First time ordering a pc, Help with spec please

[jefnaz]

Hi .

this is will be my 1st pc built for gaming. Mainly racing games ie Iracing, rFactor, and some fps.

not sure if i should go intel or amd. i like the savings i make with a amd proccessor, and think that will proberly be my route. Can you guys please run through my choices and add some comments on anything that i should change, be looking to keep this for atleast 3 years before upgrading again.


Antec 900 case or 902or something else with dust filters?
amd phenom x4 965 black edition
titan fenrir extreme cpu cooler
asus m4a87td motherboard
4 gb corsair xms3 1600mhz
1536mb gtx480
1tb serial ata hardrive
24 x dual layer dvd re-writer
corsair 850 watt power supply
iiyama E2472HD 24" LED monitor.

came in at around £1320 which is quite a bit cheaper than same spec but with i7 950 processor. But i can go this route if you feel its gonna make a real differents to just playing games, surfing net. Also i not 100% set on that monitor, if someone can recommend something better for around £250 and 24" with hdmi so i can bung a ps3 into it. Monitor does not need to be an led backlite.

look forward to any feedback.

thanks

 

[Sleinous]

I use an LG M237WDP (23") there may be a 24" version, it has DVI HDMI VGA etc etc, as its MonitorTV, 1080p

All id say with this spec is: Do you need that COrsair XMS3 RAM? The Samsung is cheaper, more reliable and stable, and only slightly slower. The Corsair is more useful for overclocking, as is the Titan Fenrir. Not quite sure what you want to do with your pc though

the 1TB HDD, you dont say which one it is. Is it the WD10EARS with 64mb cache? THe 64mb cached drives are way better for gaming and bootups (obviously in comparison to SSDs they are still slow, but theyre way faster than 8mb cached drives, and, not much more expensive. (Few pounds).

Antec 902 is possibly going to be added sometime.

Hope all that helps, very nice pc btw! Liking the GTX 480

 

[jefnaz]

Thanks for your helpfull info, i will add the harddrive you suggest, as for the cpu cooler should i just use stock or get the aftermarket cooler they offer '?
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER'

i just went for memory on name and reviews really, is the samsung ok then?

so no need to go for an intel i7 950, will it not really give me that much more for my needs.

im guessing the graphics card is my main priority for a gaming system. Will anything in this system hold back my graphics card?

 

[Sleinous]

The 950 would obviously be nicer with this system but the choice is yours

The Samsung, has Samsung chips, they make all the parts themselves in their RAM, Corsair doesnt.

You could go for the one just above stock yes, might help although the Antec should already have decent airflow.

Yes that gfx card is going to last a while lol, hope you intend to fold with us ^^

Not sure if that mobo supports SLI, cant check right now but will later. Unless you already know

 

[Rakk]

Also i not 100% set on that monitor, if someone can recommend something better for around £250 and 24" with hdmi so i can bung a ps3 into it. Monitor does not need to be an led backlite.

Just thought I'd say that Iiyama monitors are very good quality if that's what your worried about, I have a 19" one that I bought about 5-6 years ago (ok, I can't actually remember but it's something like that), and it still works perfectly well, the colours are still very bright (the picture looks better than my 3 year old monitor) and not a single dead pixel anywhere.

 

[jefnaz]

thanks for you input guys, im not sure if mobo allows sli, is it not best just to stick with a single card and update the 480gtx in a years time or so? see lots of reports about driver issues etc with sli. Also would i need at least a 1000watt power supply in place if i do get another 480gtx down the line.

just looking at some reviews on monitor at the mo, samsung, lg , benq all seem to be right up there. thing with reviews tho, one site says 9.1 out of ten, other say 6.

they do make it tuff for us buyers

 

[Sleinous]

Yes I think you would. But, a 2nd 480 would be far cheaper, and, when adding both together, would probably still outperform whatever new cards are out.

 

[jefnaz]

just been having another mess around with my specs, think im quite liking this now, ive gone for a gtx480, and a 1000w power supply so i can add another later, or to save money i could get 2 x ati 5850 now and only need a 850w power supply and prices comes in about £100 cheaper now.

what do you guys think, just hope a pc this fast makes my laptimes abit quicker in iracing.lol, but may have to add some go faster strips. Still not sure on the case, wanted the antec 902 that are now advertised, but there out of stock, do like the haf cases, but i dont think they have dust filters

also jus bought a Asus 24" vw246H monitor which i hooked up to my laptop and my sons ps3. Its Fantastic

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1536MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX480 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE MAFIA II Game (RRP: £34.99) with a qualifying GTX 4xx Series GPU!
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
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 1000W MODULAR PSU (HX1000) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£172)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£29)
Quantity
1

Price: £1,503.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Sleinous]

I'd stick with the GTX 480, as buying a 2nd later wont be too much of a dent in the wallet If you want to save a bit, consider the Samsung 1333Mhz RAm instead of teh 1600Mhz RAM, you wont notice much difference between the two. Samsung is more suited if youre not overclocking the machine at all.

 

[jefnaz]

ok cheers the i7 in this build is overclocked to 3.8ghz.

so i guess i stick with the memory i selected.

 

[Sleinous]

Yes, that'd be wise, the end result should be a very responsive pc!

 

[jefnaz]

when i order , should i add a partition to my 1tb harddrive? as its asking do i want partition and put os on 80gb section. is it recommended, as i dont know enough about this.

thanks

 

[Sleinous]

Not usually required tbh unless your very messy with your file management. Windows 7 is such a clean and tidy os nowadays that you really shouldnt need to make a seperate partition for progs and docs. Nowadays its more for a recovery partition but pcs supply you with the disc anyway

 

[jefnaz]

Thats great , thanks for all your help.

 

[jefnaz]

ok, had another play around, getting close to final now, credit card in hand. Think ive found the case now that i really like, plus its got the dust filters lol.

gone for the i7 overclocked, but have left out the gtx480 and gone for an ATI 5870 and a 1000w psu , so i can add another card later or 2 of the next gen cards

not sure if thats the right choice, but been looking at the heat output and power intake of the gtx480 and its kind of scared me , mainly the heat. what do you guys think.

im sure the 5870 is the better choice, price, heat , power intake, noise, and please note i have the wife in my ear saying its not gonna be loud is it, cause im gonna be set up in the dinning room which is open onto the tv room and she's gonna hear it.

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE (£129)
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 overclocked (3.06GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD6402AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 1000W MODULAR PSU (HX1000) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£172)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£29)
Quantity
1

Price: £1,444.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Sleinous]

Well, in terms of noise, i've never noticed my GTX 470 be noisy at all. So i think there may be a lot of hype about noise regarding the 400 series :/ power, yes, I wont lie to you, its a hungry little bugger. Heat? Nah, ok so I have the 470 and not the 480, there isnt much diff between the two, plus the 480 has massive heatpipes coming out of the chassis which the 470 doesnt so that should cool it more than the 470 and lower cards.

Whichever card you go for in this price band youll be wanting the 1000W PSU deffinatly anyway

Both cards have pros and cons anyway, if you want to fold or need to do mass media conversion or video editing, the Nvidia CUDA cores on these cards will be the way to go. Also, Nvidia cards have Physx, something ATI doesnt. But, ATI is cheaper, and doesnt consume so much power.

The choice is yours, but yes, you're thoughts are all leading the right way Have fun purchasing!