New Gaming PC! Alienware?

[alexroberts]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and am looking for some advice regarding purchasing a gaming PC. For the last few years I have been using a laptop for gaming but would like to get a proper gaming rig. i have a budget of between £1000-£1200 for the PC on its own and enough to purchase two monitors onto of that.

I had set my sites on a custom build however have just been offered a Alienware Aurora R4 ALX by my friend for £600. The computer has an Intel i7-3930k, GTX 580 and 8GB RAM. It does not however include a hard drive or OS. I already own a copy of Windows 7 so would just need to buy a new hard drive. Would this be a good option? Is it a good price? I was also planning on adding a gtx 780ti and 16gb Corsair Vengeance Ram and then in the future add an SSD raid.

I have been reading up about the computer and am a bit confused when it comes to the motherboard. By the sounds of things it has a normal motherboard and then a smaller one? Does this make upgrading it harder as I would like to upgrade the motherboard in a couple of years in order to extend the lifespan of the system.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies! I don't know the full spec but it is all standard. I suspect the motherboard is fairly basic and the ram 1600mhz. The price does seem fairly high but I think its because the case is worth quite a lot. The processor would be good but switching to the latest socket type may be worth while in the long run.

By the sounds of things I should pass up on the offer and buy new. I priced a computer at £1200 which included 780ti, i7 4820k, 16gb ram, Corsair Obsidian 750d, 120gb SSD and 2tb Hard drive. Does that sounds decent? With the processors and socket types Haswell are the new processors and they use the 1150 socket type? Which motherboards are considered the best for this?

Many thanks,

Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the replies! Your right I don't need 16gb ram straight away so will go for 2x4gb and then can always add another 8gb in the future. Thanks for the heads up on the processors I can definitely wait for them. What is the latest socket type 2011 or 1150 and is that what the new k processors will be using?

The alienware had a decent psu, motherboard etc however I'm not sure I wan't an Ivy Bridge processor and old socket motherboard.

Also before I buy does anyone know when DDR4 will become common? I've seen in mentioned before but haven't seen any products. Is it soon enough to wait or just stick with DDR3?

Thanks for the suggested basket! It's good to confirm my budget can get what I am looking for. As for the case I haven't really decided. I really liked the look of the 750d but if it's not the best performer I'll definitely look elsewhere.

Many thanks,

Alex

EDIT: In the future I was thinking of adding another 780ti instead of replacing the graphics card. This would be the cheaper option. So I would look at getting a 850W power supply now

 

[alexroberts]

BUMP!

 

[alexroberts]

Ok thanks very much for the help! I'll wait for the new i7ks and then build around the 1150 socket. Could anyone suggest a good motherboard to buy for it?

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the replies! I'll take a look at the motherboards suggested. As for liquid cooling what does everyone suggest? I was leaning towards the Corsair H100. Is that any good?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi thanks for the replies! So far my build looks like this:

GTX 780ti
One of the new Intel i7k (when released)
Z97 1150 motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 8gb (2x4gb)
Corsair M500 240gb
Seagate Barracuda 2tb hard drive
Corsair RM850 PSU
Corsair H100i
A case - maybe the 750d or phantom
Windows 7
DVD drive

This came to approximately £1350 which is over budget. Although do you reckon it is worth the extra? I could settle for the gtx 780 although in your opinion would it be worth the extra for the 780 ti. From the results I have seen in testing it seems to be, but how does it do in real world performance? I had budgeted to buy two monitors now, one 144hz and one 60hz. If the build is worth the money I could get just the 144hz one now and the 60hz one at a later date.

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi I'm really looking to be able to max out games such as Battlefield 4 and Crysis 3. I primarily play fps and rpgs and would also like my build to be able to handle future releases so that I don't have to upgrade in the near future.

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the replies! I haven't really considered a Radeon GPU but will certainly have a look considering it's half the price. Which case would not suit the H100i? I was also considering the HAF X which seems to get great reviews. Any suggestions? As for the SSD I'll look into the Samsung EVO. How do the Intel SSDs compare?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi all! I've been doing a bit of research around the new intel processors and is the i7 4790k the one everyone was talking about? 4 cores and clocked at 4ghz out of the box sounds perfect for gaming. However does anyone have an idea of roughly what it would cost? With that processor on a decent Z97 motherboard my build is going to be around £1500. Since I'm going to have to wait for the processor to become available I have time to save the extra money but do you think it would be worth it?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the replies! I'll definitely wait to see the i7 4790k and if its pricing is reasonable go for that. I'm thinking buying the latest processor and motherboard would be beneficial in the long run.

Thanks for the heads up on the over clockers bundles. I'll take a look when the 4790k is released. However I would enjoy building the computer myself and could probably save money buying the parts so will most likely end up doing that.

My build is looking pretty complete I just need to decide on the motherboard and which version of the GTX 780ti to get. Is it best to get the same brand gpu and motherboard? If not how do I go about deciding which brand?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

I do believe I have completed my build

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I decided 1000W was probably overkill even for when I eventually get 2 780tis so switched out for the AX860i which I've read is meant to be one of the best. Do you agree? Also went for the Hero motherboard as suggested here! The processor is the 4770k for reference but will be the 4790k when released.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,

Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi thanks for the quick replies. Sorry about posting competitor prices thats the website I have been using since I don't know how to do the over clockers basket link.

The motherboard was meant to be the VII Maximus hero as stated which is Z97. I've already got a set of Astro A40s so no need for another headset, I'm looking for the best board available.

As for the case I know it's expensive and heavy but I really like the design and the features such as the lower drive bay and hot swap bays, which I will find useful for backing up. The problem I'm having with the cheaper cases such as the 750D, Phantom and HAF X is that the build quality is nowhere near as good and to me the internal design doesn't seem anywhere near as 'clean'. As for the PSU should I be looking at the G2 or P2 from EVGA. I'm guessing the P2?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi thanks for the reply! I'll get the G2 PSU saves me £50 over the Corsair one which is a bonus. Yes I'll definitely go for the Z97 VII HERO. I did originally mean to add that one but accidentally added the older VI.

The 540 is a good idea but the rear compartment looks too unorganised for my liking. I'm really looking for a well designed case thats at least full tower size and am happy to have an ultra tower. as well Thanks for the heads up on 5.25 hot swap bays though that could definitely open up some case options. I would like a cheaper case however I'm just yet to find one that in my opinion looks anywhere near as good as the Cosmos 2. Any suggestions would be great!

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the reply. The 760T is just a redesigned 750d though which I didn't particularly like and also the removed top vent would surely disrupt cooling. Yer I'm currently looking through the OC website looking at E-ATX cases Any suggestions would be great!

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the replies! The Shinobi XL is a very nice case, however if it doesn't perform well its not much use. I really like the look of the Phanteks cases and will take a further look at them. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi thanks for the reply! My biggest problem with the 750d was that the front covered panel would surely bottleneck the fans. Also I've read there are some serious quality control issues with recent Corsair cases. I see you have the 750d, how do you have it set up and whats the quality like? Asides from those two things I generally do like the case, but if performance and quality are not top I would like to look elsewhere.

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Thanks for the reply! Ok maybe the quality issues aren't too bad then. I've just seen multiple cases of pieces breaking off soon after purchases, although I could always send it back if that happened, but hopefully in the later models that should have been fixed. I'll reconsider the Corsair cases and the 780T linked looks really good actually. Is it a replacement for the 760T?

Many thanks,
Alex

 

[alexroberts]

Hi thanks for the info! I'm starting to warm to the 750d but also really liking the Phanteks Enthoo Primo as well. How does the 750d work for mounting a 240mm rad? I was hoping to do a push pull system at the top of the case.

Also I've noticed that Corsair have released the M550. What's everyones thoughts on this? Is this the SSD to go with or should I be considering something else such as the Samsung 840 EVO?

Finally what is everyones thoughts on a RAID 0 set up for my mechanical hard drives? I planned on getting 1x2tb hard drive but could put 2x1tb hard drives in raid 0. I know drive failure becomes more likely but I regularly back up so thats fine. What I was wondering was is it more hassle to set up and maintain than it's actually worth? Or is it all fairly straight forward and reliable?

Many thanks,
Alex