A gaming spec PC for around £700

[Furyum]

Hi guys, due to some great help in a previous thread (from Mr Doomspeed), I've decided to make a new one with a request to get some help on what kind of hardware to shoot for with a budget of £700.

Things I don't need:
- Any HDD above 500gb
- Peripherals
- Overclocking capabilities (although I realise that it's fairly easy overclock a gfx card)

I play a lot of new games and am only now finding that my current PC (an older OC pre-built machine) is falling behind. However, this time around I've decided to build it to get a better machine for the money!

Thanks for the help guys, and 'this week only' offers are much appreciated as I'll be buying it asap!

 

[Furyum]

Cheers for the help guys. I've spec'd a PC and ordered most of the parts, I was wondering if you could give me a 'looks good!' or a 'WTF U DOIN!' if it's good or bad...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x MSI Z77A-GD55 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.95
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £85.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020048-UK) £56.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD316GB1333C9DC) **OcUK Exclusive** £53.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £719.96 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[Furyum]

Can you stretch to this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Plextor M5S 128GB Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5S) £82.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £72.98
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.98
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £734.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Well, to put it plainly, I have already ordered the Motherboard, GFX and RAM. So any edits to the system would have to be around the remaining items. I do have a stretchable budget though.

And yes, I have Windows 7 ready to go.

 

[Furyum]

Just out of curiosity though, what differences are there between yours and mine? I've just had a look and yes, unfortunately it has been dispatched. To be honest, I only play Dota 2 and Guild Wars 2 on a consistent basis, so I have a feeling that the 7950 would have been a bit overkill, although (as I understand it) it's an amazing card.

 

[Furyum]

If you're only wanting one gfx card the gd55 is a bit overkill unless you've already got a number of other pci-e cards. I'd drop down to the g43 which also gains you a better cooler and frees up enough dosh to go with a 7950. It might be overkill on gfx initially but at least it would be getting used rather than mobo sockets sitting empty. I think that would future proof things better within the realms of that budget.

I actually just double-checked and it was the G43 that I had ordered, not the GD55.

I tend to be more of a one/two-game type of guy though so I'm happy to leave the 7850 as it is. Or rather, I already have a 6850 installed and it copes well with everything I play, if not just lagging slightly on heavy fights on Guild Wars 2. So the 7850 will still be a massive upgrade for me. Thanks for your advice though, much appreciated. And yours too Bacon.

Just to add, I was also inclined to get the 7850 while it was on offer as it seemed like a great deal.