Please help me pick over these 3 gaming rigs

Associate
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
938
Hey Guys,

I'm looking to spend less than a grand on a gaming machine but I'm struggling with these 3. Is the Vortex i7 and Titan 8700i Pulse worth £275.2 / £201.98 more than the Vortex i5? I'd be looking to keep the machine for quite some time and I'll upgrade the parts as and when required. Don't envisage anything like photoshop which makes me wonder if the i7 is required?

If I got the Vortex i5 I wonder if they could exchange the 60GB SSD for a 120GB? I also see the i5 doesn't have a wifi card, again I wonder if they'd tweak it for me and put one in? I'd imagine this'd up the price by around ~£60. Similar questions for the i7 and the missing wifi card and small SSD.

All suggestions welcome of course!

I'm looking to mainly play FPS games. Suggestions on screens and keyboards are also welcome :)

In regards to building it myself - I'm not completely against it and would consider it if there was a big price difference but equally I don't mind paying a tiny bit more for it to be pre-built.

Thank you!


YOUR BASKET
1 x "Vortex i5" Intel Core i5 3450 3.10GHz DDR3 Quad Core Gaming PC £638.39
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
Total : £737.00 (includes shipping : £15.50).




YOUR BASKET
1 x "Titan 8700i Pulse" Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 Ivybridge Gaming PC £480.4
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Asus PCE-N15 300Mbps 802.11B/G/N Wireless PCI-E Network Adapter £29.99
1 x No Sound Card Upgrade £0
1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £89.99
1 x Sapphire HD 7950 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11196-00-20G) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
Total : £938.98 (includes shipping : £15.50).




YOUR BASKET
1 x "Vortex i7" Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz DDR3 Quad Core Gaming PC £913.58
1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
Total : £1,012.20 (includes shipping : £15.50).

 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
938
Building your own could save you quite a bit of money, and I'm sure someone will spec you a nice build, especially when you have a few requests of parts you want specifically. Just a little head's up.
Ah okay! I don't really know to be honest. Definitely an i5, not sure if I'll see any gain with an i7 for purely FPS purposes.

Graphics cards wise - I'm getting the impression the current crop of AMD cards perform better and are priced lower than the NVIDIA cards - a check on AnandTech suggests the 7950 would give 47.7 frames per second vs 38.8 for the NVIDIA at 1920x1200.

8GB RAM sounds enough for now - easily upgradeable I suppose in future years.

Mobo - no ideas about

SSD - I like the idea of booting off an SSD so I suppose a 120GB is a minimum. I have a couple of external drives but they're only USB 2.0.

PSU - no idea again - I get the impresison most systems are spec'd with 600W.

Case - no idea - it probably won't be looked at very much

DVDRW is required but Bluray is not.

Sound card - not sure it's required - I don't have a 7.1 system - just a couple of Creative Gigaworks T40 Series II Speakers.

Screen - I suppose a 23" is a minimum - not sure again though

Keyboard - no idea

So quite a few no clues - would welcome advice :)
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2012
Posts
6,595
Location
Tamworth, UK
Some questions which should be asked with this:

What's all the components you need, you need OS, keyboard, Mouse? The works basically? You got any reusable parts, or peripherals, maximum of 1k budget or lower the better?
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
938
Thanks IncognitoX!

Would it be worth spending a bit more for an i5 ivy bridge CPU?

Are the selection of parts on your list markedly better than the prebuilt ones? Out of curiosity how much could I expect overclockers to charge for building this particular configuration?

What's all the components you need, you need OS, keyboard, Mouse? The works basically? You got any reusable parts, or peripherals, maximum of 1k budget or lower the better?

I have a mouse, speakers and a very aging laptop. So the works really. 1000 - 1150 I'd say, upper limit including the screen and keyboard.
 

Mei

Mei

Soldato
Joined
3 Jan 2012
Posts
3,983
they all have their merits
i do see why you are confused
the 7950 with a ssd would make a nice gaming pc
 
Associate
Joined
17 Sep 2012
Posts
293
Location
North-West
Would it be worth spending a bit more for an i5 ivy bridge CPU?

It would depend if you want to push your budget past £1000.

I've added a keyboard for £50+ so if you didnt want an expensive one, just buy one for £10.

You can definitely create one for under £1000 but I've just selected a balanced spec for you to max the budget. :D
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
938
It would depend if you want to push your budget past £1000.

You can definitely create one for under £1000 but I've just selected a balanced spec for you to max the budget. :D

I'd be keen for the latest generation of CPU - at least this way I won't feel like a need to update as soon as Haswell is out. Would it be worth getting it overclocked?

Are the parts you listed noticeably better than Titan 8700i Pulse machine?

Any ideas how much I could expect overclockers to charge for building your config?
 
Associate
Joined
17 Sep 2012
Posts
293
Location
North-West
I'd be keen for the latest generation of CPU - at least this way I won't feel like a need to update as soon as Haswell is out. Would it be worth getting it overclocked?

Are the parts you listed noticeably better than Titan 8700i Pulse machine?

Any ideas how much I could expect overclockers to charge for building your config?

1. Overclocking is also a personal preference it should perform great on stock.

2. The only thing to add to my spec compared with the Titan is wireless compatibly. Could be a simple USB nano adaptor. The spec posted includes a 24" monitor aswell.

3. Maybe contact OCuk customer services and ask whether they would consider building a custom machine for you.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
938
1. Overclocking is also a personal preference it should perform great on stock.
Okay thanks.

2. The only thing to add to my spec compared with the Titan is wireless compatibly. Could be a simple USB nano adaptor. The spec posted includes a 24" monitor aswell.
So would you say both machines have similar performing parts? If you were to say yours was better than I'd reconsider building it myself you see.

3. Maybe contact OCuk customer services and ask whether they would consider building a custom machine for you.
Thanks - I will once I'm decided :)
 

Mei

Mei

Soldato
Joined
3 Jan 2012
Posts
3,983
but there isnt much difference between that spec and the pre-built
its not any faster or any quieter
and with the build costs the free monitor wont be free no more :p

if you going to get a custom build done put something that improves it, a faster ssd, or something quieter or a case you like etc
 
Back
Top Bottom