Help verify my build! :D

N

Nermid

New Member
Yo! I got a sweet budgetty build proposition. Never done this before though, so hoping for some clarification as to whether this is a well balanced set-up or not.

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
CPU: Intel i5-2500k, 3.3GHz, 6MB Cache
GPU: XFX Radeon 6870
Mem: 2 x 2GB Corsair 1600MHz (XMS3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 7200RPM, 32MB
Drive: Optiarc AD-7260S-0B 24x SATA
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-500CXUK 500W
Case: Casecom MA-1199

Any help and or verification is greatly appreciated!

Cheers :D

Edit: Added RAM/Mem Model Code
 
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You need a better power supply, around 650w or so. Corsairs are nice units, so try to stick to that. Have any more budget? I love my SSD and I will always recommend one for your OS and a few programs. I like to stay away from XFX cards, because of bad customer service, but if there's no problems, its a nice card. Other than that, looks good.
 
Okey fair, how do you go about determining the wattage requirements of a power supply? I read reviews on the GPU that stated it's max wattage requirement is 255W and the CPU rquires 95W but not sure about other components in the build.

I was intending on installing an SSD once I have some more money, especially with the Z68 chipset that supposedly can use the SSD as a cache, which meant it wouldn't matter if I install the OS on an HDD and could easily just add an SSD later. Does that sound right?

In all honesty, these components are supposedly compatible with making a 'Hackintosh', which is why I have opted for the XFX Graphics Card. I will look into it a bit more though, thanks for the heads up.

Your help is hugely appreciated, thanks dude :)
 
I've never dealt with xfx customer service, but they make very decent cards. I don't think you'll have to worry about getting a bad card. Even if you do, you can go through newegg (if that's where you are buying the components) and they will swap it out no problem
 
Troncoso said:
I've never dealt with xfx customer service, but they make very decent cards. I don't think you'll have to worry about getting a bad card. Even if you do, you can go through newegg (if that's where you are buying the components) and they will swap it out no problem
Click to expand...

That's reassuring, cheers. I live in England so can't use Newegg sadly, should be fine though, no bad reviews read yet.
 
Sorry to hear you can't use Newegg, but definitely utilize the review section of their products, you can learn a lot. For example, I'd stay away from the Seagate Barracuda, it get's a LOT of mixed reviews. Which means its reliability is hit and miss and/or people are getting a lot of dead on arrivals. I also agree with claptonman, it'd be a good idea to get at least a 650w psu.

I put together a build for you on Newegg, take a look:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24072908

I kept everything the same except for the case(Newegg doesn't carry it), the PSU, HDD, and RAM(? you didn't post what ram you were getting).


Case - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (Newegg didn't carry the case you posted so I used this as a price reference, but this is one of the most popular cases under $100)
PSU - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM (Fast, quiet, I use this as an external drive and I've never had a single problem during the two years I've had it)
RAM - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB)

Total cost for the build(including OS) = $930
 
Wow dude! Thank you for this, I will scour through it and check the reviews for my components and consider swapping in some of your suggestions.

I was looking at spending peanuts on a case, should I consider spending more though? Is there much difference in quality between cases at about £20 ($30) and £50 (~$75)? Only it's hard to tell from images alone, and that's all I can seem to go by.

I've found an OCZ 700W ModXStream PSU, would this be suitable? The Corsair you propose I can't find on my websites :(

I will look into some reviews of the Seagate Barracuda and see if I should pick something else, cheers for the heads up.

The memory you suggested is the memory I had in mind anyway too :)

Thanks so much for this again man! Really helpful! :)
 
Nermid said:
Wow dude! Thank you for this, I will scour through it and check the reviews for my components and consider swapping in some of your suggestions.

I was looking at spending peanuts on a case, should I consider spending more though? Is there much difference in quality between cases at about £20 ($30) and £50 (~$75)? Only it's hard to tell from images alone, and that's all I can seem to go by.

I've found an OCZ 700W ModXStream PSU, would this be suitable? The Corsair you propose I can't find on my websites :(

I will look into some reviews of the Seagate Barracuda and see if I should pick something else, cheers for the heads up.

The memory you suggested is the memory I had in mind anyway too :)

Thanks so much for this again man! Really helpful! :)
Click to expand...

I'd think that that PSU would be fine, I've had no problems with my OCZ.
If you can afford it get a 6950.
 
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