Hi all, Long time lurker. First time I'm building a computer in... 10 years? Last time was 1st year at uni. Ah, ye good ole days. Budget: ~ £1100 - £1300 - Can go higher if needs be. Main uses of intended build: Mostly gaming. Bit of movies. Longshot at graphics editing. Parts required: Main computer unit. I currently have the screen, keyboard, mouse and speakers. Previous 'build' information (list details of parts): Dell XPS 420 E8500 Core 2 Duo - 3.16GHz @stock 4GB DDR2 - 800 MHz NVidia GTS 240 500gb SATA HDD - 7200 rpm Western Digital SATA Caviar Black 2TB @ 7200rpm. ->> Will be transferred to new system. Asus Xonar DX ->> Will be transferred to new system. Monitor resolution: 1920x1080 Storage requirements: I'd like an SSD for system + games. Probably around 120GB? Will use 2TB HDD from my old computer for movies etc. Will you be overclocking? Yes - Would like to bring it up to 4.5GHz, or 4GHz for safety. Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Front USB 3.0. Easily overclockable. Fan headers for 3x180mm + 1x120mm. SLI / XFire Extra information about desired system: I need this to be really quite future proof to say... 3 years(?) and cool and quiet. Sounds like every dream PC, I know. Context is that I am going back home in Mauritius. Ambient around the year of 20 - 35'C. Getting parts over there is a nightmare. I'd rather buy myself a computer that is over the top now in the UK, ship it back and watch it slowly begin to struggle in 2-3 years rather than buying something decent now and not being able to upgrade over time. Therefore the case should be top-notch air, classy. The FT02B fits the bill. The GPU should able to ultra BF3 on 1080p (don't care much about the anti-aliasing or HBAO etc.) and have some spare power (if possible). As I am buying everything off Scan for the scansure, the components need to all come from there. Here is what I was thinking about. Prices indicative of what they are on scan @ 1730 on 31-JAN-12. CPU - 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-2500K OEM - £161 CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-D14 -- £65 RAM - 8GB Corsair DDR3 Vengeance White, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.35V -- £45 Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 Intel Z68 Socket 1155 Motherboard -- £136 Case - Silverstone Fortress FT02B -- £180 PSU - Corsair 1050HX - - £159 SSD - 120GB SSD Corsair Force Series 3 -- £119 DVD Drive - 24x Black SATA DVDRW Sony AD-7280S-0B OEM Bare Drive -- £15 Total - £880, before extras. My main concerns are: 1. A wifi PCI card. Due to the nature of the FT02, there might be problems with the antenna. How can I get a decent wifi card working in there? 2. The GPU. I was thinking of a GTX 580 or AMD 7970 / 7950. Honestly wish I could stick around longer to see the new NVidia cards come out and how they fare vs the AMD... but I don't think I will still be around then in March / April when things start heating up. I know I said i wanted something over the top, but the GTX 590 / 6990 seem a bit too much. Someone help me with this? Potential upgrade path much further down the line is SLI / XFire. If I missed anything, please let me know. Apologies for the mega-long post.
If I'm honest I think something like a HAF X would be better suited, as it is cheaper, has a regular internal layout and graphics clearance will not be an issue. Most graphics cards (bar the AMD reference ones with the blow fan) work better when horizontal rather than vertical. Plus the HAF X is £50 cheaper and wireless PCIe cards will not be an issue Bearing this in mind, I put this together: http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/58707d980181475f803efe2a46a1f395 - i5 2500K (as you're gaming and hyper threading isn't necessary) - 8GB (2 x 4GB) Corasair Vengence LP CAS 9 RAM - Phanteks White CPU cooler (actually performs better than the NH-D14) - Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold Modular 1200W PSU (loads of head room here for upgrades and has a higher efficiency rating than the Corsair) - 120GB Corsair Force Series 3 - Sony AD-5280S-0B 24x DVD RW - Coolermaster HAF X - MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3) (Great mobo with triple SLI/XFire for the future and pleanty of fan headers) - Edimax EW-7722In 300Mbps Wireless 11n 32Bit PCI Adapter - 3GB Power Color Radeon HD 7950 Overclocked (This is a much greater value card than the 7970 and will play BF3 at Ultra at 1080p, plus when OC'd beats stock 7970's) There you go, and all for £1281.91
For your GPU, go for the 7970 if you need to buy now - or if the budget is at full stretch, the 7950. This should give you power to spare for the duration of your rig, and you can always XFire it later. Both cards are out-performing the 580 right now, and as you said, you can't wait for Kepler. WiFi is a tricky one - you can get some types with 'string' antennae that can be placed away from the tower somewhat, or at the least get one with a socking huge solid one.
Things are still like they are 10 years ago, things still only fit in one way. What's different? Boards look better. Cases are more organised. You won't have any problems, and I assure you, with a budget like that, you're going to have a great time!
£1300 is a lot of cash, maybe a nice idea to buy this little lot from Scan and use there Scan Sure Service, which insures you against any mistakes or accidents that may occur during the build. Its a small price to pay for piece of mind. From the feedback I have heard the service is good.
I think you have a nice build going there. Overall a good selection of parts. I don't think you need that much psu for starters. You could easily get away with 650w on that rig and stay with Corsair as they are a good brand. As far as graphics go I would go with AMD if you have to buy now and I would get the 7950 and overclock it to 7970 levels (which is pretty easy from what I have read so far). I don't know what to tell you about the wifi cuz I don't understand why the case would be an issue.
You don't need to worry too much about the Fortress FT02 needing fan-headers. Those 180 AP fans run off the 12V line with a separate fan controller (Part of the fan, unchangeable without some work.) So you just need the chassis fan header for the 120mm exhaust. Beyond that; the 2500K is the sweet spot at this point in time. I'd echo the above advice for the 7950. It does appear to be managing very good performance for its' price, so it would be well worth it. As far as WiFi goes; I use a USB adaptor, no special drivers, completely illegal power output, never drop out. :3 (It's a 1W WiFi adaptor. Doesn't sound like much, till you realize that the legal limit is 1/10th of that.) Ie; This thing. I'm using the Raven RV02, too. The cheaper, slightly more plasticy cousin to the FT02, despite the top-panel being mostly steel mesh: I've not had any issues with WiFi connectivity, although YMMV. One issue might be that the Vengance is too tall. The NH-D14 is a big heatsink, you'd have better luck going for Vengance LP memory, as that'll fit underneath whatever CPU heatsink you get.
I built my new system on Monday, I was in two minds about getting the LP, glad I did, there was zero room for anything taller
I'd shoot for a 7950 after having seen the reviews. Those are very balanced, solid cards. Tone down the PSU to 700W as well. That's all you need to even CrossFire 7950's. They're very efficient cards (150W average for one GPU).
-->> mikeyman198 Thanks for the info. I've checked what you said and the HAF X does seem quite interesting. Unfortunately, I am more of a minimalist when it comes to cases. The rugged design doesn't do it for me and I don't want a window on the case, as I'll be sleeping in the same room and the 'puter tends to be on 24/7. Lights / LEDs would be a big no-no. I'll check up the Phanteks White. Does sound like a good idea. Maybe they can cool and be quiet? Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold Modular 1200W PSU - Checked the price. Between yesterday and today, scan put the price up £10. Bah! XFire once sounds good. Xfire with 3 cards sounds a bit too crazy for someone like me. -->> Cei Considering the current budget and everyone's comments, it seems the 7950 is the way to go. A bit cheaper by £~60 and overclocked can provide comparable to a stock 7970. Sounds good to me! -->> KidMod-Southpaw Cheers for the welcome -->> BennieboyUK Yeah, definitely will go for the Scansure. Last time I built one, it was in laboratory conditions. One of the perks of doing CompSci at uni. Now, I just get to stick everything in at home, check the Beginner's guide to building a computer and hope like hell it somehow works out. -->> maestro0428 Had considered a Corsair AX850, but the AX fan grille isn't completely level, which kinda screws with the requirement of the FT02. -->> .//TuNdRa Good point. Might want to look for a better fan for that 120mm exhaust. Maybe a Scythe Gentle Typhoon or something similarly quiet with high airflow. I'll probably go for the 7950, the Powercolor OCed to 880Mhz. That USB Wifi Adaptor looks veeery interesting and not too expensive either. Out of interest, do you keep the top panel on for the RV02? Any noticeable difference (noise / temps) if you leave it off? I checked the Arctic Whites and they are LP ones. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...te-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-135v -->> boltonuk007 Hope the new machine is holding up. Good to see that mobo letting you OC well. -->> John Doe Cheers. Looks like it'll be the 7950 after all.
For the GPU - definitely a 7970 or a 7950. A gigabyte or Asus, with an aftermarket cooler would be my advice.
Doesn't make any difference, but on the raven it's almost entirely vented mesh, and those APs are very, very good at shifting air, even though they've got low static pressure.
