How is this spec looking?

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 16:16

I have a pretty good knowledge of hardware, however I must admit I've not been keeping overly up to date with the new Z68 boards etc.

Looking for a gaming/video converting rig for a friend.

Budget is around the £700 mark. A monitor has to be included in this also (large as possible) .

Here's what I've come up with. If anyone can offer a better alternative or show me something I've missed, I'm happy to listen and learn.

I've purposely left out the HDD, ODD and OS as these wont be needed.

Things I'm not 100% sure on are the Mobo, is there anything better for similar cash? I realise this isn't capable of full speed Xfire, however this is never going to be an option... so no need to pay for a higher spec board in that regard.

The case seems to get good reviews from a trusted brand, I was stuck between this and the CM690II which I have myself and know it's an amazing case.

So, here's what I have.

Cookeh · 23 May 2011 at 16:25

I know nothing of monitors, so can't help there.

In terms of mobo, the P8P67 series are shot through to hell with issues, I'd avoid them.

CustomPC and Bit-Tech rate the MSI P67A-GD53 as one of the best boards out there (was up against P8P67 boards, Foxconn boards and the Sabertooth).

For the price it really is brilliant: here

The Zalman does get some decent reviews, and I'm torn between one and a CM69 - so if you do get the Zalman, let me know how they compare!

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Zalman-Z9-Plus-Case-Review/1188

opethdisciple · 23 May 2011 at 16:32

Its a good build, powerful and still budget (which is good)

1 thing however, the psu, may not be future proof.

Especially if you wanted to a) xfire the 5850 or ugrade to something beefier in the future.

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 16:52

opethdisciple said:
Its a good build, powerful and still budget (which is good)

1 thing however, the psu, may not be future proof.

Especially if you wanted to a) xfire the 5850 or ugrade to something beefier in the future.

Hi, thanks for the tips. However as I said in the original post, Xfiring wont be an option. I'm pretty sure the BeQuiet will be capable of running any mid range card in the future.

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 16:54

Cookeh said:
I know nothing of monitors, so can't help there.

In terms of mobo, the P8P67 series are shot through to hell with issues, I'd avoid them.

CustomPC and Bit-Tech rate the MSI P67A-GD53 as one of the best boards out there (was up against P8P67 boards, Foxconn boards and the Sabertooth).

For the price it really is brilliant: here

The Zalman does get some decent reviews, and I'm torn between one and a CM69 - so if you do get the Zalman, let me know how they compare!

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Zalman-Z9-Plus-Case-Review/1188

Ahh, see what happens when you don't read up on things. Cheers for that. I really don't like the company MSI however, I'm sure they've gotten better in the past wee while though.

I probably will get the Zalman as It's always nice to try different cases and she probably wont want the same case as me anyway. I'll keep you posted if she goes ahead with it and I use the case.

CrixxzeH · 23 May 2011 at 17:00

Personally i would snatch at that monitor since it is only on for this week.
£150 for a £180 mintor that has great reveiws.
good luck with the build, remember to keep us updated with pictures xD

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 17:01

CrixxzeH said:
Personally i would snatch at that monitor since it is only on for this week.
£150 for a £180 mintor that has great reveiws.
good luck with the build, remember to keep us updated with pictures xD

Hopefully. This is all resting on whether or not she will sell her Macbook Pro to fund this. Also has her existing chepo PC to sell to make up the funds if need be. The monitor is a good deal, unfortunately the £30 decline in price is a bit mis leading as the upgraded model with HDMI can actually be gotten elsewhere for a tenner less than the "special" price of £150.

olivier renault · 23 May 2011 at 17:25

MSI P67-GD53, cheaper, SLI 8x8x, OC Genie, ect...?

XFX Pro Core 550W, £50? Last time I checked the BeQuiet L7 was not available.

For XFire, 750W recommended. TX750, XFX Black 750, Antec New TuePower 750, ect...

Zalman is a decent case. Also have a couple of Silverstones and the Antec 100 if you want more choices around £40. CM 690 II seems to be the case to go for for a higher budget, and also the HAF, very nice technically, not so nice looking for mums.

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 17:33

olivier renault said:
MSI P67-GD53, cheaper, SLI 8x8x, OC Genie, ect...?

XFX Pro Core 550W, £50? Last time I checked the BeQuiet L7 was not available.

Zalman is a decent case. Also have a couple of Silverstones and the Antec 100 if you want more choices.

Hi, cheers for the options. I had originally selected the XFX, due to it's 5 year warranty also. However, the aim was to get things as cheap as possible. Can't go wrong with German engineering in the BeQuiet really.

I'll never be doing SLI or Xfire, so those options on boards are irrlevant as I said in the first post. I'm not one for gimmicky overclock utilities either, I always do it manually.

Thanks for the case choices. I'll see if I can see any nice silverstones I like. Don't like the design of the Antec, great case... just a bit plain for me personally.

szr01 · 23 May 2011 at 17:44

For £7 more why not go for this bundle? Better warranty for CPU + Mobo

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-014-OP&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1858

olivier renault · 23 May 2011 at 17:57

Buchanan0204 said:
Hi, cheers for the options. I had originally selected the XFX, due to it's 5 year warranty also. However, the aim was to get things as cheap as possible. Can't go wrong with German engineering in the BeQuiet really.

I'll never be doing SLI or Xfire, so those options on boards are irrlevant as I said in the first post. I'm not one for gimmicky overclock utilities either, I always do it manually.

Thanks for the case choices. I'll see if I can see any nice silverstones I like. Don't like the design of the Antec, great case... just a bit plain for me personally.

The L7 has max 420W on 12V, which is sufficient. Unsleaved cables, so can sleeve manually

I don't think there is a bad Sandybridge board. Even the cheapest MSI is actually quite nice and overclocks.

Bit less choice for a £40 case, but they are all each quite decent.

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 17:58

szr01 said:
For £7 more why not go for this bundle? Better warranty for CPU + Mobo

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-014-OP&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1858

It doesn't come with any RAM. As Cookeh pointed out those boards have issues so will be going down the MSI route now. Plus I don't need the stock cooler as I will be overclocking myself using an aftermarket cooler.

The warranty isn't better either. Sorry if I sound a little harsh, I appreciate you trying to help however. Thanks

olivier renault · 23 May 2011 at 17:58

szr01 said:
For £7 more why not go for this bundle? Better warranty for CPU + Mobo

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-014-OP&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1858

That's true. if going with Asus, the bundle is attractive. The price fluctuates between £275 to £265.

olivier renault · 23 May 2011 at 18:00

Buchanan0204 said:
It doesn't come with any RAM. As Cookeh pointed out those boards have issues so will be going down the MSI route now. Plus I don't need the stock cooler as I will be overclocking myself using an aftermarket cooler.

The warranty isn't better either. Sorry if I sound a little harsh, I appreciate you trying to help however. Thanks

The OEM processor has one year warranty.

sk82jack · 23 May 2011 at 18:16

have you thought about the asrock z68 pro3 for about 110 iirc. quicksync for video transcoding and lucid virtu switch between discrete and onboard graphics to save power

Cookeh · 23 May 2011 at 18:21

sk82jack said:
have you thought about the asrock z68 pro3 for about 110 iirc. quicksync for video transcoding and lucid virtu switch between discrete and onboard graphics to save power

And SSD caching.

Thats a good call Jack

nmungur · 23 May 2011 at 19:29

Dont forget the artic silver

sk82jack · 23 May 2011 at 20:26

nmungur said:
Dont forget the artic silver

I'd go with mx4 tbh as its nonconductive and arguably better anyway

Buchanan0204 · 23 May 2011 at 23:31

olivier renault said:
The OEM processor has one year warranty.

Ahh. I didn't realise the bundle offered more than a years warranty. I'll need to look at that then. However, As people have mentioned, they have issues. So I'm going with either MSI or Asrock. I believe Asrock is now governed by Asus however, not sure if they carry the same issues. Need to look into that. CPU's don't break away unless you put silly voltages through them, warranty really isn't an issue with a CPU the way it is with the likes of a PSU or GPU.