Second Gaming Pc Build

Topbike77

The first time I built a pc I went in blind and ended up paying over a grand for a out of date problematic monster. Im due an upgrade and have noticed that the lads here are pretty up to date on the latest components.

Also might be worth adding that I would be interested in doing a mATX build (im not sure if that would drive up costs or not? and would it hinder the performance?) any advice on this would be much appreciated.

On the first build my case let in allot of dust, I'de prefer to buy a nice stylish case and not scimp in this area if possible. Afterall it is the main thing you see.

1. What is your budget? [€1000]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming: minecraft, cod, BF4, GTA 5 the usual suspects, Video editing, internet usage, coding]

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

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1tb]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [21.5/22]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard, Mouse]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [This Monday]

marco_polo

How about a nice little mITX build, by my reckoning the Macho will fit in there with a little to spare but maybe someone else could confirm.

Item|Price
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€68.07
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 400W|€39.05
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€66.76
2 x 4GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€62.80
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€204.96
Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev.A (BW)|€39.60
Samsung SSD 840 250GB SATA 6Gb/s|€147.83
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950, 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express|€274.61
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.89
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€935.56

EDIT forgot wifi card, although homeplugs are another option. If you wanted to drop the SSD to 120 GB there is probably enough left over for a really good mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse.

Topbike77

Thanks for the help Marco! To be honest I think 120GB would be enough for me SSD wise. Also won't need a wifi card. I notice the people here on boards are recommending the ASRock motherboards are they reliable/good quality? Or would an Asus or Gigabyte be better? Same psu wise.

marco_polo

Ronan14 wrote: »

Thanks for the help Marco! To be honest I think 120GB would be enough for me SSD wise. Also won't need a wifi card. I notice the people here on boards are recommending the ASRock motherboards are they reliable/good quality? Or would an Asus or Gigabyte be better? Same psu wise.

Good quality and you tend to get slightly more for your money for the same price, wouldnt say the other are any better as a general rule.

Topbike77

Hi just a few more bits and bobs if you don't mind.
I see u recommended the Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W on another topic I think I might go for that instead as a friend told me the blue lights make it faster (jk) I just think that the lights would compliment the case.
I also noticed you recommended the AMD FX-8320 I'de like to save money where I can so would there be much of a difference between this and the 3570k? And last thing is the macho quite? Thanks in advance

EDIT: Im just after thinking in a small case like this a modular psu may be a better option.

marco_polo

Ronan14 wrote: »

Hi just a few more bits and bobs if you don't mind.
I see u recommended the Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W on another topic I think I might go for that instead as a friend told me the blue lights make it faster (jk) I just think that the lights would compliment the case.
I also noticed you recommended the AMD FX-8320 I'de like to save money where I can so would there be much of a difference between this and the 3570k? And last thing is the macho quite? Thanks in advance

From what I have heard here I don't believe that there are really many/any good AMD mItx boards, and I doubt that any support the FX8350 as it is very demanding on the motherboard VRMs (The part that supply power to the CPU), in general these tend to be of lesser quality on mITX/mATX boards.

For a full ATX build, I'd have no bother going with an FX8320/FX8350, but for the smaller form factors you're definitely better off with Intel. It might be doable for mATX, with little to no overclocking but I wouldn't have looked into this or specced one out before for an octocore AMD (EDIT: Nope all the AMD mATX boards are cheap crap ).

If you want to cut costs you could look at H77/i5-3570 or something like that but you would be limited to overclocking to a few 100 MHz, an mATX build might give more options a well as be a bit cheaper than the mITX option.

The Macho is a good very quiet air cooler.

EDIT: Schoolboy error as a result of not doing many ITX builds, I have just realised it was a B75 motherboard I put in there so no point getting the i5-3570K anyway as multipler overclocking is not a runner on that motherboard, which would be the whole point of the CPU . May need to revisit the above. (A z77 chipset ITX board is in the order of €130 euro

EDIT 2: Have you an ideal budget that is a little less that €1000?

Topbike77

Yeah ill leave the AMD cpu in that case.
Sorry im a bit lost after your edit there, if it will cost allot to go down the itx route ill leave it unless there is another alternative? Sorry to be asking you all these questions im not really in tune with hardware.

EDIT: Sorry im just realising its a bit incompetent giving you a budget and then trying to change it. €1000 would be good but if there are alternatives to save some money without loosing much performance it would be great.

marco_polo

Ronan14 wrote: »

Yeah ill leave the AMD cpu in that case.
Sorry im a bit lost after your edit there, if it will cost allot to go down the itx route ill leave it unless there is another alternative? Sorry to be asking you all these questions im not really in tune with hardware.

EDIT: Sorry im just realising its a bit incompetent giving you a budget and then trying to change it. €1000 would be good but if there are alternatives to save some money without loosing much performance it would be great.

Sorry I started rambling a little :P, it would be a fair bit more expensive for substantial overclocking as you need a 'K' series CPU and z77 motherboard, mainly because of the board prices. With the build as posted above no point getting anything much better than the i5-3470 as the CPU because of the motherboard I selected. Add that and the 120GB Samsung 840 SSD and you are down to €840 delivered.

Topbike77

Thanks mate I can put the surplus towards a monitor, key and mouse. Im just wondering about this Asus motherboard as appose to the ASRock it's the same price and comes with a 3 year warranty. If the ASRock is the better of the two that's fine.

BloodBath

Tbh you are running a tight budget for a nice matx or mitx system unless you don't mind losing some hardware performance for the smaller form factor. I would recommend going with a midi atx build.

Something like this. Case comes in plain black or white as well.

Item|Price
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€29.54
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.52
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€127.91
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€84.89
Cooltek Antiphon Silver, ohne Netzteil|€63.00
8GB-Kit GeIL Enhance Corsa PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1333)|€54.11
AMD FX-8320 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€142.00
ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0, AM3+, ATX|€70.42
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W|€53.80
Sharkoon Drakonia Gaming Laser Mouse|€24.38
Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 13Series, 3GB GDDR5, AMD Radeon HD 7950, PCI- Express|€267.63
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1022.19

Topbike77

hrrrm its a tough decision

Topbike77

Okay so im after doing a bit of research and contemplating for good while. I would be prepared to loose some hardware performance for the smaller form factor, I love the prodigy in white. But at the same time if I could find a small atx case that I like I would go down that road for the extra performance/lower price. Only thing is im very particular with cases.

Jonny7

I did a small matx build a long while ago

heat is the enemy, so keep it well ventilated, and check the lengths of graphics cards, including the extra inch or two if the plug is at the back of the card - also would recommend modular power supplies, gets very tight in there

marco_polo

Ronan14 wrote: »

Okay so im after doing a bit of research and contemplating for good while. I would be prepared to loose some hardware performance for the smaller form factor, I love the prodigy in white. But at the same time if I could find a small atx case that I like I would go down that road for the extra performance/lower price. Only thing is im very particular with cases.

Ther's not the greatest selection of nice mid budget MATX cases on HVWS.

Would anything like these appeal?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fractal-Design-Mini-Series-Micro/dp/B005CLKKH0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1371386985&sr=8-5&keywords=silverstone+matx

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermaltake-Armor-SECC-Chassis-Window/dp/B004IC0SWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371386817&sr=8-1&keywords=thermaltake+armor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverstone-SST-PS07B-USB-3-0-Precision/dp/B006C4FVW0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1371386985&sr=8-10&keywords=silverstone+matx

Topbike77

Thanks but none there that really tickle my fancy, again im very particular with cases ill have another search myself.
On a side note is there much of a difference between the XFX 7950 and the Gigabyte version as I personally prefer the look of the XFX and also there is less fans

marco_polo

Split order as HWVS don't carry the 350D, so the shipping cost are a little bit higher, still the lower XFX price compared to HWVS covers at least half the cost of shipping. I couldn't see any mATX z77 boards on scan other than that I'd probably have kept going with the full build. The whole lot comes to 940 euros or thereabouts delivered.

If you don't like the 350D then I think there is something wrong with you

Item|Price
Corsair Obsidian Series 350D Performance Micro ATX Case|£90.42
be quiet! Pure Power 430W Modular|£50.92
XFX HD7950 Double Dissipation|£221.59
Shipping|£12.59
Total|£375.52
(445~ euro by my reckoning give or take)

Item|Price
ASRock Z77M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€77.44
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€204.96
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€29.54
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€62.88
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.52
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.89
ASUS PCI-N10 N150|€15.90
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€508.12

BloodBath

It's by far the nicest matx case. You really have to get the windowed version though

marco_polo

BloodBath wrote: »

It's by far the nicest matx case. You really have to get the windowed version though

Done for an extra £4.80

Topbike77

Yere gona kill me... I actually don't like the 350D but the rest sounds good I suppose that's the build sorted. Now I just need a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Any preferences? Don't want to spend too much here.

marco_polo

It doesn't have to be the 350D, I'm just all about function

How about the Silverstone Precision PS07W in White?

Load of good mATX towers on scan, much better range than HWVS worth a browse.

http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/cases/performance-towers-micro-atx

BloodBath

There's a serious lack of quality matx and mitx cases. You're pretty screwed if you don't like the prodigy or 350d.

Topbike77

Ill have a browse.

marco_polo

BloodBath wrote: »

There's a serious lack of quality matx and mitx cases. You're pretty screwed if you don't like the prodigy or 350d.

There a handful of other decent ones mostly in the cube form factor, although not in the same league, its true the pickings are slim though.

Whats the approximate budget on the remaining three items Ronan14?

Topbike77

Ide allocate €150 to the monitor. Im not sure about the keyboard and mouse don't want to pay through the roof for razer etc. but at the same time I don't want anything cheap.

Topbike77

marco_polo wrote: »

Split order as HWVS don't carry the 350D, so the shipping cost are a little bit higher, still the lower XFX price compared to HWVS covers at least half the cost of shipping. I couldn't see any mATX z77 boards on scan other than that I'd probably have kept going with the full build. The whole lot comes to 940 euros or thereabouts delivered.

If you don't like the 350D then I think there is something wrong with you

Item|Price
Corsair Obsidian Series 350D Performance Micro ATX Case|£90.42
be quiet! Pure Power 430W Modular|£50.92
XFX HD7950 Double Dissipation|£221.59
Shipping|£12.59
Total|£375.52
(445~ euro by my reckoning give or take)

Item|Price
ASRock Z77M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€77.44
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€204.96
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€29.54
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800U CL9|€62.88
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.52
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.89
ASUS PCI-N10 N150|€15.90
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€508.12

Sorry I misread this post above. Why did we switch from M-ITX to M-ATX?

marco_polo

Ronan14 wrote: »

Sorry I misread this post above. Why did we switch from M-ITX to M-ATX?

Just showing you more options, The Itx build still stands, I was just going to link the case initially as an matx suggestion, but kept going to make a full one.

The two main reasons to poasibly go mATX are that its better for overclocking because there are z77 boards at decent prices, so you could take that i5 to 4.5 ghz and you also have a bigger choice of cases available.

Topbike77

I really do like the Phantom. I think I will stick with the itx build. Ive just changed a few minor things. This is where im at at the moment excluding peripherals:

Item|Price
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Gehäuse - weiß, ohne Netzteil|€71.58
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€62.81
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.52
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€19.90
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€84.89
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€46.47
XFX DD RADEON 7950 800M 3GB D5 2x mDP HDMI DVI|€272.58
ASRock B75M-ITX, Sockel 1155, ITX|€66.76
Intel Core i5-3570 Box, LGA1155|€184.50
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€914.00

EDIT: It's a pity that AMD arnt any good itx wise as im going to have to go over budget with peripherals.

EDIT: I might also change the PSU if I can find a modular one at the right price. Any preferences on this one http://www.hardwareversand.de/400+-+500+Watts/74424/Corsair+CX+Series+Modular+CX430M%2C+430W.article

marco_polo

Another tenner is the last thing you want to here, but it might be worth throwing in the semi-Modular BE!Quiet PSU I had on the scan build, it a bit less messy in the confined spaces but not as expensive as a full modular PSU.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=50969&agid=1627&apop=3

The only thing I could see for chopping down, without impacting much on performance be dropping the CPU down to the i5-3330 to knock almost €30 off the price but that is about as low as you can go with the Intel quads.

EDIT: THE Corsair PSU would be fine too.

Topbike77

Thanks for all the help Marco and Blood. Will order in the morning whats the story with the shipping options? Which should I go with?
DHL normal dispatch (4,99 € shipping costs + 4,00 € with COD) COD payment information
or
UPS-Standard (5,99 € shipping costs)

NTMK

Ronan14 wrote: »

Thanks for all the help Marco and Blood. Will order in the morning whats the story with the shipping options? Which should I go with?
DHL normal dispatch (4,99 € shipping costs + 4,00 € with COD) COD payment information
or
UPS-Standard (5,99 € shipping costs)

UPS is quicker iirc

Topbike77

How long should I expect delivery to take assuming all parts are in stock?

NTMK

Ronan14 wrote: »

How long should I expect delivery to take assuming all parts are in stock?

ive seen orders arrive in 4 days before so if youve ordered and paid by tomorrow it should be delivered friday or monday week

beno619

Just to throw a spanner in the works, everything I've read online would tell me to stay well clear of the XFX 7950 it's loud, hot and doesn't overclock like the rest. Their support is supposedly terrible as well.

You would be better off with a Gigabyte, Sapphire or Powercolor 7950.

marco_polo

beno619 wrote: »

Just to throw a spanner in the works, everything I've read online would tell me to stay well clear of the XFX 7950 it's load hot and spent overclock like the rest thier support is supposedly terrible as well.

You would be better of with a Gigabyte, Sapphire or Powercolor 7950.

Fair point its not at bad cards per say, but at the very highest overclocks /voltages there are definately better, quieter options, I would have went with the Gigabyte if in stock, and was probably penny pinching a bit too much not to go the extra €5-8 euros for the other options (I'd add the RoyalKing to the list as well)

Topbike77

Thanks, I prefer the look of the XFX but I may as well go for another in that case.

beno619

marco_polo wrote: »

Fair point its not at bad cards per say, but at the very highest overclocks /voltages there are definately better, quieter options, I would have went with the Gigabyte if in stock, and was probably penny pinching a bit too much not to go the extra €5-8 euros for the other options (I'd add the RoyalKing to the list as well)

Suppose its a grand card it only comes up sort when compared to the rest.
I like the Gigabyte one because their base is across the pond but yeh their all decent cards.

knew I was forgetting something :P

Topbike77

Sorry another question as I finalise my order just back from the bank and im thinking is there point in getting an after market cpu cooler if there isnt much overclock ability with the i5-3570? To be honest I probably wont touch it with overclocking. Its just another few quid I could put towards a keyboard/mouse.

marco_polo

You can ditch it if you like, it would be a bit quieter, but you can see how you get on with the stock cooler, you can always add it later.

BloodBath

You should go for the xeon then. It's got more power at stock speeds and the max overclock on it is 4.1ghz which you might be able to do with the stock cooler. It has 8 threads like a 3770 i7.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Socketl+LGA1155+%28Xeon%29/74048/Intel+Xeon+E3-1230v2%2C+boxed%2C+LGA1155.article

Topbike77

Too late just placed the order. Ah sure im happy with how it went, very exited. Thanks again for all the help, will post pictures in the coming week(s).

EDIT: Purchasing was very complicated, hope it went through.

Topbike77

Another issue, When I ordered the Gigabyte Radeon it said "Ready for dispatch from 2013-06-18" like this

But today it is shows "Delivery late, new date requested"

Whats the precidure here, will all my other parts come or will they send me a different card. If not what happens, how long should it take?

BloodBath

You could email them and ask them to change it to the club3d model. Otherwise you will have to wait for it to be in stock afaik.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/3072+MB/66982/Club+3D+Radeon+HD+7950+royalKing%2C+3GB+GDDR5%2C+AMD+Radeon+HD+7950%2C+PCI-+Express.article

Topbike77

I think ill wait until tomorrow evening, and if theres no change by then ill email them. Bit of pain tbh.

Clover

Ronan14 wrote: »

How long should I expect delivery to take assuming all parts are in stock?

Ordered and paid for the first part of my build on Tuesday of last week, it was shipped Thursday and arrived today.

beno619

Ronan14 wrote: »

I think ill wait until tomorrow evening, and if theres no change by then ill email them. Bit of pain tbh.

I would call if you want a quick resolution.
was in a similar situation and got a 7950 when it came back in stock today, you could be waiting a few days if you stick with the Gigabyte card.

Topbike77

beno619 wrote: »

I would call if you want a quick resolution.
was in a similar situation and got a 7950 when it came back in stock today, you could be waiting a few days if you stick with the Gigabyte card.

I rang 01805711117 and I got an engaged sound... :mad:

beno619

00491805711117

Ronan14 wrote: »

I rang 01805711117 and I got an engaged sound... :mad:

I rang 00491805711117 and yes thier ring tone sounds like an engaged tone

Topbike77

I think there closed I got a german male voice which I couldn't talk to. I managed to pull out the word "hour" so im guessing he told me the opening hours, ill ring again in the morning.

beno619

Ronan14 wrote: »

I think there closed I got a german male voice which I couldn't talk to. I managed to pull out the word "hour" so im guessing he told me the opening hours, ill ring again in the morning.

They should be open till 8 according to thier website.

Topbike77

Rang and got trough to a german female asked for english she said nein.

EDIT: This is the progress thus far:

Topbike77

Finally got through to to someone who could speak English! They said (I think) that the card is in stock (although on the website it says otherwise) and that my order has been sent out. Fingers crossed the Gigabyte one comes.