Advice needed please (Gaming rig for £1300)

IIDeathCubeKII

IIDeathCubeKII

IIDeathCubeKII

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Hello,

I have £1300 to spend on a gaming rig hopefully capable of playing games like ARMA 2 and the upcoming Battlefield 3 on high settings with a decent framerate. I don't know much about modern gaming rigs post XP so now is where I get confused. Some say to build your own rig some say pre built with custom parts, some people say go AMD Hex core? Rather than Intel I7. I haven't got a clue with the graphics card. Any suggestions???

I don't need peripherals, but maybe a monitor depending on price.

I made a custom build list on a website just for pricing reasons:

CASE: Coolermaster Dominator CM-692 Mid-Tower Gaming Case (Black Color)
Lights & Illumination: 12" COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT [+14] (RED COLOR)
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum Case Cooling Fans for your selected case, and match the colour of the fans already in the case [+15]
Cyberpower Noise Reduction Technology: None
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 960 Quad Core 3.20GHz, 4.8GTs/8 MB cache, LGA1366 ***Overclockable XXX***
Overclocking Service: S&S Overclocking (CPU Safe and Stable overclock: guaranteed min. 10%, max. 20%.) [+59]
Cooling Fan: CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent Operation at only 22dBA + Overclock Proof) ***Overclockable XXX*** [+2]
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA-III RAID w/ 7.1Audio,GbLAN,IEEE1394a,USB3.0,SATA-III,RAID,3 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI *** XXX overclocking ***
Internal USB/SATA Expansion Module: NONE
MEMORY: 6GB (3x2GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Triple Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX580 1536MB 16X PCI Express [+114] (Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)
FREEBIES: None
DONGLES: NONE
VIDEO CARD 2: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics
Video Card 3: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics
Dedicated PhysX Card: None
Power Supply Upgrade: 850 Watts Power Supplies (Cyberpower 850watt High Performance Gaming Power Supply)
Hard Drive: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive (Single Hard Drive)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Hard Drive Cooler: None
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE. [-29] (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE. (BLACK COLOR)
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
3D Vision Glasses: NONE
LCD Monitor: 24" TFT Active Matrix LCD Display [+109] (BenQ G2420HDBL 24" 5MS 1920x1080 FULL HD LED Wide Monitor [+36])
2nd Monitor: NONE
3rd Monitor: NONE
SPEAKERS: NONE
GAMING GEAR: None
Network: ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT -- As standard on all PCs
MODEM: NONE
Keyboard: NONE [-5]
Mouse: NONE [-3]
Mouse Pad: None
Extra Thermal Display: NONE
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: NONE
External Wireless Network Adapter: NONE
Wireless 802.11B/G/N Access Point: NONE
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 52in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BEIGE COLOR)
Cables: None
Video Camera: NONE
Power Surge Protection: None
IEEE 1394 Card: NONE
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USB and External Drive: NONE
Floppy: NONE
Ultra Care Option: None
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Media Center Remote & TV Tuner: NONE
Software: None
FREEBIES: None
Games: None
Fast Track Service: NONE
WARRANTY SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
HOME INSTALLATION SERVICE: NONE
 
Out of interest how much did above come to?

You would be best with a sandy bridge Intel build as they are incredibly quick.

Are you happy to build yourself? It is easy.
 
I was scared too be fair I think we all get nervous. Plus you learn a hell of a lot during a build. My only experience of hardware before my first rig (in signature) was a laptop ram upgrade. (watch a few videos on youtube of building a pc) seriously it is easy.
 
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As the budget allows for it I would go for the i7-2600k this will allow you to push the system that bit further.
But either version I5- 2500k or i7-2600k would be great
 
I would say so, yes. I can't see them causing major issues at high on the highest available ati card (assuming you flash it to 6970 level.)
 
I am pretty set on the GTX580. I want it to be future proof for as long as possible, spending the extra now while I have it, rather than needing to upgrade later and risking insufficient funds. Or is my logic flawed?
 
The problem with that is the tech industry is so fast moving that you can't say for sure that a 580 will run BF3 on high at 1080p. Buy a 6950 and pocket the change, change the graphics if needed in september when BF3 comes out.
 
You could get this system: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE

With a 580+60gb ssd+OS comes to £1285.

The 6950 is better value for money however if you wish to try 3D or want PhysX then the 580 is a good choice but it's pricey though 570 would even be good enough if you want to go with Nvidia.

My pc handles Arma 2 maxed very well so i should imagine the Spinosaur should eat it up too.:)
 
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Sycho said:
You could get this system: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE

With a 580+60gb ssd+OS comes to £1285.

The 6950 is better value for money however if you wish to try 3D or want PhysX then the 580 is a good choice but it's pricey though 570 would even be good enough if you want to go with Nvidia.

My pc handles Arma 2 maxed very well so i should imagine the Spinosaur should eat it up too.:)
Click to expand...

I see that one has an i5 rather than an i7, will there be much difference between the two running with a 580?
 
I have come up with a list, and other than a few things I want to change (like the case, I just can't find any I find attractive) I'm tempted to go for it. I know advice is for the i5 but I have the money now, why not use it to get the best I can afford?

CASE: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Gaming Case High Performance Cooling with Integrated Fan Controller


CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 960 Quad Core 3.20GHz, 4.8GTs/8 MB cache, LGA1366

Cooling Fan: CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan

MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA-III RAID w/7.1Audio,GbLAN,IEEE1394a,USB3.0,SATA-III,RAID,3 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI


MEMORY: 6GB (3x2GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Triple Channel Memory

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX580 1536MB 16X PCI Express

Power Supply Upgrade: 750 Watts Power Supplies [+12] (Coolermaster 750Watt GX Gaming Power Supply, SLI / Crossfire ready)

Hard Drive: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive

SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
 
Looks good but i would go for this as case in a gaming rig: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-203-CM

Power supply i would change to: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

Cooler i would change to: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-072-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

The Phantom is a great case but the HAF-X is better although not by much however it is apparently quiter and has incredibly good cooling.

The psu is more stable, quieter and enables you to run 580s in SLI in the future.

Coolermaster V8 is decent but the Venom produces as good if not better results for less cash.(Titan Fenrir is very good too for the price)
 
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