# [SOLVED] First Gaming PC Build



## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

Hi,

I'm looking at building my first gaming PC in March, just wondering if someone could give me some feedback on this configuration.

My budget is £900.00 - £980.00.

I'm looking for the best performance for my budget, I want to be able to play Battlefield 4 on Ultra settings at 1080p with good fps.

The components are:

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
*Motherboard:* ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
*Memory:* Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
*Storage:* Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
*Video Card:* MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card
*Case:* Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case
*Power Supply:* XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
*Optical Drive:* Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Write
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 8
*Total:* £970.00 ish


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Should be a beast. 

With that budget, I'ld try to work in an SSD for a boot/application drive. Also you might look at higher speed memory. DDR3-1866 should be similar in price to a 1600 kit; 2133 or 2400 will be significantly higher cost but still worth a look.


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## MarkNAndrews (Mar 29, 2012)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Mobo can be changed to Asus or Gigabyte & RAM to Corsair or G.Skill or Crucial as these are the recommended ones. Rest are great.


Regards,
Mark


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Are these 3 ok for replacements?

*New Motherboard:* Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
*New Memory:* G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
*Case:* Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case

That case has front panel 3.0 USB ports and Internal 2.5" Bays

Edit: What brand SSD should I be looking for? And how much storage should I want? They're used mostly for OS whereas games would be stored on HDD if I'm correct?


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## MarkNAndrews (Mar 29, 2012)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Yeah. These are fine.

TSF's build are great. Do see them http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/tsf-hardware-teams-recommended-builds-2014-a-668661.html


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*



J0Y said:


> New Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
> New Memory:G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory


Why a $400 Mobo w/ 4 PCI-E GPU slots?
2133 RAM is not on that Mobo support list. You want 1600 for that Mobo.
Looking over our Suggested Build List could save you money without sacrificing pereforemance: http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/tsf-hardware-teams-recommended-builds-2014-a-668661.html


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*



J0Y said:


> Are these 3 ok for replacements?
> 
> *New Motherboard:* Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
> *New Memory:* G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
> ...


 You could do for cheaper like suggested but with those changes it makes the build much better.

I too agree go back to the 1600MHz Memory but keep G.Skill.

As for the SSD, Samsung is the best when it comes to SSDs but Crucial, Seagate, or Corsair also have been doing well. Around 120GB will do the trick.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*



> I'm looking for the best performance for my budget


With this as a stated requirement, I stand by my rec for performance memory. 

From spec sheet of Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87. The O.C. only means the memory speed may have to be set manually within system BIOS which anyone looking for maximum performance is going to do anyway.
Support for DDR3 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz memory modules


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

My apologies to the OP as I did not see 2133 on the list. However, OC'ing is required for the RAM to run at that speed and no advantage will be realized with RAM over 1600MHz.
And, I still have to question using a $400 Mobo with 4 GPU slots when the same, or better, can be had for considerably less.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

The Motherboard is no where near $400.00 according to this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.99 @ Aria PC) 
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£109.99 @ Amazon UK) 
*Memory:* G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£68.32 @ Amazon UK) 
*Storage:* Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£95.45 @ Amazon UK) 
*Storage:* Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£43.75 @ Amazon UK) 
*Video Card:* MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (£374.99 @ Aria PC) 
*Case:* Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.95 @ Aria PC) 
*Power Supply:* XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£70.56 @ CCL Computers) 
*Optical Drive:* Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.96 @ CCL Computers) 
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.00 @ Ebuyer) 
*Total:* £1065.96
_(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-28 16:31 GMT+0000)_

I had to change the RAM also because apparently the new one I had chosen were 1.6V voltage and was apparently a compatibility issue.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

I didn't realise I would have to overclock for the RAM, is that difficult to do? I would probably prefer overclocking as long as it's safe to do so (I hear it can destroy hardware faster), for the increased performance benefits.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Looking up that Mobo on Newegg took me to the G1.Sniper 5 and it's $400.
RAM is not difficult to OC but it's just simpler to purchase what is on the support list.
1600MHz is on the list and it will be as fast as you will need.


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## satrow (Feb 4, 2012)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

There are several versions of the 1150 Sniper series, M6, B5 and Z87 (at least).

The 2 under discussion here currently seem to be these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GK646OE/?tag=pcp0f-21
Gigabyte G1.SNIPER M5 Motherboard (Socket 1150, Z87 Express, DDR3, S-ATA 600, Micro ATX, Haswell, Supports 4thGeneration IntelCore Processors, GIGABYTE UEFI Dual BIOS): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Correction: The $400 'board is probably this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-G1...1390930298&sr=8-2&keywords=Gigabyte+G1.SNIPER


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Correct


Tyree said:


> Looking up that Mobo on Newegg took me to the G1.Sniper 5


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£161.99 @ Aria PC) 
*CPU Cooler:* Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£37.00 @ Aria PC) 
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£109.99 @ Novatech) 
*Memory:* G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£68.81 @ Amazon UK) 
*Storage:* Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£121.00 @ Amazon UK) 
*Storage:* Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.98 @ Aria PC) 
*Video Card:* Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (£399.99 @ Amazon UK) 
*Case:* Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.98 @ Amazon UK) 
*Power Supply:* Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£68.98 @ Amazon UK) 
*Optical Drive:* Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.83 @ CCL Computers) 
*Total:* £1067.55
_(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-14 18:24 GMT+0000)_


This is my final build which I should be purchasing in the next couple of days, I would appreciate it if someone could have a quick look over just to make sure it's all good.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

It will work but the corsair power supply isn't very good. Corsair have started using low quality suppliers to make their power supplies (corsair have never made them) the CX units have always been made by a low quality manufacturer.

You should change the psu to either Seasonic, XFX or Antec High Current Gamer.

Strange that you are buying from lots of different places Novatech is usually quite cheap for everything as is Overclockers UK - Computer components, hardware & gaming PC and Computer Hardware - Scan.co.uk


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

I'm buying most of it from Overclockers and Amazon, I was using partpicker to keep a list and see if I could make any worthy savings.

Is this a good replacement PSU?

XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (P1-750S-NLB9) - PCPartPicker United Kingdom


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

The XFX PSU is the better quality and you get a 5 yr. warranty.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

yep good move.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Is Antec HCG-620 620W 13.5cm High Current Gamer 80+ Bronze DBB Fan Single Rail enough to run the build above?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

600W is the minimum for a GTX780. I would recommend nothing less than a 650W and preferably larger. 
If the budget is an issue, drop the SSD. A good quality PSU, with sufficient power, is a must while the SSD is a luxury that will only offer faster boot/access times.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

So should I remove the SSD completely and upgrade to an 780 Ti and 750W PSU?


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

You're choice, but at the price point you're talking about, I'ld keep the SSD


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

I would recommend the 750W PSU regardless. SeaSonic does have a 660W unit but it's not readily available from all retailers.
The ti version GPU would be your decision.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

If I removed SSD for GTX 780 Ti I could then eventually add an SSD when I could afford to whereas I wouldn't be able to upgrade to a 780 Ti, that was my reasoning.


Edit: Does it matter which modular I pick? None/Semi/Full, no idea.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

Wise decision. Modular makes for a somewhat neater install but they're the same quality.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

How difficult would it be installing an SSD later on down the line?

For now, Windows/Drivers would have to be installed on the HDD but I would somehow have to find a way to install those on the SSD. Preferably without losing the files that will already be on the HDD (music, etc).


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

You would, more or less, be looking at a full reinstall.

I stand by my post 23. The 780 Ti is certainly a faster card than the GTX 780 and will give you a bit better gaming performance. The SSD will make the PC more responsive with all applications.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*



J0Y said:


> How difficult would it be installing an SSD later on down the line?
> 
> For now, Windows/Drivers would have to be installed on the HDD but I would somehow have to find a way to install those on the SSD. Preferably without losing the files that will already be on the HDD (music, etc).


If you want an SSD, installing one with the new build would certainly be the easiest means but you can transfer the OS and drivers from a standard Hdd to a SSD.
SSD's offer faster boot/access times but no better performance for tasking.


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## J0Y (Jan 17, 2008)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

I decided to go with the GTX 780 and SSD card.

Just want to say thank you for the replies, I appreciate all the help.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: First Gaming PC Build*

You're welcome, good luck, enjoy.


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