Hello All - Some Purchasing Advice?

[MrRaich]

Hello!

So I'm looking to spend around £1250 on a gaming PC. I've got a couple questions concerning my hardware choices. I don't know a heck of a lot about PC's but I know enough to have a basic knowledge about what each piece of hardware does. So, I've made a number of Desktop PC's on your website and I've got a gaming Rig a like the sound of.. here it is:


Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB

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

Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH P67 (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR!

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
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

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 750W TX SERIES (TX750) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£86)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II C240 A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£99)

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® Audigy™ SE (£19)

Network Facilities
Bigfoot Killer 2100 PCI-E Gigabit LAN Card - Max Performance Online Gaming (£67)

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 day

So.. My main questions are: Will this gaming rig play any game on the market at the moment max settings? Will it be able to play all games within the next year max settings too (can't fully answer that :L) ? And is there anything I should change in my setup? All responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[tom_gr7]

Hello!

So I'm looking to spend around £1250 on a gaming PC. I've got a couple questions concerning my hardware choices. I don't know a heck of a lot about PC's but I know enough to have a basic knowledge about what each piece of hardware does. So, I've made a number of Desktop PC's on your website and I've got a gaming Rig a like the sound of.. here it is:


Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB

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

Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH P67 (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR!

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
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

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 750W TX SERIES (TX750) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£86)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II C240 A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£99)

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® Audigy™ SE (£19)

Network Facilities
Bigfoot Killer 2100 PCI-E Gigabit LAN Card - Max Performance Online Gaming (£67)

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 day

So.. My main questions are: Will this gaming rig play any game on the market at the moment max settings? Will it be able to play all games within the next year max settings too (can't fully answer that :L) ? And is there anything I should change in my setup? All responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hey, you wont need the 2600k version unless you are overclocking, so i would drop that to save some pennies. Also the hyper genesis ram is not needed, but its only a few quid more so i wouldn't drop that myself. I'm not very clued up on water cooling, but i think again unless you overclocking its not really needed. I'm sure someone else will provide better knowledge on cooling. I think that the GPU card, is definitely good enough for what you want. Perhaps think about if 500GB is big enough for what you need?

Also don't forget to add the year warranty for £5.

Hope this helps.

 

[RichH]

You could be better off with :

Case
SILVERSTONE RAVEN RV03 - GAMING ENTHUSIAST TOWER CASE or any other big case with good airflow
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics marginally slower than the 2600 but much cheaper, also the k series not needed if not overclocking
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 PRO (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s, CrossFireX™ & SLI
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB) 1600MHz not needed if not overclocking
Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SERIES SSD, SATA 3 Gb/s (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW) for fast boot up
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm) data storage
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 850W TX SERIES (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£99) gives scope for adding a 2nd 570
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19) liquid cooling not needed if not overclocking, this will be fine
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD) this is fine unless you have a very good ear for sound
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs Bigfoot not worth it
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 Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5) You'd be mad not to
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,255.00 including VAT and delivery.

OR you could swap out to a 580 and drop the ssd and lower the cpu, left out the blu-ray unless you really need it ?

 

[Wozza63]

ok so the case you have chosen will struggle to keep the computer ventilated, i know it doesnt seem very important but it is, i recommend the 3rd one on the list which is £59 its got a 22mm side fan to help keep it cool

seeing as you do not know much about computers, there is no point getting the 2600K processor, all the 'K' does is unlocks the processor for easier overclocking, and that should only be done by experts

there is little point gettin the Sabertooth P67 motherboard, all it has extra is 'thermal armor' which apparently makes little difference as long as you keep it well ventilated which will cost less to get a good fan/cooling system

there is no point in getting the 1600MHz RAM as its only really used when it is to be overclocked, the 1333MHz RAM will serve you fine, at a lower price

By now you will have saved quite a few £££ from changes that ive suggested, leaving you to get a much better graphics card, i recommend seeing if the HD6990 is within your budget, you wont regret getting that

with a high budget there is no point getting such slow hard drives... I recommend looking at the velicoraptor drives which are much faster but not as expensive as the SSDs you will benefit greatly for accessing data

I'm assuming you want the blu-ray RW option

Im assuming you want the memory card reader, can be removed to save money

i dont know what this build uses but may use more, may use less power than 750W all you have to do is click proceed then it will say if there is an error with it

the advanced liquid cooler will keep your system ice cold and as you are not even overclocking any components you can easily downgrade it to the £49 liquid cooler

Please be aware that the Bigfoot network card is NOT wireless, it is only a wired connection, so if you will be using it wirelessly choose the wireless PCI-E card

Get rid of the Anti virus trial there is no point just get AVG Free with MBAM

Get the silver warranty for an extra fiver, well worth it

side note, with the Radeon gfx cards you currently get a free game Total War Shogun 2


hopefully these adjustments may leave your PC at a better value for money

your lucky, im trying to fit good parts into a £1000 budget and its a real squeeze

 

[MrRaich]

Thanks for the quick feedback! So, after some more research I'd done earlier today I realise some tweaks I could make. I made them, obviously, and the price is a little cheaper. As for the Precessor buisness - Thankyou! If I don't overclock the i7 2600k is it still better than the i7 2600? As for the graphics card, I'm going with Superclocked edition of the 570 (buying on Amazon) . I've taken away the BigFoot Network Card and have a PCI-E card now - Thanks again! I want to keep the 750w PSU so I can upgrade in the future when necessary. I'm pretty sure I'm happy with the rest of the tech'.

BUT - The thing that's worrying me are the Hard Disk's. Just how important are they? If I buy a standard 500GB Hard Disk will it effect my computer performance? I've changed everything round so in the first Hard Disk menu I've got the 120GB 320 SERIES SSD. This should speed up my startup? And for the second hard Disk i've chosen the 500GB Western Digital SATA 6GB/S HDD. Shopuld be easily enough for me. Again - I can upgrade in the future if necessary.

Thanks so much for the speedy reply!

 

[MrRaich]

Thanks for the advice! I really want an i7. The i7 2600 seems great! I've taken your advice about the SSD and HDD's too! Thanks! My main question now is - What's a really good i7 processor for gaming PC's? Is the i7 2600 better than other i7 series?

Thanks for the speedy reply!

 

[MrRaich]

Thanks! this helped massively! I would of gone with the i7 2600k! I'm having second thoughts on it now.. Do you know of any other processors for gaming? Preferably i7's?

Thanks again.

 

[Teaz]

What do you mean by second thoughts? any processors can be used for gaming unless you mean other i7 types then the bloomfield chips you may look into but they aren't as good as the sandy chips unless you went for the six core chips which are real expensive.

 

[Wozza63]

tbh the i5 stepdown will do you fine, the only benefit from the i7 is hyperthreading which does nothing for gaming, and as for SSD, Windows 7 should load in about 15-20 seconds and programs installed on that drive should load near instantly

the i5 2500 is little different to the i7 2600k and i think it is actually preferred, you'll notice no difference in gaming because as long as you have a decent processor, amount of RAM etc, it all depends on your graphics card, but id look at the HD6990 its 4GB!!! and like the best on the market..

I was talking to one of the people on support and you can downgrade to PCI Wireless internet card, you will apparently notice no difference in speed it is just slightly bigger

 

[RichH]

When i was configuring mine, it seemed I was constantly going round in circles as well

As Wozza says, I would seriously consider the i5 2500, you won't notice the difference (apart from the cost £70 for 0.1GHz), both me and my son are using the i5 2500 and it handles anything we throw at it including Witcher 2, Crysis 2 etc without a stutter

Also, you say you are happy with the 750psu, but say you may upgrade in the future...what kind of upgrade ? If its gfx then consider the Corsair 850.

The 120Gb SSD sounds good and tbh added with the 500Gb HD will probably give you enough storage (go with the caviar black drive tho) as long as you aren't planning on dumping loads of videos/films on your HD

If you are ordering your gfx card from amazon, I believe PCS will also install that for you into your build if you send it to them and are happy for them to do so.

At the end of the day tho, Its your hard earned money, so go with what you want and not always what someone tells you you want

 

[RichH]

Just had a play around and if you sacrifice the SSD and stick with the 750W Psu you could upgrade to the 580 Gpu, I also included the wireless PCI-E card and Blu-Ray for you and upped your storage to 1Tb

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING 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 SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, 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 750W TX SERIES (TX750) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£86) this will give room for upgrades but NOT for gpu (unless its a single 590Gpu)
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-E CARD (£19)
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 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: £1,226.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[MrRaich]

Thankyou! the feedback is so help full!

I've made lot's of tweaks and adjustments, and basically: I'm definitely going to go with the i7 2600k because I'm going to get it overclocked at some point in the near future, I've gone with the PCI-E Card, I've gone with a 60GB VERTEX 2 SERIES SSD - for a quick load up - and a 500GB Hard Disk (the one you recommended). It comes to £1033. £1300 overall with the GTX570.

Thanks again for your help - anything I'm still doing stupidly?

 

[MrRaich]

And remember, I'm getting a SuperClocked GTX570, which isn't to far of the 580, and one heck of alot cheaper!

 

[MrRaich]

I'm sure I want the i7 2600k like you've got, want to overclock it at some point! How much was your gaming rig? It's pretty Beast!

 

[MrRaich]

Okay, I've gone with an SSD. A 60GB VERTEX 2 SERIES. Will that still help? Then a secondy 500GB CAVIAR BLACK. Thanks for the reply.

 

[RichH]

I'm sure I want the i7 2600k like you've got, want to overclock it at some point!

To be honest if this is your plan, then I would definitely recommend you get PCS to do this for you as you will lose any warranty on the cpu if you tweak it at a later date

For example based on what you've said you want/need :

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN R3 - BLACK PEARL CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core (3.40GHz @ max 4.80GHz)
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
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
60GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SERIES SSD, SATA 3 Gb/s (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB 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 TX SERIES (TX750) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£86)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£49)
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 GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£19)
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 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: £1,021.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Wozza63]

no point overclocking, the processor is the best thing there

make sure you remove the antivirus trial as well

and the one above me is how it should be done, you then wont void your warranty if it breaks

 

[MrRaich]

Wow.. That's literally perfect! But when I make that exact computer.. It's over £1100?! What General computer type are you building it on? I went on Top Spec 2nd Gen Computers. And there's one change I'd make - The Sabertooth Motherboard. it's had good reveiws and it's only another £15!

But thanks. I think this is the one I'l buy.

 

[RichH]

I used the "build your overclocked system" tool, 4th down on the left of the main site whose icon looks like a rev counter. Then select Intel>Socket 1155 Extreme O.C PCs

Left out the Blu-ray player which would add a bit (£48) if you really want/need that

Total goes up to £1,068 with Sabretooth and Blu-Ray..I didn't add any special fast track or sat delivery etc...don't know how desperate you are

p.s total is £982 if you drop to the o/c i5 : Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz @ max 4.60GHz) depending on how tight budget is with you sourcing your own gfx card, plus you probably wouldn't notice the 0.2GHz difference especially not if your are primarily using it for gaming

 

[petrow]

Get PCS to overclock and I would go for the 2500k (well I did lol). I had the same budget as you and had almost the same set up. I had the 2500k (overclocked by PCS) 1600MHz RAM and the P8P67 Pro mobo. I went for the 2500k after some advice and research. I was also stubborn about getting the 2600k but when I found getting the 2500k would see hardly any difference and I could then get the 580GTX instead well it was a simple decision. Also, I'd you chose to get it overclocked, I would go back to water-cooling as his may increase what level of overclocking can be done.

I had a similar budget to you but blew it adding a SSD last minute. If you can't afford that I would wait and buy one in a years time when prices are expected to drop. Get the Caviar Black as a minimum and if you can afford it get a Velociraptor drive. The boot speed will be a lot better as will the loading of programs and games. If you get two drives have the faster one as drive one and the other as drive two.

It is your money like others have said but you will beat yourself up if you don't get the better graphics card.