Cable Forum - Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Cable Forum (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/index.php)

- General IT Discussion (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=19)

- - Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33697348)

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

so looking at this you are looking at a full pc build then Damien?

what about this system through Scan?

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/configurator/c...livery-uk-g35i

---------- Post added at 19:53 ---------- Previous post was at 19:52 ----------

if you are thinking of building your own then you can get a bit silly sometimes.

Also I would buy from 1 place only really as it'll save you on delivery charges.

---------- Post added at 19:56 ---------- Previous post was at 19:53 ----------

it will really depend on the budget you want to throw at it

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Pretty much! That scan PC looks good. I am willing to put what I need behind it really, but without getting silly. I don't need the extreme edition i7 with SLI GTX 780s all in a liquid cooled case to over clock to 5k or anything.

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit (Post 35687935)

there is no such thing as a future proof computer and a high end computer twice the price is not going to be touched by games we have nowadays

Sure there is.

I built my machine five years ago for well less than a grand and it still plays the latest high-end games today. I've had no need to upgrade for five years and see limited need anytime soon (might add a second graphics card for crossfire but that's it).

Pretty future proofed at the time if you ask me.

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq (Post 35687959)

I didn't and I do not accept it

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

For the majority of today's games, and probably those of the forseable future, graphics is more important than the CPU or RAM. A modern i5, with 8 GB RAM will more than suffice. You do need an SSD for reasonable loading times, and ensure that is on a SATA III port on the motherboard. If running at standard HD 1080 resolutions the 770 will suffice but with 2GB RAM onboard it will be the thing that limits your future proofing. at the moment my GTX 670 is holding it's own, but in games like Battlefield 4, I can see times on the ultra settings that it doesn't quite cut the mustard. Thus if you can get a higher card, you'll probably be happier long term, if you can keep to a budget.

The K version intel chips do offer the overclocking versatility that is worthwhile if you will keep the base PC for a few years, even if you don't need that resource now. But it isn't essential as by the time you think things are too slow, then everything will probably be getting on a bit that you are trying to prolong the life of something that had become frustrating. Realistically I have an i7 2600K at stock speeds and that isn't being put under any pressure, and I know plenty of people with the i5 CPUs playing current games that don't have concerns.

To be fair a price in the £900 is a fair amount, especially if you consider the cost of the next gen consoles now out. There are diminishing returns spending much more than this, and many will baulk even at that amount. Within the NTHWgaming clan it's few who would be able or happy to have a PC of that spec.

The case you are using isn't that spacious. Be certain the cooler and your graphics card can fit properly. A micro ATC board may compound the tight fit issues, especially for mounting any non stock cooler. Be very carefull that a closed loop water cooler, if that is your choice, can fit as the radiator plus fan is quite some depth.

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Am I the only noob here with an AMD CPU?

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc (Post 35688017)

Am I the only noob here with an AMD CPU?

Doubtful. AMD is used in most HTPC builds and plenty of budget gaming builds. Just not much point in going with them if a budget allows for an i5 is all :)

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

ok increased it a bit to reflect recommendations. I went for the i7 as I may well have virtual machines running occasionally and upgraded the graphic card since a lot are saying 2gig might be on the low side.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£209.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£14.68 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£70.64 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£60.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£98.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£59.87 @ Scan.co.uk)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card (£289.31 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£45.90 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£84.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£82.72 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £1029.82

Worried about the case vs space issue tho...

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35688045)

Does that include all del prices?

I'm interested how this thread goes for ideas for myself.

Not sure if pre-built customised one from pc specialist or chillblast is the way to go this time, but working out prices is a bit of a nightmare.

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit (Post 35687963)

I didn't and I do not accept it

Your loss.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob (Post 35687993)

The K version intel chips do offer the overclocking versatility that is worthwhile if you will keep the base PC for a few years, even if you don't need that resource now. But it isn't essential as by the time you think things are too slow, then everything will probably be getting on a bit that you are trying to prolong the life of something that had become frustrating. Realistically I have an i7 2600K at stock speeds and that isn't being put under any pressure, and I know plenty of people with the i5 CPUs playing current games that don't have concerns.

The current gen Haswell parts are notoriously unreliable for overclocking, and it is nowhere near as productive to try than with previous (first/second gen) i5/i7 parts. The poor quality thermal compound and already high speeds limit your headroom to perhaps 20-25% at most vs. the, say. 40%+ you could easily get with 1st-gen i7 parts.

But I agree with the overall sentiment, by the time you "need" to push that extra 20% out of old parts it's about time for a new PC anyway. Currently I have an i7 920 at 4Ghz and see no need for a new CPU as even Crysis 3 plays on max settings and full resolution at a decent 45fps.

When I "had" to overclock my (now 8 years old) Athlon64 x2 CPU the extra electricity needed even for an additional 10% overclock would have bought me a new i3 in a year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35688045)

I don't see any reasoning behind getting the i7 for virtual machines. The i5 has all the virtualization extensions already and costs considerably less, getting an i7 is just a waste when it offers nothing when it comes to virtualization the i5 doesn't already have.

Furthermore - it seems even more of a waste when you consider with 8GB RAM you'll barely be able to run any virtual machines while gaming. My suggestion - ditch the i7. If you want VMs get more RAM instead of the pointless CPU.

Motherboard - a bit overboard if you ask me, plus so is the cooler. I prefer to use stock coolers personally when not overclocking because they're reliable, efficient and quiet and guaranteed to do the job properly. After all, most HP, Dell, etc. PCs are shipped with stock coolers and you don't see people complaining about noise much these days.

Storage - modern Intel chipsets have hybrid storage built in. I'd save some money and get a smaller SSD and set up automatic caching via your motherboard. That way frequently accessed data is stored on the SSD and everything else on the HDD - and the transition is managed automatically.

Graphics card - a bit overpriced IMO. The Radeon R9 290 is practically as fast as a 780 and costs less than your 770. It outperforms the 770 in every way except noise and can be had for £266 if you're lucky.

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq (Post 35688056)

Your loss.

.

Trust me its is not much of one

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

In a thread like this, I would rather get as much valid info as possible. Doesn't mean I don't respect all your opinions. :)

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Damien again why looking at all different places it will be cheaper to order from 1 shop. You would probably save close to 100 quid on delivery charges

---------- Post added at 21:36 ---------- Previous post was at 21:33 ----------

Also what is the reasoning behind the micro atx case and mobo

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq (Post 35688056)

Your loss.

The current gen Haswell parts are notoriously unreliable for overclocking, and it is nowhere near as productive to try than with previous (first/second gen) i5/i7 parts. The poor quality thermal compound and already high speeds limit your headroom to perhaps 20-25% at most vs. the, say. 40%+ you could easily get with 1st-gen i7 parts.

But I agree with the overall sentiment, by the time you "need" to push that extra 20% out of old parts it's about time for a new PC anyway. Currently I have an i7 920 at 4Ghz and see no need for a new CPU as even Crysis 3 plays on max settings and full resolution at a decent 45fps.

When I "had" to overclock my (now 8 years old) Athlon64 x2 CPU the extra electricity needed even for an additional 10% overclock would have bought me a new i3 in a year.

I don't see any reasoning behind getting the i7 for virtual machines. The i5 has all the virtualization extensions already and costs considerably less, getting an i7 is just a waste when it offers nothing when it comes to virtualization the i5 doesn't already have.

Furthermore - it seems even more of a waste when you consider with 8GB RAM you'll barely be able to run any virtual machines while gaming. My suggestion - ditch the i7. If you want VMs get more RAM instead of the pointless CPU.

Motherboard - a bit overboard if you ask me, plus so is the cooler. I prefer to use stock coolers personally when not overclocking because they're reliable, efficient and quiet and guaranteed to do the job properly. After all, most HP, Dell, etc. PCs are shipped with stock coolers and you don't see people complaining about noise much these days.

Storage - modern Intel chipsets have hybrid storage built in. I'd save some money and get a smaller SSD and set up automatic caching via your motherboard. That way frequently accessed data is stored on the SSD and everything else on the HDD - and the transition is managed automatically.

Graphics card - a bit overpriced IMO. The Radeon R9 290 is practically as fast as a 780 and costs less than your 770. It outperforms the 770 in every way except noise and can be had for £266 if you're lucky.

I think I will keep the SSD size but I will downgrade back to the i5 and look at the R9! Thanks! Oh I will remove the cooler, can always add one if I think i need a better than stock one later.

---------- Post added at 23:13 ---------- Previous post was at 23:11 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch (Post 35688204)

Damien again why looking at all different places it will be cheaper to order from 1 shop. You would probably save close to 100 quid on delivery charges

I'll refine it a bit when I go to buy. Amazon is free delivery and i might keep to scan or amazon or just amazon or scan if there are big price differences.

[/COLOR]Also what is the reasoning behind the micro atx case and mobo[/QUOTE]

Dunno. Just thought it might be better than a monster case....

Re: Considering building a gaming PC. Advice on this build

Stock coolers are great until you start actually pushing your system.I use stock on my media player and its silent but the system does very little

On my main system when gaming or encoding and the GFX and CPU starts warming up the fans of course start spinning up then the stock coolers are no longer the silent dream they were when idling also using a better thermal compound makes difference

The 300D allows for a 16 cm cooler the Artic cooling freezer 7 is under 13 cm these fans also allow you to direct the air flow.

Another point is going with one stick of ram would you not lose bandwidth dual channel and all that

I always configure my machines for multi tasking. SSD for operating system then various other HDDs for other tasks for example if you were to run a virtual machine you would want it running off a different HDD to the one you run your game off. I have 4 HDDs as well as the SSD so I can fully utilise my pc and push everything 100% while running various tasks efficiently and effectively