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- 24 Dec 2007
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Hi guys,
I'm looking to put a high end gaming rig together before September on a budget of around £1000 and I'm looking for suggestions. I won't be building it till probably early August though in case any upcoming stuff is worth adding here. I have some ideas that I'm gonna list but if there are better more cost effective solutions I'm open to them.
Ideally, I want this system to be able to run stuff like WoW, Star Citizen, Witcher 3, Skyrim with full texture mods, X:Rebirth and stuff like Bioshock Infinite either maxed out or very close to it.
So without further ado:
Case
I'm leaning towards the Corsair Carbide 540 Air just because it looks fantastic, it's quite good value for money, and for ease of movement due to it's size. I also love the air getting directly to the key components straight away. Ease of installation of components is another factor. Basically it just seems like the complete high end package (aside from storage drive capacity) for relatively little money. Unless of course, an alternative offers better cooling and value for money?
CPU
The biggest things here for me are future proofing, overclockability and value for money. With those in mind I was thinking either a 4670k, a 3570k or an 8350. As I would ideally like this to last me 3-5 years, I'm thinking the 4670 might be my best bet despite being the most expensive?
Also, is buying the OEM version generally better due to the cost difference?
CPU Cooler
As I seem to be most attracted to the Corsair case I've been debating getting the H100 but if traditional air coolers have better cooling a high end one of those might be better and cheaper. My main draw for the H100 is how low profile it is in general, opening up space for you and negating the pain in the arse of installing a big heatsink.
Motherboard
I really like the look of Asus 4-way optimization for easy overclocking, so a compatible motherboard for that would be nice (I think all Z87 Asus boards are compatible though). I'm a big Asus fan too now and I've always wanted one so that's where I'm leaning right now.
Essentially I just need a board which allows good overclocking, has space for SLI/Xfire with a soundcard in 1x PCI-e slot and plenty of sata ports. I don't think there's anything else I need really.
Memory
I would like 16gb if budget allows for it, just for future proofing, but mostly high end, fast ram which would compliment a high CPU overclock. 8GB I expect would be fine if you need the what, £30? elsewhere to fit something else in. Ideally 16GB though, if possible.
GPU
Will be overclocking! Plan to upgrade within 2 years.
7950, 7970 or 760/770. Wondering what would fit into the budget, what is most cost effective and what is good to SLI/Xfire later on. I'm a big fan of buying a cheap second card in a year or two, but my current dual 5870's have really underwhelmed me, I think mostly because of the VRAM bottlenecking them in newer games.
I have heard SLI is better for this, but if my best bet is to get one card now and then upgrade to a single card solution later I think a 7950 or 7970 is best. The question is though, is the 7970 worth the extra cost or is an overclocked 7950 superior to an overclocked 7970 in terms of how much games in the next 2 years are going to push it. If the 7950 probably isn't going to be pushed to 100% of it's limit by the 2 year mark I should be better off with that. Willing to listen to recommendations as I'm just not sure.
SSD
Right now I run a 60GB OS drive with programs on it, and a rubbish 250GB first gen SSD for games. Is this the most optimal way of doing it or am I better off with a larger 256GB SSD (and thus faster) and partitioning it (if that's even necessary on an SSD). I'm guessing this would be cheaper although would give me less space due to losing 40GB to the OS.
I'm open to options here as I don't really follow individual SSD drive performance.
Storage Drives
Will be transporting my 2 2TB drives between my two computers when I travel home so won't need these at all at first. Can buy some later as funds allow for it. (Yes I know the 540 only allows 2 storage drives)
PSU
Would like a fully modular PSU *if budget allows*. If cutting down from modular here can free up for a better upgrade elsewhere that's completely fine as this is mostly a convenience thing and something I've always wanted but not really necessary, especially not in the 540.
Optical Drive
Cheap DVD RW is fine. Don't need anything special like a Blu Ray or anything.
NOTE: If the following two can't fit into the budget, list it separately outside of the build itself. I may be able to fund this elsewhere.
Peripherals
Don't need mouse as I can transport that.
Keyboard I would like a relatively small keyboard (doesn't need anything like volume control, macro keys or anything. Just a good, functional keyboard. I would love a mechanical keyboard but I think that would stretch the budget a bit too much. As I have a Razer Naga I don't really need the numpad either so that would allow for a smaller keyboard if that makes it easier.
Monitor
I currently have a 24" Dell U2412M which I will be using as my main Monitor, so I'm looking for a 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200 if they still exist) as a secondary monitor for browsing/movies etc which is relatively cheap but still good. Cost effectiveness really. Basically <£100 if possible and if it's any good (if it's not bump this up a bit).
Apologies for the wall of text and rather limiting conditions, but I figured some people might love the challenge this provides and I would love the help speccing this.
Thanks in advance!
This is ideally the sort of level I was thinking of:
YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £179.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/240G) £179.99
1 x Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £116.99
1 x GeIL EVO Veloce Hot-Rod Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEV316GB1866C10DC) £99.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H110 280mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3) (CW-9060014-WW) £94.99
1 x Seasonic M12II 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £86.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £1,153.42 (includes shipping : £10.50).
Unfortunately that's a little overbudget and has random memory and PSU brands and a random Motherboard as I threw them in there as an example.
I'm looking to put a high end gaming rig together before September on a budget of around £1000 and I'm looking for suggestions. I won't be building it till probably early August though in case any upcoming stuff is worth adding here. I have some ideas that I'm gonna list but if there are better more cost effective solutions I'm open to them.
Ideally, I want this system to be able to run stuff like WoW, Star Citizen, Witcher 3, Skyrim with full texture mods, X:Rebirth and stuff like Bioshock Infinite either maxed out or very close to it.
So without further ado:
Case
I'm leaning towards the Corsair Carbide 540 Air just because it looks fantastic, it's quite good value for money, and for ease of movement due to it's size. I also love the air getting directly to the key components straight away. Ease of installation of components is another factor. Basically it just seems like the complete high end package (aside from storage drive capacity) for relatively little money. Unless of course, an alternative offers better cooling and value for money?
CPU
The biggest things here for me are future proofing, overclockability and value for money. With those in mind I was thinking either a 4670k, a 3570k or an 8350. As I would ideally like this to last me 3-5 years, I'm thinking the 4670 might be my best bet despite being the most expensive?
Also, is buying the OEM version generally better due to the cost difference?
CPU Cooler
As I seem to be most attracted to the Corsair case I've been debating getting the H100 but if traditional air coolers have better cooling a high end one of those might be better and cheaper. My main draw for the H100 is how low profile it is in general, opening up space for you and negating the pain in the arse of installing a big heatsink.
Motherboard
I really like the look of Asus 4-way optimization for easy overclocking, so a compatible motherboard for that would be nice (I think all Z87 Asus boards are compatible though). I'm a big Asus fan too now and I've always wanted one so that's where I'm leaning right now.
Essentially I just need a board which allows good overclocking, has space for SLI/Xfire with a soundcard in 1x PCI-e slot and plenty of sata ports. I don't think there's anything else I need really.
Memory
I would like 16gb if budget allows for it, just for future proofing, but mostly high end, fast ram which would compliment a high CPU overclock. 8GB I expect would be fine if you need the what, £30? elsewhere to fit something else in. Ideally 16GB though, if possible.
GPU
Will be overclocking! Plan to upgrade within 2 years.
7950, 7970 or 760/770. Wondering what would fit into the budget, what is most cost effective and what is good to SLI/Xfire later on. I'm a big fan of buying a cheap second card in a year or two, but my current dual 5870's have really underwhelmed me, I think mostly because of the VRAM bottlenecking them in newer games.
I have heard SLI is better for this, but if my best bet is to get one card now and then upgrade to a single card solution later I think a 7950 or 7970 is best. The question is though, is the 7970 worth the extra cost or is an overclocked 7950 superior to an overclocked 7970 in terms of how much games in the next 2 years are going to push it. If the 7950 probably isn't going to be pushed to 100% of it's limit by the 2 year mark I should be better off with that. Willing to listen to recommendations as I'm just not sure.
SSD
Right now I run a 60GB OS drive with programs on it, and a rubbish 250GB first gen SSD for games. Is this the most optimal way of doing it or am I better off with a larger 256GB SSD (and thus faster) and partitioning it (if that's even necessary on an SSD). I'm guessing this would be cheaper although would give me less space due to losing 40GB to the OS.
I'm open to options here as I don't really follow individual SSD drive performance.
Storage Drives
Will be transporting my 2 2TB drives between my two computers when I travel home so won't need these at all at first. Can buy some later as funds allow for it. (Yes I know the 540 only allows 2 storage drives)
PSU
Would like a fully modular PSU *if budget allows*. If cutting down from modular here can free up for a better upgrade elsewhere that's completely fine as this is mostly a convenience thing and something I've always wanted but not really necessary, especially not in the 540.
Optical Drive
Cheap DVD RW is fine. Don't need anything special like a Blu Ray or anything.
NOTE: If the following two can't fit into the budget, list it separately outside of the build itself. I may be able to fund this elsewhere.
Peripherals
Don't need mouse as I can transport that.
Keyboard I would like a relatively small keyboard (doesn't need anything like volume control, macro keys or anything. Just a good, functional keyboard. I would love a mechanical keyboard but I think that would stretch the budget a bit too much. As I have a Razer Naga I don't really need the numpad either so that would allow for a smaller keyboard if that makes it easier.
Monitor
I currently have a 24" Dell U2412M which I will be using as my main Monitor, so I'm looking for a 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200 if they still exist) as a secondary monitor for browsing/movies etc which is relatively cheap but still good. Cost effectiveness really. Basically <£100 if possible and if it's any good (if it's not bump this up a bit).
Apologies for the wall of text and rather limiting conditions, but I figured some people might love the challenge this provides and I would love the help speccing this.
Thanks in advance!
This is ideally the sort of level I was thinking of:
YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QC3G2M) £249.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £179.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/240G) £179.99
1 x Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £116.99
1 x GeIL EVO Veloce Hot-Rod Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEV316GB1866C10DC) £99.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H110 280mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3) (CW-9060014-WW) £94.99
1 x Seasonic M12II 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £86.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £1,153.42 (includes shipping : £10.50).
Unfortunately that's a little overbudget and has random memory and PSU brands and a random Motherboard as I threw them in there as an example.
Last edited:
