First Build, Any problems or suggestions?

Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
Hello all,

After reading some topics and researching some bits online, I've come up with this pc spec, my budget is £1400, this spec came to £1468, which is just a bit over but im happy with everything, just thought id run it through you guys on the forums and get the all clear before purchase.


Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2700k Quad Core (3.50GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£44)

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£87)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159)

Speakers
LOGITECH S220 2.1 SILVER/BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£19)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)

Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days


Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Fear

Fear

Prolific Poster
That looks like a solid build to me the only 2 things i would change is get the £5 silver warranty which extends the collect and return from 1 month to a full year (just incase) and i think the ilyama monitors come with a DVI cable and the only difference between them is HDMI can carry sound but as you are using seperate speakers this will not be needed so the DVI cable is all you need.

*Edit actually just some things i should have pointed out if you think you might want to add a second GPU in at a later date you will need to upgrade the motherboard and the PSU to an 850W, if you will just be sticking with a single GPU you can drop the PSU to a 650W, sorry i missed that off need to look twice when the drinks are flowing ;)
 
Last edited:
bg92

bg92

Expert
What are you going to be using the pc for? Also do you think that you will be overclocking in the future for extra performance? Are you considering addition of another graphics card for sli as an upgrade path?
 
Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
Hi Fear, thanks for the quick reply, i've modified my setup with your suggestions.

I'm abit confused about the proper Wireless card I need to use, we are currently using a netgear router this one http://www.virginmedia.com/images/netgear-router.jpg

The card which I previously selected was the DUAL-BAND card, I'm unsure whether my router supports this, so maybe this one would be a safer bet.
 
Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
I'll be using it for gaming, games such as skyrim. I dont think id be overclocking as ive never done it, however I might look into it in the future, I haven't considered that as an upgrade option, I'm not great when it comes to computers only ever played consoles for gaming, so I think I'll familiarize myself with computers first.
 
Fear

Fear

Prolific Poster
First just to make sure you have seen my edit on my above post as there were a couple of things i should have pointed out (i blame it being weekend)

There is no need to overclock for gaming as always you will get some people that like to show off with an OC so they can say they are getting an extra fps and you will probably need to upgrade other parts of the system before that CPU starts to struggle.

I had a lot of problems with wireless and there are many people that don't get any problems with it so it's kind of pot luck but i will suggest putting the money into a set of homeplugs which are much more reliable.
 
bg92

bg92

Expert
I would get this if your are not going to be adding a second graphics card in the future. Also I would use the money saved to get a better set of speakers but only if you listen to music a lot and only if you would want a good quality audio system.
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6970 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£44)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,312.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
I would get your original spec but I would upgrade the mobo and the psu. That way you can add another gpu later which I recommend you do. I would also recommend homeplugs. You can save some money by dropping the cooler one notch and by dropping the CPU to a 2600 the k versions are for o/cing which I don't suggest that u do.
 
Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
Scratch my last post, taking on board your suggestions and also the fact I need the extra money for a bigger desk. XD

This is the spec I have at the moment, It comes to £1,470.00,

Any problems/suggestions before the go ahead?

Case
ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO V3 - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£46)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II A.L.C ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER (£59)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£167)

Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 SPEAKERS - 30W RMS with 360 Degree Sound (£44)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 12 NOON) (£19)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days


EDIT: Is there much difference between the mobo SLI **SPECIAL** Edition than the other?
 
Last edited:
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
spec looks really good mate, :)

whats the rig for?

i would definitely drop the liquid cooler, the triple copper cooler is more than good enough, if you still want a beast of cooler, get the titan fenrir.

ill post up a spec mate :)
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
i'd go for something like this, if its for gaming? slightly lesser cpu but massively strong gpu, and the option to add another 680 in the future too! I did have to remove the speakers, but they are a very easy add later on.

Case
ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO V3 - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£46)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,472.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/
 
Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
Hi Tom, thanks for the reply mate i've just done a spec as we speak this is what I got currently, I went with the titan fenrir cooler on it aswell, I've got a few questions about some of the parts,

The GTX 680 I've looked at some reviews and it seems really good for gaming, im abit confused abit which one to get, slightly leaning towards the 680 over the 7970 what do you think?

Also in terms of cooling would the titan be as quieter as the triple copper heatpipe cooler?

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
2 x 200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Electric Sockets! (£38)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Firewire & Video Editing
3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
spec looks great :), nice choice of case!

pretty sure you wont hear any difference between the fenrir and the triple copper cooler, the fenrir is a beast and will cool ya 2600 with ease! I'd stick with that personally.

only thing you could do to improve ya spec, is add a ssd as drive one for ya operating system, but this isnt 100% needed, just a nice luxury that massively increases the boot speed and of any programs installed on that drive. But as i said that's not needed.

nice rig
 
Gr1ndhouse

Gr1ndhouse

Member
Thanks a lot for the advice guys, I'll make my order now, I'll have to look into getting an SSD in the future they sound worthwhile.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
I'll upgrade the warranty for peace of mind. Gold and Platinum are still good value for the service provided.
 
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