How will my computer cope with games?

[jxxxjoexxxj]

Hi i want to play/record games like minecraft, portal 2, Trine 2 etc. I know that my computer meets the system requirements (i hope) but just wandered if it will be able to cope with recording with something like fraps aswell. Any suggestions to the spec i will take into consideration.

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H77-M: M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Your Electric Sockets! (£19)
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£129)
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (£8)
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Black Widow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (£108)
Mouse
LOGITECH® G700 WIRELESS LASER GAMING MOUSE (£65)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,358.00 including VAT and delivery.


thanks

 

[keynes]

I'd go for cheaper peripherals (mouse, keyboard) and upgrade the GPU to GTX 670 also change the hdd to a caviar black.

 

[Corfate]

Your configuration is slightly off-balance.

1. Drop down to the i5 3550. I7's hyperthreading isn't utilised in games
2. Drop to 8GB RAM, 16GB is overkill even for your requirements
3. Change the HDD to the 2TB Caviar Black. Faster drive
4. You need the x2 homeplugs option if you want a circuit (x1 for the router, x1 for the pc)
5. Silver Warranty
6. Last but not least, upgrade the GPU to the highest you can in your budget Consider an 7850, 7870 or an 570.

 

[Big_Rich]

I don't agree with dropping down to 8Gb of RAM.

RAM prices are on the floor atm. For the sake of 30-40 quid, stick with 16Gb.

I can remember being told 128Mb was "overkill"...

 

[lady0sheep]

Your configuration is slightly off-balance.

1. Drop down to the i5 3550. I7's hyperthreading isn't utilised in games
2. Drop to 8GB RAM, 16GB is overkill even for your requirements
3. Change the HDD to the 2TB Caviar Black. Faster drive
4. You need the x2 homeplugs option if you want a circuit (x1 for the router, x1 for the pc)
5. Silver Warranty
6. Last but not least, upgrade the GPU to the highest you can in your budget Consider an 7850, 7870 or an 570.

Agree with all these, also if you use a different antivirus then get rid of the free trial from your spec when you order so you have less clutter on there!

 

[jxxxjoexxxj]

thanks for all the help

 

[jxxxjoexxxj]

Whcih spec is better?

Hi in your opinion which of these specs are better and what could i do to improve them thanks.

~SPEC 1

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER EIGHT CORE FX-8150 (3.60GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE AMD CPU COOLER (£19)
Fan Controller
NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Your Electric Sockets! (£19)
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£129)
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (£8)
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Black Widow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (£105)
Mouse
LOGITECH® G700 WIRELESS LASER GAMING MOUSE (£65)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
External Hard Drive
WD 1TB My Book Essential USB 3.0 External HDD WDBACW0010HBK (£89)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,387.00 including VAT and delivery.


Spec 2

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H77-M: M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
200Mbps HomePlug AV - Create a Wired Network Using Your Electric Sockets! (£19)
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£129)
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (£8)
Keyboard & Mouse
Razer® Black Widow Ultimate Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (£105)
Mouse
LOGITECH® G700 WIRELESS LASER GAMING MOUSE (£65)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
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: £1,377.00 including VAT and delivery.


Thanks.

The main reason i want this is for gaming, recording and rendering videos.
(oh and I only included 1xhomeplug because i have 1 already plugged into my router that my brother uses for his xbox, can i use this plug or will i require the 2 set?)

Also ideally i would like to set up 2-3 monitors and would like to know if either of these specs will allow me to do that and also what are the requirements and how do i do it? (do both the monitors need to be the same?

 

[tom_gr7]

two secs let me make a spec

note you need two homeplugs not jsut the one mate, unless you already have some.

 

[tom_gr7]

ok, for a base spec, not added mouse n keyboard though, as honestly get the best spec you can get now, then add mouse n keyboard later on, mega easy upgrades. PLus you dont need to spend that much on a keyboard n mouse, my keyboard was 50 quid, my mouse, razer imperator was 51 quid on amazon, just over hundred quid. be much better to spend that on a nice gpu that will last a few years yet, the 560ti is good, but the 670 is twice the power and will last much longer, i promise you that.

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 WHITE GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£129) no need to but a hdmi cable, this comes with a dvi cable,
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: £1,216.00 including VAT and delivery.

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

 

[keynes]

ok, for a base spec, not added mouse n keyboard though, as honestly get the best spec you can get now, then add mouse n keyboard later on, mega easy upgrades. PLus you dont need to spend that much on a keyboard n mouse, my keyboard was 50 quid, my mouse, razer imperator was 51 quid on amazon, just over hundred quid. be much better to spend that on a nice gpu that will last a few years yet, the 560ti is good, but the 670 is twice the power and will last much longer, i promise you that.

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 WHITE GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
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 w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£129) no need to but a hdmi cable, this comes with a dvi cable,
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: £1,216.00 including VAT and delivery.

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

Ace spec

 

[jxxxjoexxxj]

2 monitor setup

Hi i wanted to know if i will be able to use a duel monitor setup (with different things displayed on different screens) i want to know what i have to have to be able to do this e.g. do i need any special cables etc. and also how can i do it. If you know any videos or something that will help me do it i will appreciate it. I dont know what specs you might need but i know the graphics card is :

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready

Also do the 2 monitors have to be the same size,make etc.
thanks

 

[keynes]

Hi i wanted to know if i will be able to use a duel monitor setup (with different things displayed on different screens) i want to know what i have to have to be able to do this e.g. do i need any special cables etc. and also how can i do it. If you know any videos or something that will help me do it i will appreciate it. I dont know what specs you might need but i know the graphics card is :

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready

Also do the 2 monitors have to be the same size,make etc.
thanks

You should be able to. You just need 2 HDMI or DVI cables, it is just connecting the monitors to the graphics card and then going to NVIDIA control panel and click on "Set up multiple displays"

 

[Fear]

Seen as you are getting the build for recording while gaming you will be better of with Tom's spec but you should go for 2 HDD's as you will get better performance recording to a spare HDD also you might actually want 16GB of Ram for the video editing but you could just get 8GB now and see how you go on then if you need more just call PCS and order another 2 x 4GB sticks of ram and slot them in (very easy to do)

 

[vanthus]

It's also quite easy to set up dual monitors with windows,with the two monitors connected right-click on the desktop and select Screen resolution,now you’ll see 1 and 2 to distinguish which monitor is which. You can then select the option to duplicate or extend.Only have one monitor connected though when first setting up your computer.
The cables you need depends on the ports of your monitors,if they have DVI ports then all you need is two DVI cables.The monitors dont need to be the same size or make.

 

[jxxxjoexxxj]

Thanks for the info.

 

[jxxxjoexxxj]

Could i use 2 hdmi cables? Because one of the screens im thinking of using doesn't support DVI but the other one does, so is it better to have 1xhdmi and 1xDVI or 2xhdmi, or won't that work?

 

[keynes]

it should work, i did try it myself with success. The only issue I had was that in 3D mode the HDMI cable will not work.

 

[Rakk]

Could i use 2 hdmi cables? Because one of the screens im thinking of using doesn't support DVI but the other one does, so is it better to have 1xhdmi and 1xDVI or 2xhdmi, or won't that work?

I have a feeling that the graphics card has 2 DVI ports, 1 HDMI and one VGA, so you may not be able to use 2 HDMI's anyway (well not without an adaptor). Note: the amount of which ports you get can differ between different makes of graphics cards at times, I have checked what you get on the Palit one.

So I'd probably go for one HDMI and one DVI