,418.17 + €30 shipping
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€144.83
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€161.15
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€189.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Low Profile blau PC3-12800U CL9|€33.79
Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156|€67.99
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€174.29
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€15.58
Ultron Cardreader 75-in-1, intern, schwarz|€8.55
NZXT SENTRY LX - Multipanel|€50.99
3 x Good Connections® SATA 6Gb/s Anschlusskabel mit Metallclip, 1m|€1.19
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.74
Samsung SyncMaster S24A300BL|€163.19
Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular TX750M, 750Watt|€101.43
Gigabyte Radeon HD 6950, 1024MB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€218.08

ShadowHearth · 05-12-2011 10:05pm

Very very good idea on modular psu. That's one mistake I did. Took non modular psu... Now I am kicking myself for it. Looks good bud.

Neil2012 · 05-12-2011 10:28pm

That's grand, thanks a million for all your help, I'm going to build it myself, there's loads of help on YouTube and forums around but it's the help you get here on boards.ie with you lads on here that counts, let you know in the new year how I get on.

Neil.

Dublin_Gunner · 07-12-2011 4:47pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

That's grand, thanks a million for all your help, I'm going to build it myself, there's loads of help on YouTube and forums around but it's the help you get here on boards.ie with you lads on here that counts, let you know in the new year how I get on.

Neil.

There's a thread also of people offering to help build PC's for people (for free obviously!).

So if you need a hand, there should be someone around that can help

TBH its not all that difficult these days, no jumper switching, i/o cards and crappy cases to deal with these days, it pretty much plug & play

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 5:18pm

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

There's a thread also of people offering to help build PC's for people (for free obviously!).

So if you need a hand, there should be someone around that can help

TBH its not all that difficult these days, no jumper switching, i/o cards and crappy cases to deal with these days, it pretty much plug & play

I swapped a graphics card many years ago in my old meridian pc, that's all the experience I have. There is a excellent 3 part series on YouTube by newegg.com on how to build a pc a looks simple enough to do.

ShadowHearth · 07-12-2011 5:35pm

thats what i used few days ago m8. very short, easy and accurate video, but it does not explain much about fron panel connection. just look in to your mobo book to find which pin for which item.

satisfaction of building it yourself is priceless bud.

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 5:41pm

This is the video I was looking at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls

Part one is about the parts to use and part 3 guides you through the install of software (windows7, drivers)

As you say there's nothing like the achievement of doing it yourself !

nesf · 07-12-2011 5:43pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

I swapped a graphics card many years ago in my old meridian pc, that's all the experience I have. There is a excellent 3 part series on YouTube by newegg.com on how to build a pc a looks simple enough to do.

It's grand really once you take your time, make sure you understand what you're doing and if in doubt check youtube or whatever for a guide.

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 6:05pm

nesf wrote: »

It's grand really once you take your time, make sure you understand what you're doing and if in doubt check youtube or whatever for a guide.

I've already downloaded and studied the mobo manual, looks easy enough as you say there's plenty of help around. Thanks for everybody's advice on this build.
The only thing really worrying me is static electricity, one video says its ok to place the mobo on the anti static bag another one says don't. To ground yourself use the case, somebody else says use a wrist wire to connect to a metal object, another says don't build with your feet on the carpet, what's your advice ?

ShadowHearth · 07-12-2011 6:38pm

i just touched some metal, then droped mobo on my wooden table and pew pew pew. dont worry to much about it.

nesf · 07-12-2011 7:13pm

Neil2012 wrote: »

I've already downloaded and studied the mobo manual, looks easy enough as you say there's plenty of help around. Thanks for everybody's advice on this build.
The only thing really worrying me is static electricity, one video says its ok to place the mobo on the anti static bag another one says don't. To ground yourself use the case, somebody else says use a wrist wire to connect to a metal object, another says don't build with your feet on the carpet, what's your advice ?

I've never had a problem with grounding myself with the case in any of my builds. Wrist bands are overkill, but it's a peace of mind thing really.

-( i )- Wicker · 07-12-2011 7:58pm

Don't put any components on the outside of the anti-static bag. You are much more likely to get static discharge from the outside of the bag than you are on a wooden table

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 8:11pm

-( i )- Wicker wrote: »

Don't put any components on the outside of the anti-static bag. You are much more likely to get static discharge from the outside of the bag than you are on a wooden table

That's grand, so it would be ok to do the mobo external build on the box or on a wooden table ?

Dublin_Gunner · 07-12-2011 8:23pm

Modern components are fairly rugged when it comes to static discharges.

I haven't used an anti-static strap for a desktop build since a 486 I'd say.

Once you haven't been rolling around on carpets all day long, you should be ok (but just touch a radiator or anything metal before handling the components with your hands, to be on the safe side).

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 8:40pm

That's good about the static. I have done a bit of looking around and wanted to know if the 3D business is worth it. I've come up with a 3D build and would like to get your opinion on it. Would it be possible to watch sky 3d from this monitor with the hdmi connection ?

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,478.06 + €30 shipping
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€145.85
Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular TX750M, 750Watt|€97.74
ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3, Sockel 1155, ATX, DDR3|€148.91
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€191.31
Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156|€67.99
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance blau PC3-12800U CL9|€34.51
Gigabyte Radeon HD 6950, 1024MB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€217.88
LG CH10LS Blu-Ray ROM Bulk|€58.92
Samsung SyncMaster S23A700D "3D" inkl. 3D-Brille|€249.00
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.94
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€177.44
3 x Good Connections® SATA 6Gb/s Anschlusskabel mit Metallclip, 1m|€1.19

ShadowHearth · 07-12-2011 8:56pm

the faster all this 3D bull**** goes and dies in the alley, the happier i will be, but thats just my opinion

downgrade your list to normal non 3d PC and buy yourself 3DS

Neil2012 · 07-12-2011 9:15pm

ShadowHearth wrote: »

the faster all this 3D bull**** goes and dies in the alley, the happier i will be, but thats just my opinion

downgrade your list to normal non 3d PC and buy yourself 3DS

Thought as much having researched online. Sky 3d needs a 1.4 hdmi input so waste of time. I'll use my last list and get going ordering in the new year.

Cheers anyway.

New Gaming Rig

Comments