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robotlove · ‎02-11-2013

Hi there
what a great site this is, and full of really helpful advice and from the posts i have read
you seem to welcome newbies to your world rather than give then a kicking.

which bring me to my situation
i 'll get it out the way that i'm an avid apple mac user (please don't judge)
i worked for apple for a fair few years and was one of the best experiences of my life.
what brings me here are three situations : 1) i LOVE LOVE LOVE gaming 2) i'm sick of buying replacement XBox's 3) Apple Macs just don't cut it for games and combustibility, oh and 4) IT LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH FUN!!!!
i 'm bring myself into the custom PC world as a few friends and family are will into it and its give me the bug watching them build
the build is going to solely be for gaming, as everything else like audio / video editing i will do on my mac
i decided to buy a few bit off a family member to start the build off but i need some sound advice on a few things.
Budget £800 / £900 GBP (not including monitor)

Parts so far (all owhich cost me £160 all in all)

Intel® Core™ i5-2310 Processor
Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Fan
OCZ 750W PSU
Zalman P11 Tower
4 CoolMaster Fans

its 's going to be sometime for i can upgrade so i want to go for some hardcore GPU, please mention other parts i may have missed off.
so what would you recommend for:

Budget £800 / £900 GBP

RAM (8GB) or (16GB)?
i was thinking CorAir Vengeance or GSkill ARES?

GPU
XFX Double Dissipation Edition Radeon HD 7970 AMD/ATI Graphics Card - 3GB?

MoBo
Asus MAXIMUS V EXTREME ROG Intel Z77 Socket 1155 Motherboard?

its doesn't have to be specifically these parts - just done a little research, for all i know they might not work together.

Thanks in advance for your help.

KPRage · ‎02-11-2013

Hey robotlove.. Welcome to ROG forum.. Always glad to see another Mac lover.. 🙂 I too work on mac and, just love it.. As you have mentioned, I too had to build a rig for gaming.. Hope apple takes notice of this.. 😉 Anyways.. I am not aware of the prices over there in GB. So, I will only be giving you suggestions on what, I think, can be a very good gaming system!

- GPU: If you are using single monitor for gamin, the hd7970 is an awesome deal. It can play any modern game with max setting no probs..
- Mobo: Do go for ROG boards since they offer tons of gaming friendly and, OC friendly features.. Alternate mobo can be from MSI and, ASRock ones.. Maximus V Formula/ ThunderFX is also an alternate choice for you..
- Ram: Go for GSkill ripjaw series.. They are cheaper and, offer good performance.. 8Gb is a good starting point. You can always upgrade later.. 1600MHz is min recommended for rams.. Anything beyond that is good..
- CPU: Go for i5 3570k.. Best for gaming.. 🙂
- Spend more money on your PSU... You can look around in the forum for all suggestions made for PSU.. OCZ are less preferable ones here (personally though, I am not aware of OCZ pros and, Cons)..
- If you plan on OCing, go for closed loop cooling.. Like, Cooler Master Seidon 120m or, h80i..
- Also, buy a SSD for boot time and, application loading.. Makes a hell load of difference in performance!! You can buy a 1TB 7200 WD black caviar as a storage hdd..

Hope I have covered it all!! Have fun gaming pal... Please do let know, if the above suggestions do fit the price criteria!! 🙂

Cheers,
KP

CPU: Intel i5 3570k OC'd to 4.6GHz @1.170V; Mobo: MVG; GPU: Zotac 1070 mini OC'd to +210MHz/+205MHz; Memory: 8GB (2X4GB dual channel) Corsair Vengeance 1333Mhz 9-10-9-T2; SSD: Samsung 840 pro; HDD: 1TB WD Green 6Gbps; PSU: Corsair GS 600w; Case: Bitfenix Merc Alpha:Hybrid Octane in progress; Cooler: Corsair H80 closed loop cooling @ high profile;

Pre & Post Build Guide

A lot of epic FAIL videos are made before one epic WIN video is made 🙂

robotlove · ‎02-11-2013

Hi there KPRage! thanks so much for reading and the reply.

I have used apple for over 10 years, and there is no denying what their ethos, systems and OS's are capable of, but like you say, their only system capable of gaming is the MacPro and that 2499 on their simple spec. (there is always HackiNTosh)

Will take a look and report back, thanks again.

HiVizMan · ‎02-11-2013

I am still a mac user and would not swap my apple toys for anything. And so do many of the ROG's I might add. But that does not mean we do not like and love our ROG kit either. It is not a one or the other kind of word now is it?

3570K CPU
ROG Gene or Formula board
16GB of DDR3 1600 or 1866 ram. See which is the most cost effective, ram is ram.
7970 is a great Video card and you can pick them up well under £300 now.
And a SSD

I know you have a CPU but I do suggest you look at the one I have listed.

To help us help you - please provide as much information about your system and the problem as possible.

Zka17 · ‎02-11-2013

Welcome, robotlove, on the ROG Forum! 🙂

If your primary goal is gaming, then the HD7970 graphics card is a good choice! The Maximus V Extreme, however, is more for overclocking... will work for games too, of course, but if you have a limited budget then just go with a Maximus V Gene or Maximus V Formula... And spend your money more on a 3570k CPU... Also, I would try to check the GSkill Trident X series memory kits... - they were specifically designed for this platform... and 8GB for gaming should be enough...

Do not try saving money on the PSU... that would be a bad omen... get something highly reliable and efficient... - Corsair AX series, Seasonic X...

If you can squize in there an SSD for the OS and games and a usual HDD for data, that would be very nice...

And, don't be shy about the Mac... - Macs for work and regular PCs for fun... 🙂

robotlove · ‎02-11-2013

GSkill trident X = £50 (8GB)
HD 7970 Ghost Thermal DD 3GB = £289 (quite a lot)
MoBo = £140
Intel i5 3570k = £170
corsair 750 X = £80
Corsair Hydro Series H80i Extreme Performance = £81
SSD 60Gb = £60

£880 so far..

ouch! no money left hahaha!!

robotlove · ‎02-11-2013

I'm not shy about the mac, just a few gamer who i know have a lot of 'supposed' funny apple jokes.
I reply with "why do you need an i7, i imagine scanning for malware and viruses is quite processor intensive" then i get called a noob!

will have a look folks then feed back.

kkn · ‎02-11-2013

and smack in in to the tower you have 😛
you dont have to get the formula/thunderFX ( its a stereo amp whit mic in and out )
its cheeper whit out, you have 7.1 out on the minijacks on the back, optic out ( stereo for me, havent figures out how to get surround of it yet ).
ssd i would sugest a 120G as a minimum for OS ( W7 it self chew's about 40+gig on it ) and then you ad a program here and one there++ and then its full 😛
get one for OS for now and add a second later ( for games ( 120 or larger ) ).
if your not gona OC as of now, you could use the cooler you have now, and upgrade down the road.
as long it fits LGA1155 system.
if you have the case, could you take a pic of it on the inside?
the M5F is a E-ATX board, it fits on ATX pins ( i think some one said, but i will not guarantee this ) its just a inch ( close to it ) bigger in hight and wide.
look at the specs on the asus site on the board to be on the safe side.

robotlove · ‎02-11-2013

sure, the case is a Z11 not P11, sorry.
it used to have the ROG Maximus IV Xtreme Z inside.

TenBlade · ‎02-11-2013

What games are you going to play? May have implications on GPU choice, nVidia or Radeon, and how much memory, 2 3, or 4 gigz.
Like kkn said, stock cooler that comes with the processor is just fine, even for smaller overclocks, so save on that part, and DO get a bigger SSD (also like kkn said 😉 ).
Samsung 840 120 gb is fast and not the most expensive. You´ll have to save some unused space on the ssd for it to run properly, 60 gigz will evaporate quickly with OS installations and a few C-drive bound programs.

You could also save a few quid on the RAM, they don´t have to be 2400 MHz, RipjawsZ @ 2133 should come cheaper, they do over here... But you may get the ROG fever like I did, and go for the fastest junk there is, and then acquire parts month by month...if you have the patience for it. In the meantime you study this forum and change your mind a lot 😉

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