£600 Gaming Build - Hardware & Software

[B]Edited: Anything in bold will not be used[/B] [URL="http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/K273"]Current PartPicker Link: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/K273[/URL] Ok, I have put together some parts that over the last week people have recommended, mainly from these forums and youtube. The one thing everyone said was not to even think of cheeping out on the PSU (Sorry if I have! I am useless at power!) and to get a good graphics card, as that is where I will get my main power in gaming from. I am sorry to say that I have not found a MoBo yet and I would be very grateful if someone could find me one to fit with my build. As always, start from the beginning (Well, depending what your like :P): [B]For the case I was seriously inspired by this case, it looks easy to carry, looks awesome, spacious and not to noisy (apparently). This case is also a common gaming PC case. [URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A3J367W/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller="]BitFenix Prodigy Case[/URL][/B] For the GPU I have been suggested the 7950, which someone kindly gave me this link (It includes Crisis 3 and Bioshock which makes me assume that it is showing off it's power): [URL="http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-098-GI"]Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce[/URL] For the CPU I have been recommended many Core i5 (Intel all the way as AMD apparently has performance loss and unstability): [URL="http://www.scan.co.uk/products/29-4intel-core-i5-3570k-s-1155-ivy-bridge-quad-core-34ghz-5-gt-s-dmi-650mhz-gpu-6mb-smart-cache-34x-"]Intel Core i5 3570K Quad Core IvyBridge[/URL] [B]For the PSU I have probably been stupid, I am 100% sure that I will want a 500 watt or more to be safe (Please change me if needed!): [URL="http://www.scan.co.uk/products/620w-antec-neo-eco-modular-psu-82eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-scan-exclusi"]Antec Neo Eco 620W[/URL][/B] For the CPU cooling I haven't thought about this much, again I would be grateful if someone could provide me with one For the general fan I am going to rely on the case included fan if that is a good idea, if not please give me some good fans. I would also be grateful if someone could give me a link to a all in one water cooler as I have seen them before and there supposed to be good. (2 rubber pipes and a pump inside that never needs to be taken apart to be taken out) Knowing me I have missed something big out, if it is missing please do give me some kind of link. If I have got anything wrong or could do better please do tell me as well. I will be salvaging my old screens (2), a hard drive (or though I do need SSD maybe with SATA (whatever that is) as my games load slow as it is, please link me :P) and my CD drive, if I feel the need. Thanks, ~Joe

That case is a very small LAN case. It only allows for mini motherboards which you generally dont want to buy. Try the corsair 400r.Also you might wanna change your PSU to a Corsair or seasonic. Antec isnt bad though. You also forgot RAM and a cd reader. And if your hdd uses IDE instead of sata it wont work.

[QUOTE=taipan;39912260]That case is a very small LAN case. It only allows for mini motherboards which you generally dont want to buy. Try the corsair 400r.Also you might wanna change your PSU to a Corsair or seasonic. Antec isnt bad though. You also forgot RAM and a cd reader. And if your hdd uses IDE instead of sata it wont work.[/QUOTE] Ok, could you recommend me a PSU that would suit me? I have a CD reader and the RAM I was going to use crucial? Any good SSD's? Also are the other parts any good, do the i5 and 7950 GPU go together well? Does anyone know a good MoBo for what I am buidling ~Joe

Right, I have been looking around and I do not like the look of that case size (The LAN case), in fact I should have been more realistic and looked at the MoBo that people used with it first (Sorry!). I am still unsure for if the i5 and 7950 will work well together, and if not which one is slowing down. This will be for a general High End Gaming style, Top Level Graphics above 30 FPS ETC. As for the motherboard I am still lost, there are so many with all these weird chip sets and maximum bit rates! I don't think that that 400r case will be too small for a good MoBo but I can't find one to go with the other parts. That 400r case is nice, I like it but £80 is a bit too much for a case, just lowering it down to £50-£60 means I have room for something else in my budget, I don't care for big fancy looks, the LAN case was nice, cheap and simple as well as easy to move, the 400r is more of a stable looking case (Which is fine!) and consists of quality designed for the user, but a Gaming PC is for gaming, not looks. Has any one else had a good experience with this case of a cheaper version? As an quickfire update here are the parts I am going with now: - Possibly Corsair 400r - Some kind of CPU cooler, Scan.co.uk didn't have any Corsair or Seasonic, any good ones? - The i5 above (I am too lazy) - The 7950 (With bioshock and crysis 3 :D) - A mystery MoBo. Any ideas? - A good 8GB stick of RAM for the mystery MoBo - A really bad DVD R/W - Two old hard drives that add up too 1TB - Two Screens of OK quality and some kind of diameter that's bigger than my ruler - A keyboard, mouse and Gaming headset If there is anything I am missing (I have a hell load of wires, please don't tell me I need more D:!) that might be annoying, please do tell me if something doesn't compliment another well. Thanks for the help! ~Joe

Case: Antec 300 then. [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Tower/dp/B006TVQTHW/ref=sr_1_23?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363324883&sr=1-23[/url] Or maybe: This cooler master (it has no cable management tough) [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-RC-430-KWN1-Elite-Window/dp/B003OEDJTI/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363324883&sr=1-7[/url] Mobo: Asrock z77 extreme 4. Cheaper version with almost the same specs: (no ssd caching though) [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-Z75-Motherboard-Socket-Intel/dp/B007P709YI/ref=sr_1_1?[/url] Asrock z75 pro 3 . s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363325017&sr=1-1 And get 2x4GB sticks of ram instead of 1x8GB, since you will want to use it dual channel.

[QUOTE=taipan;39919025]Case: Antec 300 then. [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Tower/dp/B006TVQTHW/ref=sr_1_23?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363324883&sr=1-23[/url] Or maybe: This cooler master (it has no cable management tough) [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-RC-430-KWN1-Elite-Window/dp/B003OEDJTI/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363324883&sr=1-7[/url] Mobo: Asrock z77 extreme 4. Cheaper version with almost the same specs: (no ssd caching though) [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-Z75-Motherboard-Socket-Intel/dp/B007P709YI/ref=sr_1_1?[/url] Asrock z75 pro 3 . s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363325017&sr=1-1 And get 2x4GB sticks of ram instead of 1x8GB, since you will want to use it dual channel.[/QUOTE] To add your Case choice maybe a Corsair 200R

[QUOTE=striker453;39919303]To add your Case choice maybe a Corsair 200R[/QUOTE] Ok I have found a handy little website for what looking at my build, here is the link to my build: [URL="http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/K273"]http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/K273[/URL] Is this going to run at ultra settings on games like arma 3 and battlefield 3? How is the power supply, I thought corsair would be a good quality and it's cheap at them same time. I have used the corsair 200r case as it does look nice in a good price range and seems to be well made! Anything that's not on their will most likely be reused from my current PC (Hard drive, screens, keyboards, headsets ETC). There are still a few things I am unsure about; Is their a cheaper/better MoBo for my usage, Is the processor OK? And will the parts go nicely together or just be a horrible - non - working mix? ~Joe Edit: Taipan, it would be nice to have the cheaper MoBo but realistically I will sooner or later want to use SSD caching, so the Z77 seems the best, despite the price tag. It's better to get something now and save money than wait until I actually need it.

The asrock is the best tested z77 mobo, but almost all z77 are usually good, so take your pick. And they all support ssd caching. All patts will go together nicely. Your psu is good and will work, but its on the edge. If you add a few hdd's or overclock it might not be enough. 600 watts or something is optimal.

Im not so sure about that cpu cooler for that price get a Coolermaster 212+

[QUOTE=striker453;39932304]Im not so sure about that cpu cooler for that price get a Coolermaster 212+[/QUOTE] Ok I will have a look at it. I have just realised I have not include the OS, which is around £99 so £600 is kind of £500 D: But I was just looking at the BitFenix case from the PC Building youtube video I saw ([URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX_QxnuG1XM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX_QxnuG1XM[/URL]) and it looks compact but containing a lot of parts. If I was to switch to this MoBo: [url]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RIFLVQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007RIFLVQ&linkCode=as2&tag=c09_11-20[/url] what disadvantages would I have? Apart from no crossfire I can't see the disadvantage (And only two RAM slots but will I need more than 16GB of RAM?). In fact looking over it again it seems like a better idea as I can transport my PC to different tournaments while having good graphics! I am just putting together a updated version of that youtube build now.

Planning to overclock? If not, you don't really need a new cooler, would work fine with the stock one, only advantage of bigger one is that it runs somewhat quieter.

[QUOTE=Uzbekistan;39933965]Planning to overclock? If not, you don't really need a new cooler, would work fine with the stock one, only advantage of bigger one is that it runs somewhat quieter.[/QUOTE] Sorry for a noobish question, but I assume the stock cooler comes with the CPU/MoBo, and if it is OK that would be great as I have no idea how to Overclock and see no reason too. I have been looking at this build in comparison to the one with that MoBo I posted above, and I can't find a spec different between the two MoBos, apart from 1 less PCI slot (Or whatever the graphics card goes in) and 2 less RAM slots, yet 16GB (2x8GB) seems to be perfectly fine. As for the GPU, I can see no reason for another 7950 for cross fire as it is alone supposed to run games like Crysis 3 on max settings (And the right CPU ETC!). Honestly it seems like the LAN case is just sensible to go with as it has got the basic same specs as a build with completely different bulky parts.

I cannot stress this enough. If you dont need a small case dont get one. It makes everything harder, and forces you to get a small formfactor MOBO, which isnt ideal. (crosstalk, lack of features etc) The one you linked is really limited and wont allow you to upgrade much in the future. It also doesnt support overclokcking or ssd caching. If you really want a cheaper board look at the z75 chipsets, those at least support overclocking. Which im sure you will be wanting to do when your cpu starts to struggle in 2-4 years. (Who doesnt want an easy and free performance gain) [editline]17th March 2013[/editline] What OS are you planning on buying? [editline]17th March 2013[/editline] Also the 200,300,400r is a way more common gaming case than the bitfenix prodigy.

Ok, I couldn't find any disadvantages in terms of features on the MoBo, and there is supposed to be SSD caching. I have a budget, but I was not saying that I wanted that case because it was cheaper, but purly because it [I]is[/I] a LAN case. I do plan on entering tournaments with this PC and want to bring it to lots if events such as GamesCom and iSomania (I think I spelt them right) and having a small case was/is handy. In your opinion is it going to look stupid turning up to one of these with I big case like the R series (200r, 300r ETC). They look nice, but they look heavy noisy and hard to carry around and the reviews don't oppose either. Although the 200r looks quite compact and the price tag is nice, will it have fans installed when ordered or will I have to add some? The Asrock z77 extreme 4 seems superior than any other MoBo for this build and I don't want compromise. I am just working on putting everything together and tracking down "Actual" prices and pages as PCPartPicker has a lot of dead or wrong links D:

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39936922]Sorry for a noobish question, but I assume the stock cooler comes with the CPU/MoBo, and if it is OK that would be great as I have no idea how to Overclock and see no reason too. [/QUOTE] Processors always come with a cooler, unless you buy an OEM version, but those are near impossible to come by unless you actually work in the industry.

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39944218]Ok, I couldn't find any disadvantages in terms of features on the MoBo, and there is supposed to be SSD caching. I have a budget, but I was not saying that I wanted that case because it was cheaper, but purly because it [I]is[/I] a LAN case. I do plan on entering tournaments with this PC and want to bring it to lots if events such as GamesCom and iSomania (I think I spelt them right) and having a small case was/is handy. In your opinion is it going to look stupid turning up to one of these with I big case like the R series (200r, 300r ETC). They look nice, but they look heavy noisy and hard to carry around and the reviews don't oppose either. Although the 200r looks quite compact and the price tag is nice, will it have fans installed when ordered or will I have to add some? The Asrock z77 extreme 4 seems superior than any other MoBo for this build and I don't want compromise. I am just working on putting everything together and tracking down "Actual" prices and pages as PCPartPicker has a lot of dead or wrong links D:[/QUOTE] The asrock extreme 4 will not fit in the prodigy case.

[QUOTE=taipan;39945326]The asrock extreme 4 will not fit in the prodigy case.[/QUOTE] I know, which is why I have to give up the case. I just hope I will be able to carry the 200r case around at tournaments. Looking at processors, what advantages would an i5 have over an i3. I am confused where I will actually see performance increase with a good processor (I have never seen any difference between two processors before, though I am new to building). Is it really worth the money to buy an i5 when the i3s are £80 cheaper sometimes?

If you are building and intend to build a lan computer then a Bitfenix prodigy is probably the way to go, that is to say that you will be definitely carrying this computer around

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39954947]I know, which is why I have to give up the case. I just hope I will be able to carry the 200r case around at tournaments. Looking at processors, what advantages would an i5 have over an i3. I am confused where I will actually see performance increase with a good processor (I have never seen any difference between two processors before, though I am new to building). Is it really worth the money to buy an i5 when the i3s are £80 cheaper sometimes?[/QUOTE] The i5s have 4 real cores, as apossed to the i3s which have 2. Some games are now optimized for 4 cores. [editline]18th March 2013[/editline] I regret not getting a Quad Core in my laptop a fair bit, given that is really wasn't much more money.

At first I would not recommend a mini ITX motherboard. They have a lot of issues with electric interference on the chipset, as a result you get annoying sounds from your speakers. P.S Make sure to use the proper tools when you put your PC together! I had some really bad tools... As a result my motherboard is literally hanging together in the case... Not good. But if you really insist using a micro-ITX motherboard, you might want to get a ASUS one: This one is without a WLAN (Wi-Fi) module: [url]http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H67I_PRO/[/url] This one is with a WLAN module: [url]http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H67I_DELUXE/[/url] Both of these motherboards have a Intel socket 1155 But as I readed on other threads, mini-ITX motherboards are risky when you want your PC to be as good as possible. You better get one in the ATX form factor CAUTION: These motherboards have SO-DIMM instead of the normal SDRAM sticks, you find these RAM modules which these motherboard requires in laptops mostly.

Ok, I am defiantly going for the Asrock z77. I am on a Mini ITX now, and I do get feedback from the speakers often now (Unwanted). I guess i5s are worth investing in then. Although some i3s have hyper-threading or something that lets windows see it as an i3 core apparently, I don't know what that's like (anyone know?). I would like a LAN sized computer but it is clear I am after affordable performance and a LAN case would only cost more to get as good a quality PC.

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39958084]Ok, I am defiantly going for the Asrock z77. I am on a Mini ITX now, and I do get feedback from the speakers often now (Unwanted). I guess i5s are worth investing in then. Although some i3s have hyper-threading or something that lets windows see it as an i3 core apparently, I don't know what that's like (anyone know?). I would like a LAN sized computer but it is clear I am after affordable performance and a LAN case would only cost more to get as good a quality PC.[/QUOTE] Hyper threading actually lowers performance in alot of games. It splits up the core into two threads, but those threads still use the same resources (still a single pipeling for lack of a better word). i5's give a significant performance boost over i3's. i7's however add nothing but hyperthreading (so your pc sees 8 cores) and therefore adds nearly nothing in gaming performance. the i5 3570k is the sweetspot gaming cpu at the time. Nearly all gaming builds from 700$ up use it.

[QUOTE=taipan;39958298]Hyper threading actually lowers performance in alot of games. It splits up the core into two threads, but those threads still use the same resources (still a single pipeling for lack of a better word). i5's give a significant performance boost over i3's. i7's however add nothing but hyperthreading (so your pc sees 8 cores) and therefore adds nearly nothing in gaming performance. the i5 3570k is the sweetspot gaming cpu at the time. Nearly all gaming builds from 700$ up use it.[/QUOTE] Ok it sounds nice, but what does the k mean? Also does the GHz make any difference?

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39958984]Ok it sounds nice, but what does the k mean? Also does the GHz make any difference?[/QUOTE] K means its unlocked and you can overclock it easily by changing the multiplier. As opposed to overclocking via increasing the front side bus which also speeds up the ram etc and is generally less stable. (this only works on a Z75 or Z77 mobo though. GHZ makes a difference in the same model line yes. A 3 ghz ivy bridge i5 is going to be faster than a 2.8 ghz. Hovever if you compare them to diferrent models (for example the old Q6600 quad core.) It will be way slower at 4 ghz than the i5 3570k at 3.0

[QUOTE=taipan;39959164]K means its unlocked and you can overclock it easily by changing the multiplier. As opposed to overclocking via increasing the front side bus which also speeds up the ram etc and is generally less stable. (this only works on a Z75 or Z77 mobo though. GHZ makes a difference in the same model line yes. A 3 ghz ivy bridge i5 is going to be faster than a 2.8 ghz. Hovever if you compare them to diferrent models (for example the old Q6600 quad core.) It will be way slower at 4 ghz than the i5 3570k at 3.0[/QUOTE] Ok that makes sense, what use does the GHz have, I keep hearing "It does stuff faster", so does 64GB of RAM but that much RAM doesn't affect FPS, so what does the processor do better as an i5/i7 ETC? I take it unlocked is a good investment as well, so I will stick with it if I can afford.

It goes by a star rating and basically by tier: The i7 is better than an i5 in terms of the cache, turbo-boost and some other features (like multi-tasking), but for gaming it's not necessary to buy an i7. The i5 however is almost the same as the i7 (both quad core) but more for gaming as apposed to other tasks. You'd rather get an i5 for gaming and not get an i7 because of the price margin and also the i5 does the task very well in gaming.

[QUOTE=sheridanm;39961063]It goes by a star rating and basically by tier: The i7 is better than an i5 in terms of the cache, turbo-boost and some other features (like multi-tasking), but for gaming it's not necessary to buy an i7. The i5 however is almost the same as the i7 (both quad core) but more for gaming as apposed to other tasks. You'd rather get an i5 for gaming and not get an i7 because of the price margin and also the i5 does the task very well in gaming.[/QUOTE] Ok thanks that makes it a lot easier to under stand, but I could swear some i5s have turbo boost?

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39961286]Ok thanks that makes it a lot easier to under stand, but I could swear some i5s have turbo boost?[/QUOTE] Intel Turbo Boost is a way to automatically run the CPU faster when you need it most. Of course your CPU needs to support it (both i5's and i7's support it).

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39959840]Ok that makes sense, what use does the GHz have, I keep hearing "It does stuff faster", so does 64GB of RAM but that much RAM doesn't affect FPS, so what does the processor do better as an i5/i7 ETC? I take it unlocked is a good investment as well, so I will stick with it if I can afford.[/QUOTE] Well the ammount GHZ is the ammount of instructions a cpu can do per cycle (second).[I] (ok this ist exactly true for most x86 cpu's (thanks GoDong-DK) But it is at least proportionate in the same processor line.)[/I] 4.0 GHZ is on a single core is somewhat relative to 20 000 000 000 instructions a second on that cpu. On a quad core i5 this would be in the general direction of 4x 20 000 000 000 on an optimal program (though you cannot say its equal 16 ghz due to other issues.) Hyper threading splits these 4 ghz cores in 2 threads, allowing each thread to use its 4 ghz for a different task while still using the same cache and pipe of a single core etc. The ammount of ram is just the amount of stuff you can have open at the same time. When you open a game, all its code, textures and models get loaded into the RAM from the HDD. So when the game needs the model the cpu has rapid acces to it. As opposed to having to acces the very slow HDD. So as you can see having more RAM doesnt really do alot exept for allowing you to open more stuff at once.

[QUOTE=ducsuus;39961286]Ok thanks that makes it a lot easier to under stand, but I could swear some i5s have turbo boost?[/QUOTE] All newer Intel processors have Turbo boost, and so does the 600 series of NVIDIA gpu's. It downclocks the processor while it doesn't need it to save energy and make it stay cool. It goes up to the full speed when needed.