please Spec me, again... ~£1000

mowlio · 17 Dec 2013 at 18:36

I'm having real trouble deciding weither to go Intel or AMD on my next pc.

I already have a case, optical drive and storage drives. I'd like an SSD and probably a 290 with the ability to flash it to a 290x with the intention of eventually getting a second.

I have a 900 Watt PSU but I've got a feeling it's on its last legs.

So if you guys could spec me both AMD and Intel rigs I'd be grateful. I just can't decide, AMD seem to be cheaper all around or at least more bang per buck but aren't as fast... where as Intel are more expensive but would probably see me through longer.

Please help!

Thanks

ExRayTed · 17 Dec 2013 at 18:52

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 OC WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-R929OC-4GD) £389.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 850W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (0-761345-06225-1) £125.99
1 x Asus M5A99X PRO R2.0 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £113.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £69.95
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler £29.99
Total : £997.48 (includes shipping : £8.00).

mowlio · 17 Dec 2013 at 18:58

Thanks!

Is there much point paying extra for an OC card if I'm planning on flashing it anyway?

ExRayTed · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:01

For the cooling..or wait for more third party solutions to appear

Doomedspeed · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:03

mowlio said:
Thanks!

Is there much point paying extra for an OC card if I'm planning on flashing it anyway?

Well, thats you're only choice if you want a quiet and cool 290.. They are the only OEM GPU's currently announced (ETA: mid-January).

Heres an intel/nvidia Red spec.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £399.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £185.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £137.99
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £124.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £69.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £67.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
Total : £1,041.44 (includes shipping : £8.00).

mowlio · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:28

How does the 780 compare to the 290?

Doomedspeed · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:32

The 290 is a tad better in a few titles and has mantle..

They are about on-par.. Personally im an Nvidia man so would go for the 780 but there nothign wrong with the 290, the price is a bit high for the windforce ATM though..

mowlio · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:36

with the ability to flash the 290 to a 290x though it would be the best option I'd guess?

What are the chances of being able to do that?

ExRayTed · 17 Dec 2013 at 19:42

Doomed, if he wants to SLI you'll need to spec in a bigger PSU

fowler002 · 18 Dec 2013 at 01:18

mowlio said:
with the ability to flash the 290 to a 290x though it would be the best option I'd guess?

What are the chances of being able to do that?

None to none would be my guess.

Akagi · 18 Dec 2013 at 01:27

I don't believe they make 290's that you can do that to anymore.

Idleman · 18 Dec 2013 at 01:40

acme15 said:
I don't believe they make 290's that you can do that to anymore.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphi...e_Easily_Transformed_into_R9_290X_Report.html

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18559335

So it would seem.

mowlio · 19 Dec 2013 at 00:46

I got my PSU checked and its OK. So for now I'm going to just upgrade, managed to pick up a 290 at a bargain price, got an ssd so now I'm just really looking for some ram... Can anyone recommend a good set?