How balanced or unbalanced is this gaming spec?

[DEK]

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-3930K (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST QUAD-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX TITAN - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd 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® GOLD MODULAR (£159)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) 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 Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £2,470.00 including VAT and delivery.

I am thinking about up-sizing from my present PC. Apart from the usual browsing & basic photo-editing, I mainly play games like Dishonored, Skyrim, and the Battlefield, CoD, Far Cry, and Crysis series'. I want to make sure that I can play the latest Crysis 3/ Far Cry 3 and later on Thief, & any other game that appears over the next few years at highest settings possible.
I'm undecided about the GeForce GTX 680 or 690 or the Titan.
Is any part of this spec unbalanced? Can I benefit from any changes up or down? I know the PSU I've chosen is overpowered but I'd like a good margin to keep everything as cool as possible.
Any suggestions very much welcomed, thank you.

EDIT: I run dual 23" monitors and may change to dual 24".

 

[Blackdog]

This spec has cojones!

For the games you mentioned the 680 will tear things up and continue to do so right through the next cycle of gpus (which should be out early next year.) You could consider saving some money and getting a single 680, with the option of sli-ing in the future. Even a card less powerful than the 680 like the amd 7970 when crossfired will provide better performance than a single gtx titan. If your heart is set on that card then fair enough, personally I feel its hideously overpriced for the relative performance you get from two cheaper cards.

 

[keynes]

I would suggest 2 x GTX 680s, it will be cheaper and perform better than the titan. If you are going for the i7-3930k I'd consider overclocking the cpu and upgrading the warranty.

 

[Boozad]

I'd be dripping if I was ordering that spec. I'd agree with Blackdog about the GPU though, while the Titan is a bit of a beast it carries a beastly price. The 680 will be more than enough for now with the option of SLI or upgrade in the future.

 

[Blackdog]

I wouldn't say the pc is unbalanced, its pretty overpowered for gaming, in terms of your cpu and ram. Any reason for the two HDDs as opposed to one larger drive? If you do intend to overclock your cpu then you will probably require water cooling, though for gaming that's not necessary - an i5 has all the processing power you will need for while.

 

[DEK]

Hi,
I am currently running Win7 64bit on a AMD Phenom II X4 965 processor 3.4GHz with a GeForce GTX 480 & 8GB RAM at the moment but the newer games I think will stretch my present GPU possibly too far?
I know the Titan is hideously over-priced and I don't want to run an SLI setup. I have read that the GTX 690 runs hot although it is faster than the Titan. Is going to a GTX 680 a good jump, performance-wise, from a GTX 480? These are all questions that I also need help with.
I would run the OS on the SSD and install the swap drive and apps/games on the 2nd HDD. The 3rd HDD would be for backups and storage.
I will not be overclocking.

@ Blackdog An i5 better than an i7? Will that be as future-proof? Not that you can ever do that in reality of course.

Lady (still) requiring assistance

 

[keynes]

I know the Titan is hideously over-priced and I don't want to run an SLI setup.

I am running 2 x GTX 680s without having any issues.

Is going to a GTX 680 a good jump, performance-wise, from a GTX 480?

it seems the GTX 680 will provide a significant improvement compare to the gtx 480 but it may depend on the games you are planning to play.

I will not be overclocking.

The cpu you chosen is unlock for overclocking to improve performance for cpu intensive applications. If the system is mainly for gaming I'd go with the i7-3770 instead.

 

[DEK]

Thank you for all replies. I will take yet another look at my list and readjust a few things.
It seems to get more difficult every time I do this *sigh*

 

[DEK]

2nd tweaked attempt for gaming PC. Please Advise

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN ARC MIDI R2 MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-3930K (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST QUAD-DDR3 2400MHz 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
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd 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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR (£159)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
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 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 9 to 11 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE METRO: LAST LIGHT GAME with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Quantity
1

Price: £2,445.00 including VAT and delivery.


Right. This is mainly for gaming (games like Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, Battlefield 3 & BFBC2 online , Skyrim, Fallout 3 & NV, Dishonored, the future Thief etc) .
I run dual 24" iiyama LCD/LED monitors with 2ms refresh - using one for gaming and then both for browsing, basic photo editing and other uses.

I am aware that I am probably still going OTT on the CPU and Mobo, but the specs for them seem to be more future-proof with more cores and bigger caches?
The PSU is also overkill, but is it better safe than sorry (?)and the price for the 1050w isn't much more than the 850w. I'd like a bigger margin than a 650w.
I don't want to do SLI as some of my games don't like it much, so I have now selected the nVidia GTX690 dual GPU.
The case appears to have a lot of ventilation with big fans. I don't really care about looks as it will be under the table I use for a desk.
Would I need anything other than the basic optical drive for installing programs or burning backups?
Once again, SSD for OS, 2nd HDD for program installs, 3rd HDD for Backups and storage.

I don't really want to overspend on over-powered kit if it's not absolutely necessary, but I DO want to retain a good powerful base system capability for the next few years of game development.

All help welcome :yes: .

 

[keynes]

I don't want to do SLI as some of my games don't like it much, so I have now selected the nVidia GTX690 dual GPU.

The GTX 690 is 2 x GTX 680s underclocked in SLI.

Considering how much you are spending you may want to consider upgrading your warranty since silver warranty only covers parts for 1 year.

 

[vanthus]

You won't need the "K" version of the CPU unless overclocking,also 8GB 1600 MHz ram is more than enough for gaming,you won't notice any difference in performance with the 2400MHz ram,it does look a very good spec though.
The basic optical drive will suffice for installing programs and burning backups.

 

[DEK]

Hmmm I'll look into that, thanks.

If someone would explain as clearly as possible the comparative merits of the Intel i5 vs the Intel i7 CPUs then I would be grateful. In Mickey-Mouse terms ideally.
It just seems (although I'm probably wrong) that i7 has to be better than i5? Ivybridge vs Sandybridge and all that stuff? Do you really get the same performance from a lower spec if you're not overclocking?
It's all a little overwhelming for someone who uses a PC and doesn't necessarily know the minute details about what's inside the flippin' things.
All I know is that I want a very good, fairly time-proof system to cope with whatever arrives in the next few years. It's very difficult trying to understand all the ramifications when you're not well-versed in the arcane subject.

 

[vanthus]

I think the main difference between the i7 and i5 is the i7 has hyper threading (For each processor core that is physically present, the operating system addresses two virtual cores, and shares the workload between them when possible.),which games don't really make use of.

 

[DEK]

@vanthus Oh. So am I totally wasting my money on an i7 then?

 

[vanthus]

@vanthus Oh. So am I totally wasting my money on an i7 then?

Well for gaming I would say so,but best wait and see what some of the other guys say.

 

[DEK]

i7-3770 + GTX690

Well I had configured another spec, shown below, but vanthus suggests that an i7 may be wasting its hyperthreading capability as I'm gaming mostly. keynes suggested earlier that I try the i7-3770.......So should I re-do with an i5? if so, which one? :wacko:

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz 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
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR |

520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

(7200rpm)
3rd 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® GOLD MODULAR

(£159)
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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2

FRONT PORTS
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 9 to 11 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE METRO: LAST LIGHT GAME with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Quantity
1

Price: £2,211.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[vanthus]

The i5-3570 seems to be the most popular choice for gaming.

 

[kruppsy]

You could also knock the ram and motherboard down a level. The Hyper X Genesis and Z77 Pro are perfectly adequate for gaming. The ones you have selected are targeted at overclocked rigs primarily.

EDIT: Just noticed you have the T900 case. Like a lot of things, cases are subjective, you might like the look of the T900. But if I was spending as much as you potentially are, I'd be looking at cases of a bit higher quality. You could use some of the money saved from the suggestions above to spec up this area a bit.

 

[DEK]

You could also knock the ram and motherboard down a level. The Hyper X Genesis and Z77 Pro are perfectly adequate for gaming. The ones you have selected are targeted at overclocked rigs primarily.

Is it adequate enough though? I would like to be as certain as possible that I have something that won't be wheezing in a couple of years time.

 

[kruppsy]

Is it adequate enough though? I would like to be as certain as possible that I have something that won't be wheezing in a couple of years time.

I would say so. The differences aren't limitations as such more who they are targeted at in the first place. The BEAST has a higher clock speed (I think you would have to be running an overclock to get to 2400mhz anyway) but this won't be noticeable day to day, certainly not in games. And the SABERTOOTH is basically a 'V' board but with dust covers and some thermal upgrades to help keep the bits and bobs cool when you're overclocking.

Keeping the i7 over the i5 is probably a better way to go if you're worried about longevity. A 3770, Z77-V board and some Hyper X is a pretty awesome set up tbh.