Build for gaming computer

drazhar_84

I'm currently looking into building a PC for the first time and would appreciate any recommendations/criticisms anyone might have regarding the build below.

My last desktop is a few years old now so for the most part I need all new components and OS.
I do have a older HD and an external one too so I'm happy enough just to use the SSD for the OS and a few games for starters anyway.
I also don't have plans to overclock so I plan to use the fan which comes with the i5.

Finally, my budget is in the 800-850 euro range although that seems to have creeped upwards slightly with the GPU (I think I might be able to save a little on a cheaper case and I think a 500W psu should be enough too...)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.91 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.26 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£75.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£169.98 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case (£60.06 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£61.13 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£68.39 @ Aria PC)
Total: £762.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 03:47 BST+0100)

U_Fig

Also It'll work out cheaper if you buy all parts from the same vendor Saves on shipping costs.. Most people here use hardwareversand.de usually works out cheapest for components and flat shipping of 18.99

Also if you are not going to overclock you will not need a 3570k or a z77 motherboard.. You could save by dropping to say 3570 or even 3470 and to a h77 or b75 motherboard.. Although personally I'd keep the k and z77 as overclocking is a good way of getting extra performance down the line when things get a little sluggish.. Most parts will outlast their usefulness. You could get a slight overclock on stock cooler but for €20 you could get a decent air cooler and get to 4.5ghz or so easily

You would get away with a 450w power supply the super flower amazon plus ones on hwvs are good price to performance or I have a cpuple of the be quiet pure power that are good as well. If you plan to overclock I'd maybe go to 500w and if you plan on sli or crossfire keep the 600w as power supply's usually become most Efficient around 70-80 percent load

On the case that's a pretty good case as far as I know you could save the bitfenix shinobi is a good cheaper case but only by 10 or so.. With the case it's up to what case you like the look of really..

If the pc is for gaming the 7870 is a good card for 1080p gaming

IrishMetalhead

Think that PCPartPicker is only giving you UK shipping prices because I check out the items on those sites and they were giving a different shipping price for Ireland.
Go to hardwareversand.de where the shipping is at a flat €18.99, I specced out a almost identical system for you on there except different RAM, Mobo and PSU plus a added a CPU cooler for overclocking and the windowed version of the 300R.
Still out of budget but you could drop it down by quite alot if your not going to overclock by getting rid of the cooler and dropping the board down to a B75 or H77 and the processor to a non K i5:

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€207.02
ARCTIC COOLING CPU-Kühler Freezer i30|€29.79
MSI Z77A-G45, Intel Z77, ATX, DDR3|€99.79
Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT jokerCard, 2GB GDDR5, DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort|€210.26
Corsair Carbide Series 300R windowed, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€77.58
Special item: Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€53.16
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€89.00
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.16
8GB-Kit Kingston HyperX Genesis Special Edition Grey XMP PC3-12800U CL9- 9-9-27|€56.57
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€927.32

Example of a non OC'ing system:
Item|Price
Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT jokerCard, 2GB GDDR5, DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort|€210.26
Corsair Carbide Series 300R windowed, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€77.58
Special item: Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€53.16
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€89.00
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.16
8GB-Kit Kingston HyperX Genesis Special Edition Grey XMP PC3-12800U CL9- 9-9-27|€56.57
Intel Core i5-3570 Box, LGA1155|€186.37
MSI ZH77A-G43, Intel H77, ATX, DDR3|€77.42
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€854.51

drazhar_84

Cheers for the responses.

Regards OC, I said I don't plan to do it but as things go on, I would like the option in future if things start to slow down (and when I have time later to figure out to do it safely)
And for 80 euro difference, it's not a major thing I think.
Especially as I can hold off on the additional fan for now and just use the regular fan up until whenever I decide I want to OC

For Power, someone did recommend 750W but I don't see any reason for that - 500-550W will work perfectly I think.

IrishMetalHead, is there a reason you prefer that Mobo and RAM or is it just for convenience?

For ordering, that's the next step....had to figure out a build I was happy with first. I actually had most things off Amazon before just for convenience of keeping a list in 1 place but Amazon also offers free shipping for a lot of parts and hardwareversand charges extra for paypal payments....
Still I may need to go to versand for the SSD so will see how it goes.
Trick seems to be ordering from as few vendors as possible.

Does anyone know if street vendors are worth visiting?
I'm travelling to Dublin for a few days but I've heard mixed reports about stores.

Thanks again for the replies

Jacovs

Sorry for the off topic, but are there any import/customs tax/fees when ordering from hardwareversand? Or is it just the shipping fee and thats it?

U_Fig

street vendors are going to be a good bit more expensive than online for most parts... also HWVS accepts bank transfer really easy can be done using internet banking or in the bank...

also there is no extra charges when importing from another EU country... although you prob have to pay 23% vat rather than the German rate of 19%. it'll be included in the prices on HWVS