I'm ordering the parts to make my own computer, hopefully tonight! There are two things stopping me: 1. Which mobo do I buy? I don't want to spend more than 100 pounds if I can help it and I'd prefer mATX. 2. What RAM do I buy? I know I want 8GB in total of DDR3 1600MHz and I want to spend around 50-60 pounds. Here are the other components: CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K GPU: XFX HD 6870 Black Edition PSU: Corsair 430w CX HDD: Samsung 1Tb Spinpoint F3 What do I have to decide when buying mobos? What types of RAM are on offer? This is my first build - please help me make the last two decisions!
I would say drop the ram to 4gb for the moment if that is possible then you could get a p8p67 m-pro and that will be able to OC the i5 better Other than that I don't know any other good matx SB mobos
I am putting together a very similar looking build and also decided on the p8p67 m-pro. But, I have very specific requirements. I want SATA 3 support so that at some point in the future I and throw in a nice Vertex 3 or whatever SSDs are tearing up the benchmarks at the time. Also I want to overclock which pretty much means I have to go for Intel's P67 or X68 chipsets which cost a significant chunk more than the H61 or H67. From what I've heard, you can't really go wrong with the p8p67 m-pro but it's £105 so slightly over your budget. There are plenty of decent cheaper mATX boards out there but be careful if you're looking to overclock, or if you're planning on using the SATA 3 ports AND a big PCI-E card like your 6870 because I believe some boards (such as the p8p67 m (non pro)) are layed out such that the graphics card blocks the SATA 3 ports
I see. Thanks, that's useful advice. I think I'll spend the extra and get the pro version. What type of RAM do I buy then? That's the last piece of the puzzle. Out of interest, what is your build and what case are you going for?
Mine will be: CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4870 which I picked up from the market a while ago for another build that didn't go ahead. PSU: Corsair TX 650W which I picked up from the market a while ago too RAM: I'm trying to work this out at the moment but I have this in my basket provisionally HDD: My old 500GB Samsung As for the case, I believe you've just seen the thread where I was asking about the Arc Mini at Scan. That's pretty much the only mATX case I can find that suits my requirements
You know, for the same money you can get 8-8-8-24 memory instead of the 9-9-9-24 you're considering. It has to be in red unfortunately but if you're buying the arc mini I assume you aren't the type to have PC windows and LEDs so that people can see your build so it shouldn't matter. I'll probably get the red ones. Any word yet on the arrival date of the arc mini? I want to order my PC parts now but like you, that's the only case that really fits all my requirements.
You're right about the red memory, that looks like a better choice. I guess the black ones are more popular on scan simply because of their colour! I couldn't care less if my memory was hot pink or not just so long as it does its job
As for the Arc Mini, Quiet PC have a few coming in 8 days apparently. AiretectIT have got some coming in 7 days but that date keeps moving by one day every day that I've checked it. To be honest, I'm tempted to order all the bits without the case and have them running naked on my desk until the stock for that case arrives. It might even turn up on Scan which would give me free shipping
Hah, I've been thinking the same thing! I've ordered my GPU as it was on offer and finished later today, I'm waiting to see the case in stock before I purchase the rest but I am tempted with the naked desk setup.
