Build Advice What to do with existing parts

[germjames]

Hi guys

I have some parts left over from a while back when i was more active in overclocking and building my own PC's. I sold most items but still have -

Antec p182
Tagab 480W psu (pretty sure its tg480 u22 )

Budget: 200-350 if achievable

Main uses of intended build: Gaming and that's about it (I have a ps3 and a macbook for casual games and music related things)

Parts required: cpu, mboard, ram and discrete gpu (assuming on chip gfx still inst worth it)

Previous build information (list details of parts): Antec p182, Tagan 480W psu

Monitor resolution: at least 22"

Storage requirements: None in particular, already have a NAS box with all my media on it, so no great storage requirements

Will you be overclocking: yes (probably on air to start with, but scope for more serious work in the future)

Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Future proff if at all possible

Extra information about desired system:

My question is basically are the two bits I have still good enough for a moderate gaming rig, will current motherboards fit into the case still? And which route should I take to be future proof as possible with an upgrade bath? Intel/AMD

I'm pretty computer literate and work in IT but haven't built a proper PC for myself in a while.

Thanks

James

[mm vr]

Building a computer for £350 is pretty difficult considering that a good monitor is already £200 (you can get £100 monitors but they're not very good).

Budget and midrange Intel chips cannot be overclocked unfortunately. The cheapest overclockable Intel CPU is the Core i5 3570K at £170. AMD chips support overclocking, but their performance leaves a lot to be desired compared to Intel.

Motherboard sizes are standard, and have been the same for the last 15-20 years. In fact I have a pretty recent board in a P182.

[germjames]

Thanks for the reply.

I will source the monitor separately to the PC build as I already have an old monitor to tide me over and an HD TV.

It was really just the MB, CPU and Ram I was after. Build the PC and then stick a discrete gfx card in there the month after.

so £300 ish for MB, CPU and Ram? Does that sound more reasonable? I have HDD from old systems too, forgot to mention that.

[Ch33sefiend]

300 for mobo, CPU and RAM sounds do-able. You'll have to make cut-backs, mind you (so no i7's!).

To save money you could look at getting an i5 (budget possible I think) with integrated gfx?

Just a thought

[germjames]

Ok

I had an impulse buy (and blew the budget to 400)

1 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.5V £24.66 £29.59

1 Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H, USB 3.0 Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0, D-Sub/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX £64.77 £77.72

1 Intel Core i3 3220, S 1155, Ivy Bridge, Dual Core, 3.3GHz, 3MB Smart Cache, Retail £76.13 £91.36

1 2GB XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core Edition, 4800MHz GDDR5, 28nm, GPU 1000MHz, 1280 Cores, DL DVI/HDMI/mDP + *5 Free Games* £156.78 £188.14

I figure i can replace the cpu with an i5 or i7 in the future, but this should play games quite nicely.

Have I picked decent components?

[Silent_Raider]

This will give you a good overclockable CPU, a z77 motherboard with 2 PCI Express 3.0 slots in case you want to do SLI later, and 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM in two slots with room to add 2 more later. It's a little above your budget, but it gives you the best upgrade path.

For overclocking, I would highly recommend a Corsair H60/H80/H100 as well. They are great all-in-one liquid coolers and give you really nice temps.

All prices include VAT.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k - £177.78

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard - £102.92

RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz - £30.96

Total: £311.66


Also, your PSU will be fine to power this. However, if you ever get a serious discrete card (GTX 670/680, Radeon 7950,7970), you will probably want to move up to at least 600W.

[AlphaAngel]

If you can up the budget to about £400 then we can talk about future proofing but as it is try this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/a6...cf0073c7c1e5c5

[germjames]

Waiting for my previous post to be approved, I am reading your responses. i think you'll be pleased with what I ordered. Maybe aside from the cpu, but I will be able to replace that in due course.

[mm vr]

Originally Posted by germjames

Ok

I had an impulse buy (and blew the budget to 400)

1 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.5V £24.66 £29.59

1 Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H, USB 3.0 Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0, D-Sub/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX £64.77 £77.72

1 Intel Core i3 3220, S 1155, Ivy Bridge, Dual Core, 3.3GHz, 3MB Smart Cache, Retail £76.13 £91.36

1 2GB XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core Edition, 4800MHz GDDR5, 28nm, GPU 1000MHz, 1280 Cores, DL DVI/HDMI/mDP + *5 Free Games* £156.78 £188.14

I figure i can replace the cpu with an i5 or i7 in the future, but this should play games quite nicely.

Have I picked decent components?

Yes, excellent choices, though the CPU is only dual core, and cannot be overclocked.

Originally Posted by AlphaAngel

If you can up the budget to about £400 then we can talk about future proofing but as it is try this.

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/a6...cf0073c7c1e5c5

Watch out for those cheap MSI boards. The Z68A-G43 for instance doesn't have any kind of voltage settings in the BIOS. Not sure about the Z77A-G43.

[germjames]

The plan is to replace the i3 with an i5 or i7 (although i7 maybe overkill) when the time comes to upgrade. And the motherboard allows this and is OK for overclocking. Will get a new psu when i do come to overclock the cpu and possibly the gpu as well which i hear will easily clock another 10-15%.

Thanks

James

[AlphaAngel]

Originally Posted by mm vr

Watch out for those cheap MSI boards. The Z68A-G43 for instance doesn't have any kind of voltage settings in the BIOS. Not sure about the Z77A-G43.

I was looking at that too, would have preferred the low end Asus or the MSI G45 but £300 is a low budget. Overall I think he did quite with what he bought , can swap out that CPU for an i5 when funds allow for a decent upgrade.

[mm vr]

Originally Posted by germjames

The plan is to replace the i3 with an i5 or i7 (although i7 maybe overkill) when the time comes to upgrade. And the motherboard allows this and is OK for overclocking.

Yes, that's correct. No problems overclocking to 4.5GHz on that board.

Originally Posted by germjames

Will get a new psu when i do come to overclock the cpu and possibly the gpu as well which i hear will easily clock another 10-15%.

Wattage wise, 480W is plenty even for an overclocked system. My system pulls 130W from the wall on idle and 330W on full load.