Thread: This spec ok for the 2k investment? feedback welcomed

[techguyone]

Usage: gaming, Second Life + content creation, Photoshop, Office, torrents, Internet, 3d modelling etc etc

Yes it's a lot of money, yes it's high spec, but it needs to last me (I typically get a hot PC and it'll last me 5 yrs or so until its no longer able to run/keep up with what I put it through)
My budget is 2k
Only constraints are: I don't want/can't fit a massive case

Case COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770k (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® MAXIMUS VI GENE: RoG, PCI-e 3.0, SATA 3.0, USB3.0, THX
Memory (RAM) 32GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4 x 8GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 780 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 480GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 450MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
4th Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 15x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling CoolerMaster Seidon 120M High Performance CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans 1 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 2 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Speakers Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II 2.0 Multimedia Speakers
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Miscellaneous FREE ASSASSINS CREED BLACK FLAG with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £1,680.83
Price £2,017.00
Order Quantity 1
Bulk Discount £0.00
Total Order price (Ex VAT) £1,680.83
Total Order Price £2,017.00
P/O Number - Edit P/O Number
Payment Method
Wattage
Maximum Required Power 690W

 

[TheGeeza]

Looks pretty good but you might want to upgrade the warranty to at least silver. If you can't fit that in your budget then get 16gb of ram for now and upgrade later if you need to.

 

[mantadog]

Its a fairly well balanced setup. You could save a great deal of cash obviously but as your looking for it to last I think its all reasonably well spent.

I would however consider just the 16Gb of RAM, that's already a huge amount and very easy to add more later. The motherboard doesn't offer as much expandability as the ASUS z87-a, and the z87-a is a bit cheaper. Any reason for the MAXIMUS VI GENE?

 

[techguyone]

Its a fairly well balanced setup. You could save a great deal of cash obviously but as your looking for it to last I think its all reasonably well spent.

I would however consider just the 16Gb of RAM, that's already a huge amount and very easy to add more later. The motherboard doesn't offer as much expandability as the ASUS z87-a, and the z87-a is a bit cheaper. Any reason for the MAXIMUS VI GENE?

I liked the masses of USB 3.0 ports & the RAMDISK feature oh & the high end audio output.

 

[techguyone]

Looks pretty good but you might want to upgrade the warranty to at least silver. If you can't fit that in your budget then get 16gb of ram for now and upgrade later if you need to.

Good call on the warranty, for an extra £5 it would be daft not to.

 

[techguyone]

I'm a bit torn on whether to get the CoolerMaster Seidon 120M High Performance CPU Cooler
or the Corsair H80i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

I know the corsair is a bit more expensive (not an issue)
but is it better and/or quieter?

 

[TheGeeza]

It will do a better job of cooling the CPU than an air cooler in your case. It really depends on whether or not you want to overclock in the future though. Do a bit of research on both of the coolers and decide whether the temperature difference is worth the extra money.

 

[mantadog]

The MAXIMUS VI GENE motherboard certainly does have better onboard audio and nice features like more USB3 ports etc. Though you will have to weight up if you need more expansion room in the future, 3 PCie slots might not be enough for some. However if your going for a PC now that you have no intention of upgrading then it will be fine. It is quite a nice board overall, if you need any of the features and don't need the upgrade room then go for it.

Re the CPU cooler, the h80i is better and would be a good idea if you plan to overclock. It will certainly keep your CPU cooler overall, the penalty for that could be noise levels. The h80i isn't so bad, but if your worried about the noise don't get the h100i as it really has a reputation for being irritating

 

[techguyone]

H100i doesn't fit my case H80i seems to fit the bill best. I'm not planning to upgrade the PC further slotwise, it's a beast as it is.

 

[mantadog]

You may not wish to add powerful components like a new GPU but you may wish to add a wireless card, TV tuner, sound card or some other kind of pci device. That's the slight problem. Though if your sure you don't need to add anything later than the motherboard is fine.

 

[techguyone]

Maybe you're right, perhaps this one will be better.

Motherboard ASUS® MAXIMUS VI HERO: PCI-e 3.0, SATA 3.0, USB3.0

 

[mantadog]

That board is better for expansion in the future. If you NEED the RAMDisk feature then go for the hero, if not then I think the z87 a offers compelling value.

You could grab the z87-a for £50 less, add a soundcard and have better quality sound than the hero and still save £25. Your already giving up the extra USB 3 ports on the hero vs the gene.

Anyway I wont try to convince you too hard of the z87 a, because at the end of the day with a budget like yours I doubt you would stress over £25 and the hero offers plenty of expansion room for the normal person anyway. A sizable RAMDisk would indeed be epic, so if that swings it for you then by all means get the hero.