http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2GUjC

To which I'm adding from my current setup:
GeForce GTX 660
Creative SB X-Fi
external DVD drive

After asking around and getting some input I've come to the above setup. The SSD drive for the OS and core software/data - one 2GB drive for game - one 2GB drive for photos.


For gaming and photography with maybe a touch of video (since all those cameras have video now). So anyone got any views on the setup - anything that might be worth changing of swapping around?

Out of curiosity - why so huge PSU, i mean like 500W would be mroe than enough for that setup. If you got "spare" money, get gold/platinum grade PSU.

Creative SB X-Fi as in separate card? Unless you have some specific need for in- or outputs, the mobo-integrated soundcards are more than enough for 95% of people.

Also why ATX case? Are you going to use that space for something? get some sweet small ITX case instead. I just bought Bitfenix Prodigy, its not the smallest but you can put pretty much anything inside and its still like half size of your regular case...

16GB memory, unless you know you have some special purpose for them, 8gb is more than enough. Even for HC gamer.

talking about gaming, what kind of games youre planning on playing? If gog oldies gtx 660 is decent i suppose - but if youre planning on playing the newest game on high specs you should upgrade it. GTX 760 / 770, Radeon 270X / 280X are all good picks, depending on your budget. I went for 670 mini, which is not out of production i believe but a tad faster than gtx 760 (got good special deal).

CPU is good, but if you happen to come across intel Xeon 1230V3, its equal to 4770K, except far cheaper and does not overclock. Just remember to check the mobo supports it.

Lazy to google about the mobo and havent got clue about the prices in england i am afraid.

--

Going to get my new GPU from post tomorrow and PSU on monday, then its finally time to play something properly ;)

Thanks for the input iippo

You're right that PSU is a bit overboard and that the graphics card for newer games could be better. I've basically approached it trying to get the core of the computer as good as I can within budget with a plan that I can always upgrade things like the graphics card quite easily. PSU's are a bit more of a pain to swap in and out so getting a heavier duty one is proofing the machine against a higher end card at a later date.

The case is also going with a similar view of being ready for anything larger in the future - it also makes it easire to build the system inside with a bit more room to fit things and improve air flow.

I'd love to have a new graphics card to go with the system but I just can't afford it and if I were sticking with the 660 for years I'd likely cut down on several parts.

I also agree with sound card aspect, esp since when Vista came out creative seemd to fall apart abit with their EAX support (esp in older titles). That said I've already got the card in my current machine so don't see a point in letting it go to waste and will re-used it (like the graphics card).

If you don't max out the RAM, it's a good idea to get the RAM in larger amounts per stick and leave slots open for future expansion. It's been a while so I can't recall if you have to do matching sets these days,

Definitely ditto about the sound card. Even if you do opt to get a discrete card, I don't think that Creative is the way to go these days. Seems like it's been years since they were the best.

The power supply may be more than you need, but it is not the manner of overkill that would call for criticism.

I don't like the 660's (660, 660Ti); the 192-bit bus design is crippled. But since you're reusing an existing card, fine.

The reason EAX support fell apart is Microsoft tried to kill it off. Even if you don't get full value for your sound card, I still think you'll do better than you would with ASUS's onboard sound.

I also don't like wasting expensive SSD space on the OS. Windows scribbles all over the system disk, reducing the speed advantage of the SSD, burning up limited write cycles and requiring more TRIM activity. I couldn't care less how fast Windows boots. I use SSD space for resources I want loaded fast, while I'm on a roll, game data files, source code I'm working on, things like that. But if you do put Windows on the SSD, for the sake of all that is holy, put the damn pagefile somewhere else.

Not sure why you would want Windows 8.1; Windows 7 does everything better except imitate an overgrown handheld. (One exception: DirectX versions that are only in 8 and 8.1 do a better job with AMD APU and dual graphic configurations. That doesn't apply to what you're building, though.)

Psu calculator: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Even if you got the biggest most powerful GPU atm, i still think youd be just fine with 600W PSU. Good quality one ofcourse.

However, if youre planning to have sli/crossfire sometime (i would recommend against this), the ofcourse you would need more juice. In my opinion youll save yourself alot of trouble, noise, heat and other problems if you just stick to a single gpu at the time... this from my own SLI adventures.

Also, i really recommend those ITX cases, check either of these for example:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5867/bitfenix-prodigy-review-the-affordable-performable-miniitx
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2013/11/26/bitfenix-phenom-review/1

You can put pretty much any regular sized computer part in both of them. Prodigy is one of the most flexible cases around. Naturally youll need to have ITX mobo, but thats nobrainer really.

Personally iam dreaming of ITX that is roughly half the size of either of these -but that must wait for now :)

very-very rough list of GPU pecking order and price points: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html I am of the opposite opinion on both of these, but suppose they are matters of taste as well.

I haven't got an SSD nor am I an extremely demanding user in my opinion, so I'm probably not one to speak, but I think you could do without one. I've got an ASRock motherboard that came with InstantBoot software, which, as I understand it, basically extends the shutdown cycle by rebooting the computer up to when the desktop appears, then dumping everything on the RAM or somewhere where it can be accessed quickly, and only then shutting down. After that, booting up takes less time than walking to the bathroom and picking up my toothbrush (I haven't timed it, but ten seconds seems like an accurate enough guess), which is good enough for me. Whether you agree or not is up to you, of course.