£2000 gaming build

Shamrock

Shamrock

Shamrock

Soldato
Joined
24 Jul 2003
Posts
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Location
floating down the Liffey
My 7 year old PC is finally feeling the strain of the latest games. I'm amazed it lasted so long which goes to show how the last gen of consoles were really holding things back.

I may have the funds soon to purchase a completely new rig (rather than upgrading) so I just wanted to do a little scouting of what a decent build would be for an up to £2K budget.

Here is something I hastily selected from the configurator to give an idea of what I'm after:

Subtotal £1,452.32
£1,742.78 inc VAT

Specification
NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - Matt Black
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM
Prolimatech Red Megahalems CPU Cooler
Gigabyte Z87X-OC Force Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW)
Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM
OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Corsair RM Series RM 1000 '80+ Gold' 1000W Power Supply (CP-9020062-UK)
Networking Not Selected
Case Mods Not Selected
Keyboard Not Selected
Mouse Not Selected
System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM [
Monitor Not Selected
Speakers Not Selected
Game Controller Not Selected
Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days

I guess I'd get more component choice if I buy the bits separate and build myself rather than using OcUK's preset options.

I've been out of the hardware game for a looong time. What would you guys go for with my budget?
 
Do you need a screen, OS and KB&M or do you have them?

£2k can you get a beast of a gaming pc.
 
JOSH86 said:
Do you need a screen, OS and KB&M or do you have them?

£2k can you get a beast of a gaming pc.
Click to expand...

Pretty much just the case and bits inside. Anything down as "Not Selected" on my list I don't need.

I noticed that the Configurator options are pretty limited so wondered which bits people would hand pick instead. e.g the R9 290Xs seem to be the reference models instead of ones with potentially better/quieter after-market coolers.
 
Crossfire 290s in orange:

YOUR BASKET
2 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-00-50G) £389.99 (£779.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £158.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - Gun Metal £149.99
1 x NZXT Hale Power 90+ 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £129.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £93.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Cable Bundle - Orange £28.45
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Premium Modding LED Strip - Connect White 60cm £25.99
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25.99
1 x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050009-WW) £14.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 8pin PCI-E extension 45cm - Orange £6.98
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 6pin PCI-E extension 45cm - Orange £6.49
1 x MTN 94 Spray Paint Orange - 400ml £4.99
Total : £1,947.70 (includes shipping : FREE).



SLI 780s in white:

YOUR BASKET
2 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 780 HOF 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **ALL WHITE** £429.95 (£859.90)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - Gun Metal £149.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x NZXT Hale Power 90+ 850W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £129.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £93.95
1 x GeIL EVO Potenza 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-20800C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit - White (GPW38GB2666C11DC) £69.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Premium Modding LED Strip - Connect White 60cm £25.99
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25.99
1 x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050009-WW) £14.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 24pin ATX extension 30cm - White £8.99
4 x BitFenix Alchemy 6+2-Pin PCIe Extension 45cm - sleeved white/black £5.99 (£23.96)
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 8pin EPS extension 45cm - White £5.99
Total : £2,009.58 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC Rev2.0 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N780OC-3GD) £399.95 (£799.90)
1 x Intel 4820K 3.70GHz (Ivybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail (BX80633I74820K) £239.99
1 x Asus P9X79 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW) £184.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black (NESF-010) £169.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £138.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060016-WW ) £93.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
2 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £59.99 (£119.98)
Total : £2,031.46 (includes shipping : £14.75).



I'm no good with colour schemes, but I put in blue LED RAM? :D Also an Ivy-E CPU
 
Last edited:
No fancy stuff, just fantastic components

YOUR BASKET
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Classified "Dual BIOS" 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (03G-P4-3788-KR) £439.99 (£879.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black (NESF-010) £169.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x Corsair Force GS 240GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CSSD-F240GBGS-BK) £155.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x Avexir Blitz 1.1 Original 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001004G-2BZ1) £95.99
1 x NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case - Black £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
Total : £2,006.86 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
Shamrock said:
Are the R9 290Xs not preferable to the 780 series?
Click to expand...

the 290's are great cards but are not as plug and play friendly as there Nvidia counterparts.

the 290's can also be hot when paired together and then comes the noise.

single card, a 290x or 780Ti is great but 2 i'd go with 2 x 780's
 
Shamrock said:
Are the R9 290Xs not preferable to the 780 series?
Click to expand...

If you want AMD, just get a 290: they're cheaper and the performance difference is minor compared to the 290X. The 290 is essentially on par with the 780. With both cards overclocked, I'd back the KFA2 780 HOF in my white spec to edge it.

AMD has Mantle (an alternative to DirectX), which will give you a bit of a performance boost in games that use (just Battlefield 4 at the moment). Nvidia has G-Sync to offer if you buy a compatible monitor, which adjusts the monitor's refresh rate to your frame rate to reduce tearing and stutter.

I'd expect both technologies to be available for both teams eventually, though.

Honestly: you can't go wrong with either.

(oh, and the 780 comes with Assassin's Creed 4)
 
Thanks guys, good info.

I was always a bit wary of dual card set-ups back in the day so unless the performance benefit is huge I'd probably go single card and spend the extra money on other bits. (e.g bigger SSD).

I game at 2560x1440 on a Dell 27'' and that is really chugging on my old 5870 in stuff like BF4 with everything on low!

I notice everyone is speccing 8GB. Is there any point in 16GB?
 
At 1440p you'd certainly be better off with two cards. Dual card setups still come with the inevitable increase in heat and noise, but driver related issues etc. are far less of a concern than they were 'back in the day'. Considering the performance difference between a 780 or a 290 and the best single card (the 780ti) isn't huge, two 780s/290s will be a noticeable performance boost.

There's no need for 16gb RAM for gaming, no.

If you want a bigger SSD, ths 512gb one is substantially reduced on This Week Only (ends Wednesday morning):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Toshiba SSD Q Series 512GB Solid State Hard Drive - (HDTS251EZSTA) £223.99
Total : £233.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
Last edited:
Shamrock said:
Thanks guys, good info.

I was always a bit wary of dual card set-ups back in the day so unless the performance benefit is huge I'd probably go single card and spend the extra money on other bits. (e.g bigger SSD).

I game at 2560x1440 on a Dell 27'' and that is really chugging on my old 5870 in stuff like BF4 with everything on low!

I notice everyone is speccing 8GB. Is there any point in 16GB?
Click to expand...

Meh, I specced 16gb because I could xD In budget as well with an ivybridge-E cpu, but I guess it's overkill. 8GB for gaming is more than enough at this point in time
 
I'm not very good at this budget thingy ......

YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 OC WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-R929OC-4GD) £389.99 (£779.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Corsair AX860i Digital ATX '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020037-UK) £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with *FREE COOLERMASTER SEIDON 120V COOLER £163.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £138.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £99.95
1 x Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY8GX3M2B2133C9) £89.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY8GX3M2B2133C9R) £89.99
2 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £79.99 (£159.98)
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99
1 x Corsair Generation 2 Sleeved Cable Kit (AXi / AX / HX / TXM) - Red £64.99
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Premium Modding LED Strip - Aqua White 30cm £20.95
1 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Dual Pack (CO-9050002-WW) £19.99
1 x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050009-WW) £14.99
1 x Corsair Generation 2 Sleeved 24 Pin Cable (AXi) - Red £14.99
1 x Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050001-WW) £13.99
3 x BitFenix Alchemy SATA 6GB/s braided cable 30cm - Red £5.99 (£17.97)
2 x BitFenix Alchemy Molex to 3pin x3 Fan adaptor 7V 20cm - Red £4.99 (£9.98)
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Internal Audio Extension Adaptor 30cm - Red £4.49
4 x BitFenix Alchemy 2pin I/O extension 30cm - Red £3.95 (£15.80)
Total : £2,292.64 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
Red/White/Black


YOUR BASKET
2 x VTX3D Radeon R9 290 V2 X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (VXR9 290 4GBD5-DHX) £329.99 (£659.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £239.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series AX 860W '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020044-UK) £179.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £164.99
1 x NZXT Switch 810 Ultra Tower Case - Matt Black £149.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x NZXT KRAKEN X60 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 280mm £119.99
1 x Toshiba 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 64MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA300) HDD £86.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY8GX3M2A2400C11R) £85.99
1 x Corsair Generation 2 Sleeved Cable Kit (AXi / AX / HX / TXM) - White £64.99
1 x Samsung SE-S208DB/TSBS External Slimline 8x DVD-RW (TV Connect) - Black £21.98
2 x Corsair Generation 2 Sleeved 24 Pin Cable (AX) - White £14.99 (£29.98)
1 x NZXT CB-LED20-WT 24x White LED Sleeve - 2m £13.99
2 x BitFenix Alchemy SATA 6GB/s braided cable 30cm - White £5.99 (£11.98)
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Internal Audio Extension Adaptor 30cm - White £4.49
4 x BitFenix Alchemy 2pin I/O extension 30cm - White £3.95 (£15.80)
Total : £2,018.78 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
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