Damsel in distress!!!

[GallifreyGirl]

Hi, I'm building my first gaming PC. The budget is around £1,200 (Give or take around £100). I already have a case (NXZT Phantom 410). I am particularly looking for good aesthetics sticking to black white and blue colour scheme. These are the components I am currently considering and wondered what people opinions would be.

Help please :)

Motherboard - MSI Z77A-GD65 Intel Z77

CPU - i5-3570K

Cooler - Corsair H100i (With Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition fans)

GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 670 Power Edition

Memory - Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz

Storage (SSD) - PNY 120GB XLR8 SSD

Storage (HDD) - WD Caviar Green 1TB

PSU - Silverstone Strider ST75F-G Evolution PSU 750W

I have also budgeted for LED Strips and BitFenix Alchemy extension cables, both in blue. (Totaling around £60)

All help welcome, thanks in advance! :D

[TheNorthHarrier]

I see nothing wrong with the build, I prefer an Asus motherboard but that's all a matter of option. Also, I am not sure if that PSU is 80 Plus if not you will want to get one that is for a computer of that price.

[GallifreyGirl]

It is 80 Plus Gold. thats one of the things I was specifically looking for :) Thanks for having a look for me.

[TheNorthHarrier]

It is 80 Plus Gold. thats one of the things I was specifically looking for :) Thanks for having a look for me.

No Problem

[Willson94]

If it were my money I'd probably pick up a gd55 a standard vengeance memory kit and with the money saved get a 250GB SSD for more games especially now steam allows you to have multiple libraries at a time

670 is a great choice along with the 3570k

I have a H100 running with sp120 quiets and temps are fantastic even with RPM set really low check it out if u want

Lastly I wasn't sure whether I'd notice the difference of a sound card until I actually got one and its only an xonar dsx so maybe think about that

http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/...77-first-build

[GallifreyGirl]

If it were my money I'd probably pick up a gd55 a standard vengeance memory kit and with the money saved get a 250GB SSD for more games especially now steam allows you to have multiple libraries at a time

670 is a great choice along with the 3570k

I have a H100 running with sp120 quiets and temps are fantastic even with RPM set really low check it out if u want

Lastly I wasn't sure whether I'd notice the difference of a sound card until I actually got one and its only an xonar dsx so maybe think about that

http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/...77-first-build

Thanks for the link to your build, its really helped when looking at my options. I did originally look at the vengeance however I particularly liked the platinum ram because of the LED Strips (Picky I know :P) but I will think about stretching the budget for a bigger SSD. Thanks :)

[GallifreyGirl]

If it were my money I'd probably pick up a gd55 a standard vengeance memory kit and with the money saved get a 250GB SSD for more games especially now steam allows you to have multiple libraries at a time

670 is a great choice along with the 3570k

I have a H100 running with sp120 quiets and temps are fantastic even with RPM set really low check it out if u want

Lastly I wasn't sure whether I'd notice the difference of a sound card until I actually got one and its only an xonar dsx so maybe think about that

http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/...77-first-build

Just had a look at the gd55, Think I will probably stick with the gd65 as it gives me more expandability options as I will probably end up getting a second GPU and a sound card in the future and the latter will allow me to do so. Seriously considering stretching for a bigger SSD, it makes sense to do so. Thanks ever so much for your help :D

[Kruziik_Kel]

I had a mess around with it and saved you some cash and improved it all round

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.74 @ Aria PC)

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£76.79 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£219.98 @ Novatech)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£94.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£67.99 @ Aria PC)

Total: £879.39

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 21:04 GMT+0000)

High end air cooler well probably the very best it will kick the H100i into next week unless you have restricted airflow and it is a lot cheaper (stock fans are good not as good as noctua's but well they are brown) 80+ gold dosent really mean a whole lot the XFX I included is very reliable and cheaper however the silverstone is a great unit regardless cheaper RAM the dominator is kind of pointless its more for overclocking and well that wont gain you any performance the GPU is cheaper and unless you use CUDA performs (citation needed) better on the catalyst 13.1 drivers the motherboard is a great overclocker and has great features for the price and finally the SSD and HDD the Barracuda willbe slightly faster than a Caviar Green/Blue and they are significantly cheaper as long as you dont get a chinese one you will be fine and the SSD I wouldnt normaly recommend the 840 over the 830 but I cant find the 830 cheaper so you may as well get an 840

[JimmyGrimble]

I had a mess around with it and saved you some cash and improved it all round

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.74 @ Aria PC)

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£76.79 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£219.98 @ Novatech)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£94.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£67.99 @ Aria PC)

Total: £879.39

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 21:04 GMT+0000)

High end air cooler well probably the very best it will kick the H100i into next week unless you have restricted airflow and it is a lot cheaper (stock fans are good not as good as noctua's but well they are brown) 80+ gold dosent really mean a whole lot the XFX I included is very reliable and cheaper however the silverstone is a great unit regardless cheaper RAM the dominator is kind of pointless its more for overclocking and well that wont gain you any performance the GPU is cheaper and unless you use CUDA performs (citation needed) better on the catalyst 13.1 drivers the motherboard is a great overclocker and has great features for the price and finally the SSD and HDD the Barracuda willbe slightly faster than a Caviar Green/Blue and they are significantly cheaper as long as you dont get a chinese one you will be fine and the SSD I wouldnt normaly recommend the 840 over the 830 but I cant find the 830 cheaper so you may as well get an 840

Firstly, the only thing in that build that's the same is the CPU, so its a completely different build to what they mentioned. Secondly, Before you try to give anyone advice, I suggest you find the full stop key on your keyboard as it is a pain to read when it is written like that...

If you read what was written in the OP you would see that the colour scheme of the build is blue black and white. That mobo has a large amount of gold on it...

[GallifreyGirl]

Thanks to Willson94 I have now changed to a Corsair Force Series 3 240GB SSD :)

[WaspishVyper]

I had a mess around with it and saved you some cash and improved it all round

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.74 @ Aria PC)

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£76.79 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£219.98 @ Novatech)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£94.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£67.99 @ Aria PC)

Total: £879.39

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 21:04 GMT+0000)

High end air cooler well probably the very best it will kick the H100i into next week unless you have restricted airflow and it is a lot cheaper (stock fans are good not as good as noctua's but well they are brown) 80+ gold dosent really mean a whole lot the XFX I included is very reliable and cheaper however the silverstone is a great unit regardless cheaper RAM the dominator is kind of pointless its more for overclocking and well that wont gain you any performance the GPU is cheaper and unless you use CUDA performs (citation needed) better on the catalyst 13.1 drivers the motherboard is a great overclocker and has great features for the price and finally the SSD and HDD the Barracuda willbe slightly faster than a Caviar Green/Blue and they are significantly cheaper as long as you dont get a chinese one you will be fine and the SSD I wouldnt normaly recommend the 840 over the 830 but I cant find the 830 cheaper so you may as well get an 840

I would get a different PSU, because that is only available at overclockers, which if anything goes wrong they do not give a damn and its difficult to get a refund. Also that ram looks like crap and she wants good asthetics.

[WaspishVyper]

From experience in my phantom 410, mount the radiator before the motherboard or you won't be able to get the screws into the fans unless you go with a pull config, other than that looks good. very similar to my pc.

[Willson94]

Thanks to Willson94 I have now changed to a Corsair Force Series 3 240GB SSD :)

you're very welcome, wish I had held off an ssd a little longer for a 240-250gb capacity tbh the gd55 will allow for SLI and soundcard and the lighting on the platinum is VERY subtle but i'm just going to shut up now your build not mine haha

[GallifreyGirl]

Thanks to Willson94 I have now changed to a Corsair Force Series 3 240GB SSD :)

What do you think of the Corsair SSD I'm currently looking at? No need to shut up, I'm grateful your giving me helpful feedback.

[GallifreyGirl]

From experience in my phantom 410, mount the radiator before the motherboard or you won't be able to get the screws into the fans unless you go with a pull config, other than that looks good. very similar to my pc.

Okay thank for the tip! I will definitely make sure to do that. :)

[WaspishVyper]

From experience in my phantom 410, mount the radiator before the motherboard or you won't be able to get the screws into the fans unless you go with a pull config, other than that looks good. very similar to my pc.

Glad to help, assuming you bought the black and white one. I wish I had but the Plain black one was £25ish cheaper on boxing day.

[Dodge]

You don't need a 750W PSU. Without OC the system (3570K+GTX670) will draw maybe 350W.

[GallifreyGirl]

You don't need a 750W PSU. Without OC the system (3570K+GTX670) will draw maybe 350W.

I thought power supplies worked best at 50-75% load :/

[GallifreyGirl]

From experience in my phantom 410, mount the radiator before the motherboard or you won't be able to get the screws into the fans unless you go with a pull config, other than that looks good. very similar to my pc.

Yeah I did get the white one :)

[Toby]

You don't need a 750W PSU. Without OC the system (3570K+GTX670) will draw maybe 350W.

Only technically.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/343495-10-power-supply-efficiency-myths

[Dodge]

~50% load is usually the point with the highest efficency, but this doesn't necessarily mean that you should aim for this point at full load. It doesn't really matter whether the efficiency is 87% at 50% load or 84% at 100% load. And your computer won't allways run on full load and with a bigger PSU you lose efficiency at idle. The bigger advantage of a PSU, that is too big, is probably that the fan will never run at 100%. It's perfectly fine to have some reserves, but you don't have to double it.

[GallifreyGirl]

~50% load is usually the point with the highest efficency, but this doesn't necessarily mean that you should aim for this point at full load. It doesn't really matter whether the efficiency is 87% at 50% load or 84% at 100% load. And your computer won't allways run on full load and with a bigger PSU you lose efficiency at idle. The bigger advantage of a PSU, that is too big, is probably that the fan will never run at 100%. It's perfectly fine to have some reserves, but you don't have to double it.

Okay :) Thanks for clearing that up for me

[GallifreyGirl]

You don't need a 750W PSU. Without OC the system (3570K+GTX670) will draw maybe 350W.

That link was really helpful, thanks!

[GallifreyGirl]

Quick question: What PSU do people recommend getting?

[Guest]

Quick question: What PSU do people recommend getting?

My vote goes to the Silverstone Strider Plus series. They're 100% modular and really reliable. They carry the 80Plus silver certification too however that actually doesn't mean that much. The 600w is about $105ish.