Advice for a Gaming PC

SemCee

SemCee

SemCee

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28 Nov 2013
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22
So, I've been trawling this place for quite a while and Im starting to get annoyed with myself for not having a gaming pc already. Maybe 3 months ago I started thinking about upgrading from my old pc to something that would last me a few years and here I am now JUST posting about it. :eek:

I really like the black and white theme that Sgt Peppers Air 540 build began with.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18527343&page=3

Im thinking of using the same replacement fans, apart from maybe 3x120's in the front. Im not too sure about the Sabertooth motherboard and wondered whether a ROG board may be better.

I had decided on using the H100i cooler, with a 4770K, but it looks like Overclockers dont have any in stock.

Also I was considering a 780 ti, fan controller maybe and some led's to set it off. Maybe the NZXT Hue that Ive seen a few people use.

Ideas on exact spec from you guys would be very helpful, as I find myself going back and forth on components. A few good suggestions may help me stop faffing about and make my mind up.

Also, although I built my previous pc, I am always a little wary. How easy the H100i is to install correctly has me wondering, although I am sure its my tendency to over think things.

I started this with the idea of building the pc myself but, if I do finally come up with a exact spec, could Overclockers build that machine, (rather than one of the selection on the site)? How much of a cost over the price of the parts, (for build and support etc), would I be looking at paying?

The sooner I get this sorted and actually playing some games the better it will be for my sanity! sigh

Thanks for your help.
 
I would say home in on an Asus board, had a few and the have all been great. Running a Sabertooth Z77 at the mo and I LOVE IT. I am not a gamer so yep go for a ROG.

I have a H100, don't worry about fitting it. Falling off a log would be harder.

Have a look at the Asus site, this board gave me a semi.

http://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_BLACK_EDITION

I would sell my eldest to get that.

For graphics I can recomend the Gigbyte R9 280x. Just fit one in my sons machine. I5 3570k with 8 gig or RAM in his Asus P8Z77. He his happy as larry.

Be interesting to find your budget.

If ya can build it yourslf, the feeling you get when you switch it on warms the heart.

But you will get loads of folk pointing you in the right direction.

Go Asus though. They are good and their web site is pretty good too, for getting drivers and the like.

Hope this helps.
 
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Was looking at the Asus site. There is a lovely looking socket 1150 Z87 board.

http://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_FORMULA/

OCUK are selling too,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-562-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2574

If your budget allows I would say that is where to start.

I like to think of the motherboard as the foundation. If the foundations are solid the rest of the build will be solid too.

I paid £180 or my Z77 Sabertooth so this is not too much more.

Is this the sort of thing you were after ?

Looked at chips too, nice bundle here,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-019-CS&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567
 
One question:
Is it supposed to be just futureproof or an eye candy as well?
And does it have to ba Asus?
Gigabyte have very nice looking boards, much cheaper and which overclock just as good or better, compared to other Asus boards in same price range.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £163.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £152.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - FREE Gigabyte M8000x Gaming Mouse £143.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
Total : £770.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).



I am going for UD3H, with my 4770K and watercooling, planing to add either 2 R9 290X,s or 2 780ti's, with blue theme. Both future proof and eyecandy and cheaper than Asus, you can easily save over 100£ towards better gpu or whatever else you need.
 
Thanks guys. I haven't really got a budget, but I was wanting to keep it to a reasonable kinda cost. I seem to be pushing £2000 which is probably getting to the top of what I'm wanting to spend atm.

I was wanting a Gaming PC that would look kinda nice as well as perform for a good time to come, but its not really eye candy Im after - more like avoiding something hideous looking. lol
 
I would do you a spec but I can't as I'm on my phone :(

I can say that i'd be looking at dual 780's with a 4930K & X79 core system if your budget can fit them in, otherwise a 4770K & Z87 solution.

I would recommend R9-290's as the value for money in comparison (from a performance perspective) is fantastic, but they as hot and as loud as hell unless you get them in a custom water loop.

Another shout for Asus here too. I have a P8Z68-V Pro and an Essence STX in my PC. have done loads of other builds for people with Asus stuff (Z77 Sabertooth, several ROG boards etc) and they are fantastic. Though there is nothing wrong with a Gigabyte. :)
 
£2k to spend and you've been having problems deciding.

It's a bit like me really but the other way round.

I would have no problem picking the parts but a lot of trouble paying.:D

Gunna keep my eye on this to find out what you choose.

In my opinion ( which counts for nowt ) the PC has to look good as well as perform.

Have you got a case already, or are you thinking of buying a new one ?
To fit all these nice new shiny bits you need a nice roomy case.
My love of Asus boards goes hand in hand with love of Corsair bits too.
Had a few cases and nowt comes close to my Obsidian 800D and I treat my son to a C70 Vengeance, another nice looking well thought out roomy case.
 
Before doing a spec, just need to know what, if anything, you have that can be re-used from your existing PC.
Can you list your current PC spec.
Will you require an OS, monitor, peripherals, speakers, etc,?
Also will help if you have some idea of what case you want or like.
 
My previous pc used a Cosmos case, Duo 8600 on a Maximus II board and a AMD 4770x2 gpu i believe, did okay at the time. I was thinking about donating it to someone in the family anyway.

I started off looking at the Define R4 case, (and a load of others tbh), but have been thinking of building around the Air 540 for a while.

ATM I would just be gaming on a 24" Samsung monitor, but I have plans to upgrade to a decent 27", (or even 3x24" but maybe no, lol). If my 2010 Thunderbolt iMac would allow me to use it as monitor I would be happy using that, but there seem to be issues with non apple hardware.

Somewhere I still have a boxed copy of Win7 that never got installed, so I could use that if Win8 is nothing but odd interface and no real benefit.

Its been some time since i've gamed really, but I want to get back into playing all sorts of games with the amazing graphics I see atm. Its also been some time since I did more than basic maintenance on a pc and Ive never done any overclocking so its all a bit daunting. Trying my hardest to stop myself from just jumping in, buying a load of gear and saying sod it! Lucky the cost is making me consider everything over and over again.:D
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Rev2.0 WindForce 3X OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £275.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-SLI Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x Seasonic G series 750w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £99.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £42.95
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25.99
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-14 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,233.24 (includes shipping : £17.10).

 
Bart_Hunt said:
280X vs 290 isn't a big price difference, so why not get a 290?
Click to expand...

I just specced the OP a system to give him some idea of what he can get. For an extra £50+, he can indeed get a 290X. I`ll leave that decision with the OP as it is his money and he did say " I haven't really got a budget, but I was wanting to keep it to a reasonable kinda cost".
 
tbh, im a little concerned about the Radeon cards. The heat/noise/power draw issues are completely putting me off. I know there are some real benefits to these cards, but at the moment it might be best to pay the extra for a 780.

Having said that, by the time I make any kind of decision all those issues might be smoothed out.

Tonight Im going to try and spec a build, so you can see where my head is. Then you can poke holes in it and tell me why I shouldn't be using certain parts. :D

That build is a lot lower than I was expecting to pay and has put all sorts of extra balls in the air. Love to see some more ideas. :D

thanks guys
 
Im sorry its taken so long to get back to this, work and my inability to make a decision is to blame.

So here goes.

Corsair A540 Case - £129.95
Asus z87 Maximus VI formula Motherboard - £229.99
Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB - £139.99
Intel Core i7-4770K - £263.99
AF120 x3 fans (for front) -
AF140 x1 fan (for rear) -
SP120 x2 fans (for cooler) -
Hydro H100i - £99.95
Corsair AX760i Digital ATX '80 Plus Platinum" PSU - £179.99
Samsung 120 GB SSD 840 EVO for OS - £79.99
Samsung 500 GB SSD 840 EVO for Games - 274.99
780ti - £600ish (although Im not sure which 780ti to go for :/ )

So round about the £2000 i thought it was gonna end up.

Thoughts? ideas? problems? Its getting very close to christmas isn't it, so if I don't make a decision quickly it'll be next year before I get around to this. :eek:

Thanks
 
Totally none PC related but the problem your having choosing is because of the large amount of parts to choose from.

Your brain does not want to let you down and regret buying the wrong part.

Thus it not allowing you to choose. It does not want to let you down.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 780Ti Gaming Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £599.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £263.99
1 x Seasonic 760w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £155.99
1 x Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £149.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x OcUK Tech Labs Fathom All in One Custom Cooler 240mm £112.97
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator SR1 240 £55.98
1 x Mayhems Pastel - Red Coolant 1L £14.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY8GX3M2B2133C9R) £89.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EZRX) HDD £69.95
1 x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050009-WW) £14.99
3 x Corsair AF120 Performance Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack (CO-9050003-WW) £13.99 (£41.97)
Total : £1,853.72 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 
If you fancy a custom loop, something along the lines of this would be decent, went for a white and black theme too :) although the mobo has orange on it but you wont see most of that :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £335.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £263.99
1 x XSPC RayStorm D5 EX360 WaterCooling Kit £262.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full Tower Case £199.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £161.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £152.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD2002FAEX) HDD £113.99
1 x XSPC Razor R9 290X / 290 VGA Waterblock £94.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV "Frost Edition" 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit £59.99
1 x XSPC EX360 Multiport Radiator £54.95
1 x XSPC Razor R9 290X / 290 Backplate £24.95
1 x Mayhems Pastel - Ice White Coolant 1L £14.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £14.99
3 x Phanteks PH-F140SP 140mm Fan - Black / White £12.95 (£38.85)
4 x XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Black Chrome) £2.99 (£11.96)
1 x XSPC 7/16" ID (16/11mm) High Flex Hose - Clear (1m Length) £2.99
Total : £1,968.77 (includes shipping : £16.85).

 
Thanks for adding the custom loop builds, but thats a little too adventurous for me atm.

I have spent another evening dithering over the tiniest of choices and have managed to talk myself out of, and then back into some of the components!

tnx - I understand full well whats going on... :p ... it is made more difficult by the huge amount of options and my lack of indepth knowledge. At some point I'll have to throw my money at overclockers and get this damn pc build started. lol

Also, it had kind of escaped me how close to the holidays we are for delivery problems and as I was trawling the web I noticed that there is an Asus card on the horizon which may be worth waiting for, the GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II.

I suppose if I do wait until after the holidays it'll give me even more time to waste dithering over the build and give it a chance for the new card to be released and reviewed. sigh.
 
Get them ordered today, bet they will be delivered by Friday. Spend the holiday time building your system and having fun with it.

Get somebody to wrap them all up and put them under the tree. What xmas pressies they would be.

Merry christamss.
 
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