Tell me what I *should* have ordered...

Fectious

Fectious

Member
I know I'm going to regret this but, I'm finding it difficult to contain my excitement: my order has been in pre-production for quite some time (my fault - I added a second hard drive) so getting some of your thoughts on what I should have ordered differently, might be sufficiently sobering and pass the time before delivery.

Here goes:

Case
STYLISH BLACK ALUMINIUM TRIGON CASE + 2 FRONT/SIDE USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-875K Quad Core (2.93GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55D-E: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X T1 DUAL-DDR3 2000MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11 + EyeFinity
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB OCZ VERTEX 2 SATA II 2.5" SSD (upto 285MB/sR | 275MB/sW)
Memory - 2nd Hard Disk
600GB WD VELOCIRAPTOR® SATA 6-Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (10,000rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
Bigfoot Killer 2100 PCI-E Gigabit LAN Card - Max Performance Online Gaming (£69)
Network Facilities
200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Your Electric Sockets! (£26)
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D FULL HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Internet 350 USB Keyboard (£9)
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
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
Click to expand...

A better keyboard and mouse will be purchases for Xmas, with a Razer Lycosa and Naga. You never know, I might be lucky and get a G13 Gameboard from the wife, too! :p

The purpose of the rig is really MMO gaming; especially the release of SWTOR in March. The wife wants to do the music and picture thing, so I eventually decided that a 'raptor would be a hybrid compromise of speed and memory.

Anyway, be brutal: did I do wrong? Should I look to change anything else whilst still in pre-production?

Thanks.
 
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Phoenix

Phoenix

Prolific Poster
Are you planning on overclocking the CPU yourself? if not then you could save quite a lot of money(without sacrificing performance) by choosing the i7-870, 1333mhz RAM and the standard CPU cooler. The Bigfoot Network card doesn't really do anything, you can read more about it here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forum...ller-2100-gaming-network-card-read-here-first.

The 2GB version of the HD5870 isn't any better than the 1GB version unless you'll be using eyefinity. You can still change components if you want to from your user control panel.
 
Fectious

Fectious

Member
Phoenix said:
Are you planning on overclocking the CPU yourself? if not then you could save quite a lot of money(without sacrificing performance) by choosing the i7-870, 1333mhz RAM and the standard CPU cooler. The Bigfoot Network card doesn't really do anything, you can read more about it here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forum...ller-2100-gaming-network-card-read-here-first.

The 2GB version of the HD5870 isn't any better than the 1GB version unless you'll be using eyefinity. You can still change components if you want to from your user control panel.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback and the points your raise.

My thinking was that, in the run of things, a few quid here-and-there won't make a huge difference so why not make those small upgrades to the spec to give the best all-round performance and increased options for the future?

I'm unlikely to do my own OC but I might have the rig OC'd in the future; to stretch it's longevity. I may go for multi-screens some day too.

Similarly, the wife will use the machine for more than gaming and I might do some sig work, so having a better processor might help with that.

I have done some research on the Bigfoot Killer myself: I agree that reviews are mixed but my thinking is that BT is rolling-out fibre optic cabling to my exchange in December and anything I can do to exploit the improved broadband speeds may be worthwhile. I guess I'll never know unless I can compare the performance. Certainly, if the collective concensus is that this is a waste of money, I question why PCS still offers the product.

Thanks again for your help: I'm not trying to discount your advice and you're probably right. However, you've not yet convinced me to change my order. ;)
 
Wash

Wash

Bronze Level Poster
+rep for pure Sith awesomeness.

Although, you will learn to fear the righteous sting of my 'sabre. In time the Sith order will be extinquished from the galaxy, mark my words dark one.

Oh, and your spec looks fine btw :)
 
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Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Fectious said:
Thanks for the feedback and the points your raise.

My thinking was that, in the run of things, a few quid here-and-there won't make a huge difference so why not make those small upgrades to the spec to give the best all-round performance and increased options for the future?

I'm unlikely to do my own OC but I might have the rig OC'd in the future; to stretch it's longevity. I may go for multi-screens some day too.

Similarly, the wife will use the machine for more than gaming and I might do some sig work, so having a better processor might help with that.

I have done some research on the Bigfoot Killer myself: I agree that reviews are mixed but my thinking is that BT is rolling-out fibre optic cabling to my exchange in December and anything I can do to exploit the improved broadband speeds may be worthwhile. I guess I'll never know unless I can compare the performance. Certainly, if the collective concensus is that this is a waste of money, I question why PCS still offers the product.

Thanks again for your help: I'm not trying to discount your advice and you're probably right. However, you've not yet convinced me to change my order. ;)
Click to expand...

Even if youre going to have the rig OC'd later on, id still strongly suggest on the i7 870, the i7 875K really is only for those doing insane overclocks because it has an unlocked multiplier.
 
Fectious

Fectious

Member
Sleinous said:
Even if youre going to have the rig OC'd later on, id still strongly suggest on the i7 870, the i7 875K really is only for those doing insane overclocks because it has an unlocked multiplier.
Click to expand...

Insane overclocks are certainly not my bag.

OK, with two of the most respected critics on the forum now telling me to swap the processor, I'm on board. Similarly, if the graphics card is wasted money, I'm not going to be so bloody-minded as to keep it (I've also just bought a Jahnke desk with a flip-up lid, which makes me far less likely to go tri-screen any time soon).

Rather than muck about with refunds, is there any place I should invest the difference in price (may be add a few more bucks, if needed), to up-grade components? The motherboard?

Errmmm.... :confused:

*EDIT* - Decided to make the changes to the processor and the graphics card. I'll still hear any opinions as to upgrading the motherboard or other changes. But if not, the credit note can go towards the cost of the peripherals that I mentioned in the first post. :p

Thanks again for the advice.
 
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Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Fectious said:
Insane overclocks are certainly not my bag.

OK, with two of the most respected critics on the forum now telling me to swap the processor, I'm on board. Similarly, if the graphics card is wasted money, I'm not going to be so bloody-minded as to keep it (I've also just bought a Jahnke desk with a flip-up lid, which makes me far less likely to go tri-screen any time soon).

Rather than muck about with refunds, is there any place I should invest the difference in price (may be add a few more bucks, if needed), to up-grade components? The motherboard?

Errmmm.... :confused:

*EDIT* - Decided to make the changes to the processor and the graphics card. I'll still hear any opinions as to upgrading the motherboard or other changes. But if not, the credit note can go towards the cost of the peripherals that I mentioned in the first post. :p

Thanks again for the advice.
Click to expand...

I think this GPU is adequate, are you planning to run 2x monitors then? 2GB vRAM is only really useful for 2 monitors both running at a very high resolution. Will you be doing any photoshop work or other design work requiring CUDA cores only fo und in Nvidia GPUs? If so the GTX 480 or 580 may be better suited :)
 
Fectious

Fectious

Member
Nah, the likelihood of multi-monitors is low now, with the desk I've purchased: as mentioned above, I don't really have the need.
Yeah, I've been known to work with photoshop but it will be way down the list of priorities. I have friends who are far more skilled so I usually just need enough wearwithall to communicate a concept, rather than a polished article.

My order has gone from Pre-production to Quality Control, all in one day! 0.0
Wowsers! Just as well I made the changes when I posted my edit. :)
 
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