My 2013 Gaming Only build (£750)

[fredstick]

My gaming only pc build

Gigabyte ga-z77mx-d3h

Core i3 3220

8gb XMS3 1600 RAM

EVGA GTX 670 FTW Edition

2 x seagate 500gb 7200 drives in RAID 0

No OD

Be Quiet 520W pure power supply

Fractal Design Define Mini Case

Fractal Design silet series fans (x4)

Here's what it looks like, aft a few sessions of cable management and tweaking

Things I would have done differently:

A power supply with neat braided cables and modular (The BeQuiet is really quiet but not modular and not braided)

Should have bought an aftermarket cooler for the CPU (the stock one is ugly and loud)

Get an SSD instead of RAID drives

Future plans

i7 3770K. (I want to overclock)

Corsair Hydro Cooler

256GB SSD for boot (using steam mover to move games over to the HDD once in a while)

Let me know what you think

[Samskip]

If it's an only gaming build and your future plan is to overclock you could just get the i5-3570k (or upcoming haswell i5 's), cause in games there is almost no performance difference between the i5 and i7 and it's alot cheaper.

[Nicktrance]

Looks like you got some awesome bang for the buck :).

 

If it's an only gaming build and your future plan is to overclock you could just get the i5-3570k (or upcoming haswell i5 's), cause in games there is almost no performance difference between the i5 and i7 and it's alot cheaper.

 

Yeah, just don't bother with i7 if it's for gaming, it's just a waste of money and you can get similar clocks too, you just don't have HT.

[fredstick]

You're probably right about the i5, I might look in to the i7 only for future longevity but i5 seems the best way. Any tips for a decent modular psu with neat black cabling that won't break the bank?

[Gemmar]

Nice build! I think it's a great choice and i'm surprised it came out so cheap!

[YoungDelinquent]

Hey, if you're in the UK, check out novatech. Their PSUs are about £40 and made by OCZ. If not then the corsair builder M series is well known

[nickbickerstaff]

Surely that GPU is bottle necked by the CPU?

[DJ46]

You're probably right about the i5, I might look in to the i7 only for future longevity but i5 seems the best way. Any tips for a decent modular psu with neat black cabling that won't break the bank?

Exactly what I'm shopping for. i was looking at the Corsair CX???M series + buying a sleeved 24pin extension but I will wait for more details on Enermax NAXN Advanced with all flat cables.

[Masfiras]

Exactly what I'm shopping for. i was looking at the Corsair CX???M series + buying a sleeved 24pin extension but I will wait for more details on Enermax NAXN Advanced with all flat cables.

take a look at jonnhyguru.com, for psu reviews, cause maybe u can get a good psu sometimes better than Corsair CX series.

[DJ46]

If it was for the same price, either it woudln't look good or it wouldn't be anything better. And CX is not bad. As I said, still waiting for the pricing on those Naxn Advanced PSUs.

[IronSoldier]

Really not that keen on the PSU due to the cables. :wacko: Other than that it's all good.