Going to buy TODAY - please help!

[MaltonSeadog]

Today is my birthday, and I'm going to buy a new PC.

My requirements:

* A PC that will last at least for the 4 years that finance will last for. I really don't want to spend anything on it until the finance is up.
* A PC which will play all modern games if I so desire, at highest settings. Not a HUGE gamer, but for a commitment like this, I might as well make it an option.
* A PC which will cope well with high-end music/video editing software.
* A PC which looks the part. I love the case I've chosen. It's the cheapest one that looks awesome, I reckon.

So - before I click buy, let me know if you'd change anything. The ONLY thing I'm worried about really is the GPU. Have I gone overkill? Would a 6870 do the same job and keep me playing games for a few years?

If I can save some pennies without affecting performance too much, I will.

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX***SPECIAL***
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
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 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
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: £982.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[keynes]

Happy birthday!
If you are not planning to upgrade for at least 4 years I'd go for a more powerful GPU if you can spend more money.

 

[DeadEyeDuk]

Many happy returns Malton!

The Graphics Card is one of the easiest things to upgrade down the line, and the 570 will last a good while yet before it becomes outdated (no bias whatsoever there). I am sure you will be perfectly fine changing out the GPU in a few years even before the finance is over, but in all honesty unless you are trying to stress the system to its limits, getting a 600 series GPU might just be an extra burden on the cost that isn't needed

 

[MaltonSeadog]

Thanks both!

People seem to recommend the Corsair 650W PSU and Triple Copper cooling as standard. Am I right to assume that they are practically essential buys?

Definitely no money-saving tips, or additions I could make for less than £50 to make it even better?

 

[Muadebe]

Hi,

Happy Birthday

Here's an option :



Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3450 (3.1GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-M: MICRO-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX

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

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

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
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)

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

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

Network Facilities
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

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

GPU is better than 570 and I have managed to shave a fair bit of the price : £883.00

 

[Muadebe]

Hi,

Here is an AMD alternative :



Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4170 (4.20GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3, SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0

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

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

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 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)

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

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

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

£897.00

 

[bg92]

Personally I would get a different case, like haf 912 or cm storm enforcer as both of these cases provide better features and better cable management, which allows for better airflow.

 

[MaltonSeadog]

Aaargh, someone has thrown the AMD monster in there. I'd kinda brushed them aside, because I've heard SO many 'Get Intel, they're better' stories.

BUT - with an AMD Six or even eight core, I could improve GPU, RAM and the case for the same price as sticking with i5 with current spec.

Help me out guys. Is the AMD Bulldozer range suitable for my needs? I won't be overclocking, I won't be running 50 programs at once. I just need a fast, powerful music/video and gaming PC which will keep me going comfortably.

If AMD can do the job - let me know!

Also - is it as easily upgradable as Intel?

So many questions!

 

[Muadebe]

Hi,

If you are editing video/music then I would do some googling and check first. My gut is saying intel is prob better for all round purpose.

 

[jonnytruckfest]

First of all Happy birthday!!

If you're looking to save money i'd say go with AMD it performs well for the price you pay, I like you're about to do is get the computer on finance although I'll be paying mine off before december as I want to make my credit rating look good like that lol! I'd of said that my system has faired up well to what I've thrown at it, I'm able to play games at max settings (Apart from screen resolution but that's down to the screen I am using ) and I get around 50fps and having just downloaded backlight retribution I've been able to play maximum settings online playing 62 fps (Having just had a game and found out using fraps ! Lol) But I'd of said if you're looking at the nvidia cards to look into the 600 series IMO Also if you're looking to have 2 gpus the 650 only has enough cables to power 1 so it's something to bear in mind also IMO

Be sure to get some pics when it arrives!

 

[lady0sheep]

Happy Birthday

You could probably save money downgrading the mobo to the V or V-LX instead of V-PRO to save money, that's my only contribution I'm afraid because these guys are much more knowledgable than me

 

[MaltonSeadog]

Ok - about to press the button. Upgraded to i7 and HD7870. Been a bit naughty. Really can't go any more expensive than this.

Any weak points - or do I have a very good all round system here?

EDIT: add the Corsair Black to this instead of the stock HDD.

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-M: MICRO-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£46)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
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: £1,055.00 including VAT and delivery.