First gaming pc - any suggestions?

[zacwil]

Hi there, building my first gaming pc, and while I understand a bit about the individual parts, I have little idea about what works together well or which areas to prioritise. I was hoping some more knowledgeable people could look over the specs and suggest any improvements, or see any potential problems/bottlenecks/ways to get better performance for a similar amount. Looking to spend around £900, MAX £1000.

A few questions:
- I went with Intel as I heard they are the better quality, but would a get a better spec for my budget with AMD?
- Would extra fans be a good idea or a waste of time for what I have?
- Seen people recommed the gtx 770, but would I be better off with a lesser card and better cpu/motherboard/more RAM?
- Heard some great things about SSDs, was thinking about getting one since I have a 2TB external for movies etc so the smaller size isnt an issue, but is it worth it?

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB2.0, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG & MORE with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Memory - 1st 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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Price: £918.00 including VAT and delivery.


Any help appreciated

 

[vanthus]

Nice build,only changes i would suggest is the Caviar Black as 1st Hard Disk,and downgrade ram to 1600MHz.

 

[kruppsy]

Benchmarks will say go with intel but if you got an AMD build you may be able to get a better graphics card which will improve games more than the difference in cpu's will. With your budget though I'd probably stick with intel. Personally, and no disrespect, but I wouldnt choose a PCS case. Go for one of the recognised branded ones £60+ and you'll be fine, shouldn't need extra fans. It might help cooling a bit but you'll get more noise. The GTX 770 is a good card I wouldn't go lower with your budget, no point having more than a i5 4670 & 8GB for gaming at this point in time, although you could save money by lowering to the GENESIS RAM instead, the higher MHz won't influence gaming noticeably. I would also make the HDD a Caviar Black for better performance. Put an SSD in as the primary drive as long as you don't have to compromise on other components, they are a nice thing to have but not essential.

 

[Cadwah]

This would push you up to the high end of your budget:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB2.0, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG & MORE with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
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
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
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: £1,002.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/_LsK0hmmKP/

 

[zacwil]

Revised gaming pc spec

Hey, after looking at some of the advice given before, and some other threads, I've revised my spec. If some people could just look it over to make sure there's no issues with it or give any last minute suggestions before I order it in the next day or two I would really appreciate it. I've saved the quote so I can order it easily, but it'd be nice to know I didnt click anything stupid haha

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB2.0, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS GAME with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Miscellaneous
FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG & MORE with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Quantity
1

Price - £947

 

[keynes]

You can stick to the same thread so others know what your requirements and budget are.

 

[bigben]

Hi, looks good but I have a couple of things:
1. Only 120gb SSD and no HDD? BF3 with expansions is 34.2gb, BF4 is 26.4gb, I think ghosts recommends something stupid like 40gb.
2. If you can stretch your budget it would be good to increase the PSU to 1050w. This will allow you to add a second GTX770 in SLI when the single one begins to struggle.

 

[zacwil]

Ah good shout about the lack of space, I actually didnt think too much about how much space the games would take up. I think I'll ditch the SSD and just go with a 1TB Caviar Black instead. Thanks