Would this be a good "Future proof" gaming PC

[jakekcbyrne]

Now I use the term "Future Proof" lightly, say 10 years tops before I'll need to upgrade this PC.

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 912 PLUS MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER QUAD CORE FX-4170 (4.20GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97 R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s, Windows 8 Ready!))
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7970 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
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
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) 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 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Obviously if I'll be upgrading my system, power supply and other things will have to be taken into account. I chose the AMD CPU over Intel based purely on the fact that AMD is cheaper and their CPU's are still competitive with Intel.
The CPU cooling, I've been told that the stock AMD cooler is good enough to keep the CPU cool even if I want to OC it.

So anyone that has some good advice about that would be appreciated a lot.

 

[keynes]

Intel based purely on the fact that AMD is cheaper and their CPU's are still competitive with Intel.

Morning,
The i5 is better than the FX-4170 for gaming and more cpu intensive applications.

Now I use the term "Future Proof" lightly, say 10 years tops before I'll need to upgrade this PC.

I don't think you can future proof for 10 years, especially for a gaming rig. It also depends on what sort of games you have in mind.

 

[Yamikotai]

I don't think you can future proof for 10 years, especially for a gaming rig. It also depends on what sort of games you have in mind.

Yeah, at absolute best you're probably looking at 5 years future-proofing. Even a GTX690, one of the best consumer GPUs in existence, will have trouble playing the newest games at ultra settings in 2-3 years.

 

[Zenith]

4-5 years is about the best future-proofing you can do when it comes to gaming.

 

[vanthus]

The graphics card does most of the work far as gaming goes.
There are a very few CPU intensive games the FX-4170 will struggle with on max settings but you can still run them at decent quality.I get a bit fed up with Nvidia and Intel fanboys all over the net saying AMD is no good.
I have an older AMD CPU and have had no issues running any games.
The FX-4170 is considered one of the best AMD processors for gaming out at the moment and bang for buck AMD is the best deal for most users in my opinion.

 

[keynes]

In my opinion if you choose a very high end gpu like the HD 7970 and you want to max the potential of the card with any game then I'd go with the i5. My loyalty towards AMD or Intel depends on performance, if by next year AMD releases a better cpu then I'd consider switching to AMD.

The CPU cooling, I've been told that the stock AMD cooler is good enough to keep the CPU cool even if I want to OC it

I think the FX-4170 is an overclocked version of the FX-4100, I'd suggest going with the titan/spire if you plan to OC the cpu further.

 

[jakekcbyrne]

Ok thank you for all your reply's, but due to budget I can't get the AMD 7970 and the i5, so I've gone the oposite way, gone with the i5 and will be getting the 7950 which from what I've read isn't much a downgrade.

 

[Zenith]

Ok thank you for all your reply's, but due to budget I can't get the AMD 7970 and the i5, so I've gone the oposite way, gone with the i5 and will be getting the 7950 which from what I've read isn't much a downgrade.

You can OC the 7950, and it will perform much like the 7970, or so I've read anyway. Either way, it should be good enough for most games, and you can always upgrade at a later date.

 

[jakekcbyrne]

I've got no idea how to OC, it just looks confusing to me, and I'd hate to do something that ruins the GPU if that's even possible.

 

[keynes]

Ok thank you for all your reply's, but due to budget I can't get the AMD 7970 and the i5, so I've gone the oposite way, gone with the i5 and will be getting the 7950 which from what I've read isn't much a downgrade.

If you can try to get a motherboard/psu that supports crossfire.

 

[Rakk]

You can OC the 7950, and it will perform much like the 7970, or so I've read anyway. Either way, it should be good enough for most games, and you can always upgrade at a later date.

I've got no idea how to OC, it just looks confusing to me, and I'd hate to do something that ruins the GPU if that's even possible.

I would stay away from overclocking the GPU (especially if you don't know much about OCing GPU's) as yes it could damage the GPU also it would void the warranty.

 

[jakekcbyrne]

Well, I've read everyones replies and taken into consideration, and I've got this:

Case
InWIN BLACK GR-1 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st 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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
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

This meets my budget and seems like a solid gaming PC.

 

[Zenith]

I was informed that 1600MHz is all you need RAM wise. It's also slightly cheaper.

 

[jakekcbyrne]

There was a cool picture on the main page advertising the 1866MHz so I just had to get it There's not much difference in price anyway.

Turns out it wasn't advertising the 1866MHz just the 1600... so brain fart right there, is the 1866 overkill?

 

[Zenith]

Well, for gaming I'm told that the difference isn't noticeable.

 

[steaky360]

Zenith is correct, you wont see a difference in gaming. Also, not sure what warranty you've gone for but make it at least silver 1 Year RTB with costs covered is a god send should anything go wrong!

 

[tom_gr7]

Well, I've read everyones replies and taken into consideration, and I've got this:

Case
InWIN BLACK GR-1 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st 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
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
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

This meets my budget and seems like a solid gaming PC.

nice sped dude, if it was my rig,

I'd get a corsair psu, as its "prettier" and your case has a window, so ya will be able to see it. lol

oh, get the kingston 1600mhx ram too, comes in a nice blue...

lol