Gaming Building a new desktop for a friend...

[fgghjjkll]

Hey
I'm building a desktop for a friend and he only wants to use it for playing skyrim and LoL at decent settings...
Something that may keep him going for a while.

So, I did some browsing, and I decided to come up with these specs:

Processor: Intel Core i5 2500 (220AUD)
Board: Intel H61 Express (Starts at 80AUD)
Memory: 2x 4GB DDR3 kit (40AUD)
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 6950 (eg)(235AUD)
Hard drive: Still looking around. Friend wants SSD for ultra fast LoL loading. I have no experience in comparing SSDs. Can you recommend me some?
Drive: Some 20 dollar dvd drive.

I haven't thought about the case and power supply yet, but his max budget is 800, so maybe you can help me choose those too...

Thanks.

 

[PolloDiablo]

that's a nice setup
I can recommend to go with the i5 2500k so you can overclock it. Also, change the motherboard to a P67 wich is better for overclocking. Maybe you can go with an Asus since it's cheaper that Intel.

If your friend wants fast loading he can pick a WD Caviar Black... but I never tested it myself.

I've made a similar thread a couple of days ago

 

[fgghjjkll]

that's a nice setup
I can recommend to go with the i5 2500k so you can overclock it. Also, change the motherboard to a P67 wich is better for overclocking. Maybe you can go with an Asus since it's cheaper that Intel.

If your friend wants fast loading he can pick a WD Caviar Black... but I never tested it myself.

I've made a similar thread a couple of days ago

I don't want to overclock because I don't want to spend too much on the Power Supply...
So, I'm fine with the 2500 rather than the 2500k

Also, he wants almost instant loading, not some thing that loads a bit faster than an average 7200RPM HDD.

 

[Originality]

Regarding motherboards, H61 is the budget range (2 DIMM slots, no SATA3), H67 is for those who want to use the integrated graphics of the CPU, P67 is for those who want better performance and overclocking K series CPUs (2500K or 2600K), and Z68 is for all-in-one (integrated graphics plus overclocking) and then some (SDD hybridization and iGPU and lots of other random stuff). Put simply, you generally cannot overclock on a H61/H67 motherboard (at least, no more than maybe 200Mhz).

Regarding SSDs, only get them if you can afford the premium - they are NOT for everybody. If you get a Z68 motherboard, you can get away with getting a 40-60GB SSD and any HDD. If not, aim for at least 90GB. Crucial M4 is the best if you're watching your budget, but OCZ Vertex 3 and Samsung 830 have the best speeds.
The best setup is a fast boot drive and a large storage drive. If you don't get a SSD, get a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 or Western Digital Caviar Black. Whether you get a SSD or a fast HDD boot drive, for the storage drive you should get a Western Digital Caviar Green or Samsung Spinpoint F4EG.

For the case, as long as it has an intake fan and an exhaust fan (to create circulation) it doesn't really matter which one. I suggest looking at the Antec 100.
For the power supply (PSU), as long as it's above 550W and from a recognised brand (Corsair, Antec, Enermax, Tagan, etc) then it's fine. Try looking at the Corsair Builder series. Never consider a non-branded PSU because they are liable to explode (seriously).

EDIT: For an idea, I'll just add my current build in spoilers:

Spoiler

Case: Antec 1200 v1 (there's v3 now with USB3, but this case will last me 10 years at least).
PSU: Enermax Galaxy GxX 1.2kW (at the time I was doing some heavy motherboard/graphics card CrossFireX/SLI 3-way testing)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z (linked above)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
Cooling: Corsair H60 (closed liquid cooling)
RAM: Corsair XMS3 2x4GB 1600Mhz 1.5v
Graphics: MSI GTX560 Ti Twin Frozr-II/OC
DVD: LG SuperDrive (cost £15 at the time)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 128GB
HDDs: 2x1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1, 3TB Western Digital Caviar Green, 1.5TB Samsung Spinpoint F4EG.

Others: Logitech G15 keyboard, Microsoft Sidewinder X8 mouse, DELL U2412M and LG Flatron M2294D monitors, Corsair SP2200 2.1 speakers, Windows 7 x64 Home Premium (cost £30), Kaspersky AV (free), Logitech USB mic.

 

[PolloDiablo]

- good stuff -

do what originality've said

 

[Chhotu uttam]

you might consider changing your GPU to GTX 560 Ti or 6950 2G.They cost around $250-$260.(newegg)

 

[Deleted User]

The SSD might help with the LoL loading, but it doesn't matter much b/c you still have to wait on the other 9 people before the game begins.

 

[PolloDiablo]

Hey Originality.... how well a Crucial M4 would work with a P67 motherboard?

 

[Originality]

If its big enough, it would work very well. Z68 mobos only have a feature to make HDDs as fast as SSDs, a bit like the Seagate Momentus only working with any SSD and HDD combination and not being made by such an unreliable company like Seagate.

If its too small, the SSD won't be able to fit the OS and all the programs you need. As an example, with my system fully set up, my 128GB SSD only has 50GB left over.