Gaming system wanted.

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 14:26

Hi,

I'm looking at getting back into PC gaming and just using my PS3 for the console favourites such as FIFA/GTA etc.

I have been out of the PC hardware 'loop' for a fair few years. Looking around the OCUK website i've not got a clue what to go for!

I'm trying to decide if I should just buy one of the prebuilt systems or buy all the parts and build myself. Although I haven't built a system for roughly 7/8 years i'm pretty sure I could manage it.

I'm looking at spending around £1000-£1300(only if it's really 'worth' it to future proof)- the only downside being I don't have ANYTHING! No monitor/keyboard/mouse/Operating system etc as i've been using my Macbook for years!

I'm not interested in overclocking.

Ivybridge/Sandyridge - which is the one to go for?
No idea which gfx card is currently 'future proof'

Any advice you can give is appreciated, thanks!

P.S PC Gaming is back on the up isn't it?

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:08

It does look like it's going to be significantly cheaper to build it all myself. Is it still Windows 7 over Windows 8?

I really would not be able to spec myself a full system so I'll have to decide on one that you guys do for me and just hit the 'buy now' button and hope it's correct

I could just use my Astro a40's instead of speakers.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:10

You would save a lot by buying components separately and building youself and is more fun

I will provide a spec soon, don't need i7 with gaming rigs

Lemin · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:14

Something like this pre oc ...

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Titan 8700i Pulse" Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz @ 4.40GHz DDR3 Ivybridge Gaming PC £520.00
- 1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £89.99
- 1 x Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days £0.00
- 1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 License 32/64-Bit - NO CD **INTERNAL USE ONLY** £79.99
- 1 x Opt Out of FREE AV Software £0.01
- 1 x No Sound Card Upgrade £0.00
- 1 x Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
- 1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
1 x Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £129.95
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £25.99
1 x Logitech S-220 2.1 Speaker System - OEM (980-000022) £21.98
1 x Logitech K120 Keyboard (920-002524) £9.98
Total : £1,098.90 (includes shipping : £17.50).

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:36

[WU-TANG]GZA;23517501 said:
You would save a lot by buying components separately and building youself and is more fun

I will provide a spec soon, don't need i7 with gaming rigs

i7 not needed with gaming rigs? I would have though the bigger the 'i' the better

Lemin said:
Something like this pre oc ...
....etc

Thanks Lemin - i'm going to build it myself now (and hope to god it works) but the advice about the monitor/mouse etc is noted thanks.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:37

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
1 x Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £129.95
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020041-UK) £114.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £93.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99
1 x Creative Inspire A520 5.1 Speaker System (51MF4110AA008) £47.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x Gigabyte Force K3 Gaming Keyboard £29.99
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £25.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,133.89 (includes shipping : £20.10).

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:40

Andr3w said:
i7 not needed with gaming rigs? I would have though the bigger the 'i' the better
QUOTE]

Game don't currently takes advantage of HT (hyperthreading) enough to justify the extra cost

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:48

Thanks for that [WU-TANG]GZA I just have a couple of questions.

1) A friend of mine mentioned that the ATI cards are lacking being the NVIDIA's recently and mentioned a 670 would be worth a look - how does the 7950 rate against the 670 and will it still be able to handle future games? How about the 7970?
2) Do the Processor's come with everything needed to keep them cool such as the heatsink and thermal paste?
3) I'm not a fan of that case - would everything fit easily in this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-174-AN&groupid=2362&catid=160&subcat= ?
4) Don't worry about speakers for now i'll use my Astro A40's to begin with - could that £50 be spent elsewhere?
5) Should that £50 be spent on another HDD as you only mention a SSD. Is it basically keep the OS/Programs on the SSD and games/music etc on the separate drive?

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:54

Andr3w said:
Thanks for that [WU-TANG]GZA I just have a couple of questions.

1) A friend of mine mentioned that the ATI cards are lacking being the NVIDIA's recently and mentioned a 670 would be worth a look - how does the 7950 rate against the 670 and will it still be able to handle future games? How about the 7970?
2) Do the Processor's come with everything needed to keep them cool such as the heatsink and thermal paste?
3) I'm not a fan of that case - would everything fit easily in this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-174-AN&groupid=2362&catid=160&subcat= ?
4) Don't worry about speakers for now i'll use my Astro A40's to begin with - could that £50 be spent elsewhere?
5) Should that £50 be spent on another HDD as you only mention a SSD. Is it basically keep the OS/Programs on the SSD and games/music etc on the separate drive?

The 7950 is basically on par with the 670 for a lot less money, especially with the newer drivers from AMD/ The 7970 is not worth the extras price over the 7950

The retail processors come with everything yes

yes the case is fine

Yes you could get a 500GB stroage drive to simply store files on for £50 or a bit less

Bacon? · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:56

ATI cards are right now much better value for money, the 7950's are equal to 670's but £80 less!

Retail CPU's come with a stock heatsink that has some thermal paste on the bottom, if you decide the remove the CPU at some point and don't have any thermal paste on hand you may be resorted to toothpaste like I did

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 15:59

Ok this it is then: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-364-WD&tool=3 ?

Do i need a PSU thats £100??

I've made a slightly different spec - how do I put it into the format you guys have so I can share it on here?

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:05

Andr3w said:
Ok this it is then: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-364-WD&tool=3 ?

Do i need a PSU thats £100??

I've made a slightly different spec - how do I put it into the format you guys have so I can share it on here?

You don't need that PSU, no. I specced it because it is a quality PSU for the price and will enable you to Crossfire if you wanted to in the future. Crossfiring is a nice affordable gaming upgrade.

Bacon? · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:05

This is a bit cheaper but I know everyone has their HDD preference:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-252-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

You only need a 750W PSU if your considering x-fire. For a single GPU setup you can get both a cheaper motherboard and a 550W PSU. The Seasonic G series 550W is a favourite of mine for single GPU's and the 650W can AFAIK x-fire 7950's with an overclocked i5.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:06

Bacon? said:
This is a bit cheaper but I know everyone has their HDD preference:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-252-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

You only need a 750W PSU if your considering x-fire. For a single GPU setup you can get both a cheaper motherboard and a 550W PSU. The Seasonic G series 550W is a favourite of mine for single GPU's and the 650W can AFAIK x-fire 7950's with an overclocked i5.

Damn that's good. I would have gone overkill on the PSU, always have always will

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:15

I don't think I'll be looking to crossfire in future so could I get an even cheaper PSU and mobo then put the money saved into a cheaper GFX card like a 680?
I'll select the HDD you've suggested. Once I've added the £70 windows 7 OS I'm looking at around £1200 does this look like a good capable system for that price?

lee32uk · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:22

This would do for a single card setup. Great value for a branded semi modular psu.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99
Total : £49.99 (includes shipping : FREE).

Or if you dont mind a non modular option
YOUR BASKET
1 x OCZ ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £56.99
Total : £56.99 (includes shipping : FREE).

lee32uk · 8 Jan 2013 at 16:33

If you dont plan on running 2 cards you could get this cheaper board. It would still allow for you to overclock in the future if you wish to do so (With a better cooler of course)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
Total : £84.98 (includes shipping : FREE).

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 19:34

Could somebody please check the below spec:

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £299.99

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99

Samsung S24B300BS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £129.95

Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98

Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £52.99

Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99

TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99

Gigabyte Force K3 Gaming Keyboard £29.99

Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £25.99

Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp £25.99

LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98

Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £93.98

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £44.99

Total : £1,073.81

1) If I spend £100 more are there any major upgrades I could do that would really make a big difference?
2) Is everything compatible? I'm hoping it is but i'm not 100%
3) I have a copy of windows VISTA -OEM at home, is it worth buying the windows 8 upgrade kit at £49.99 or sticking with vista?

Lemin · 8 Jan 2013 at 19:42

Go win 7 64bit !! Rest looks good but id add...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x Akasa 8-Pin 30cm PSU Extension Cable (AK-CB8-8EXT) £4.79
Total : £44.68 (includes shipping : £8.25).

Andr3w · 8 Jan 2013 at 19:45

Windows 7 over windows 8?

Why do I need another CPU cooler if I won't be over clocking, surly the stock one is ok?

Finally those PSU extension cables... whats wrong with the ones that come with the PSU?

I'm thinking about pressing the 'buy' button tonight but I want to be 100% sure everything is as good as possibly can be for the money, I've also had to go for a sound card as the motherboard doesn't have an optical port and my Astro A40's need an optical port.