First Proper Gaming PC

[tommum]

Hey Guys,

After years of living in the dark-ages of console gaming I am finally seeing the light.

Please would somebody take a look at the below and let me know their thoughts.

My budget is around £1500-£1700.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GB, WiFi - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
480GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (550MB/R, 500MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

Price £1,629.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z270-pc/5qgkYjgvye/

Thanks

Tom

 

[Oussebon]

It looks very nice

You could consider the following tweaks:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.20GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GB, WiFi - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

Price £1,689.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z270-overclocked/xUKu9k!t!9/

£5 warranty upgrade for extra carriage costs coverage

850 Evo SSD is a lot faster and only a few £ more

Faster RAM can have a huge advantage in some games, and the price increase to your build is fairly modest.

If you're buying a -k CPU, a Z270 mobo, a good case, the Noctua cooler, and a more upmarket PSU anyway, you may as well get your build pre-overclocked as the cost increase there is quite modest too.

 

[Scott]

Exactly the same as the above build with the only exception being an M2 drive in place of the SSD (Much faster). They are a bit more expensive but at the expense of the 5 day quick dispatch (I wouldn't bother personally, better off with physical improvements for the sake of a day or 2) I would say it's a "nice to have" worth considering. It takes you slightly over budget but it would take you to an area of no compromise IMO

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.20GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GB, WiFi - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1900MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,728.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z270-overclocked/F!vZKG3UBA/

 

[Oussebon]

It is a shame that the 500gb M.2 960 Evo is £68 more than the 500gb 850 Evo - a lot less clear cut than the 256gb PM961, which only £13 more than a 250gb 850 Evo.

If spending around £70 more on the build I'd just say sod it and get a GTX 1080 for £80 more than the 1070.

 

[tommum]

Wow, thanks for the suggestions guys!

Couple of questions,

1) I know very little about overclocking but it has always seemed risky to me. I understand looking at other threads on the subject that I really do not have much to worry about but can any confirm just what kind of performance improvement I will see overclocking from 4.2 to 4.8? Is it worth it?
2) I get a info warning for my build regarding the power supply being greater than required. My main reason for the CORSAIR 650W is that its listed as ultra quiet. Has anybody got experience with them and can you confirm if its worth the extra money? If the power supply is greater than required and the sound not that great (quiet) then I am tempted to go for a cheaper one and invest more elsewhere.

Thanks again for the help!

Tom

 

[Oussebon]

1) It will vary between games - some games may not see much difference. However the cost difference between stock and overclocked builds is very small - about £8 last time I looked. PCS's overclock is quite tame, and the risk is managed by them having set up the overclock and tested it before sending it out to you. Plus you can always remove the overclock, and reload it any time you want, with only a few mouse clicks in the BIOS. If you're buying all the expensive parts needed for overclocking, I don't think there's much reason not to get the extra performance boost for a few quid more, personally

2) I can't say how much quieter the TX is than the VS (the VS is pretty budget so I'd be surprised if it weren't quieter...). However if you're looking at a quiet build, I'd strongly recommend the RM850x. Unlike the others, the RMx series is semi-passive which means it will cool itself without even needing to turn its fan on, making it completely silent under many load conditions. This is one of my favourite things about my RMi PSU (RMi being very similar to RMx).

Regardless of the wattage, the TXm / RMx series PSUs are worth getting for a build of this kind of budget as they are more efficient, modular (i.e. fewer unnecessary cables inside the case), and better build quality than the VS series.