Hi, im looking at building a new PC, done a fair bit of reading but been out the loop for a long time! Last built my PC 7 years ago. I have priced and specced the parts but would appreciate someone to give it a once over and confirm its all ok and perhaps if theres anything needed to change/better options. Budget: £1300 including new 1440p monitor. Main uses of intended build: Gaming (mainly race sims) iRacing, rFactor and now want to be able to try Project Cars. Bit of GTA & Fallout 4 when its out. Other than that just basic uses of browsing, music, photo editing. Parts required: Everything. Current PC is going to be put into a HTPC case and used in the living room. Previous build information (list details of parts): Q6600, 4gb DDR2, GTX 750ti Monitor resolution: New PC will be 1440p Will you be overclocking: No Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Not particularly.
Looks pretty good. Keep a close eye on the Today Only deals. You may be able to save some money/get something a bit more expensive, like a higher capacity SSD for example.
Looks pretty decent. You may wish to wait until Skylake is released, though. It's due tomorrow (if the rumours are true) and it will be about 10-20% faster than Haswell. If you aren't convinced, at least get a K SKU as it will hold its value more so than the non K chip, and you can overclock it too if you need more grunt. I'd also have to recommend then Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (I think that's the one now) over that cooler. They're epic for the money and I personally recommend them as the budget cooler of choice, although there are a few others like the BeQuiet! ones.
IMO if you got a non K CPU, then there is no point wasting the money on a aftermarket cooler when the stock one would do just fine. Also don't think you'll notice the difference getting something like a i5 4460 instead. Use the money saved to get a 256GB SSD instead of the 120GB, or get a 2TB HDD, as those are the best price per GB and its only about £10/20 more to double the capacity which you'll probably need in the future.
TBH, I'd pay the few extra quid for the i5 4690K whether its from Scan or elsewhere, in fact I see it at ~£179 at Ebuyer. Or if you can wait another few weeks (if that), then Skylake. I would also see if I could grab a slightly better PSU IMO, something like the EVGA SuperNova or Seasonic EVO, as below for a few quid more. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/620w...plus-bronze-dc-dc-120mm-silent-bb-fan-atx-psu http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-evga-supernova-750-g1-full-modular-80plus-gold-psu You could save money on the GPU going for a different model but thats personal preference as is everything else. All the best, enjoy.
EVGA SuperNOVA 550 GS £60 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w...5a-single-rail-sli-crossfirex-support-whisper Reviews: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=438 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-550-gs-power-supply,4146.html
Thanks for your replies, I wasnt aware of skylake so will wait a little while and see what arrives. Good job I posted I like the look of the EVGA power supply. Is 550w enough? If so ill change to that. Did think about the need for an aftermarket cpu cooler, only reason for buying one is noise. Want the PC to be as quiet as possible and thought the aftermarket cooler would be quieter than Oem?
The SuperNOVA 550 GS has a 45A +12V rail (~the most important one), while the CX600M has a 46A +12V rail. 550W is more than enough for your system. I agree with getting an aftermarket CPU cooler for the purposes of keeping your system quiet.
Another quick question. I dont need masses of storage, can I use one 250gb ssd as the one and only drive?
I reckon that'd be cutting it a bit too fine, personally. Windows could take up a quarter of that, and games can weigh in at 30-50GB, so you'll struggle (and that's before worrying about overprovisioning). A 250GB SSD plus a 1TB HDD would be plenty, or push the boat out and get a 500GB SSD instead, but 250GB on it's own isn't quite enough imo.
Ok I did have my doubts. How do you set up having an hdd and ssd? Is it best to install windows on the ssd, leaving the hdd out of the system completely and then once up and running add the hdd? Obviously setting the first boot to ssd once windows installed etc.? Sorry for noob questions!
Yes, you can install Windows on the SSD, and then move all of your documents, photos, videos and games onto the HDD. It's the best solution as MOST people can't afford a very large 1TB+ SSD, as they're ludicrously expensive. Agreed on that EVGA Supernova for the PSU instead of a Corsair. Corsair's CX supplies are rubbish for anything that has a decent power draw; weak rails. I had a couple clap out on me and I haven't bought one since. The EVGAs are great value for money and they're manufactured by FSP, who are one of the most reliable companies around for PSUs. Rock solid rails, and you rest easy knowing they don't cut corners with the components. If you're buying a non K part, but want a quieter system, I recommend the Gelid Tranquillo as an aftermarket cooler. Arctic Coolers aren't the quietest as they focus more on that budget side of the market. Gelid tranquillo are only £25, but they're whisper quiet.
Yeah, install Windows before you hook up the HDD, otherwise the Win installer will distribute the MBR across all drives, and then Windows will refuse to boot without all stick drives being present, which can be a bit of a PITA.
if you aren't overclocking you don't need a z motherboard either. The SSD is too small. I have trouble with a 256gb and am waiting for 1TB to come down in price to upgrade.
