http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/BCX7
First build. Any suggestions would be great. Im not planning to overclock or anything at first so have just stuck with the stock CPU fan. The motherboard is the only thing he couldn't decide on but anything you'd change would be great to know.
Forgot to add I already have an HDD. The SSD is just for the OS and a couple off commonly used things.
Sorry I went a tiny bit over: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/BDeW
The 660ti is a good card, but for the same price, the 7950 murders it. I bumped the SSD up to 128GB because the price scaling at those really small (30-60GB) SSDs is terrible. The ADATA 900 is one of the fastest on the market, right now; read and writes of 530mb/s+. You had a PSU that was way too small; it wouldn't have supported your system if you overclocked anything. I threw in a 550W PSU from SeaSonic - one of the best brands out there. It should support 2-way Crossfire if you ever need more gaming performance. I would recommend not getting the optical drive and getting an after-market cooler, such as the affordable Hyper 212 Evo or one of the Xigmatek coolers that Logan just reviewed. Fractal Design makes fantastic cases; I have a Fractal Design Define XL USB 3.0 for my build and it is absolutely fantastic! They offer very affordable qualaity and clean looks. AMD offers very good perfromance as well. The AMD 8350, the flagship CPU from AMD, is an 8-core CPU that has beaten the 3570k in pretty much all of the benchmarks done here on TekSyndicate. Here is an AMD version of that build, with an aftermarket CPU cooler as well: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/BDkP The Hyper 212 can handle a decent overclock, and could take the 3570k to 4.2gHz safely. It could probably take the 8350 to 4.3/4gHz, but that might be pushing it. Cheers,
Brennan Riddell
Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.
I took everything on board and went back and (almost) started again.
Here's a link to the new build: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/C0WJ
I've switched to the 8350. It does seem like a better choice for me from reading reviews. I've also switched to the 7950 (with the added bonus of recently discovering that you can actually enable PhysX on it if needs be - not a deal breaker but I'm planning on making Borderlands 2 one of the first games I play on this).
I think the motherboard I've chosen looks quite good (in terms of functionality). I'm currently trying to find out if there will be any compatibility issues (mainly with my RAM - do you think I'll have any problems with them working together nicely?)
I stuck with the NZXT Phantom. I love the black and orange version of the full case but it just doesn't list it in PC Parts Picker for some reason.
It seems pretty functional and I like the look. I had to switch from the ADATA SX900 as my build was running a little high so I opted for the Crucial M4. I see this as something I can upgrade easily in the furture so I'm not overly concerned.
I've tried to opt for a higher wattage power supply that still had good reviews but wasn't too expensive. I'd appreciate you letting me know if you think I'll run into any issues with that one.
So in summary my main questions are:
RAM/Motherboard compatibility issues?
Power supply still a good choice?
Should I opt for the MSI Twin Frozr or the Sapphire Vapor-X with the 7950. I've been reading reviews and keep hearing different things. Maybe it doesn't matter too much? I can get the MSI for a little bit cheaper which would be useful but if there's a significant bonus to the sapphire then I'm not going to grudge the extra.
If you see any other issues or think you can see a part that I can upgrade for a similar price it'd be great if you could let me know.
Thanks.
I trust EVGA for graphics cards. I am sure they make good PSUs, but their motherboards are horrendius; prone to failure, buggy BIOS, etc. I would still recommend a Corsair or SeaSonic because they make very high quality parts. Make sure that whatever PSU that you get is fully modular, not semi/partial. Non or semi-modular PSUs are a pain in the ass to manage. The RAM/Motherboard will work fine together; and the RAM is low profile, so it will fit with practically any CPU cooler. However, my switching a few parts around, I was able to fit a much better CPU cooler in; I have the big brother of the Phanteks that I chose for your build. Instead of 2 towers, the one that I selected for you has one and can support 2 fans. It will keep the 8350 much colder than with the Hyper 212. Both MSI and Saphire make good 7950s, but the MSI Twin Frozr has some of the best cooling out there for GPUs. However, the actual performance won't differ much between brands; get as fast of a core clock as you can, though. Overclocking can bring them up high, but if you have an out-of-the-box overclock, then you don't have to worry about stability, etc. The Crucial M4 is a very fast SSD, as well. It isn't quite as fast as the ADATA one, but you won't notice the difference that much. Overall, your build is very good; very well thought out. With the few changes that I made, you are 1 euro above budget; sorry! Here you go: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/C1Hh
Good luck building! Have fun ;)
Brennan Riddell
That second build look good to me. UK is so limited on power supplies!
2013-02-07
Thanks guys. Really appreciate you taking the time to look over everything.