New gaming PC help needed with spec please!

[Freeley]

Hi all

Not been on here for a while but I'm looking at replacing the PC I bought from here nearly 6 years ago.
I bought a good system with a decent CPU and graphics card last time and want to do something similar again - I like to play the odd AAA game (though not as often this days sadly due to lack of time), so it needs to be up to the job.
Other than that it's mostly watching films/downloaded boxsets etc and doing my business paperwork using Word and Excel.
The main problem with my current setup is that since upgrading to Windows 10 it's been very slow, I've spent weeks on the Internet trying various settings changes to improve things but after contacting ASUS they told me my motherboard wasn't fully compatible with Windows 10 and there were no drivers available for it.
For this reason I want to future proof everything as much as I can in terms of mobo, CPU, GPU and memory etc.
Something I'd like this time are a primary SSD large enough to keep a few games, a secondary drive and a third backup drive to keep my work stuff and videos on.
A decent mobo, CPU, GPU and enough memory are important requirements!
I've copied the spec of my current PC below as a reference , it cost about £1300 and was hoping for something similar price wise but could go to £1500 if necessary. Hope you guys can help, cheers!

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, CrossFireX™ / SLI SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DirectX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd 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 (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W TX SERIES (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£99)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£17)
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
Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE (£5)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector + Auto Power Off Function (£19)
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 13 working days
Quantity
1

 

[SpyderTracks]

Do you want a new case? Just wondering as you've got a very decent one and if it was me, i'd remove the internals and send in the case and have the new one built in that to save £80 quid or so. PCS will allow you to supply your own case, it's one of the options in the configurator.

 

[Freeley]

I could do i suppose I hadn't even thought of that cheers. Would it be a good idea to keep my 2nd hard drive for my backups as well, or would it be sensible to replace it after 6 years?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I could do i suppose I hadn't even thought of that cheers. Would it be a good idea to keep my 2nd hard drive for my backups as well, or would it be sensible to replace it after 6 years?

I'd definitely keep both drives, use the caviar black for Data storage as it performs well and they last for an awfully long time, and use the green for backups. Then get a 500Gb SSD as the OS drive in the new build.

I won't post a build as there are other members who will totally outdo me, but thought it worth mentioning that.

 

[Oussebon]

Cannibalising the case and drives is certainly an option, though the question is then what you do with the remaining parts. If you sell the parts off 1 by 1 on ebay then it's no big deal. But if you wanted to sell/give the system away as a whole (even if Windows 10 isn't running on it, someone could put Linux on for example) you'd end up removing it from the case, buying a 2nd cheaper case, reinstalling the system into that, and paying to ship your original case to PCS. By which time you won't have saved much money and will have used up a lot of time (especially if you've never built a PC before yourself). And if you're happy doing all that you might as well get yourself a new CPU, mobo, RAM, windows licence and just re-use everything else you already have (case, PSU, etc). Maybe get a new GPU as well if you want better gaming performance.

Depends what you want to do with your old gear I suppose

The main problem with my current setup is that since upgrading to Windows 10 it's been very slow, I've spent weeks on the Internet trying various settings changes to improve things but after contacting ASUS they told me my motherboard wasn't fully compatible with Windows 10 and there were no drivers available for it.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate Asus are fobbing you off. There are plenty of people with that motherboard who seem to have Windows 10 working fine on it. If you only upgraded and didn't run a clean install of Windows 10 that would be the first thing I'd try.

Part of why I'm mentioning this is because:

For this reason I want to future proof everything as much as I can in terms of mobo, CPU, GPU and memory etc.

There's not a great deal you could do there to avoid the problem you're having. Obviously you can future-proof the hardware in terms of performance, but in terms of avoiding future compatibility issues with Windows Version XYZ in 6 years time. People have found that with various updates to Windows 10, their drivers for certain things like sound cards can just not work any more overnight.

That said, it's not like there isn't an argument for an upgrade in its own right. This shows the kind of performance gains a new CPU might net you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4732/asus-p8p67-review/8

There are plenty of different ways you could spend your money. This is one:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3 ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 1060 Systems!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,508.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-skylake-overclocked/WjdYKUY8H9/

For gaming and general office use, there is actually little performance difference between an i7 and an i5 most of the time. Not even in Excel apparently:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/skylake-intel-core-i7-6700k-core-i5-6600k,review-33276-6.html
So you could drop down to an i5 6600k and save £100. It's possible that as we move into DX12 gaming we'll see more benefit from i7s but it's not like the best intel i5 on the market will very suddenly be inadequate for most games.

The SM961 is an expensive SSD, and you could save £50 by going with a Sata III Hyper X Savage instead. But if you're going for future-proof and performance to last you as long as possible you might as well take advantage of some of the best M.2 SSDs have to offer. I think the 500gb SSD + reusing at least one of your old drives advice above is a very sound way to go.

6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 1060 Systems!

For a £1500 gaming build I'd usually push for a GTX 1070. But affording that would probably involve compromising on other components. Since you're only an occasional gamer and as a GTX 1060 is still capable of playing most AAA games on very high or ultra settings, I think the 1060 is probably the right decision.

One final thing to note - Intel's Kaby Lake CPUs for desktop PCs are due to launch in Jan, along with a new set of motherboards. It's not expected to be revolutionary for performance but if you want something as future-proof as possible, you might want to hold fire until then.

 

[Freeley]

Cannibalising the case and drives is certainly an option, though the question is then what you do with the remaining parts. If you sell the parts off 1 by 1 on ebay then it's no big deal. But if you wanted to sell/give the system away as a whole (even if Windows 10 isn't running on it, someone could put Linux on for example) you'd end up removing it from the case, buying a 2nd cheaper case, reinstalling the system into that, and paying to ship your original case to PCS. By which time you won't have saved much money and will have used up a lot of time (especially if you've never built a PC before yourself). And if you're happy doing all that you might as well get yourself a new CPU, mobo, RAM, windows licence and just re-use everything else you already have (case, PSU, etc). Maybe get a new GPU as well if you want better gaming performance.

Depends what you want to do with your old gear I suppose

I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate Asus are fobbing you off. There are plenty of people with that motherboard who seem to have Windows 10 working fine on it. If you only upgraded and didn't run a clean install of Windows 10 that would be the first thing I'd try.

Part of why I'm mentioning this is because:
There's not a great deal you could do there to avoid the problem you're having. Obviously you can future-proof the hardware in terms of performance, but in terms of avoiding future compatibility issues with Windows Version XYZ in 6 years time. People have found that with various updates to Windows 10, their drivers for certain things like sound cards can just not work any more overnight.

That said, it's not like there isn't an argument for an upgrade in its own right. This shows the kind of performance gains a new CPU might net you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4732/asus-p8p67-review/8

There are plenty of different ways you could spend your money. This is one:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3 ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 1060 Systems!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,508.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-skylake-overclocked/WjdYKUY8H9/

For gaming and general office use, there is actually little performance difference between an i7 and an i5 most of the time. Not even in Excel apparently:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/skylake-intel-core-i7-6700k-core-i5-6600k,review-33276-6.html
So you could drop down to an i5 6600k and save £100. It's possible that as we move into DX12 gaming we'll see more benefit from i7s but it's not like the best intel i5 on the market will very suddenly be inadequate for most games.

The SM961 is an expensive SSD, and you could save £50 by going with a Sata III Hyper X Savage instead. But if you're going for future-proof and performance to last you as long as possible you might as well take advantage of some of the best M.2 SSDs have to offer. I think the 500gb SSD + reusing at least one of your old drives advice above is a very sound way to go.

For a £1500 gaming build I'd usually push for a GTX 1070. But affording that would probably involve compromising on other components. Since you're only an occasional gamer and as a GTX 1060 is still capable of playing most AAA games on very high or ultra settings, I think the 1060 is probably the right decision.

One final thing to note - Intel's Kaby Lake CPUs for desktop PCs are due to launch in Jan, along with a new set of motherboards. It's not expected to be revolutionary for performance but if you want something as future-proof as possible, you might want to hold fire until then.

Thanks for your help it's much appreciated!
I'll be waiting until the new year anyway so it would make sense to see the new cpu's, that's what I did with my i7.
I'll study your spec in great detail but it certainly seems the way I'm wanting to go. I may even try it with the 1080 gpu and see how much more that comes out at.
With regards to the standard hard drives have the performance of those increased since I got mine? I'd like the system to be as fast as I can make it.

 

[Oussebon]

I'll study your spec in great detail but it certainly seems the way I'm wanting to go. I may even try it with the 1080 gpu and see how much more that comes out at.

Guessing £400 or more extra but you can check your options in the new year. If it's gaming at 1080p resolution on a 60hz monitor, though, there's almost no good reason to get a GTX 1080. Even a GTX 1070 is very indulgent for that res and refresh rate

With regards to the standard hard drives have the performance of those increased since I got mine? I'd like the system to be as fast as I can make it.

I doubt there'd be a difference you could notice. Your WD Black would probably outperform an average ~£45 common-or-garden Toshiba HDD. But the point of HDDs is mass storage - Windows, your programs, and a selection of games would go on the M.2 SSD. Which is extremely fast.

 

[Freeley]

OK thanks seems like a 1060 would be the one to go for then. Just need to decide whether to use my existing case and hard drives and try to sell a load of bits, or just buy a complete new pc and sell my existing one as is.

 

[Freeley]

OK so while I'm going to wait for the new cpu's and mobos in January I've been fiddling about with my configuration as well as looking at other posters specs and have come up with this:


Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III WHITE CASE (Limited Edition!)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ upto MAX 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170-P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 1060 Systems!
1st Hard Disk
2TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm White LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1300 867Mbps/5GHz, 400Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,829.00 including VAT and delivery.

Price has gone up but I can claim the vat back so not all bad.
A couple of general questions though - there are numerous choices of wifi network cards, the one I've chosen looks like it's a bit faster than some of the cheaper ones is this right? And would any of them have stronger reception in terms of picking up the signal from my router downstairs?
I think if I've spending this kind of money I'd like to go for a new case and 2 hard drives in addition to the SSD, I've chosen a WD drive as the first HD under the assumption that as it's more expensive than a standard one then it must be better right? Or is it a waste of money? Also my current backup drive is a "green" one, something which is no longer available it seems, are new drives more efficient these days?

Other than that I had to go through a few cases before finding one that would allow the configurator to proceed, but wanted to check that everything would still be OK in terms of my chosen case having sufficient fans/ventilation and that the psu would still be OK now that I've added 2 hd's?
I see that you can add fan controllers and extra fans if you want, would my chosen spec be good without having to add anything along those lines?

Cheers

 

[Oussebon]

The PSU is fine, the configurator will tell you if it's not.

The WD Blacks are faster, but despite owning one myself I'm not convinced they're really worth the significant extra expensive. Windows plus your programs and favourite games should all be able to fit onto a 512gb SSD. The extra drives are just for mass storage.

Also my current backup drive is a "green" one, something which is no longer available it seems, are new drives more efficient these days?

WD just merged the Green drives into their Blue family. The regular drives PCS will use might be WD Blues, but will probably be Seagates (or maybe Toshiba, a few of their review models have had Toshibas). There's not much in it.

Also you've gone from only needing a ~500gb SSD + one or two old 1tb drives to need 4gb additional storage space. If you don't need anywhere near that much then there's not much point buying it yet. Storage is easy to add yourself in a few years if you run out

In your position I'd rather spend the extra on a better motherboard than a slightly faster HDD. Maybe go half way and get a single 3tb drive, saying you £100. You could then either sink those savings into the Hero if you want a really flash mobo, or at least spend a few £ extra on the Z170-E (which seems to sell itself as more suitable for overclocking, on the Asus website anyway - https://www.asus.com/uk/Product-Compare/?products=YGPc9BxdhdxLwehL,wqTsdljS1qnLVVIf ). The Pro Gaming and Ranger don't support the faster RAM apparently.

Your case should be fine for cooling. You might consider an extra case fan (I'd suggest the quiet one over the cheapest one) The point of the fan controller is to be able to make the fans run slower when the PC isn't at full load. Some cases (like the Fractal R5) have simple built-in fan controllers. If you're not overly bothered about making the PC as quiet as possible when not on load (they're only case fans, they won't be anywhere near as noisy as GPU fans under load or anything), then don't bother with buying a fan controller.

 

[Freeley]

The PSU is fine, the configurator will tell you if it's not.

The WD Blacks are faster, but despite owning one myself I'm not convinced they're really worth the significant extra expensive. Windows plus your programs and favourite games should all be able to fit onto a 512gb SSD. The extra drives are just for mass storage.

WD just merged the Green drives into their Blue family. The regular drives PCS will use might be WD Blues, but will probably be Seagates (or maybe Toshiba, a few of their review models have had Toshibas). There's not much in it.

Also you've gone from only needing a ~500gb SSD + one or two old 1tb drives to need 4gb additional storage space. If you don't need anywhere near that much then there's not much point buying it yet. Storage is easy to add yourself in a few years if you run out

In your position I'd rather spend the extra on a better motherboard than a slightly faster HDD. Maybe go half way and get a single 3tb drive, saying you £100. You could then either sink those savings into the Hero if you want a really flash mobo, or at least spend a few £ extra on the Z170-E (which seems to sell itself as more suitable for overclocking, on the Asus website anyway - https://www.asus.com/uk/Product-Compare/?products=YGPc9BxdhdxLwehL,wqTsdljS1qnLVVIf ). The Pro Gaming and Ranger don't support the faster RAM apparently.

Your case should be fine for cooling. You might consider an extra case fan (I'd suggest the quiet one over the cheapest one) The point of the fan controller is to be able to make the fans run slower when the PC isn't at full load. Some cases (like the Fractal R5) have simple built-in fan controllers. If you're not overly bothered about making the PC as quiet as possible when not on load (they're only case fans, they won't be anywhere near as noisy as GPU fans under load or anything), then don't bother with buying a fan controller.

Thanks again for your time Oussebon, it's much appreciated.
I suppose my thoughts with regards to doubling the storage on the hd's is another case of trying to future proof myself, I don't want to be running out of room in a few years though like you say they can always be replaced in the future. Thinking about it I suppose I could keep all my work stuff on the SSD and use one hd as a back up drive so one hd would probably suffice.
A better mobo is certainly something I'd consider as that's what is causing my problems on my current pc (it also had the dreaded faulty SATA ports problem which I overcame with an adapter supplied by PCS, though I'm not completely convinced it ever ran the same once fitted). I guess that's something I'll be asking you about in the new year when the new ones come out!

With regards to the fan controller, I like the thought of it running quieter but not enough to go for that option at the moment.

Do you have any thoughts on wifi network cards in terms of whether some are quicker or have better reception?

 

[Oussebon]

like you say they can always be replaced in the future.

Not just replaced, but added to. The motherboards will have 4-6 sata ports so that's 1 for the dvd, 1 for the HDD, and 2 or more spare for additional SSDs. Adding more storage is more cost effective than most PC upgrades because you don't need to replace anything, you just add more (within reason). There's also network storage options, etc.

Do you have any thoughts on wifi network cards in terms of whether some are quicker or have better reception?

What exact model router do you have?

 

[Freeley]

I've got the EE Bright Box 2

 

[Oussebon]

So I know nothing about this router. And very little about routers in general.

Maybe I missed it on the EE pages but they don't seem to give the wifi speeds on there. https://broadband.ee.co.uk/ee-bright-box-router2 http://ee.co.uk/help/phones-and-dev...-wireless-router/bright-box-2-wireless-router

But going by this:
http://www.broadbandanalyst.co.uk/a...tbox-2-fibre-optic-broadband-wireless-router/ it has upto 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band

These reviews compare it to other "1750"mbps (1300 5GHz / 450 2.4GHz) routers
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...e-bright-box-2-wireless-router-1209078/review
http://www.trustedreviews.com/ee-bright-box-2-802-11ac-router-review-performance-verdict-page-2

So I'd probably just pair it up with one of the "WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750" (£39) wifi cards. Apparently it's a TP-LINK Archer T8E. There's a couple of reviews online. Consensus seems to be that it's perfectly ok.
http://www.impulsegamer.com/ac1750-wireless-dual-band-pci-express-adapter-archer-t8e-review/
http://www.wirelesshack.org/review-...0-dual-band-wireless-pci-express-adapter.html

 

[Freeley]

That's smashing cheers mate.

 

[Freeley]

Hi all just reviving this thread as I've updated my spec based on the new i7-7700k CPU.
Can somebody have a look and suggest any alterations please - particularly with reference to the mobo which I know nothing about, and the memory as I've chosen the 3200mhz which comes out cheaper than the 3000mhz for some reason?
Budget is a little higher than I was wanting really (wanted to keep to £1500+vat really) so I suppose I could drop back to the 512gb SSD rather than the 1tb, would put the os, my work stuff and my most used apps and games on there.
In the end I've decided to use my 1tb hd's from my existing pc for storage.
The Noctua cooler isn't compatible with mobo so didn't know if the one I've gone for is OK?

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III WHITE CASE (Limited Edition!)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z270X-Ultra Gaming: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX PREDATOR DDR4 3200MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm White LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
PCS EXTRA-CARE DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,934.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Oussebon]

The overclocked version of that build is also only £10 more (£1944) so you might as well get that. Even if you restore stock settings in the BIOS because you decide you don't like the OC for random reasons, at least you'll have a system that should be capable of 4.8GHz if you want to re-apply the OC in the future.

The Noctua does work with the Asus Z270E apparently. The Z270E also has 2 M.2 slots, RGB lighting (if you like that kind of thing - I guess you do with that LED strip there), and onboard wifi. So despite being £15 more expensive if you ditch the wifi card in favour of the onboard wifi it's a net saving.

So with those tweaks:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III WHITE CASE (Limited Edition!)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.2GHz @ upto MAX 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX PREDATOR DDR4 3200MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1800MB/W)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm White LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
PCS EXTRA-CARE DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,950.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-z270-overclocked/UsJRAmnEKn/

 

[Freeley]

Thanks Oussebon I've altered your suggested spec having downgraded the SSD to 512gb to get me under my budget, I reckon this could be the one for me but will mull over the case as I'm not 100% sure on that yet. I fancied something different but it seems that the fractal cases you often suggest might be quieter which would be an attraction.

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III WHITE CASE (Limited Edition!)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.2GHz @ upto MAX 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX PREDATOR DDR4 3200MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3200MB/R, 1700MB/W)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm White LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
PCS EXTRA-CARE DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,756.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[Oussebon]

The CM690 III seems quite decent for cooling performance. Slightly difference relative performance depending on the review one looks at:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2014/08/07/cooler-master-cm-690-iii-review/3
https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/48...gger-and-better-test-results-noise-production
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/cooler_master_cm_690_iii_review,9.html
And apparently the noise is quite respectable as well.

That said the Fractal case will likely be quieter. Note that the Fractal R5 doesn't have a side window.

The Fractal Define S does have a side window, but lacks space for an internal DVD drive. That's not a problem if you're happy to use a USB dvd drive (and there's no real reason why you shouldn't be)

Equally, you could do worse than the CM690 III, and if a quite different look is what you're after you'd be one of about ten people in the world that don't have a black PC case or a white PC case made by NZXT.

 

[Freeley]

The CM690 III seems quite decent for cooling performance. Slightly difference relative performance depending on the review one looks at:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2014/08/07/cooler-master-cm-690-iii-review/3
https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/48...gger-and-better-test-results-noise-production
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/cooler_master_cm_690_iii_review,9.html
And apparently the noise is quite respectable as well.

That said the Fractal case will likely be quieter. Note that the Fractal R5 doesn't have a side window.

The Fractal Define S does have a side window, but lacks space for an internal DVD drive. That's not a problem if you're happy to use a USB dvd drive (and there's no real reason why you shouldn't be)

Equally, you could do worse than the CM690 III, and if a quite different look is what you're after you'd be one of about ten people in the world that don't have a black PC case or a white PC case made by NZXT.

Funny you should say that as the NZXT Phantom 410 was the other case I liked.....it has a fan controller which is good but i'm back to the Noctua cooler not fitting so thought i'd stick to the CM as it's basically the same style as the one i've got now.
Still not sure why the 3200Mhz memory is cheaper than the 3000Mhz though?