UK - Gaming PC confirmation / thoughts

[Zimmyantz]

Hi All,

Have roughly ?500 to spend on the main parts of a PC to play the latest games, Guild Wars 2, Day-Z etc...

Want to play them on high gfx and be future proof for a nice amount of time.

The parts need to be from www.scan.co.uk as I live round the corner and it's just easier.

Here is what I have chosen so far and need advice and if possible cheaper alternatives from the same place:

This come to TOTAL = 475.62 including VAT.

Another thought also, I have a Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W modular PSU already, is that up to the job?

Many thanks in advance to anyone that replies :D

[Daedroth]

A 700W PSU is more than up to the job.

What about a case, SSD, DVD, etc?

[Zimmyantz]

Already have a CM STORM case, SSD, DVD etc - More an upgrade than a full build.

[randominteger]

Personally I would go Ivy Bridge for ?13 more on the Processor/Mobo. :)

[Zimmyantz]

Ivy Bridge is the same but with built-in graphics though, is it worth it considering i'm getting a 7850?

[08993]

The i5 2500k has onboard graphics as well but is still the king of gaming, games don't use hyperthreading and most games won't max out more than 2 cores, raw GHz is what most games will respect. With a better cooler you'll be able to run at 4.4GHz without breaking a sweat, however you'll need to spend at least ?50 on a cooler to do it. An i5 3570k should be fine at 4.4GHz as well but temps start to skyrocket after that because it will usually require a voltage bump.

The supposedly 10% increase between Sandy and Ivy probably won't make much difference when gaming, I'd go with the 2500k and spend the money saved on a better cooler.

[neo1911]

GTX 670 is minimum if you want to be futureproof for next 2-3 years.

[Zimmyantz]

@08993 - What cooler would you recommend from Scan if I used the difference?

[08993]

@08993 - What cooler would you recommend from Scan if I used the difference?

http://www.scan.co.u...r-with-2-x-fans - has been the best air cooler for about 3 years, comes with excellent thermal grease as well (NT-H1)

http://www.scan.co.u...1156-1366-2011- - is a bit cheaper but not sure if it comes with grease

compares the both if you are interested

Beware of the 2011 versions of the above, if you order one of those by mistake you won't get the proper mounting kits.

EDIT/ Also these things are massive, they won't fit in small cases. You could perhaps roll with your original list and buy a new cooler and case further on down the road if your case isn't big enough and you're a bit short of funds.

[Zimmyantz]

Noctua all the way according to that dude :)

Thanks for the help 08993.

[Wakers]

You know, for gaming you really don't need a 2500K overclocked processor. You can easily do with a 23xx model and use the money left over on a bigger graphics card.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

Personally I would go Ivy Bridge for ?13 more on the Processor/Mobo. :)

i agree with this. dont cut corners. spend the ?13 extra