Novice needing help with gaming pc specs :)

Donny84

Donny84

Donny84

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286
Hi there, I've spent quite a few hours on this site, I'm looking at getting a custom gaming pc built for the first time.
I've got a list of what I think :confused: is compatible and best value for money, my budget is around £900-£1000.

Was looking for some expert advice to make sure that this stuff is everything I will need, is compatible and is the best i can get for my budget.

This is my basket so far

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-403-IN
Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
£279.95

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-285-AS
Asus GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency
£179.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-062-AK
ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
£139.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-029-SS
Seasonic M12II 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply
£104.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-309-CS
Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B)
£99.95

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-336-WD
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) HDD
£79.99

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-212-CM
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black
£62.99

Shipping : £12.50
Total : £962.84


Sorry, I can't work out how to do the tidier links :D

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks for reading :)
 
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YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x XFX 750W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £96.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Advanced USB3.0 Dominator Case - Black £84.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £32.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £991.34 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
wow, thanks for the quick replies.
so...

1) swap the i7 for a lower i5

2) swap the gfx card for a slightly better one?

3) the ssd... that would be only for storing the OS on right? Would that really make a difference to my gaming?

4) Does the cpu not come with a good enough cooler?

5) Sorry for the noobie questions, I really am that clueless :P
 
I7 only adds Hyperthreading. Programmes that use this include high level video editing software and coding stuff. Not games.

SSD can store multiple programs like games and OS for must faster loading time and responsiveness.

CPU comes with a cooler than is fine for stock, if you want to overclock (good idea for any build really) you will need a better one.
 
allnamestaken84 said:
wow, thanks for the quick replies.
so...

1) swap the i7 for a lower i5

2) swap the gfx card for a slightly better one?

3) the ssd... that would be only for storing the OS on right? Would that really make a difference to my gaming?

4) Does the cpu not come with a good enough cooler?

5) Sorry for the noobie questions, I really am that clueless :P
Click to expand...

1. yeah i would and the money you save can be spent on gpu

2. yes its a very capable card and can be overclocked to 7970 standards

3. i only have my os on ssd but you can install games on them if you like, loading times will definately be quicker

4. yes, but they can be noisey when the cpu is working hard and if you ever decied to overclock you wil have to get an aftermarket cooler anyway.
 
Aha, thanks for that. :D
I've been told that games that get regular updates, such as WoW and new games from steam aren't practical on an ssd due to it not being able to overwrite/remove date without a clean wipe? don't know how true that is or whether i've totally misunderstood?

Is lee32uk's setup better than mine? If so would it be fine to swap the gfx card for a geforce?
 
allnamestaken84 said:
Aha, thanks for that. :D
I've been told that games that get regular updates, such as WoW and new games from steam aren't practical on an ssd due to it not being able to overwrite/remove date without a clean wipe? don't know how true that is or whether i've totally misunderstood?

Is lee32uk's setup better than mine? If so would it be fine to swap the gfx card for a geforce?
Click to expand...

I would buy his setup over yours, its a well balanced build and you will get great performance for a good few years.

Steam is a funny one, i have my steam library on a seperate drive.

You can add whatever gpu you want but i can vouch for a 7950 as i have one its a great clocker and a good price.
 
i would say swap for a 7950gpu,swap for a 3570k and have the gigabyte z77-3dh a lot cheaper and not much difference at all compared to other more expensive boards.
 
nick.lidgett said:
I would buy his setup over yours.
Click to expand...

I thought so :P

I've always had an Nvidia card, I heard they are better too... but again, i'm a novice :P

So if I was to get a geforce 660ti, could i get that overclocked? or does the ti mean its already been factory overclocked?
In other words, if i could get someone to overclock for me, would it be better to get a 660 or a 660ti?
 
allnamestaken84 said:
I thought so :P

I've always had an Nvidia card, I heard they are better too... but again, i'm a novice :P
Click to expand...

not sure their cards are better all the time, to be honest its a bit tit for tat between them.
read this first and see what you think at the end.

radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti

also you can ask your question in the gpu section those guys can put you straight about overclocking 660s
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Sleeping Dogs PC Game £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £69.98
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £62.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £59.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £906.35 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Thanks for these helpful tips, that link was very insightful nick, thanks for that :)
So i'm reading it as geforce is in fact slightly better and quite a bit cheaper than the radeon equivelent? :)

Which of the 2 basket posters has the better gaming setup? i'll probably end up going with one of them.

Also, if i was able to push the boat out and get 16gb of ram, would that make a lot of difference or is it just unnecessary?
 
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Not quite sure how you got that comparison?

The equivalent of the 7950 is the 670 which is a fair deal more.
The 660TI equivalent is the 7870.
 
so youre saying that the lower version of the geforce is better than the superior version of the radeon? im confused :confused:

the testing on that link was a 660TI vs 7950 and theyve said the geforce was better?
 
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No im saying the 660Ti is beaten by the 7950.

If you take a look down in the Graphics section you can find all sorts of forum member benchmarks, I prefer to look at those results than any reviews because a lot of reviews sites are biased towards one company.
 
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