Build Advice Need some new build advice...

Hi all,

I need some advice on a new build that I'm planning. I've checked out some reviews on various sites and have come up with the spec below.

Budget:
Started out @ £800 but grew to £1000. Can stretch but a few hundred, but only if i'm going to get some decent performance gains out of it.

Main uses:
This PC will mainly be used for general surfing, watching videos, playing some games, mainly a general multimedia PC.

Monitor Resolution:
1680x1050, but hopefully I will be getting a new monitor soon which supports a higher res.

Overclocking:
No.

Here's the list I have so far;

Lancool Dragon-Lord PC-K62 £101.99
Intel i7 920 £179.97
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.2 £156.47
Corsair XMS3, DDR3 PC3-12800 £141.14
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870 £329.99
650W Corsair Professional £97.07

Total £1006.63

I don't need any hard drives as I will be using the existing 1TB Samsung Spinpoint that I already have, as well as others. Also, I still yet haven't decided whether to get a BluRay drive or not, but I have a DVD writer for the time being.
Finally, I haven't selected a CPU cooler as i'm not overclocking, the standard one that comes with the CPU should be sufficient?

What are your thoughts on the spec? Overkill for what it will be used for? I want this PC to be powerful enough to last for at least 3 years, maybe with a CPU upgrade a few years down the line.

Thanks a lot.

 

woo dude this would be such a waste if all you doing is surfing etc, i would also advise geting an aftermarket cooler because they are a lot quieter something like the gelid tranquillo
should be perfect

 

That's a decent spec but it really is overkill if you don't game that much. Maybe go for an i5 750 & Radeon HD 5850 then keep the extra for when you need to upgrade it in the future.

 

Or even a 5770, its still beafy enough to run new games well. or 2 in crossfire works amazingly I hear.

The only reason to go with that build is if you don't want to touch it for 2-3 years.

 

more like 5 years

 

I wouldn't go that far, at the rate performance is moving...

 

ok i might of bring exaggerating still it is kinda over board for whats it is going to be used for

 

Thats exactly what I'm thinking. My current PC has been going for 4 years. So I would want the new one to last a similar length of time.

I'll price up an i5 and see what the price diff is. Only problem there is that any upgrade will require a new mobo/cpu/ram combo.

 

No matter what CPU you choose, there are new CPU's coming out next year that will replace the i5's and the i7's. However, this does not mean that what you choose now will be useless, far from it.

Go for the spec that will fit your specific usage requirement. If you play games heavily, you'll want a good graphics card - no question. If you have a good enough graphics card, there is not a lot of difference between the i5 and i7 in today's games - you probably will not notice any difference when playing.

If you don't play games much, you can get by with a GPU that is one or two levels below the best and save some money - it really depends on the games you play.

Both the i5 and i7 will overclock easily to give them more speed if your specific usage requires it in the next 2 to 3 years.

 

The spec you listed would last 3-5 years as a multimedia pc and if it ever struggles in games just upgrade the graphics some years down the line

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on Heatsink/Fan? Should I use the standard one that comes with the CPU or invest in something better?

I've heard that the Titan Fenrir is really good.

 

+1 on the Titan

 

if your not overclocking dont bother with an aftermarket cooler

the intel reference one isnt that loud and most case fans are audioable over it.

 

There maybe some over clocking at some point further down the line, but I guess I can always invest in a new cooler if and when i make that decision.

I just realized that I haven't even added Windows7 to my build. This building your own PC lark is pretty expensive.

 

re: i5/i7 replacements next year. I'm assuming LGA 1366 parts will still be available well into next year and possibly even after that?

You can still easily get 775 parts.

If the above is true then I'd stick with the 920 and upgrade when the top of the range models reach end of line. I think there's more going for 1366 than 1156 in terms of longevity.

Could be talking bollox though.

 

It can be, but you are aiming for high end kit, if you got it pre built you'd be adding £100+ to that price.

 

I guess thats true. I'm gonna take the plunge and order my bits tomorrow. Hopefully new PC by the end of the week.

Thanks for all the help guys!!!