Buying a new modern pc in the next few weeks. Need some advice.

[boco77]

Ok I'm planning to replace this ancient computer with a much more modern one.

Firstly here's a few things I've pretty much decided on:

I plan on getting a system with the latest specs but am a bit confused with how far I should go with a few things.

Basically I'll be using it for movies, games and surfing, multitasking, big spreadsheets, extracting large files. I want it to be future proof for at least 4-5 years and have no plan on overclocking it as I'm not into PC gaming hugely and it wouldn't benefit me in the long term.

I will be getting the system prebuilt from this site

Don't wanna build it myself and it just saves the hassle. I know it will be more expensive this way but I'd rather pay extra for the convenience.

I plan on getting this spec

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - Black
Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50GHz with Prolimatech Lynx CPU Cooler
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ ZS Series 750W PSU
Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz C9 Dual Channel Kit
GeForce GTX 660TI 2048MB GDDR5 or AMD 7950HD
Intel 330 Series 120GB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RP
DVD writer


How is this system? I'm not sure on a few things.

Will the motherboard work well with the rest of those components or should I choose a different one?

I still can't decide whether to get 8gb ram or 16gb. I heard you only need 16gb if you do video editing.

The main screen will be a 40" Sony 1080p TV so any resolutions higher than 1080p are pointless for me.

What about the graphics card? Is it a good, decent card for the price? I don't want to spend like £400 on one as they go so out of date fast, but I would like a system that plays all the latest games at a decent clip. The ATI 7950 3gb card seems good too and its about the same price. Should I just get that instead? Seems more powerful and I won't be playing any higher than 1080p. I'm either going to get a 670TI card or a 7950HD 3gb card. Which one is best?

What PSU power supply should I get with it? Like I said I dont plan to overclock it or add more inside later on. I'm sticking to this machine and wont be crossfiring. is 750w overkill for the components above?

Lastly it would be nice though to somehow get a connection from the pc to my downstairs 55" LED Samsung TV D7000 wirelessly or something. Streaming is possible I know but what about gaming wirelssly to it and using it like that?

What are the wireless 1080p HDMI receivers on Amazon like?

Any advice on all this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Music Guy123]

Howdy Erm, I noticed you have chosen the parts! Well, this site (PCSpecialist) does have its own parts in the configurators, check them out here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/pcs/

Here is a spec I put together, tell me what you think!

Could you please give me a budget, I have no clue how much you want to spend! I have no clue about those wireless hdmi receivers I'm afraid. Also, I'd say the 7950 is better than the 660ti but I would suggest a 670 then get enough psu supply to add another later. This is the most cost effective method. If you want me to explain why I chose the parts below, let me know!

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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: £1,345.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/KD8VaCekFY/

 

[boco77]

Howdy Erm, I noticed you have chosen the parts! Well, this site (PCSpecialist) does have its own parts in the configurators, check them out here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/pcs/

Here is a spec I put together, tell me what you think!

Could you please give me a budget, I have no clue how much you want to spend! I have no clue about those wireless hdmi receivers I'm afraid. Also, I'd say the 7950 is better than the 660ti but I would suggest a 670 then get enough psu supply to add another later. This is the most cost effective method. If you want me to explain why I chose the parts below, let me know!

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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: £1,345.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/KD8VaCekFY/

Hi there. That spec looks good. My budget is no more than £1300 to be honest and thats pushing it too. Although I'm not really looking to put in an extra card in the future as I won't be be gaming heavily (although this could change). What advantage would I get by using x2 670 cards instead of 2 other cards similar spec cards?. Also the 670 card seems good but why not go for a 7950HD card instead? It would be cheaper and offers about the same spec? I don't really know much about graphics cards though. Is Nvidia better than AMD then?

Also I noticed the tests/reviews for the 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s on the net are actually slightly worse than the Intel equivalent SSD and its about the same price.

Everything else seems ideal at this point in time. I will most likely be getting this computer in a 3-4 weeks from now. I wanted to do some research first for the best configurations etc and know what I want.

 

[boco77]

Hi there,

That spec looks good. My budget is about £1300 and thats pushing it.

Few things though isn't the 7950HD a cheaper card that offers the same spec as the 670? Also having 2x 670 cards is better than 2x 7950HD cards? or is is Nvidia better?

Even though I don't plan to be a heavy pc gamer I might end up playing more games in the future so I'll leave the PSU at 750w for a cheaper upgrade in graphics if I decide to in the future.

The SSD Kingston drive you recommended comes out lower in terms of performance from tests/reviews compared to the equivalent from Intel. I think the Intel one is better? Not completely sure on this though.

Also is having a Thunderbolt motherboard a good idea? Does anything use it now or will anything use it in the future?

I plan on getting this machine early next month so just preparing the kind of machine I want. Man things have changed with components in the since 2007 (my last computer) lol...

 

[Music Guy123]

Yup, everything has changes since 2007! I don't know much about thunderbolt sorry. I only chose the Kingston SSD because it is slightly cheaper. Also, you won't notice the performance difference. As for the GPU. A 670 is head and shoulders above a 7950. I think anyway!! To save some money, you can decrease the RAM to 8GB. Hope this helps.