Gaming System Configurator - Am I making the Right Choices?

FinnegansLog

FinnegansLog

FinnegansLog

Associate
Joined
1 Apr 2014
Posts
155
Location
Birmingham
Hi All, bit of a newbie here just asking a general help question. I've recently ordered the following but could do with someone having a look over it to ensure it is a good enough build :confused: :

- Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
- No Security Software
- No Office Software
- Game Controller Not Selected
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Speakers Not Selected
- Asus VE228HR 22" Widescreen LED Multimedia Monitor - Black
- System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM [EXNO-001]
- Gigabyte M6900 3200DPI Gaming Mouse
- OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU)
- OcUK Value AT/ATX "Kettle Plug" 2 Meter Mains Cable
- Case Mods Not Selected
- Asus USB-N13 300Mbps Wireless Adapter
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02733)
- SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
- No Sound Card Upgrade
- OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- No Second Hard Drive Option (ZERO Cost)
- Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 WindForce 3x OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N770OC-2GD)
- TeamGroup Vulcan RED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD316G2133HC11ADC01)
- MSI Z87-G43 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
- Alpenföhn Brocken 2 CPU Cooler
- Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
- Stage 2 Intel: Overclock of CPU - 4.3GHz Overclock - Haswell K Edition Processors Only
- BitFenix Shadow Tower Case - Midnight Black

If there are any changes you feel I should make please feel free to comment, if this is utter dire I apologize in advance. I've been speaking to a guy at work and he suggested maybe a liquid cooler but again, I havent got a clue about these things. Thanks in advance.
 
You can certainly get better for your money (this comes to almost £1300 by my count). Some comments:

The 4770k is not really necessary for a gaming PC - get the 4670k instead and spend the savings elsewhere.
16gb RAM is also unnecessary for a gaming build. 8gb is fine.
The Z87-G43 board can't run two GPUs in SLI. Would you plan to buy a second GPU in the future?
If not, the 750w PSU is overkill. A decent 550w unit will be plenty.
If yes, the Bitfenix Shadow case doesn't have great airflow - which you need if you're running two GPUs.
You want an SSD. Put it as your primary drive, with a mechanical HDD is hard drive 2.

Have a look at the pre-built system offers if you're not willing to build it yourself. For example:

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Titan Katana" Intel Core i5 4670K @ 4.2GHz Overclocked AMD Radeon Gaming PC £263.00
- 1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £161.99
- 1 x Corsair Graphite Series 230T Compact Mid Tower Case Windowed - Black (CC-9011042-WW) £66.95
- 1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
- 1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
- 1 x Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days £0.00
- 1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2133HC11ADC01) £53.99
- 1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £71.99
- 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £41.99
- 1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £319.99
- 1 x No Sound Card Upgrade £0.00
1 x Iiyama ProLite GB2488HSU-B1 24" 144Hz 1ms Widescreen LED Super Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £217.99
Total : £1,293.11 (includes shipping : £16.85).



An SSD, a 290 (much better than the 770), and a 144hz monitor (great for gaming).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the recommendation Fulax. My order will now be cancelled and the above shall be what I'm going for. Cheers for the help, really haven't got a clue what I should be looking for at all, would you not put in the 290X? Is windows 8 really any good? I have had a play about with it on a friends laptop and I can't get on with it.

Also, what mouse and keyboard would you recommend?
 
Last edited:
FinnegansLog said:
Thanks for the recommendation Fulax. My order will now be cancelled and the above shall be what I'm going for. Cheers for the help, really haven't got a clue what I should be looking for at all, would you not put in the 290X? Is windows 8 really any good? I have had a play about with it on a friends laptop and I can't get on with it.

Also, what mouse and keyboard would you recommend?
Click to expand...

Windows 8.1 is incredibly good its a big change but its worth it, would you not build a computer yourself its incredibly easy and very simple, a 10 year old could do it, you use a screw driver and your hands/fingers very easy.
 
I want to do a build in the future but at the moment I don't know enough about anything to trust myself to do it right. " If you don't know, don't do " as my old man once said to me.
 
I didn't like Windows 8 at first, but it's fine once you get used to it.

By the way, I think the Titan Katana comes with the reference 290. The cooler on there is a bit loud, apparently. If that's a problem, you might want to ask customer service if they'll put a non-reference version in for you. It doesn't really matter which - they're all good.
 
Fulax said:
I didn't like Windows 8 at first, but it's fine once you get used to it.

By the way, I think the Titan Katana comes with the reference 290. The cooler on there is a bit loud, apparently. If that's a problem, you might want to ask customer service if they'll put a non-reference version in for you. It doesn't really matter which - they're all good.
Click to expand...

Depends what you mean by loud. I could always fit some silencing foam couldn't I? Also, like above, what Keyboard and Mouse is ideal? I know everyone has their own personal preference but I'm always looking for a benchmark to set future standards.
 
Fulax said:
Here's a noise/temp test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpD_r53qxJc

I'd certainly get a non-reference card. They're all very quiet and the card will run significantly cooler.

As for mouse and keyboard...it depends how much you want to spend. Mechanical keyboards and fancy gaming mice can get pretty expensive. Alternatively:

YOUR BASKET
1 x CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle - USB Keyboard & Mouse £29.99
Total : £39.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Click to expand...

When I have checked the order it days Sapphire Radeon R9 290, take it the Sapphire is what you mean by Reference card? Also, I have a R9 270X lying around reckon I could crossfire them?
 
Reference cards come with AMD's stock cooler. They are sold by companies like Sapphire, MSI, ASUS and the like, but they're all the same. They look like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D Radeon R9 290 X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (VXR9 290 4GBD5-MDHX) £319.99
Total : £329.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Non-reference cards have a custom cooler designed by Sapphire/MSI/ASUS themselves. Like these:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-03-40G) £329.99
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £329.99
Total : £669.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).



As I said, the custom designs are cooler and quieter.

You can't crossfire a 290 and a 270X.
 
OK Thank You, I know they are very stupid questions to someone like yourself but I'm still learning. Once my order has been officially cancelled this will then be ordered and I will phone them and ask for a non-reference 290X. Thanks for your help and again Sorry for the stupid questions. :D
 
It's probably a good sign that you're asking questions before parting with £1300 ;) We all have to start somewhere.
 
What wireless connectivity shall I go for? My modem is downstairs where as the system will be upstairs and I don't fancy running a 10 meter Ethernet cable down like I used to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom