gaming pc final spec? a question or 2

[kernowchris]

Hi, below is the spec of the pc i intend to order in 3 weeks time (payday, yey!).

Now i have watched tons of utube tech vids, googled every mag for parts info and now i am wiser even if part of my brain has melted.

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 650D GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core (3.40GHz @ max 4.80GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, NVIDIA®SLI™, ATI®CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 315MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II C240 A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£99)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
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
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

Price: £2,389.00 including VAT and delivery.


I've gone for 2 x gtx580s instead of a single gtx590, noisier and more heat but kicks the gtx590 gaming benchmarks off the park, and i've read a fair bit about overclocking issues with the 590. intel 250ssd because it's way more stable than the dodgy vertex3 mobo problems.

BUT, and it's a big BUT....i am totally unsure as to go for the i7 2600k oc'd cpu and the relating mobo socket, or, do i go for the 9 series (quad core is fine, as 6 core cpus a waste for gaming).
The plan is the machine is for gaming, high settings, bf3 and future top game releases etc, now do i really need an overclocked processor for these games? a non clocked processor will run with more stability, lower power consumption and create less heat, and hopefully this increases the chips lifespan. I'm a tad unsure about paying a wedge for an unstable potentially dodgy overclocked system. Any thoughts?

oh, and another thing... pcs recommend an 850w power supply, but for stability should i go for a 1050 silver modular instead? (if it fits in my case of choice).

thanks for your help in advance, chris.

 

[NMEBowen]

very nice rig atm most games wont use the 6 cores but it would be future proof as im sure more cores will be used in the next few years but i would be weary about the psu and the load it would be under might be a idea to upgrade it.

 

[kernowchris]

I am considering this as a second option - this option is with a i7-960 not overclocked using the 1366 socket as apposed to the 1155 socket. I hear the 1155 socket will be ivybridge compatable but for the 1366 it is the end of the line. blimey, too much information!! -

Case CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 650D GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-960 (3.20GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® P6X58D PREMIUM: DDR3, USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM) 12GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card 3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 250GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 315MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
(7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR
(£162)
Processor Cooling COOLIT ECO II C240 A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£99)
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
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
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
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
Price Ex VAT £2098.33
Price £2518.00
Quantity 1
Total Order Price EX VAT £2098.33
Total VAT Amount £419.67
Total Order

anyway, with the upgrade to the power supply from 850w to 1050 silver modular (does this fit in an obsidian 650d?), both rigs are much the same cost, thing is, which one for reliabilty over time, high gaming performance, and generally do i really need an overclocked cpu for the latest games or will the i7-960 stock cpu running at 3.2 ghz be top notch at performing gaming tasks?

 

[Teaz]

if you want some breathing room then go for the 1050w psu but if not then the 850 is fine, the 850w is just full and it will restrict you from adding upgrades like hard drives and such.

go for a none overclocked pc. overclocking for gaming isnt worth it. the spec alone without the overclocking components is plenty of power to handle gaming even an i5 is plenty and more than enough to play games. go for the 1.5gb version of the 580s. its plenty unless you want to play on muitple screens then its fine.

go for the single rad coolit cpu cooler for the case, is what i recommend.

apart from that, specs are fine.


Edit: go for the first spec. the first spec will trample the second and will blow it out of the water.

 

[NMEBowen]

also looks good but the ram is ott if your not planning to oc so is the cooler. 1333 ram would be fine and the cheeper ALC would be fine also

 

[Teaz]

ive re-adjusted it, go for this as its a much wiser choice and still has the power to game:

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 650D GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, NVIDIA®SLI™, ATI®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
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 315MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR (£162)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

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

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

Total: 2285

cheaper and much wiser spent. popped in a 1050w psu just for the extra breathing room and its a Modular psu which i recommend just to clear out clutter and unused cables for better airflow around the case and less mess.

go for the titan as its enough for cooling. even though the tripple copper is more than enough, i left it as the titan.

 

[kernowchris]

thanks for the advice, i'm in the middle of re-spec-ing the pc, unfortunately the motherboards on offer on the page only allow for the ASUS® P6X58D mobos or the rampage 3 extreme, i'm going middle of the road and going for the ASUS® P6X58D premium.

 

[kernowchris]

i was wondering if the coolit eco cooler c240, although a bit more expensive, would be quieter and perhaps take up less room in the case allowing for better airflow?

 

[NMEBowen]

takes up more space and is louder

 

[kernowchris]

thankyou for your help, like so many people buying an expensive pc, it really is a case of dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's.

Would a single gtx580 (3gb) be better than two gtx580 (1.5gb)?

i'm thinking the 3gb ones only because maybe in the distant future, if i was lucky enough to get a high res 2440 or something monitor i could upgrage by adding a secong gtx 590 (3gb).

but for the present time, a single 3gb better or 2 x 1.5gb.

 

[NMEBowen]

no doesnt really work like that the memory is just for larger screens 2 1.5gb 580 would knock the single one out of the park and would still beat a 590 also due to clock speeds if your thinking of running 3 monitors for nvidia surround you need the 2 cards as 1 will only support 2 monitors i personally have a 3gb 580 but because i tend to take my pc to my mates and he had a 50 inch tv but il be adding a 2nd at xmas because i want 3d surround so its just choice of what monitors your using and how many.

 

[Teaz]

go for a single 3GB if you think you will be moving to a large screen or multiple. 1.5gb+1.5gb does not make 3GB on a gpu it will stay as 1.5gb. only the performance of the card.