new pc

[William Antrim]

I am about to be given a large amount of money, more money than I could earn in 3 months. It is a bonus being paid to me for 6 years worth of work, all in a lump sum. To that end I have decided to spend part of it on a new pc and save the rest.

I want an uber pc for a change.

I have played around with various websites and clicked on lots of different packages in my "window shopping" dreamworld recently but a friend recommended this site.

Pcspecialists.com

I went there and I looked at the prices and it came up with this.

Case
CORSAIR 230T COMPACT GAMING CASE - RED LED + SIDE WINDOW

Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-8350 Eight Core CPU (4.00GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A99X EVO R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s,CrossFireX/SLI, Windows 8)

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
Free Item
FREE DAYLIGHT GAME with GTX 660 & 7 Series GPUs!

1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£79)

Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Seidon 120V High Performance CPU Cooler (£39)

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy Rx(£52)

Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

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 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
ASUS VE228HR 21.5" LED DISPLAY, HDMI , D-Sub, DVI-D (£119)

Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K120 USB KEYBOARD (£10)

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 11 to 13 working days
Quantity 1

£1,239.00 inc VAT and Deliver


Does this look like a good deal? Or is there something I could change out for a much better value for money. The budget at this point is not a huge deal but I would rather not go too much above the current price if possible at all. I have the money to pay for it right now and the order is up to 2 weeks away and I am massively excited about clicking buy on it and getting it. However I would rather hear some more learned opinions as to the choice of hardware and what might work better. My old rig is gonna get donated to a friend so he can play nc again hopefully.

[Britney]

Well it's an endless discussion but i'd go for a I5-4670K, Radeon 290, and a 240gb SSD (crucial m5) instead. And don't skimp so much on your damn monitor get a Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM you will NOT regret that EVER.

And idk that site seems expensive and limited in choice, build it yourself it's not exactly something only rocket scientists do.

[Dropout]

Dude.. Win8.1 ... NOT Win7..!
Win7 is SO shit compared to Win8.1

Im a software person, not a hardware person. So cant help with that.. But BUY WIN8!!
I was happy with Win8, when it got released.. I still missed some things from Win7 though..
...And then came the godly Win8.1...


I dont really see the point in buying a outdated (and far worse) OS tbh.

[slith]

Get a better monitor and a high quality headset.People really understimate the importance of Sound/Display. Improves your gaming experience A LOT.

With that kind of GPU you want at least a 120HZ display:
Asus VG248QE (http://skinflint.co.uk/asus-vg248qe-90lmgg001q022b1c-a891345.html) or BENQ XL2411T (http://skinflint.co.uk/benq-xl2411t-9h-l9slb-qbe-9h-l9slb-dbe-a859887.html) are both great choices. I got the XL2411T and it was worth every single cent.


Rest of the Hardware looks good for the price. I'm more of a Intel fan myself, but I heard only good things about that AMD FX.

And build it yourself, even I manage to do it and I'm one of those persons that cut themselves on a ball. If it doesn't fit it doesn't belong there. Or ask a friend to help you and get a six pack. Put the savings on a better Display.
http://geizhals.de/eu/ proved really helpful. Im sure there are other alternatives for your country too. EDIT: http://skinflint.co.uk/ here it is.

Oh, and this is a really nice case if your CPU cooler fits: Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 (http://skinflint.co.uk/cooler-master-cm-storm-scout-2-advanced-black-with-side-panel-window-sgc-2100-kwn3-gp-a862170.html)

[Trivaldi]

Dude.. Win8.1 ... NOT Win7..!
Win7 is SO shit compared to Win8.1

Im a software person, not a hardware person. So cant help with that.. But BUY WIN8!!
I was happy with Win8, when it got released.. I still missed some things from Win7 though..
...And then came the godly Win8.1...


I dont really see the point in buying a outdated (and far worse) OS tbh.
I was going to say something similar but figured I'd get shot down. ;)

Windows 8 is not the horror story the tech press (and the Start Menu die hards) want to make it. Even when it was just Windows 8 it was great software and if you used it like Windows 7, you'd not even really notice the difference or that the Modern UI existed. Windows 8.1 addressed a lot of the big things to make that even easier. Now we have Windows 8.1 Update (http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2014/04/07/exploring-windows-8-1-update-start-screen-desktop-and-other-enhancements.aspx) (granted, crap name) it's even better and has everything you should need.

If you want to experience the new stuff you can, if you want a classic experience you can have that too. There's no reason to buy an out of date OS. Especially as they're listed as the same price (i think?) on the site you're using.

Granted, each to their own but I think it's important to dispel the nay saying/doom saying which, in my opinion, just came from fear of change. That and cause the internet hates Microsoft.

*puts ear to the ground* Shhh... I think I hear Alduin coming to slap me and talk about Linux... he HATES Windows 8 ;)

[Dropout]

I was going to say something similar but figured I'd get shot down. ;)

Windows 8 is not the horror story the tech press (and the Start Menu die hards) want to make it. Even when it was just Windows 8 it was great software and if you used it like Windows 7, you'd not even really notice the difference or that the Modern UI existed. Windows 8.1 addressed a lot of the big things to make that even easier. Now we have Windows 8.1 Update (http://blogs.technet.com/b/askpfeplat/archive/2014/04/07/exploring-windows-8-1-update-start-screen-desktop-and-other-enhancements.aspx) (granted, crap name) it's even better and has everything you should need.

If you want to experience the new stuff you can, if you want a classic experience you can have that too. There's no reason to buy an out of date OS. Especially as they're listed as the same price (i think?) on the site you're using.

Granted, each to their own but I think it's important to dispel the nay saying/doom saying which, in my opinion, just came from fear of change. That and cause the internet hates Microsoft.

*puts ear to the ground* Shhh... I think I hear Alduin coming to slap me and talk about Linux... he HATES Windows 8 ;)

So much truth in this post!
And yeah, what the hell is up with all the MS hate? I really do not get it.

Uh and @ the Win8 haters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHqgHFcmAOc)

[Drachenpaladin]

Get a bigger tower and water cooling. If you want things to be uber, go uber.

[William Antrim]

Thank you all for the replies. Luckily I held off ordering just yet. I will go back and look again with the extra advice.

[William Antrim]

Went to OCUK and compared... stuff.


- Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey
- System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM [EXNO-001]
- Razer DeathAdder 2013 6400 DPI Essential Ergonomic Gaming Mouse
- OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU)
- OcUK Value AT/ATX "Kettle Plug" 2 Meter Mains Cable
- Case Mods Not Selected
- Networking Not Selected
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614)
- SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
- No Sound Card Upgrade
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) HDD
- Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW)
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC Rev2.0 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N780OC-3GD)
- Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (KHX16C10B1BK2/16X)
- Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard
- Prolimatech Megahalems Rev C CPU Cooler
- AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail
- BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black


Came back with this at £1650 - inc mouse so I can keep my old system together. I think its better tbh.

[Dropout]

- Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614)
Good boy! ;)

Looks like one hell of a setup you have gotten youself there mate.

[William Antrim]

It needs to last me 4-5 years so I hope so. I'll never afford this again. I don't think my car is worth that much these days!

[Dropout]

It needs to last me 4-5 years so I hope so. I'll never afford this again. I don't think my car is worth that much these days!

Haha fair enough, although 5 years might be a bit optimistic? :p

[aKe`cj]

Haha fair enough, although 5 years might be a bit optimistic? :p

Depends on what'll do for you - I guess 4 years is not too optimistic if the goal is to be able to launch and play most games with decent fps and decent graphics. If you aim for ultimate settings or 4k resolution, then yes - that rig probably won't cut it.

Then again, come 2-3 years there will be massive gains in GPU performance. The CPU (even though AMD *cough*) has ample multi-threading reserves, untapped by todays games. Replace the graphics card and the PC will be as good as new. ;)

As I expect the GTX 7XX series to age rather quickly, I went with a lower spec setup when ordering a new PC last week.

At 1300 EUR (1079 GBP / 1800 USD) it is not high end, but imho hits the price/performance sweet-spot with high quality components (case, psu, fan) and leaves some room to drop money on a DX12 GPU next year.

Core specs:


Xeon E3-1230v3
EVGA GTX 770 SC ACX
SP900 256GB SSD
32GB RAM (for virtualization lulz)


It should be able to cope with NCs high fidelity patch, ... I hope :p

[William Antrim]

I dont intend or expect to be running new games at uber detail in the next few years. I expect to run the same games I am playing now for that time. I have played about 8 games in the last ten years (including the battlefield and unreal series) and i just rotate through them when I get bored. For what I want this is perfect. I will get titanfall next and then possibly the new unreal game when it hits the cold light of day. Until then I am more than happy with this rig.

[Drachenpaladin]

I dont intend or expect to be running new games at uber detail in the next few years. I expect to run the same games I am playing now for that time. I have played about 8 games in the last ten years (including the battlefield and unreal series) and i just rotate through them when I get bored. For what I want this is perfect. I will get titanfall next and then possibly the new unreal game when it hits the cold light of day. Until then I am more than happy with this rig.

Next in line will be Battlefield Bad Company 3 in 2015 and Doom4 somewhen, JFYI...

[Divide]

Go intel. No reason to drop this much money into a system and get an AMD cpu. Get a 4770k. I'd argue against the Xeon as it won't have legs the 4770k will, even though it is a quality chip.

If you were in the states, I'd tell you to get the almost price-mistake low 290x on Newegg at the moment.

Unless you are picking up a Shield, you probably should join team red and grab a 290 or 290x