Need some serious advice

[bigbert24]

Can i ask through these forums what users out there can suggest to me as a laptop/desktop build, i have tried to read up as much as i could on processors/graphic cards etc but to be honest it's houses i build not pc's and its kind of over my head. i mean do i really need an i7 or is an i5 just as good? how much memory is enough and should i have 1 or 2 drives? both laptop/desktop would be for myself and 16yr old son, both would need internet access for emails for my work/shopping etc and the rest devoted to pure and simple gaming, i.e world of tanks/call of duty and any future games ahead. no movies or music would be stored on them so surely that would save memory etc, wouldn't it? i would like to have a 17.3 laptop and just the desktop, no monitor or keyboard etc needed. i would like to be safe in the knowledge that both would be top spec for the next 4-5yrs, for a desktop i'd be prepared to invest £1000 maybe £100-200 more if needed, as for the laptop say £1200. i would like for any who does post if they could explain why there set-up would be the best for me given the budget and for what it's uses would be for, both would be used quite a lot, laptop when i'm abroad working and desktop by my son at home, thanks in advance to any who cares to give there opinion and views...

 

[keynes]

An i5 will be fine for your intended use and 8gb ram will also be sufficient. The GTX 770 should max the games you mentioned and you could check the performance online for other games. It is difficult to spec a laptop/desktop for 5 years.
Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z97-HD3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE BOARDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL with GTX 770/780/780/TITAN GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/sW)
2nd 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 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
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)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
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: £976.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/ZSQZU0MGu3/

For the laptop you could go with the spec below with the GTX 870m but if you can stand a 15" laptop you could consider the Vortex GT for £999 in the review section
Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 230W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,167.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/vortexIV-17/WfjYkZVPh3/

 

[bigbert24]

thanks for the reply keynes, i see you have opted for 2 drives, can i ask why, what benefit is gained from that? i also notice it's well within my budget, so if i could upgrade anything what would be the key component to upgrade for keeping it top spec as such, the cpu or gpu? your laptop spec looks good and at a good price too, would love to to have the 880m card to maintain it's lifespan, but i have been reading up on the card you mentioned and i see it is also quite good. any tips on downgrading certain components to upgrade on others to increase speed etc would also be welcome.

 

[keynes]

thanks for the reply keynes, i see you have opted for 2 drives, can i ask why, what benefit is gained from that? i also notice it's well within my budget, so if i could upgrade anything what would be the key component to upgrade for keeping it top spec as such, the cpu or gpu? your laptop spec looks good and at a good price too, would love to to have the 880m card to maintain it's lifespan, but i have been reading up on the card you mentioned and i see it is also quite good. any tips on downgrading certain components to upgrade on others to increase speed etc would also be welcome.

I wouldn't downgrade any components on the laptop or desktop. 2 drives for the desktop is to fit an SSD which is going to speed up windows and any applications installed there.

 

[bigbert24]

so if i was to upgrade anything on the desktop what should it be, i see i can upgrade to an i7 and a GTX780 putting myself £7 over my budget would those specs give me value for money then or would they not make much of a difference? and i see you opt for the Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler as opposed to the liquid cooling options, is that based on price or from experience? can i also ask is 120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD enough for the 1st drive or would you recommend more if it was within the budget, as for the laptop would what you have recommended for its memory be enough for my uses or would it be useful to have a 2nd drive? i know i must sound like a clueless clown here, but i am grateful for the advice.

 

[vanthus]

For gaming the GTX 780 would be worth the extra cost,I would stick with the i5-4690 though.

 

[bigbert24]

For gaming the GTX 780 would be worth the extra cost,I would stick with the i5-4690 though.

why not upgrade to the i7, infact why not even to upgrade to the i5-4690k? apart from cost what is the actual difference?

 

[keynes]

An i5 is enough for your intended use. You can check reviews/benchmarks online between an i5 vs i7, no noticeable difference for the majority of games same with overclocking the CPU which is possible to do with the k version that you mentioned. The triple copper heatpipe is a good choice for the i5-4670 since no overclocking is taking place

 

[vanthus]

why not upgrade to the i7, infact why not even to upgrade to the i5-4690k? apart from cost what is the actual difference?

The i7 isn't needed for gaming and the K version just means it's unlocked for easier overclocking,which you haven't indicated you intend doing.

 

[bigbert24]

got ya, so basically the i5 ticks both budget and practicability boxes, where as the i7 would offer no real gain to the gaming experience, but if to upgrade anything i'd be better off upgrading the GPU.

120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

is that memory enough,fast enough etc, would upgrading any of these help the pc in any real way where it would be a benefit to do so?

 

[keynes]

You could get a 240gb ssd