Best Gaming PC I can buy FOR £2500

[phil0sophy]

It shouldn't if the overclock is balaned out and not on regularly. Though it will slowly degrade the cpu's life span. Just switch back to stock clocks whenever you're done recording or anything, should work out fine.

Does PC specialist builds come with overclocking software (as you buy them overclocked) or am I going to have to use a program like throttlestop to set the clocks back to usual?

I do not have the greatest of knowledge in overclocking all I know is the extra power you get from it can make a huge difference.

 

[keynes]

You could order a pre overclocked system. The clock speed will go up and down depending on what you are doing.

 

[Teaz]

You can if you go into the overclocked systems which pcs will overclock for you as keynes said. They will provide you with all the information they've done on the overclocking side for your reference and so. It is easily to switch settings on the Asus motherboards so it should work out fine for you

 

[kruppsy]

You could order a pre overclocked system. The clock speed will go up and down depending on what you are doing.

Genuine query...why does it do that? My overclock stays at its overclock at all times...is it some new intel jiggery pokery?

 

[phil0sophy]

You could order a pre overclocked system. The clock speed will go up and down depending on what you are doing.

Ok so what do you (and others) think of this spec? http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-2011-overclocked/jzuxHqcOdu/

Advantages and disadvantages? I was reading on toms hardware that the difference between the 70 and the 30 is so small that its pointless putting up the extra cash for the 70 but in terms of future proofing isn't that cache going to make quite a difference?

 

[kruppsy]

Ok so what do you (and others) think of this spec? http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-2011-overclocked/jzuxHqcOdu/

To me it looks like feeding numerous crisp £10 notes into one of Fellowes finest....but thats just me...

 

[Teaz]

Genuine query...why does it do that? My overclock stays at its overclock at all times...is it some new intel jiggery pokery?

Turbo boost. you may have disabled it so it is on constantly at whatever clock you have it on for ivy or sandy. if you're not doing anything it will go down and so it doesn't consume power to try and process nothing. if something is done like processing or recording or whichever it will then work the clock up.



That overclocked link i clocked on is fine, though 32gb is quite a large amount and the rog motherboard is perhaps overkill.

 

[phil0sophy]

To me it looks like feeding numerous crisp £10 notes into one of Fellowes finest....but thats just me...

Pardon me if I sound stupid when I say this, but are you saying its a waste of money or its worth ever penny? lol If its the former then what areas do you feel I am overdoing it (unneeded purchasing for what my main uses are)

 

[kruppsy]

Turbo boost. you may have disabled it so it is on constantly at whatever clock you have it on for ivy or sandy. if you're not doing anything it will go down and so it doesn't consume power to try and process nothing. if something is done like processing or recording or whichever it will then work the clock up.

That makes sense, i know the mobile processors use 'turbo boost' didn't realise you can getting it going for the desktops as well. Don't think my processor/motherboard supports it anyway, pretty ancient by todays standards as you can see by my sig

 

[phil0sophy]

Turbo boost. you may have disabled it so it is on constantly at whatever clock you have it on for ivy or sandy. if you're not doing anything it will go down and so it doesn't consume power to try and process nothing. if something is done like processing or recording or whichever it will then work the clock up.



That overclocked link i clocked on is fine, though 32gb is quite a large amount and the rog motherboard is perhaps overkill.

Yeah I was thinking of bringing the ram down to 16 just thought extra ram may help when recording etc but I don't think it has much bearing tbh, also I know quite literally zero about motherboards so difficult for me to compare but what would you recommend? (I have a good budget but don't want to just spend on unneeded things)

 

[kruppsy]

...what areas do you feel I am overdoing it (unneeded purchasing for what my main uses are)

If im reading it right its just for gaming and recording gaming in which case, all areas lol! £3277 on a pc is an epic waste in my opinion. I've kept half an eye on the thread and the guys have come up with a few options for under 2k which would easily meet your requirements and give you plenty of scope to upgrade when needed. Spend the change on an FTO, you'll probably have more fun in the FTO. I don't get it....but at the end of the day, its your cash.

You may have something better than an FTO already, i just put that because I want one...

 

[phil0sophy]

If im reading it right its just for gaming and recording gaming in which case, all areas lol! £3277 on a pc is an epic waste in my opinion. I've kept half an eye on the thread and the guys have come up with a few options for under 2k which would easily meet your requirements and give you plenty of scope to upgrade when needed. Spend the change on an FTO, you'll probably have more fun in the FTO. I don't get it....but at the end of the day, its your cash.

You may have something better than an FTO already, i just put that because I want one...

Well when I say recording gaming I also mean video editing etc also I will use it for level designing and modding etc so O am looking for something with a bit more scale but 5 days out of 7 it will be just gaming as a rough estimate.

I really appreciate everyones help so far, I am basically going to look at what people recommend and weigh up the pros and cons of it all via research and then base my decision on that, I totally see what you mean by the way and completely agree, although I am looking to sort of make this system rather future proof in the sense that I will not have to upgrade frequently etc.

As far as having an fto (I assume you mean the car) I cannot drive because I have funny heart rhythms (far too dangerous for others) so I let my wife do the driving (although that's just as bad hahaha)

 

[Teaz]

The ROG motherboard is pretty much built for crazy overclocking, i don't see much to it on the gaming side though it lists itself to gaming. only part is just the multi gpu setup and a few other features.


If you're really that keen on splashing that extra bit then for the that six core setup you're looking in is perhaps fine to look into if you're that happy to spend to that point. heres an overclocked 6 core to look into:

Case
CORSAIR VENGEANCE® C70 BLACK MID-TOWER GAMING CASE

Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Six Core i7-3930K (3.2GHz @ max 4.6GHz)

Motherboard
ASUS® P9X79 PRO: INTEL® SOCKET LG2011

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS QUAD-DDR3 1600MHz X.M.P(4 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 690 DUAL GPU - 3 x DVI-I, 1 x mDP

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

3rd Hard Disk
3TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD30EZRX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W PRO SERIES™ HX850-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£139)

Processor Cooling
Corsair H100 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£89)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
DUAL-BAND WIRELESS 802.11N 450Mbps PCI-E CARD (£35)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£109)

Total: 2685

An i7 3770k overclocked or not will still deliver you justice, just so you know. It isn't a no brain cpu and certainly a lot more than the average punter and on the industry side of things. So you should still have that considered

 

[kruppsy]

Well when I say recording gaming I also mean video editing etc also I will use it for level designing and modding etc so O am looking for something with a bit more scale but 5 days out of 7 it will be just gaming as a rough estimate.

I really appreciate everyones help so far, I am basically going to look at what people recommend and weigh up the pros and cons of it all via research and then base my decision on that, I totally see what you mean by the way and completely agree, although I am looking to sort of make this system rather future proof in the sense that I will not have to upgrade frequently etc.

As far as having an fto (I assume you mean the car) I cannot drive because I have funny heart rhythms (far too dangerous for others) so I let my wife do the driving (although that's just as bad hahaha)

Have you looked at SLI'd 670s? They probably look like integrated cards compared to the stuff you've been looking at but it'd save so much money and max out everything there is probably for another year at least. By which time the 690s may have come down then you could SLI them? I reckon 1800-2000 quid would get you a pc capable of playing at the highest settings for a year and a half to 2 years.

The i7 3770k would also be fine for a good couple of years, im not even sure you'd need to overclock it, definitely not straight away.

This is what id do.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE (you could easily downgrade to the non pro version...thunderbolt intrigued me...)
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE £100 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
2nd Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE £100 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW) (see below)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm) (you may not need this much storage either?)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£159)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,990.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/6HKf2YLEqL/

I was struggling to spend this much tbh. Its ready to go for an overclock, but i wouldn't bother until you really think you needed it. The PSU would allow SLI'd 690s in the future. Plenty of good quality storage. Gold Warranty. Any questions just ask...im off to beebyes though

Sorry Blackdog...just seen your SLI 670 post...great minds

 

[Toxophilix]

I agree with kruppsy and Blackdog that a 3770, Z77, SLI GTX-670 system would meet your requirements very well.

There are diminishing returns when spending money on gaming PCs. £500 gets you a basic system. £1000 gets you a machine with no corners cut that will max-out almost anything on one monitor. £2000 gets you that plus nice extras. Beyond £2000 it's hard to get any tangible benefit for extra expenditure.

 

[phil0sophy]

I agree with kruppsy and Blackdog that a 3770, Z77, SLI GTX-670 system would meet your requirements very well.

There are diminishing returns when spending money on gaming PCs. £500 gets you a basic system. £1000 gets you a machine with no corners cut that will max-out almost anything on one monitor. £2000 gets you that plus nice extras. Beyond £2000 it's hard to get any tangible benefit for extra expenditure.

Even over the long term?

 

[phil0sophy]

Have you looked at SLI'd 670s? They probably look like integrated cards compared to the stuff you've been looking at but it'd save so much money and max out everything there is probably for another year at least. By which time the 690s may have come down then you could SLI them? I reckon 1800-2000 quid would get you a pc capable of playing at the highest settings for a year and a half to 2 years.

The i7 3770k would also be fine for a good couple of years, im not even sure you'd need to overclock it, definitely not straight away.

This is what id do.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE (you could easily downgrade to the non pro version...thunderbolt intrigued me...)
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE £100 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
2nd Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE £100 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW) (see below)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm) (you may not need this much storage either?)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£159)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,990.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/6HKf2YLEqL/

I was struggling to spend this much tbh. Its ready to go for an overclock, but i wouldn't bother until you really think you needed it. The PSU would allow SLI'd 690s in the future. Plenty of good quality storage. Gold Warranty. Any questions just ask...im off to beebyes though

Sorry Blackdog...just seen your SLI 670 post...great minds

But if I was to go all out and get the setup I posted how long theoretically would that stand for without needing to upgrade?

 

[vanthus]

But if I was to go all out and get the setup I posted how long theoretically would that stand for without needing to upgrade?

No way of telling what's in store far as system requirements go,but I would like to think that setup would be good for a few years.

 

[phil0sophy]

No way of telling what's in store far as system requirements go,but I would like to think that setup would be good for a few years.

Yeah I mean I think considering I have the extra money I know many think its a waste but I think for the extra money it may just go that little bit longer you know? I know paying more does not always mean better but yeah...

So I have decided I think that I am going for this setup...

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-2011-overclocked/YpvxBpEmp_/ and maybe once they come down in price I will add another 690 in there (although I doubt I will need it for a long time tbh lol)

 

[phil0sophy]

By the way I do appreciate everyone's advice and I am not ignoring any of you to be pigheaded or anything, I value everyone's input its just I rarely get to spend big on anything in life and I always said if I was to get back into building a rig I would go all out and make sure it could blast pretty much anything out lol.