New Spec - Motherboard & GPU Query

[micsim]

This is the spec that I have come up with after taking into account help from people here (thanks).

Two questions;-

1. I am rather short on understanding motherboards, so can anyone here tell me if I would gain anything by upgrading to the Pro version (or other version) of the motherboard? If so what would be the gain?

2. Is the GPU the best match for the rest of the spec?

I really can't spend much more, and if I need to spend more I need to understand the benefits.

I use the PC for gaming (Total War, Football Manager, Gal Civ to name a few) plus some photo editing & surfing.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Regards

Mike

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN R3 - BLACK PEARL ATX CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD5770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB Intel® X25-M 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 250MB/sR | 100MB/sW)***SPECIAL***
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
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 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £874.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Phoenix]

I would go for this instead:

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN R3 - BLACK PEARL ATX CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DirectX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB 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 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£78)
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 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £874.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/


While an SSD is nice it's really not essential, if you remove it you can get a much higher perfoming PC that will be fantastic for gaming. For your budget just stick with the Asus P8P67 it's a good solid board. The HD6950 is much better than the HD5770 and will be great for any game (including the ones you listed) as well as photo editing.

I've been using a caviar green drive for all of my games and aside from the longer startup time (compared to an SSD) there's no real downside to using it.

 

[PCS]

Two questions;-

1. I am rather short on understanding motherboards, so can anyone here tell me if I would gain anything by upgrading to the Pro version (or other version) of the motherboard? If so what would be the gain?

2. Is the GPU the best match for the rest of the spec?

1. The Pro board (top picture) has 3 PCI Express x16 ports, supporting 3 graphics cards. It also has S/P DIF and two e-SATA ports (1 powered).

2. I think the spec Phoenix has suggested is better balanced and the graphics card in that spec is best for gaming. Consider a WD Black drive as opposed to green for faster performance.