Mid level gaming pc + photo + music machine

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DavidM4164

Member
Dear all,

Complete noob here. I'm hopping to build a PC that will run BF3 on high settings, and also be useful for my other hobbies -music and photography.

I am looking for some future proofing in terms of being able to add memory, replace the GPU etc over time to keep this up to spec.

My budget is £600 to £900

How does this look?

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 311 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-M: MICRO-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
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
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DGX 5.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card (£25)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1
 
sted

sted

Rising Star
The i5 is ideal for the majority of gaming. I'd suggest looking into another mobo the one you chose is a micro one as opposed to a full one. There's a couple or more others that may benefit you, can't remember specific names but they should be marked with things such as:

SLI/crossfire, wifi, 6.0GB/s and what not.

This will allow you to SLI aka add a second nvidia GPU in the future. 8 Gb of ram is perfectly adequate for current games and will be for a while to my understanding.

If you can, go for the 670, it's quite effective, but other than that you shouldn't have a great deal of problems with the 660ti.

Consider replacing the current HDD with a 1 or 2TB caviar black, they are better, mostly in terms of speed.

For future upgrades, such as additional GPU's then go for a higher PSU if you can afford it, around 650 for a sufficient power outlet, upward for more leeway, for more intense upgrades.

Downgrade the H40 to the triple copper heat pipe, the current is over kill but the suggested is sufficient should you not be over clocking, if you are over clocking, the K version of the CPU is unlocked for that kind of change.

Dependant on how important quality of sound is to you, you could go with the onboard sound which for most offers not much of a noticeable difference, with the exception of being what's considered an audiophile or if you want to take advantage of DB 5.1 or the likes.

But, all this kept in mind I didn't try to spec it, so I'm not sure if it goes over your budget with suggested changes but something you could look into should that be the case.

And lastly research windows 8 and gather opinions on it before taking the plunge and getting that, most will probably suggest 7. 8 was designed with touch screens in mind.
 
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I

ilike2burnthing

Gold Level Poster
Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE better case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache better CPU if you're going to be doing photo and sound editing, otherwise the i5 is fine
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX bigger and cheaper board
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT) faster RAM
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE if you can get the extra money I'd go for the 120GB Kingston 3K for your main disk and the HDD as storage
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
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan if you want to ensure you can upgrade in the future then you'll need the 600 or650W
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19) no need for water cooling if you're not overclocking
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD) unless you're an audiophile you don't need a dedicated soundcard
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 your motherboard comes with USB 3.0 ports, you shouldn't really need extra ones
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79) you sure you like Windows 8?
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) well worth it
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £914.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/vYhEUnmFSk/
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
I would suggest getting a better case,also if not overclocking no need for the water cooler.
Onboard sound is pretty good and would suffice,unless planning on music production/recording.
The motherboard and PSU I selected would allow for adding more ram etc and another 660Ti in SLI in future if required.
For your budget and uses,well slightly over budget,I would go for something like this.
Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LK: 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
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti - 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 ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
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
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £909.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/CAyCKRGUMP/
 
D

DavidM4164

Member
Wow, guys, thanks. This is amazingly helpful advice.

I will do more research and take all of your comments on board.

Thanks again to all of you.
 
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