Looking for advice/guidance on this model PC build ~£750

[Sassan Emadi]

This is a model build that I have found online and from what I can tell this is a competent machine, but I would like to know if there are any better options for components out there. Also any advice in general about the parts is welcome. Budget ~£750/850 tops.
The machine will be used for gaming/modelling and I would like to to be able to handle most new games on high settings at @~60fps

Processor: Intel Core i5-4590

Motherboard: MSI H97 PC Mate

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB

Hard Drive: Western Digital Blue 1TB

Power Supply: EVGA 500B

Also if anyone can recommend a good case that will have room for further expansion/upgrades could you please tell me know.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Fantana]

For around the same price I'm sure you can get a much better PC from PC Specialist

 

[Fantana]

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
PCS ALPHA TRION 7622B BLACK CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFlyTriple Copper Heatpipe Intel 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)
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 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
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 9 to 11 working days
Promotional Item
FREE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Promotional Item
FREE BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!

Price (excluding VAT) £695.83
Price £835.00

I'm sure someone else here could probably come up with an even better spec for same price.

 

[Utilize]

Fatana's spec is pretty good, you could swap to an AMD card if you wanted to - like in the system that you talked about. You could also change the HDD and case settings to get something that's best for you. I'd also recommend a 650W CS power supply rather than the VS.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

@Fantana, does the spec you have given come pre built is would I assemble it myself?

@Ultilize, Is there any major difference between the card I said and Fatana said, because I cant really tell if one is noticeably better than the other. Also why do you prefer the CS to the VS, can you explain why?

 

[Rakk]

@Fantana, does the spec you have given come pre built is would I assemble it myself?

All PCs from PCSpecialist come pre-built and tested.
If Fantana can he should be able to post you a link to that exact configuration so that you don't need to build it yourself on the site - Fantana, there should have been a link at the bottom of the page where you copied the whole spec from

 

[Sassan Emadi]

@Rakk what do you think of the build fatana has posted, any room for improvement?

 

[Utilize]

@Ultilize, Is there any major difference between the card I said and Fatana said, because I cant really tell if one is noticeably better than the other. Also why do you prefer the CS to the VS, can you explain why?

There is a difference, quite a big one. The R9 280 wouldn't even keep up with a GTX 960, let alone a 970. Nvidia cards also run cooler, quieter and are more power efficient. The CS is better quality than the VS and it's rate 80 plus gold. The VS series is probably the worst that Corsair makes.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

@Utilize, so the card fatana suggested is better, gotcha. And apart from the power supply is there anything on his suggested build that you could suggest an improvement on.

 

[Fantana]

@Fantana, does the spec you have given come pre built is would I assemble it myself?

@Ultilize, Is there any major difference between the card I said and Fatana said, because I cant really tell if one is noticeably better than the other. Also why do you prefer the CS to the VS, can you explain why?

Just go on the PC Specialist homepage, on the left hand side click on configure a desktop and you can rebuild the spec I posted. The 970 is hell of a lot better than the R9 280. Change the PSE to Utilize's suggestion and you're good to go. You can improve more of course but all depends on your budget. But for around 850, an i5 with a 970 and 2TB and 2 great free games is pretty good. You'll be able to play most current and upcoming titles at 1080p high-ultra settings.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

@Fantana, ok thanks a lot dude! I'll get it sorted and let you know how it comes out!

 

[Utilize]

@Utilize, so the card fatana suggested is better, gotcha. And apart from the power supply is there anything on his suggested build that you could suggest an improvement on.

Well there's always room for improvement but you're on a budget. Maybe consider windows 8.1 and a silver warranty. You could upgrade the motherboard to a H81 Gamer for better sound and Ethernet. That's by no means essential though.

@Fantana, ok thanks a lot dude! I'll get it sorted and let you know how it comes out!

Enjoy your new system.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

@ Utilize - Is the Z97-P better than the H81 gamer?

Thank you too Utilize for your help, you've been friendly and coherent, I'll send you a photo when it all is set up if thats ok.

 

[Fantana]

@ Utilize - Is the Z97-P better than the H81 gamer?

For gaming and general use purposes you wont really notice much of a difference between motherboards.

If in the future you plan on or could consider adding a second graphics card for SLI (better gaming performance) then go with the Z97-P, it has 2 PCIe slots.

If you have no intention of SLI then save your money and get the cheaper H81, with 1 PCIe slot.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

For gaming and general use purposes you wont really notice much of a difference between motherboards.

If in the future you plan on or could consider adding a second graphics card for SLI (better gaming performance) then go with the Z97-P, it has 2 PCIe slots.

If you have no intention of SLI then save your money and get the cheaper H81, with 1 PCIe slot.

made some slight tweaks to your build and taking the advice of you, utilize and a friend, hows this.

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Case
PCS ALPHA TRION 7622B BLACK CASE
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Free Item
FREE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFlyTriple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
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)
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 (£79)
Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases*
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £884.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/QOxuLCHdRZ/

 

[Fantana]

Looks good. Seems as optimized as possible within your budget.

If you can add a few more pounds get the 1 TB Caviar Black WD instead. It's a lot better performance wise.

 

[Sassan Emadi]

Thanks, yeah i realized it wasn't on there so I went back and changed it thanks!

 

[Utilize]

@ Utilize - Is the Z97-P better than the H81 gamer?

Thank you too Utilize for your help, you've been friendly and coherent, I'll send you a photo when it all is set up if thats ok.

You're very welcome Go for it, send it to me in PM. The Z97-P has more SATA and RAM slots, which won't make a difference to you unless you're looking to upgrade storage and RAM in the future. I'm pretty sure the H81 Gamer has better Ethernet and audio than the Z97-P anyway.

For gaming and general use purposes you wont really notice much of a difference between motherboards.

If in the future you plan on or could consider adding a second graphics card for SLI (better gaming performance) then go with the Z97-P, it has 2 PCIe slots.

If you have no intention of SLI then save your money and get the cheaper H81, with 1 PCIe slot.

You need the Z97-E to SLI. Z97-P only has one slot.



As for the spec, I'd recommend 8GB of RAM and if you can upgrade to a H81 Gamer but 16GB may be your personal preference. Using 16GB will be very hard and you'll probably never use that, even with some insane multi tasking.

 

[Fantana]

You need the Z97-E to SLI. Z97-P only has one slot.

my bad