APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within next four weeks
BUDGET RANGE: £1,000 - £1,200 after any rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (LOTR:O and FFXIV once released), photo editing (lightroom),
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Speakers.
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.scan.co.uk (I'm using this to base my pricing, but any UK websites would be fine)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU, ATI GPU, Asus Mobo, midsized case (if poss), 22-24" monitor
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe - I would like to get max performance but with minimal instability, and this will be my first overclock
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe - initially single GPU, but option to add second in 2-3 years if that is better than replacing.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: High
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: For the last two years I've been using a Dell XPS M1730 gaming laptop with a 256mb 8700m GPU. I'm not worried about max settings, so this can handle Crysis fine, but it seems that FFXIV will be a stretch too far and it's time to upgrade. I've learnt my lesson with gaming laptops and their lack of upgradability, so it's time for me to go desktop.
I'm currently comparing building my own with buying a prebuilt unit, with the aim of getting the most for my money. I've listed below what seems to me to be a decent build at a good price, but I'm not tied to any particular manufacturers or components so if there are areas where I could spend a little more or switch manufacturers to get a better end result then I would.
As mentioned above, I need almost everything! Again I would rather spend more now to get a product that will last rather than buy cheap and need to upgrade in the near future. I did buy a full version of Windows 7 that I upgraded my laptop with, however I believe this was the 32bit version. Is it worth me purchasing the 64bit version for my desktop?
CURRENT BUILD IDEA:
Processor - £154.10
Intel i5 760, S 1156, Lynnfield Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, 8MB Cache, Core Ratio 21x, 95W, Retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-i5-760-S-1156-Lynnfield-Quad-Core-28-GHz-8MB-Cache-Core-Ratio-21x-95W-Retail
Motherboard - £105.22
Asus P7P55D-E, Intel P55 Express, S1156, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2200(OC), SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P7P55D-E-Intel-P55-Express-S1156-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR3-2200(OC)-SATA-6Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX
Cooler - £35.84
CAFA50 - Corsair Cooling Air Series A50 Performance CPU Cooler Intel LGA 775/1366/1156, AMDAM2/AM3
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Corsair-Cooling-Air-Series-A50-Performance-CPU-Cooler-Intel-LGA-775-1366-1156-AMDAM2-AM3
(Is it worth getting Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound for £5.86?)
RAM - £77.69
CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.65V
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(2x2GB)-Corsair-XMS3-DDR3-PC3-12800-(1600)-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24-XMP-165V
GPU - £232.65
HD-585A-ZNFC - 1GB XFX HD 5850, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 4000MHz GDDR5, GPU 725MHz, DisplayPort/ 2x DL DVI-I/ HDMI
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX-HD-5850-PCI-E-20(x16)-4000MHz-GDDR5-GPU-725MHz-DisplayPort-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDMI
HDD - £89.26
2xRAID1: 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ss1TB-Samsung-HD103SJ-Spinpoint-F3-SATA-3Gb-s-7200rpm-32MB-Cache-89-ms-NCQ-OEM
Optical drive - £15.97
Sony AD-7260S-0B 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sony-AD-7260S-0B-24x-DVDR-12xDVDDL-DVDplusRW-x8-RWx6-12xRAM-SATA-Black-OEM
PSU - £97.11
650W Corsair Professional CMPSU-650HXUK, Modular PSU with 80PLUS Bronze Certification
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-Corsair-Professional-CMPSU-650HXUK-Modular-PSU-with-80PLUS-Bronze-Certification
Case - £84.59
Lancool K62 Black Advanced Tower 5x5.25" 4x3.5" inc 3x140/1x120mm fans front USB & HD/97 Audio ports
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lancool-K62-Black-Advanced-Tower-5x525-4x35-inc-3x140-1x120mm-fans-front-USB-and-HD-97-Audio-ports
Monitor - £187.98
23" Acer H235Hbmid, Black Widescreen LCD Monitor, 1920x1080, 100,000:1, 300 cd/m², 2 ms, Speakers
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/23-Acer-H235Hbmid-Black-Widescreen-LCD-Monitor-1920x1080-1000001-300-cd-m-2-ms-Speakers
OS - £74.11
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Single, - OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-64-Bit-Single-OEM
Keyboard - £10
Mouse - £30
Total cost = £1,200.38
That's obviously at the top of my budget, and if there are savings to be had anywhere then let me know! I'm also not fully clear on how much comes built into the motherboard or built into the case. I'd expect to have a decent number of USB ports, wireless internet connectivity (my router will support 802.11n), LAN/ethernet connectivity (or whatever it's called - this is unlikely to be used much as the router is located downstairs and the desktop will be upstairs), sound etc, so if there's anything else I will need (including other software) that is not included then please let me know.
Finally, if I can get a better deal by going to a company and buying a prebuilt system then I would definitely consider that option.
Thanks for all your help and apologies for the long first post, although hopefully you'll appreciate the detail rather than me just saying 'What computer should I get?'
BUDGET RANGE: £1,000 - £1,200 after any rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (LOTR:O and FFXIV once released), photo editing (lightroom),
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Speakers.
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.scan.co.uk (I'm using this to base my pricing, but any UK websites would be fine)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU, ATI GPU, Asus Mobo, midsized case (if poss), 22-24" monitor
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe - I would like to get max performance but with minimal instability, and this will be my first overclock
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe - initially single GPU, but option to add second in 2-3 years if that is better than replacing.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: High
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: For the last two years I've been using a Dell XPS M1730 gaming laptop with a 256mb 8700m GPU. I'm not worried about max settings, so this can handle Crysis fine, but it seems that FFXIV will be a stretch too far and it's time to upgrade. I've learnt my lesson with gaming laptops and their lack of upgradability, so it's time for me to go desktop.
I'm currently comparing building my own with buying a prebuilt unit, with the aim of getting the most for my money. I've listed below what seems to me to be a decent build at a good price, but I'm not tied to any particular manufacturers or components so if there are areas where I could spend a little more or switch manufacturers to get a better end result then I would.
As mentioned above, I need almost everything! Again I would rather spend more now to get a product that will last rather than buy cheap and need to upgrade in the near future. I did buy a full version of Windows 7 that I upgraded my laptop with, however I believe this was the 32bit version. Is it worth me purchasing the 64bit version for my desktop?
CURRENT BUILD IDEA:
Processor - £154.10
Intel i5 760, S 1156, Lynnfield Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, 8MB Cache, Core Ratio 21x, 95W, Retail
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-i5-760-S-1156-Lynnfield-Quad-Core-28-GHz-8MB-Cache-Core-Ratio-21x-95W-Retail
Motherboard - £105.22
Asus P7P55D-E, Intel P55 Express, S1156, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2200(OC), SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P7P55D-E-Intel-P55-Express-S1156-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR3-2200(OC)-SATA-6Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX
Cooler - £35.84
CAFA50 - Corsair Cooling Air Series A50 Performance CPU Cooler Intel LGA 775/1366/1156, AMDAM2/AM3
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Corsair-Cooling-Air-Series-A50-Performance-CPU-Cooler-Intel-LGA-775-1366-1156-AMDAM2-AM3
(Is it worth getting Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound for £5.86?)
RAM - £77.69
CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, XMP, 1.65V
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-(2x2GB)-Corsair-XMS3-DDR3-PC3-12800-(1600)-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24-XMP-165V
GPU - £232.65
HD-585A-ZNFC - 1GB XFX HD 5850, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 4000MHz GDDR5, GPU 725MHz, DisplayPort/ 2x DL DVI-I/ HDMI
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX-HD-5850-PCI-E-20(x16)-4000MHz-GDDR5-GPU-725MHz-DisplayPort-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDMI
HDD - £89.26
2xRAID1: 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ss1TB-Samsung-HD103SJ-Spinpoint-F3-SATA-3Gb-s-7200rpm-32MB-Cache-89-ms-NCQ-OEM
Optical drive - £15.97
Sony AD-7260S-0B 24x DVD±R, 12xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sony-AD-7260S-0B-24x-DVDR-12xDVDDL-DVDplusRW-x8-RWx6-12xRAM-SATA-Black-OEM
PSU - £97.11
650W Corsair Professional CMPSU-650HXUK, Modular PSU with 80PLUS Bronze Certification
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-Corsair-Professional-CMPSU-650HXUK-Modular-PSU-with-80PLUS-Bronze-Certification
Case - £84.59
Lancool K62 Black Advanced Tower 5x5.25" 4x3.5" inc 3x140/1x120mm fans front USB & HD/97 Audio ports
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lancool-K62-Black-Advanced-Tower-5x525-4x35-inc-3x140-1x120mm-fans-front-USB-and-HD-97-Audio-ports
Monitor - £187.98
23" Acer H235Hbmid, Black Widescreen LCD Monitor, 1920x1080, 100,000:1, 300 cd/m², 2 ms, Speakers
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/23-Acer-H235Hbmid-Black-Widescreen-LCD-Monitor-1920x1080-1000001-300-cd-m-2-ms-Speakers
OS - £74.11
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Single, - OEM
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-64-Bit-Single-OEM
Keyboard - £10
Mouse - £30
Total cost = £1,200.38
That's obviously at the top of my budget, and if there are savings to be had anywhere then let me know! I'm also not fully clear on how much comes built into the motherboard or built into the case. I'd expect to have a decent number of USB ports, wireless internet connectivity (my router will support 802.11n), LAN/ethernet connectivity (or whatever it's called - this is unlikely to be used much as the router is located downstairs and the desktop will be upstairs), sound etc, so if there's anything else I will need (including other software) that is not included then please let me know.
Finally, if I can get a better deal by going to a company and buying a prebuilt system then I would definitely consider that option.
Thanks for all your help and apologies for the long first post, although hopefully you'll appreciate the detail rather than me just saying 'What computer should I get?'