Thoughts on a new computer...

[Dipsy]

I'm looking to buy a new computer, saved up a decent amount of money to buy one, looked around a few sites now and overclockers seems like the one i'm going for - only problem now is I need to figure out what hardware to put in it.

I don't know a lot about computers and their components and I imagine someone here knows significantly more and can maybe help me optimize this build.

This is what I've picked so far, is there anything that could do with an upgrade/downgrade?

monitor - Samsung BX2235 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Mystic Black
power - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850W V2 High Performance Power Supply (CMPSU-850TXV2UK)
sound - Onboard Sound Card
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX)
GFX - XFX ATI Radeon 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
RAM - G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL )
motherboard - Gigabyte P67A-UD3-B3 Intel P67 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
cooling - Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
overclock - Stage 3: Overclock of CPU - 20% Overclock (Proceesor speed x1.20)
processor - Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM


Basically my concerns were, is this fan cooling going to be good enough or should I switch it to watercooling. And will I need a better power supply or will that be more than enough.
I would like to get a bigger monitor but money is a problem, perhaps if I could downgrade some shit that's over the top I could get one

[Daekesh]

I can recommend the p8p67 motherboard from asus.  Very nice!

You can save some money by not getting such a high power PSU.  If you get a good brand (such as you have) a 600W one will run anything, except 4 graphics cards, 7 hard disks, etc.  My whole pc, including both monitors and 5.1 system, only uses 500W under full load.

[delling]

Looks pretty hot. Is the ?200 graphics card necessary? Is 8GB of RAM necessary? (Is that posh RAM, or normal stuff?)

If you're not buying top of the range, you should aim for middle of the range, as that's where the price/performance is best. I haven't checked things this year, but generally middle-range CPUs and GPUs are about ?120-160. Don't know if you really get much benefit from going into the ?200+ range.

As Kesh said, you could do with a lesser PSU, too.

(Someone with much more info will reply, I'm sure.)

[Doomslay]

kesh/delling pretty much hit the nail on the head. It looks a good set up.
I'd suggest getting an SSD drive just for your OS, it probably offers the most bang for buck nowadays with performance (boot up times/program launch etc) you can pick up a 64gb one for about ?80 and use your HDD as storage.

Just make sure to move your users/install paths to your HDD as the SSD's have a slower write speed and they can get worn down easily (also turn off backup/anything you can think off that writes to it).

I keep my OS and web browser on the ssd personally.

[delling]

If you're struggling to buy a nice monitor, you don't buy an SSD.

It's just not worth it yet IMO.

[Ezzardo]

Samsung will never let you down!

[Inphy]

You should save up on the RAM and PSU to be honest, as the others said. 8gb RAM on 1600mhz, don't think you'll need that kind of speed. 4gb on 1600mhz or 6gb on 1333mhz would be better and saves you quite a lot of pennies (Hell, 4gb on 1333 would be pretty good). Perhaps take an i7 Sandy Bridge, instead. Would be overkill but it'll last you way longer.

Perhaps a bigger HDD would suffice. Depends on your use of course.

Samsung is a good monitor, but if you're going to get a 'high-end' new PC. You could perhaps pick a 3D monitor with an Nvidia graphics card that supports it. It'll be the 'new gaming experience', it's just pretty awesome in my opinion!

[Dipsy]

Ah, I should say, I was going for 4GB RAM but then I noticed it only cost ?18 more for 8GB so I figured for only ?18 more it was worth it.

I would like a bigger monitor but there's a massive leap in price as the inches go up, think I can just about manage a 23"-24" one now, will check it out.

Going to downgrade the PSU as suggested.
The HDD, 500GB is the smallest one and for storing backups/films/tv series (the bulk of my storage currently) I can chuck all those on my external hard drive which is 1TB so skimping on the hard drive size because of that
Yeah Inphy I noticed could get the i7, it costs about ?70 more but if it gives me an extra 6 months or a year before I have to get a new computer it's probably worth delaying getting the new comp for a couple of weeks so I can work a few shifts and afford the upgrade. Doubt 3D will fit into my price range, plus I'm scared I'll be plagued by headaches lol

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

I have a 22" full hd monitor I think the size really depends on your setup. When sitting as close to the monitor as I do 24" feels far too big. I would rather have a good 21" monitor than a bad 24" one.

[Daekesh]

If you want a nice monitor with proper res (1920x1200) the hp la2405wg is nice!  Only 24" monitor sub ?300 i could find that did that res!

[Intrinsic]

Samsung BX2235 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor

Pretty sure that's the monitor Monstar and I have, if so, I recommend it!

[Inphy]

Hewlett packard 2310EI Ultra Thin - 229 euro's.

HP's make pretty nice screens for affordable prices. You should see it in a store though, there's a big difference between bright view screens (glossy screens).

Also if you're into budget, Acer has some 'decent' ones.

I currently use a Samsung 2233RZ (3D monitor )

[Aleandro]

Tbh its tough to say without saying price on each component so i will go 1 by 1 .
    Monitor , no opinion its all about turning them on in shop and checking how u like construction of it , colours etc(what i can reccomend as atm best buy is Dell with IPS panel, Dell U2311H its 23inches one but yeah)
    PSU is very good with OEM of Seasonic,What Kesh suggested is reasonably BUT to be said :1st your GPU is big power consumer, 2nd its allways nice to have tougher PSU for future improvements, such as Crossfire; and not to mention that is not suggested to have on edge power consume with psu possibilities.But yeah u could go with TX650 with no problems , and that saved Cash invest in better MB which i will get on later.
    Hdd is ok , but i would go with Caviar black or Samsung F3 Spinpoint as it will be sistem on.
    GPU is very good , even more if u succed to unlock it to 6970 (take in mind for gaming if thats main reason, GPU is most significant! )
    Ram is proven so good choice, tbh don't go with 6GB of rams that's fail.1st at this point buying pc, nothing less then 8gb is reasonable as its cheap as never before.2nd 1155 socket is dual channel not tripple channel so 3x2gb would work but not as good as 2xXgb( u could go with 4gb stick and improve later on with 1 more stick of 4gb if wanna save some money atm). And also forget about 1333mhz ones , grab 1600 all the way
    MB very good one for it'sprice, BUT again Kesh suggest is pretty good, as Asus MBs with 1155 socket are better for OCing aka stability then GB ones.p8p67 is a bit more expensive but better purchase in my oppinion for your goal of OCing.
   CPU Cooler tbh all u need is CM 212+ better performance then Akasa, cheaper. Deffo best budget CPU cooler!Most ppl keeping 2500k on 4,5Ghz with it 24/7 totally stable.And just to be said DO NOT think about watercooling if not one worth of ~200euros/$ these H50/H70/Cooling Eco are shit if u compare them to price they selling for.And not to mention that one Prolimatech Megahalem as air cooler is overperforming them.
  CPU Thats more then great CPU and my advise do not even think about i7 as u will not notice any differences in gaming thats for sure.

All these oppinions are based on 2years keeping eye on HW world.

[delling]

Wow, Ale, I had no idea you were a hardware nerd!

I was like that once

[Aleandro]

Wow, Ale, I had no idea you were a hardware nerd!

I was like that once

Hehe well i find HW very interesting part of IT. Nerd idd lolz