Desktop PC for work + gaming

[NewToDesktops]

Hello,

Being new to this, I was hoping someone here could tell me where I’m wrong.

What I am looking for:
1) office and home use quickly and without strain (after too long with a laptop prone to over-heating)
2) that can run very long hours (sometimes 24/7) without suffering.
3) everyday needs now with integrated graphics - and fit for gaming with a graphics card next year (when I have more time). E.g. Skyrim and Company of Heroes 2.
4) Something I can keep for a couple of years before having upgrade (CPU, Motherboard and PSU)

Budget:
Approx. £700-800 without the graphics card (and without any monitor, mouse keyboard etc.),

My plan:
Case - CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 300R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM) - 8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card - INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Hard Disk - 120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk - 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
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 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)

Price: £768.00 including VAT and delivery.
Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/nvD3_dtp36/

Questions:
RAM: I read somewhere that SAMSUNG is more reliable than Kingston but is the difference between 1333 and 1600MHz critical?
SSD: any reason to choose the 330 over the 520 model, the price is almost identical?
PSU: 650W maybe a bit over-kill but would 450W be enough long term?

Any comments/advice welcome. Thanks!!

 

[keynes]

RAM: I read somewhere that SAMSUNG is more reliable than Kingston but is the difference between 1333 and 1600MHz critical?
SSD: any reason to choose the 330 over the 520 model, the price is almost identical?
PSU: 650W maybe a bit over-kill but would 450W be enough long term?

Ram No noticeable difference in gaming between 1333mhz and 1600mhz
SSD 520 comes with a 5 year warranty and the 330 comes with a 3 year warranty
PSU depends on what graphics card you wish to add, I'd go with the corsair 650w PSU.
If you are not planning to overclock you coulld choose the i5-3570 instead and a caviar black as the secondary drive, any particular reason for win7 professional?

 

[NewToDesktops]

Ram No noticeable difference in gaming between 1333mhz and 1600mhz
SSD 520 comes with a 5 year warranty and the 330 comes with a 3 year warranty
PSU depends on what graphics card you wish to add, I'd go with the corsair 650w PSU.
If you are not planning to overclock you coulld choose the i5-3570 instead and a caviar black as the secondary drive, any particular reason for win7 professional?

Thanks Keynes! Very helpful.

Hard drives: Sounds like 520 SSD might just be worth an extra 4£. The CAVIAR BLACK as secondary drive seems a bit expensive, though. Is it worth it?
i5-3570 vs. 3570k: I don't have any plans to overclock. I think the 'k' version has HD4000 graphics vs. HD2500 in the other. Without really knowing much about it, I thought that would be helpful until I get a separate GPU. What do you think? Does the 3570 have any advantages over the 3570k other than lower price?
OS: Windows 7 mostly because it is what they have in the office and because I read it is slightly less demanding on the system than 8. Professional because I sometimes use remote desktop and wonder whether I would use other features in the future. Maybe I should just use TeamViewer and save the money.

Btw, I had initially looked at a Fractal Arc Midi case but decided it would be too much hassle to order it separately and ship to PCSPECIALIST. Corsair 300R seems pretty similar, as far as I understand: clean look, decent cooling, relatively uncomplicated.

Any thoughts? Does it all make sense?
Thanks again!!

 

[keynes]

I also use Remote Desktop for work purposes and I don't have any issues using windows 7 home version but you may want to verify that with the it department at your workplace. The i5-3570k has a better integrated graphics card and it is unlock for overclocking but you may want to upgrade your CPU cooler for that, to play skyrim you will need to lower the resolution and settings if you planning to use the integrated graphics.

 

[Rakk]

I also use Remote Desktop for work purposes and I don't have any issues using windows 7 home version but you may want to verify that with the it department at your workplace.

Same here, I use my Win7 Home Premium at home to remote onto my work machine (which has Win7 Enterprise on it)

 

[NewToDesktops]

Thanks again for comments, much appreciated.

I will figure out which version of Windows I need. I guess it doesn't really matter for the hardware choices.

Just reconsidering CPU and GPU, maybe I should just buy it all now: i5 3570 (no 'k') + Nvidia GTX 660Ti and no need for extra cooling (also no need for me to mess around with a graphics card later on). Does that make sense? Would it all be balanced?

 

[keynes]

Thanks again for comments, much appreciated.

I will figure out which version of Windows I need. I guess it doesn't really matter for the hardware choices.

Just reconsidering CPU and GPU, maybe I should just buy it all now: i5 3570 (no 'k') + Nvidia GTX 660Ti and no need for extra cooling (also no need for me to mess around with a graphics card later on). Does that make sense? Would it all be balanced?

Yes

 

[NewToDesktops]

Thanks again, keynes, I think I am getting there.

If I am allowed to ask one more stupid question: Would it be worth the extra £40 to go up to the next motherboard, ASUS® P8Z77-V? I think the LX fine for what I need atm, but reading about all the different options makes me a bit greedy and think that I might want to upgrade the graphics a couple of years down the line when games become more demanding. Would it make sense to have the option to add another 660Ti with SLI or would I need to upgrade the rest of the system in that case anyway? Does the P8Z77-V have other features that makes it worth considering.
According to the configuration tool, it would 650W PSU would still be able to support two 660Ti's unless I need a massive amount of extra cooling or something.

I obviously don't know what I'm talking about so I would be grateful for any comments. Thanks!!

 

[keynes]

If you are planning to add a 2nd Gtx 660 ti then you will need to upgrade the motherboard to the P8Z77-V.

 

[NewToDesktops]

Thanks!
I guess my questions was: would a system with the P8Z77-V and possibly a second 660Ti's down the line would still fit within the overall system (case, CPU, PSU etc.) and give a more or less balanced performance? If yes, I would buy the P8Z77-V now to have that expansion option. If not, then maybe save the money and stick with the LX board.
I take it you think it would at least be possible?

Anyway, I am probably over-thinking it. If you have any last advice, please let me know. Otherwise, I should probably just get on with it and place the order. Thanks again to both of you.

 

[keynes]

With 650w PSU you should be fine with a 2nd gtx 660 ti.