- Sep 28, 2009
- 32
- 0
- 18,530
Ive decided its high time to upgrade my pc. Sick and tired of having to lower the settings on games that at this point arent even that new. So i want a proper gaming computer.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: a week, maybe 2
BUDGET RANGE: about a thousand pounds($1588, but im guessing hardware costs more in britian so it'll probably be the equivalnet of a $1K budget in the US) going a little higher isnt too bad if it'll mean getting more.
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: It'll be a gaming rig.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, OS, case and PSU
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Ive only ever used scan.co.uk, but overclockers.co.uk, dabs.co.uk and aria.c.uk ive heard of. if you know of another good site feel free to mention them
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
PARTS PREFERENCES: whatever is best
OVERCLOCKING: I would like to have either crossfire if im using a radeon or SLI if i go for an nvidia. both si nice, but i only need one. overclocking isnt planned
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200, 24inch
My thoughts at the moment hover around the radeon 5850. seems to be the best gfx card within my price range(5870 and gtx295 just dont seem to justify their massively higher price) but i have to admit ive not given much thought to having 2 lower end gfx cards instead.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX-HD-5850-PCI-E-20%28x16%29-4000MHz-GDDR5-GPU-725MHz-DisplayPort-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDMI-plus-Dirt2 - 212
Memory im thinking 4gig ddr3 would suit my needs.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%282x2GB%29-Corsair-TwinX-XMS3-DDR3-PC3-10666-%281333%29-240-Pin-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24 - 70
Mobo and CPU where the toughest choice. I went with an i5 750. The i7s seemed to expensive, and i thought the money would be better placed on a gfx card. With the mobo i just chose the nicest 1156 slot i could find. dont want to be cheap on it.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-Core-i5-750-Quad-Core-266Ghz-%28Lynnfield%29-8M-Cache-LGA1156-CPU-Retail - 150
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P7P55D-PREMIUM-Intel-P55-Motherboard-LGA1156 - 196
monitor im going for a samsung 24 inch. not sure what specs a good screen should have so i went with a samsung, since they're fairly well known.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/24-Samsung-SM2443NW-Black-Widescreen-LCD-1920x1200-10001-300-cd-m-5-ms-VESA - 211
For a PSU i went for 650W, which is what i got suggested by a friend. Corsairs had thebest reviews.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-TX-Corsair-PSU-single-12V-rail-energy-efficient-quiet-and-cool-fully-compatible-5yr-warranty - 72
DVD drive and HDD im probably buying off a friend who wont be needing them. 500gb, both are samsungs, will set me back 50.
Speakers arent that important so i got the cheapest 5.1 set.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Logitech-X530-51-Speaker-System-71W-RMS-PC-DVD-PS2-XBox-Ready - 50
Adds up to a decent enough setup, for 1011. Now upgrading to an i7 860 would cost me an extra 67 pounds, costing me 1078. Now i would be willing to pay that bit extra if i would really be getting that much more from the system, but like i said before, might be best off investing in a decent gfx setup.
Ofc, there is always the option of going AMD. A Phenom II 965BE x4 would cost me 160, only 10 more than the i5.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-Black-Deneb-Core-S-AM3-34GHz-512KB-Cache-FSB-HT-3600MHz-140W-Retail
Combined with an asus 790FX for 136
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A79-T-Deluxe-AMD-790FX-AM3-PCI-E-20-%28x16%29-DDR3-1333-1600OC-SATA-3Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX
Id be saving 50 pounds overall(leaving me with 961) since the AMD Mobos seem to be alot cheaper. How does the phenom compare to the i5 for gaming PCs? Would the extra cost of an i5 mean ill have alot more gaming time before i need to upgrade rig again? Since i am spending alot of money on this i do want it to be a long term investment(hence the crossfire requirement, so i can switch to 2 gfx at a later date). Would AMD provide a better platform for that? Or should i go the whole hog and get an i7. Suggestions on choice of parts, choice of shop or any suggestions at all are very welcome
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: a week, maybe 2
BUDGET RANGE: about a thousand pounds($1588, but im guessing hardware costs more in britian so it'll probably be the equivalnet of a $1K budget in the US) going a little higher isnt too bad if it'll mean getting more.
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: It'll be a gaming rig.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, OS, case and PSU
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Ive only ever used scan.co.uk, but overclockers.co.uk, dabs.co.uk and aria.c.uk ive heard of. if you know of another good site feel free to mention them
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
PARTS PREFERENCES: whatever is best
OVERCLOCKING: I would like to have either crossfire if im using a radeon or SLI if i go for an nvidia. both si nice, but i only need one. overclocking isnt planned
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200, 24inch
My thoughts at the moment hover around the radeon 5850. seems to be the best gfx card within my price range(5870 and gtx295 just dont seem to justify their massively higher price) but i have to admit ive not given much thought to having 2 lower end gfx cards instead.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX-HD-5850-PCI-E-20%28x16%29-4000MHz-GDDR5-GPU-725MHz-DisplayPort-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDMI-plus-Dirt2 - 212
Memory im thinking 4gig ddr3 would suit my needs.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%282x2GB%29-Corsair-TwinX-XMS3-DDR3-PC3-10666-%281333%29-240-Pin-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24 - 70
Mobo and CPU where the toughest choice. I went with an i5 750. The i7s seemed to expensive, and i thought the money would be better placed on a gfx card. With the mobo i just chose the nicest 1156 slot i could find. dont want to be cheap on it.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Intel-Core-i5-750-Quad-Core-266Ghz-%28Lynnfield%29-8M-Cache-LGA1156-CPU-Retail - 150
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-P7P55D-PREMIUM-Intel-P55-Motherboard-LGA1156 - 196
monitor im going for a samsung 24 inch. not sure what specs a good screen should have so i went with a samsung, since they're fairly well known.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/24-Samsung-SM2443NW-Black-Widescreen-LCD-1920x1200-10001-300-cd-m-5-ms-VESA - 211
For a PSU i went for 650W, which is what i got suggested by a friend. Corsairs had thebest reviews.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-TX-Corsair-PSU-single-12V-rail-energy-efficient-quiet-and-cool-fully-compatible-5yr-warranty - 72
DVD drive and HDD im probably buying off a friend who wont be needing them. 500gb, both are samsungs, will set me back 50.
Speakers arent that important so i got the cheapest 5.1 set.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Logitech-X530-51-Speaker-System-71W-RMS-PC-DVD-PS2-XBox-Ready - 50
Adds up to a decent enough setup, for 1011. Now upgrading to an i7 860 would cost me an extra 67 pounds, costing me 1078. Now i would be willing to pay that bit extra if i would really be getting that much more from the system, but like i said before, might be best off investing in a decent gfx setup.
Ofc, there is always the option of going AMD. A Phenom II 965BE x4 would cost me 160, only 10 more than the i5.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-Black-Deneb-Core-S-AM3-34GHz-512KB-Cache-FSB-HT-3600MHz-140W-Retail
Combined with an asus 790FX for 136
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A79-T-Deluxe-AMD-790FX-AM3-PCI-E-20-%28x16%29-DDR3-1333-1600OC-SATA-3Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX
Id be saving 50 pounds overall(leaving me with 961) since the AMD Mobos seem to be alot cheaper. How does the phenom compare to the i5 for gaming PCs? Would the extra cost of an i5 mean ill have alot more gaming time before i need to upgrade rig again? Since i am spending alot of money on this i do want it to be a long term investment(hence the crossfire requirement, so i can switch to 2 gfx at a later date). Would AMD provide a better platform for that? Or should i go the whole hog and get an i7. Suggestions on choice of parts, choice of shop or any suggestions at all are very welcome
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