AMD Gaming Build ~£1600

[markhaldane1]

Hi all,

I'm looking to build a gaming (with a bit of Photoshop Lightroom use) machine. Not mind-blowing, but very decent and (hopefully!) at least a couple of years future proof.

Here's the spec I have put together on the configuration so far. I will take advantage of the current free building offer; I have built several PC's myself before in the past, but that was many years ago now, so I might as well let someone experienced do this one!

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Case
AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz
Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (seems to come bundled with the system)
Asus Crosshair V Formula Z AMD 990FX Mobo
TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit
MSI HD 7970 Lightning BOOSTED Edition 3072MB GDDR5 GPU (not fussed about doing dual-GPU, would rather have 1 for now and add another in the future if I want a boost).
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s (for OS and a few key software/games)
Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s
Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply
Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card

I will probably go for Windows 8 on this machine. The main uses would be running current and next 1-2 year games, and as mentioned some use of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Any potential problems or improvements you guys would make? This comes out at £1,596 at the moment.
Thanks very much in advance.

 

[markhaldane1]

Thanks for the advice Khazzer! I may dual-graphic card in the future, so shall I just stick with the one I've selected? 600W doesn't seem enough for 2x? And I can only save about £35-45 by downgrading.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

I am assuming I can somewhat OC that processor in the future too, about the same time as upgrading the GPU (16GB RAM seems fine for a long time) and that the decent CPU cooling system will allow me to do this.

 

[markhaldane1]

Hi Martini,

Thanks for replying. Would you say there is a sizeable difference between the 4770K's and the AMD FX then? What motherboard would you ideally pair a 4770K with? There are no reviews on the available options so I am a bit unsure here.

If I select mostly the same components on the configurator, but build around a 4770K, I can get the following:

- NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - White
- Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor
- No Overclocking Options (Zero Cost)
- Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155 / 1150 / LGA1156 / LGA1366 / LGA2011/ AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
- Asus Z87 SABERTOOTH Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD316G2133HC11ADC01)
- MSI HD 7970 Lightning BOOSTED Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- No 2nd Graphics Card Upgrade
- Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW)
- Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD2002FAEX) HDD
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp
- Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020032-UK)
- Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (FQC-05955)
- Asus USB-N53 Wireless-N Network Adapter
- BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm blue LED fan - White

A total of £1,800 including VAT and built for me.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

Martini, many thanks for the link you have offered.

If I am reading this right, the downgrades from my previous listing would be:

- A 600W PSU instead of the 850W Corsair
- The standard 840 Series SSD instead of the 'Pro' version
- The Barracuda instead of the WD Black HDD (I hear they are less reliable but perhaps there is no real difference)
- K2 Mount Doom CPU cooler instead of the Corsair H80i
- No operating system included
- No WiFi adapter

While the 'Pros' would be: the GX 780 GPU, and the overclock to 4.5GHz.

Is that Nvidia a real stunner? Will that overclock make a lot of difference?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

You can spec the Envy with Windows 8 Pro, so the pre-build Envy is £1,846.

If I go with the configurator option, but spec as similarly as possible (including the overclock of the CPU etc) I get £1,852 for this:

- Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (FQC-05955)
- Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply (better PSU)
- Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
- Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 780 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card
- TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- Corsair Hydro H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (better cooler)
- Stage 4 Intel: Overclock of CPU - 4.5GHz Overclock - K Edition Processors Only
- Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor
- NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - White (sexier case)

So I think the £6 extra is surely worth it for the better PSU and CPU cooler? Am I missing something with the specs you are comparing?

 

[markhaldane1]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies. I don't mind at all people suggesting the Intel over the AMD, I hadn't settled on any particular components at all, and if the 4770K is that much better, I'm happy to up my budget. To be honest it's very flexible and wasn't really a 'budget', just the amount I had come up with my first bit of research and spec'ing. I had a nice redundancy pay-out recently and this is a treat for myself so I don't mind £1,800+

So, I'm happy to put a 4770K in this system for the power (as long as I'm not bottle-necking elsewhere) and the GTX780 as it seems to be a very good card without quite going into the realms of silly money. The question I have now is do I take the pre-built Envy rig or configurate my own spec. I need to run through the configurator again!

Is there any difference to an OVC pre-built spec, and a configurator one?
Do they do the stress-testing hours on configurator builds?
Does a configurator build come with the 24 month warranty?
Does that Envy really not come with an optical drive?? And what RAM are they using?

 

[markhaldane1]

Thanks Micky, that is very good to know that I can get the same testing and warranty on anything I build in the configurator. I am tempted to spend more to get the exact parts I want you see... Though financially not quite as sensible perhaps!

I ran through the configurator via a different base point (damn that new Phantom case is sexy, eh!) and came up with the following by selecting the things I really wanted (like the Pro version of the SSD, the Pro line of Corsair power supply (I have always loved Corsair PSU's), adding in a BluRay reader and changing the HDD to WD Cavier Green for a quieter experience (the drive will be used for storage, not game/program running).

- NZXT Phantom 820 Enthusiast Full Tower Case - White
- Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor
- Stage 3 Intel: Overclock of CPU - 4.4GHz Overclock
- Prolimatech Red Megahalems CPU Cooler
- Asus Z87 DELUXE Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 780 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic
- Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
- Pioneer BDC-207DBK 8x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive
- Corsair Professional Series HX+ 1050W '80+ Gold' Modular Power Supply
- Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM
- System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM

This comes to just a hair over £2k. I have some new questions for anyone who has a spare minute to look over this spec:

• Is that Prolimatech tower cooler enough for a 4.4GHz overclock, or should I get the Corsair H80i water cooler? The reviews for the Corsair are fairly mixed.
• I can't see many big differences between the Mobo's on offer, so I went with the cheapest! Is this fine? This has on-board dual-band (up to N) wifi I believe?
• Are KFA a reputable builder of GPUs? Years ago I think it used to be Sapphire that everyone went for. KFA is the only option of GTX780 in the configurator.
• There is nothing less than 1000W PSUs available in the 'Pro' starting point of the configurator, a bit of a waste
• There is no product link for that System fan. Is it just a bog standard? It sounds like the case already has many fans included, plus lighting system built into it, so I didn't select any extra fans/lights.

Thank you all again!

 

[markhaldane1]

Sorry guys you've lost me. Why build it myself when the current offer is free build?

I keep changing my mind. If you had up to 2k to drop, what would you go for? Spec up the pre-built Envy V2 a bit, or configure yourself something? If you don't mind, would you show me what you would put together?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

Well that's just confused me even more!

 

[markhaldane1]

To be honest, I really don't know. In 2-3 years time there might be tech out that will be better than SLI/Crossfiring a GPU right? As long as a rig lasts me ~3 years I would be happy, and even more so if I could upgrade some components rather than buying a fresh system.

I've just found out we're getting an even bigger redundancy package than previously thought (mining industry) and now I'm tempted to do something silly like get this monster... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-368-OE&groupid=43&catid=2474 that should easily last me 3 years with that insane GPU...

 

[markhaldane1]

The annoying thing about future proofing is that you cannot plan for new technology advances, hence my comment about future SLI/Crossfire. To be honest, if a good single GPU is better than 2 lesser GPUs then in the future I am more likely to simply replace my GPU with the latest single GPU, and not bother Crossfiring. I don't have multiple monitors so I really appreciate the comment regarding a 7990 being way overkill (though my god that system is a beautiful piece!)

Frame rate stutters annoy the hell out of my, but if a 770 can handle the current top-crop games on Ultra and not stutter on me, I could drop down from the 780.

It definitely seems the 4770K is the processor for my needs, and I am quite tempted to leave it not-clocked and then overclock it myself later in the year as a learning experience (so I will get a decent cooler right now).

Abice, it is indeed very easy to keep bumping everything up and keep the budget flexible!

 

[markhaldane1]

Hi Kaapstad, what do you mean that a 3930 SB-E is more upgrade able? Do you mean it is easier to overclock it later on than a Haswell?

I assume previous comments about a 7990 being overkill would also apply to your dual-GTX780 suggestion if I am just playing on a single monitor setup?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

Yeah that build doesn't make sense to me either, I think we've established that dual-GPU is overkill for my needs.

Kaapstad, thanks for the detail regarding the SB-E processor. As you say as I am mostly just gaming, with a bit of photo editing, the 4770K should be plenty for my needs and I will deal with the upgrading in a couple of years.

I am still considering the OCUK pre-built Ultima Envy V2. It is mostly the spec I am looking for. However, I had (another!) look on the configurator and came up with the following:

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Pro Gamer X65i Intel Z87 Full-Tower - Gaming PC Configurator £1870.82
- Cooler Master HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black (RC-942)
- Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game
- Stage 3 Intel: Overclock of CPU - 4.4GHz Overclock - K Edition Processors Only
- Prolimatech Megahalems Rev C CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
- MSI Z87 MPower Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD316G2133HC11ADC01)
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 780 3072MB PCI-Express Graphics Card (78NNH5DN00G0)
- No Graphics Card Upgrade
- Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7PD256BW)
- Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EZRX) HDD
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 PCI-Express Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp
- Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020041-UK)
- Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403)
- Case Mods Not Selected
- Networking Not Selected
- Keyboard Not Selected
- Mouse Not Selected
- System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM (EXNO-001)
- Monitor Not Selected
- Speakers Not Selected
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Game Controller Not Selected
- No Office Software
- No Security Software
- Standard Build Systems - Approximately 5-7 working days
Total : £1,890.32 (includes shipping : £16.25).



I like the MSI mobo, the reviews are extremely positive and I can justify the extra cost because it comes with WiFi, and I would have to buy a Wifi adapter otherwise!

I switched for the HAFX case as it sounds like this is a bit cooler on an air based system, which pairs with the meghalems tower cooler on the CPU.

Still got the 4770K (stage 3 overclock) with the GTX780. As Richdog said, I could sell it and upgrade to the latest (single) GPU in the future.

I think the RAM is decent enough. Will OC, when building this, step it down during the CPU overclock?

I get the SSD and HDD I like with this system, plus a very decent (yes still more wattage than needed, oh well) and modular PSU.

This speci s £70 more than the pre-built Ultima Envy which has the worse PSU, SDD and HDD.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[markhaldane1]

How can I save money by building myself when they are currently offering free build cost..? The 24 month collect warranty is a pretty big plus in my opinion. I've no idea why you are suggesting I won't have a warranty, Dave.

I chose that MSI board because it seems to be one of the only ones that comes with WiFi, and MSI have been around for years. I couldn't see either Gigabyte or Asus ones in the configurator that had WiFi.

I hadn't heard of TeamGroup either but I could switch out with HyperX or Ballistix.

Fair comment on retail windows!

I'm happy with the cooler in a decently air cooled case.

I don't know KFA2 either, but hey it's covered for 2 years in the system warranty!

Thanks weehamish! Your suggestions look very similar to what I had already for the core of the system, with some extras I don't really need. Any particular reason you recommend that case or mobo? The H100i isn't available on configurator builds, and the H80i has some reviews that says its very noisy.

Rich dog thanks for suggesting a spec for me, it looks a good price. But I am happy to pay more for OCUK to build it so that I get the 2 year system warranty rather than individual components 1 year warranties (I know some pieces come with extra years).

No one would recommend the Ultima Envy pre-build over a similar configuration then?

 

[markhaldane1]

Because the price of the system is costing more than the parts would to equal/better the spec.

Presumably for the 24 month collect and return warranty? Which to me is worth some extra cash.

 

[markhaldane1]

So, if OCUK will make a few adjustments to the Ultima Envy I think that may be the best choice for me. Do many people on this forum own one? I haven't seen any reviews elsewhere on the web of the build.

 

[markhaldane1]

Fractal Design Case Define R4 Titanium Grey Usb3 Window
Fractal Design 140mm Silent Series R2 Case Fan
Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50GHz Socket 1150 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Phanteks PH-TC12DX CPU Cooler
WD Caviar green 2TB 3.5 SATA 6Gbs 64MB (x2 to be run in RAID0 array)
Samsung 256GB SSD 840 PRO
Asus GTX 770 Direct CU II 2GB GDDR5 HDMI DVI DisplayPort PCI-E Grpahics Card
Asus Z87-Pro Socket 1150 ATX Motherboard
Corsair 850W HX 80PLUS Gold Modular PSU
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Lg Internal 24x Bulk Dvd-RW - OEM

A bit different, and self-build. Good option to consider? For reference, total is £1,500.