First Gaming PC

[nikhkin]

I've been eyeing up a PC from PCS for a while now, and I've finally saved enough to buy a gaming PC. I was working to a budget (and ended up £200 over that budget anyway) but I think I've got a machine that'll do what I want it to. It'll be used for a combination of work and gaming, but obviously I was leaning more towards gaming with the design since pretty much anything can run Office.

I ordered on Tuesday so now I'm stuck here being incredibly impatient with my mouse hovering over the "Amend Order" button to upgrade to a Fast Track service, even though I won't have a chance to use it till the end of the month anyway.

Case__________________InWIN MANA-136 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)_________16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 8GB KIT)
Graphics Card__________2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 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__________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 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE
Processor Cooling_______Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card____________ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities_______WIRELESS 802.11N 150Mbps PCI-E CARD (Special Offer)
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
Monitor________________AOC 21.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D
Maximum Power_________446W

The choice of case was rather limited to me because the shelf of my desk only has 45cm of clearance. There is more space above to allow ventilation, however there are metal poles running along at 45cm above the shelf that prevent me having a taller case.

The monitor was recommended to me by someone with the same model, and will be used alongside my 22 inch TV.

There are a couple of things I would have done slightly differently with a higher budget, such as a Blu-Ray drive and an i7, but I don't need either of those things for what I do, so it would have been a matter of spending more for the sake of it.

What do you guys think of the build? Have I made a good decision for my first gaming rig?

 

[Boozad]

I'd have dropped the RAM down to 8GB (more than enough for gaming) and had a Caviar Black as the secondary drive.

 

[keynes]

For gaming I would have dropped the SSD, 8gb RAM,get the z87-k motherboard, 650w PSU and upgrade to the gtx 770.

 

[nikhkin]

Thanks for the tips. If I drop to 8GB RAM what would you recommend?
If I manage to find space in my budget, would you suggest the 2GB or 4GB GTX770?

I went for an SSD for the fast boot times (although I know that's a bit of a luxury and not a necessity, it's just something I've always planned on getting).
I went for the Z-87A because it was recommended as being good for running with multiple graphics cards and I was thinking of the possibility of upgrades in future. Not sure to what extent this is necessary for me to include now.
Again, I picked a higher power PSU for the possibility of upgrading in future.

Unfortunately, upgrading to the GTX770 will push me further over budget.

I think I did go a bit overboard on the RAM and power supply because I expect it to save me a bit of hassle with upgrading in future, even though I have no idea how far down the line I would even need to/want to upgrade components.

 

[keynes]

If I manage to find space in my budget, would you suggest the 2GB or 4GB GTX770?

No, the 2gb version will be fine for 1 screen.

Unfortunately, upgrading to the GTX770 will push me further over budget.

If it is for gaming I would suggest the best gpu you can afford. An SSD is not essential and gaming wise upgrading the gpu will be a better option. The Z87-A allows you to SLI, my suggestion was based on your budget. I would prefer to have a stronger single gpu than 2x GTX 760.