Change of budget change of mind. Check this spec!

[robertbollo]

Hey everyone,

In previous posts I've always gone for the Intel i7 2600 and gtx 590 GPU. As I was getting closer to being able to buy that spec some unforseen bills popped up and now my budget is a bit less. £1300.

I've spent a while going through different ideas and this is the one I've come up with. What do you think? Any suggestions?

I will be using it for a range of high end gaming but also Games level design, Programming, etc.

I also plan on upgrading to the bulldozer or piledriver cpu in 2 years. (or any other cpu that is out by then)

Thanks for your help!



Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T (3.30GHz/9MB CACHE) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Headsets (VOIP)
LOGITECH® STEREO HEADSET H110 - IDEAL FOR CALLS, MUSIC & GAMES (£15)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,352.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[tom_gr7]

looks solid to me dude, can't fault it at all.

Are you planning on overclocking?

 

[robertbollo]

I've been thinking about overclocking but not sure, maybe later on.

How do you think this cpu will handle games like BF3, skyrim etc?

I hope to be able to buy a second gtx 580 mid next year.

 

[Fear]

Spec looks pretty good but don't forget the silver warranty for £5 which will increase your 1 month collect and return to a full year.

I've been thinking about overclocking but not sure, maybe later on.

How do you think this cpu will handle games like BF3, skyrim etc?

I hope to be able to buy a second gtx 580 mid next year.

For games you don't need the 6 core CPU as most games only use 2-3 cores so you could drop your CPU down to a quad core instead and if you are thinking of going Sli at a later date with 2 GTX580's i would up the PSU to a 1000W

 

[robertbollo]

Thanks!

The reason I've got for the 6 core is because I think it would be best for the main reason for my computer! I will be using it a lot for high end gaming! I would be great to have everything on max but I will also be using it for a lot of programming, game design etc.

Thanks for pointing the warranty out I meant to put silver but must of forgot!

At the moment I'm pushing my budget a bit so will upgrade the psu when I decide to get another 580. I would like to have it by mid next year like I said but thinking about it more I would think It'll be more than a year till that happens.

 

[robertbollo]

I just had a thought.

What would you think about changing the gtx 580 for 2 x 2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950? It works out to be £21 more to have the 2 HD6950s or should I just stick with the single gtx 580 for now?

 

[robertbollo]

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T (3.30GHz/9MB CACHE) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
2nd Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Headsets (VOIP)
LOGITECH® STEREO HEADSET H110 - IDEAL FOR CALLS, MUSIC & GAMES (£15)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,374.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[tom_gr7]

yeah the second spec looks as solid as the first spec, nice choice of case.

Could you push for two 6970's instead of the 6950's?

If you are going to overclock it, ya need to think about increasing the cooler, but really think hard about doing it yaself, if something goes wrong, ie ya cpu dies, then there goes ya warranty.

If you want it overclocked, would be good for ya programing/game design but not really much of a benefit for gaming.

So if my advice about overclocking is to get pcs to overclock for you. Under the "build ya own overclocked pc" section. Then you have the warranty to protect it, also think about either the titan fenrir or liquid cooling. Another point select the better thermal paste.

Hope this helps but think about it hard - DO you really need it overclocked?

 

[robertbollo]

Yeah I wouldn't risk overclocking my self! I'll have to think hard about! I have a few weeks left until I do purchase so plenty of time to decide that part!

two 6970's would push my budget a bit much! I will have to see if I can come up with some extra funds. If not either the 580 or two 6950's

 

[tom_gr7]

Yeah I wouldn't risk overclocking my self! I'll have to think hard about! I have a few weeks left until I do purchase so plenty of time to decide that part!

two 6970's would push my budget a bit much! I will have to see if I can come up with some extra funds. If not either the 580 or two 6950's

Some say a single powerhouse gpu is better than two lesser cards. two 6970's would be beastly! But so is one gtx580! i know cause i have one, lol it is awesome.

There is loads of combinations of gpu setups ya can have, lol loads. Have a google see ya what ya find which one is best for the games ya play.

Are you planning on playing multi-monitors?

 

[tom_gr7]

This might be a interesting read, about 6950's/70's

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1488/20/

Heres a review for the 580, have a read of both before ya choose

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...vidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review?artc_pg=5

 

[Fear]

As tom_gr7 has already said many will reccomend a single GPU and i am 1 of them the GTX580 and HD6950 are pretty similar but the GTX580 is a bit better so in the long run i would opt for that and then if/when it starts to struggle then i would either buy a second for Sli or have a look to see what the best card that is out then but either way whatever you do you will have a very nice setup.

 

[Fear]

Actually forget part of that above post getting them HD69XX series mixed up :whistling: the HD6970 is similar spec to the GTX580 so to get a system that is going to last longer either go for a single GTX580 or HD6970 and either add a second when they start to struggle or get a better newer card that will be out

 

[robertbollo]

Thanks Tom_gr7 Those links and info are really helpful!

Thanks fear! you're helped a lot as well. I'll go for the gtx 580.

Depending on how much money I have come the day of purchase will be one of these. I've done up an overclocked spec but had to lower the hdd to 750gb instead of 1tb to keep the cost under £1400.


Overclocked spec

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
OVERCLOCKED AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T (3.30GHz @ MAX 3.90GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO II A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,399.00 including VAT and delivery.



Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T (3.30GHz/9MB CACHE) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
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 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,353.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[sharplucas]

Hey Mate I see in a few of your posts you wanted a pretty good Gaming pc I put together a spec for you but it's a quite a bit over your budget but I hope it will be good enough for you! The full price is £1443

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM SNIPER - NEXT GEN GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 980 (3.70GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO:USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, Quad CrossFireX™/SLI™

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

2nd Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

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® SILVER MODULAR (£162)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

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

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (£139)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK250 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£19)

Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)

Headsets (VOIP)
LOGITECH® STEREO HEADSET H110 - IDEAL FOR CALLS, MUSIC & GAMES (£15)

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity 1

 

[robertbollo]

Thanks sharplucas for that spec but yeah it is out of my budget and I think i'm now decided that I'm going to stick with the gtx580 and when I can add another, but saying that dual 6970s are tempting.

Also as you said I am looking for a good gaming pc but its not going to be my main use. With the AMD PHENOM II X4 980 (3.70GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION, will that serve me well not only with gaming but programming and games design as well??

If so I will downgrade the x6 to this processor.

 

[tom_gr7]

With the AMD PHENOM II X4 980 (3.70GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION, will that serve me well not only with gaming but programming and games design as well??

If so I will downgrade the x6 to this processor.

Hey dude, as ya main use is programming and games design, i'd stick with the six core cpu. the for core is great, but you would have two extra cores when designing/doing ya thing etc.

oh yeah both solid specs, the overclocked rig with the 580 will be beastly!

Tom

 

[robertbollo]

Thank mate I'll stick to the six core like I planned! I will be buying this about the 2nd september so two weeks tomorrow! and I really think I will go with the Overclocked spec!! Can't wait!

Thanks for you help and I will let you know once I've ordered it and or course post pictures once its received!

 

[robertbollo]

I was just thinking do you think the COOLIT ECO II A.L.C processor cooler is the one to go for or can I go for the Titan and save some money?

 

[tom_gr7]

Thanks for you help and I will let you know once I've ordered it and or course post pictures once its received!

no worries dude, i have the coolit eco, but the older model, and love it, i chose it because its space saving, and a nice push/pull config can be set up, which slightly increases the cooling, simply push/pull means ya have a fan either side, on pulls air in to the rad the other pulls it out. It does help however is not needed, one standard fan is perfectly fine. On the negative side, a few people on the forums have had to RMA their pc because the cooler has leaked. i don't worry as ya have warranty, but it's something to be bare in mind.

The titan will offer as good as cooling as a liquid cooler, without the threat of liquid leakages. I don't know first hand how good the titan actually is, but im sure it's as good as liquid cooling. It is pretty big though. If your still going for the cm storm sniper the titan should fit in nicely, however a call might be needed to pcs to check that the side fan will not be removed, as i don't know of anyone on the forums that has a titan and the storm sniper.

All in all both the options will provide very good cooling for ya cpu, along with the storm sniper your temps will be fine. Just keep an eye on them when doing heavy cpu/gpu tasks, well thats what i do anyway.

Hope this helps, hope someone can provide a better insight than myself into the titan.

Tom