New Gaming spec advise needed

S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
First of all Hello..

I've been contemplating a new gaming PC after using an old pentium 4 for ages!!!

Can i ask to all the experts out there if this a good spec??

CASE
CoolerMaster Elite 310 Blue Case + 2 Front USB

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core

MOTHERBOARD
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & Sata 3.0gb Crossfire X Support

MEMORY (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz

GRAPHICS CARD
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 6870

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SATA HDD

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE

Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 plus Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
Standard Intel Cooler

So what do you think of this build and any suggestions?? My budget is 785

Thanks
 
C

cjc1984

Bronze Level Poster
Don't think you would get much better than that for that budget.

However, if you can afford to spend a tiny bit more, I would consider changing the motherboard to the P7P5D-E for USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB support, and change the hard disk to the WD Caviar Black 640GB 64 MB Cache SATA 6GB, and add the super quiet triple heatpipe cooler.

That will take it to 800 dead on, including the silver warranty.

If you intend to add another graphics card somewhere down the line then you will also need a better PSU
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
Many thanks for your reply.

But can i ask what benefit is it to upgrade the motherboard and the caviar black harddrive??

Thanks again.
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

Prolific Poster
You could go with an AMD build instead with a better HDD, better motherboard, better power supply and an upgraded quiet CPU cooler for £1.00 more than the basic intel build:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X4 970 (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard
ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3: DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 6870 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
640GB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD6400AARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 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 & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£76)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
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 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
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 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £786.00 including VAT and delivery.

(http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/amd-top-spec-pc/)
You could get a caviar black instead if you wanted to but there's not a lot of difference between the two, they both have 64mb of cache for quicker loading. This motherboard supports USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0GB/S which helps to future proof the system for faster transfer speeds.
 
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C

cjc1984

Bronze Level Poster
Supermaniacs said:
Many thanks for your reply.

But can i ask what benefit is it to upgrade the motherboard and the caviar black harddrive??

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

With the motherboard, your basically future proofing and getting
- x2 USB 3.0 connections
- SATA 6GB

The HDD I recommended has a 64MB Cache, so should be a fair bit faster than the one you originally configured, for not much more.
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
thanks again. i must add the pc specialist forum community seems awesome, everyone willing to help!!

what is the difference though with an amd processor compared to the intel processor. like i said it's mainly going to be for gaming so does it really matter if i opt for the amd one over the intel i5?

thanks again
 
Matt00011

Matt00011

Silver Level Poster
Supermaniacs said:
thanks again. i must add the pc specialist forum community seems awesome, everyone willing to help!!

what is the difference though with an amd processor compared to the intel processor. like i said it's mainly going to be for gaming so does it really matter if i opt for the amd one over the intel i5?

thanks again
Click to expand...

You get more "bang for buck" with an AMD system and the spec Phoenix posted will slaughter the latest games.

If your on a budget for a PC gaming rig, AMD is definately the best choice as you can spend the saved money on a better graphics card and upgrade others parts such as the hard drive and power supply to a better spec.
 
C

cjc1984

Bronze Level Poster
Add a blu ray drive and the silver warranty to phoenix's spec (as i noticed blu ray drive in your original spec) and that will take it to 810.
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

Prolific Poster
You could always remove the triple heatpipe cooler and go with the stock heatsink if you want a blu-ray drive but don't want to spend that much. (didn't notice it in your build the first time around :()
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
thanks phoenix for your reccomendation. can i ask though what loss do you get when you opt for the amd processor over the intel one when it comes to gaming and general computing??

thanks
 
Matt00011

Matt00011

Silver Level Poster
Supermaniacs said:
thanks phoenix for your reccomendation. can i ask though what loss do you get when you opt for the amd processor over the intel one when it comes to gaming and general computing??

thanks
Click to expand...

It will perform equally as well as the i5 at gaming and at general computing for the average user the AMD be plenty enough for every day tasks, although the i5 may have the edge in benchmarks it's not enough to shy away from the AMD when you consider what you get for your money,

Just look at this video for example of an older AMD II X4 quad core in action running intensive tasks, I'd consider this more than enough for the moderate user. It handles multi tasks with ease:

[video=youtube;K6L6tDRHAh4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6L6tDRHAh4[/video]

Benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=186
 
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S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
Thanks Guys, i'm going to order my PC today but i've just stumbled onto a different website dinopc.com which is offering AMD phenom 965 with AMD 5870 for 765 with the same motherboard!!

what do you suggest i go for??

Thanks
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
This is the exact spec



Customizations:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition


£16.50

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit


Included

Motherboard: NEW! Asus M4A87TD USB3


Included

Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 2GB)


£-38.70

Hard Drives: 500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s


£-11.40

Optical Drive: 6x Blu-Ray ROM S-ATA


£31.20

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB


£173.80

Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio


Included

Internet: Wireless 802.11G PCI card


£9.99

Case: Xigmatek Asgard


Included

PSU: 700W EZCool Tornado


£32.00

Warranty: 3 Year Bronze Warranty


Included
Reconfigure Gallant AMD-955 5770
Product Subtotal: £762.39
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
Yeh i've read the reviews and i think i'm going to stick with PCS. Just one more question tho before i order, the motherboard ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3 which i'm thinking about, will i be able to add an additional 6870 in the future if i wished to upgrade??
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
You'd save up all your hard earned cash and buy your PC from this company?

[video=youtube;UmBGIk1YV3A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=UmBGIk1YV3A[/video]
 
S

Supermaniacs

Bronze Level Poster
PC Specialist for me then!! In regards to my earlier question, would i be able to in the future add an additional 6870 graphics card onto the motherboard if i wanted to upgrade??
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
The M4A87TD/USB3 only supports one graphics card, so you cannot add a second graphics card at a later date. You'll need to select another motherboard, for example the M4A89TD PRO, if you wish to have the ability to upgrade the graphics card.

Opinions will vary on the CPU - both will be great for gaming and multi-tasking.
 
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