New Desktop ordered and want a quick appraisal

A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
Hello Learned Pc Specialist Forum dwellers,

I have just ordered the following spec after some careful consideration and would like some backup or re-assurance that I have got it fairly right.
Basically it will be for playing games with some other minor software usage. I consider the 770 to be pretty much the sweetspot for gpu's right now as far as gaming goes, could be wrong - let me know if I am..
The SSD is for fast booting with the HDD for holding the games.

Any comments are welcome positive or negative, and if you think I can get better for the cash - do say as I can amend the order still.



Case
CORSAIR 230T COMPACT GAMING CASE - RED LED + SIDE WINDOW
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z97M-PLUS: m-ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6.0, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Browser
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K120 USB KEYBOARD
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE BOARDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL with GTX 770/780/780/TITAN GPUs!
Quantity
1


total order price £1033..

quick question can I get away with running 2 monitors? one for films/tv and one for games?
Monitor for gaming is still to be bought but looking at Asus MX239H 23". seems to be the best in slot right now.

thanks for reading.
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
That rig will handle 2 displays (at the same time if required) just fine.

Do you plan to overclock the CPU, fi not drop to the non 'k' variant, its just the same without the ability to be OC'd. The faster RAM is pretty pointless unless going for a substantial OC on the processor, and if your Ocing the cooler will need upgrade. The 770 is pretty nice, the ssd for boot and HDD for games is a good idea. Might want to make the hdd a caviar black though, that will speed up load times for games, which is always good.
 
A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
Hello mantadog,

Thanks for replying I have taken you up on your advice; dropped the K on the processor and changed to the caviar black which more or less balanced itself out financially. I'm going to keep the marginally faster ram as the cost to keep it is literally pennies over downgrading it to the standard 1600 ram, and I may be doing the occasional YouTube video. Will I be able to hook up the monitor(s) via hdmi? As far as upgrading, will I be able to upgrade the gpu in a few years time? Cheers.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Going for the cheaper ram is not downgrading since it wouldn't affect performance unless you wish to go with it for aesthetic reasons. I would go for a full atx gigabyte motherboard which I think is actually cheaper from the one you chosen
 
A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
Hi keynes,

thanks for taking the time to reply, is there any real advantage to changing the motherboard? I will be upgrading the gpu in the next year or 2, and adding RAM if necessary. I'm also keen to learn how easy it will be to hook both my monitor screens up.
Apart from that - is there any other changes or tweaks that should be made?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Paying less and having more expansion slots, you get more for your money. I would only consider a micro atx motherboard if you wish to use a small case.
 
A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
can I assume the case chosen in my spec is roomy enough for the hardware and decent cooling/circulation? I suppose you would have commented if it were not.
Apart from the motherboard recommendation - is it safe to proceed with the build as far as getting the best components available?
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
Allan O'D said:
I'm also keen to learn how easy it will be to hook both my monitor screens up.
Click to expand...
It's pretty easy to set up dual monitors,right-click on the desktop and choose "Screen resolution",
Now you should see 1 and 2 to distinguish which monitor is which,you will now have the option to duplicate or extend these displays.
You can also drag the displays to the position you want and set the main display.
 
Last edited:
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Allan O'D said:
can I assume the case chosen in my spec is roomy enough for the hardware and decent cooling/circulation? I suppose you would have commented if it were not.
Apart from the motherboard recommendation - is it safe to proceed with the build as far as getting the best components available?
Click to expand...

Yes, that case can take full ATX boards, it comes with 2 120mm front fans and 1 120mm rear exhaust. You've got space on it for 2 120/140mm fans on the top and 1 140mm on the bottom should you require extra cooling.
 
A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
keynes said:
Going for the cheaper ram is not downgrading since it wouldn't affect performance unless you wish to go with it for aesthetic reasons. I would go for a full atx gigabyte motherboard which I think is actually cheaper from the one you chosen
Click to expand...

would this be theZ97X Gaming 3 LG1150?
 
A

Allan O'D

Bronze Level Poster
unfortunately my budget has been reached, I can afford minor changes but effectively I'm at limit, i have approx 150-200 to spend on a monitor, which looks like its going to take hours sifting through the various on offer.
 
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