Check my spec - average gaming PC

tjrwelch · 2 Dec 2014 at 10:27

Hi folks, would love your thoughts if you've got time to cast an eye over my spec below.

1. Is everything compatible?
2. Are my choices sensible - ie, is there a better option for the same price or a slightly increasd price, or is there a cheaper option that will do as good a job?

Bearing in mind this is already at the top end of my budget.

The aim is to be able to play current PC games on average/good settings - ie Far Cry 4. I'm reusing an old case and HDDs for data.

Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail - 164.99

Asus Z97-K Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - 89.99

GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) - 64.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti SC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-3753-KR) - 113.99

Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) - 60.98

SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black - 59.99

TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter (TL-WN851ND) - 14.99

Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) - 77.99

Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM - 14.99

Total price 662.89 including postage.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Tom

cliffo88 · 2 Dec 2014 at 10:43

Can you stretch a little more to get a 760?

tjrwelch · 2 Dec 2014 at 10:45

If I could, which one would you recommend?

Danny75 · 2 Dec 2014 at 13:58

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 760 OC Gaming Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x MSI Z97 Gaming 3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £95.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £77.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x SK Hynix 128GB SSD SH910A SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (HFS128G32MNB-2201A) £44.99
1 x EVGA 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0600-KR) £41.99
1 x Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 300Mbps Mini Wireless N USB Adapter (TL-WN823N) £11.48
Total : £692.99 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Newer Haswell CPU and also overclockable (4.2GHz can be done with a couple of clicks automatically if you don't want to mess about 'manually').

The MSI 760s (and 770s and 780s) are all very good, cool and quiet.

Faster RAM.

Claim £35 cashback from https://toptechcashback.com/uk/en/pages/cashback/qualifying for that CPU/mobo, making the total £657.99. Now you can decide whether to spend a little extra on stuff like the PSU (the SuperFlower 550 Gold is very good but the EVGA 600B is very decent and is at a great price just now compared to the SuperFlower) or SSD (you're unlikely to notice any real-world difference in usage between the Hynix and EVO).

Essentially, the gaming performance of the above set-up will be better, and an argument could even be made to get a slightly less powerful CPU in order to get an even more powerful GPU like an R9 285 or 280X right now. However, you'd need to take into account a bit of future planning perhaps. With that i5-4690K you'll be sorted for the next few years, and can just focus on upgrading GPU (if necessary - the 760 still copes pretty well @ 1080p).

tjrwelch · 2 Dec 2014 at 14:06

^^ Thanks for that, helpful suggestions. Won't be able to claim the cashback as of now unfortunately but good tips nonetheless. Someone told me ASUS were most reliable, more so than MSI - is that so or not?

Danny75 · 2 Dec 2014 at 18:36

tjrwelch said:
^^ Thanks for that, helpful suggestions. Won't be able to claim the cashback as of now unfortunately but good tips nonetheless. Someone told me ASUS were most reliable, more so than MSI - is that so or not?

Things have moved on now. They're all (Gigabyte, ASRock too) very good in general and compete very well with each other. Asus is not above having issues too, including being fussy about memory at times and poor customer support. Chances are even the cheapest Z97 will have everything you need (unless you knew you needed something in particular and were looking for it), so don't worry. You can't go too wrong whether you take the advice you were given, or not.

pastymuncher · 2 Dec 2014 at 19:01

I would take the Asus Z97-K over that MSI anyday. Every MSI board I have ever had has failed so I avoid them like the plague these days. Their bios update software is abysmal and we have had 2 or 3 people on here end up with bricked boards in the last week or so due to bios update failures.

I wouldn't sacrifice the better psu. Yes the EVGA is cheaper but it's also a lesser bronze rated psu with only 3 years warranty compared to the 5 years on the gold rated Superflower, all of which is dealt with by OCUK.

I do agree with the 4690k and the better gpu though. If you can't afford all of it now, save up until you can. You have missed some good deals over the past few days unfortunately.

cliffo88 · 2 Dec 2014 at 19:11

cliffo88 said:
Can you stretch a little more to get a 760?

Over a 750ti? any of them.

Danny75 · 2 Dec 2014 at 19:34

pastymuncher said:
Every MSI board I have ever had has failed so I avoid them like the plague these days. Their bios update software is abysmal and we have had 2 or 3 people on here end up with bricked boards in the last week or so due to bios update failures.

Fair do's that you warn of your bad experience.

Carried out numerous BIOS updates on 3 MSI boards over the past year without a hitch. Nine (I think) updates on my own board alone. MFlash is as easy to use as the Asus EZFlash method. I don't use Live Update though, as some who have had problems appear to have done. Not their fault that the company packages and promotes that utility, though, I know. I didn't trust that software early on, after trials with other utilites, so never used it for BIOS updating.

pastymuncher said:
I wouldn't sacrifice the better psu. Yes the EVGA is cheaper but it's also a lesser bronze rated psu with only 3 years warranty compared to the 5 years on the gold rated Superflower, all of which is dealt with by OCUK.

I do agree with the 4690k and the better gpu though. If you can't afford all of it now, save up until you can. You have missed some good deals over the past few days unfortunately.

Good shout to save up a bit more if needed. Obviously the SuperFlower is a better long-term purchase. Often its price is lower and with the free shipping if case is part of purchase (which it isn't in this case) it makes it very worthwhile.

tjrwelch · 2 Dec 2014 at 20:30

Thanks for all the replies. There's a mesmerising world of choice out there, the problem I have is that my basket just keeps creeping up in price! Definitely take the advice about the better GPU and CPU though. Now need to decide about the motherboards and whether I want that cashback on the MSI or not. EVGA PSU is sold out now anyhow so looks like it is the Seaflower.

Couple of quickies - for online gaming (League of Legends principally) via WiFi, will the USB adapter do the job or would a PCI-E card be better? Also, will the SK Hynix SSD come with an installation kit or do I need to add a 3.5" to 2.5" adapter to my basket?