New gaming rig help.

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 18:51

Im currently saving up for a gaming rig which will get me through 3 years of uni as ill have no money to spend in the meantime. I have joined these forums and been reading about but its soo complicated and with all the competition about its quite difficult when you lack knowledge in it all. I am trying to pick stuff up but it takes time.

1. With the new bulldozer looking to be a bit of a dissapointment i was thinking about the Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) as it looks like the best value for gaming and can be overclocked pretty decently.

2. If money is not a major issue (Still got a limit) is it worth putting a watercooling system in it? I really like the look of the watercooling systems and the noise reduction is very appealing but would it just be worth getting "silent" fans and some rubber bits to minimise the vibrations?

3. Is it a good idea to get an SSD to run the windows from to make it run quicker and a bit more freely?

Basically could you spec me a gaming rig for about £1200 but also answer those questions so i gain a bit of knowledge, Thanks

shadow_boxer · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:16

1. Need to wait for NDA to lift and hear the real reviews about Bulldozer before writing it off. It's not all about performance with BD but where it fits in terms of being priced against Sandy Bridge. Also to overclock you need an i5-2500K CPU.

2. Watercooling can add up very quickly. Can look at getting a quiet CPU cooler and case such as the Fractal Design R3.

3. A 60-64GB is enough for a boot drive for OS and perhaps a game or two tops. A 128GB drive gives you a lot more freedom I think.

Your budget is fairly healthy and should easily be able to accomoadate an SSD.

Do you need Windows 7 / monitor / peripherals? What resolution will you be gaming at? You could get a very good system and still save a large chunk of your budget.

CinderzFTW · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:17

1. Get the i5 2500K. Unlocked multipier for mega overclocking!

2. Get silent fans but add in a CPU watercooling block like the Corsair H60

3. Yes to the SSD drive. I would get a Crucial M4 128GB. Add windows onto a partitioned part of the SSD and use the rest of it for installing games so you can load into online gaming faster than a normal mechanical HDD!

Xelene · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:19

1) My i7 920 from 2 years ago is still fine, an i5 is fine.
2) As a student you move around, and your PC with you too much. Water-cooling is a pain in the bottom. I'd recommend a smallish quiet build - think of a Lanparty spec (type not brand). You can make it quiet easy enough.
3) If you can spare the cash sure.

Couple of observations - you might be better off with a laptop and console. Student digs tend to be Burglary and Accident prone, insurance may have upper limits or pay only a percentage back (hence you want it easily transportable between terms). If you spend your Uni years playing PC games, you are doing it wrong.

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:21

I have ok peripherals but if i could save off the budget they would be the first thing i spent on. A monitor is not set into the budget but if you could recommend a decent one and a reasonable price id be all ears.

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:23

sldsmkd said:
If you spend your Uni years playing PC games, you are doing it wrong.

Im studying Computer science and games programming so im guessing ill spend a bit off time playing computer games ha

Xelene · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:25

Miidget said:
Im studying Computer science and games programming so im guessing ill spend a bit off time playing computer games ha

I studied AI and spent my time drinking

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:30

Yeh well the money ive got now ill spend on a computer and ill use the student loan as intended, on drink

Back on topic is it worth dual running 1024mb graphics cards or a single 2gb card?

EDIT: good offer on a triple channel RAM atm is that worth it or overkill?

shadow_boxer · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:33

Miidget said:
...
Back on topic is it worth dual running 1024mb graphics cards or a single 2gb card?

Depends on what resolution you will be gaming at and on how many monitors. My preference is always to for a single card initially and add in a second card in a year or two.

Miidget said:
Im studying Computer science and games programming so im guessing ill spend a bit off time playing computer games ha

You should be able to get Win7 on the cheap from uni/college.

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £269.99
(£224.99) £269.99
(£224.99)
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £219.98
(£183.32) £219.98
(£183.32)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
(£139.99) £167.99
(£139.99)
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £145.99
(£121.66) £145.99
(£121.66)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £85.99
(£71.66) £85.99
(£71.66)
Corsair Carbide 400R Midi Tower Case - Black Corsair Carbide 400R Midi Tower Case - Black £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £56.99
(£47.49) £56.99
(£47.49)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
(£21.66) £25.99
(£21.66)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £1,010.73
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £204.90
Total : £1,229.38

stulid · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:35

shadow_boxer said:
You should be able to get Win7 on the cheap from uni/college.

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game** £269.99
(£224.99) £269.99
(£224.99)
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £219.98
(£183.32) £219.98
(£183.32)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
(£139.99) £167.99
(£139.99)
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £145.99
(£121.66) £145.99
(£121.66)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £85.99
(£71.66) £85.99
(£71.66)
Corsair Carbide 400R Midi Tower Case - Black Corsair Carbide 400R Midi Tower Case - Black £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £56.99
(£47.49) £56.99
(£47.49)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
(£21.66) £25.99
(£21.66)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £1,010.73
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £204.90
Total : £1,229.38

Thats an amazing spec.

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:45

Thats awesome from what i can see. Ill be buying over the next couple of months in parts so could probably get it a bit cheaper through deals too

At the moment im running my computer on a TV but im not sure whether you get a crisper picture with a pc monitor or this would be sufficient?

Id also be gaming at 1080p most of the time I should think.

shadow_boxer · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:51

Well if your buying over the next few months keep an eye out for today only deals. After you add postage etc. it'll probably be cheaper to buy the lot in one go anyway.

That monitor is amazing! Read some reviews, very very good!

stulid · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:53

I should let shadow boxer reply as its his killer spec, but.

Remember you don't get free delivery here yet, so if you buy in dribs and drabs then you will be paying shipping costs on top for every order.

The Dell IPS is higher than 1080 resolution and is a much crisper panel than any TV, IPS screens are the best in this regard, look at some reviews, for example,

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2312hm.htm

Oh beaten.

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 19:55

Yeh i should have really picked up on the Kingston Hyperx (2x4gb) RAM deal the other day but pay day never comes quick enough

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:00

stulid said:
Remember you don't get free delivery here yet,

Yet? when do I get free delivery? :O

My monitor seems nice but as well as not being as crisp as the monitor you''re suggesting its also too big at 32" and I don't sit that far away so i think i will save up a bit more and grab that monitor.

stulid · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:01

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...&posted=1&utm_source=forums&utm_medium=banner

OcUK Forums members who have 250 or more posts and have been registered for over 90 days, or
OcUK Forums members who have been registered for over 12 months and made at least 100 posts

So you are actually 225 posts and nearly 90 days away

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:05

oh well that doesn't matter, i would've spent around £300 more if i didn't come to OcUK so the extra few quid for postage isn't a major issue

Jony27 · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:05

what res is the TV your currently using?

shadow_boxer · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:07

Yeah unfortunately still quite a long way away from free delivery. You could get the baseunit now/soon and save up for the monitor. You can't even compare a 32" TV screen to that 23" IPS Panel their that far apart in quality. There are other cheaper 24" screens available for around £150 but none come close to the Dell!

Miidget · 10 Oct 2011 at 20:07

1360 x 768 i think