Gaming PC first builds Intel and AMD upto £1,200

[that guy phil]

Hello everyone, would really like your feedback on my builds I've only been looking at making a gaming PC for the past couple of days. I'm happy with my builds but they just need some fine tuning as I am abit of a noob!

My budget is flexible I'm happy to go upto £1,200 if needed, I'd like my pc to be able to play MW3 and BF3. So let me know if I've skimped on anything or need to spend abit more on something in paticular.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Regards

Phil

Intel

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 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
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 TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£72)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) 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)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Price: £1,095.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

AMD

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER 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 KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6970 - 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 750W TX SERIES (TX750) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£86)
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 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)
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Price: £1,064.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-crossfire-pc/

 

[Teaz]

First spec.

Both spec should have no problems playing bf3 and mw3 when they come out but you should go for the intel. the amd spec is a 6 core cpu and isnt really needed since games dont really make use of all 6 cores, just 4 cores.

The intel spec is fine where it stands but if you wish to lower its price then you could go the for 1333mhz of ram as that will have no problems for whatever you do as the speed difference to 1600mhz is not very noticeable as 1600mhz is usually for overclocking along with going for the tripple copper cooler as that will have no probs cooling

 

[that guy phil]

Well I am going for the Intel

Couple of questions though..

CPU - Shall I stick with 2600 or go with 2600k?

Motherboard - Keep the P8P67 or is there a better one I have over looked?

Power Supply - Do I go with a Corsair 650w?

Let me know your thoughts and also let me know if anything else needs work.

thanks.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 PRO (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s, CrossFireX™ & SLI
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
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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) 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)

Price: £1,088.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

 

[Rakk]

CPU - Shall I stick with 2600 or go with 2600k?

Only go with the k variant if you are going to be overclocking, since pretty much the only difference between the 2600 and 2600k is that the 2600k is set up for easier overclocking.

So if you're not going to be overclocking go for the i7-2600 and you can easily drop down to the 1333MHz RAM.
If you are, think about the i7-2600k and stay with the 1600MHz RAM

 

[RichH]

If your budget allows, I would say go for the corsair psu.

If you need to save a few £ the drop from i7 to i5 as you'll hardly notice any difference if you are purely gaming.

Agree with Rakk ^ about the ram

That system looks very very similar to one I got for my son about 6 weeks ago (the only differences being we got an i5 2500k cpu and a wireless card) and we've had no problems at all running anything on it. The only thing I did notice is that I assume the side fan of the case doesn't fit if you have the triple copper cooler (or if it does, one wasn't fitted to ours) apart from that, the temps stay pretty cool

 

[Teaz]

Well I am going for the Intel

Couple of questions though..

CPU - Shall I stick with 2600 or go with 2600k?

Motherboard - Keep the P8P67 or is there a better one I have over looked?

Power Supply - Do I go with a Corsair 650w?

Let me know your thoughts and also let me know if anything else needs work.

thanks.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8P67 PRO (NEW REV 3.0): USB 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s, CrossFireX™ & SLI
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
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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) 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)

Price: £1,088.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

You could consider Rakk and RichH's advice with the ram unless you are happy to pay the difference for them?

Stick with the i7 2600 as the "k" is just for big overclocking and overclocking drains the cpu lifespan if you wasn't aware? unless you do have some intentions to? you can still overclock without the "K" but not to mad lengths like the "k".

Both the Pro and standard p8p67 are nearly identical. the Pro just has basically has the extra SLI capability.

Go for the 650w psu if you can as they are alot better and more energy efficient than the traditional standard psu.

Apart from that, the revised spec is good