Gaming Desktop (Budget 1250)

[yonchu]

Hey everyone, here's a gaming machine I'm contemplating:

Case STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card 1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
SSD CACHE DRIVE NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£39)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ASUS XONAR DG 5.1 SURROUND SOUND PCI CARD (£20 SPECIAL)
Network Facilities ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Without a display nor any other accessories, this works out to be about 1164 quid. Please do comment if you think any components could be better. I have several questions as well:

1. The motherboard supports USB 3. Do I have to add on anything to be able to use USB 3 ports?
2. Should I go for the single GTX 580 or go for SLI/Crossfire? Cost vs Performance ratio?
3. Is the cooling and PSU sufficient?

Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

 

[mantadog]

1.Get a better case, a 580 in that case will not be very happy, and you dont need to SLI them at the moment. Look at something £60+ case wise.

2. If you only plan to game, drop to an i5 2500, for gaming the i7 isn't worth the cash really.

3. A caviar black drive would load windows and games alot faster, the green drive is OK but a black is better.

4. The usb 3 slots will be sticking out the back of your case, so you only need usb 3 devices to plug in and yoru ready to go.

5. If the PSC configurator lets you order the pc the PSU will be fine, for SLI in the future you will need a much bigger one if you plan to do that but a single 580 is a monster so no need really for now.

6. the cooling should be fine, with a better case then you will get better cooling aswell.

 

[bg92]

Everything seems to be good, except the case, go for haf 912 at least. And if you want to save some money change the i7-2600 to i5-2500 as you will se little difference in performance between the two. I would also get a caviar black instead of the caviar green as the primary drive. The cooling is sufficient. The psu is also sufficient but if you are planing to sli (add another gtx580) in the future then you would need 850w power supply at least.

 

[yonchu]

Slightly adjusted specs based on feedback:

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£39)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ASUS XONAR DG 5.1 SURROUND SOUND PCI CARD (£20 SPECIAL)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,198.00 including VAT and delivery.

Looking good? =)

 

[tom_gr7]

looks good, drop the k version of the 2500,

drop the blu ray drive unless you need it to watch blurays etc

 

[gempachi]

why would he have to drop the K? few quids for future proof CPU? I think its worth it.

 

[yonchu]

Yea I chose the k to open up the possibility of overclocking. I do play Blu-Ray media though so it will be useful. (I don't have a TV at home.)

Do you guys think swapping the RAM to 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT) for about 40 more quid is worth it? For the higher RAM speed.

 

[mantadog]

If you want to overclock in the future then the 'k' is a good choice.

RAM upgrade is not worth it, it might benefit you a little if you overclock your system but for £40 more i would steer clear myself. £40 is alot to spend on something you probably wont even be able to tell is their.

 

[yonchu]

Alright. Thanks for the help guys. One final question: I'm looking to cut almost £150 by getting a GTX 570 instead of GTX 580. In your opinion, do you think the higher price of GTX 580 justifies the increase in performance? Trying to do an analysis of price vs performance here.

 

[todd89]

Alright. Thanks for the help guys. One final question: I'm looking to cut almost £150 by getting a GTX 570 instead of GTX 580. In your opinion, do you think the higher price of GTX 580 justifies the increase in performance? Trying to do an analysis of price vs performance here.

I had the the exact same question, and it turns out that the 580 doesn't justify the additional £144 with regards to performance increase. You will not notice the difference so you may aswell save the money for another upgrade. I'm positive that people will agree!

 

[tom_gr7]

The gtx 580 is worth it if you NEED the best, OP do you need the best? Do you want the best looking graphics ever?

The 570 will handle any game at the moment, OP if you just play a few games every now and then, a few hours a night or every other night. Go for the 570.

What I would suggest is.....make sure your motherboard supports sli, and you have an 850w psu, so in the future (year or so time) if you needed to, pick up another 570 for extra performance boost.

 

[tom_gr7]

I'd go for this, comes in at £1183

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE very good case, good cable manaegment and airflow.

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics, no need for k version, even if you wanted to overclock in future, its best not to without good thermal paste and very good cpu cooler.

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£39)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99) - for extra 570 in a year or so, a cheap performance boost.

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card
ASUS XONAR DG 5.1 SURROUND SOUND PCI CARD (£20 SPECIAL)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity 1

 

[yonchu]

Good point, really. My only concern with SLI is probably micro-stuttering and driver issues but to save cost, I think this sounds good. Thanks for the sound advice.

 

[tom_gr7]

Good point, really. My only concern with SLI is probably micro-stuttering and driver issues but to save cost, I think this sounds good. Thanks for the sound advice.

No worries, I have never heard of any problems with sli of nvida's cards. I would recommend that when you get the pc maybe add a few fans to fill extra fan slots, to keep the 570 nice and cool. or opt for the fan controller from pcs, then they add extra fans too.

 

[Grinder]

Sli and crossfire do microstutter and is an issue for drivers which ATI and nvidia don't seem to be able to eliminate even on thier big double gpu cards.

Every magazine I've read say the best card for new technology like multi screening is the 6970 although the 580 is faster in some games and I think better for 3D screens.