need spec check and help! torn between 2 systems

[belksy]

I am currently torn between 2 systems i have configurated and am having some trouble deciding between them, its the old Intel vs AMD debate on this one.

the rig will mainly be used for gaming and films, both have windows 7 pro and all of the accessories are the same so its mainly the processor, graphics cards and a few other small differences. and iv narrowed it so the prices are roughly the same.

with the AMD spec I am not 100% sure with my graphics card selection I have chosen the Radeon 6990, however I was also tempted to try and configure for 2x Radeon 6970 cards in crossfire, any help with this inparticular will be very much appreciated.

any opinions, comments or suggestions are welcome

Config 1 - AMD

Case
InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 970 (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

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

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ HD6990 - 1 DVI,4 mDP - DX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB OCZ VERTEX 3 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)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£45)

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

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)

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

Network Facilities
WIRELESS N PCI CARD & WIRELESS N BROADBAND ROUTER (£57)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

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

NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (£8)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)

Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 SPEAKERS - 30W RMS with 360 Degree Sound (£44)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector + Auto Power Off Function (£19)

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Price: £2,024.00 including VAT and delivery.


Config 2 - Intel

Case
InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE

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

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, NVIDIA®SLI™, ATI®CrossFireX™

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 - 3D Vision Ready

2nd Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB OCZ VERTEX 3 SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 500MB/sW)

2nd 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

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£45)

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

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)

Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium (£59)

Network Facilities
WIRELESS N PCI CARD & WIRELESS N BROADBAND ROUTER (£57)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

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


NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (£8)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)

Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 SPEAKERS - 30W RMS with 360 Degree Sound (£44)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector + Auto Power Off Function (£19)

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

Price: £2,036.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Teaz]

Both specs are solid good but some things to bare in mind with some feedback:

1. I would go for a single core gpu like the 6970 or the gtx580 which is much better than a dual core 6990. better stability and less heat. Have you considered going for a single power house card instead of crossfire or sli. a single graphics card should be beefy enough to handle games thrown at it. You can always crossfire or sli at a later date when felt needed.

2. Both the amd and intel cpu are more than ample for gaming. if you just going to game and movies with general use then you could consider the amd build.

3. the windows 7 pro and home premium are the same. the pro just has a few extra features which wouldnt really or wont benefit you in gaming. unless you have use for those features then you could go for the pro. you can compare them here.

4. do you really need two optical drives? the blu ray rom drive can do anything the dvd drive could do.

This is something to consider and it has room for a second 580 if ever needed:

Case
InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 980 (3.70GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH 990FX - TUF SERIES MILITARY GRADE MOTHERBOARD

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Free Item
FREE Batman Arkham City with any Nvidia® GeForce GTX560 or above!

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB OCZ VERTEX 3 SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 500MB/sW)

2nd 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 (£45)

Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR (£162)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

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)

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)

Speakers
LOGITECH Z323 2.1 SPEAKERS - 30W RMS with 360 Degree Sound (£44)

Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector + Auto Power Off Function (£19)

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

Total: 1726

Configure it here

 

[NMEBowen]

although i agree with all of teaz posts i just wanted to say if you watch alot of films off your hard drive windows 7 ultimate does have media player classic which would be far better for watching said films.

 

[Teaz]

That can be downloaded off the net for free VLC is also another very good free alternative to media player classic.

MPC or VLC, combined with K-Lite Codec, its pretty much ready to watch anything.