Gaming PC ~1350 euros Advice needed

NeonOcelot

Hi all, I've recently decided to buy parts for a new PC that I intend to build myself. Not sure what the best specs would be for this budget so your help is much appreciated.

Games I plan on using it for are Minecraft, BF3, Skyrim etc.
Focus should primarily be for the GPU, Processors, PSU, Cooling etc. of course.

1. What is your budget? [~€1350] Can go up slightly depending on the necessity (i.e. if a significant performance difference is possible with a budget of 1375/1400 for example).

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming]
Games as above

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Only mouse and keyboard]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]
5a. If yes, what size do you need. [not sure]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Wireless Card]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [No]

I will be purchasing ASAP and plan upon using Hardwareversand most likely as they were recommended to me. If you manage to discern a build please list all parts and the full specs included.

Thank you in advance.

Monotype

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€17.86
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€33.59
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€88.03
Thermalright True Spirit 120|€25.29
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€54.98
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€106.33
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€208.05
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€81.89
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850, 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€190.98
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€71.04
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€107.10
LogiLink USB 2.0 all-in-one Card Reader, für 3,5" Einbauchschacht|€3.32
BitFenix Halterahmen für 2,5 & 3,5 Zoll in 5,25 Zoll, SofTouch, schwarz|€5.26
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM|€196.56
ASUS PCE-N10|€10.49
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1219.76

I suggest you look at homeplugs instead of wireless.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA411KIT-AV500-Powerline-Adapter/dp/B0084Y9N3O/

You'll need an English windows install disc there. You can buy the English discs on their site but it's cheaper to download the version you need and use with the key you're buying. Details in the guide in my signature.

If you want to spend the extra money, maybe a 7870 or a 7950 or a 660ti graphics card.

NeonOcelot

Thanks very much for the advice Monotype.
That seems like a good enough build.
If I were to get the 7870 instead, would I need a greater power supply or would the 550W be sufficient?

Monotype

550W is loads. Plenty of room there.

Edit: I see if I can pick out a nice modular one if you'd like, but they tend to edge towards the €100 mark.

It doesn't take into account if you wanted two graphics card though.

NeonOcelot

Cool.
Perhaps some time in the future I will be crossfiring a second one but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

So, to almost finalise (I'll be checking up on some other details before I order of course), with some extra cash the card will take me up to around 1450 euro.

Is there any other minor upgrade from there that I could make that would make a noticeable difference?

Thanks in advance.

Monotype

I'm not sure if hardwareversand have implemented credit cards yet. Their standard way of paying is bank transfer.

If you're thinking of upgrades, some of the 7870s are good prices like this one for €211.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/2048+MB/59046/HIS+HD+7870+GDDR5+2048MB+DVI+HDMI+2xMini+DP.article

Is there anything you'd like on your motherboard? Higher ones have more connectors and that one doesn't officially support nVidia SLI (it does support crossfire, just not SLI for some reason, but it probably works anyway; might be that they didn't send nVidia a few quid).

Edit: But I'd definitely look into the homeplugs over wireless. There's 200Mbps ones for a bit cheaper too. They're out of stock from amazon at the moment though. Buying from the other sellers can mean a good bit of shipping costs.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-PA211KIT-200Mbps-Powerline-Ethernet/dp/B004INVKP4

NeonOcelot

Alright I do know someone who could possibly have spares but until then a wireless adapter will have to do I guess.

Would you recommend getting a 3GB graphics card, Radeon HD 7970 perhaps? It'll still be within budget.
http://lb.hardwareversand.de/3072+MB/55671/Gigabyte+Radeon+HD+7970+WindForce+3X%2C+3GB+GDDR5%2C+PCI-Express.article
I suppose that's my last question before I start to finalise my order. I heard people can do Credit card payments with Hardarevrsand no? From what I've seen their bank transfers are unsatisfactory to say the least.

Monotype

You could spend additional money on a graphics card and it will probably last a bit longer, but in fairness, at 1920x1080, a 7870 will max out just about every game and give you quite good framerates.
A faster card will give you higher framerates though and will ensure that you get fluid frames even when you download additional graphics mods. To get the best value out of high end cards like this, you'd need to be looking at multiple monitors or very high resolution ones.

Another option is to prepare your system for a second card and you could buy another 7870 in a year's time?

NeonOcelot

I think I'll settle for the 7870 then as multiple monitors never appealed to me and I can't really splash out on €500 plus ones atm.
Preparing the mb for another 7870 sounds like a good idea though.

Monotype

Well let's see...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/24.html

The 7870 shouldn't be going above 150W by itself. Assuming you had two of them and an overclocked CPU, you should be fine with about 500W, but we'll leave a bit of extra room for GPU overclocking and upgrades, so maybe 600W-650W.

Something like these:

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/24479/Super-Flower+Amazon+80Plus+650W.article
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/39875/XFX+PRO650W+Core+Edition+Full+Wired+Power+Supply.article
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/49525/Antec+High+Current+Gamer+HCG-620.article
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/600+-+700+Watts/38006/Super-Flower+SF650P14XE+Golden+Green+Pro+80plus+gold.article
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/500+-+600+Watts/33060/Super-Flower+SF600P14XE+Golden+Green+80plus+gold+Modular.article

The last one is modular.

Now, the motherboard supports crossfire as it is, but maybe you might like the GD55:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/57132/MSI+Z77A-GD55%2C+Intel+Z77%2C+ATX%2C+DDR3.article

NeonOcelot

That's great thanks. I guess I'll stick with the motherboard I have and see about the new PSU.
Seems like a great build now so I suppose I'll be ordering soon. Thanks very much for all the help again Monotype, it's much appreciated.