New Gaming PC [Advice Welcome]

[Zenith]

Hello all,

So my current PC is starting to get a bit behind the times, being around 4 years old. I considered going through the process of upgrading it, but as a lot of the components would have to go, and as my knowledge of doing it yourself extends only so far, a completely new build is probably the simpler - if not more expensive - option.

I spend most of my time on games, and I prefer to run them on the highest settings - and performance - possible. My current system has just about managed to keep up, but after playing the PlanetSide 2 beta for a while, I started to realise that it was going to get ugly in the next year or so (chug, chug, chug).

So, without any more rambling, have I got it right? I'm a bit behind with the current tech, so advice is welcome.

Thanks,

Zenith

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF XM - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE + USB 3.0
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB 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
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)
Fan Controller
NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
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
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

Price: £1,359.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[keynes]

Morning,
Are you planning to overclock your cpu? I'd suggest upgrading your power supply to 750w to have the choice of adding a 2nd gpu in the future to improve gaming performance. You may also want to try the onboard audio before purchasing a soung card and a caviar black as a secondary drive will be faster than the standard hdd you have selected.

 

[Zenith]

Morning,
Are you planning to overclock your cpu? I'd suggest upgrading your power supply to 750w to have the choice of adding a 2nd gpu in the future to improve gaming performance. You may also want to try the onboard audio before purchasing a soung card and a caviar black as a secondary drive will be faster than the standard hdd you have selected.

Hi, thanks for your response.

I hadn't considered over-clocking, would it be worth doing with this CPU? I don't have any experience with it, but if it's not too difficult then I could give it a go. Switched out the drive for the one you suggested, and increased the power supply to 750w. With regards to the sound card, I didn't realise you could do without one when it came to gaming. What's the advantage of ditching it, aside from the cost?

 

[keynes]

Hi, thanks for your response.

I hadn't considered over-clocking, would it be worth doing with this CPU? I don't have any experience with it, but if it's not too difficult then I could give it a go. Switched out the drive for the one you suggested, and increased the power supply to 750w. With regards to the sound card, I didn't realise you could do without one when it came to gaming. What's the advantage of ditching it, aside from the cost?

If it is just for gaming you don't need to overclock, you could just stick with the i5-3570 (non-k) and get the triple copper heatpipe cpu cooler.

 

[Zenith]

If it is just for gaming you don't need to overclock, you could just stick with the i5-3570 (non-k) and get the triple copper heatpipe cpu cooler.

I was considering getting the K anyway, in case I decide to OC it at some point in the future. There isn't much difference in the price, and it gives me some options. In which case, is the cooler I have selected good enough?

 

[keynes]

I was considering getting the K anyway, in case I decide to OC it at some point in the future. There isn't much difference in the price, and it gives me some options. In which case, is the cooler I have selected good enough?

If you are planning to SLI and money is not an issue I'd go with a full tower case like the HAF-X. The cooler is fine but if you are planning to OC your cpu, PCS also offers pre-overclocked systems with better thermal paste and the OC cpu covered by your warranty.

 

[Zenith]

If you are planning to SLI and money is not an issue I'd go with a full tower case like the HAF-X. The cooler is fine but if you are planning to OC your cpu, PCS also offers pre-overclocked systems with better thermal paste and the OC cpu covered by your warranty.

Ah, I didn't realise they offered that service, and it would certainly save me some effort later on. I'll take a look, thanks for the tip.

As for the case, I'm currently torn between the CM Storm Trooper and the HAF-X, as both look nice and have some excellent features. The Trooper is somewhat cheaper and has built in fan control, but doesn't seem to come with very many fans as standard, or as well placed as the HAF-X. Is a full tower completely necessary for my needs? I have one at the moment, and I don't think I'm using half the available space.

 

[keynes]

A full tower case is not essential but from reviews and personal experience the HAF-X provides excellent cooling.

 

[Zenith]

A full tower case is not essential but from reviews and personal experience the HAF-X provides excellent cooling.

That's what I've been reading as well, and it seems to be a favourite with many rig builders at the moment.

Pity it's £135, but then I guess you get what you pay for when it comes to these things.

 

[keynes]

That's what I've been reading as well, and it seems to be a favourite with many rig builders at the moment.

Pity it's £135, but then I guess you get what you pay for when it comes to these things.

There is plenty of room for SLI, it comes with a few chassis fans and it is easy to improve cable management of your system. It is massive though.

 

[Zenith]

There is plenty of room for SLI, it comes with a few chassis fans and it is easy to improve cable management of your system. It is massive though.

I currently have a Cosmos S (which I'm not particularly fond of any more), which I think is even larger. So size isn't too much of an issue.

Do PCS give you an LED colour option? I'm not a big fan of red.

 

[keynes]

I currently have a Cosmos S (which I'm not particularly fond of any more), which I think is even larger. So size isn't too much of an issue.

Do PCS give you an LED colour option? I'm not a big fan of red.

I know they are planning to introduce colour schemes but as far as i know it is not available yet. You can turn off the red light from the front fan.

 

[Zenith]

I know they are planning to introduce colour schemes but as far as i know it is not available yet. You can turn off the red light from the front fan.

Okay, guess it's not a big deal anyway, but I do prefer blue. Probably going to have to wait a while for that option though. In the meantime, I've changed a couple of things, and would like you to take a look.

See anything missing or needs changing? I'm keen to finalise and then order, but don't want to make any mistakes I may regret later.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-3570k Quad Core (3.40GHz @ max 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD5002AALX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)
Processor Cooling
SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Fan Controller
NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
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
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

Price: £1,421.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[keynes]

You could go with 1600mhz for memory ram, is 500gb enough as a secondary hard drive?

 

[steaky360]

Also, if you don't like the red fan you can change it for a blue one - PCS might even do it for you (potentially at a small cost) if you ask (you'd need to ring them when placing your order)! PCS have said the configurator is going to be updated with colour scheming options eventually though as Ruben has already said

 

[Zenith]

You could go with 1600mhz for memory ram, is 500gb enough as a secondary hard drive?

Is there any noticeable difference between the 1600mhz and 1866mhz? I noticed that the latter was only a couple of quid more, so just went with that. Still not sure about the storage drive; I don't have much to store really, was thinking more along the lines of using it for non-essential programs or games which don't require fast loading times. What do you think?

Also, if you don't like the red fan you can change it for a blue one - PCS might even do it for you (potentially at a small cost) if you ask (you'd need to ring them when placing your order)! PCS have said the configurator is going to be updated with colour scheming options eventually though as Ruben has already said

Oh, nice, didn't realise they would do that. Thanks, I'll give them a ring tomorrow and ask.

 

[keynes]

Is there any noticeable difference between the 1600mhz and 1866mhz? I noticed that the latter was only a couple of quid more, so just went with that. Still not sure about the storage drive; I don't have much to store really, was thinking more along the lines of using it for non-essential programs or games which don't require fast loading times. What do you think?

Some games require 30gb, then I also store movies and music. There is no noticeable difference between 1333mhz or higher memory bandwidth for gaming, I read from previous threads some issues with memory ram higher than 1600mhz, for OC 1600mhz is fine.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/8

 

[Zenith]

Some games require 30gb, then I also store movies and music. There is no noticeable difference between 1333mhz or higher memory bandwidth for gaming, I read from previous threads some issues with memory ram higher than 1600mhz, for OC 1600mhz is fine.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/8

Ah, I have seen some mention of of that, but wasn't sure. Okay, I'll bump it down to 8GB 1600mhz and then go with the 1TB WD instead. I guess there's no harm in having extra space available if I need it, and as you said, some games really are monsters these days. Everything else look okay though? Is the PSU enough for the job, and possible SLI at a later date? I'm also still somewhat lost when it comes to a sound card, as everything I've read on the subject - and the range of cards offered by PCS - is terribly conflicting!

 

[keynes]

Ah, I have seen some mention of of that, but wasn't sure. Okay, I'll bump it down to 8GB 1600mhz and then go with the 1TB WD instead. I guess there's no harm in having extra space available if I need it, and as you said, some games really are monsters these days. Everything else look okay though? Is the PSU enough for the job, and possible SLI at a later date? I'm also still somewhat lost when it comes to a sound card, as everything I've read on the subject - and the range of cards offered by PCS - is terribly conflicting!

750w should be fine with the spec you got + another GTX 670, I'd suggest trying the onboard audio first and if you are not happy with that get a PCI-E soundcard so you can place it above your top gpu.

 

[Zenith]

750w should be fine with the spec you got + another GTX 670, I'd suggest trying the onboard audio first and if you are not happy with that get a PCI-E soundcard so you can place it above your top gpu.

Okay, great. Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

What sound-card would you recommend for a non-headset set-up?