You Guessed It- PC for.... GAMING!!

[Jack-]

Hello Hello,

Simply put: I'm in the market for a strong desktop pc capable of running say.. Skyrim at max settings plus the usual graphical mods (not bothered about 60fps - 40+ will suit me fine i think)

I'm trying to keep costs close to the £750 - £850 mark, and the current spec reads as follows:


Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE 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)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6850 - 2 DVI,HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable
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
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
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
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
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
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: £828.00 including VAT and delivery.

Tips, amendments and experience are openly welcomed! Thanks!

Oh and the reason the PSU is overkill for the 6850 is because I'm trying to preserve the option to crossifre/sli in the future.. That said, if the 6850 isn't good enough on its own to handle Skyrim on max at 40fps+ then.. Hm.. I just don't know!

EDIT: Planning to use a fairly standard 1920x1080 monitor unless anyone has any objection?

 

[keynes]

Would you consider an AMD cpu?
It will allow you to get a better graphics card and homeplugs rather than a wireless card.
Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4170 (4.20GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7850 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE DIRT SHOWDOWN GAME with any AMD 7000 Series GPU!
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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE AMD CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
2 x HomePlug 200Mbps - Turn any Electrical Socket into a Network (£38)
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
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: £857.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-bulldozer-top-spec-pc/8k36ZXZERj/

 

[Jack-]

hmm, I'd never really given it much thought. Should I have any reason to be reluctant?

The improved GPU certainly is tempting. However, as far as homeplugs are concerned, i'd struggle to find room for them as competition for plug sockets are fierce and homeplugs aren't suppossed to be fitted to extensions are they :S

 

[keynes]

hmm, I'd never really given it much thought. Should I have any reason to be reluctant?

The improved GPU certainly is tempting. However, as far as homeplugs are concerned, i'd struggle to find room for them as competition for plug sockets are fierce and homeplugs aren't suppossed to be fitted to extensions are they :S

It should be fine on extensions as long as they are not surge protectors. Going with an intel cpu for your budget will cause a trade off with other components, especially the graphics card. If you do want the i5, you could go with the i5-3470 and try to upgrade the graphics card a bit.

 

[Jack-]

After a bit of reading, i'm concerned about AMD cpus not standing up to the i5 i had in mind- and in particular not fairing as well when running skyrim :S

If I tried to widen my budget to say 900-950ish, would that alter your recommendation?

And if homeplugs don't mind extension leads, then that's the way i'll be going!

Perhaps something like this: ?

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING 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)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 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
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
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
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: £954.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[keynes]

If you are not planning to SLI you could downgrade the motherboard to save some money. You could get the Asus P8Z77-V LX, to add a 2nd GTX 570 you would need to upgrade your psu anyway.

 

[Jack-]

A good idea I think Just one thing though- might i be better off keeping the mobo and further down the line, when my gpu drops a bit more, opt to SLI with another 570? Would that be an efficient attempt at future proofing?

 

[keynes]

A good idea I think Just one thing though- might i be better off keeping the mobo and further down the line, when my gpu drops a bit more, opt to SLI with another 570? Would that be an efficient attempt at future proofing?

That could be a possibility however you may need a 850w PSU to do that, you could also just replace the GTX 570 with a more powerful graphics card if needed.

 

[Jack-]

Ah.. That rules that out i guess, thanks! One last question, and thank you for your regular replies- much appreciated, would you particularly advise me to opt for: PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE instead of the InWin CENTINAL BUC BLACK GAMING CASE?? For looks, i prefer the ruggedness of the latter, but if that compromises expandability or ventilation etc. performance is my priority.

 

[keynes]

Ah.. That rules that out i guess, thanks! One last question, and thank you for your regular replies- much appreciated, would you particularly advise me to opt for: PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE instead of the InWin CENTINAL BUC BLACK GAMING CASE?? For looks, i prefer the ruggedness of the latter, but if that compromises expandability or ventilation etc. performance is my priority.

Both are good cases, either will be fine