Gaming PC

[MagicDinosaur]

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 PRO (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s, CrossFireX™ & SLI
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 320 SERIES SSD, SATA 3 Gb/s (upto 270MB/sR | 130MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£48)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI 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
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
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: £1,235.00 including VAT and delivery.


So what do you guys think of this? Appreciate the input, this is basically the farest I can go in terms of budget. I already have the necessities monitor, keyboard ect.

Though I was wondering if it's worth investing in a better sound card since I was planning on purchasing a decent pair of speakers once I have my system set up.

And finally this would be the first time I would be buying from PCSpecialist, how is their service, quality, support ect?

Thanks in advance :turned:

 

[Wozza63]

having a look at the 500mb SSD by OCZ, i think it may be cheaper, you can get rid of the memory card reader if you do not need it

other than that i struggle to fault it

 

[LinearHD]

From what I've seen around the forums, their service is exceptional. I won't be able to fully comment on my experiences until I have my order in front of me, but so far so good.

That's a good gaming spec, but if you trimmed down the SSD and the RAM to the more than enough Samsing, maybe you could squeeze in a GTX580 in there?

If you want to keep the SSD then that spec looks spot on, however for future SLI I would highly suggest getting the corsair 850W PSU.

 

[Rakk]

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Are you planning on overclocking, if not, the Samsung 1333Mhz RAM should be perfectly good enough, if you are thinking about OC'ing then consider the 'k' variant of the CPU instead.

Though I was wondering if it's worth investing in a better sound card since I was planning on purchasing a decent pair of speakers once I have my system set up.

Most people find the onboard sound perfectly fine, so unless you're doing a lot of music type work or have very sensitive ears that can hear very slight differences, the onboard sound should be good enough.

And finally this would be the first time I would be buying from PCSpecialist, how is their service, quality, support ect?

Well, I'm on my second PC from PCS, and I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever and see their customer service and support as excellent.

 

[Wozza63]

from what ive heard its all great service, although there was one where they had a dent in the case, but the mod told him to send it back to be replaced free of charge so if it is received damaged then you should not worry as a 2nd should be great

 

[MagicDinosaur]

If you want to keep the SSD then that spec looks spot on, however for future SLI I would highly suggest getting the corsair 850W PSU.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think that is a great idea to get a better power supply now and then add another 570 when I need to, the corsair 850 is only a little bit more .


And since the k version costs just a little more I might go with that and overclock later on but would that mean I'd have to invest in a better cooling system or will the heatpipe suffice?

 

[LinearHD]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think that is a great idea to get a better power supply now and then add another 570 when I need to, the corsair 850 is only a little bit more .


And since the k version costs just a little more I might go with that and overclock later on but would that mean I'd have to invest in a better cooling system or will the heatpipe suffice?

Definitely go for either the Titan Fenrir Extreme or one of the ECO Coolits, but remember if you're confident enough you can always buy an aftermarket cooler a few years down the line (their not hard to fit, but it depends with how much experience you have)

 

[jayjay]

need the water cooling for over clocking defo,

 

[MagicDinosaur]

Definitely go for either the Titan Fenrir Extreme or one of the ECO Coolits, but remember if you're confident enough you can always buy an aftermarket cooler a few years down the line (their not hard to fit, but it depends with how much experience you have)

Just some questions

I'm not very experienced in these matters at all, the Titan Fenrir is not compatible with the current motherboard in this build but it is with the P8Z68, I have no idea what the difference is with these motherboards could you enlighten me?

The water coolers are an option, just one question about these and this might sound stupid (I've never looked into these coolers), do I have to change out the water every now and then if so is it a simple task?

And finally I heard overclocking lowers the life expectancy of the processor, is this true? I'd like this system to last a while.

Thanks for the help btw

 

[LinearHD]

Okay, the Z68 board is a new chipset which basically utilizes the onboard graphics of your processor and uses Intel caching technology when using an SSD as a cache drive. Also, it puts your dedicated GPU in idle when it's not in use to save power. Not a whole lot of difference in the boards, but I think the P67 board has more PCI slots.

No, this isn't a full watercooling system, it's liquid cooling and it's closed loop, you don't have to do any thing to it

Yes, overclocking can decrease the life of the CPU, but every chip is different. Some OC chips will last 5 years. Others will last 5 weeks. It's all luck really.

And no problem

 

[MagicDinosaur]

Gotcha in that case I think I'll just pass on overclocking and play it safe, just going to go with upgrading the power supply for future SLI.

So the triple copper heatpipe should be good enough right?.

my last concern is the case, does the CM690 MKII have any advantage over the enforcer? Would you guys recommend any other cases? I'd like one that is optimal for keeping my system cool.

 

[essjayar]

Lol very similiar to my order both price and spec, except I went for the K chip for overclocking, I don't feel the need for SSDs (way too expensive for what you get), and I've gone for the newer Z boards (futureproofing, energy saving, and apparently there's lots of little boosts you get ln other ways. SSDs will fall in price, so that cache will be useful down the road). I also picked a water cooler -- because I never had one lol, and I choose a GTX 560 TI 2GB which I feel is a good mid-hi range card. The case was actually the one thing I mulled over most, and went for the interesting one. The Fractal Design R3, which can be tailored for noise dampening or cooling via (I guess) removable padding / opening vents. Plenty of space too. Hope that Gfx Card + O/C'd CPU doesn't get too hot in there lol.

 

[Teaz]

Gotcha in that case I think I'll just pass on overclocking and play it safe, just going to go with upgrading the power supply for future SLI.

So the triple copper heatpipe should be good enough right?.

my last concern is the case, does the CM690 MKII have any advantage over the enforcer? Would you guys recommend any other cases? I'd like one that is optimal for keeping my system cool.

The tripple copper would be fine

The boards are all the same except the Maximus which has further enhanced overclocking features along with the z68 which has extra features like the ssd caching and power saving features with the gpu. they all provide good use except some has further overclocking power like the Deluxe board or more slots or the sabertooth has less overclocking features but ultimate cooling. They all provide the same level of work, just extra features but mainly in the overclocking area along with more pci slots

If you do ever sli the 570 or higher gpu then i wouldnt really recommend the 850w psu. Its enough to handle it but that is just at its peak so i would highly recommend the 1000w psu to allow to breathing room which will be alot better.

Its main advantage is just being more flexible especially with the freedom to install alot of fans. They are both good all round cases so you cant go wrong with either. the enforcer is just a new case which came out recent. But in my view, you should go for the enforcer since its alot more flexible and has better cooling in its standard state then the cm690