My i3 gaming build

[mikedigitales]

Hi guys,

I'm a long time reader and would appreciate some ideas on my upcoming build. Main aim is to build a reasonably cheap gaming machine, scope for future upgrades a bonus. My budget is tight as i'm starting from scratch (e.g. need everything including a monitor).

Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz £99.98
MSI P67A-GD53 £104.99
KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX £49.99
"MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK ""Super-OC"" 1GB" £129.59
Crucial M4 64GB £86.97
500GB Samsung HD502HJ £29.88
Enermax Eco80+ 500W £65.74
BitFenix Shinobi £46.98
BenQ G2222HDL £102.00
CoolMaster Hyper 212 (scrounged for free from a friend)

Total spend just over £700, so good build?

[kater]

Seems a good build
Some points:

CPU - i3 is really nice, being at least equal in terms of performance to Q9650, but if you make some savings on other components (RAM, mobo, PSU) perhaps you can afford i5 2300?
RAM - sure you need 8 GB? It's cheap now, true, but not needed for gaming at all. Also, 1333 are good enough and won't make any perceivable difference in terms of performance. Still, if it's only a tad less expensive then sure, get 1600.
Mobo - perhaps you could save a few pounds with a C45; still, those MSI are great for standard builds; make sure it's B3
SSD - M4 is THE one to get now, good choice
PSU - even a 400W will be overkill for this build, but otherwise Eco80+ is great; maybe consider a Seasonic to save a few pounds

[boost]

Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz £99.98
MSI P67A-GD53 £104.99
KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX £49.99
"MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK ""Super-OC"" 1GB" £129.59
Crucial M4 64GB £86.97
500GB Samsung HD502HJ £29.88
Enermax Eco80+ 500W £65.74
BitFenix Shinobi £46.98
BenQ G2222HDL £102.00
CoolMaster Hyper 212 (scrounged for free from a friend)

Total spend just over £700, so good build?

For the price, a very good build.

You can save a little and get a i3-2100 and get a MSI R6870 Hawk £135,22@ scan. The monitor has a full HD resolution and for gaming the graphic card makes all the difference, not which particular i3-2XXX you get. A MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr would be the nest step up but over budget I think.

Do you have any fans?
You should get a least a decent PWM fan for the CPU cooler, Scythe 12cm PWM has a very good price/performance ratio and it's quiet.
Does the case come with any fans?
If not, first add an intake fan in the front for positive air pressure, maybe Scythe 12cm 800 to 1000 RPM. Secondly if the temps are too high an exhaust fan in the back with a slightly slower RPM (positive air pressure inside the case), say Scythe 12cm 500-800 RPM.

Will the 64GB SSD be big enough or would it make sense to you to skip it for now and add a bigger drive later on?
The hard drive will be the loudest component at idle, it's a 7200RPM model. A fast drive makes sense if you don't get the SSD otherwise I would suggest something quieter.
A Samsung Samsung Spinpoint M7 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM model will do for pure storage and be a lot quieter. Off course it's also a lot slower, but for storage only it will do fine. it's £38.21@ scan.co.uk even less at other etailers. In the case you can mount only one 2.5" drive if you get the SSD and the 2.5" HDD you need a mounting bracket.

Corsair Vengeance black DIMM kit 8GB PC3-12800U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1600) is only £10 more or so, but runs at 1.5 volts. It's the least important upgrade, that's why it put it last on the list.

[loimlo]

I'd purchase 3.5' 5400RPM HDD like WD Green, Seagate Green, or Samsung EcoGreen. They're cheaper and quieter compared to 7200RPM HDD. You get the best of both worlds: Performce from SSD/Capacity from 3.5' 5400RPM HDD.
Frankly speaking, that's what I am using now. C300 128GB, 2x WD 1TB Green

[mikedigitales]

That's all very useful, many thanks guys!

I've started ordering some of the components, I saw the same offer on the MSI 6870 Hawk 1GB FrozrIII last night and grabbed it! Seems like a great card from what i've been able to research, i'll post my feedback on the cooler etc. when it arrives. I also got the PSU on the same order from Scan (Enermax Eco80+ 500W) which I agree 100% won't be pushed to the limit, but I like the fact it'll be there in case I want to add some optical drives, extra HDDS or bigger, hungrier graphics cards in the future. Plus it is over 80% efficient at lower loads (e.g. 300W) and mega quiet at those loads according to the reviews I've seen on here.

CPU and motherboard wise i'm fairly flexible, but I doubt I'll stretch the extra £50+ for the I5, I'm thinking that is better spent on a better screen or mouse/keyboard, and as suggested maybe fans. I believe the case I picked includes two fans according to Scan/Overclockers, but i'm massively looking forward to mucking around with the airflow/cooling layout. My last build (quite a numbers of years ago) was an HTPC and spent ages making it quiet enough to have a few metres in front of me in the lounge.

Very tempted to rethink the HDD choice, I did seriously consider a 2.5" drive, might look at that plan again, I made an external from a Samsung M7 and was very impressed. I'm thinking either that or an EcoGreen? Probably don't need much space, 1tb tops.

Also any motherboard tips would be ace, I keep wondering how much I need to spend on it, I guess having a P67 means I could use an upcoming Ivy Bridge in a years time if needed, and still overclock a k processor if I saw a bargain sometime. I was taken by the MSI P67A-GD53 mainly from a few very good reviews it has online.

Again thats for the advice, it's good to get some affirmation that i'm moving in the right direction with this build