New spec - thoughts?

[gavmac]

Guys/Girls,

I'm an Xbox-er getting into Pc gaming. I did a tonne of research on building my own but with the spec I was looking for I wasn't going to be saving that much - or from the prices I found anyway..

So here's my build I'm thinking about going for. Please post any recommendations you think that would benefit this rig:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R4 BLACK PEARL QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 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 WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£27)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 SoundCard & Headphone AMP (Award Winner) (£24)
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 (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft SideWinder X4 Gaming Keyboard (£39)
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 8 to 10 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE £100 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Miscellaneous
Created Using Jargon Free Configurator
Quantity
1

Price: £1,549.00 including VAT and delivery.

Cheers,

Gav

 

[keynes]

If it is just for gaming you could choose an i5 CPU + triple copper heatpipe. If you are going to be using only 1 monitor the gtx 680 or gtx 670 2gb will be a better alternative.

 

[bigben]

Agree with Keynes, I5 is fine for gaming, my 2gb GTX 670 maxes out every game I have played (on 1 monitor). Possibly worth upgrading HDD to 2tb, a lot of new games require 20gb+ I know that it would take an awful lot of games to fill it, but possibly better safe than sorry?
Looking at the CPU and CPU cooler, are you planning to overclock? If not you can get rid of the "k" processor and downgrade cooler. If so, it's not necessary for gaming.

 

[gavmac]

Thanks for the replies.

I was thinking the i7 would 'future proof' the rig. Would this not be the case?

One of my main reasons for getting back into pc gaming was for the mods and maxing out a game way beyond the release potential, hence the overclock. Or do you think I could ditch the 'k' and go for either the 2 or 4GB 680?

I haven't added a monitor to this line-up yet as I was going to hook it up to my Panasonic 37in LCD instead. Although I've just read some stuff that doesn't compliment this way of gaming due to the decrease in quality. What's your thoughts on this? Would the above spec be overkill? Or is that all bulls***..

Many thanks.

 

[keynes]

If you are gaming in 1 monitor then the gtx 680 2gb should perform better than the 4gb version. Most games are gpu intensive, unless you are planning to benefit from hyper threading or cpu intensive applications then you should be fine with the i5.

One of my main reasons for getting back into pc gaming was for the mods and maxing out a game way beyond the release potential, hence the overclock

Depends on the game, most wouldn't benefit from an overclocked cpu.

 

[Blackdog]

For a gamer overclocking isn't really necessary I feel, so save yourself some money and hassle. As Ben/Keynes said the 670 is all you need for one monitor and will remain so for at least good few release cycles. With your build you can add one in the future if you start to drop below what you expect. With your cash saved from a 680 I'd really recommend a dedicated monitor, the prolite24" is a beast, and once you plonk it on your desk alongside your new pic its much more impressive for gaming compared to sitting on a couch eight feet from the action. Whenever ive plugged my rig into a television I always feel a little disjointed, but it works for some I guess.

 

[gavmac]

Going with your advice, below is the revised quote.

Gone with the Asus PA248Q monitor, 2TB space, i5-3570, 2GB 680, tripple copper heatpipe and 16GB RAM (music production purposes - already own an audio interface).

Couple of questions: is it better to go with 2 x 8GB or 4 x 4GB RAM? Also, I'm going to be putting this in my loft, quite far away from the router in the living room. To maxmize the signal should I also add a couple of Homeplugs?

Thanks again, any additionial comments would be great

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R4 BLACK PEARL QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 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
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£27)
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
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 SoundCard & Headphone AMP (Award Winner) (£24)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
ASUS PA248Q 24" PROART SERIES PROFESSIONAL MONITOR (£359)
Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft SideWinder X4 Gaming Keyboard (£39)
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 8 to 10 working days
Miscellaneous
Created Using Jargon Free Configurator
Miscellaneous
Created Using Jargon Free Configurator
Quantity
1

Price: £1,855.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[SlickShoes]

I would say YES to the homeplugs, the wifi on that motherboard is OK but not great.

I'd also suggest removing the free trial software unless you actually intend to buy them at the end of the trial.

Change the warranty to the next one up it's only £5 extra and you get 1 year collect and return instead of 1 month.

 

[gavmac]

Sweet. Thanks. Almost there I think!

About the homeplugs, is it as simple as connecting one to the routher and the other to the pc? Easy as that??

 

[vanthus]

Sweet. Thanks. Almost there I think!

About the homeplugs, is it as simple as connecting one to the routher and the other to the pc? Easy as that??

Homeplugs are basically a wired ethernet connection through your domestic wiring,plug one homeplug in to a wall socket next to your router then connect an ethernet cable from the homeplug to your router,plug the other homeplug to a wall socket next to your PC & connect an ethernet cable from that to your PC.Very useful if it's going to be problematic connecting directly with an ethernet cable.

 

[gavmac]

Right, I see, perfect.

Thanks very much for all your help everyone, it's much appreciated. Think I can safely go ahead and order knowing that I'll have a more than sweet set up.

Thanks again!