New PC

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Hi everyone, Bear with me in here. I have a lot of decisions to make... and truth be told; I'm finding it stupidly hard. Lol

I'll go ahead and fire out some questions from the off:
-Please bear in mind I'm a gamer, I don't video edit or bog the PC with heavy applications-

i3 or i5?
eyefinity or nvidia 3d vision?
if ATI, what card? I presume 6970?
if nvidia, what card? GTX460; will it cut it? If not, 570 or 580? The 5XX GTX cards are stupidly expensive though :(

Will 4GB DDR3 ram be enough. Or is 8gb really worth it? (for a gamer, mind?)
SSD or not?

Basically, here is what I'm getting so far (Keyboard, monitor) doesn't include the box.

newperp.png

For eyefinity, I'd get an extra 2 of those monitors over time. For nvidia 3d vision. I'd swap it to the same monitor but with 3D capabilities (120hz) just before I buy. Which is basically an extra £100. (I'd purchase the 3D vision equipment around 2weeks/1month after my initial purchase)

I have roughly £1000 to spend in total (doesn't inc OS, i have this). I can go over by 100 easily if needed. I can go over to £1300 or so if i really have to.

What i've been thinking of getting with the above is: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-237-OK&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=1712 - Looks great for the price... Maybe put GTX 460 with it. Money permitting, also add SSD. Thoughts?

One last question. If i configure my own PC from the OC website. The overclocking options confuse me. How do I know what my end clock will be for either the i3 or i5 offered in the options?

Thanks! :)
 
There is a few from the "Gamer - Titan » Intel" range that are seriously tempting.

Any advise on best bang for buck on these would be great. Hoping to order! :)
 
Personally if it was me my spec would be;

i5-2500k - good at stock and can go to very high OC
Corsair hx750w - very good psu with space for future sli, and it's modular
SB mob - they have some problems, but since you don't have extreme HDD usage, it's fine for 1 normal hdd + cd/dvd/bd + SSD
1TB HDD
64GB SSD - fast boot up times, access/read - ofcourse if you don't want it it will save you some ££
ATI 6950 - Flashable to 6970, you can also get the 570/580 if it's your preference but will cost more
8 GB ram - I would go for 8, but if you want you can go for 4 and then upgrade easily at any time.

All this plus a cpu cooler (in case you want OC - H50 is not bad and at £50 its worth it, you can upgrade it with 2 fans later if you want) and a decent case with good airflow and you should have a good pc.

However this might cost more than 1,000, so I would personally wait for the AMD stuff if you can.
 
Hi, £1000 was with the £300 kit that i've selected above. So no more than £800 on the machine really.

I was thinking of getting one of the pre overclocked systems offered here. Saves me fannying about with stability and what parts work with what.

More after advise on selection, rather than build.

As in my previous post, is 8Gb really needed for a gamer? I've heard not. I've also heard SSD is bad for the price and storage you get. Boot times may be quicker, and accessing may be good. But I can imagine the price range i'd have for one would land me with a crappy MLC. Again, is it really needed for gamers?

Thanks though. The advise on i5 is interesting, why would you rate the i5 over the i3 for GAMING? Surely the higher clock rate on the i3 and cheaper price would beat the lower clocked i5 at a higher price? For gaming of course, is what I'm getting at :)

Also, It's either 6970 or GTX460 or 580. As i say, it's just selection. Not interested in the 6950. CF as an option, but ATI never scaled well. Nor did nvidia for that matter.

EDIT: What new AMD stuff?
 
Buy the kit, assemble your own and don't worry about fannying around getting a stable overclock, overclocking in sandybridge really shouldnt even be called overclocking anymore, plus there is a wealth of information on here to do it yourself.
If you intend on going the multi-screen route I recommend getting an eyefinity setup, Here is a list of what I would be buying, bear in mind it's only a recommendation as there are many configs that would keep you happy

Untitled-1.jpg


oops just noticed no power supply lol, so that has to go on top, so around £800.

Now run that through the configurator and see what money you will be saving.......................worth doing it yourself maybe;)
 
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Hey, decent build. Although for games, surely dual core is better... and put the extra money into a better gfx card? I'll deffo keep it in mind though.

I agree, the configurator is way over priced. The pre built systems with additional extras seem a lot better value you for money. I'd save on the shipping costs, As i live 2miles from overclockers hq, so i'll just go up and pick the items up from them.

Got any advise for my other questions? :D
 
Hey, decent build. Although for games, surely dual core is better... and put the extra money into a better gfx card? I'll deffo keep it in mind though.

I agree, the configurator is way over priced. The pre built systems with additional extras seem a lot better value you for money. I'd save on the shipping costs, As i live 2miles from overclockers hq, so i'll just go up and pick the items up from them.

Got any advise for my other questions? :D
You must be very behind in terms of tech because now quad cores are the best for gaming.
 
You must be very behind in terms of tech because now quad cores are the best for gaming.

In terms for literally a machine for gaming. I've been told dual core with higher clocks will be better than a quad core at lower clocks for gaming. Namely here the i3 or the i5.
 
I game a lot and have just come from a dual core and the difference is bigger than you think, multi core use in games today is becoming standard and that cpu will last 3+ years easily. I came from an intel Core 2 Duo E8400 at 4ghz to an i7 2600k at 4.9ghz and it's night and day for me, you will literally push a button on that motherboard I chose and be running an i5 2500k at 4.3/4.4ghz solid. Game wise, my framerate in F1 2010 went up 14fps more after the cpu upgrade. I was quite surprised tell you the truth lol
 
Forgive me for not taking your word for it, have you any links you can show me? As this could effect my purchase greatly.


Forgive me for saying but you are being a little bit lazy lol, just google sandybridge i5 2500k review and all will become crystal;)
 
I think this sums it up, end of debate lol

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

Pay attention to what it beats other cpu wise and it's a done deal if you are buying now:D

Thanks. So the i5 760 then? :D

Still need advise on my other questions though lol... I'll say them again.

4GB or 8GB for gaming? Is 8gb overkill for gaming?
SSD or not? Is it worth it? really?
Nvidia 3D or ATI Eyefinity?
ATI 6970 or Nvidia GTX570?

I selected the high end cards because i prefer one good card, rather than CF/SLI 2 mid range cards.
 
There is much debate on the 32bit/64bit route and so 4gb if you are going 32bit, 8gb if you are going 64bit, I'm not getting involved in that one lol. SSD would be nice but buying at this stage is going to rob areas you are already spending in, so your budget will go have to go up around £200 for a 120gb ssd, or sacrifice spec now to include it which is not recommended. I would rather have eyefinity if it were me, but to be honest I have always been a 1 card/1 screen person, so if it was me I would get the 570GTX, but again it's going to put your budget up around £100 again, other than that a 560 would also be a good choice and roughly same money as the 6950.

If you prefer 1 good card and want multi screen use there is only 1 option, the ati route, hence the 6950
 
Meh, I'll stop being a lazy ass then and build it myself. After all, i did use to work in a PC shop! Guess the days of static shocks haunt me.

2500k i5 sorted... will build up a rough spec now and post back to see what people thing. Yeah multi screen would be ATI. They are let down in other areas though, their drivers suck haha. If i went ATI route, I'd get 6970. 2GB will surely help with 3 monitors. But not sure if one card would be up to a 3 monitor jobby? If i went the nvidia route, I'd deffo take advantage of the 3D tech.... choices eh? Lifes a bitch XD
 
Meh, I'll stop being a lazy ass then and build it myself. After all, i did use to work in a PC shop! Guess the days of static shocks haunt me.

2500k i5 sorted... will build up a rough spec now and post back to see what people thing. Yeah multi screen would be ATI. They are let down in other areas though, their drivers suck haha. If i went ATI route, I'd get 6970. 2GB will surely help with 3 monitors. But not sure if one card would be up to a 3 monitor jobby? If i went the nvidia route, I'd deffo take advantage of the 3D tech.... choices eh? Lifes a bitch XD


he he well funny, you live 5 mins from them and you have already built pc's;), 2500k sweet, I know what you mean about drivers but I'm a nvidia card guy who currently runs an hd5850 which I love and have running at 5870 speeds and also dont have driver issues. If you prefer the nvidia route then grab a 560 now with your single screen, and then grab another when you are ready with the other screens.

Can't really go into detail about 3 screen setups as they are not relevant to me but you tube eyefinity on there and it would appear single ati cards dont do a bad job at all, just avoid the 68xx series imo, a 6950 can be flashed to perform virtually as well as a 6970 out of the box, and given your experience i know you can handle doing that. Again given your budget and intentions the 6950 is the one to get.

Whatever you decide it will be a really nice system:)
 
Sounds good... I think i've put my heart on Nvidia. I think it has more pros than cons over ATI.

Here is what i've specced:
epicpc.png

Not sure if i should save 100£ and get 560. The board is SLI compat. The PSU there can handle 2x560s.

So future proofing looks good, I can always get the new nvidia cards when they come out, too.

Yer if i went the ATI route, i think i'd do that. But from what i can see with the above. It looks good! Slightly over budget considering i'd have to get a 3D monitor (extra 100£).
 
Sounds good... I think i've put my heart on Nvidia. I think it has more pros than cons over ATI./quote]


I notice that OcUK have the sub £200 offer on the gtx480 again;) that really is a lot of card for the money but then again the 570GTX performs at the same level and is acoustically better with lower temps, but it is more money he he where does it end lol.

Thats a great offer OcUK have on the case psu combo and a great looking spec too.

OR

get the gtx480 save £100, get a non 3d monitor save £100, add 120gb ssd £200 and that system would be bangin. 3d gaming is still very much in it's infancy and something you can jump later.
 
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