First Build for gaming, Please Advise :)

[Sutton]

Hey there, I'm thinking of buying my first PC for gaming - I traditionally have had a laptop. I would like to run all current games on max settings if possible - SWTOR/Crysis/Assassins Creed etc. and for it to be future proofed. I'm tired of having to play games such as left 4 dead 2 on low

I do not have a significant knowledge of PC's so was looking for some advice - my budget is around £1250

Here's the spec I configured:

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX

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

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£42)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E 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 E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£139)

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE (£5)

Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)

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 8 to 10 working days

1) How capable is this spec of running the games I mentioned?
2)Is the CPU overkill? I may be upgrading further over the next few years?
3) EDIT: Also in regard to the CPU and case - how big is it? I'm slightly worried it shall be enormous in my relatively small room!
Any other advice would be welcome, thank you!

 

[mantadog]

The build looks good, what matters most for gaming is the GPU and a 570 will play games on very high settings. When you say "upgrade in the future" do you mean adding a 2nd 570? If so then consider an 850w PSU to make sure everything is 100% ok. If you just mean adding a single newer/better performing card then it will be fine with 750w.

The CPU is a perfect choice and should last you many years before the it starts to hold you up in games.

The case is 480mm x 230mm x 496 mm (Approx H x W x D) i have no idea what your room looks like so i couldn't say if it will look big in their or not

 

[Sutton]

The build looks good, what matters most for gaming is the GPU and a 570 will play games on very high settings. When you say "upgrade in the future" do you mean adding a 2nd 570? If so then consider an 850w PSU to make sure everything is 100% ok. If you just mean adding a single newer/better performing card then it will be fine with 750w.

The CPU is a perfect choice and should last you many years before the it starts to hold you up in games.

The case is 480mm x 230mm x 496 mm (Approx H x W x D) i have no idea what your room looks like so i couldn't say if it will look big in their or not

Thank you

In regard to adding another graphics card I'm not too sure. Is it worth having two in the future or to just upgrade to the latest GPU? If I only need one then I guess I could downgrade the power supply/motherboard.

 

[mantadog]

Well the thinking behind running crossfire or SLI is, when you decide you need more GPU power it will be significantly cheaper to buy a single (in your case GTX 570) and probably get more of a performance boost than it would be to buy a new top of the range 670 or 680 when they are released.

The downsides to running multiple cards are you need to spec up your pc with a bigger PSU, get a compatable Mobo and dual cards will produce more heat and noise than a single card would.

It's your call. thats the thinking behind single and dual cards anyway. A single 570 will last you for a while anyway but the pain is you need to decide now if you want to run SLI now for the PSU etc.

 

[Sutton]

X

Thank you! So is this spec okay to order?

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX

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

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£42)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E 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 E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080 (£139)

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE (£5)

Cable Tidy
JML 1.5M Zip Cable Tidy - Professional Cable Management For Your PC (£4)

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 8 to 10 working days

 

[mantadog]

Yeah i would say it's good to go.

Only one thing i would say. If you don't plan to use bullguard security then don't even bother having the trial, free stuff will be fine, i use AVG and have had no problems at all for years. Paid software can be a pain in the ass to remove and why pay for it when u can get it free anyway?

Apart from that get it ordered, then enjoy the wait

 

[Fear]

The spec you have just so you know will not be able to be sli'd as the motherboard will only take dual AMD GPU's in crossfire or a single nvidia so you only need the 650W PSU so save yourself a few £s there if your happy that way, if you want to be able to sli with a second GTX570 then you need the next motherboard up and i would put an 850W PSU in to leave a good amount of spare power for any other future upgrades ie. extra HDD's, fans etc. I am pretty sure the IIYAMA monitors actually come with a DVI cable so no need to buy the extra cable also you might want to drop the wireless card and buy a set of homeplugs instead as they are a more reliable connection.

 

[Sutton]

Thanks for the advice So as I understand I connect the homeplug to the router and then plug the other into a socket in the room I'm using. Does this mean my computer will not have wifi capabilities if I choose this option? For example if I move the computer and am unable to access the router - would this not work?

 

[vanthus]

To set up homeplugs You plug one into a wall socket at your PC & one into a socket where your router is,connect plugs to router & pc with ethernet cables.
This gives you a wired connection through your domestic wiring.
If you move the computer you can still use the homeplugs as long as you have a spare wall socket nearby.
Also,this wont affect your wireless connection,assuming you have a wireless card.

 

[Sutton]

Thanks but there is no option to go for wireless card and homeplug - am I then choosing one over the other?

 

[vanthus]

I see what you mean,pretty sure PCS would supply both if
you give them a call when they open for business.