Building a £1500 gaming rig

playing bf3 on ultra above 1400 resolution will use more than 2GB VRAM so if in the future you were going to get a monitor that can do resolution that high then you will need more than 2GB VRAM. Also i believe skyrim with the extra textures and graphics uses over 2gb

for bf3, nvidia cards will still get better fps than ati cards at any resolution
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/477
 
for bf3, nvidia cards will still get better fps than ati cards at any resolution
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/477

BF3 is a good shooter but I do wish people would stop with the whole 'whatever card runs BF3 better is the best'.... not everyone likes BF3. Also, who knows if a future FPS comes out favouring AMD? Crossfire 7950's certainly beat a single 670 or a top end 680. To get that VRAM of the AMD's you'd need to spend a fair bit more on Nvidia tech also.

* Also that link and the one above do show a lot of pro's to Nvidia i'll grant but on £500 GPU budget I think you're still better off with the 7950 CF.
* One more thing. Wait for the 660ti release. It looks like a good card and if priced right it might out-do those 7950's.
 
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You can't go wrong with the 7950, at that price its a bargain. It doesn't perform as well as the GTX 670 in BF3 but in other games it near enough matches it.

7950 Xfire is just one better. Though be warned, you may have a few problems with Xfire and you may not be able to clock as high either.
 
also how do you guys post your basket like that i mean i tried to copy and paste them from my basket but it looked ****. i mean how do you get them in the pictures as well.
 
iv tweaked a few things i will be adding the Antec 1200 Twelve Hundred (V3 with USB3.0) Ultimate Gaming Case - Black instead of the NZXT phantom blued case.

i have changed the graphics card to a EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2048MB instead of the 4gb 670. i dont need the extra vram and plus i could always add in a double graphics card if its nessasary.

i would like to that everyone for helping me out so far.
 
k so iv gone abit over my budget but it still a work in progress.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Palit GeForce GTX 670 Jetstream 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £309.95
(£258.29) £619.90
(£516.58)
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
(£154.16) £184.99
(£154.16)
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98
(£108.32)
Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz SODIMM Kit (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10) Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz SODIMM Kit (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10) £119.99
(£99.99) £119.99
(£99.99)
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
(£94.16) £112.99
(£94.16)
Antec P280 Super Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Black Antec P280 Super Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Black £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EARX) Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EARX) £107.99
(£89.99) £107.99
(£89.99)
XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Blue (Socket LGA 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/AMD AM2/2+/AM3) Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler - Blue (Socket LGA 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/AMD AM2/2+/AM3) £66.98
(£55.82) £66.98
(£55.82)
Sub Total : £1,500.63
 
Sub Total : £1,500.63
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £14.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £303.08
Total : £1,818.46

Go to Checkout
 
I wouldn't get a WD green HDD. If you want 2TB try one of the Hitachi range. Or Seagate.

Are you sure you want 2*670's? I think for single monitor the 670 will run into VRAM issues at maximum settings before you require the second 670's juice. Might be worth getting 7970's in CF at that price.

If this is a gaming rig, 16gb of RAM is overkill. 8gb is overkill really. May as well save yourself £50 or so and buy an actual game for the thing :)

Mobo, processor, PSU, SSD, optical drive operating system and CPU cooler is all fine.

AMD single GPU spec:


YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7970 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - AMD 3 for FREE Promotion (H797F3G2M) £299.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Xilence Interceptor Full Tower Case - Black/Red £134.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM - OEM (0F12115) (HDS723020BLA642) £104.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2) £72.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
Total : £1,329.55 (includes shipping : £14.75).



AMD dual GPU spec:


YOUR BASKET
2 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - AMD 3 for FREE Promotion (H795Q3G2M) £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Xilence Interceptor Full Tower Case - Black/Red £134.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM - OEM (0F12115) (HDS723020BLA642) £104.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2) £72.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
Total : £1,509.54 (includes shipping : £14.75).



Nvidia single GPU spec:


YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £319.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Xilence Interceptor Full Tower Case - Black/Red £134.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM - OEM (0F12115) (HDS723020BLA642) £104.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2) £72.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
Total : £1,349.56 (includes shipping : £14.75).



And Nvidia dual GPU spec:


YOUR BASKET
2 x MSI GeForce GTX 660Ti Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Borderlands 2 PC Game £259.98 (£519.96)
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Xilence Interceptor Full Tower Case - Black/Red £134.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE BOOGIE BUG XXL GAMING MOUSE MAT £129.98
1 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM - OEM (0F12115) (HDS723020BLA642) £104.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x LG BH10LS38 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Lightscribe Drive - Black (Retail) £79.98
1 x Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA775/AM2/AM2) £72.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
Total : £1,549.52 (includes shipping : £14.75).



To be honest i'd be tempted by the dual 7950's for overall VRAM, crossfire performance, potential overclocking and that AMD 3 promotion (bunch of free games).

*Is that case 'flashy' enough?
 
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BF3 is a good shooter but I do wish people would stop with the whole 'whatever card runs BF3 better is the best'.... not everyone likes BF3. Also, who knows if a future FPS comes out favouring AMD? Crossfire 7950's certainly beat a single 670 or a top end 680. To get that VRAM of the AMD's you'd need to spend a fair bit more on Nvidia tech also.

* Also that link and the one above do show a lot of pro's to Nvidia i'll grant but on £500 GPU budget I think you're still better off with the 7950 CF.
* One more thing. Wait for the 660ti release. It looks like a good card and if priced right it might out-do those 7950's.

except OP wants to play bf3? hence why i posted the b3 benchies? lol
 
except OP wants to play bf3? hence why i posted the b3 benchies? lol

It was more a general comment. Should've made that a bit clearer, sorry. To be honest though I cannot fathom spending £1500 on a PC for a single game. There must be other games, future things he wants or whatever to warrant spending that.

Still think for £1500 7950's in CF are the way to go. If you want to save some cash, get a single 670.

EDIT: Also worth noting, looking at some of the results on that link, that the 7970 is only a few FPS behind the 670 on BF3 and both cards are at a similar price point. I'm not pro either but on value for money I like how the 7970 looks.
 
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that's at triple screen resolutions. drop the resolution and the difference is far more clear-cut.

Battlefield 3 - 1920x1200 - Ultra Quality + 4xMSAA = 6fps lead for the 670 (average). (56 vs 62 fps)

Battlefield 3 - 1920x1200 - Ultra Quality + FXAA-High = 11 fps differential but as these frames I think it matters very little (81 vs 92 fps).

The 670 is better at this but I think it's a little overstated how much better it is :) A noticeable improvement perhaps, worth basing your purchase off for a single game even if at the moment that's all he plays? No.

I think it's well worth doing some thorough research into the type of games the OP plays in general, and then look at the benchmarks on games in those genres that are out now. Then consider the future implications of 3gb vs 2gb of VRAM if running multi-gpu in the future to pick up the slack.

Both are exceptional cards, I just feel the 7970 is often understated just because of BF3.
 
op plays bf3 atm, he's 21 and is, on the balance of probability, not gonna go multi screen. as you said, they both are pretty decent cards, so why not get the one that benefits him most now.
but i agree, cant go wrong getting either of those cards.
 
i havnt played bf3 for about 2 months because of the misus, dont wanna lose her you know.

i do want to get back into it but i know that my connection will be a dongle, because i travel a lot with my work.
i play bf3 all the time unless they are upgrading the website, i play css in my free time
at the moment i am playing with a laptop msi gx660r i5 and like the graphics card is a mobile 5870 i play bf3 on low setting but i know i could do better on normal graphics card settings on high.

i hope with this information you will understand better my situation.

could you please tell me how to get the basket like everyone else please i could post things up a lot clearer.


maybe i should just get a single 670 2gb or are the 660 ti better?
 
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