New PC - Need Opinions!

Hey dudes (as I usually say)

My friend who has been working with computers for quite some time now has offered to build me a computer for free, but I need to get all the parts together first, so I was wondering if you guys could help me out on what you think is an awesome gaming PC rig!

(my budget is quite high so i'm willing to take the heavy stuff)

He wants to know -

Processor (CPU) -
Motherboard
Memory (Ram)
Graphics Card 1
Additional (2)
Memory Hard Disk -
Sound Card -

I have already got my Power supply (750w), Cooling and a neat Blu-Ray DVD Drive

I was thinking along the lines of this

Processor (CPU) - Intel Corei7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATICrossFireX
Memory (Ram) - 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 1 - 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready //// 1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Additional (2)
Memory Hard Disk - 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

What would you dudes say? I am planning to run Arma III, my friend tells me that getting an i7 processor is a bit overkill and I don't need such a heavy Power Supply, so any suggestions is cool Can't decide between the two graphics cards, and I think having 2 is kinda meh.

Hey Fug. The i7 is indeed overkill for gaming, go with the i5-2500k or the newer i5-3550k.

A few things to keep in mind;
1. The brand of your powersupply. It's the heart of your pc and needs to be a good one. 750w is indeed overkill but it will do well enough.
2. The GTX560 is an already sOmewhat aging card. It will run stuff fine for now, but it won't last you as long as a newer one.
3. Most, of not all, motherboards sport a proper soundcard these days. No need to get a separate one, unless you are an audiophile and got proper speakers.

Just a few pointers, would write more but this phone is killing me :p

You'd want to get an ssd in there. these days your bottleneck is slow hdd with os on it. Ssd's are immensely fast. + a high power supply isn't bad + it keeps you safe for any upgrades you might make in the future

yes kerre said it.

instead of getting a audiocard get a 120gigabyte SSD instead.

Nvidia 560 TI is probably going to run arma 3 easily and you will be able to use it for a couple of more years. (2-3 probably maybe more).

750 watt is a bit overkill I would go down to 650 watt instead.

yo yoo mr. Fug.

I'm not a computer wiz but people keep telling me the i7 core isn't running at 100% yet, needs some stuff done to it.
I have a Intel i5 dualcore in my laptop and got no problems running anything..

I run raided 32GB SSDs with a 1TB HDD 'D' drive. With a i7 2.8GHz - processor (Dell Studio XPS). OS & PR on the raid, everything else on the HDD. Its ridiculously fast just for PR.
My GFX is just a 1GB Radeon HD5700, but with BF2 it's kicking out nearly twice as many FPS as my monitor can manage!

Some people have reported issues with X-fi & PR...I use 5.1 headphones plugged straight into the mobo.

THINK long & hard about COOLING & NOISE.

I also run PR on a 'quite' homebuild machine - the only way you can tell it's on is to look at the lights. Its a 32-bit core2 Duo E7500 clocked to 3.37 GHz. GeForce GTX 460 on a GA-EP31-DS3L mobo. PSU is an Antec 430w EA-430 - your 750w is going to be noisy AND thirsty. I've had it 2 years - cost less than £400 to build.

Both machines run PR at full GFX spec - the only way to tell the difference is that you only wait about 7secs for the i7 to load a new map - but then you still have to wait just as long for the game to start! The i7 is much noisier too.

i7 has a WEI rating of 7.4 the Raid SSD's come in at 7.9.
The Core Duo is 5.7 - would be 6.9 but for the older HDD. Unclocked the processor scores 6.9 compared to the i7's 7.5

You should reconsider your MOBO if you are going to get Nvidia Fug. Not saying that it wouldn't work with your current settings but if you are ever going to get another Nvidia card and pair them together, won't work on that MOBO as it supports Ati Crossfire. Would need something to support SLI.

Keep this in mind for future updates!

Bemetson wrote:You should reconsider your MOBO if you are going to get Nvidia Fug. Not saying that it wouldn't work with your current settings but if you are ever going to get another Nvidia card and pair them together, won't work on that MOBO as it supports Ati Crossfire. Would need something to support SLI.

Keep this in mind for future updates!

Ah yeah, good eye Bem, didnt think of that

PC world will look after me, and if they start talking all that computer bs ^^ i'l slap him

Okay so, with what you guys have said, i've taken my power supply down to 400-600, Got an SSD Cache Drive (just a 20GB intel one) Changed my MOBO to support SLI, Getting a GTX 670 Nvidia 2GB video card and an i5 Quad Core 3570k 3.4Ghz 6MB Cache

I took my power supply back and they gave me my money back, so planning to go back in there to get a lesser powered one. I said that one didn't fit my pc ( )

Is that what you guys would reccomend then? anything else I should know before I give my friend the go ahead? :3

edit- to go with cooling, I just got a Triple copper heatpipe, reckon maybe I should get a better one? I just got a pretty cheap one

Screw these guys i would stick with a 750 psu and make sure its 80+

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS

I don't want an incrediloud PC though my PC atm is quiet as hell, can play any game and it just hums softly should steal that ones power supply since it's only 450w actually... hm... MONEY SAVING

You think the higher the wattage the louder it is?

roflcopter?

Viglen wrote:You think the higher the wattage the louder it is?

roflcopter?

im half asleep I thought someone said it'd make it louder, i've been awake since 6am ;_;

ivandobsky wrote: PSU is an Antec 430w EA-430 - your 750w is going to be noisy AND thirsty. I've had it 2 years - cost less than £400 to build.

a-ha I wasn't asleep!

i've got a 650w corsair (wasn't their cheapest but not their most expensive either) it's STIFF which is the main thing and as for noise, what noise ?

hope that helps.

btw PSU's aren't rated on an equal basis, there are those with truthfull ratings and then there those that have BS ratings that look good on posh boxes.

I would say go for at least 700w, I'm considering purchasing a new PC after I get money from working this summer. Think about things like cooling, more fans = more noise but better cooling, however you can cut down on that by buying better fans but better fans x more fans = more money. The one thing I wouldn't scrimp on is power supply, its important that it is a good make and 80+ is even better. If you are gona SLI/Xfire then you need to take into account the fact that you are gona be using a hell of a lot of power in your GFX cards.

Here is a good tool I used to work out my power supply limit:

PSU Calculator - Click Me!!!

Other than you might want to look at the Socket 2011 i7 CPU's as they offer support for quad chanel RAM (if it's something that you think you might want to upgrade in the future it gives you a lot of space).

Other than that, sounds pretty sweet dude

Overclocking with this set-up is possible:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K (Mainly in overall it is +10% better than the famous second generation i7-2600k).

MOBO: Asus MAXIMUS V GENE (supports SLI, overclocking and high speed RAM. Besides that the Intel® Z77 chipset is really good on the paper).

RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum,2133-8G KIT (Remember you can always buy a similar set for an upgrade. This RAM has also Corsair Link™ which is a monitoring system for your RAM).

GPU: Asus GeForce GTX680,2GB (This is badass and it will certainly run ARMA III smooth. It is really expensive but you can always buy later a second one. By then it will be much cheaper).

SSD: Samsung 830 series 128GB Desktop KIT (At the moment the Samsung 830 series is the fastest on the market. 128GB is more than enough for your Operating System and you have enough space to install your most used programs like ARMA).

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (This HDD beats Samsung and Seagate. It is the one of the fastest at the moment. It is also nice to know that this one has an 64Mb buffer).

SOUND: Use the one on your motherboard (these days they are really good), if you you use a professional speaker surround set go for this one: Creative SB X-Fi Titanium.

POWER: Corsair HX 650WATT (80+ rating, flat cables, modular, ready for a second GPU and really quiet).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional:

Case: Corsair Obsidian 550D (Porn for IT guys).

Cooling System: Corsair Hydro Series H100 (It is a reliable water cooling system which is also really simple to assemble).

CHEAPER VERSION

GPU: i7-2600k

CPU: Asus GeForce GTX560 Ti DCII TOP,2GB

SSD: Samsung 830 series 64GB Desktop KIT

Thanks all for the advice, i'm working on getting all the stuff I want special thanks to ya'll :3 still taking suggestions though, my budget is 800-1100, don't think i'll spend that much but still

did i read right that you want double 560ti?

first of all, do not go with the 560... fucked up my bf3
got my 570 now, runs fine

and for a good PSU: beQuiet! straight power E9 680
can highly recommend that
not that you need it with your 750 but this is deadly silent

560 should be good with BF3, at least for me it is, BUT 560-ti fucks up your BF3. But why 560 when you can get the new toys?

fugg why go with a 20gigabyte SSD? your OS need more space then that.

my 560 TI works like a charm for every game^^ but allot of people have problem with 560 TI aswell. I bought my first 560 TI from gigabyte but that one SUCKED. couldnt even watch a youtube video. then I decided to buy from a company if knew make really good computer gear, ASUS works like a charm with that one.

It's a caching SSD. You put your OS on it (really should not take more than 10GB), the rest is used for storing a few launch files for often used programs, which are regularly installed on your harddisk, to make them boot faster.

...Okay guys, i'm okay with computers but not this okay. XD

Processor (CPU) -
Motherboard -
Memory (Ram) -
Graphics Card 1 -
Additional (2)
Memory Hard Disk -
Sound Card -
Power Supply -
SSD -


What would you guys have ideally?

is a 20GB SSD good enough or not?

Nixy my OS takes around 35-40 gigabytes and I only have my OS on it.

I downloaded all updates they released for windows ultimate x64. and my SSD is a 60gigabyte one.

With a budget of 800 pounds? Hmm, tricksy.

First things first, yeah 20GB might not be enough.. though most caching SSDs aren't any larger than 32GB either. My windows installation (win 7 ultimate 64 bit) with all of the updates until now is still under 20 GB (18.8). I guess I was still thinking in windows XP terms of size , which required a lot less space.

Anyway, let us complete the list;

- Processor: i5 3570k. About the same price as the i5 2500k right now, with a bit more performance.

- Motherboard: Asus P8Z77. Same motherboard I have, works great. Just tell your friend to install the SATA peripherals before installing the graphics card

- Graphics card: Any random GTX570 you want, I suppose. The GTX670 would be a lot better, but also 200ish pounds more expensive.

- Powersupply: Corsair 650W powersupply. I got the same one in my system. It's semi-modular, meaning the cables you're going to need anyway are attached to the PSU, spare cables for extra graphics cards or harddisks (etc) are detachable to save space in your case.

- RAM: Any set of 2*4 GB will be more than you'll need. Kingston HyperX (or ValueRAM) is often very good value for money. Try to get at least 1333MHz with 9-9-9-27 timings. Anything faster for gaming is overkill and costs too much with a tight budget.

- Harddisk: Anything from Seagate or Western Digital. There's a difference between 5900 and 7200 RPM disks. The 7200 ones are faster but more expensive, where as 5900 RPM are often used as storage disks which don't have a high load during gaming etc.

- SSD: If you have the money for it, a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 series.. Corsair M4 64GB. 64GB should be enough for the OS + 1 game.

- Sound Card: Like I said before, you won't need one unless you are a major audiophile and got a booming /10k pounds speaker set in your room.. but I get the feeling you wouldn't want a just 800 pound PC if that was the case

800-1200 Nixy

Bemetson wrote:560 should be good with BF3, at least for me it is, BUT 560-ti fucks up your BF3. But why 560 when you can get the new toys?

Uhm I have two 560-ti overclocked to 1.2 Ghz and I'm playing Battlefield 3 fine? Even tested it with one unused and still could run the game on the highest settings..

gijskonings wrote:

Bemetson wrote:560 should be good with BF3, at least for me it is, BUT 560-ti fucks up your BF3. But why 560 when you can get the new toys?

Uhm I have two 560-ti overclocked to 1.2 Ghz and I'm playing Battlefield 3 fine? Even tested it with one unused and still could run the game on the highest settings..

depends, mate... some did had troubles, some didn't. i had them as well...
google 560 ti crash and you find tons of posts allover the web with this issue.

the point of my initial post is the 40 quid more that i spent was worth it cause it took me out of that stessfull lottery

The following set-up is based on your budget. If I would order this in Holland I would spend € 1067,86 (which is at the currently currency £860,70). This set-up is also ready for a future expansion, there is room for a second graphics card, there is also room for more RAM. With this in the back off my mind I have also chosen a bigger power supply. This series in particular is a reliable one.

Processor:
Intel Core i5-3570K

Motherboard:
Asus P8B75-V,s1155

Memory:
Corsair Vengeance BLUE,1600-8GB KIT

Graphics Card:
Asus GeForce GTX670 DCII,2GB

Hard Disk:
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - 3.5inch

Solid State Drive:
Samsung 830 series 64GB Desktop KIT

Sound Card:
Like everyone else says, take the one on the motherboard unless you have a professional audio speaker set (in that case you will need to add ruffly £50,- extra)

Power Supply:
Corsair HX 750WATT

If you have questions, please ask!

Chris_Kampfgurke wrote:

gijskonings wrote:

Bemetson wrote:560 should be good with BF3, at least for me it is, BUT 560-ti fucks up your BF3. But why 560 when you can get the new toys?

Uhm I have two 560-ti overclocked to 1.2 Ghz and I'm playing Battlefield 3 fine? Even tested it with one unused and still could run the game on the highest settings..

depends, mate... some did had troubles, some didn't. i had them as well...
google 560 ti crash and you find tons of posts allover the web with this issue.

the point of my initial post is the 40 quid more that i spent was worth it cause it took me out of that stessfull lottery

Well I'll have to agree with that one!

gijskonings wrote:Sound Card:
Like everyone else says, take the one on the motherboard unless you have a professional audio speaker set (in that case you will need to add ruffly £50,- extra)

good reminder!

if you have a favor for good sound and you have (or might consider buying) a good headset/set of speakers, i highly reccomend you to buy a soundcard. No lies, onboard chipsets are good today, but the results with a SC are awsome!

for this i would reccomend the SB Creative X-fi titanium, nice results for a fair price (around 50 pounds)

Thanks all for your advice will be grabbing all the stuff in a few weeks, decided to hold back a lil' and save up some more ;D

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER

any suggestions on this?

Looks good, with these two remarks:

I've never heard of that CPU cooler before, can't say much about it. Also the Intel 300 series SSD's aren't what they used to be. The Samsung 830's and the Crucial M4's are better imho.

Thanks Nixy, I bought it with a different SSD, no samsung ones I could find or Crucial ones, so bought a Kingston one instead, hit my budget hard but aw well

Woo I got it today

im sure youll short circuit it