Gaming PC

[TheKeir]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a high-end gaming PC, for games in the best graphics at the best framerate.

For anyone who plays World of Warcraft, they will know what I mean by being able to run 25-player raids with high graphics, at 30 fps. That's what I would like to achieve with this PC but obviously most of you don't play the game so have no idea what this means (just trying to put the PC spec into context) Also I'd be playing other games such as Rift and SWTOR.

Anyhow, here's the spec:


Processor (CPU)

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


Motherboard

ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX


Memory (RAM)

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


Graphics Card

1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11


Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)


Power Supply

450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan


Processor Cooling

INTEL SOCKET LGA1155/1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER


Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence


Improvements I'm considering: upgrading the RAM, or a better processor (though these cost hefty amounts of money)

I don't want to spend a ginormous amount on the computer, but this is currently £937 which is fine, I am happy to spend a bit more (couple hundred pounds at the most, preferably keep the price around current though)

Thanks very much,

Keir

 

[tom_gr7]

would you consider a AMD setup? would be very good with your budget

 

[TheKeir]

I would, unless the processor was much weaker. A stupid question probably, but is an X2 processor dual-core, X4 quad-core and X6 6-core?

A QUESTION:

My current laptop is AMD-based and it's, well, quite bad. It's got just 2.4gb RAM and a dual-core (that is, if X2 is dual-core) 2.2ghz processor. It's rubbish for gaming, and which of these 2 things would be making me run a slow framerate when gaming? I really want much better framerate than what I have currently. WoW supposedly takes up 1.4gb RAM when running, so I kind of assumed it was the processor that was making it slow.

I've just configured an AMD-based PC (same specs as the first one but with AMD processor/graphics card and it is £115 cheaper - but when comparing the "same" processors (that is, processors with the same no. of cores and similar Ghz) is the Intel one actually better?

 

[tom_gr7]

I'm not sure if world of warcraft is cpu or gpu heavy, im guessing its heavier on the gpu more than cpu.

you are correct at the x2 being dual etc etc.

AMD offer good bang for buck with their products, very good price and good performance. I personally wouldn't compare a laptop to a desktop in gaming performance. Your current laptop may have security/software/virus/nasty/too many program issues that are causing it to run slow.

With your budget id go for an AMD setup, I'll post one up.

 

[TheKeir]

Thanks man hoping to buy it with money I get at xmas combined with my current money.

I'd give you rep... but I don't know how to

 

[tom_gr7]

What do you think of this? Much more evenly based spec, comes in at 967 configure here

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE - this is a very very good case. with very good cooling, important for the life of your components.

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 970 (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION - top amd cpu. great value.

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

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

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6970 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable - the best amd gpu out, apart from 6990

Memory - 1st 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

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

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)

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

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

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

Edit - rep is the little star bottom left below my name.

 

[TheKeir]

Thanks very much for that!

I see you've chosen a 2GB Graphics card, is this necessary? It costs £250 more than the 1GB graphics cards, is it really worth that extra money? If the graphics card was an AMD HD6570 the price would be lowered to £662, which is a lot cheaper. Whilst I will pay more for a better Graphics Card, is it really worth that extra £250 for a 2GB as opposed to 1GB? What I mean to say is, I'm assuming that you play games, and would you notice a large difference in the framerate or graphics capabilities of your games between a 1GB and 2GB Graphics Card? I see you have a 3GB which is pretty neat

Thanks once again

Keir

 

[tom_gr7]

Well that card is the top amd gpu. you could drop to the 6950 and that will still give you very good performance. Or maybe go a little lower than that, the 6870 is a very good card too.

But to be honest i'd go for the best you can afford. As when newer tech comes out, as it will, and newer games better graphics, your gpu will be able to handle that.

 

[TheKeir]

Very good point, I don't want to fall behind on technology any time soon!

Thanks very much for all the information you've given me, I really appreciate it.

 

[Josh011]

For the same purpose, budget gaming PC with the ability to play titles such as Battlefield 3 and Shogun 2 will this do?

Case:
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU):
AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard:
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM):
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card:
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk:
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive:
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader:
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply:
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling:
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
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
Operating System:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software:
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Warranty:
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

£613.33 ex VAT.
£736 inc VAT and Delivery.

 

[Petchi b]

For the same purpose, budget gaming PC with the ability to play titles such as Battlefield 3 and Shogun 2 will this do?

Case:
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU):
AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard:
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM):
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card:
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk:
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive:
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader:
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply:
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling:
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
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
Operating System:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software:
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Warranty:
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

£613.33 ex VAT.
£736 inc VAT and Delivery.

Posting your own spec on someone elses thread...hmmm lol!

Yes that spec should have no probs running them games. I would upgrade the case if you can though.

 

[Petchi b]

Thanks very much for that!

I see you've chosen a 2GB Graphics card, is this necessary? It costs £250 more than the 1GB graphics cards, is it really worth that extra money? If the graphics card was an AMD HD6570 the price would be lowered to £662, which is a lot cheaper. Whilst I will pay more for a better Graphics Card, is it really worth that extra £250 for a 2GB as opposed to 1GB? What I mean to say is, I'm assuming that you play games, and would you notice a large difference in the framerate or graphics capabilities of your games between a 1GB and 2GB Graphics Card? I see you have a 3GB which is pretty neat

Thanks once again

Keir

Just a quick note. Because a card has 2GB of VRAM , it doesn't mean it will out perform a card with 1GB - this only really becomes important when running a multi-monitor setup. What matters is GPU cores (or CUDA cores for NVIDIA cards), more cores = better game performance = higher FPS.

Tom's spec is spot on but here is a cheaper option if you want to save some cash, this will still offer excellent performance.


Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
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
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: £758.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[thexcal]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a high-end gaming PC, for games in the best graphics at the best framerate.

For anyone who plays World of Warcraft, they will know what I mean by being able to run 25-player raids with high graphics, at 30 fps. That's what I would like to achieve with this PC but obviously most of you don't play the game so have no idea what this means (just trying to put the PC spec into context) Also I'd be playing other games such as Rift and SWTOR.

Anyhow, here's the spec:


Processor (CPU)

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


Motherboard

ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX


Memory (RAM)

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


Graphics Card

1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11


Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)


Power Supply

450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan


Processor Cooling

INTEL SOCKET LGA1155/1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER


Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence


Improvements I'm considering: upgrading the RAM, or a better processor (though these cost hefty amounts of money)

I don't want to spend a ginormous amount on the computer, but this is currently £937 which is fine, I am happy to spend a bit more (couple hundred pounds at the most, preferably keep the price around current though)

Thanks very much,

Keir

maybe get a better power supply and better CPU cooling? hope this helped?

 

[Josh011]

Was just trying to help XD

While also developing my own knowledge

 

[TheKeir]

Thanks for all the help!

Just a final question: Do I have to choose any additional options in order to get a HDMI port?

This is the spec I'm looking at buying now:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
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
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Thanks very much ;-)