Gaming desktop

Belthien

Member
Hi there,

I'm looking to build a gaming desktop which will last me 2-3 years with the only thing I really need to upgrade being adding extra RAM, all without going much above around £1300-1350. Her comes the spec:

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (£82)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
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
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
22" Wide TFT Silver/Black 1920 x1080 2MS D-Sub, DVI, 21.6" Panel (£119)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,259.00 including VAT and delivery.

I assume they'll be free RAM slots where I can add extra RAM in later as needed.

One thing I'm thinking at the moment is upgrading the 2gig GTX460 to the 1280MB GTX470 for £45. I don't know much about comps but I assume the improvements between 460 and 470 make up for the loss in MB. Basically it comes down to which would last longer in the next few years.

Also, whats the advantage of the 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE hard drive I chose over a 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE as I may be able to save some money by downgrading there.

My main problem is, without much computer knowledge it's possible for me to build a system where I get too much of one thing which is made useless by skimping elsewhere. So if there was one part of my system you'd upgrade, what would it be?
 

Gorman

Author Level
I assume they'll be free RAM slots where I can add extra RAM in later as needed.

There are 6 slots so you can easily double the ram later if needed, for a gaming machine thats a while off yet.

One thing I'm thinking at the moment is upgrading the 2gig GTX460 to the 1280MB GTX470 for £45. I don't know much about comps but I assume the improvements between 460 and 470 make up for the loss in MB. Basically it comes down to which would last longer in the next few years.

The 470 is the technically superior card, for £45 more i would.

Also, whats the advantage of the 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE hard drive I chose over a 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE as I may be able to save some money by downgrading there.

64MB Cache is worth it, the drive will be a lot nippier compared to its 16MB counterpart.

My main problem is, without much computer knowledge it's possible for me to build a system where I get too much of one thing which is made useless by skimping elsewhere. So if there was one part of my system you'd upgrade, what would it be?

The GPU to the 470 as you suggested if budget allows, you will be fine with the 460 though. This is a fairly well balanced spec.
 

Sleinous

Author Level
64MB Cache is worth it, the drive will be a lot nippier compared to its 16MB counterpart.

Ya beat me :(

Ye, i'd go for the 470 if the budget can stretch, 448 cuda cores in the 470. Tis the card I use and i'd strongly recommend. One thing i'd point out is, that motherboard supports SLI, and, 2x GTX 470s (one in the future) would be very nice, but, that PSU wouldnt handle it.
 

Belthien

Member
OK, I'll go with the 470. So would you recommend upgrading the PSU so I can put a 2nd graphics card in at a later date if needed or will I need a comp with a better processor by the time that happens?
 

Sleinous

Author Level
I would strongly recommend upping the PSU, nah, teh CPU will be fine for a long while yet :) Something like an HX1000W or a TX850W should do
 

Belthien

Member
Reading some other threads, apparently the difference between a SATA 6 Gb/s HDD and a SATA 3 Gb/s is negligible unless solid state hard drives are involved (or something along those lines) so will downgrade my 1 TB caviar black to a 1TB caviar green
 

Belthien

Member
Well, a few tweaks to the spec then:
2 gig gtx460 -> 1280 gtx 470
1 tb caviar black HDD -> 1 tb caviar green
600W PSU -> 850W Corsair
cpu cooling -> titan fenrir extreme copper cooling (i have a tendancy to run my comp non-stop for 16 hours at a time when i get into a game)
22" screen -> 24"
got a headset included too as my current one just broke
upgraded to silver warranty

So it ends up here:
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (£82)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX470 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE MAFIA II Game (RRP: £34.99) with a qualifying GTX 4xx Series GPU!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 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 (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£100)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
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
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
24" Wide TFT Silver/Black 1920 x1080 2MS D-Sub, DVI, 23.6" Panel (£149)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Headsets (VOIP)
Logitech® PC Headset 860 Stereo with in-line volume control (£15)
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
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 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,389.00 including VAT and delivery.

Not content i then looked at AMD:
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (£82)
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M4N98TD EVO: DDR3, 2-Way SLI, SATA 3.0GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (4 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX470 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Free Item
FREE MAFIA II Game (RRP: £34.99) with a qualifying GTX 4xx Series GPU!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 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 (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£100)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EXTREME DIRECT TOUCH COPPER CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
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
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
24" Wide TFT Silver/Black 1920 x1080 2MS D-Sub, DVI, 23.6" Panel (£149)
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Headsets (VOIP)
Logitech® PC Headset 860 Stereo with in-line volume control (£15)
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (Special Offer £6)
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 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,268.00 including VAT and delivery.

All the same except processor (of course), motherboard seems a bit lower and couldnt get 6 gig of ram so went for 8 gig although it says dual-ddr3 rather than tri-ddr3 so dont know what difference that makes.

My new question thus is: Is the Intel i7 better (despite being 3.06 Ghz rather than 3.40 Ghz) and worth spending the extra £121 on

I know the intel vs AMD debate is neverending but in this specific case, what are your thoughts?
 

Sleinous

Author Level
Dual means the sticks work in pairs, tri means they work in triplets. Difference isnt too noticeable though.

Welcome aboard the GTX 470 owners club! Ye Titan is good idea if youre running your pc for prolonged hours.
 

Belthien

Member
No views on the i7-950 vs phenom II X4 965 then?

Edit: Looked into it a bit more myself and it seems the main difference is the i7's hyperthreading. While it might not make a noticeable difference now, in the future i'll probs be pushing the processor quite hard and being able to run 2 high-end tasks with ease is just too tempting. So, im leaning towards sticking with the i7
 
Last edited:

Darko

Well-known member
you better stick with i7, new amd bulldozer will be on different socket, so no more upgrades in the future. i7-950 is on the same socket as i7-980x :)
 

Belthien

Member
Folding might be tough with my very low download limit! Anywho, will stick to the i7, should I let them know when I order that I intend to put a 2nd gtx470 in in the future and to set up cooling with that in mind or will it make no difference?
 

Belthien

Member
Seems like my questions will never end but looking on the intel website it says the i7-950only supports DDR3-800/1066 memory. This seems to make my 1600Mhz RAM unnecessary, so I might as well downgrade to the Samsung 1333 Mhz standard stuff. Am I right in thinking this?
 
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Belthien

Member
Right, believe it or not I'm pretty close to ordering now.

Eveything is decided except the processor as I've been wandering the intel site whilst at work. From the looks of it, the i7 870 might be the better option for me over the i7 950 as I'm not overclocking anything.

It's lower clock speed (2933 vs 3067) seems to be made up for by the turbo boost.
It supports my 1333 Mhz memory whereas the 950 only does 1066 although it is dual channel rather than tri-channel but i dont think thats a big deal.
It seems to run at a lower power which should also limit the heat it produces which is a bonus as I run my machine pretty constantly.
A final bonus is it's cheaper although thats secondary to me to it's performance, with 2x2 gig RAM (2 gig less than my 950 spec) i save £116 and with 2x4 gig RAM (2 gig more than my 950 spec) i still save £18
The main downside seems to be the socket's preceived shorter lifespan but I don't really know what that will mean for me

Is there anything I'm not seeing that makes the 950 superior? Keeping in mind i'll be running with a gtx470, looking to add a 2nd one further down the line and around 6 gig RAM again looking to add more later
 
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Darko

Well-known member
i dont get it, how i7-950 doesnt support 1333mhz or 1666 mhz ram ? havent seen anything about that!
 
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