New Gaming PC for 2013

djjavo · 16 Dec 2012 at 11:22

Hi guys,

I'm looking to upgrade again. The main use for the PC will be gaming but also needs to handle After Effects / Sony Vegas / Photoshop. The main games will be RTS but if it can handle FPS that would be great aswell.

Here is my proposed spec. Please comment and feedback. All constructive criticism / suggestions welcome.

Also, this basket is the maximum I am able to spend (+£20/30)

MY BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x ASUS GeForce GTX 660TI Direct CU II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £154.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance RED 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit £99.95
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 620W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £79.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic £159.98
1 x CM Storm Enforcer Gaming Case - Black £74.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro Extreme Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £1128.38 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Many Thanks,
Javo

Addicted · 16 Dec 2012 at 11:23

I'd go for a 7950 over a 660!

tres_kun · 16 Dec 2012 at 11:27

Add a CPU cooler at that build stock is ugly

Lemin · 16 Dec 2012 at 11:27

Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) [CML16GX3M2A1600C10]
£79.99 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-347-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Will fit under your cooler.

zakblood · 16 Dec 2012 at 11:40

nice spec pc, rts like total war etc?

if yes it will be a great rig, i'd also pick the 7950 over a 660!

altrewin · 16 Dec 2012 at 13:19

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) £159.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x CM Storm Enforcer Gaming Case - Black £74.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £69.98
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD316GB1600C11DC) **OcUK Exclusive** £69.95
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £1,066.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

_________________
7950 is faster than the 660Ti however you do lose CUDA, so it depends on what is more important to you.
Cheaper RAM, 2133Mhz doesn't have a huge benefit over 1600Mhz. It will also fit nicely under any cooler

LukieBoy007 · 16 Dec 2012 at 13:19

As already mentioned, change the 660 to a 7950. Other than that, looks nice

LukieBoy007 · 16 Dec 2012 at 13:27

altrewin said:
7950 is faster than the 660Ti however you do lose CUDA, so it depends on what is more important to you.

IIRC, Photoshop CS6 prefers AMD's OpenCL support over nVidia's CUDA support.

altrewin · 16 Dec 2012 at 13:34

LukieBoy007 said:
IIRC, Photoshop CS6 prefers AMD's OpenCL support over nVidia's CUDA support.

Ah, well that's alright then

triggerthat · 16 Dec 2012 at 13:35

I'd go with this (allows you to xfire in future):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £259.99
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) £159.98
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £96.98
1 x CM Storm Enforcer Gaming Case - Black £74.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED316GM1600HC11DC01) £59.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler(Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £1,066.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).

djjavo · 16 Dec 2012 at 18:18

thanks everyone for your contributions - the revised spec look good - just got to get all the money now

djjavo · 25 Dec 2012 at 19:50

sorry to bring this back from the dead - but both recommendations picked 1600MHz RAM instead of by inital 2133MHz. My question is that does the 2133MHz RAM not give a good enough performance boost for the price or do I not need it etc.?

also is 2x8GB better than 4x4GB?

thanks & merry christmas

smithy1988 · 25 Dec 2012 at 20:17

djjavo said:
sorry to bring this back from the dead - but both recommendations picked 1600MHz RAM instead of by inital 2133MHz. My question is that does the 2133MHz RAM not give a good enough performance boost for the price or do I not need it etc.?

also is 2x8GB better than 4x4GB?

thanks & merry christmas

I believe the price difference between the two isn't worth it when considering the small increase in speed. Using fewer/larger capacity modules of ram puts less stress on the memory controller and also helps space when installing the cpu cooler.

(no expert but I believe that's the reasoning, I'm sure someone will chip in, if incorrect)

illuz · 25 Dec 2012 at 20:21

You won't see the difference outside of benchmarks with the RAM also. Wicked spec mate, it will suit you perfectly!

Addicted · 25 Dec 2012 at 20:27

You may see 1 or 2 fps more in games with the RAM, but that's assuming you already get like 80-90 fps, totally not worth it!

triggerthat · 25 Dec 2012 at 20:29

Deals keep on changing so I recommend requesting another spec when you're able to buy.

djjavo · 27 Dec 2012 at 22:32

Yep will do, thanks all for your contributions