~£1000 Gaming/Dev/Audio PC

[Mourndark]

Hi all, I've finished lurking and had a go a speccing something out! I'd appreciate advice on the PSU, and whether 2GB of graphics RAM is enough for a (eventually) 3-monitor setup. If anyone has any BD-writer recommendations, that would be great!

Approximate Purchase Date: Payday! (end of the month)

Budget Range: ~£1000, + screen

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, MW3, Skyrim), Devving (VMs, simulations), Mixing audio (REAPER)

Parts Not Required: Speakers, Mouse, Keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anything in the UK

Country of Origin: UK

Parts Preferences: Happy to pay a bit extra for something quieter

Overclocking: Maybe for gaming

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe if needed for more monitors, but would be far down the line

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (When did 1920x1200 get so expensive??)

Additional Comments: Quieter is better. Planning on adding an SSD in next few months and one or two more HDDs further down the line. Will definitely go up to 3 screens.

Parts:

Haven't decided where I'm going to get everything from (and probably won't until the day!) Prices are what a quick google says are the cheapest:

Case: Bitfenix Shinobi, Overclockers.co.uk, £49.99
CPU: Intel i5-2500K, Dabs.com, £164.98
Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2, Ebuyer.com UK, £40.85
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4, Overclockers.co.uk, £159.98
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600, Ebuyer.com UK, £42.77
PSU: Antec TP-550, Scan.co.uk, £53.46
Graphics Card: XFX HD 6950 Dual Fan - 2GB, Scan.co.uk, £214.43
Boot Drive: Samsung 1Tb Spinpoint F3, Scan.co.uk, £44.87
Disc Drive: BD Writer of some description, seem to be going for ~£80.00
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, ~£140.00

Total: £991.33

Screen isn't going to be part of the initial order as I have a spare I can use. Was thinking of the Hanns G HL231 (Play.com, £109.99).

Thanks guys!

 

[boeing114]

I'd save a few bucks and get Windows 7 Professional. Also an SSD if you can stomach one. Even a 64gb to have windows on, otherwise your hard drive will be a major bottleneck to a cpu like that i5 you mention.

I'm also a huge fan of the Asus P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard.

 

[metal orient]

Unless you absolutely need Bitlocker or languages of your choice go for the pro version, may as well save the cash.

Also i'd have thought the 2600K would be a better cpu for dev programmes.

Here's a build:

All from Aria.net, i find they are the cheapest at this point in time. Used to be Scan but they've got more expensive recently.

i7 2600k £233
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Intel+Core+i7-2600K+3.40GHz+%28Sandybridge%29+Socket+LGA1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43214

Gelid Tranquilo £25
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cooling/CPU+Coolers/Gelid+Tranquillo+CPU+Cooler+?productId=40816

Asrock Ex4 Z68 Gen 3 £155
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+1155+Z68+%28B3%29/Asrock+Z68+Extreme4+Gen3+Intel+Z68+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard?productId=46589

8Gb Mushkin 1600 £42
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/8GB+Mushkin+Blackline+%23996995+%282x4GB%29+DDR3+1600MHz+9-9-9-24+?productId=44336

MSI Twin frozr II 6950 £192
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/MSI+ATI+Radeon+HD+6950+Twin+FrozR+II+OC+2048MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=43820

1TB Samsung F3 £40
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/1TB+Samsung+HD103SJ+SpinPoint+F3+SATA-II+3.5%22+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726

BDRW £72
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Blu-Ray+%2F+DVD+Drives/Blu-ray+BD-R+Writers/LiteOn+iHBS112+12x+BluRay-RW+%2F+16+x+DVD%C2%B1RW+Drive+-+Black+%28OEM%29+?productId=44558

750W OCZ ZS £67
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/700-950W/750W+OCZ+ZS+Series+ATX2.2+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+?productId=45459

Bitfenix Shinobi £48
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/MIDI+Tower/BitFenix+Shinobi+Black+Midi+Tower+Chassis+?productId=45934

Window 7 Pro OEM £100
https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Microsoft+Windows+7+Professional+64+Bit+SP1%2C+Operating+System%2C+Single%2C+-+OEM+?productId=38274

Total (with P&P): £992.35

As to a monitor i'd suggest a good IPS screen e.g. the HP ZR series or Dells Ultrasharp series (they are expensive though).

have a look through these sites and see if there's one you'd like:
http://www.digitalversus.com/
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

 

[hellfire24]

Metal Oreint's suggestion for 2600k is useless IMO.
the parts that you(MournDark) selected are pretty good.
my suggestions for better performance-
change cooler to hyper 212+ or the EVO version.
dont compromise on PSU,this can kill your other parts too
get this one-
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-037-CS
save money by going for win7 pro
Also try to squeeze some more for this SSD-
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR
these ssds are very fast,reliable and value for money products.(i am having 128gb version)

 

[metal orient]

Metal Oreint's suggestion for 2600k is useless IMO.
the parts that you(MournDark) selected are pretty good.
my suggestions for better performance-
change cooler to hyper 212+ or the EVO version.
dont compromise on PSU,this can kill your other parts too
get this one-
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-037-CS
save money by going for win7 pro
Also try to squeeze some more for this SSD-
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR
these ssds are very fast,reliable and value for money products.(i am having 128gb version)

Why is a 2600k useless? I don't claim to know but i'd have thought the extra cores would help with compiling code. As it is the 2500k can always be introduced instead.

The Gelid Tranquilo is quieter than the Cm 212+ and not far behind in terms of temperatures, which is a moot point if there isn't a massive overclock.

There's nothing wrong with the OCZ unit Johnny Guru gave a 550W a 9 with value being it's main flaw. Clearly no longer the case.

I would put in an SSD but they are expensive (not value for money), if the 2600k was dropped for a 2500k you could just about fit a 64GB one in.

Crucial m4 64GB £80
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Solid+State+Drives/Crucial+m4+64GB+2.5%22+SATA-III+Solid+State+Hard+Drive+?productId=44257

 

[hellfire24]

i dont think that for a few(hardly4~8 )seconds,2600k worth the extra 100 bucks.i have 2600k in my rig but now i have realized that spending on 2600k instead of a 2500k was almost a wastage.a nicely overclocked 2500k(4ghz~4.8ghz) will do any modern audio,video,gaming etc.sorry but i have heard a lot good things about hyper 212+ and 212+ EVO but not much about Gelid Tranquilo.i dont know on what basis are you saying that ssds are not value for money products????
maybe i was wrong about PSU but still saving money by getting 2500k corsair enthusiast 650w(for a few more bucks)is a better option.

 

[Why_Me]

Hi all, I've finished lurking and had a go a speccing something out! I'd appreciate advice on the PSU, and whether 2GB of graphics RAM is enough for a (eventually) 3-monitor setup. If anyone has any BD-writer recommendations, that would be great!

Approximate Purchase Date: Payday! (end of the month)

Budget Range: ~£1000, + screen

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, MW3, Skyrim), Devving (VMs, simulations), Mixing audio (REAPER)

Parts Not Required: Speakers, Mouse, Keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Anything in the UK

Country of Origin: UK

Parts Preferences: Happy to pay a bit extra for something quieter

Overclocking: Maybe for gaming

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe if needed for more monitors, but would be far down the line

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (When did 1920x1200 get so expensive??)

Additional Comments: Quieter is better. Planning on adding an SSD in next few months and one or two more HDDs further down the line. Will definitely go up to 3 screens.

Parts:

Haven't decided where I'm going to get everything from (and probably won't until the day!) Prices are what a quick google says are the cheapest:

Case: Bitfenix Shinobi, Overclockers.co.uk, £49.99
CPU: Intel i5-2500K, Dabs.com, £164.98
Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2, Ebuyer.com UK, £40.85
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4, Overclockers.co.uk, £159.98
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600, Ebuyer.com UK, £42.77
PSU: Antec TP-550, Scan.co.uk, £53.46
Graphics Card: XFX HD 6950 Dual Fan - 2GB, Scan.co.uk, £214.43
Boot Drive: Samsung 1Tb Spinpoint F3, Scan.co.uk, £44.87
Disc Drive: BD Writer of some description, seem to be going for ~£80.00
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, ~£140.00

Total: £991.33

Screen isn't going to be part of the initial order as I have a spare I can use. Was thinking of the Hanns G HL231 (Play.com, £109.99).

Thanks guys!

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboards/intel1155z68chipsetmotherboards/z68extreme3gen3.html £119.99 inc vat FREE DELIVERY
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) Motherboard

https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/MSI+ATI+Radeon+HD+6950+Twin+FrozR+II+OC+2048MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=43820 £191.99 inc. VAT
MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 Twin FrozR II OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/700-950W/750W+OCZ+ZS+Series+ATX2.2+80PLUS+Bronze+Power+Supply+?productId=45459 £67.19 inc. VAT
750W OCZ ZS Series ATX2.2 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme3%20Gen3 <---- a better look at that board

 

[metal orient]

i dont think that for a few(hardly4~8 )seconds,2600k worth the extra 100 bucks.i have 2600k in my rig but now i have realized that spending on 2600k instead of a 2500k was almost a wastage.a nicely overclocked 2500k(4ghz~4.8ghz) will do any modern audio,video,gaming etc.sorry but i have heard a lot good things about hyper 212+ and 212+ EVO but not much about Gelid Tranquilo.i dont know on what basis are you saying that ssds are not value for money products????
maybe i was wrong about PSU but still saving money by getting 2500k corsair enthusiast 650w(for a few more bucks)is a better option.

But can i assume you only game? Where you would not need the benefits of the 2600K.

I normally would recommend the CM 212+ but as the Gelid is the same price and quieter , which was what the OP wanted, i chose that.

They're not value for money because you pay more than £1 a GB whereas for HDD you pay 3p. While i would agree that an SSD offers vastly better performance, value for money is still not good.

Why the Corsair though? It's more expensive and provides less power. Yes it has slightly better build quality but the price you pay is not worth it.

 

[hellfire24]

so do you think that a number of people having ssds are "mindless".allright.
you wrote that corsair is more expensive and less power.it has "slightly" better build quality and the price is not worth it.
i think mate you should be the chief adviser of corsair and help them improve thier "poor condition" as mentioned in your post.
i bet you that CM 212+ is a very highly recommended cooler which provides both cooling and silence when fans are not at MAX.
go out,do some homework,then come back here mate.
ALL THE BEST

 

[metal orient]

I shouldn't be drawn into this but okay.

I never said "mindless". The performance benefits of SSD are certainly there, and if you have the money certainly try to fit one in. But they are anything but value for money compared to HDD.

Who said anything about "poor condition"? Look at the reviews Johnny Guru gives, the build quality for corsair got a 9.5, the OCZ a 9.

I've covered this point before. I'm not sayig the CM 212+ is bad or that it isn't recommended just that i think it's the better choice for a quieter build. It's in the Puget SPCR build, which should be enough for anyone.

Please provide some evidence for your opinions.

Regards.

 

[Mourndark]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone. I'll definitely change to the Twin Frozr II, but I'll have to do a bit more research on the coolers and PSUs.

Metal Orient and hellfire24, feel free to keep arguing, so long as you cite your sources - all advice is useful!

 

[hellfire24]

no fights mate.we'r cool,