Gaming rig <£600

[Osiris2k11]

Dear all

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I look forward to reading your replies. Thank you.

Let's just get started by listing the parts that I am to use for my first build. I have installed different parts before but never the whole thing.

1. Case: CoolerMaster CM 690 II Lite (~£60)
2. Motherboard: MSIP67A-G45 (£95)
3. CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k (£160)
4. RAM: G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V (£55) or for £45 I can go for 4GB but faster times (7-8-7-24)
5. HDD: Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB 64MB Cache Caviar Green (£60)
6. GPU: MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 Twin FrozR II OC (£140)
7. Others including an optical drive and fans (~£20)
N/B: I will use my PSU from my old pc which I have replaced around 1 year ago (Corsair VX550W Non-modular)
Total = £590

Display = Toshiba 32" 1920x1080

Could you please have a look at this setup and let me know of any changes that you would personally make to improve performance and still keep at around the same price. Thank you.

Best Regards

Osiris

[BrutalGreen]

the WD greens as ur main drive is a bad idea, take a look at the blacks or sammy F3s...other than that looks solid (that MSI board isn't my favorite but if the price is right why not, as I am not too familiar with euro pricing)

Edit: oh and since ur going with a K cpu and a P67 board...why not just invest in a decent cooler to get some nice clocks out of that beast!

[_dangtx_]

in theory without overclock the old psu should be fine

look for a samsung f3 500gb or caviar black for os drive

try to get a 6950 for gpu

and welcome aboard

[Osiris2k11]

Thank you both for your swift replies

For the samsung F3, does it have to be the 500gb version in particular? or can I get the 1TB which is like £10 more.. Caviar black is out of budget and I heard it is loud and runs hot which is not what I am looking for.

[Osiris2k11]

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm.. | Ebuyer.com
vs
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII.. | Ebuyer.com

[supaflyx3]

If you can afford it, go for an SSD as a boot drive and a green drive as a storage drive, if thats out of the question IMO i would go for a seagate 7200.12 500GB single platter drive for a boot drive. (I don't see why everyones bashing them, i haven't had an issue at all with it) That's what i use as a boot drive, and a hitachi 2TB drive as a data drive and it works great, pretty quick and quiet.

[Osiris2k11]

Well tbh the samsung f3 drives are VERY well priced and well within my budget but I just want to know if I should get the 500gb or 1TB and if there is any difference?
On another note here I have found an alternative motherboard as I usually prefer ASUS motherboards please let me know what you think.

It's the P8P67 LE (don't know what the LE stands for but I'm guessing it has less features but that shouldn't be a problem for me as I am not a hardcore overclocker)
Asus P8P67 LE R3 P67 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio.. | Ebuyer.com

[supaflyx3]

500GB drives are generally faster because they're usually 1 platter instead of 2-3, at least that's the case with new drives.
and if you like what you see, go for it.

[neojjjk]

^ true . grab a 500gb HDD first , you can add more drives later .

[xbasiickz]

You should buy a corsair H50 for cooling. That kind of cpu should heat a bit for that intel's stock cooler