£1500 Gaming Rig - Advice

zipper_redwood

zipper_redwood

zipper_redwood

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28 Mar 2013
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133
Hi all. I've been lurking a while waiting to see if I could stump up the cash to get a decent gaming rig, well a promotion at work has just forced my hand.

I've got a rough spec down below. Any improvements or advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Gary.

YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £369.95 (£739.90)
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x OCZ ZX Series 1000W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £159.98
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) £133.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-17066C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX21C11T2K2/16X) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x BitFenix Raider Tower Case - Black £62.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 High Performance CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £22.99
Total : £1,596.31 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
I would make the following changes:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £209.99
1 x XFX Pro Series 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £94.99
1 x Alpenföhn K2 Mount Doom CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £54.98
Total : £371.96 (includes shipping : £10.00).



PSU is better built, XFX is one of the best on the market
SSD is quicker, the basic model is a lot slower. You could also look at Plextor, they are a great Samsung Rival & just as quick with a Firmware update
Cooler is one of the best, falls in the best top 3 air coolers you can buy.

RAM - I would reccommend 8GB 1600, anything more is not worth the money or used in gaming. This stuff will clock to 2400+

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £64.99
Total : £67.27 (includes shipping : £1.90).

 
Seems a bit mis-matched bud..

3570k is a great choice.

PSU is way over the top.

7970's are good but 7950's are much better value.

That RAM is today only and you'll see no benifit of faster than 1600mhz on the 1155 socket. 8Gb will be fine also.

The cooler is a little rubbish for that build.

This is what i'd do (still have £200 left)

YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £164.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155 / LGA1156 / LGA1366 / LGA2011/ AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £76.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.95
Total : £1,300.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
Here is my effort (best spec for price) Gone with the i7 over the i5.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £279.95
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £164.99
1 x Corsair Graphite 600T Midi Tower Case - Silver £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155 / LGA1156 / LGA1366 / LGA2011/ AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £76.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8) £59.99
Total : £1,501.33 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 
Last edited:
I was planning on running 3x 22" monitors, that's why I went for the dual 7970's.

So there would be no (absolute zero) benefit to having more RAM?

Would the case I chose (or the Shinobi) fit all of these components and run cool enough?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7970 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (11197-11-40G) with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £329.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £187.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 650D Gaming Midi Tower - Black £149.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD2002FAEX) HDD £149.99
1 x MSI Z77 MPower Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with FREE F1 RC Car & MSI HDD Enclosure £139.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020032-UK) £139.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-17066C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX21C11T2K2/16X) £83.99
Total : £1,506.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
Does anyone have any issues with this build? (over budget I know)

YOUR BASKET
2 x Sapphire HD 7970 VAPOR-X GHZ 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99 (£719.98)
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £209.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £199.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £107.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x XFX Pro Series 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £94.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-17066C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX21C11T2K2/16X) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
Total : £1,661.39 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
For that kind of money I'd really be wanting an i7 to stop any potential bottlenecking, I'd go for the h110 over the h100i, but you'd need a different case to fit it, Corsair 500r and C70 are both compatible.
 
2 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Crysis 3 & Bioshock PC Games £239.99 (£479.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM £235.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £209.99
1 x Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £179.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit £99.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
Total : £1,548.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).



7950 will clock to same speed as 70's, i7 not a i5, and later socket motherboard with better crossfire support, faster memory ie quad not dual and a upgrade path for later.

and a psu that's instock :)
 
In the end I've went with this.

YOUR BASKET
2 x Sapphire HD 7970 VAPOR-X GHZ 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99 (£719.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM £235.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £209.99
1 x Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £179.99
1 x Asus VN247H 24"Widescreen Super Narrow Bezel LED Monitor - Black £167.99
1 x XFX 850W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Silver' Power Supply £99.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit £99.95
1 x Corsair Carbide 500R Midi Tower Case - Black £89.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £67.99
Total : £1,989.53 (includes shipping : £14.75).




I took Zak's advice re: 2011 socket and future proofing slightly, also with the improved RAM and X-fire!

I stuck with the two 7970's as I'm looking at getting 2 more 24" monitors next payday and really want something to drive those hard.

Went with the 500r as it is still plain looking whilst giving better cooling than the Shinobi.

Also went with the advised PSU and H100i water cooler.

I'm going to order all in the morning. It'll be my first build too, so I can't wait!
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure if they're open tomorrow, but if they are if you order early you might be able to get Saturday delivery.

Also seen as you've got the 500r I'd recommend you get the h110 instead of the h100i. It's a newer model has a bigger radiator and is compatible with the 500r case.
 
Suarez7 said:
I'm not sure if they're open tomorrow, but if they are if you order early you might be able to get Saturday delivery.

Also seen as you've got the 500r I'd recommend you get the h110 instead of the h100i. It's a newer model has a bigger radiator and is compatible with the 500r case.
Click to expand...

Would it be louder than the h100i?

Also, I've just been looking at the OCUk water cooled cases, would purchasing one of those give me better cooling than the 500r/h110 combo?
 
zipper_redwood said:
Would it be louder than the h100i?

Also, I've just been looking at the OCUk water cooled cases, would purchasing one of those give me better cooling than the 500r/h110 combo?
Click to expand...

h110 would probably be more quiet as it uses bigger fans at lower rpm.

The custom cooling would be better but it's gonna knock your cost up a fair bit and will take longer to install and it needs maintaining every now and again.
 
Suarez7 said:
h110 would probably be more quiet as it uses bigger fans at lower rpm.

The custom cooling would be better but it's gonna knock your cost up a fair bit and will take longer to install and it needs maintaining every now and again.
Click to expand...

Cheers, I will go for the h110 then.

Down the line I might look into custom cooling, but for now I think you're right re cost and maintenance.

Bonus with the next day delivery :)
 
zipper_redwood said:
I put my order through this morning and should receive my gear tomorrow. Most of the changes were down to your advice, so as I've got duplicate game vouchers on the way of...

Dirt Showdown
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Farcry 3
Total War: Shogun 2
Bioshock

Take your pick as a thank you!
Click to expand...

No it's fine pal honestly, plenty have helped me out on here before as well. I've bought the same card as you so will be getting those games anyway. I think you only get Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite with the card though instead of all 6 games pictured. That's what someone told me in another thread anyway.
 
Suarez7 said:
No it's fine pal honestly, plenty have helped me out on here before as well. I've bought the same card as you so will be getting those games anyway. I think you only get Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite with the card though instead of all 6 games pictured. That's what someone told me in another thread anyway.
Click to expand...

I thought that also, but I've got vouchers for all six on the way.

No worries dude, now just to find a place to shift them codes to help me claw back some £££!

Cheers again!
 
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