(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Hi guys over the last few days I've been looking into what hardware I would like for a PC that will be used for gaming and watching 1080p films etc so far here's what I've got.

Motherboard: £187.19 ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 Intel Z77 Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

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Processor:£209.99 BX80623I72600K - Intel Core i7 2600K Unlocked S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.4GHz, HD3000 IGP 850Mhz, 8MB Cache 95W Retail

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Memory (Ram): £38.99 Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9)

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Hard Drive: £91.32 WD 1TB Caviar Black Performance Hard Drive 7200rpm 64MB Cache

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Video Card: £274.54 FX-787A-CNFC - 2GB XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core Edition, 4800MHz GDDR5, 28nm, GPU 1000MHz, 1280 Cores, DL DVI/HDMI/mDP

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For the most part I'm happy and I think everything is compatible but am slightly concerned about the motherboard which does not say if it supports AMD Eyefinity because ideally I would like to have three monitors for this build,for multitasking and being able to game on one or all three at the same time. So if anyone could confirm for me that this motherboard is good or if not recommend at better alternative. also the motherboard should support Dual Channel DDR3 RAM.

Another concern of mine is the powersupply I know that to support the GPU it needs to be atlease 600W but I'm not sure which PSU to go with, recommendations appreciated.

Lastly please look over the build and see if there are any glaring problems.

Thanks in advance.

Good build so far, you just need to decide on a case which will be compatible with all the parts and also, I would reccommend that you use a liquid cooling system for the processor.

ATX doesn't mean anything other than the size of it. You don't have to worry about a power supply being compatible with your motherboard, you only need to worry about if it has enough power for all of you're components, which it does. That should also being enough power to get a 2nd 7850 for crossfire, if you ever decide to. The only thing you need to worry about is if it fits in your case, and it should fit in any mid-tower/full tower case that supports ATX.

Also if you want to go the liquid cooling route, you should look into the corsair water cooling kits, like the corsair H80, or H100, which ever fits in the case you decide. They're all-in-one liquid cooling kits pre-assembled, so you dont need to worry about buying 5 different things and possible leaks, and they're easy to install.

So I'll play it safe and just get a full size aluminium tower case and that should fit then and keep things cool.

You might want to reconsider the newer Intel Ivy Bridge processors because they are said to deliver a 20% increase in performance, which does help over time and I don't think they are twice the price. If you want to go ahead with the Sandy Bridge right now, I'd recommend the NZXT Phantom Case You must login or register to view this content.. Everything else looks pretty good and I'd recommend an SSD for the OS.

Clock for clock, ivy bridge is better.

i7 2600k @ 4.8Ghz is equal to an i7 3770k @ 4.2Ghz.
That being said, it has very bad heat problems. It gets a LOT hotter than the 2600k/2500k.

So OP whilst I am not against getting an Ivy, wait until a week or two after it releases when they have been fully tested and reviewed


Love that case, but don't see why getting a sandy bridge should make that case any more of a candidate.

Sorry, that was some bad wording on my part. What I was trying to say is that if the OP is going to go for the build right now, they should check out the Phantom if they haven't already. The case is awesome and as you said, it doesn't matter what processor you pick, the case will accept pretty much every processor/motherboard (E-ATX, ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT) and is a great buy.

OP, definitely take a look at Ivy Bridge again when more info comes out regarding performance/heat.

I've decided to change to a Ivy Bridge processor because this mobo is pretty much designed with it in mind, you missed my update post in the thread but I dislike the case I'm not a fan of extravagant cases I'm looking for something that's black and square none of these gaming cases look good in my oppinion but thaks for the feedback.

Updated Build:

650W Corsair PSU, CMPSU-650HXUK, Modular, 85%Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.2

Asus Sabertooth Z77, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0, DisplayPort/ HDMI, ATX

Intel CPU Core i5 Unlocked 2500K Sandy Bridge Quad Core Processor - (SWITCHING TO IVY BRIDGE)

CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9B - 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance Blue, DDR3 PC3-14900

FX-787A-CNFC - 2GB XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core Edition, 4800MHz GDDR5, 28nm, GPU 1000MHz, 1280 Cores, DL DVI/HDMI/mDP

WD 1TB Caviar Black Performance Hard Drive 7200rpm 64MB Cache

Sony AD-5280S-0B 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 SATA, Black, OEM


All that's missing is a case and I'll get a black aluminium one from scan aside from that keyboard and mouse are going to be cheap ones until I want to upgrade.

Well, Ivy bridge just came out. $30 more than the 2500k. You must login or register to view this content.

I still highly recommend waiting two weeks to see how Ivy works out for other people. The reviewers who got it early had problems with it getting really hot, but Intel told them that they were early models and the retail ones would be different. Wait two weeks and find out, if nobody has any problems then go for it.

As for cases:
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or this one,
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which is made of mainly noise reducing materials so it is extremely quiet. Of course, that comes at the price of stuff being slightly hotter so again this and Ivy bridge might not be a good idea. Get some fans if you get this case.


If you want cheap, take a look at Bitfenix Merc collection. Some cheap, well built cases, simple black design, and good ventilation. Amazing Cases for the price, only like 25£.