My new computer

[pherokos]

Hi,

first i'd like to say that i am new to this website so if i have put this thread in the wrong section, asked the wrong question or whatever, i am sorry!

Now for my question.

Me and my friend are saving up for a top spec gaming computer, i have done a lot of research, been to many sites and so on, the problem is i still can't decide what components to get. I just want to play games like Crysis and COD4 on high graphics and high resolution, if someone could help me with what to get, like graphics cards, cpu and what website to go on, i would be so grateful. My budget is £900 max, (i also need to get a monitor aswell) so if someone could give me any tips, recommendations, i'd be very happy.

Thanks

 

[o1die]

Can't judge your uk pricing. In general, the e7200 or e8400 are both good choices. The 9600 is a good mid range card, and the 4850 is even better. EVGA was offering a lifetime warranty on some cards if you register them online. For motherboards, can't go wrong with an asus, gigabyte, msi, or even asrock p43 or p45 motherboards. Don't go cheap on the power supply; antec, pc power and cooling, seasonic, enermax, or corsair are all pretty good. You won't need over 600 watts with a single video card. If you don't have any of those brands at your dealer, check the shipping weight if possible; it should be about 4-5 lbs. For hardrives, seagate is good; they offer a 5 year warranty on some models.

 

[Malovane]

Well, what resolution do you want to run at? A 30" monitor would likely break your budget I am guessing, so 2560x1600 is probably out of the question.

I realize you don't get newegg over there, but for product info I'll give newegg links....

For 1920x1200, I would suggest:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005113

I have this monitor and it is absolutely stunning. 10,000:1 contrast ratio means deep blacks and bright whites, and a 400 cd brightness is very nice. It also has a 2ms response time, which means good fog/cloud reproduction in comparison to slower screens. It is a little more expensive than other LCD's of this size, but in my opinion it is worth every penny.

For the video card, I would suggest an ATI HD4870 1GB. They aren't that much more expensive than the 512MB models, and they do much better in high resolutions than the latter. They are starting to beat the GTX280, interestingly enough. You could also try for the 4870x2, but even though it is the top of the line, it is a huge power hog.

For CPU, it depends if you want to go Quad or Dual core and what games you plan on running. If you run games that are massively CPU intensive (not many games fall into this category), such as Microsoft FSX, you will want a quad, and a fast one at that. If none of your games are multithreaded (most older games are single threaded), you may want just a fast dual core. If your games are multithreaded but not hugely CPU intensive (many of today's games fall into this category), you can get away with an intro Quad core and a solid overclock.

If you want a dual core, I'd suggest an e8400/e8500, and overclock the heck out of it.
If you want an intro quad, I'd suggest either the Intel Q6600/8200 or the AMD 9750/9850/9950.

If going with the Intel platform, I'd suggest an X38 or X48 chipset for expandability. Some manufacturers like DFI tend to yield better overclocks..

If going with the AMD platform, I'd suggest a 790FX with the 750 Southbridge (important).

For RAM, it depends highly on what platform you will use. Try to find the ones with the lowest timings.

 

[pherokos]

Okay, thanks a lot guys.

 

[pherokos]

For a video card, what do you think about the ATI HD3870 x2, idk just a thought.

 

[Malovane]

Well, the 3870x2 was a nice piece of hardware when it came out. However, it is usually around the same performance as the 4870, and there are some small problems associated with crossfire/sli (even on the same card) that don't exist on single GPU solutions. Number one is that an increase in performance is not always guaranteed.. drivers need to be optimized for the particular game you are running on to benefit from a dual+ gpu combination. Secondly, there is the problem of microstuttering, which can be an annoyance. Third, it just sucks down a ton of power to run two GPU's. Lastly, in relation to that particular graphics card... it's an older architecture, and doesn't run anti-aliasing as well as the new series.

So, a 4870 would probably yield better overall framerates, more stability, less heat and power, and better image quality. The same applies to the 9800GX2, except for framerates, which are decidedly superior to the 4870's (and even the GTX280 in most cases). The 9800GX2 would be the better buy of the two dual gpu cards... but many think they just aren't worth the effort.

 

[fergie]

Overclockers UK offer a good deal on a ready built system with Q6600 overclocked to 3.3 ghz with a 280 gtx for £980 which my mate has and has been pretty impressed with especially with cod4 it's called the ultima OC 280 also check out cyberpower you can choose all your components online and they build it for you at very good prices.

 

[cow_moo]

yeah go with a GTX260,280,HD4850, or a 4870 all are very powerful and can play games at respectable framerates

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

GPU: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/2GB_Sapphire_HD4870X2_PCI-E_2_0_3600MHz_GDDR5_GPU_750MHz_1600_Cores_CrossFire_2x_DL_DVI_HDTV_Graphics_Card.html (Absolute best video card on the market, I own one and can safely say it is amazing!)

CPU: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Core_2_Quad_Q6600_Socket_775_2.40_GHz_8MB_Cache_1066MHz_FSB_Quad_Core_GO_Stepping.html (With an easy overclock to 3.0 Ghz you will be set)

Motherboard: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Gigabyte_GA-EP43-DS3_iP43_Express_S_775_PCI-E_2_0_x16_DDR2_1200_1066_800_667_SATA_II_ATX_Motherboard.html (Great price, all the features you need, what more could you want?)

Case: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_1806088.html (Looks cool, is well built, and cools the PC extremely well!)

Hard drive: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_1412067.html (500GB is plenty)

Power supply: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Corsair_PSU_750W_CMPSU_750TX_ATX12V_v2_2_5_year_manufacturers_warranty.html (Great power supply and will give you plenty of power)

Memory: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_1708091.html (Good cheap RAM, decent timings, 4GB is plenty.)

Drives (2 would be best): http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_1212078.html (fast reliable, it does what you need it to)

Monitor: http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/24in_Asus_MK241H_Black_Widescreen_LCD_Speakers_HDMI_Webcam.html (decent monitor, not much ghosting, bright, though beware of sub par viewing angles)

That's about £973 with a monitor. This setup will allow you to max out games like crazy. You wont get better performance for the price, period. Feel free to shop around for the same components on other websites, I am not familiar with UK PC component online retailers. If you need help building this thing, then feel free to post on this site, or better yet you can PM me and I will walk you through it. You will always overpay for a prebuilt PC when you want high end performance. Hope this helps.

 

[pherokos]

Great, thanks everyone for your help!