Spec me £1300 PC please!

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693
Howdy ya'll,

A friend of mine is looking to sell his mac and get a good PC for gaming. His budget is £1300 quid and this has to include everything apart from a storage HDD which will be bought when prices come down. He would like an SSD for operating system and maybe the odd game and also a wireless mouse and keyboard. The budget also needs to include a nice screen which wont make him miss his 27" mac screen too much.

At the moment i've suggested i5 2500k, 8gb ram, not really sure which motherboards are best at the moment, 6950 2gb, ocz/antec 650 watt power supply and then either a 60 or 120gb SSD as a base for the components. He has his mind set on the Fractal R3 case and also a bog standard Dvd-rw, no need for a Blu-ray drive.

The main uses for the PC will be WoW and BF3 and some Encoding. I wondered if I could get the opinions of the great OcUK forums before he parts with all his monie$?

Cheers,
Jack
 
I've just ordered this:

Product Name Price Qty Line Total
MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £194.99 1 £194.99
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £139.99 1 £139.99
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £124.99 1 £124.99
MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £124.98 1 £124.98
Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) £70.82 1 £70.82
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9) £39.99 1 £39.99
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.82 1 £15.82
IC Diamond 24-Carat Thermal Compound (4.8g) £12.49 1 £12.49
DPD Next Day Parcel: £10.00
VAT: £146.81
Order Total: £880.88

With a Fractal R3 and Corsair 650W HX from elsewhere (Fractal out of stock here). Should be on budget with a 27" eye tickler and keyboard/mouse combo :)
 
Hazro HZ27WC 8-Bit 27" LED Widescreen Professional Monitor - Black

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM

Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive

Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Lepa B-Series 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - with FREE LEPA Hard Drive Enclosure

Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)

Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+)

OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Total :

£1,141.61

I've left out the 6950 because I think it's best to wait for the next gen as we are so close to it December-February

Nice screen in there too which will hopefully get him over his nice Apple 27" screen
 
do you need an os?

i2500k £168 could go for i2600k £240 to help with the encoding

msi z68a-g55 g3 £125(£104 after cashback)

8gb pc3-12800 1600mhz c9 g skill ripjawx £42 or corsair vengence £48 if you don''t like the ed of the g skills

antec kuhler 620 £42

Corsair TX750M £100 gives you option for sli/xfire in fututre go for 650w(such as the antec truepower new modular £70) if not needed

if your're a nvidia fanboy asus 560ti 1gb directcu ii top £194 with 2 games

ati/amd fanboy his 6950 2gb icq x plus £240 with 3 games

128gb crucial m4 £150

case you've already chosen tho I'd suggest the silverstone raven 3 3120

dvdrw £15-£20 choose one

dell u2412m £285 it may not be 27" but its better than tn panel 1080p base cheapo 27" monitors

wutang how many times does it have to be pointed out to you that the motherboard you keep suggesting is matx, unless the r3 is a matx case then you need to start suggesting a atx board such as the z68xp-ud3, oh and stop suggesting the 'cheap' 850w psu(have you not read the thread about what happened to the lepa b series 750w psu?) and anyway unless going for 580 sli 750w is enough for upto 570 sli/6950xfire(prob even 6970xfire) antec corsair xfx even the lepa g series are better choices.
 
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do you need an os?

i2500k £168 could go for i2600k £240 to help with the encoding

msi z68a-g55 g3 £125(£104 after cashback)

8gb pc3-12800 1600mhz c9 g skill ripjawx £42 or corsair vengence £48 if you don''t like the ed of the g skills

antec kuhler 620 £42

Corsair TX750M £100 gives you option for sli/xfire in fututre go for 650w(such as the antec truepower new modular £70) if not needed

if your're a nvidia fanboy asus 560ti 1gb directcu ii top £194 with 2 games

ati/amd fanboy his 6950 2gb icq x plus £240 with 3 games

128gb crucial m4 £150

case you've already chosen tho I'd suggest the silverstone raven 3 3120

dvdrw £15-£20 choose one

dell u2412m £285 it may not be 27" but its better than tn panel 1080p base cheapo 27" monitors

wutang how many times does it have to be pointed out to you that the motherboard you keep suggesting is matx, unless the r3 is a matx case then you need to start suggesting a atx board such as the z68xp-ud3

i didnt spot that tbh. And I dont keep speccing that nor has anyone ever pointed it out but yeah - you carry on internet warrior......
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x AOC E2795VH 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £199.99
1 x HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.98
1 x Asus P67 Sabertooth Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £154.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020004-UK) £113.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £84.98
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £78.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,225.99 (includes shipping : £20.10).



Or do a i5 2500k build with a 120GB SSD. But as you said encoding I thought why no i7.

Much better build, case is great for cooling and you can see them 460s, all black.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x AOC E2795VH 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £199.99
1 x Asus P67 Sabertooth Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £154.99
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £134.99 (£269.98)
1 x Silverstone Raven 3 RV03B-W Full Tower Windowed Case - Black/Gold £119.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020004-UK) £113.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £78.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,330.99 (includes shipping : £20.10).

 
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[WU-TANG]GZA;20559383 said:
i didnt spot that tbh. And I dont keep speccing that nor has anyone ever pointed it out but yeah - you carry on internet warrior......

well I guess I must have mistaken you for someone else, I'm sure there's at least 1 person that specs that motherboard and I've pointed it out on at least 1 occassion(again sorry if not you :) ).

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x AOC E2795VH 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £199.99
1 x HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.98
1 x Asus P67 Sabertooth Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £154.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020004-UK) £113.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £84.98
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £78.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,225.99 (includes shipping : £20.10).



Or do a i5 2500k build with a 120GB SSD. But as you said encoding I thought why no i7.

Much better build, case is great for cooling and you can see them 460s, all black.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x AOC E2795VH 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £199.99
1 x Asus P67 Sabertooth Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £154.99
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £134.99 (£269.98)
1 x Silverstone Raven 3 RV03B-W Full Tower Windowed Case - Black/Gold £119.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M High Performance 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020004-UK) £113.99
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £78.98
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3) £62.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £1,330.99 (includes shipping : £20.10).


a few things

1) the price of the suggested 6950 will go back up tomorrow morning

2) z68 is the way to go, even if you don't use the many feature the onboard vga alone is worth is incase your graphics card breaks so you can at least carry on using the pc if not play games till you get the graphics card replaced/get a new one. the msi z68a-g55 g3 may not be the best board in the world but at £104(after the cash back) is £50 cheaper than the one you suggested

3) antec kuhler oner the h60, similar performance but £20 cheaper

4) if the ops friend doesn't mind the red the g skill ripjawx are £6 cheaper(every little helps remember ;) )

5) crucial m4 over the ocz :)

6) save £14 by going with the 750w version will be enough for 6950 xfire

7) sli 460? really? what is it 2010 again? which takes me back to point 6, 850w in this case is even more otttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what is it with you and 'old tech' p67 + 460 when you can get newer better bits?

the corsair force series 3 120gb ssd is ~£50 more than the 60gb ocz
 
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Okay so far it seems the M4 is the best SSD to go for, also what are peoples thoughts on the i5 vs i7, is the extra performance worth the price? He doesn't want a 27" screen with the 1920*1080 resolution, so wondered what are peoples thoughts on the 23/24" IPS screens currently available?
 
Okay so far it seems the M4 is the best SSD to go for, also what are peoples thoughts on the i5 vs i7, is the extra performance worth the price? He doesn't want a 27" screen with the 1920*1080 resolution, so wondered what are peoples thoughts on the 23/24" IPS screens currently available?

i5 vs i7 = what applications/tasks you're doing. If there is lots of encoding type tasks then yes the i7 is worth it but if it's not really that often and it's mostly for gaming if not purely for gaming then no the i7 is not worth it.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=288

That's a benchmark comparing the two of them. Basically if you're using apps that will make use of Hyper Threading then the i7 is worth it.

The screen I speeced isn't 1080p it's 2560 x 1440:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-013-HO&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

If not that then I would drop to 23" and it would have to be this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-055-DE&groupid=17&catid=1425&subcat=

Wu
 
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