Gaming Rig Advice

[freefaller]

Hello all, new to the forum here and also the world of 'build your own' PC's.

I like my RTS games such as the total war series. ETW managed to (I think, it could've been age, it could've happened anyway) fry my GPU and subsequently my MOBO (or vice versa) in my last PC. It was an HP slimline and micro-atx as I learned is quite fiddly and expensive to repair, and did not provide a lot of upgradeability.

With that in mind I wanted a new rig that I could upgrade in the future and also utilise nVidia SLI at some point (hence the larger than required PSU), but also be able to play ETW and NTW and forthcoming total war games w/o my rig blowing up as is. Of course if there is anywhere I could perhaps trim back on cost w/o harming future proofing the system then that would be welcome.

Is the built in network facility suitable for a home LAN or would I require a dedicated card? I'd like a decent sound system in future hence the sound card, or will the dedicated on board do the job just as well?

I also intend to use this rig as my home PC for work, hence the USB ports hub and the two HD in RAID 1 .

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE (£149)
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.8GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB CORSAIR XMS3 TRI-DDR3 1600MHz (3 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
640GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Gamer (£68)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 PORT USB 2.0 EXTERNAL HUB + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - 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: £1,320.00 including VAT and delivery.

Any and all useful input would be welcomed, cheers.

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums freefaller

Great computer you've put together there, and yes the integrated Gigabit LAN is more than suitable for your home networking.

To reduce the price, here are my suggestions:

1. a 750W PSU should suffice, even in SLi.
2. You could go for the Titan Fenrir cooler, which will shave a little off.

Other than that there's not much I can suggest without making more significant changes to your specification.

 

[freefaller]

Hi and thanks PCS. I knew the 850W was overkill now but was trying to cover off the bases in terms of multi-GPU down the line. Would a 750W contend with two GTX 480's in SLi (or similar in the future......).

Elsewhere on this forum I have read that the sound card I've chosen may not be worth the money, any views on this?

Above all I'm:

a. wanting bang for my buck and
b. trying to make sure components don't overheat and fry on me again.

 

[PCS]

For 2 x 480's, stick with the 850W PSU. If you're serious about gaming, the soundcard does give you some benefit, although it depends how you perceive audio quality. Perhaps read some reviews online? Try bit-tech here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/07/01/creative_x-fi_xtremegamer/1

 

[freefaller]

Thanks for the response again PCS. I've read reviews on most if not all the components with the exception of the sound card so cheers for the link.

Another poster has also said that the X58 chipset and Corsair's XSM3 RAM have had a few issues and recommended Kingston. Google time I guess, and apologies for the numerous questions.

 

[PCS]

Yes - go for Kingston if you must, otherwise the Samsung is rock solid

 

[freefaller]

Having read some more reviews I've decided to drop the sound card, opt for Kingston RAM and upgraded the 1GB to a 2GB GTX460. I may opt for a sound card later. Having not built a PC or even added internal hardware before it's something I'd have to think on.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE (£149)
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-930 (2.8GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, INTEL X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
640GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
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
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£62)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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
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: £1,270.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[PCS]

Having read some more reviews I've decided to drop the sound card, opt for Kingston RAM and upgraded the 1GB to a 2GB GTX460. I may opt for a sound card later. Having not built a PC or even added internal hardware before it's something I'd have to think on.

Adding a soundcard to your PC at a later date (if required) is very easy - you (turn off the PC and) simply take off the side panel and slot it into a free PCI/PCIe slot, screw it in and turn your PC back on.

 

[Matt]

Adding a soundcard to your PC at a later date (if required) is very easy - you (turn off the PC and) simply take off the side panel and slot it into a free PCI/PCIe slot, screw it in and turn your PC back on.

Don't forget to plug your speakers into the sound card after installing it into the base unit.

 

[freefaller]

Adding a soundcard to your PC at a later date (if required) is very easy - you (turn off the PC and) simply take off the side panel and slot it into a free PCI/PCIe slot, screw it in and turn your PC back on.

Don't forget to plug your speakers into the sound card after installing it into the base unit.

Who'da thunk it, the wonder of technology these days!

 

[Matt]

We have utmost faith in you free.

 

[Sleinous]

Thanks for the response again PCS. I've read reviews on most if not all the components with the exception of the sound card so cheers for the link.

Another poster has also said that the X58 chipset and Corsair's XSM3 RAM have had a few issues and recommended Kingston. Google time I guess, and apologies for the numerous questions.

That'd be mr nuissance aka me Ye, Kingston, or some Samsung, although you will be gaming with this so maybe Kingston for the smallish price diff?

 

[Matt]

That'd be mr nuissance aka me Ye, Kingston, or some Samsung, although you will be gaming with this so maybe Kingston for the smallish price diff?

I was surprised to see that tbh Slein. Afaik before reading here Corsair was always the big daddy as far as performance and reliability went with ram.

 

[Sleinous]

I was surprised to see that tbh Slein. Afaik before reading here Corsair was always the big daddy as far as performance and reliability went with ram.

I guessthey made a bit of a coocoo with it xD, guess you can't get it right everytime ^.^ Net was plagued with posts about it for a while till people figured out who was the culprit. Far more people had problems with 12GB and 24GB configs though, I just happened to be one of a few odd ones out with 6GB issues

 

[Matt]

I guessthey made a bit of a coocoo with it xD, guess you can't get it right everytime ^.^ Net was plagued with posts about it for a while till people figured out who was the culprit. Far more people had problems with 12GB and 24GB configs though, I just happened to be one of a few odd ones out with 6GB issues

Aye its always the way. Sounds like you have the luck (touch) of a rapist.

 

[Sleinous]

Not sure I like the sound of that lol. Luck be with us! >.<

Oh and btw free, good idea with teh soundcard, theyre so easy to get and setup now anyway its a piece of cake, well infact its simpler than baking an actual cake but then again pretty much anything is simpler than baking a cake for me

 

[PCS]

Corsair was and still is good memory, and will make a great PC. But Corsair don't make their own memory, they buy chips from Nanya, Elpida, Samsung, Hynix, etc, and stick these on their PCB's. If you are unlucky enough to mix one version with another, problems start.

With Samsung, it's Samsung memory on Samsung PCB's - straight from Samsung. We've only just recently started offering it and have gone through almost 10,000 pieces, and have had about 3-4 fail, and they we're DOA. There's not much that can beat that.

 

[Sleinous]

Didnt know that Useful to know! Good ol' Samsung, still cutting out the middle man! Clever sods xD

 

[freefaller]

Thanks all for the info.

In the overclocked system drop down menu Samsung isn't available to choose as RAM, I take it as you only have 1333MHz available while only 1600MHz is listed on the overclocked menus.

Out of interest will you be stocking Samsung 1600MHz RAM in the near future?

 

[PCS]

We will be stocking Samsung 1600MHz in the very near future...