Help with I5-2500K Parts

Hello, (First Post, Yay!)
I'm thinking about building a desktop soon and have done some research into parts. I need help with what parts to get though.
I think I want to get an I5 proccessor then build my spec around it. My budget is £500-£600 ($800-$900).
Please could I get help building a spec?
I'm looking for a fast computer on a budget.

My needs are for internet, movies and light gaming.

I would like:
Dedicated Graphics of 1GB
i5 proccessor
4GB RAM (min.)
500GB HDD (Maybe a smaller SSD if I can afford it)
A good Motherboard ( Not Fussed)
A dedicated Sound card
And a CD/DVD Drive

Any help would be much appreciated.

Any reason why you need a dedicated sound card?
8GB RAM is marginally more cost than 4GB these days, best to go with 8GB.
What does "light gaming" mean? At what resolutions?

Case: Antec 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 PRO-3M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157252

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

GPU: HIS Radeon HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161384

SSD: Crucial m4 64GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

PSU: Antec EarthWatts 380W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

OS: Windows Home Premium 64-Bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

This build will run ~$880 USD. I would recommend using the Intel SRT to utilitze the SSD as a Cache for the HDD. It won't devastate any benchmarks but it will run most games at decent FPS even on high settings. I did not include a sound card. In all honesty unless you are 1- willing to spend a great deal of money and 2- looking to produce high quality music, you wouldn't really notice a difference. For the amount of money you'd be able to afford to put into a card, you'd probably get better quality from the on board audio.

Are you set on Intel and i5 though? You could also go with an i3 to cut costs. In all honesty, however, with what you're looking to do with this rig I would personally recommend an AMD setup. In fact I usually use AMD builds for most of my friends who are looking for similar usage. It provides just as good performance (for what you're using) while cutting down cost on the Mobo/CPU allowing for a bit more to be spent on other parts.

Thanks

@ Know Nuttin , Like pbcranium202 said I don't need a sound card (I thought I did). I consider Light Gaming to be playing games that are a few years old on above average settings nothing extreme. But will I see a big difference in performance from 4GB to 8GB RAM?

@ pbcranium202. Thanks a lot for your post! Is that all the components I need?! makes it seem quite easy now. For some reason I see AMD being a cheaper, less powerful brand of proccessors but if you honestly think it's going to be better for me then send me a link for the proccessor you think is best. I thought i5 because I want this desktop to last 3-4 years and still be fast (ish) then, i3 lacks the overclocking power of the i5's and the i7's but then again you guys have more expertise in these things.

Thanks again guys!

AMD is slower than Intel clock for clock. But in a normal gaming experience you will not see a difference. Its noticeable for people who do alot of video rendering or Folding. Stuff like that. AMD is focused on the consumer market that values price/performance. Intel is focused on pure performance.

Sandy Bridge CPUs whether i3, i5 or i7 don't overclock unless you buy the top of the respective series (ie i5 2500K/2550K or i7 2600K/2700K). If you did want to OC then I would recommend bumping the CPU up to a 2500K rather than the 2500 that I recommended. However, to OC then you'll also have to include the cost of an aftermarket cooler which can be as cheap as a CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ (~$22 USD) which is plenty for a SB system, up to several hundred for a liquid cooled system. I still recommend the i5 2500 if you're not looking to OC over an i3. I was merely saying that if you wanted to save some extra money a high end i3 would be enough for most games. I would also honestly recommend (if you can wait about a month) to wait for Ivy Bridge to come out. Prices should be about comparable, but give you the most current setup.

The CPU/MoBo setup I listed earlier is ~$320 USD. For an AMD system I would recommend something more along the lines of:

CPU: AMD FX-4170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009

MoBo: ASRock AM3+ Extreme 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157281

1- The processor is already clocked far higher than its i5 counterpart. And it is fully unlocked and can OC. It costs ~$140 vs ~$210 for the 2500 which can't be OCd or ~$240 for a 2500K which can be but starts at a far lower base clock.

2- The MoBo is FAR superior to the one I recommended in the Intel build. It is ~$130 vs ~$110 but, it is built to OC where as the Intel was not.

3- The total price for the AMD components is ~$270 vs Intel at ~$340. With a ~$70 price drop you have a CPU/MoBo combo that starts off at a more decent clock and will OC quite well.

Should I wait for Ivy Bridge or get the AMD set-up?, I see what you mean about price and totally agree that I should cut corners in the CPU to make the other components better.

I don't know if I should do over-clocking myself though because I am a bit of a beginner in the pratical side of computers. Should I get someone to build it for me?

How hard is it to build this computer?

With the extra money saved from the CPU what is the best component to upgrade a bit?

Thanks

The decision to wait or not is really a choice between AMD or Intel. For the uses you are saying you desire the AMD build will be more than enough for several years. If you do go that route I would spend a bit more on your video card. Perhaps something more like a Radeon HD 6950.

Overclocking with that chip really won't be required which is why I chose it for you. 4.2GHz is PLENTY of juice for you to push anything you'd be looking to throw at it. If you want to OC (merely to learn or for fun as I do) then the board I suggested is very good to do so with. If not, again save the money for something else. If you do choose to OC then stick with the board, and begin reading through the forums. There is TONS of information on how to OC and ask questions. The people on these forums have always been more than happy to help.

Building is incredibly easy. It seems intimidating at first because all the terminology is kind of new and you don't know what you're looking at. But with good guides (such as http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638619) its extremely easy. For my first build I actually just went on youtube and typed in how to build a computer and a visual reference was easy to find also.

Also, I did forget to include one component and that is your optical drive. That choice is simple and up to you. Depends on what you want (i.e. Blu-Ray player/burner, DVD/CD player/burner). They're typically not expensive either. I personally always run two in a build just to make burning and ripping easier, but you don't need two. It does at least need a DVD drive as windows installs from a DVD.

Also, my first part to spend more money on would be the video card. Second would be a larger SSD. AMD does not have SSD Caching like Intel does. Therefore you'd need to load all your major programs and such straight on the SSD. 120GB would be about the range I'd recommend. However 64GB is more than enough for your OS.

Actually, I think his best bet is going with an APU+6670, it's plenty for light gaming.

Also, conversion doesn't translate like that. Even though what he has translates to $900 USD, due to VAT and parts being relatively more expensive, his real budget for the machine is lower.

Where are you buying parts from? It's easier to just link you components from the store you're buying from so we get the budget right.

+1 For Knufire's idea. I hadn't even considered it honestly. I'm so used to making builds with a discrete GPU for gaming I didn't even really take into consideration the aim wasn't for blazing fast fps or ultra high res. Good call!

Also I know the currency conversion won't be exact. but it should get you into the ballpark where you can start looking at pricing and begin to ask where to begin cutting down prices. Ultimately everything including availability, taxes and shipping will need to be considered.

Hey,
Thanks for clearing that up, Should I buy the parts from Newegg or should I try and find a UK supplier, the ones I have researched into (Overclockers, Aria) have been quite expensive?

Thanks again for all your help!

I'd say find a UK retailer. There's a couple of them that are very reliable, and shipping costs form the US would be terrible, especially since you live in a country where it's relatively easy to find parts.

After looking around should I get the Radeon HD6850 or GeForce 550 Ti, they seem the same price but the GeForce looks a bit better. (Sorry)

There is as large a debate between nVidia and AMD as there is with Intel and AMD. Typically AMD offers better FPS which is more important in gaming. nVidia however uses CUDA which helps a great deal with other things such as video rendering. For your purposes however, they'll both perform well for you. Whichever you choose you'll be happy with.

I'd actually bump up to the 6870, but that's because the price difference here in the US is minimal. The AMD is the better of those two cards.

So is this my final set-up?

CPU: AMD FX-4170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819106009

MoBo: ASRock AM3+ Extreme 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157281

Case: Antec 300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129066

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

GPU: HIS Radeon HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161384

SSD: Crucial m4 64GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148441

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152181

PSU: Antec EarthWatts 380W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371033

OS: Windows Home Premium 64-Bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

Please tell me if I have missed something?
Thanks

That CPU and GPU might be overkill for your needs. I'll go back to my APU+Hybrid Crossfire suggestion, which gives nearly the same performance for a decent amount less. Due to the way the Bulldozer architecture works, when you remove cores it SEVERELY degrades the performance. The cores share parts, so if you're trying to calculate anything floating point (any numbers with decimals), it actually performs as a dual core. I wouldn't really recommend the FX-4170.

So what will my GPU be now?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161375
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157257

So is that one or the other, or both? I think I might use the APU instead.
Do I really need that much power from the other 2, I could save some money .

That's the CPU/APU, the graphics card that you put in hybrid crossfire with it, and the motherboard you need?