build spec help :)

dayvurd

Member
i want to build a pc, but i need some help. i want to spend about £900 at the most i may push to 1k if i need to.


PROCESSOR: AMD A10-7850K QUAD CORE APU (4.0GHZ) & RADEON R7 SERIES GRAPHICS
MOTHERBOARD ASUS A88XM-PLUS: (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6GB/S)
MEMORY 32GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHZ (4 X8GB)
GRAPHICS CARD 1 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D VISION
GRAPHICS CARD 2 1GB NVIDIA GEFORE 210 -DVI, HDMI, VGA
HARD DISK 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/S HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
POWER SUPPLY CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
PROCESSOR COOLING CORSAIR H55 HYDRO SERIES HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
SOUND CARD ASUS XONAR DG 5.1

okay so thats basically all the bits i was looking to get, i only use one monitor so do i really need 2 Graphics cards? if not then would it be the case of upgrading graphics card 1? would all of this be a good gaming setup? i want a really strong cpu, ive seen many pre made pcs with brilliant specs but have a crap cpu so hey just overheat alot. thanks for feed back :)
 

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
i only use one monitor so do i really need 2 Graphics cards?)
No, you only need one graphics card - and even if you did need more than one, both would have to be the same anyways :)

Your spec isn't really very suitable for gaming, those AMD CPU's have integrated graphics built in which you just don't need - so changing to one of the other AMD CPU types or Intel would be better value. You also don't need anywhere close to 32GB of RAM.

If you can go upto 1000, then I'd seriously look at the Minerva spec in the reviews (http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews/) section - it has a nice discount on it (noting that if you press configure to view it it shows the full price not the discounted price, you have to just press the 'Order Now' to keep the discount)
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
it is not a good gaming set up, very unbalanced. The cpu is very weak and the ram (32gb) is overkill. You also have 2 GPUs that cannot work together for gaming.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4590 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £830.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/UEC0dgOjzq/
 

dayvurd

Member
No, you only need one graphics card - and even if you did need more than one, both would have to be the same anyways :)

Your spec isn't really very suitable for gaming, those AMD CPU's have integrated graphics built in which you just don't need - so changing to one of the other AMD CPU types or Intel would be better value. You also don't need anywhere close to 32GB of RAM.

If you can go upto 1000, then I'd seriously look at the Minerva spec in the reviews (http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews/) section - it has a nice discount on it (noting that if you press configure to view it it shows the full price not the discounted price, you have to just press the 'Order Now' to keep the discount)

man that minerva spec is sweet. tbh im totally new to this, im trying to get my head around it all haha :D thanks :)
 

dayvurd

Member
it is not a good gaming set up, very unbalanced. The cpu is very weak and the ram (32gb) is overkill. You also have 2 GPUs that cannot work together for gaming.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4590 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
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 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £830.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/UEC0dgOjzq/

woah thanks for this. thats pretty sweet, its cheaper than the one i originally posted for too. what kind of performance would this do? would it all be interchangeable come a few years down the line?
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
woah thanks for this. thats pretty sweet, its cheaper than the one i originally posted for too. what kind of performance would this do? would it all be interchangeable come a few years down the line?

you can upgrade parts like replacing the gpu. For an idea on performance you should google benchmarks for the gtx 970
 

dayvurd

Member
you can upgrade parts like replacing the gpu. For an idea on performance you should google benchmarks for the gtx 970

thanks very much :) really appreciate the help. this may seem like a silly question, but how long is it before the parts on computers like these are deemed "old" compared to new releases? seems now days there's so much choice and there's always new gpu's coming out etc.
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
thanks very much :) really appreciate the help. this may seem like a silly question, but how long is it before the parts on computers like these are deemed "old" compared to new releases? seems now days there's so much choice and there's always new gpu's coming out etc.

it is something no one can really answer, it depends on requirements from new games, type of games you play, settings you expect...............
 

dayvurd

Member
it is something no one can really answer, it depends on requirements from new games, type of games you play, settings you expect...............

well this is gonna be used as a main gaming unit, i dont own any consoles, always been on pc really. i own a crappy laptop atm that is on its last legs and i have a bunch of top end games i just cant run anymore :p
 

dayvurd

Member
so after alot of feedback from friends and other people, they had said to change a few things, and now im really confused. people say get a bigger PSU and more ram and this and that and blergh. this is what ive come up with
ErJU5qI.png
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
The ram is unnecessary , 8gb ram is enough . The h60 is also overkill for the cpu you have chosen, a triple copper heatpipe cpu cooler would be plenty. The v300 suffers from performance issues and I would also add a bigger secondary hard drive
 

dayvurd

Member
good call, never noticed that button, i did kinda wonder how you did it on the original spec haha xD

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
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 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £946.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/WCAbPgC37d/
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
V300 SSDs suffer from performance issues. My comment was more to get a faster SSD like the samsung and a caviar black with 1tb as a secondary drive
 

dayvurd

Member
processor help

what would be the difference between having an i5 and an i7 with this build?

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Case
InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81-Gamer: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
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 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,164.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/mkmocY35Kb/
 

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
Difference depends on your intended use

I've merged the two threads now :) - dayvurd if you could keep to one thread then it means people don't end up asking/answering the same things more than once.
And the intended use is:
well this is gonna be used as a main gaming unit, i dont own any consoles, always been on pc really. i own a crappy laptop atm that is on its last legs and i have a bunch of top end games i just cant run anymore :p
 

Corby Trouser Press

Active member
what would be the difference between having an i5 and an i7 with this build?

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Case
InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81-Gamer: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
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 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,164.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/mkmocY35Kb/


Not an expert like the others here, but you can get almost that exact spec (just a smaller SSD) in the review section for £999 (Minerva).
 
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