Set-Up

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 22:51

zakblood said:
black is good, these can be pre build at well, i spec high end as that what the black is, high end, there all i7 and top end at that, please don't judge me on spending all the budget, i did as asked

I really appreciate your help. I basically want a machine that will play any game I want without the problems I'm sure we've all experienced at some point when trying to play on a PC that isn't fit for purpose. I have the money so I figured why not. I used to be heavily into RTS games but my life got hijacked by boxing for a few years. I now have more time to get back into the RTS games and want to make sure I have a decent system that won't let me down.

I've only ever purchased off the shelf PCs before so this high end customisation stuff is all a bit daunting.

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 22:52

Thanks RJC. It's great so many people are keen to help.

Akagi · 1 Mar 2013 at 22:54

Nobody else has noticed that the PC will be used to run CoH and a 2D game of which I had never heard then?

I see we are all itching to spend other peoples money

You have fun with that, i'm off to bed

hopefully I will awaken in a more patient mood.

I'll just leave this here...

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Ignition Express" Intel G540 2.50GHz DDR3 System - Dual Core £174.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Sapphire HD 6570 1024MB GDDR3 PC-Express Graphics Card £49.99
Total : £317.57 (includes shipping : £10.50).

zakblood · 1 Mar 2013 at 22:54

sorry Mr Toodles, better to pick a spec you like, and if you want overclockers to build it for you they will, i picked some bundles as BLACK gives you the options, so do OC as well, if you want to go pre built or have a spec done for you and built, no problem, just let us know.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=136

post in there ^^ as some of above don't go there and we can carry on with high end stuff if you want, or ask a mod to move the thread if you want a pre built system etc, we can spec it for you, then let you phone or email OC to build it

i'm also off to bed nn all

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 22:55

I've read about problems with wide screen. If a game isn't comparable, it "stretches" the screen and causes viewing difficulties. How true is this?

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:00

zakblood said:
sorry Mr Toodles, better to pick a spec you like, and if you want overclockers to build it for you they will, i picked some bundles as BLACK gives you the options, so do OC as well, if you want to go pre built or have a spec done for you and built, no problem, just let us know.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=136

post in there ^^ as some of above don't go there and we can carry on with high end stuff if you want, or ask a mod to move the thread if you want a pre built system etc, we can spec it for you, then let you phone or email OC to build it

I certainly have plenty of food for thought here. How technical is all of this. Will I be able to educate myself on all the components. After all, knowledge is power. I have no knowledge of PC components but I am educated to degree level and have good common sense. I am more than happy to pay someone to build it for me but I would like to be able to make informed decisions on what I am buying and how I can improve performance within my budget.

lee32uk · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:00

acme15 said:
Nobody else has noticed that the PC will be used to run CoH and a 2D game of which I had never heard then?

I see we are all itching to spend other peoples money

You have fun with that, i'm off to bed hopefully I will awaken in a more patient mood.

But he also said that he would like to explore different games, and that the system would hopefully last a few years

Akagi · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:01

lee32uk said:
But he also said that he would like to explore different games, and that the system would hopefully last a few years

Then maybe someone ought to ask him what sort of games he is interested in exploring, £2K going to be overkill unless it is the likes of Far Cry 3 and Crysis 3. Hardware becomes obsolete extremely fast too, so it would be advisable to spend less now, and leave some money for upgrades. £650 - £800 could buy you the parts for a system capable of running most modern games on very high settings, with the exception of the aforementioned 'GPU killing' games which would likely run on medium.

Night guys.

And I apologise Mr. Toodles, as you can probably tell i'm not in the best of moods, I didn't mean to get off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry for calling you inflated.

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:02

lee32uk said:
But he also said that he would like to explore different games, and that the system would hopefully last a few years

I also said I had been off the gaming scene for a few years now. I want a system that will play anything I decide to buy without crashing/lagging due to lack of muscle.

I figured £2000 would do that.

lee32uk · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:07

Mr Toodles said:
Thanks, Lee. Would I need to add monitor/,Mouse/keyboard? Where would it be best to upgrade, if at all? Would that play most games and how long before it fell behind new game releases?

Yes you would need to add a monitor/mouse/keyboard/speakers. The system I have specced will allow you to add a second 7950 video card if and when it starts to struggle, that is why I put a 850W power supply in there. If you just want to run a single card then you could change the power supply to a 550W or so and also get a cheaper motherboard. I also put a good cooler so that you can overclock the cpu if you wanted too (and you should

)

Im not too clued up on monitors/mice/keyboards so maybe best to look at reviews or go for someone elses choices on that.

lee32uk · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:08

Mr Toodles said:
I also said I had been off the gaming scene for a few years now. I want a system that will play anything I decide to buy without crashing/lagging due to lack of muscle.

I figured £2000 would do that.

£2000 will buy you a killer rig

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:12

lee32uk said:
Yes you would need to add a monitor/mouse/keyboard/speakers. The system I have specced will allow you to add a second 7950 video card if and when it starts to struggle, that is why I put a 850W power supply in there. If you just want to run a single card then you could change the power supply to a 550W or so and also get a cheaper motherboard. I also put a good cooler so that you can overclock the cpu if you wanted too (and you should )

Im not too clued up on monitors/mice/keyboards so maybe best to look at reviews or go for someone elses choices on that.

I understand what you mean about the video card and power. It's certainly better to have the option of more muscle so having the power ready and waiting makes sense.

I've read about overlooking. It seems most people recommend 20-30%. I've also read it is better to overlock the turbo as it is there when needed and not constant. I kind of understand this but don't understand what overlooking achieves.

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:14

lee32uk said:
£2000 will buy you a killer rig

That's great news, thanks. I'd rather have more than I need. I didn't realise some people would get so upset by that but I guess there's always one.

Akagi · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:16

Mr Toodles said:
That's great news, thanks. I'd rather have more than I need. I didn't realise some people would get so upset by that but I guess there's always one.

Hey now, try reading my last post

lee32uk · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:26

Mr Toodles said:
I understand what you mean about the video card and power. It's certainly better to have the option of more muscle so having the power ready and waiting makes sense.

I've read about overlooking. It seems most people recommend 20-30%. I've also read it is better to overlock the turbo as it is there when needed and not constant. I kind of understand this but don't understand what overlooking achieves.

Overclocking the cpu is basically free extra performance. You are making the cpu run faster than it's stock value.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17612922

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:26

acme15 said:
Hey now, try reading my last post

I did. Thanks for your help. I should have been clearer from the start in terms of my gaming/performance requirements. I basically want a machine that will be capable of playing anything I chose to buy and play. I would like it to be able to do this for a few years and then have the option of upgrading once it starts to lack power.

I would rather have too much power than face the diss ointment and frustration of being unable to play a game I wanted to.

Mr Toodles · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:27

lee32uk said:
Overclocking the cpu is basically free extra performance. You are making the cpu run faster than it's stock value.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17612922

Ok. I guess it's like "chipping" a car? You hack into the CPU and tweak it?

DaleTheWhale · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:28

My spec has 2 7950's from the get go which will eliminate most lag from very high spec games! It's pretty damn overkill but still sensible, but why not. If you want to be super sensible, there's a few others spec'd which are cheaper.

Akagi · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:39

Mr Toodles said:
Ok. I guess it's like "chipping" a car? You hack into the CPU and tweak it?

Sort of, though no 'hacking' is involved. The speed of a CPU (measured in MHz or GHz these days) is calculated by taking the FSB (front side bus) speed, and multiplying it by a pre-defined amount.

In the computers BIOS (basic input output system - the 'settings' that you can specify for the hardware in the PC before booting into Windows or any other operating system), there will be an option to change the value of the multiplier as well as the VCORE voltage. (there are many other settings, but there are usually the only two you need to modify)

For example, my CPU the i5 2500K, comes with an FSB speed of 100MHz and a multiplier of x33 when at factory settings, outputting the clock speed of 3300MHz (or 3.3GHz).

I increased the value of the multiplier to 46, and now it sits at 4.6GHz

Of course this has certain trade-offs. The CPU will give off more heat (which is why aftermarket CPU coolers are available to tame said heat) and you will also need to marginally increase CPU voltages because the CPU will require extra power to run at an increased speed.

The process is usually quite simple, but it has the potential to be quite complicated in some cases. Every individual CPU will react slightly differently to overclocking (some will require more voltage than others for example), and you will also need to test the stability of your overclock by 'stress testing' the CPU.

Stress testing basically emulates a situation where the CPU is put under the maximum possible strain, to ensure that the overclock stability and temperatures are all in check.

Intel's 'K' and 'X' series CPU's (2500K, 2550K, 2600K, 2700K, 3570K, 3770K, 3930K, 3960X, 3970X) are designed with overclocking in mind, and these are the only CPU's which come with an unlocked multiplier to allow for you to do this. Intel made them, knowing that people would overclock them

The same thing applies for AMD's 'Black Edition' CPU's.

It would probably be a good idea to head over to the 'overclocking and cooling' section when the time comes, you should receive a lot of helpful advice in there, and there is also a section where you can ask OcUK's resident overclocking expert 8 Pack for advice as well.

Kribby2006 · 1 Mar 2013 at 23:58

Interesting, I thought the FSB had become obsolete since the introduction of the first i series chips and replaced with QPI?

Saying that its been a while since I've looked at such things, sorry as you were....