Build Advice Opinions and possible changes/upgrades?

Hello all. I've recently been putting together a build I hope to purchase very soon. I would just like to ask for your thoughts on the build and any changes to the hardware you would reccomend?

build:

Case: Coolmaster HAF-X
Motherboard:MSI P67A-GD53 (B3)
CPU: Intel i5 2500 3.3Ghz
Cooler: Dark Rock Pro CPU Cooler
RAM: Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4GB
GPU: 2x HIS 6870 iceQ turbo in crossfire
Power supply: Corsair TX750 V2 750w
HDD:Seagate barracude 1TB 7200rp

Expected cost £750-850

 

I would buy the i5 2500K version, even if you don't overclock it will get you more money when you come to sell it on. Only costs a fraction more at the moment.

I would also go for a single GPU solution, something like a GTX 570 for now. What resolution will you be gaming at?

Unless you need all of the 1Tb storage I would change the HDD to a small SSD and buy the HDD in six months or so when the prices come down.

 

I'm looking to game at 1920x1080 with at least 60+fps with high settings. About purchasing an SSD instead of the HDD, Would size and model would you recommend? I don't mind spending a little extra on the hardrive at the moment, even with the floods the price still seems quite reasonable. Maybe I could drop down to a less expensive 500gb model.

I'll also change to the 2500k as I will most likely want to overclock in the future.

 

Oh ok, if you go crossfire on a lower end card you have a very limited upgrade path. If you buy one higher end card, maybe 580 for your screen and FPS requirements then you can SLI them in the future

I have a 128Gb M4 crucial SSD which is great, I can't comment on the others though!

Also if you are happy paying the current prices for a 1Tb drive then go for it, prices may not come down for quite a while!

 

Agree with Longweight. Read this GTX 580 vs 6870 CF review:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...oc-crossfire-vs-radeon-5970-introduction.html

 

What about 460s? You can buy 2 for £240 new on Scan (maybe cheaper elsewhere)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/314?vs=305

 

Not a great idea

More heat, bigger, more expensive PSU needed, SLI game compatibility required, and a 1GB vRAM limit.

 

I'm going to have to side against buying two new GPUs as well. I had two new GTX260s, after a year one died and I got a GTX460 from the RMA - which was less than ideal.

I don't really like AMD/ATis driver support for dual cards either, so I'd personally splash the cash for one decent GPU. That way you could pick a second up cheaper in the future, rather than buying a new card if you need the slight FPS increase (it's what I did with my 8800GT).

 

I'd try and go for one GPU if you can as it may save you a headache later on.

 

I would argue that a 750w PSU will run SLI 460s with plenty spare (A 600w is enough frankly). SLI game compatibility is very good from my experience so far (perhaps older games will be more troublesome, but then 1 card would be enough to run an older game) and you don't really need more than 1GB V ram for gaming at 1920 x 1080.

I take the heat point (I have had to make some adjustments/improvements with the fans in my R3) but I have read the airflow on a HAF - X is very good, I have not used that case myself so I wouldn't like to comment.

Also the 'better single card than add another later' is a fair point, I would love to have SLI 570's or 80s but the current price to performance becomes largely diminishing.

 

Thanks for all the advice it's been really helpful. I've taken on board what you have said about the crossfire/sli setup with lower end cards and have modified my build slightly. Instead of two 6870's I'm now going for a single 560ti with a small overclock which (as you said) will leave room for another in the future.

Updated build:
Case: Coolmaster HAF-X
Motherboard:MSI P67A-GD53 (B3)
CPU: Intel i5 2500k 3.3Ghz
Cooler: Dark Rock Pro CPU Cooler
RAM: Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4GB
GPU: MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr (gtx560ti)
Power supply: Corsair TX750 V2 750w
HDD:Seagate barracude 1TB 7200rp

I will also be purchasing a small SSD if i can afford it after the intial purchase of the system.