Gaming desktop PC

[notwelshman]

It's been a while since I last built a PC - I've used a laptop for the last few years. I'm looking for something that will run games well and that will be able to handle the Oculus Rift when that finally appears, and that I can stream media / do all the usual computer-y things on. At this point, my budget is no more than £1,500, including the monitor and peripherals and all that.

Any thoughts on the below spec? I'm a little unsure when it comes to the power supply and cooling, so any advice there would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM ENFORCER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-E: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW

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

Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling
Corsair H55 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

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

Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)

Wireless Router/HomePlugs
HomePlug 500 Mbps Starter Kit - Internet Through Powerline

USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*

DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2013 (1 License & Disc)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
AOC E2752VQ 27" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1920 x 1080, 2MS, HDMI, DP

Keyboard & Mouse
CM Storm Octane LED Gaming Keyboard and Mouse

Total Order price (Ex VAT) £1,242.50
Total Order Price £1,491.00

 

[Utilize]

You could comfortably move down to an i5 - although I'm not too sure what Oculus Rift is, does it require much CPU power? If you're not overclocking, a CoolerMaster 212 EVO will be fine for cooling. I would also switch to a 650W CS power supply - better quality than VS. I also think a WD Caviar Black would be better than the current 2nd hard drive you have. That graphics card will be great with the monitor you e chosen.

 

[notwelshman]

Thank you! I'll definitely consider the i5, although I am trying to future-proof the machine as much as I can without bumping the price up too much. As for the other recommendations (hard drive, power supply, cooling), I am happy to take the advice (because I know nothing...).

Don't know about CPU power, but Oculus Rift recently posted its minimum specs; here's a link: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-05-15-oculus-rift-recommended-specs-confirmed

 

[Utilize]

Thank you! I'll definitely consider the i5, although I am trying to future-proof the machine as much as I can without bumping the price up too much. As for the other recommendations (hard drive, power supply, cooling), I am happy to take the advice (because I know nothing...).

Don't know about CPU power, but Oculus Rift recently posted its minimum specs; here's a link: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-05-15-oculus-rift-recommended-specs-confirmed

Oh. Judging by that you might need a better GPU then? I don't really know, maybe someone else can help me out or you could ask on another forum about it.

 

[notwelshman]

No worries--thanks for your help, though! According to the link, the GPU hits the minimum so should be okay!

 

[Utilize]

No worries--thanks for your help, though! According to the link, the GPU hits the minimum so should be okay!

Hmm. It will be compatible but I'm just wondering if it'll give you enough juice for smooth gaming with decent settings. Not sure. Anyway, good luck!

 

[Spuff]

Regarding those OcRift specs I'd like to know if by 'full experience' they just mean video and virtual walkabouts or whether that means gameplay as well.
I can't see how they could promise a full experience in games when they have no idea what the max spec of games during the OcRift lifecycle will be. Games made for the Rift can be controlled in their specs, but many people will want to play games third party modded to work with it, and gamers would be disappointed in games that were not of the quality of AAA games on normal screens. The GTX 970 is great at 1080p, but it can't max every setting on every game now.

 

[Utilize]

Regarding those OcRift specs I'd like to know if by 'full experience' they just mean video and virtual walkabouts or whether that means gameplay as well.
I can't see how they could promise a full experience in games when they have no idea what the max spec of games during the OcRift lifecycle will be.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

[notwelshman]

Hi guys! Fair points about the specs. Sadly, I don't think I can squeeze much more out of my budget, and getting a heftier GPU starts to get prohibitively expensive. At least with the current setup (and Utilize's adjustments), I can have something that will work initially, and then I can look into upgrading further down the line if I want a bit more power.

Thanks to both of you for looking into this, though. Much appreciated!

 

[Spuff]

Hi guys! Fair points about the specs. Sadly, I don't think I can squeeze much more out of my budget, and getting a heftier GPU starts to get prohibitively expensive. At least with the current setup (and Utilize's adjustments), I can have something that will work initially, and then I can look into upgrading further down the line if I want a bit more power.

A 970 will do you nicely. The OcRift is still mostly an unknown when it comes to performance requirements despite that spec list.

 

[Utilize]

Hi guys! Fair points about the specs. Sadly, I don't think I can squeeze much more out of my budget, and getting a heftier GPU starts to get prohibitively expensive. At least with the current setup (and Utilize's adjustments), I can have something that will work initially, and then I can look into upgrading further down the line if I want a bit more power.

Thanks to both of you for looking into this, though. Much appreciated!

You're very welcome.