Good enough gaming PC?

[tycrane]

First and foremost I would just like to say that I only want opinion and advice and not people saying that I should build a gaming rig myself because it would be the most viable option for me and that it would be stupid of me to buy a pre-built gaming system.

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Do you guys think that the Chillblast Fusion Striker (http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Striker.html - link) will be enough to run high quality games such as Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and the upcoming Guild Wars 2? I'm also looking for a system that can run multiple programs at once for recording with fraps and video editing.

Here are the specs:

- EZCool A200D Rev 2.0 ATX Case
- Intel Core i5 2500K Processor 3.3GHz
- Asus P8Z68-V LE Motherboard
- 8GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory
- GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Graphics Card
- 1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
- 24x Sony DVD-RW Drive
- 650watt EZCool PSU
- Onboard High Definition Audio
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM

I'm thinking of changing the case to the Cooler Master Elite 430 Case (+ £14) and the PSU to an OCZ StealthXstream 2 600W PSU (+ £39) replacing the EZCool basic 650W PSU. Are those upgrades necessary or would it just be a waste? My budget is £900.

Would like some feedback from you tech junkies if you think this PC is suitable enough for gaming + recording videos with. And if any of you guys know of other Pre-built systems that costs less and will do better than the Fusion Striker then please post them. Needs to be able to ship to England though.

Thanks.

P.S: I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to computers, but I do understand the simple stuff.

 

[shanky887614]

you dont need the i5 2500k unless you are planning on overclocking. if your not building it yourself i doubt you will overclock it so i would say you dont need it



personally id rather build it myself


i bought

p8z68v-lx
8gb ddr3 1600
i5 2400 @3.1ghz
dvd writer
case
750 watt ocz psu

for £380

already had windows 7 x64,hdd,mouse and keyboard and speakers

gtx 570 for £230

and 2 tb hdd for £100

windows home premium oem for £70

thats total of £810


ask people you know or local computer shop. they may do it a lot cheaper.

id only charger £20 to build a pc for a friend

 

[tycrane]

better to go elseware.

ditch the 1tb hdd. get an ssd instead

and grab a 5000rpm data drive instead. you dont need high speed for a data drive


you dont need the i5 2500k unless you are planning on overclocking. if your not building it yourself i doubt you will overclock it so i would say you dont need it

Thanks for the feedback.

If I replace the 1TB HDD to an SDD wouldn't I have less space to record with? Keep in mind I will be recording videos with fraps and since it uses up so much space wouldn't the 1TB HDD be better? Of course the SDD will be super fast but I'm a pretty patient guy.

Oh and the i5 2500k is mandatory on this system meaning that I can't downgrade. Is the 'k' just there for strict overclocking?

Again, I'm not very knowledgeable with these sort of things but hearing your advice helps.

 

[fergie]

I would get a small ssd for os and couple of games that you are playing and larger storage drive.

 

[trogdor796]

Thanks for the feedback.

If I replace the 1TB HDD to an SDD wouldn't I have less space to record with? Keep in mind I will be recording videos with fraps and since it uses up so much space wouldn't the 1TB HDD be better? Of course the SDD will be super fast but I'm a pretty patient guy.

Oh and the i5 2500k is mandatory on this system meaning that I can't downgrade. Is the 'k' just there for strict overclocking?

Again, I'm not very knowledgeable with these sort of things but hearing your advice helps.

Normally you wouldn't use JUST a SSD. Most people use a SSD AND a standard HDD. What you do in that case is buy a decent size SSD(like 120GB), and put you're Operating System and other programs that you frequently use onto it. Then, use the HDD for file storage and any other programs. This way, you boot and navigate you're OS extremely fast, and also load whatever applications you put on it very quickly. Keep in mind, SSD's are luxury options usually. Most people don't use them, and just a standard HDD is good enough for most people. I wouldn't advise downgrading to a 5400rpm drive though, the 7200rpm one's aren't much more, and are considered standard for a desktop.

The "k" in the 2500k means the multiplier is unlocked, and it is bought for the purpose of overclocking. You don't have to overclock it though, because the thing is a beast even at stock clocks. However, if you do decide you want to OC in the future, you will need to have an aftermarket CPU cooler installed. I recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212+, should be about $30. Overclocking a 2500k is brain dead simple. You literally change one number from 33 to 42, that's it. Then you will be running at 4.2GHz. You can do this with a CM Hyper 212 easily, I have a 2500k with one and run 4.4GHz constantly. But, once again, you don't have to overclock, it's up to you.

I don't really deal with cases, so I can't comment much there. I've heard the Cooler Master HAF 912 is cheap, has plenty of room and good airflow. Might want to look into that.

Change the power supply. I don't trust the EZCool at all, it's likely not very good. The OCZ you selected is alright, but units from Corsair or Seasonic/PC Power and Cooling are better. Just ensure the one you pick is 80 PLUS bronze certified, and has good amps on the 12V rails(like preferably 40-50+ on a single rail).

Ensure the RAM operates at 1.5V, that is recommended for Sandy Bridge CPU's. RAM speed of 1600mhz is the standard/what I see most, but 1333mhz is just about as good.

EDIT - The motherboard you have selected is good, with one exception. It has slots for 2 video cards, but one of them only runs at 4x, the other at 16x. If you ever plan to add in a second GPU, this will severely limit performance. IF you plan to ever use multiple GPU's at once, select a different motherboard, one that has at least a 16x and 8x PCIe slot. However, if you will never CrossfireX/SLI(run 2 GPU's at once), don't worry about it.

Everything else looks good from what I can see.

 

[tycrane]

too big to quote

Thanks for the very well thought out answer there sir.

Will definitely help me in the future if I ever need to overclock or run multiple GPU's at once. 😀

Unfortunately, on the website it doesn't have the Cooler Master HAF 912 case you've talked about so I think I'll just stick with the Cooler Master 430 case.

Again, thanks for the wonderful feedback.

 

[trogdor796]

You're welcome! What resolution are you planning on running the games at? If t 1080p or lower, you will be able to run all those games you listed at high settings, and probably skyrim and guild wars 2 at ultra. Battlefield 3 is one of the most demanding games out there in existence, and the difference in visual quality between high and ultra is apparently small.

And you also mentioned recoding with fraps and video editing. When recording with fraps, you want to try to record/save the footage to a different hard drive than the one you are using, if possible. If you record to the hdd that the game or whatever you are running is on, it will result in a performance loss. This can be possible through a ssd and hdd combination, running 2 hdd's, or just hooking and external hard drive to your computer.

As for video editing, there is one way to improve this from what you currently have. An i7 CPU will surpass and i5 when it comes to video editing and things like that, due to hyper threading and other things. However, its not worth it unless you are doing video editing professionally or for a job. Just casual or occasional use, an i5 will be fast enough IMO.

It's great that you are doing research like this before you finalize anything. Even though you're not building it yourself, this is a great way to do it. Better than going the Alienware route or just walking into to best buy and letting their salesman talk into something overpriced.

You know exactly what parts your are getting this way, and can know you are getting quality parts. When you receive this, you're gonna love it.

If you have any more questions, ask away. I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[Uther39]

First and foremost I would just like to say that I only want opinion and advice and not people saying that I should build a gaming rig myself because it would be the most viable option for me and that it would be stupid of me to buy a pre-built gaming system.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you guys think that the Chillblast Fusion Striker (http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Striker.html - link) will be enough to run high quality games such as Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and the upcoming Guild Wars 2? I'm also looking for a system that can run multiple programs at once for recording with fraps and video editing.

Here are the specs:

- EZCool A200D Rev 2.0 ATX Case
- Intel Core i5 2500K Processor 3.3GHz
- Asus P8Z68-V LE Motherboard
- 8GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory
- GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB Graphics Card
- 1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
- 24x Sony DVD-RW Drive
- 650watt EZCool PSU
- Onboard High Definition Audio
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM

I'm thinking of changing the case to the Cooler Master Elite 430 Case (+ £14) and the PSU to an OCZ StealthXstream 2 600W PSU (+ £39) replacing the EZCool basic 650W PSU. Are those upgrades necessary or would it just be a waste? My budget is £900.

Would like some feedback from you tech junkies if you think this PC is suitable enough for gaming + recording videos with. And if any of you guys know of other Pre-built systems that costs less and will do better than the Fusion Striker then please post them. Needs to be able to ship to England though.

Thanks.

P.S: I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to computers, but I do understand the simple stuff.

I would reccomend saving a bit longer and going for this system they do

http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Marine.html

Basic Specification:

Corsair Carbide 400R
Intel Core i5 2500K Processor overclocked to 4.8GHz
Corsair A70 CPU Cooler
Asus P8Z68-V LE Motherboard
Radeon 7970 3GB Graphics Card
8GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory
Sansung Blu Ray / DVD-RW Combi Drive
30GB OCZ Vertex 3 ssd
1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk
600watt Xigmatek PSU
Onboard High Definition Audio
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM

More sights to try

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=1951
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Mass-Effect-i5-2400-94p1247.htm

 

[tycrane]

too big to quote

Yeah, I'm planning on playing on a 1920 x 1080 resolution for most of my games.

I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive so it will become easier to transfer files to my laptop which I can use for video editing so that I can record more footage from my desktop. My laptop is a MSI CX640-018UK which has an i7-2410M core and is quite good for multimedia from when I've used it.

I think I'll be set for now with all your advice, thank you so much.

Will definitely come back here whenever I have anymore questions/problems. Again, thank you. 😀

 

[Ganzi]

I am considering buying a similar computer. I know what the computer will be capable of performance wise. Here are the specs:
Case: EZCool A200D Basic Case
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K Processor
Cpu Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V LE Motherboard
RAM: 8GB PC3-10666 1333MHz DDR3 Memory (2 x 4GB sticks)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550Ti 1024MB Graphics Card
No SSD
Hard drive: 1000GB 7200RPM Hard Disk - 6Gbps
Optical drive: Sony 24x DVD-RW Drive
Power supply: EZCool Basic 650W PSU
I have customised this myself working around a budget of 760 euro's

I have two questions,
Question 1 will this power supply (EZCool Basic 650W PSU) be powerful enough for this processor and/or graphics card
Question 2 Is this Motherboard good enough for what I want.
Website here: http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Elixir.html
I would appreciate any help I can get especially soon! Thanks