Titan Supersaurus or 1,200GBP self-build?

FlyingPig · 10 Jul 2011 at 21:40

Hi,

New user here. I am about to order a gaming pc here, my budget is around 1,200GBP (monitor, speakers to be included; no mouse or keyboard or OS needed).
The spec for the Titan Supersaurus seems just what I need --> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-190-OE&groupid=43&catid=2040&subcat=
However, would it be worth it for me to try to build this myself? I don't really have experience with this, although I did successfully replace a motherboard and CPU years ago (after killing it with static while replacing RAM

). How much do you save this way more or less? It's probably not worth the effort and hassle for me but I thought to ask as it would be a bit of a challenge and some fun, I suppose.
Anyway, good to be on this forum, seems like a great community!

RJC · 10 Jul 2011 at 21:45

Usually building and overclocking yourself is cheaper.

I have built many pc's and yet to manage to break something with static.

Jordan97 · 10 Jul 2011 at 21:47

Hi and welcome!

We always encourage people to build there own PC's. It allows you to get a real feel for the computer and it really is good fun! You get a good sense of achievement when it works as well

Nearly all new components now are very robust and are almost immune to static if you just be sensible. For example, don't sit on a carpet wearing nylon whilst rubbing a balloon on your head.

You tend to be able to save quite a bit when you build yourself as well. If you were to build the Supersaurus yourself, you would probably get the components for around £750.

If you do decide to go down the build it yourself route, would you like some help as to what to get?

RJC · 10 Jul 2011 at 21:51

Quick spec below, case monitor can be changed to something more suitable:

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £233.99
(£194.99) £233.99
(£194.99)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £164.99
(£137.49) £164.99
(£137.49)
IIyama Prolite E2473HDS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £144.98
(£120.82) £144.98
(£120.82)
Lepa G-Series 700W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £95.99
(£79.99) £95.99
(£79.99)
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System (980-000355) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £40.99
(£34.16) £40.99
(£34.16)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
(£21.66) £25.99
(£21.66)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.98
(£14.15) £16.98
(£14.15)
Sub Total : £966.55
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £25.45
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £198.40
Total : £1,190.40

FlyingPig · 10 Jul 2011 at 22:06

Hi all,

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!
RJC, that looks like a great setup. Not sure about the GTX 570, had my eyes on the ATI 6950 but I am flexible (and I haven't really kept track of the latest developments, seems Nvidia is catching up again). A Z68 motherboard is probably the way to go for me as I'd like to try out the SSD caching at some point.
Anyway, I appreciate any further specs, I'll keep looking and I'll try to order some time next week.
Cheers,

M.

P.S.: Jordan97, I was sitting on a carpet when the brutal static execution of my motherboard took place... Oh well, it was a good lesson learnt, have been very careful and paranoid ever since then. I am tempted to do it all myself, but the worry is that it won't work properly of course and that I'm on my own then.

Surveyor · 10 Jul 2011 at 22:15

The base price of the Titan Supersaurus is £870 and the individual components come to around £670 (if my maths is correct) so you'd save £200 by building yourself.

hybrid572 · 11 Jul 2011 at 10:36

FlyingPig said:
Hi all,

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!
RJC, that looks like a great setup. Not sure about the GTX 570, had my eyes on the ATI 6950 but I am flexible (and I haven't really kept track of the latest developments, seems Nvidia is catching up again). A Z68 motherboard is probably the way to go for me as I'd like to try out the SSD caching at some point.
Anyway, I appreciate any further specs, I'll keep looking and I'll try to order some time next week.
Cheers,

M.

P.S.: Jordan97, I was sitting on a carpet when the brutal static execution of my motherboard took place... Oh well, it was a good lesson learnt, have been very careful and paranoid ever since then. I am tempted to do it all myself, but the worry is that it won't work properly of course and that I'm on my own then.

NVidia's really cornered the top end of the market now. The 6950 1/2GB are great cards for the price, which is only slightly more than a 560Ti, but above that price point the 6970 and 6990 just aren't worth it unless you're planning on running 3+ screens in Eyefinity. The 570 and 580 are much bigger performance boosts for the money for single card solutions.

With Z68 boards, the SSD caching sounds like a great idea, but actually you're usually better off simply putting your OS, apps and most commonly used games on a decent sized SSD. The caching is really only useful for the smaller 30GB SSDs where you can't do this, and even then I'd be tempted to strip down the OS install a little instead.

weyland yutani · 11 Jul 2011 at 11:09

I've spent a lot of time comparing gaming systems and combined parts for a self-build. The saving is usually between 150 and 200 which is a massive saving for me. I'm nervous about building it myself but it actually doesn't seem that hard and should be fun. There are plenty of step by step tutorials and guides around to help you through the process too.

Tbid · 11 Jul 2011 at 11:40

I've recently built my first PC, the only knowledge I had beforehand was how to change a GPU and that was about 5 years ago!

It really wasn't very difficult atall, many guides are on the internet and components that need a bit of instruction generally come with it, Deffo build your own!

FlyingPig · 11 Jul 2011 at 14:14

Thanks for all the input so far. As I said I am a bit nervous doing it all by myself but if I can save 150 to 200 quid, then it is probably worth doing it.
It looks like I will go for the 570 after all then, and yes, if I stick in a 60GB SSD or even 120 GB in there that should be enough for the OS without resorting to SSD caching. That leads me to the following question: is there any benefit in going for a Z68 board, which I believe is in its first generation? Is it not more prudent to then stick with a 3rd gen P67 board?
I am only going to order next week, I think, still waiting for some funds to come through. It's probably worth it to wait for some kind of daily deal once I am ready (I'm in no super rush, want to do this properly as this needs to last me a few years).

ahar · 11 Jul 2011 at 14:42

Don't forget the benefit of a warranty for the syrem though. Each of the components will have a warranty but if there is a problem you'll be responsible for working out what it is - buying a system will allow you to ship the whole thing back and they will need to work out what's wrong.

Not trying to put you off, just be aware of the thing that you're sacrificing for the reduced cost.

FlyingPig · 11 Jul 2011 at 15:25

ahar said:
Don't forget the benefit of a warranty for the syrem though. Each of the components will have a warranty but if there is a problem you'll be responsible for working out what it is - buying a system will allow you to ship the whole thing back and they will need to work out what's wrong.

Not trying to put you off, just be aware of the thing that you're sacrificing for the reduced cost.

That is a very good point actually. It's a tricky decision. I know it shouldn't be such a big deal to do it all by myself but at this point of my life (working two jobs) there is something to be said for paying a small premium for a bit of convenience and warranty. Oh well, let's give it a week and we'll see where we are. This Titan Supersaurus with a GTX 570 is probably just what I need anyway. Throw in a set of speakers and a monitor and I should end up at around 1,200 GBP.

FlyingPig · 16 Jul 2011 at 12:49

OK, I have made up my mind and will go for the pre-assembled system. I did the maths and with a GTX570 it would be less than 100 quid I am saving if I build it myself. Too much risk for me so worth the 100GBP!