[Snownation]

Finally decided to go ahead with my build.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/EVF8

Would like suggestions and comments!

My thoughts:
I would like to OC that Ivy to good potential!

 

[adridu59]

Did you buy it already or not?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£161.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler (£48.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£94.99 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£43.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£43.98 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.40 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£73.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£48.30 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £739.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-21 10:56 GMT+0000)

This should be a nice build, I think I found some great deals here. The 7870 XT performs between 7870 and 7950.

 

[Snownation]

Still don't know which mobo to choose!
My aim is to OC to mid 4GHz.

I've narrowed it down to:
Asus P8Z77-V
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
ASRock Z77 Extreme4

Ahhh my brain!

 

[adridu59]

The Z77X-D3H for $95 is a no-brainer.

Let me get this straight: the D3H is an UD3H without onboard buttons and voltages readpoints and without 2oz Copper PCB, so concretely it changes almost nothing.

Checkout this review of the Z77X-UD3H:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1252290/z77x-ud3h-review-and-oc-testing-circuit-analysis-ln2-runs-efficiency-comparison/0_20

This board also got a World Record of 7.032 GHz frequency on LN2, means that it's very capable at overclocking.

Considering that D3H and UD3H are practically the same, I'd go with the D3H which is sold for a great price.

BTW, I wouldn't go with the Extreme4, mediocre MOSFETs, faked vCore readings and analog PWM.

 

[Snownation]

Thanks for all that info.
I don't know what most of those terms mean, but I'll take your word for it!

 

[Snownation]

Is this board any good?
ASRock Z77 Fatal1ty Performance Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

It's 30% off discount!
It makes it cheaper than all the boards I've listed above.

 

[packerbackermk]

In my opinion that asrock fatality board is overpriced even with the discount. Seems to me like they're trying to pose a pretty unimpressive board as higher price point performance board.

 

[Snownation]

I think this build is almost final.
What tweaks would you recommend?

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/EXHr

 

[packerbackermk]

Honestly, if you can wait another 4 months Intel will be releasing haswell processors. If I were set on building a system now then I would suggest buying a cheep board and a cheep processor and in June selling those and upgrading to haswell.

 

[adridu59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snownation

What tweaks would you recommend?

XFX cards are just above the reference cards in terms of noise and performance:
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/853-13/xfx-radeon-hd-7950-double-dissipation-test.html

I'd go with Gigabyte, Sapphire or HIS IceQ.

The Gigabyte is the cheapest of those right now at +£24 vs the XFX:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd