Windows 7 - What Hardaware should I buy for a new computer?

Hello all.

Im looking to build my first ever computer and would appreciate some help in deciding hardware. I have budget limit of £1000 and may put in an extra 50-100 if I am convinced by other posters.

Looking for a powerful GPU, perhaps 2GB 6970.

Your thoughts?

Do you need a monitor in this price? Or is it just for the pc?

Hello Paul, yes a complete new set up.

Ok I think I have covered everything but I have had a couple of beers so may have missed something

GTX 570 gpu very good card, if chose the 6970 2gb then its way above your budget.

I Have included windows 7 64bit also which I assume you need along with a nice 23" LED monitor.

I should also say I have added a SSD for the operating system which will make the pc very fast!

Thanks a lot Paul.

I can cancel the OS as I already Windows 7 Professional but everything else seems ok to get. So just £5 past the thousand mark.

+ Rep for you.

That's great, of course if you don't need an windows 7 then you could chuck in an extra £40-£50 and get a 6970 2gb if you wanted to.

Goodluck with whatever you decide and don't hesitate to ask for more help.

Looks good but there's a couple of things I would change. I would buy G.Skill RAM rather than Corsair as timings don't matter on Sandy Bridge as much as frequency.

A different brand of GPU such as EVGA, msi, or ASUS, would also help. I've haven't had many good experiences with Palit so I suggest you choose a more 'reputable' brand. You would also do well in sticking with a GTX 570. In the below benchmark site, the GTX570 comes well above the 6970.
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - High End Video Cards

I would definitely go with a Z68 chipset board. When it comes to motherboards, newer is almost always better. The Z68 chipset will be a much better option.

You probably won't need an 850w PSU. I would go with something like a Corsair HX750 which still gives you a fair bit of headroom for upgrades.
EDIT: Though the Enthusiast or TX series is still decent.

Seeing as he does not require an operating system I would agree to spend an extra £10-20 on the gpu and get an evga or msi. I was really trying to keep it within his budget.

The Z68 board is not needed surely if he is buying a nice gpu? Don't really matter too much.

The PSU I always say go for the best you can afford at the time, you never know if you will want to sli or crossfire in the future!

But apart from that I agree with you Jaidyn haha


Edit: having said that, the Z68 boards are pretty much the same price so it makes no difference and may have slight benefits


Here is one for the OP should he wish to take that route - http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...a-on-board-atx

Thanks Jaidyn for the GPU benchmark link, helps in deciding GPU. I do think I should go for 570.

Thanks. By the way, I neatened my previous post a bit so your quote is wrong.

The Z68 chipset is much better, especially with the use of SSDs as it uses SSD Caching while the P67 chipset doesn't. Even if he wasn't buying an SSD, it would still be worth getting a Z68 board as some even have a small SSD built in as a cache making the system a lot faster.

As for the PSU, it's not just the wattage you need to look at. The TX series is good but the HX or Professional series is even better. What's more, it has an 80 Plus Silver rating rather than a bronze. Now that the OP doesn't need an OS, and if he can stretch his wallet a bit, it would be a good idea to go with an HX850.

No worries.