All round PC which can also game to the max for around £1,100+

[Sam1875]

I currently have a laptop and I'm contemplating a new desktop PC due to their superior power over laptops. In terms of useage I want to be able to browse the web, do my work on microsoft office e.g word/excel/publisher, multitask without trouble and have the ability to play all the latest games above 60FPS+ at 1080p/1440p flawlessly. I was considering a cheaper build, but there seems to be far too many limitations. If I have gone overkill or 'underkill' if you will on any particular aspect of the build then please tell me

At the moment, this is what I've provisionally put together:
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 WHITE GAMING CASE
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ R9 390 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 12, Eyefinity
1st Hard Disk
120GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd 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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£79)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler (£29)
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
WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps/2.4GHz DUAL-BAND PCI-E CARD (£29)
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,098.00 including VAT and delivery.

I was tied between the GTX 970 and the R9 390 and as the 390 is a new card with 8GB RAM, I decided it was probably better. Moreover, I'm not sure if the i7 processor is worth the extra £80+? I'm also not certain what are the best cases and motherboards so I just took guesses on what looked decent. I could also do with some monitor suggestions and other peripheral suggestions.

Any feedback would be great

 

[Spuff]

Any PC that can game well will be a good all round computer.
No single GPU on the market can max all games at 60fps+. Some games have quirks in the coding that will mean that no reasonable setup will run them smoothly all the time. I don't think, for instance, that you'd max GTA even with SLI Titans without ever going below 60fps.
However, your setup will do very well. I think it is well balanced.
I think any case that is described as being suitable for 'extreme gaming' will be fine.

If you wanted to SLI in the future you would at present need at least a 850w PSU.

 

[Utilize]

I agree with Spuff. You'll do very well with a system like that at 1080p and definitely not badly at 1440p, just be prepared to make some compromises at higher resolutions. Although the 390 only just beats the GTX 970, I think it's a good investment. Better optimisation and new drivers coming out should make that extra spending well worth it.

 

[Sam1875]

Thanks guys. Yes I was slightly exaggerating on maxing it all games at above 60FPS, but I'm glad to hear the build is well balanced. I'm not sure if I will SLI in the future as the 850W is cunningly quite a bit more expensive than the difference between a 650W and 750W. Does this mean I could afford to have a cheaper motherboard? Also would I need a soundcard or are the motherboards already equipped with what you need? Should I also look into getting an i7 or is it a waste of money? I hear many different things, some say there's a massive difference, and others say it's very little. Regarding cooling, will this PC be well protected against overheating at full load etc? Would be great if you could also recommend a great monitor to accompany the great machine and other peripherals Thanks

 

[Spuff]

All the motherboards in terms of quality are good. What you need to check is if they have the PCIe/PCI expansion slots you think you may need. Also if you had a view to having multiple SSD drives you would need to check the SATA connection speeds (you want 6GB/s connections for SSD's). You might also want a M2 slot if you wanted to pursue the fastest possible drive speeds.
The on-board sound on my motherboard (Maxiumus VI hero) is absolutely fine. You'd have to be really serious about audio to want better. In any event this is something you can upgrade later if you want to.
As for the i7, just look at benchmarks on the net comparing gaming performance between an i5 and i7. If I'd had the money I would have gone for an i7, but I don't feel I'm missing out in any significant way by having the i5 that I have.
I just have the standard two fans in my case and an H60 CPU cooler. Temperatures are not a problem for me. Your GPU will have its own fan. Again, look at reviews on the net for your CPU cooler choice.

 

[Sam1875]

Right, so from the list of motherboards they provide, which would best value for money? I'm thinking of the Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3 or the ASUS® Z97-PRO GAMER, which is better? Also is the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO good enough for my rig, or is it worth getting the Corsair H55 CPU Cooler?
Do you also have a good monitor to recommend along with speakers, keyboard and a mouse? Thanks

 

[Spuff]

It's difficult for most people to say from any position of experience what the relative merits of two motherboards are. Most people won't have used both and I could only go by reviews which is what you can do too. Just don't get swayed by the military grade this and that sort of stuff. The gamer cross-hair, sound warning goings on that got bundled with my motherboard is not stuff I use, so that sort of thing may not make a motherboard any better than a cheaper one. You don't need a board that is marketed at gamers. I can't tell you what would be a better motherboard for you, it's whatever you want and you think has the facilities you need.
Yes, I think your cooler choice is fine.

 

[Sam1875]

Yeah, I'm now kinda thinking of getting a cheaper motherboard so I can get an i7 with the money spare. I have the ASUS® Z97-P in mind.

 

[keynes]

Yeah, I'm now kinda thinking of getting a cheaper motherboard so I can get an i7 with the money spare. I have the ASUS® Z97-P in mind.

with your budget if you drop the ssd you should be able to fit a gtx 980

 

[SpyderTracks]

with your budget if you drop the ssd you should be able to fit a gtx 980

... and then you could add the SSD at a later time when you have the cash. You want to throw as much into the graphics as possible as that's the bit that will give the most detail to games.

 

[Sam1875]

with your budget if you drop the ssd you should be able to fit a gtx 980

Hmm, I hadn't really thought about doing that, is there much difference between the R9 390 and GTX 980 in terms of performance? Doesn't the 390 have double the memory (8GB)? And would the SSD be a massive loss?

 

[keynes]

Hmm, I hadn't really thought about doing that, is there much difference between the R9 390 and GTX 980 in terms of performance? Doesn't the 390 have double the memory (8GB)? And would the SSD be a massive loss?

you could check benchmarks online, an SSD is not going to improve fps but the gpu would. An ssd is not essential and and Spidertracks mentioned you could add one later on

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hmm, I hadn't really thought about doing that, is there much difference between the R9 390 and GTX 980 in terms of performance? Doesn't the 390 have double the memory (8GB)? And would the SSD be a massive loss?

Could only really find THIS as a benchmark.

Despite AMD throwing in boat loads of VRAM, it's just not utilised as effectively as the GTX cards so it's a little redundant.

On paper they're very similar, but in practice, I'd still say the 980 wins.

 

[Sam1875]

you could check benchmarks online, an SSD is not going to improve fps but the gpu would. An ssd is not essential and and Spidertracks mentioned you could add one later on

Yeah, in all honesty I was thinking of an i7 4790k over an i5 4690k. Would you recommend an i7? Also the 980 is a lot more expensive so not sure if it is as good value as the R9 390 or 970.

 

[Sam1875]

Could only really find THIS as a benchmark.

Despite AMD throwing in boat loads of VRAM, it's just not utilised as effectively as the GTX cards so it's a little redundant.

On paper they're very similar, but in practice, I'd still say the 980 wins.

Thanks for that It's just the price difference is so massive, and I think I would benefit from an i7 an SSD more?

 

[keynes]

Thanks for that It's just the price difference is so massive, and I think I would benefit from an i7 an SSD more?

not for gaming but just go with whatever you think it is more appropriate. It is a good build.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for that It's just the price difference is so massive, and I think I would benefit from an i7 an SSD more?

That's a good point, the 980 isn't particularly well place price-wise. i7 i'd say definitely, not so much for gaming, but for other tasks it comes in handy. If you're hesitant about the price of the 980, then I'd go for the 970 and SSD. The 970 is still a great card.

 

[Sam1875]

not for gaming but just go with whatever you think it is more appropriate. It is a good build.

So would you have the 980 over the 390? Do you think it's worth it? Personally, I'm thinking the 390 will do me just fine unless I'm missing something?

 

[Sam1875]

That's a good point, the 980 isn't particularly well place price-wise. i7 i'd say definitely, not so much for gaming, but for other tasks it comes in handy. If you're hesitant about the price of the 980, then I'd go for the 970 and SSD. The 970 is still a great card.

Yep thanks for your advice there, so you would get a GTX 970 over the R9 390? I was going to go for the 970 but I saw the 390 was a graphics card only weeks old which had over double the VRAM and slightly better performance on benchmarks. Although the extra RAM may not be useful now, future games may use it so my GPU would be pretty futureproofed.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yep thanks for your advice there, so you would get a GTX 970 over the R9 390? I was going to go for the 970 but I saw the 390 was a graphics card only weeks old which had over double the VRAM and slightly better performance on benchmarks. Although the extra RAM may not be useful now, future games may use it so my GPU would be pretty futureproofed.

I'm quite anti AMD so wouldn't choose them over nvidia mainly because of their poor drivers, but I guess it certainly beats the 970, if it's not too much more then probably worth it.