High End Gaming PC.

[Chrisflev]

Hi Guys,

I am after a top of the range Gaming PC but do not know a lot about specs. How does the following sound?

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE

Memory (RAM)
32GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4 x 8GB KIT)

Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 690 DUAL GPU - 3 x DVI-I, 1 x mDP

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

SSD CACHE DRIVE
20GB INTEL® SSD 313 SERIES - SLC CACHE DRIVE FOR SYSTEM / 1st HDD

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE

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
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)

Sound Card
ASUS Xonar DS - Bring Hi-Fi spirit to your Music, Movie & Games (£39)

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

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 for Business (£15)

Mouse
CM Storm Xornet Gaming Mouse (£19)

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

Total Order Price
£2,168.00

Maximum Required Power
584W

If you think there are things I haven't got that you think I need, or things I have that I don't, please let me know. I'm trying to get every bit of info I can. I've had bits of advice but I want all I can get before I commit to spending such a hefty amount.

The main things I want from my gaming PC; Power, Quiet (as possible), Longevity (I know PCs are in need of constant upgrades, I'm trying to make it last 3-4 years playing games at their highest settings.)

Thanks in advance.

 

[charliewarly]

if it's purely for gaming, you don't need an I7, you could use an I5 and that would knock a few bucks off your total, also again if its only for gaming around 8gb of RAM would be sufficient. Also if you wanted to save money, you could bump the graphics card down to a 680 which from the reviews i've read will max out almost every game. The 670 is also very good and will max out almost every game and is even cheaper, you could probably run dual 670's saving you alot with great performance, but I'm no expert :>

 

[charliewarly]

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-V LK: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 690 DUAL GPU - 3 x DVI-I, 1 x mDP
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
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 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 (£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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,727.00 including VAT and delivery.


In this I've kept the graphics card you want and an I7, let the experts on here check it out, this saves you a considerable amount

 

[sted]

Here are my suggestions.

Lower the i7 to 5, assuming this is exclusively for gaming. That ram is way overkill for just about everything, 8 is sufficient for gaming, 16 for rendering, editing and the like or photoshop too. Caviar black drive of your choosing, 1tb minimum I recommend. Since you are spending that much, add an SSD as your first drive, the caviar black for the secondary one. Not essential but nice to have.

Do you need the sound card? If not onboard is considered quite good in modern times and the only reasons you'd want or need anything better are if you're an audiophile, see noticeable difference or are recording and what not, though other things may influence the need of it too.

I'd put the money you save toward better a better keyboard and mouse, personally.

Charlie has good suggestions too, if you go for SLI 670s you're saing a chunk of money, keeping performance near to the 690 relatively and they are well endorsed going by people who are well experienced with them here.

Lastly, the PSU - maybe upgrade it for more choice and easier upgrades in future, SLI and additional monitors or HDDs for example.

 

[sted]

Oh and one thing I forgot, are you over clocking? If not, drop the water cooling to the heat pipe, it's perfectly viable for none over clocking machines and change the CPU to the none K version if this is the case.

With a relatively quick look at your spec there's not much else I can notice that I can give advice on.

 

[Chrisflev]

Lastly, the PSU - maybe upgrade it for more choice and easier upgrades in future, SLI and additional monitors or HDDs for example.

Which one would you suggest?

Also, do you really think I will get away with these downgrades with the way games are improving so rapidly, being able to play them on the highest settings I mean, with games like Watch Dogs on the horizon etc? Don't get me wrong, if I can still have an excellent gaming PC at a lower cost then great

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.

 

[sted]

750 I find to be ideal, personally, but I'm going for an 850 with the rig Im planning to buy, just to make sure I have a good amount of extra power reserved for any possible major upgrades later down the line.

I couldn't say for sure on the matter of highest settings vs future games, especially since its been rumoured that watch dogs may possibly be a next gen game, though I've not found any solid confirmation on that. Keeping all that in mind though, even if you were to get the best on offer now, there's never anything to guarantee it being as powerful or reliable in the future due to what you say about rapid game improvements and other things tech wise, but 670s are expected to last a good while, atleast. I know expectations don't happen to be as ideal as actual proof, but in this case is virtually the only thing we can go by to some point, I believe.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chrisflev]

It does, thanks. How does this one sound?

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE Would an ASUS SABERTOOTH be better? The reason I ask this is because I only chose the THUNDERBOLT for it's wireless ability and because I needed more PCIE slots. Thanks to you they are no longer needed and I will no doubt be better off with a direct network connection (I will then need quite a long cable though)?
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W PRO SERIES™ HX750-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£119)
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 (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard & Mouse
Not sure which one to get?
Mouse
Again, not sure?
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,491.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/FofXZONNJ7/

If there are things you have suggested I look to have ignored, please point them out again.

Also, potentially the most stupid question ever asked...If I don't choose an optical drive is there no where to put a game disk? (I feel ashamed)

 

[charliewarly]

hello again, you can get some really nice gaming keyboards and mouses off of amazon, they got a bit more range, also if you get two homeplugs you wont need a massive cable, just plug one in near your computer and one near your modem.

 

[Chrisflev]

Thanks.

 

[sted]

I can't advise on the mobo too well, so I'll leave that to the more experienced members if they wish to add to it, but as Charlie said you'll benefit from home plugs, with no need for an overly long Ethernet cable. The general consensus of the forums is that they are far more reliable than wireless and tend to be able to achieve their higher speeds offered, should your Internet reach the speeds they can go to.

 

[Sidmouth]

I agree with all the points that 'Sted' has made regarding your build, also not forgetting the other contributions as well.

However I tend to go with this piece of advice when it comes to technology especially PC components and that is. Look for the best in the current line-up of available components for example graphics cards (that currently being the gtx 690) and then simply buy the one thats below that (gtx 680).

Because at the end of the day you dont need the latest card or processor or sound card etc, as you end up wasting money in the short term. Thats my opinon anyway

For my build I purchased the GTX 670 and its perfectly fine, and its saved me £400-£500.

However if you have the money then by all means go for the 690 as im sure it does a really god job. The same goes for the other components too.

 

[Chrisflev]

However if you have the money then by all means go for the 690 as im sure it does a really god job. The same goes for the other components too.

That's thrown a spanner in the works haha. :S

 

[Chrisflev]

Also, potentially the most stupid question ever asked...If I don't choose an optical drive is there no where to put a game disk? (I feel ashamed)

Unfortunately, I need the answer to this..

Also, when I do eventually bite the bullet and buy the computer, will I be ok hooking it upto my 32" Samsung LE32B530P7W TV?

 

[Rakk]

Also, potentially the most stupid question ever asked...If I don't choose an optical drive is there no where to put a game disk? (I feel ashamed)

No, there will not be anywhere to put in a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray if you do not select a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drive - well not anywhere that would do any good anyways

 

[steaky360]

No if you don't choose an optical drive you will not be able to insert a disc into it unless you purchase an external drive elsewhere.

You will be able to hook it up to your TV if your TV has the right ports on it to match your graphics card, DVi/HDMI/etc.

 

[sted]

You can get external drives that can read disks via USB connection to the PC. I don't really recommend it though, I've not had the best of experiences with them in the past, should you consider it however, make sure you do your homework prior to making the decision.

Steaky beat me to it.

 

[Chrisflev]

Doh!! Ok, next question. Which drive would you recommend?

 

[vanthus]

Doh!! Ok, next question. Which drive would you recommend?

Just the basic one on the configurator,unless you want to play blu-ray discs.
Can't see any sense in getting an external DVD drive.

 

[Chrisflev]

Just the basic one,unless you want to play blu-ray discs.

No I've got my PS3 for that. Basic it is. Cheers.
I'm surprised they'd let you buy a PC without anywhere for a disk, without mentioning, like with the graphics card, "None, I have one already"