Desktop Transport

E

ellspeedy

Enthusiast
Ok so i have been toying with a desktop or a laptop for a long time now, and am currently waiting for the Skyfire II.

However i have once again been looking at a desktop spec and here is what i quickly came up with.
My main usage will be gaming at max (if not close to max) settings.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP (Special Offer)
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2473HDS 24" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£159)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,273.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/


My questions are these:

1) how does that spec fair? any major problems?

2) What would the performance difference be between the GTX 560M (skyfire) and the GTX 580 (desktop)?

3) and this is the main question tbh. I am currently at university and if i were to get a desktop i would obviously take it to uni with me. My only concern is what damage will be caused from the transporting of the desktop?
I thought about it and i will likely only move it 4 times per year - once in september going to uni, twice in december coming home + going back to uni, and once in may/june coming home from uni for the summer.
Is it a bad idea to be moving the desktop that much?

Thanks for any feedback as usual.
Ellspeedy
 
Last edited:
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
As long as you pack it carefully it should be ok to move about.

My PC survived the trip between the Telford International Centre and the campsite at i44 a few times, and you don't want to know how many speed bumps there were on the way, and my suspension is pretty shot due to the road I live on :)
 
DeadEyeDuk

DeadEyeDuk

Superhero Level Poster
I did this for 3 years, twice a term, so 6 times a year. I am not wholly convinced its the best idea, but as long as you are careful and like Rakk says, pack it well, it should be fine. I do think it suffers a bit towards the end, although mine will likely have also been affected by not cleaning it inside for the duration (oops) and the fact it was a MESH...but there can be things that jolt bits and bobs inside, so it can always pay to check inside at either end of the journey and reseat things to be safe (cards etc).

And anyway, its cool to have a desktop at Uni...can distance yourself from all the hipsters with their laptops and macbooks :D
 
E

ellspeedy

Enthusiast
Thanks for the quick replies guys.

I did assume aslong as i packed it well it would be fine. How would you best pack it? in terms of what material would you use? I allways like the duvet, worked wonders for my tv :p

Also would you mind commenting on my first two questions:

1) how does that spec fair? any major problems?

2) What would the performance difference be between the GTX 560M (skyfire) and the GTX 580 (desktop)?

Thanks
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
get a 650w psu,

or try and push for a gtx 680 and a 750 psu, then you have enough power for two 680's!

oh and get a bigger case, i'd go for the cm690 II or higher, personally wouldnt get anything less, esp if you have a power gpu in there.
 
E

ellspeedy

Enthusiast
I may look into the gtx680, once again what would the performance increase be from the 580 to the 680?

The price increase from 580 to 680 is worrying, im in a tough position, trying to make it as cheap as possible without losing quality (a problem that is almost impossible haha!)
I get into the habbit of 'oh this parts only £30 more, this one only £60 more' but by the end the price has sky rocketed!

On a note about the PSU, when i select the gtx 680 and the 750W PSU, it says that the system only needs 600w PSU (will only use 499w). Do you recommend the 750 for a bit more future proofing?

In terms of the casing iv allways looked at the aesthetics more than how it is internally :p
How good is the Coolmaster Half 922 Mid tower ?
 
Last edited:
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
The 680 is significantly faster than a 580, probably closer to a 590 than a 580 to be honest, with a 590 in effect 2 x 580's on one card. Just taking 1 benchmark here in total isolation.

BF3 max settings 1080p
GTX 580 45 FPS
GTX 590 68 FPS
GTX 680 64 FPS

The price of the 580 has come down alot since the new generation of cards has come out, thats why the price gap looks massive but the performance backs up the price gap to be honest.

I would get the corsair 650w to be honest, all depends if you ever plan to upgrade though. If you ever plan to run 2 GPU's then you will need a big PSU. If you only ever plan to add in a HDD, some more RAM and a DVD burner and swap out your 580/680 GPU for a new card then the 650w will see you through to the end of the computer. The configurator adds +20% onto your maximum power consumption anyway so if it says you only need 500, you will be more than covered by a 650w corsair PSU. I say corsair because they are great PSU's it's only £10 more to get a branded PSU over the generic one, well worth it.
 
E

ellspeedy

Enthusiast
Iv read some articles that say the complete opposite, suggesting that the 680 really isnt that much greater than the 580 and that unless you have the spare cash to get the 680, you may aswell stick with the 580.
But what youre saying is is that the price jump is equal/close to the performance increase? in terms of value for money.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
ellspeedy said:
Iv read some articles that say the complete opposite, suggesting that the 680 really isnt that much greater than the 580 and that unless you have the spare cash to get the 680, you may aswell stick with the 580.
But what youre saying is is that the price jump is equal/close to the performance increase? in terms of value for money.
Click to expand...

I had the 580 and now the 680. I notice in SLI the GTX 680 runs cooler, you can connect 4 monitors from one card and when playing in 3D mode it has less issues, it could be the case I had the wrong drivers when running the GTX 580 but so far I am happy with the GTX 680. Compare to the AMD 7970 the GTX 680 is cheaper so I'd say it is good value for money.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
mantadog said:
The 680 is significantly faster than a 580, probably closer to a 590 than a 580 to be honest, with a 590 in effect 2 x 580's on one card. Just taking 1 benchmark here in total isolation.

BF3 max settings 1080p
GTX 580 45 FPS
GTX 590 68 FPS
GTX 680 64 FPS

The price of the 580 has come down alot since the new generation of cards has come out, thats why the price gap looks massive but the performance backs up the price gap to be honest.

I would get the corsair 650w to be honest, all depends if you ever plan to upgrade though. If you ever plan to run 2 GPU's then you will need a big PSU. If you only ever plan to add in a HDD, some more RAM and a DVD burner and swap out your 580/680 GPU for a new card then the 650w will see you through to the end of the computer. The configurator adds +20% onto your maximum power consumption anyway so if it says you only need 500, you will be more than covered by a 650w corsair PSU. I say corsair because they are great PSU's it's only £10 more to get a branded PSU over the generic one, well worth it.
Click to expand...

+1, totally agree! REP

If you go for the 680 I'd opt for the p8z68v gen3 mobo which gives you pci 3.0 that the 680 uses, and get a 750w psu therefore means you can add another 680 in the future for sli and massive gaming power and keep up with the latest tech.

just note that two 580's needs 1050w power and two 680s only 750w power, both need a sli capable mobo.


As to ya case, the 922 is good, I will post a few links to case that jump out at me, see what ya think, take ya time choosing though ya want something that really makes you go "ooooohhhhhh"
haf 922 http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6606
haf932 http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=5363
cm 690 II http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6649
corsair 500 R white, (black is available) http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-500r-white-mid-tower-case.html
antec 902v3 http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjY5OSYy

lol there's loads to choose from, many i've missed!
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
Are you sure you are not reading things where people already have a GTX 580 and are thinking about changing that out for a 680?

Almost every benchmark i can find gives the GTX 680 a 20 FPS lead in BF3 at 1080p. That is a very significant, but if your looking for value you will have to look at the older 5xx or 6xxx series cards. They still give very good performance, but because of the new cards are much better value for money.

Here is a review, if you skip through to the benchmarks you will get a rough idea of the performance of the 680 vs the 580 vs the 7970

I would opt for a 680 if you can afford it, if your looking for overall value look at the older cards and a GTX 570/580 or a 6970 just don;t expect them to play everything on max settings for as long as a 680 would do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top