Build Advice First ever build *scared*

[aikidochris]

Hi guys/gals,

Planning on my first self build within the next few months and registered on here for some advice, this is what I'm currently planning on getting:


Budget:
£1000 or thereabouts, less is better naturally

Main uses of intended build:
Gaming, MMO's, some music creation and CAD/Revit so I need a good all rounder.

Monitor resolution:
24inch 1080p which i already own

Storage requirements:
1tb will be more than enough and planning on using 2 existing 250gb drives to supplememnt from my old Dell 9100 if thats even possible?

Will you be overclocking: yes

Looking around I have come up with this list of components:

Fractal design R3
i7 2600k
Corsair H80 cooler
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W
Asus p8z68-v pro motherboard
Corsair vengeance 1600mhz 8gb (2x4gb)
Asus nvidia 560ti
128gb Crucial Real SSD
1tb Seagate Barracuda
Big standard dvd rw
Windows 7

Scan basket link here

Any advice or observations are welcome as I'm a bit a noob when it comes to this stuff, Ive shopped around a bit and reckon I can get the components for around the £1070 mark, failing this self build of course I had also thought of trying these guys.

Info that would be useful:

1. Im planning on a z68 board as they're the newest out there and want to be future proof for as long as possible, my last PC has seen me nearly 6 years now and still running games at decent detail and framerates, good idea?

2. Im not planning on using the cacheing feature of the z68 but rather have a 128gb boot drive, anyone have any experience of both systems?

3. Have I dropped a boo boo on any of the parts I'm using?

4. Is it worth waiting for Ivy Bridge?

Thanks very much for your time guys.

[mstrchf]

If you're overclocking with that H80 liquid cooler, I would save some money on the cpu and get a i5 2500k for £80 less. Hardly anything between them performance wise when overclocking so there's no point spending the extra money.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...ore-i5-2500k/1

You don't really need to spend that much on a motherboard either although that asus is very cool looking. You could consider getting a P67 or Z68 board for around £100 which will overclock well and give just as good performance.
Bit-tech recommends this one - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-p...-%28x16%29-atx

Somebody correct me if i'm wrong, but the main difference between Z68 and P67 is that Z68 boards have inbuilt video out ports for hybrid SLI to use the integrated gpu of the sandybridge series cpu's. Mainly this is a power saving feature.
Decent P67 motherboards perform just as well as Z68 boards i believe.

[murraynt]

Id get the M4 crucial.

Will 8gb of ram be enough?

If you drop the Heatsink down to something less extreme then you could go for a 570 GTX

[Bede]

I'd drop the i7-2600K down to an i5-2500K - you are really very unlikely to ever notice the difference except with some niche programs. That money saved should get you a GTX570, or an AMD 6950 2gb (which I would recommend for future-proofing). For rendering 16gb would be better, but you are unlikely to notice the difference most of the time.

[Dae314]

The above 3 got everything I could see about this specific build. As far as Ivy Bridge, I believe the CPU is supposed to be using the LGA 1155 socket, so if you want to upgrade in the future you can. Don't worry about it.

Read this and put your mind at ease little one. There is no need to be scared.

[Blazza181]

You can easily use your old drives. I'd drop down to a 2500K - that is a beast of a chip for the price.

If you can, just use your old dell drives for the moment - HDD prices have shot through the roof due to flooding of factories. It will be a while til they reduce, but it will save you a few bob. Also, to be honest, I'd get a small (64GB) Crucial M4. They are blistering fast as a boot/essentials drive.

Also, I'd get a little less extreme CPU cooler. It's nice, but in reality, not needed. If you want to do some serious OCing, then just go full watercooling.


Ivy Bridge will be probably incredible, but ridiculously expensive. Just go for the i5 2500K.

[mstrchf]

Forgot to say don't buy a pre built, definitely build it yourself! Its fun and you'll learn alot!

I agree with getting a less fancy cooler, unless liquid cooling is a must - for £40 you could get a Be Quiet Dark Power Pro which is half the price of the H80 and is a beast of a cooler!
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/be-qu...us-am3-754-940

I'd check out the september buying guide. What you have selected is very similar to the gaming workhorse/enthusiast rigs.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buy...ptember-2011/4

[j4mi3]

Originally Posted by Bede

I'd drop the i7-2600K down to an i5-2500K - you are really very unlikely to ever notice the difference except with some niche programs. That money saved should get you a GTX570, or an AMD 6950 2gb (which I would recommend for future-proofing). For rendering 16gb would be better, but you are unlikely to notice the difference most of the time.

in programs where you would be rendering, the 2600k would be more beneficial than 16gb ram. i rarely use above 8gb ram but i sure am pleased i have the 2600k

[Bede]

Originally Posted by j4mi3

in programs where you would be rendering, the 2600k would be more beneficial than 16gb ram. i rarely use above 8gb ram but i sure am pleased i have the 2600k

As long as you know the programs you use will take advantage of the HT cores, go for it

[rob the bank]

Originally Posted by aikidochris

Hi guys/gals,

Planning on my first self build within the next few months and registered on here for some advice, this is what I'm currently planning on getting:


Info that would be useful:

1. Im planning on a z68 board as they're the newest out there and want to be future proof for as long as possible, my last PC has seen me nearly 6 years now and still running games at decent detail and framerates, good idea?

2. Im not planning on using the cacheing feature of the z68 but rather have a 128gb boot drive, anyone have any experience of both systems?

3. Have I dropped a boo boo on any of the parts I'm using?

4. Is it worth waiting for Ivy Bridge?

Thanks very much for your time guys.

Hi aikidochris don’t panic it will all be fine
Top tips for a first system build:
Copy somebody’s spec, that way you know all the kit works together (this needs to be a real person not a websites special offer).
Ask advice all the time, as some lessons can be expensive to learn on your own.
And lastly build the PC one step at a time out side the case first, using min parts required for it to boot, that way its easier to spot a mistake.

Now your questions.

1, Z68 is fine if you cant afford a big SSD, although wont OC like a P67 will, (I have built around 300 P67 and 40 Z68's)

2, Well that’s good as the caching only works up to a 64gb SSD.
The main point about Z68 is to allow a system with a 20 or 40gb SSD to performe like a system with a true 120 or 240gb SSD, its not as good and its a real pain to set up, but its a good step in between.

3, If it was me I would go P67 and a i7 2700K, or drop to a 2500K and get a GTX 570

4, Not for your budget and needs.

[aikidochris]

Thanks chaps, that's all great food for thought you've given me, good call on the M4 crucial and the i5 2500k especially if Ivy Bridge will be compatible with my motherboard when it arrives.

Things Ive learnt so far are:

1. Get a cheaper cooler and spend the money on a better GPU
2. Get the i5 and save some money possibly for when Ivy Bridge launches.
3. Use my old HDD's till the global prices come down sometime in the future.
4. Get a cheaper motherboard although I'll still probably stick with z68, anyone got any reccommendations?

One last question, I thought I had my heart set on the Fractal Design R3 but have also just discovered the NZXT Phantom which looks a beast of a case for just a little more money, you guys have any experience of either of these cases? Im also open to any other ideas on cases if anyone has any other faves, great cooling is a must and if they look awesome then all the better!

Oh and thanks Dae314 for your massive buyers guide! Very helpful indeed, cheers, although I have now discovered that choosing a good PSU is a bit of a dark art which I'm going to have to learn!

[RichCreedy]

if you are rendering, wouldn't the i7-2600k be better, more cores/threads (4/8), a lot of rendering program will utilise the extra cores/threads

correct me if i am wrong

[yassarikhan786]

Originally Posted by RichCreedy

if you are rendering, wouldn't the i7-2600k be better, more cores/threads (4/8), a lot of rendering program will utilise the extra cores/threads

correct me if i am wrong

You are right .

[rob the bank]

Originally Posted by RichCreedy

if you are rendering, wouldn't the i7-2600k be better, more cores/threads (4/8), a lot of rendering program will utilise the extra cores/threads

correct me if i am wrong

Yep, but in his intended use list Gaming was first on his 24" screen.
So just depends what’s more important I guess.

[Fishlock]

Originally Posted by RichCreedy

if you are rendering, wouldn't the i7-2600k be better, more cores/threads (4/8), a lot of rendering program will utilise the extra cores/threads

correct me if i am wrong

Not only that, but he said about playing MMO's, which always benefit from better CPU's. I'd stick with the i7.

[Throbbi]

That's true but if there's any MMO in existence in which you can tell a difference between an i5 and an i7 then i'll eat my own legs Hell there probably isn't one where'd you'd see difference between an i3-2100 and an i7.

With the main use listed as gaming I think the best direction would be i5 and a 570 with the saved cash. Will give a better overall gaming performance than an i7 with a 560 I reckon, even in MMO's.

The rendering might a tad slower but I doubt this will be used as a full on rendering farm when gaming and music creation are listed before that intended use which leads me to another point. I don't see a discrete sound card listed there. If you're serious about music creation being a main use of the build then a proper sound card and some high quality headphones/speakers are a must surely?

[Krikkit]

WoT you might notice, but only because it's single-threaded.

[aikidochris]

Originally Posted by Throbbi

That's true but if there's any MMO in existence in which you can tell a difference between an i5 and an i7 then i'll eat my own legs Hell there probably isn't one where'd you'd see difference between an i3-2100 and an i7.

With the main use listed as gaming I think the best direction would be i5 and a 570 with the saved cash. Will give a better overall gaming performance than an i7 with a 560 I reckon, even in MMO's.

The rendering might a tad slower but I doubt this will be used as a full on rendering farm when gaming and music creation are listed before that intended use which leads me to another point. I don't see a discrete sound card listed there. If you're serious about music creation being a main use of the build then a proper sound card and some high quality headphones/speakers are a must surely?

Your avatar scares me!

I dont have any need for a dedicated sound card as I have one of these already http://uk.line6.com/podstudiokb37/ which is essentially an external sound card with a keyboard stuck on top

[j4mi3]

Originally Posted by Fishlock

Not only that, but he said about playing MMO's, which always benefit from better CPU's. I'd stick with the i7.

this.

i know the 2500k is good bang for buck and all, but people really need to think about if it really is the right choice before they say it. it seems whenever there is a thread regarding either of these processors, everyone always jumps at saying 2500k even when the 2600k is more suited.

[sakzzz]

Take Scan sure insurance and build with additional peace of mind .