Reasonably High End Gaming Build.

[Frosticles]

Planning a build for a friend of mine that's gonna be upgrading for a laptop. Most of the heavy use of the system will be for gaming (Crysis 3, Far Cry, that sort of stuff) in 1080p resolution. I'm from the UK so the prices over here are probably more than they are in america if things seem a little expensive, I think I've got the list pretty well optimized now but any suggestions on where to save money would be awesome.

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CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K

http://ark.intel.com/products/65520/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz[/TD]

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eBuyer[/TD]

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£171.22[/TD]

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http://www.ebuyer.com/367824-intel-core-i5-3570k-3-4ghz-socket-1155-6mb-cache-oem-processor-cm8063701211800[/TD]

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Motherboard: MSI Z77 Mpower

http://uk.msi.com/product/mb/Z77-MPOWER.html[/TD]

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£148.52[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z77-mpower-intel-z77-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-pcie-30-dport-hdmi-atx[/TD]

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Graphics Card: MSI GTX 660Ti Power Edition 2GB

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N660Ti-PE-2GD5-OC.html[/TD]

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Dabs[/TD]

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£234.79[/TD]

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http://www.dabs.com/products/msi-geforce-gtx-660-ti-1019mhz-2gb-pci-express-3-0-hdmi-power-edition-87Q0.html[/TD]

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Was thinking about putting in 2 660Ti's, opinions?[/TD]

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Hard Drive 1: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-gb/products/desktops/barracuda_hard_drives/[/TD]

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£69.84[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2tb-seagate-st2000dm001-barracuda-720012-sata-6gb-s-7200rpm-64mb-cache-8ms-oem-ncq[/TD]

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Hard Drive 2: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-vertex-4-sata-iii-2-5-ssd.html#overview[/TD]

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£96.14[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/128gb-ocz-vertex-4-25-ssd-sata-6gb-s-indilinx-everest-2-mlc-flash-read-560mb-s-write-430mb-s-120k-io[/TD]

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Water Cooling: Corsair H100i

http://www.corsair.com/us/hydro-series-h100i-extreme-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler.html[/TD]

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Amazon[/TD]

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£87.99[/TD]

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/dp/B009ZN2NH6[/TD]

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Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST Blu-Ray Reader

http://www.asus.com/Optical_Drives/BC12B1ST/[/TD]

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Amazon[/TD]

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£46.78[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-bc-12b1st-blu-ray-combo-black-oem-drive-sata-blu-ray-12x-dvdr-16x-cd-r-48x[/TD]

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Case: Coolermsater Storm Trooper Full Tower

http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/product.php?product_id=6757[/TD]

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£119.94[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-cm-storm-trooper-black-full-tower-gaming-case-with-usb-30-w-o-psu[/TD]

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Power Supply: Corsair Digital AX760i 760 Watt

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supply-units/ax-series-power-supply-units/ax760i-digital-atx-power-supply-760-watt-80-plus-platinum-certified-fully-modular-psu.html[/TD]

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eBuyer[/TD]

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£152.50[/TD]

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http://www.ebuyer.com/410034-corsair-ax760i-80plus-platinum-high-performance-760w-power-supply-cp-9020036-uk[/TD]

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Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/products/compare?T1=tab04[/TD]

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eBuyer[/TD]

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£70.14[/TD]

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-software-intended-builders/dp/B004Q0PT3I/[/TD]

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RAM: Corsair Vengeance Black 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz

http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9.html[/TD]

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£44.16[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-150v[/TD]

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Fan 1: Noctua NF-F12 PWM

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=42[/TD]

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£15.74[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-noctua-nf-f12-pwm-focused-flow-pwm-cooling-fan-quiet[/TD]

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Fan 2: Noctua NF-F12 PWM

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=42[/TD]

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£15.74[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-noctua-nf-f12-pwm-focused-flow-pwm-cooling-fan-quiet[/TD]

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Soundcard: Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCIe

http://uk.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DGX/[/TD]

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£19.98[/TD]

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http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-xonar-dgx-51-channel-pci-express-sound-card-dolby-with-headphone-sockek[/TD]

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Total: £1,293.48

If your'e wondering, the extra noctua fans are going to be for the H100i to replace the SP fans that come with it, or do you think I should still use them but in push-pull with the noctuas?

So that's my plans, and ideas for extra stuff or other alternative components would be very welcome.

[Kruziik_Kel]

1. dont get an H100 its more expensive and performs worse than most high end air coolers grab an NH-D14 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE both come with very good fans so more money saved.

2. Wouldnt bother with the AXi series its just too expensive to be worth it could get the non i version, I own one myself very nice PSU or somthing like a Seasonic M12II would be very good

3. get a different SSD, Vertex 4 is ok but there are better: Samsung 830/840 PRO, OCZ Vector, Intel 520, Plexto M5

4. You dont need the sound card and you probably wont be able to tell depending on the quality of your audio equipment

5. get a Radeon HD7950 instead it is a similar price but far superior to the 660ti (unless you use CUDA) and it will overclock better.

6. wouldnt bother with the Blu-Ray unless you know you will use it.

other than that looks good

[Frosticles]

1. dont get an H100 its more expensive and performs worse than most high end air coolers grab an NH-D14 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE both come with very good fans so more money saved. 2. Wouldnt bother with the AXi series its just too expensive to be worth it could get the non i version' date=' I own one myself very nice PSU or somthing like a Seasonic M12II would be very good 3. get a different SSD, Vertex 4 is ok but there are better: Samsung 830/840 PRO, OCZ Vector, Intel 520, Plexto M5 4. You dont need the sound card and you probably wont be able to tell depending on the quality of your audio equipment 5. get a Radeon HD7950 instead it is a similar price but far superior to the 660ti (unless you use CUDA) and it will overclock better. 6. wouldnt bother with the Blu-Ray unless you know you will use it. other than that looks good [/quote']

Thanks for the feedback, but I don't agree with everything there.

1. H100 destroys the NHD-14 when you start increasing the clock speeds http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h100_review/1

2. I went with the AXi because I liked the corsair link software, and also the fact that its digital. But granted it is an expensive power supply.

3. Good point, I'll think about changing it to an OCZ vector.

4. Intergrated audio sucks, and also the features of a sound-card can be really great, such as the virtualized dolby surround sound which personally I love.

5. The cards are pretty much the same performance with the 660ti edging out by just a few fps in most cases (apart from metro 2033), and also the advantages of CUDA and some of the physx effects can be pretty awesome. http://youtu.be/VoWB1wOqlvI?t=3m41s

6. The blu-ray drive is needed to watch and mostly rip blu-rays, so that's why that's there.

[Whaler_99]

I like the build - 660Ti in SLI can perform very well, just the ocassional driver issues, but overall great option. My only point - SSD - go with a Vector or 840 Pro

[Kruziik_Kel]

1. dont get an H100 its more expensive and performs worse than most high end air coolers grab an NH-D14 or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE both come with very good fans so more money saved. 2. Wouldnt bother with the AXi series its just too expensive to be worth it could get the non i version' date=' I own one myself very nice PSU or somthing like a Seasonic M12II would be very good 3. get a different SSD, Vertex 4 is ok but there are better: Samsung 830/840 PRO, OCZ Vector, Intel 520, Plexto M5 4. You dont need the sound card and you probably wont be able to tell depending on the quality of your audio equipment 5. get a Radeon HD7950 instead it is a similar price but far superior to the 660ti (unless you use CUDA) and it will overclock better. 6. wouldnt bother with the Blu-Ray unless you know you will use it. other than that looks good [/quote']

Thanks for the feedback, but I don't agree with everything there.

1. H100 destroys the NHD-14 when you start increasing the clock speeds http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h100_review/1

2. I went with the AXi because I liked the corsair link software, and also the fact that its digital. But granted it is an expensive power supply.

3. Good point, I'll think about changing it to an OCZ vector.

4. Intergrated audio sucks, and also the features of a sound-card can be really great, such as the virtualized dolby surround sound which personally I love.

5. The cards are pretty much the same performance with the 660ti edging out by just a few fps in most cases (apart from metro 2033), and also the advantages of CUDA and some of the physx effects can be pretty awesome. http://youtu.be/VoWB1wOqlvI?t=3m41s

6. The blu-ray drive is needed to watch and mostly rip blu-rays, so that's why that's there.

1. that CPU is far older and outputs far more heat on a modern chip with quality thermal compound the H100 is roughly on par with the D14 but the Phanteks pulls ahead (give me a sec to try and find the benchmark until then have a look at Linus's video Silver Arrow Extreme which is worse than either cooler I suggested is either similar or slightly better than the H100 in his test IIRC) the H100 can also leak (which an air cooler cant and a custom loop most likely wont if done properly) and Corsair wont cover damaged hardware

4. Fair enough on the sound card

5. relevant: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/550?vs=598 7950 is on par if not slightly better than a 670 BF3 is an obvious exception it is optimised for Nvidia cards also PhysX is supported in what 3 games? and the performance hit just makes it useless again if you use CUDA fair enough go for the 660ti but if not get the 7950

6. fair enough on the blu-ray like I said get it if you know you will use it

[Frosticles]

I like the build - 660Ti in SLI can perform very well, just the ocassional driver issues, but overall great option. My only point - SSD - go with a Vector or 840 Pro

Thanks again for the feedback, as mentioned before ill probably change it to an OCZ vector cos its only £10 more anyways.

[Willson94]

why the full tower case personally never liked the look of atx builds in full towers just a thought

[Guest]

I'm with Whaler. Looks good but yes I'd change out the SSD.