Customizing new Gaming PC (Advice needed)

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 01:30

Hey all. I'm just getting round to finally getting a proper rig, that is strictly built for Gaming in mind.

Anyway, here are the specifcations I have:

CPU: Phenom X4 955 - 4 x 3.20ghz (Worth upgrading to the 965?)
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz
Harddrive: 500GB
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB (Switch to the 6870? Or are Nvidia GTX cards more worth it, like the 460?)
PSU: 500W Xigmatek
(Running on Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit)

Any advice for alterations, etc. would be great. Thanks.

powelly · 23 Feb 2011 at 02:31

motherboard?

smiley1987 · 23 Feb 2011 at 02:39

Have you got these parts so far ?? If you don't could we please have a bugdet in mind .

redrooster303 · 23 Feb 2011 at 04:59

You'd be better off going the sandy bridge route to be honest.

Tythus · 23 Feb 2011 at 05:15

redrooster303 said:
You'd be better off going the sandy bridge route to be honest.

I admit the SB option does seem very attractive for most new Gaming rigs

Cleeecooo · 23 Feb 2011 at 08:24

Yeah, SB.

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 10:37

smiley1987 said:
Have you got these parts so far ?? If you don't could we please have a bugdet in mind .

My idea was to actually getting it built from Dino, those are the options I chose. My budget is around £600.

And Powelly, the motherboard is 'Asus M4N68T-M'. Problem I have is, I don't know if that's any good, cause i'm new to all this.

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 10:40

Did you need a case and optical drive? etc?

If you look at this - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0 - you will see the sandybridge 2400cpu is faster than even the 975be AMD cpu.

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:00

stulid said:
Did you need a case and optical drive? etc?

I've noticed the Sandybridge is quite popular.

And including with the other specs I've chosen, I've got a Blu-Ray optical drive, and a 'basic' plain looking case.

Right now i'm just focusing on the actual performance, I'll think visuals later.

On top of those specs I have chosen up top, I have a mouse and keyboard being bought too. Here's the proper list.

Motherboard: Asus M4N78T-M
CPU: Phenom X4 955 - 4 x 3.20ghz
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz
Harddrive: 500GB
ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB
PSU: 500W Xigmatek
Drive: 6x Blu-ray.

Extras:
Keyboard and Mouse: £12 together
Wireless Internet USB (300Mbps) For £12
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit £78

Total £557.48 including VAT.

If you want to take a look, i'm selecting the parts from here: ****DO NOT LINK TO COMPETITORS****

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:07

Ok, so you have a case and a Blue-ray drive already, yet you list a blue-ray in the above spec?

Add a Keyboard and mouse and wireless dongle to this,

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £154.99
(£129.16) £154.99
(£129.16)
MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £134.39
(£111.99) £134.39
(£111.99)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Foxconn H67A-S Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Ultra Low Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1600C9ELV4GK) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Sub Total : £461.09
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £94.22
Total : £565.31

and it will be nearly £600, dont buy too cheap a keyboard and mouse, you will hate it.

A 5850 is a little faster than a 6850 - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/295?vs=291

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:11

stulid said:
Ok, so you have a case and a Blue-ray drive already, yet you list a blue-ray in the above spec?

No no, I have nothing at all. I still need to buy a monitor too.

And with the 5850, is the 'slightly faster' performance worth it?

All I'm looking for, is a computer that can run the latest games, it wouldn't exactly bother me if it doesn't run them at max settings, but high would be nice.

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:12

yes a 5850 is worth it, as its now on special offer.

So do you have a case or not?

Ginger-Menace · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:16

i would remove the link to a competitor if i were you

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:22

stulid said:
yes a 5850 is worth it, as its now on special offer.

So do you have a case or not?

No I don't have a case.

And honestly, I'd rather have a pre-built PC, as I wouldn't have the first idea about putting all the parts together. It's why I was choosing to just get the parts chosen on Dino, and let them build it for me.

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:24

6644kp · 23 Feb 2011 at 11:42

Black_Arrow said:
No I don't have a case.

And honestly, I'd rather have a pre-built PC, as I wouldn't have the first idea about putting all the parts together. It's why I was choosing to just get the parts chosen on Dino, and let them build it for me.

If you prefer a prebuild one go for it and do not listen to stulid

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 12:24

Black_Arrow said:
No I don't have a case.

And honestly, I'd rather have a pre-built PC, as I wouldn't have the first idea about putting all the parts together. It's why I was choosing to just get the parts chosen on Dino, and let them build it for me.

Theres a system building guide at the top of this sub-forum, plus many youtube clips showing how it all goes together, you will get much more bang for your buck.

stulid · 23 Feb 2011 at 12:26

6644kp said:
If you prefer a prebuild one go for it and do not listen to stulid

And listen to your advice instead!! lol.

you have been wrong so many times it s not even funny.

Orcvader · 23 Feb 2011 at 12:42

You do know you can call up OcUK to build it for you? For a fee of course.

Black_Arrow · 23 Feb 2011 at 13:14

All right, here's my full specs what I have planned:

Motherboard: Asus M4N68T-M
CPU: Phenom X4 955 - 4 x 3.20ghz
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz
Harddrive: 1TB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB
PSU: 500W Xigmatek (Or the 700 EZcool Tornado)
Optical Drive: 6x Blu-ray.
(Running on Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit)
Keyboard and Mouse
Wireless internet USB 300Mbps

£569.78

What i'm wanting, is a PC that can run the latest games with ease, it wouldn't bother me too much if it can't run them at max settings, but high would be nice.

If these specs sound all right, then I will stick with them. I'm just trying to avoid going over budget. If these specs would be ideal for my needs, then I'd rather avoid paying any extra money for minor upgrades, and manage with what I got.