New PC

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ChristopherH

Active member
I have spec'd this computer and just wanted to see what response it gets from other members. Please feel free to make sensible suggestions and thanks in advance. My budget is around £1750.

Case
COOLERMASTER SILENCIO 452 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 - 1 DVI, mHDMI, 3x mDP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
Free Item
FREE RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE 3.5" SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG SM951 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2150MB/R, 1550MB/W)
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
Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler (£69)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 AC1900 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 600Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD (£49)
USB Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 MINI-HDMI to HDMI CABLE (£8)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£22)
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 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,715.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
I want to use the PC for my photography editing (including large .avi files to create really clear images of the Moon). I also want to use it for games generally (rather than specific games at this point) because my laptop is not up to it. I also want a good all rounder based on the latest tech which will last me a good few years (my laptop is in its 7th year). So I guess I want the best PC I can get for around £1500-1750.
 
S

Spuff

Expert
If you are taxing your system with a high demand game, you want a case with better cooling. A 'silent' case is probably the worst for cooling. I think PC's have generally got better for noise over the past few years. I have an i5/980ti system in a case with many cooling holes and I am not at all bothered by noise. It only gets noticeable when I am gaming and when I am gaming I am too distracted to actually notice it.
It is very desriable to work photos from an SSD. If you have a lot of photo data you might want to access possibly at any time it is a nice luxury to have all that on an SSD, 512GB may not be adequate depending on your modus operandi.
 
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J

jerpers

Master
Quiet cases are not all bad. From my sofa, All fans are completely inaudible at load. I have just ran assassins creed syndicate at 1080p and max settings for 3 hours. CPU reached 37 degrees, one GPU 80 and the other 67.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
Thanks for the reply. The guys from PCS spec'd the silent case and cpu cooler (I assume) because I asked for a quiet PC. I don't need more SSD space for my photography as that is what the sshd storage and an external drive are for but thanks for the suggestion. Am I right in getting the pro gaming Motherboard as this gives me the two types of usb 3.1 connections for the future? Any other comments about the spec? I want the best I can get for around £1750.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
I would be particularly interested to get some feedback on the sshd drive as I don't know what the general opinion on this type of drive is and I don't know whether it is better to use a traditional HDD?
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
ChristopherH said:
I would be particularly interested to get some feedback on the sshd drive as I don't know what the general opinion on this type of drive is and I don't know whether it is better to use a traditional HDD?
Click to expand...

SSHD's are only really any good if used as the primary drive when you can't afford an SSD. They're slightly faster than an HDD as an OS drive.

If used as a data drive, they don't offer any benefit over an HDD, and if a 2.5" drive in a laptop, will actually be a lot slower than a 7200rpm drive as they operate at 5400rpm.

Basically, avoid unless you absolutely can't afford an SSD as the primary drive.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
OK I have changed the SSHD for a normal 2TB HDD so thanks for that. I have a BT Home Hub 4 and want a good wireless card and have gone for the fastest but will it work at this speed? I would also appreciate any comments about the USB 3.1 type a and c that I think I have spec'd as this involves another expansion card and higher spec Motherboard.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
Yes I did go for the WD Black and thanks for the feedback. I am undecided on the case and cooling combination so any further input would be gratefully received.
 
J

jerpers

Master
This is my second build in a fractal design case. I love the R5 for its ease of use. After I received my latest one from PCS, I removed the HDD cages for better airflow and mounted the HDD in a 5.25 bay in a suspension mount to keep noise down. The front filter unclips easily and the bottom filter removes from the front making it much easier to keep clean.

You can see some pics here:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?46185-My-new-beast-of-a-PC
 
J

jerpers

Master
There are plenty of benchmarks out there if you do a search. Basically the 980 odd going to offer you much brute graphics and frame rates for current and future games. You can always go down the middle with the 970,the current sweetspot for gaming.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
I tried reading online information on the two cards but didn't really understand it. I guess I was hoping someone would be able to put it in a nutshell for me.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
Thanks for that. I thought the real world difference was tiny but not so. Twice as powerful is a lot. I want to future-proof where possible and want this machine to last several years at least. It is worth spending the extra cash to get something that will still be powerful in a few years (I hope!) and performs very well now.
 
C

ChristopherH

Active member
Thanks for that Sweeny47. If I read it correctly then the comparison was for the 2GB versions whereas I want to compare two 4GB cards. Does this make any difference?
 
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