Advice on desktops - Vulcan HD V for Total War games?

N

nc robins

Member
Hi, I'm looking to buy a new desktop PC as my Dell Inspiron 531 has just died after 5 years. I use my PC most evenings for admin work and games (mainly Total War) and Dell don't seem to offer a very big range of desktops these days. I can't afford a £1000 system but would like a decent graphics card so I'm looking at the PCS Vulcan HD V.

From the little I understand about graphics cards, the Radeon HD7770 should be miles better than the 2600XT in my old Dell :). I'm not confident enough to design a system myself so wondered if anyone has any experience with this PC (or similar builds) when playing Total War?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Case
InWIN MANA-136 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H77-M: M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7870 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
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 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £750.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/IGaDIH8MzH/
 
N

nc robins

Member
Wow, thanks for the quick response keynes. Would I notice a significant difference in performance between the Vulcan and the build above? Bear in mind I've only ever had Dell off-the-shelf PCs and just want it to be able to handle Total War at normal settings without burning up! £750 is my max budget but if I can get the performance I need for a bit less it would help. I can see the graphics card is a higher spec, but can you explain a little about why you've chosen the other main components? ie why Intel over AMD CPU? And would the CPU be enough for the higher spec graphics card?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
nc robins said:
Wow, thanks for the quick response keynes. Would I notice a significant difference in performance between the Vulcan and the build above? Bear in mind I've only ever had Dell off-the-shelf PCs and just want it to be able to handle Total War at normal settings without burning up! £750 is my max budget but if I can get the performance I need for a bit less it would help. I can see the graphics card is a higher spec, but can you explain a little about why you've chosen the other main components? ie why Intel over AMD CPU? And would the CPU be enough for the higher spec graphics card?
Click to expand...

I don't know the spec of the Vulcan but the HD 7870 is significantly better than the HD 7770. The i5-3570 will give you a better performance for games that are more processor bound like Total War.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5625/amd-radeon-hd-7870-ghz-edition-radeon-hd-7850-review-rounding-out-southern-islands/8
 
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