Build advice (£750-850)

[Robat]

So, I've got around £750-850 to spend. No monitor needed. I'd like to be able to play the latest games on high settings and to be able to upgrade easy parts later if possible (sticking in some more RAM, an SSD, maybe another graphics card.) What would you recommend?

[Will]

This is everything you want :D

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/9025/captureqd.png

You could also add a Corsair H70 if your wanting to overclock that i5 760 but it's upto you

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Fans%2C+Heatsinks%2C+Coolers/Water+Cooling/Corsair+H70+Corsair+Water-Cooling+CPU+Cooler+?productId=41080

[NickCPC]

Welcome to the forums!

I would argue that this pre-built system (http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Asgard/Gladiator+Asgard+Aurora+Intel+i5+760+NVIDIA+GTX+46 0+Gaming+PC+?productId=40875) is an excellent system if you aren't looking to build yourself.

If you'd like to build it yourself, I think this should be a good start;
http://i37.tinypic.com/xfzxoy.jpg
You can then add a copy of Win7 into that. A great upgrade will be an SSD when capacities increase, or adding a second GTX460 1GB.

Hope this helps.

[Will]

Both fairly similar builds except graphics card wise. The 5850 performs alot better than a GTX 460 but it costs more - personally I think the 5850 is one of the best cards out there

[sibeer]

I wouldn't spend that much on a PSU for a system unless I was planning more than 2 GPUs or 2 x top GPUs (480 / 5870). This for £48+VAT would be fine and leave you some cash to get a more exciting case. Also I would definitely buy a after market cooler for that chip. I might not go as high as the Frio unless serious about overclocking, but the mid range options don't offer a massive saving.

[AmdOverclocker]

Both fairly similar builds except graphics card wise. The 5850 performs alot better than a GTX 460 but it costs more - personally I think the 5850 is one of the best cards out there


not really, in some games the 460 performs just as good, and in SLI, its even beter than the 5850 crossfire, at a cheape price. and since theres so many nvidia-optimized games (i know it sucks) then these will destroy the 5850's in those games.

tbh i would go amd if i was you, by choosing those systems people suggested, your crippling your future, because intel has stopped making processors for the 1156 platform (typical intel haha)

what i would do is go amd, its your only future-proof option because of the new bulldozer chips coming out in the end of this year/beginning of this year.

so, either go am3 now, or wait until sandybridge comes out (socket 1155 / 2011) which is going to be around the time bulldozer comes out, most likely quite a bit eariler.
OR, you dont have to be future proof and just go 1156, up to you, i mean, its not like you cant upgrade your graphics whenever you want is it :D (unless in a few years time theyl want pci-e 3.0 bandwidth lol)

na just kidding, youl still be fine with 1156 tough, up to you.

[Robat]

Thanks for all the responses. I looked at the pre-built system, but adding up all the components it comes to £615 (so with the £60 for building it you can do with a custom build it doesn't seem worth it.)

I think I'd prefer to go the 460 route, and a future upgrade of going SLI would be nice. Can you do that with the motherboard you selected NickCPC?

Also, what do you think of this case? It seems to give the best in terms of fans for the price and such but it doesn't have the reviews the antec does: https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/NZXT/NZXT+Hades+Midi+Tower+Gaming+Case+-+Black?productId=40135

Looking at the Palit card it doesn't seem to cool that well. The zotac seems to be better: https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/Nvidia+GTX+400+Series/Zotac+GeForce+GTX+460+1GB+DDR5+Graphics+Card+%2B+P rince+of+Persia+?productId=40991 How much difference will the 1GB vs 768MB make? The 1GB is 180 and the 768 is 158. Is the 1GB worth the extra £20+?

Thanks for your help!

[AmdOverclocker]

Thanks for all the responses. I looked at the pre-built system, but adding up all the components it comes to £615 (so with the £60 for building it you can do with a custom build it doesn't seem worth it.)

I think I'd prefer to go the 460 route, and a future upgrade of going SLI would be nice. Can you do that with the motherboard you selected NickCPC?

Also, what do you think of this case? It seems to give the best in terms of fans for the price and such but it doesn't have the reviews the antec does: https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/NZXT/NZXT+Hades+Midi+Tower+Gaming+Case+-+Black?productId=40135

Looking at the Palit card it doesn't seem to cool that well. The zotac seems to be better: https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/Nvidia+GTX+400+Series/Zotac+GeForce+GTX+460+1GB+DDR5+Graphics+Card+%2B+P rince+of+Persia+?productId=40991 How much difference will the 1GB vs 768MB make? The 1GB is 180 and the 768 is 158. Is the 1GB worth the extra £20+?

Thanks for your help!


yep, 1gb is great for bigger resolutions (1920x1080 or above) if below you can get away with the 3/4 gb version :) in sli, they will both be fine no matter what res tbh.