New Gaming Build Help Needed

Leigno

Leigno

Leigno

Associate
Joined
9 Oct 2012
Posts
150
Location
Solihull, Nr Birmingham
Hi guys,

Posted on here a few weeks back asking the age old question of what to buy and now I need your help in a final list to give the guys in the shop as next week I have the monies to purchase my system.

What I intend to do is run it through a 32" 1080p Samsung TV via HDMI for the time being unless there are good reasons you experts are against me doing this and with regards to sound when I am playing offline I will be using 5.1 home cinema via the optical out port currently being used by my xbox, not ideal but do not have the budget for pc speaker system at the minute.

My budget is up to £900 now and I want to stay as close to this mark as possible and for that I require a full system, including case, keyboard, suitable gaming mouse (preferably with thumb buttons), Operating System, and ideally a gaming headset as I will be playing mostly online and dont want others to here my background sounds whilst im chatting over mic.

It is a must that I have HDMI output, optical output and also WIFI.

Another big issue on my agenda is anti-virus software, what is recommended, purchasing such software or is the freeware better??

My machine will be used for gaming mostly, some internet browsing and general day to day tasks like keeping accounts and invoice writing.

I want to be able to play the newest games on the highest settings on my machine, but the main titles I am going to be playing is ARMA 2 and DayZ and I know these are old games but I want to be able to run new games with no problems either on the highest settings.

If some of you experts could put me together a list of whats best to get so I can order it all next week I'd be greatful.

My budget is £900, but I may be able to push a little bit more than that.

Many Thanks.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £59.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £25.99
1 x Steelseries Ikari Optical Mouse (62000) £24.98
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
Total : £895.54 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Mini-itx setup with built in wifi and overclockable i5K. The 7950 would be a better choice if you could push to it

Avg Free edition is pretty good for covering your antivirus needs. I'm sure the guys will throw in some normal ATX mobo specs, just thought I'd give you an idea of what's poss
 
That looks like a good setup, and price is within my reach too as the only thing you didnt budget for is a headset. Whilst I am about to build it though would it be worth my while in getting another 8GB of RAM as £26 is neither here nor there?

And how much extra would it be to go for the 7950?
 
16Gb is overkill for your needs, 8GB is ample for gaming. That mobo is mini-itx so only has 2 RAM slots. Windows Home premiums RAM limit is 16GB btw.

I did link to a decent value 7950.......click me. I'm not an expert on headphones but THESE should suit you just fine
 
Thanks a lot for your advice, I'll google the headphones and see what reviews I can find on them but price wise they seem ideal.

the 7950 pushes my budget a bit out of my comfort zone, as with the headphones I'd be looking at 1050-ish, are there any other alternatives than going for the mini-itx setup or will the prices of mobo be bumped up then?

Dont get me wrong 1050 is do-able but I'd like to keep my budget in 3-figures if possible or as close to it as possible.

One other question, regarding the keyboard, is it wireless? I require a wired keyboard so I'm not forever changing batteries.

Thanks a lot for your help, I dont have a clue with any of this.
 
After some deliberation, much pondering, and consideration in the games included I feel the 7950 is going to be the GPU I go for.

Is there anything anyone else would recommened instead of Honosuseri's build or shall I go for Honosuseri's suggestion as it does look a good system to me, although at 1050-ish it is at the upper most limit I am willing to spend.
 
Last edited:
You can save yourself £84 if you want (temporarily).. Rather than use Windows 7 you could use the free 90 day trial of Windows 8 to save £££ and buy it at a later date (in 3 months)..

Otherwise, Hono's spec is perfect mate if you want a Mini-ITX rig.
 
Mini-ITX is what Hono suggested based on my requirements, what I buy is entirely based on recommendations from you guys on here as I have no clue, I'm not sure of the pro's and cons of going for a mini-ITX over another system?

Regarding windows 8, will it be worth my while, and also what sort of compatability problems am I going to have when I try and play the likes of Arma 2 and DayZ, which are older games from 2009.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III OC V2 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £251.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £45.98
1 x Plantronics GameCom 780 7.1 Surround Sound USB Gaming Headset £42.98
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £32.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £25.99
1 x Steelseries Ikari Optical Mouse (62000) £24.98
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-5280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
1 x TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN821N) £12.98
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
Total : £1,053.98 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Thanks a lot Idleman, from looking they seem identical apart from the case and mobo? and the adition of the usb wi-fi adaptor? is there an alternative to usb wifi so its internal as I dont want to clog up too many usb drives as 3 will be in use with mouse, keyboard, headset, and then if i need to use a memory stick or my external HD or webcam I dont want to be having to unplug them and fiddle about.

Is there a benefit to your setup over the mini, or is it just simply the mini will take up less space?
 
I would have spec'd the same as Idleman for a midi-tower setup. I might have used the windowed Shinobi as it also comes with an extra fan (2 in total). The non windowed shinobi is still great value at that price though

What games do you play? Xbox controllers can be used for many recent titles. The wireless pads sold here come with the receiver for the PC to use them. You could look at a mini keyboard and trackpad to navigate the OS and web.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Xebec HTPC/Console Bluetooth Keyboard £29.99
1 x Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - PC / Xbox 360 (JR9-00010) £27.98
Total : £66.67 (includes shipping : £7.25).



I'm not certain the keyboard includes the bluetooth dongle but these can be bought as USB dongles cheap enough. Bluetooth is a much better way of going wireless than 2.4Ghz receivers. An added bonus is you can sync your phone or a headset to the PC via bluetooth as well.
 
Hono I wouldnt want to be going down the route of using game pads or likes, the main sort of games I will be playing are going to be mostly Arma, possibly some other FPS titles if any appeal to me in the future, the games that I have considered are all included with the 7950, ie Hitman, Farcry and sleeping dogs, also Dishonoured is a game I fancy trying out as I hear good things but the main titles are going to be Arma 2 and DayZ and then Arma 3 when it is released. I also enjoy RTS titles such as command and conquer and age of empires but its been a long time since I last played an RTS.

I'm not a fan of pick-up and play games such as Call of Duty, they dont stimulate my mind at all, hence wanting to jump back onto PC off the xbox due to the wider selection of 'simulation' games. I think i'll stuck to keyboard and mouse input for the majority of games with the addition of a flight stick later down the line only reason for this is although i can get more precise player movement from a pad i will lose out on look accuracy and also the amount of buttons within reach as the average pad only has 18 buttons and dont want to have to take my hand off the controller to hit a command button.

I'm trying to avoid wireless as much as possible as I dont want the hassle of batteries running out etc. I know its not with the times but I'm just old fashioned. and with regards to linking my phone to the pc the phone would probably explode if it tried, its not running too well and its only 6 weeks old, not going to name and shame though as it'll take over the purpose of my thread and turn into a which phones best war.

I think now its a simple choice of mini or mid-tower setup. my concern with the mini is as time goes on the room inside for future upgrades?
 
I think you are getting close to what you want now :) I'm trying to help you make an informed decision, remember other people read the thread and learn as they go.

Bluetooth is better than 2.4Ghz, I just wanted to mention it. I spec'd you a very good value gaming wired mouse and a cheap enough wired gaming keyboard to get started on. If you have a smartphone, there are free apps to use the phone over wifi as a simple mouse and keyboard to navigate menus and the OS for HTPCs, this might not appeal to you now but you never know.

I too prefer PC gaming. I do enjoy the Total War series which I confess I could not play on a mini keyboard. The free games will definately be pad compatible so is dishonored and many more titles but I take your point. If you like the idea of flight sims then check out DCS A-10, it can be seriously hardcore or you can adjust it to suit your needs.

As you are hooking it up to a TV and surround sound adding HTPC software wouldn't be a bad idea. The popular "catchup TV" channels can also be added to XBMC, making your TV "smart" if it isn't already. I included a nice sized storage drive too, the i5K can rip and encode your DVD collection very quickly for convenient playback, even better if your software supports quick sync. If you are happy with a midi tower case then you can use a bigger mobo and have more PCI slots for expansion, the mini-itx setup had everything you needed and asked for, onboard audio really isn't that bad. ALthough if you have a decent hi-fi setup a dedicated soundcard on the bigger mobo might make sense for you.

I look forward to seeing what you settle on :D
 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot Hono, your input is greatly appreciated. I'm leaning more towards going for the mid-sized case over the mini-ITX just to try and future proof the case.

It is being hooked up to tv and 5.1 surround sound for the fore-see-able future but in the same set-up I also have a tivo box.

the surround system isnt the best, its fairly old now to be honest but does a good enough job but it will be getting upgraded next year most likely.

And I used to be a huge fan of flight-sims when I was younger, I'm a fan of all sims to be honest, racing, flight and war sims, hence my appeal towards arma and dayz, battlefield 3 is the game i spend most my time on at present but as I have put going on 240 hours now into the game on xbox I have no interest in starting again on PC on that one, and being an ex-soldier I play my FPS games differently to your average run and gun gamer and the footage i've seen of arma being played online via youtube etc. it looks right up my street.

I'm 99% certain what I want now, and its going to be the mid-tower setup rather than the mini, just so I have the extra space, not to mention the extra space to work in too when building my rig.

I'll be calling the shop tomorrow to have a chat with them, and putting your suggestions to them to check availability on parts and any special offers they may have on or upcoming in the next couple of weeks.

I just cant wait to get the cash now, waiting on a compensation payout which I have signed and agreed to the final amount today, which was more than I was initially offered :D so just awaiting them to write the cheque so I can cash it and place my order.

one question regarding the lack of wifi on the mobo, is there an internal card you could recommend over the usb adapter Idleman suggested?
 
I too would favour USB, partially as they usually come with a USB extension so you can position it better for signal. You would have 8 USB ports on the back of the Z77-D3H not including the ports the case offers via the internal header, I don't think you'll struggle ;)

Internal there is THIS, which would sit above the GPU out of the way. I picked it as it was rated 450 but there are cheaper 300 alternatives.

Offers change on the wednesdays so we try to use them to our advantage best we can. The prodigy is a cool little case and the GB mini-itx mobo packs all you need but I don't blame you for wanting a bigger mobo.
 
Signal isnt much of an issue, perhaps should have mentioned it but the Wireless Router for the house is in the same room about 10 feet away from where the computer is going to be living if I keep things where they are and dont move stuff around.

I could even consider hard wiring it into the router but then I have to move furniture temporarily and lift carpets etc which I'm not really willing to do.

What would you recommend is the best option for me here, I get my internet via Virgin Media and have one of their "Super Home Hubs" as they like to call them and I pay for 100mb connection with them. Which would give me the best connection?
 
How did I know that one was coming... A lot of hardwork involved in that but I'm guessing that a wired cable would be less than a Wi-Fi card, I'd need a LONG cable though, I hate trailing cables across anywhere, everything in the room is under the carpet or along the ceiling/wall joint.
 
You can buy a reel of the cat5 cable and crimp your own connectors on, you can get kits and then make it up to length. The wiring can be used for telephone extensions too just a FYI
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom